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Creative Challenge: Colors from Nature

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This month’s creative challenge is all about colors derived from nature. Feel free to doodle or letter the word or let the color/image inspire your painting or lettering! It never fails–right around the first of March, I get all the spring fever feels and can’t wait to see blooms and blossoms. So in commemoration of spring right around the corner, let’s celebrate with colors from nature!

Nature’s Colors Challenge List

Colors from Nature Creative Challenge - Art Challenge - Doodle Challenge - Lettering Challenge - Use the prompts to draw, paint, letter or create something inspired by the day's word.

  1. Apricot
  2. Eggplant
  3. Lime
  4. Pine
  5. Plum
  6. Lavender
  7. Coral
  8. Orange
  9. Peach
  10. Cocoa
  11. Pearl
  12. Mint
  13. Lemon
  14. Moss
  15. Violet
  1. Cornflower
  2. Lilac
  3. Raspberry
  4. Mustard
  5. Olive
  6. Amber
  7. Periwinkle
  8. Cinnamon
  9. Marigold
  10. Honey
  11. Saffron
  12. Fuschia
  13. Ginger
  14. Indigo
  15. Jade
  16. Salmon

What other colors come directly from nature? Which ones did I miss? And most importantly, which is your favorite?

How to Participate:

Not sure how to participate in a creative challenge? No worries. These are not hard or fast rules – the challenge is meant to inspire you and remove the art block we sometimes feel when creating.

  1. If you’re on Instagram – find me & follow me @ChocolateMusingsCreates
  2. Download the creative challenge prompts list (right-click on the image to save it and print it for reference). Or do a screenshot on your phone to save the prompts.
  3. Every day letter, draw, paint or create something to do with the daily prompt.
  4. You can use your regular style or add a bit of flair and try a new doodle or style!
  5. Snap a picture and post your creation to Instagram – tag me @ChocolateMusingsCreates and use the hashtag #FindYourCreativeMuse – I’ll choose a few of my favorites and share them!
  6. Follow the hashtag and like and comment on others’ creations as well. I LOVE the community that these lettering challenges create.
  7. Choose a few of nature’s colors from the challenge, or do them all! It’s meant to challenge you and expand your creativity.
  8. Most importantly, have fun!

What to Do & Ideas for Creating

Here are some ideas to get you started with this challenge creating using these nature-inspired colorful words.

Remember: you can try to create all or some of them, or choose one prompt that inspires you and work on it all month. The idea is to expand your creativity and inspiration and get you to try new styles or techniques that you might not use regularly.

Use the challenge word as a background for your art or lettering. You can always use art as an overlay for your other creations. Try to create as many as you like or spend a few days experimenting with a particular word.

Create monograms with the various colors from nature painted or drawn embedded as a design or create an overlay for another design like squares or circles.

It’s not all about the letters. These prompts are perfect for doodles or full-page creations. These prompts are the perfect starting point if you’ve ever wanted to improve your drawing skills. Because it doesn’t matter how they turn out. What’s important is that you tried something new. And you don’t have to sit and wonder what to draw because the prompts are provided for you!

Handlettering Styles to Try

If you handletter or want to start handlettering, here are some new styles to incorporate into your challenge. Focus on one style all month, or use a variety of lettering techniques!

  • Angled
  • Art Deco
  • Black Letter
  • Block
  • Bold
  • Broadway
  • Brush Lettering
  • Bubble
  • Calligraphy
  • Cursive
  • Decorative
  • Faux Calligraphy
  • Floral
  • Geometric
  • Graffiti
  • Grunge
  • Illuminated
  • Interlaced
  • Modern Calligraphy
  • Monoline
  • Negative/Reversed
  • Ornate
  • Outline
  • Overlapping
  • FPatterned
  • Polka-Dots
  • Reflection
  • Retro
  • Ribbon
  • Rounded
  • Sans Serif
  • Serif
  • Shadowed
  • Short
  • Sparkly
  • Stripes
  • Tall
  • Textured
  • Watercolor
  • Western
  • Wide

What I Love About Creative Challenges

What I love about creative challenges like this nature’s color challenge – even if you happen on this challenge after it’s posted and finished on Instagram, nothing says you can’t use these prompts as inspiration later on.

Using a combination of daily and style prompts is one of my favorite ways to experiment and try new techniques. A few years ago, when I started to handletter, prompts like this got me to try flourishing when I never would before.

Use this ‘colors from nature’ challenge to look at color, patterns, and values, and add a bit of flair to your projects.

Happy creating, and remember to have fun!

Find Other Creative Challenges

Supplies Perfect for this Creative Challenge

Crayola Markers

Here are a few of my favorite watercolor papers.

May Random Holidays – 2020

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May Random Holidays – 2020

Here are your May 2020 Random Holidays! With the current global situation happening right now, I think it’s even more important to find reasons to celebrate randomly. I think it’s essential to break the rut of playing on our devices or watching endless TV and create or find those nuggets of joy hiding in plain sight.

At the bottom of the post, you’ll find other suggested ways of celebrating. I hope some of them will give you inspiration or ideas to include these holidays in your life.

You can browse the Random Holiday Archives or add a Random Holiday Calendar as a Google Calendar (see the bottom of the post) for instructions/links.

May Random Holidays - enjoy the little things | Chocolatemusings.com #randomholidays #funholidays

Random Holiday Archives

*Balloons totally optional.

Do you need more reasons to celebrate? I know I do! Find my random holiday archives here, PLUS find more ideas & ways to celebrate random holidays. Browse through all of my hand-picked holidays grouped by month. Give your family a reason to #randomlycelebrate.

By the way, if you’d like to find out more about a holiday, check the links in the random holiday archive. You’ll find all the random holiday sources I used to compile my favorites list. Click on one of the entries in the Random Holidays Calendar for even more details!

By the way, you can add the Google Calendar to your calendar list and always have random holidays at your fingertips – each calendar entry has a direct link to the original source and the social media hashtag recommendation. (Tip: You can toggle on and off the calendar as needed!) Check out the random holiday archives here!

Skip Right to a Month to Start Celebrating:

The Beginning of Random Holidays

I started celebrating random holidays with my family over a year ago. We started celebrating to add little more joy to our everyday lives. It seems like we live for the weekend, and it always went by far too quickly. Most weeks or months were a blur, and we didn’t remember anything specific.

We never stopped to smell the roses.

I don’t know about you, but I want to have moments in my life that stand out. Ones that I remember and my kids will bring up and we can laugh about when they are grown.

After finding a few random holidays to celebrate, I decided that I couldn’t be the only person who longed for more reasons to celebrate. I decided to introduce random holidays on my blog to help families stop for a bit to create memories within their families. 

What We Did in April to Randomly Celebrate

In April, we celebrated ‘wear pajamas to work day‘ (in fact, we wore pajamas every day that week). I think it’s safe to say that many people celebrated that day whether or not they knew about it since so many people are working from home. If you’re working from home, did you celebrate ‘wear pajamas to work day’? I think the more important question is – if you’re not working from home, did you observe that day?

My kids planned all week to celebrate with our cat, Baghera (named for the black panther in the Jungle Book), on National Pet Day. They wished they could celebrate early before the ‘official’ day on the calendar. I love their enthusiasm and, of course, told them that they could celebrate early and longer than on the schedule.

May 2020 Random Holidays List

There are so many holidays to choose from! You are welcome to explore and find more holidays to suit your family’s taste.  Here are the highlights for my May 2020 random holidays list. I think they messed up on the sequence of lost sock memorial day and clean your room day. I believe that they should switch the two and not have a memorial until after you know for sure it’s lost. Haha!

Find small reasons to add joy to your everyday life with Random Holidays | ChocolateMusings.com #randomlycelebrate #joy #celebrate #holidays

Food Holidays

First of all, I love featuring food holidays. So I find as many as I can to showcase, here. Do me a favor (flavor?) if you find any other food holidays, leave a comment below. I’d love to add more to the list. It’s not just about eating all the food, sometimes it’s fun to paint or doodle food instead. All I know, is that food holidays create a bond with others and I’m happy to enhance that bond.

2- National Truffle Day #NationalTruffleDay
6- National Beverage Day #NationalBeverageDay
8 – Have a Coke Day #NationalHaveACokeDay
8 – National Coconut Cream Pie Day #CoconutCreamPieDay
11 – Eat What You Want Day #EatWhatYouWantDay (Thank you, and finally!)
13 – Apple Pie Day #NationalApplePieDay
15 – Chocolate Chip Day #ChocolateChipDay
19 – National Devil’s Food Cake Day #devilsfoodcakeday
20 – Pick Strawberries Day
21 – Strawberries & Cream #StrawberriesAndCreamDay
24 – Escargot Day #NationalEscargotDay
25 – Waffle Day #waffleday
28 – Hamburger Day #NationalHamburgerDay

Cleaning Days

Admittedly, cleaning is a necessary evil. Of course, we could just not clean. But I don’t think we want to live in squalor or have the option to hire a maid (I SO want to hire a maid!). So why not celebrate while cleaning?

9 – Lost Sock Memorial Day #LostSockMemorialDay
10 – Clean Your Room Day #CleanUpYourRoomDay
18- National No Dirty Dishes Day #NoDirtyDishesDay

Random Days Just for Fun

I remember getting the newspaper and looking for the funnies on Sunday mornings (does that show my age??). My husband still reads comics every day online. I tried to create a comic in my bullet journal once, and honestly, I’d love to create more. Do you have a favorite cartoon?

5 – World Laughter Day #LaughterDay
5 – National Cartoonists Day #NationalCartoonistsDay
14 – Dance Like a Chicken Day #DanceLikeAChickenDay
23 – Lucky Penny Day #LuckyPennyDay
24 – National Scavenger Hunt Day #scavengerhunt
26 – National Paper Airplane Day #paperairplaneday
30 – Creativity Day #NationalCreativityDay
31 – Smile Day #NationalSmileDay

State Holiday Celebrations

3 – Montana Day #NationalMontanaDay
17 – Idaho Day #NationalIdahoDay
24 – Wyoming Day #NationalWyomingDay
31 – Utah Day #NationalUtahDay

State Holidays

In celebration of the state’s statehood birthday, each month, the honored state will be on sale! I created 8 variations for each state, and they make lovely wall displays. Print it out, and frame it, and show it off! They make great gifts! All the states are available in my shop!

Other Random Holidays to Celebrate in May

The theme in my bullet journal is space/planets since we are celebrating not only Star Wars Day but Astronaut Day, I think the theme is perfect for this month.

When I was reading the different random holidays for May, at first, I thought, “why do we need a day to celebrate paperclips?” But then I realized that I have so many paperclips nestled in my drawer. And the thing is, they are not just regular paperclips! They are pretty, and so I should celebrate them!

1 – Mother Goose Day #NationalMotherGooseDay
4 – Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay
5 – Astronaut Day  #WeBelieveInAstronauts & #NationalAstronautDay
12 – National Odometer Day #NationalOdometerDay
20 – World Bee Day #WorldBeeDay
29 – National Paperclip Day #nationalpaperclipday

What Days Will You Celebrate?

After reading through the random holidays listed, which days do you plan on adding to your calendar? Are there any you could sneak in and surprise your family with a little treat or fun activity? Even if it’s making paper airplanes on the 26th with your kids, that’s randomly celebrating.

Here are a few that we will celebrate. Can you guess which ones? Leave me a comment below with your answers.

Ways we are going to celebrate Random Holidays in May | ChocolateMusings.com #sillyholidays #holidays #random

Like celebrating a birthday, these insignificant days might just become the joy that your family looks forward to every year.

Whichever days you choose to celebrate, I hope you find that these moments add joy to your life. After all, that is my goal: to spread a little bit of joy here and there to overworked and tired families so you can see a glimmer of hope in your lives.

Need Some Ideas for Creating Using Random Holidays as Your Inspiration?

That sounds fun. Here are some ways you can be creative!

  • Letter the name of the holiday (want to learn to hand letter? Here’s where to start handlettering.)
  • Write it in funky fonts (check out this post for ideas.)
  • Take a picture (I heard selfies are a thing 😜).
  • Doodle the holiday
  • Paint a picture of the holiday or you celebrating the holiday.
  • Write a blog post or journal entry.
  • Create a planner spread.
  • Create a color palette inspired by the holiday.
  • What imaginary character or Disney Princess would most likely celebrate this holiday?
  • What colors should we choose for this holiday?
  • Make a favorite dish or create a new recipe in honor of the day.
  • If the holiday had a mascot, what would it be?
  • Don’t let my ideas limit you. Find something that inspires you, and create!

If you don’t create anything – spend the time with your family or friends! It’s all about creating a better, more fulfilling life. I believe these silly, random holidays help add a little smile to your face and a bit more laughter to your days. Choose to add joy to your life.

Random Holidays – Google Calendar

After celebrating different holidays for over a year, I decided to create a Google Calendar to see all the holidays I’d love to celebrate. It makes it easy to share creations, words, and ideas on social media and with friends and family. The best part about Google calendars is that you can toggle them on and off when you don’t want to see them.

If you click on the calendar item, it has a link to the source & relevant hashtags! I’m always evolving this calendar – and I will add calendar days or corrections all the time.

Tip: The calendar will show the current month, you can navigate to the month of your choice by using the arrows or dropdown.

If you want to add my calendar to your Google calendar:

  • Go to your Google calendars and click the + next to other calendars
  • Choose ‘add other calendars.’
  • Then click Subscribe to Calendar
  • After that, paste the text below in the “add calendar.”
  • Toggle the schedule on and off when you want to access it – that’s what I do.

chocolatemusings.com_q316ucpnldal611fs2q2nnk7v0@group.calendar.google.com

I won’t list all the random holidays, but just the ones that work with ChocolateMusings.com – so, of course, you’ll see a lot of food, art, creativity & some miscellaneous holidays are thrown in as well.

Random Holiday Links:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

What if you don’t like the holidays I choose? Below are links to the other random holiday sites I found – pick your favorites and celebrate the ones that resonate with you! It’s about breaking out of the monotony and creating your happiness.

Find more to celebrate – I compiled my random holidays from the websites below. There are so many holidays to enjoy! If you find a day you’d like me to feature – leave me a note below!

May Random Holidays - Find Your Favorite - create a new tradition - add joy to your life | ChocolateMusings.com

Find Your Inspiration (When It’s Lost)

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My Muses: Finding Your Inspiration (Again) | ChocolateMusings.com #inspiration #whatinspiresyou

Find Your Lost Inspiration

I’m sure at one point in time you’ve lost your inspiration or creative muse. This month, my muses were all about helping you ‘find your inspiration’ because over the summer, I lost my inspiration. It felt like someone turned out the light on my creativity, and I’ve been clamoring to find that switch and turn it back on.

How I Lost My Inspiration

The last few months have been very dark – creatively. Starting with a week’s horrible sickness for my entire family the end of May, followed by the end of school and subsequently, the end of our regular daily routine.

Though I love summer, the chaos that coincides with it wreaks havoc on my inspiration. I usually have an abundance of ideas, too many for me to implement. But this summer, all my ideas dried up, and I felt like I was in a desert searching for water.

Maybe it was that I lost the everyday regimen of school day structure or if it was that the kids were home more (and bickering more) or if work was particularly stressful this summer, but I was in a deep creative funk. I wanted to create, I wanted to draw and write and express myself, but I couldn’t find the motivation or the inspiration to do much of anything.

Ideas to Try – Where I Started

Knowing how to recover or get out of a funk is probably the most valued advice I could give or receive. Unfortunately, I have not found the ultimate answer to that puzzle, yet. When I figure it out, I will share it with you. However, there were several things I tried & found, so I’m sharing those with you today.

But what I did do, was let myself have time. Once I was ready, and I felt like I wasn’t forcing creativity, I started watching some Skillshare teachers and seeking inspiration.

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

— J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In my case, I could amend this fantastic quote by Dumbledor to say, “inspiration can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

My Muses: Finding Your Inspiration Dumbledor quote - Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light | ChocolateMusings.com #inspiration #whatinspiresyou

This month I’ve tried to focus on getting back into routine and creating order in my life. I laid out my planner using time blocks so I can organize my time.

Adding a section in my planner called “One Big Goal” – helped me focus on one big purpose for the month. I find that I lose my creativity if I let myself get too distracted and try to do everything at once.

All these efforts have helped restore my creativity, bit by bit.

Here are a few other things that helped me find my inspiration, again

I hope these things will help you find your inspiration, too!

Inspiration Muse #1

Kindle Paperwhite

One of my goals is to read a book per month (or more!). I love physical books, but don’t like taking them around with me. Reading on my phone became problematic because:

  1. It took too much battery
  2. I couldn’t see it in the daylight
  3. Other apps distract me
  4. Reading on the tablet was also problematic because of the battery usage (I never had any juice left to create after using it to read!).

My boss gave me a Kindle Paperwhite for my birthday (thank you to my boss and thanks to husband for giving them that idea). And I LOVE it. It eliminates distraction while reading – no alerts or dings, pop-ups like my phone. The battery lasts like the energizer bunny. Reading in daylight is like reading a book – there’s no glare.

You can read in the bath. Yes, you read that right. It even recommended it on the packaging.

To explain how much I adore this new device, I’m going to channel Dr. Seuss:

You can read on a train, on a plane in a car or at a bar. On a bus? No distraction, only focus. Read outside or in a box, while you take off your socks. Even read in the bath (there’s no aftermath!). The backlight at night is simply a delight! Don’t forget that the device is very light.

-Me

Ok, I’ll stop. I’m excited to read all the Kindle books I’ve collected over the years and borrow many more from my library. If I connect Bluetooth to it, I can listen to my Audible books, too. If you can’t tell, I’m a fan.

You bet I have all of these books queued up!

Inspiration Muse #2

Number Stickers

My creation out of necessity. Because I hated writing numbers over and over again, and when I do, I ALWAYS get out of sequence. But I wanted to use time blocking in my planner, which requires writing the numbers again and again. I created them to fit precisely with a 5mm grid on matte sticker paper. 14 to a sheet – it covers two weeks.

I cut down the sticker to use only the hours in the day that I’m awake – but you could use it any way you want – to track sleep, to plan out your hourly activities or a typical day.

I also have a 1-31 number sticker that I used to create a monthly log. Find them both in my shop!

Inspiration Muse #3

Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning community where there are literally hundreds of classes taught by many individuals on a variety of subjects. I found it over a year ago, and LOVE it. I just counted and I’ve watched more than 125 classes (some more than once). There’s more than just painting, art and lettering. There are SO many choices. It is one of my most favorite places online.

Try for free – watch as many classes as you like. If you’re new or already subscribe to Skillshare, find me over there – @ChocolateMusingsCreates

Some of my favorite classes:

Liz Kohler Brown – Create Cuttings on your iPad – if you have ProcreateApp on an iPad, she is THE artist to follow. She teaches so many courses and I have learned so much.
Kolbie Blume – Beginner’s Galaxy – I recently found her and simply adore her watercolor classes.
Kiki B – Drawing Consistent Letters with Basic Supplies – Taught by one of my friends (we met lettering – ok, we’ve never actually met, but nonetheless she’s my friend). Want to learn how to create letters from scratch? This is an insanely useful class.
Lisa Long – 3D lettering in procreate – making letters look 3D and simply amazing.
Cat Coquillette – Modern Watercolor Techniques – Seriously inspiring! I’ve learned so much from her.
Yasmina Creates – her Doodle Magic class, Thumbnail Sketching, Anyone Can Watercolor, You Can Draw Anything!

Skillshare inspires me when my creativity flows freely, what’s more, is that it encourages creativity when there is but little more than a small trickle or drip of my inspiration.

Here are some of My Favorite Skillshare Projects

Every single one of these projects (plus all the others I’ve done) has inspired some other thing down the line. It’s ok to experiment, it’s ok to find something new to try. Don’t limit yourself.

In Summary: To Find Your Inspiration & Reignite your Creativity – Try Some of These Things:

  • Give yourself time
  • Don’t force it
  • Follow a daily schedule
  • Change your daily schedule
  • Create a time to focus
  • Eliminate distractions
  • Choose one thing
  • Solve a problem (like my number stickers solved a problem for me)
  • Learn something new that has an assignment at the end – so you feel compelled to create

I hope my muses have inspired you in some way. I’d love to know what muses you turn to, and which ones provide the most inspiration.

9 Ideas to Find Your Inspiration (when it's lost) | ChocolateMusings.com #inspiration #whatinspiresyou

How to Draw Circle Wreaths – 3 Simple Ways

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How to Draw Circle Wreaths – 3 Simple Ways

3 Simple Ways How to Draw Circle Wreaths Tutorial | ChocolateMusings.com #circles #howto #floralwreaths

 

If you haven’t noticed, I LOVE using circles in my bullet journal, but I also enjoy using them for quotes or drawing floral wreaths. Drawing circles for floral wreaths isn’t as hard as it seems. Here are 3 simple ways showing you how to draw circles for floral wreaths or any other circle outlines.

Ways to Use Circles

I like to add mini-floral circular wreaths for the numbers on my weeklies. I filled My May Plan With Me with circle floral wreaths.  Floral wreaths are also a great element to add to quotes. Check out my other posts using circles in your bullet journal or art projects.

Note: I drew these circles in pen so you could see them better in the video and I would recommend drawing with a pencil so you can change elements if needed.

Watch How to Draw Circle Wreaths

Can’t see the video? View it on Youtube.

Tools Needed to Draw Circle Wreaths

Basic Art Supplies for Creating Floral Wreaths | ChocolateMusings.com

Paper
Pen/Pencil/Marker
Compass/Circle Maker (optional depending on the type of circle)
Good Music (optional)

Notes about the tools for drawing circle wreaths:

If You’re Watercoloring:

If You’re NOT Watercoloring:

Supplies for Drawing Circle Flower Wreaths | ChocolateMusings.com #floral #flower #wreath #circles

Need ideas for drawing your floral elements?

Check out my post highlighting my favorite Flower Drawing & Reference Books.

Favorite Flower Drawing and Reference Books (and why) + Video Flip Through | ChocolateMusings.com #floral #flower #howtodrawflowers

Create a Single Circle Wreath

Using a compass or a circle maker, choose your center point and how big you want the circle. I always mark the center point with a pencil, by marking the center point makes it easier to add circles in the future if you wish.

Follow the path around and then end your wreath. There! You have a single line wreath that you can add additional elements along the whole way or just partially.

Because there the circle maker has moving parts, it does shift a little when making the circle. I tend to pull outwards with my pen, so my pen doesn’t shift within the little circle and the ring ends up the same size. Try it out, you’ll see what I mean when circle start and ending points don’t exactly match up. A little practice will turn you into a circle-making pro!

Create Easy Floral Wreaths - Single Circle | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreaths #flowerwreath #howto #circle

How to Draw Circles in Multiples

Following the same pattern for the single circle, create a circle once then slightly move the compass up and over and trace in the same selection as the first circle. Then move the compass again just somewhat off your first center mark. (Didn’t I say making that mark would come in handy?) Do this as many times as you like and then add your other floral & leaf elements.

Alternate Technique:

Mark the center point of your circle, that way you could make a single circle as a reference, then draw your floral elements and add more circles afterward.

How To Draw Circle Wreaths - Multiple Circles | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreaths #flowerwreath #howto #circle

How to Draw Circle Wreaths – Freehand – Organic “Nest”

This technique might seem the most daunting, but it’s also the most fun (in my opinion). The trick is to use your shoulder not your wrist to draw the circles and let it do the work. I’ll try and explain it the best I can here, but watching the video gives you a better idea of what I do.

First of all, I raise my hand above the paper so I’m not tempted to use my wrist to make the circular motions (you’ll get weird, uneven circles if you use your wrist). I hold the pen higher than usual so that I can increase the distance from the paper and my hand.

While still holding the pen in the air and not touching the paper, I start to draw circles using my shoulder to guide my arm around. I do this a few times without writing anything, so I can gauge the movement in my shoulder and see how big I’ll make the circles with the current flow.

After I’m happy with the size of circles, I follow the same movement with my shoulder only and gently touch the tip of the pen to the paper and keep going. I usually go around 7-10 times because none of the circles will be perfect. Making several passes helps even out the circles. It also gives a more organic feel, and I think it looks like the start to a bird’s nest.

How To Draw Easy Freehand Circle Wreaths - Freehand | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreaths #flowerwreath #howto #circle

Go and Create!

Where will you use your circle-making skills now? I’d love to see how you draw circle wreaths and how you use them! Tag me on Instagram @ChocolateMusingsCreates

Planning May: What’s Staying vs Changing + April Flip-through

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Planning May: What’s Staying vs Changing from April

What’s staying vs changing (and why!) in my planner for May. My favorite thing to see from other’s journals are the flip-through segments. I decided to slow it down and do a flip-through of the pages that I like and what didn’t work out for me.

what's changing vs staying in my bullet journal from April to May 2018, video flip through

Sneak peeks from the video:

  • After the pen for “All the Things” page
  • Journals for my kids (one for each!) and a little flip-through of those
  • Circle Badges for all the months and days showing off the preview sketches – coming soon to the shop! Thanks to @Darknss (find the handle) for the recommendations!
  • ‘After the pen’ weeklies
  • Writing on spreads that are ‘too pretty’ – spread from the eclipse after the pen
  • Habit by number 
  • Declutter my life two spreads (Initial & Updated)
  • How I bookmark/tab pages with washi tape

Watch the video below and hit the subscribe on the lower right-hand so you’ll be notified when a new video comes out.

Welcome Page

Welcome pages are funny things to me, it took a while for me to start using them because they just seemed like ‘fluff’ pages. They might be ‘fluff pages’ but other planners have welcome pages or monthly separators. It’s usually where the tabs are attached. Last July was my first-ever welcome page and I’ve used one ever since. It almost became a summer seasonal welcome page, but I combined it to the Welcome May and Summer page.

Calendar Page

When I set up my current planner in March, I made the future log pages very large, one month to a page, two months to a spread. I intended to drop monthly pages and just jump straight into weeklies. That lasted all of one month. I need visual planning!

In April I tried again to create a monthly ladder layout, I really love the concept of listing everything in linear form (that’s why I keep going back to it). I think that’s what the original bullet journal was designed with, but a calendar grid works better for me at a glance. In May I’m experimenting with smaller boxes and larger notes areas.

Coming soon! All the months in circular badge format! April’s creation inspired me so much that I sketched out (and started working on the months in this format.

Monthly comparison - ladder style monthly log vs. calendar. What's staying vs changing April to May in my bullet journal

April Weeklies

In April, I chose a common color scheme and theme for the weekly pages. Using a common color scheme across the pages was definitely challenging. It was a fun challenge that I’ll accept month after month. Space and circles dominated my weeklies, I do wish they had a little more structure but that is something I can do in the future. Space is always a fun theme and I like using circles too! In fact, if you didn’t see, I have a whole post about using circles.

give each week in your bullet journals a common theme and color scheme - create variety and unity within your spreads

May Weeklies

The weekly layouts are the biggest changes for the month. I didn’t foresee using a spread per week as summer nears. So I decided to condense two weeks to a spread. Each day still has space for events and notes, it’s just condensed. So far, so good. The boxes are the right size for all the things I need to do, including tasks and events. This just might be a thing when I have less to plan.

For the month of April, I switched to a Sunday start on the weeklies. In May, I am switching it back to Monday start. The May monthly calendar page shows Sunday-Saturday, but the weeklies are Monday-Sunday. The biggest reason is to keep the weekend plans together, it just seems easier (and I like to make my weekends feel bigger).

Trying out: two weeks to a spread - will it work or will I miss all the space?

Collections

All the Things

I created an “All the Things” page to replace the failed “One Line Per Day” page. It is my new favorite page of all, perhaps ever. It was rare that I wrote on the ‘one line per day’ page daily. Instead, I write in spurts when I have a moment to reflect and think. So I would end up with several blank lines and missed details. “All the Things” uses categories instead of days. One section I’m going to add a “to journal” to keep a blurb for the things to add to my kid’s journals.

My new favorite bullet journal page - replaces one line per day

Habit Tracking by Number

I started “Habit Tracking by Number” in April. Using numbers to define my habits made a huge difference in tracking them, but not just tracking, but the motivation to do them. Each habit had a definition and something measurable!

That shift plus the shift in perspective that I needed to give these habits priority instead of trying to do them all in the last moments before I went to bed made a significant difference in my attitude towards these acts I am trying to form into habits.

Personal Habits & Business Habits

I’ll track the same personal habits for May as I did in April and add a section for habits for chocolatemusings.com. Also staying: flip-out habit definitions. I might use that idea on other pages too. And I just realized that I forgot to add a quote to my habits page, that is something I miss. I like motivational quotes on the habit tracker page. Especially the one I created in January.

Things I Miss Already & Things I Love So Far

I loved April’s theme – space, circles and the colors. Lavender fields inspired May’s color scheme, and I really enjoy it, but maybe I need to do a lavender space theme. I enjoyed the whimsy and the free-flow of the different pages. I’m looking forward to the structure of the May boxes because I tend to write until I run out of room. Maybe that’s why I like circles, they are whimsical, but have edges to keep me inside, If I want to.  I really like the two-to-a-spread weeklies so far.

question mark - chocolatemusings.comQuestion:

What pages in your journal do you change-up every month and what do you keep?

plan your life so you live beautifully

~Tricia