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Chocolate Musings

Set your goals - make the plans - artfully create your life - live it beautifully. Grab the good chocolate and find your muse.

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Home » hand drawing

The Easy Way to Draw Flowers With Marker Tips

May 13, 2019 4 Comments

How to create flowers {without drawing} + Video Tutorial | ChocolateMusings.com #florals #floral #draw #howto

The Easy Way to Draw Flowers (Without Actually Drawing!)


Drawing flowers without drawing them? Sounds like a trick, right? It’s not. Last week, I showed you how to create 3 simple circles for floral wreaths. Today, I wanted to show you the easy way to draw flowers without {actually} drawing them! Now you can add easy flower wreaths to your bullet journal or around quotes or add flower doodles… The possibilities are endless.

The Trick to Create flowers Without Drawing Tutorial | ChocolateMusings.com #howtodraw #drawing #flowers

Supplies Needed:

The only supplies you need for drawing easy flowers are a brush pen with a flexible tip and a piece of paper.

In my video, I used Tombow dual brush pens, but any other brush pen would work, too! A brush pen works well in this case because the marker has a pointy tip and a rounded base, kind of like a rounded triangle. The bigger the pen, the larger the flower. See below for some examples of easy flower doodles. Guess what? They’re all created without drawing and only using the tip of a brush pen. I even tried it with Crayola markers and they worked too!

Create Easy Flower Doodles {Without Drawing} Tutorial + Video | ChocolateMusings.com #tutorial #howtodraw #flowers

Featured from left to right:

  • Sta Metallic Brush Pen
  • Sharpie Brush Pen
  • Crayola Markers (I know these aren’t a brush pen, but they seem to work, too)
  • Tombow Dual Brush Markers
  • Water pen with watercolor paint
  • Pentel Touch Brush Pens

Watch the video below to see how I draw flowers {without really drawing flowers} then make sure to hit subscribe!

Can’t see the video? Watch it on my YouTube Channel.

The Technique to Create Flowers Without Drawing Them:

Depending on the way you tilt your brush, you can make different shape flowers or leaves. Press straight down with the brush pen to leave an impression of the marker, like a stamp. Make sure you press down from the tip to the rounded base and lift straight up, so you don’t smudge it.

How to Draw Floral Wreaths {Without Knowing How to Draw Flowers} + Video | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreath #flowers #howtodraw How to Draw Flowers Using ONLY a Brush Tip Marker | ChocolateMusings.com #howtodraw #draw #flowers #brushmarker How to Draw Floral Wreaths {Without Knowing How to Draw Flowers} + Video | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreath #flowers #howtodraw

Point the tip inward to create a rounded petal shape. If you turn the pen the opposite direction so the tip points outward, you can create a leaf or a bud. I added a darker color on top, in some cases, for more contrast. You can blend the two colors together, but that’s not necessary. You can also choose to stack your petals closer together and create the look of a daisy or separate them out as well.

TIP: Just remember to push straight down and pull straight up with the marker tip – if you move side to side, you’ll leave a streaky mess.

Another fun detail to add once the marker is completely dry on the paper is to add loose outlines with a fine-tipped black pen. Then add in some extra details – like change the shape of the petals or add an interior layer of petals.

Create Easy Flower Doodles to your planner or bullet journal {Without Drawing} Tutorial + Video | ChocolateMusings.com #tutorial #howtodraw #flowers
The No-Draw Brush Marker Flower Tutorial - Add Outlines for Fun Detail | ChocolateMusings.com #tutorial #drawing #flowers

There are lots of ways to easily create flowers without drawing them! One other way is to add dots and specs of color like the freehand wreath below.

Freehand Floral Wreath - Different way to draw flowers | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreath #silver #doodle

Let me know what you think in the comments below and tag me on
Instagram @ChocolateMusingsCreates because I’d love to see some projects you create.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day - Tricia

4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Creating Art - Watercolor, Painting & Drawing, Get Creative, Tutorials & How To Tagged: drawing, flower drawing for beginners, flowers, hand drawing, how to, how to draw flowers, line drawing, Tutorial

Ready for Take Off: Lessons Learned – January Monthly

January 11, 2018 3 Comments

Lessons Learned from Bullet Journaling

Every month I learn something new from bullet journaling. This month is no different. This month, one of the lessons learned from Bullet Journaling I’ve learned is that open boxes are fun. I did it in my January future log and continued the trend in my January Monthly Calendar. Not all boxes have to be perfect or closed off.

The background art took up more room than I wanted to give at first. But then the colors just seemed so beautiful I couldn’t let them go. So I didn’t fight it and just let things meet where they wanted to meet. I don’t get a lot done the last week of the month anyway right? But the more I look at it, the better I like it. Another lesson learned is that I need to leave room in my life for art and for the ‘things to do’.

(FYI I tried to find the inspiration picture for this spread so I could share it and now I cannot find it anywhere – I looked at it once briefly know how to draw the back of an airplane and I loved how the sunset looked with the clouds) Lesson here: save the picture to your Pinterest board, you so you can find it again.

Monthly Calendar Set up with theme - "Ready for Take Off" - lessons learned from bullet journaling + process video

Intentions Foiled – Ready for Take Off, Anyway

I fully intended to do a whole year’s worth of flowers and foliage and the like as my yearly theme is ‘grow’. However, the transportation theme just built on itself and each doodle became more and more fun (just wait until the mid-month habit check – I think that layout is my absolute favorite for the month). So what can I learn from this seeming mishap? I learned to just let inspiration take place. Crazy that I can learn from bullet journaling, but it seems to have a lot to teach me.

What has Bullet Journaling Taught Me This Month?

I guess you could say that Bullet Journaling has taught me how to compromise. Sometimes what I think is very important at first is actually not important after all. Am I making a big deal about something that truly doesn’t matter why not just be open to new ideas? Who knew a little-dotted notebook could hold such insight in its blank pages? Who knew it held life lessons that years of living have not been able to teach me yet?

I think that all this drawing and journaling and planning have gotten into my brain and tried to make me a better person. I’d better let it do its magic and learn how to compromise in real life. I think I’ll take a cue from my monthly theme and let the good things take off. It’s easier to let things come naturally and not force them. I learned that when creating this month’s group of spreads. Just allow the inspiration to come and learn from it.

Recap: Lessons Learned (just this month!) from Bullet Journaling

  • Open box design is fun
  • Leave room in my life for art AND for ‘things to do’
  • Intentions aren’t always what you need
  • Intentions don’t always give inspiration
  • Compromise – if something doesn’t work out the way you want it, don’t just say no at first. You might enjoy it.
  • Allow yourself to become a better person

Question:

What unexpected objects have inspired your life lessons? Let me know in the comments below!

Watch the process video below for how I painted/set up this page.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Organized & Start Planning, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2018, Planner Spreads Tagged: #BuJo, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, bullet journal spread, bullet journaling, creativity, hand drawing, hand drawn, January, January 2018, learning, lessons from bullet journaling, Lessons Learned, monthly, monthly calendar, monthly layout, monthly log, plan with me, self-improvement

Look on the Bright Side – It’s About Perspective | Life in Comics

October 4, 2017 Leave a Comment

Life in Perspective

So this happened yesterday. No, I did not randomly come across snails painting Mona Lisa portraits, but a painting of mine got smudged by a well-intentioned significant other. It was a painting for someone else. There’s no saving it, I will have to redo it. I went to bed last night trying to control my anger. I tried to keep things in perspective – that there are bigger problems in life. However, my subconscious was serving up dreams that would have said that I was angry. My vibrant dreams were riddled with me running away and crying.

Positive Perspective - snails painting and learning to look on the bright side, even after the worst seemed to happen

Perspective is a Choice

But the thing is, I don’t want to feel angry with my significant other. He didn’t mean to. If I were completely honest with myself this painting for someone else and the quality was not up to my expected standard. I would be embarrassed to give it to them. It needed to be redone. It’s just hard to admit that after you’ve spent time and energy producing something that could be classified as just ‘alright’.

I will redo the painting, and this time, I will be proud of the end product. But what’s more, is that this idea of life in comics actually took shape. You see, I have had this idea for a month or so, but how to implement this idea was elusive. So as I dreamt in my restless state, the ideas formed and came together.

I woke up early this morning, even before my 8-month-old woke up. I created what was in my mind in about 45 minutes. Where in the past, it took me hours and I would end up with nothing to show for it. It’s amazing when and how inspiration comes. It was a very welcome change, especially since I’ve been in a slump for really being productive and getting things done.

So here’s to the choice of looking on the bright side and finding good in every situation. It’s all about perspective. And perspective is a choice.

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Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Fun with Handlettering, Get Creative Tagged: #BuJo, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, creativity, hand drawing, hand drawn, hand lettering, Inspire, leuchtturm1917, life in comics, musings, painting, positive, positivity, quotation, quote, Quotes, self-improvement, snails

Hello October – Smells Like Fresh Baked Apple Pie – Monthly Welcome Page

September 28, 2017 4 Comments

Hello, October. You smell like fall. You smell like freshly baked apple pie.

If you don’t like apple pie, no worries, I’ll make apple crisp – you like that right? I’ll make extra topping.

You sound like the leaves crunching under my feet and the cool, crisp fall nights perfect for stargazing near a fire as it crackles into the night and then slowly dies to embers glowing in the moonlight. Oh Hello, October.

Hello, October. You taste like pumpkin spice.

You feel like the cozy socks I’m always tempted to wear and the heat seeping through the mug of hot chocolate as I enjoy the onset of a cooler season. If I didn’t know any better, I might say you are my favorite. Summer is fun, but it is so chaotic and unstructured. October feels like the time to slow down and enjoy life after school has started, schedules are in place, and before the craziness of Thanksgiving and Christmas set in.

October feels like a time to dream, so if it is chilly or not, if the leaves are falling or if they are staying green on the tree branches, pick up a good book, and let your imagination go. Daydream of the best times of your life. Or create a fall bucket list and enjoy this time of year.

Hello October Welcome Page

Choosing a Theme

Halloween is always a fun theme for October. The festivities are at the end of the month, so you have a full month of enjoying little critters and ghastly ghouls. But this time, I decided to paint a pie. Truth be told, it would be the first pie I’ve ever made. Yes – that includes baking. I bake a terrific apple crisp, but I have never really attempted a pie.

Page Overview:

What I found difficult was getting the right color in the painting – showing a golden brown, not orange, and not burnt. Just enough orange and brown to make the pie look like it recently came out of the oven. The other thing is what to do between the lattice-work? I looked at lots of pictures of pies for reference and got very hungry doing it.

Overall – I’m pleased with the page – especially being that it is my first pie. The apples are my first painted apples as well. So many new things!

Typically my welcome pages for the months are on the right side, but I thought I would be great to include my monthly goals & monthly to-do list. I secretly think I just wanted to come back to this page and salivate as I look at the pie.

I know we are always overly critical of our own work, so I will admit that I like the “Hello October” but I think I could have done better on the “Monthly Goals and To Do” my spacing is a bit scrunched at the end. I’ll just put that on my to-do list for next month. That is one thing I have learned from my bullet journal. I have learned that it is ok with things that aren’t perfect. Sounds strange coming from a self-proclaimed perfectionist.

Now that this is done…

I may actually create a bucket list for October just because it has given me all the feels.

Leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite thing about fall is – and what is on your fall bucket list. I’d love some ideas! I’ve included a list of items I used in this post below. Enjoy!

Hello October Welcome Page

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Fun with Handlettering, Get Creative, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2017, Planner Spreads Tagged: #BuJo, autumn, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, hand drawing, Hello October, leuchtturm1917, modern calligraphy, monthly log, monthly setup, monthly spread, page layout, plan with me, planner, welcome page

Life Lessons from a Trapped Hummingbird | Journal Prompts

September 13, 2017 2 Comments

The other day I walked into a garage and a tiny hummingbird was struggling to find its way out. The tiny fellow kept flying up into the ceiling for hours. I tried opening just the garage door and turning off all the lights, and yet it did not recognize the solution to its predicament. The problem for the sacred bird was that it did not stop to see how he could get out. In this case, to be free, he needed to fly down and out. But it kept fluttering against the ceiling. Eventually, I was able to catch the bird gently between two brooms with a light blanket draped between the bristles. I brought the bird down gently, walked out of the garage and let the tiny bird go. It fluttered quickly away.

A few days later, in the same garage, another bird (or maybe the same one??) was trapped. This time, the bird was so exhausted that it was easily caught by hand. We gave the tiny bird some sugar water, and when strong enough, it opened its wings and flew gratefully away, leaving a feather that spoke of how delicate the petite bird was.

Hummingbird and Feather held by hand | Life Lessons from a Trapped Hummingbird - Journal Prompt | ChocolateMusings.com #journalprompt #lifelessons #hummingbird

I love finding correlations between life events {no matter how small or large} and applying them to life.

In these cases, I could see that the hummingbirds wanted to get out, they wanted freedom. They were doing what they thought was best, by continually going up. In life, we want to go up, make more money, increase our happiness, climb the social or corporate ladder, up, up up. Sometimes, however, we get too caught up with progression to actually progress.

I am not a counselor or a therapist, but these are questions I ask myself to find out where I am, where I want to go, and what is keeping me from getting there.

Here are questions to ask yourself about your life goals:

  • Do I know where I want to go?

If your answer is ‘no’, stop and ask yourself what it is you want in a week, a month, a year. It could be your lack of goals that is keeping you from moving forward.

Then ask yourself:

  • Where am I right now?
  • Where do I want to go?
  • What is stopping me from achieving what I want?

Are we like this hummingbird who so desperately wants to go up, but cannot see that the way out is not up? Sometimes if you just take a moment to adjust your view, you can fly higher than you ever thought possible.

Watercolor hummingbird with paint pallets

Sometimes you have to question your “whys” as well.

  • Why do I need this?
  • Would I be happier just to move on?

If you are happier just to move on then re-evaluate your goals. It’s my opinion that your goals should always bring some sort of happiness. I’m not saying that every step of the way will be peaches and pie (is that a real saying or did I just make it up?) but goals need to be something that brings your mind peace and your soul some sort of happiness or satisfaction.

The solution to your problem could be just a “paused moment” away. If we just take a moment and meditate on our problem we can see the solution clearly. Other times, there is no way for us to escape or move on without the help of someone else. Do not be ashamed to ask for help. In fact, it takes a great deal of bravery to ask for help.

How Many Times Will We…

How many times will a hummingbird flutter into utter exhaustion just because it won’t stop to really look at the situation? How many times will we walk away from our goals and our desires because we get frustrated with hitting a ‘ceiling’?

Before you become completely exhausted, stop, and look around.

Can you see another solution? If not, ask yourself:

  • Who can help me?
  • What resources do I need?
  • Is there another solution?
  • What can I change to keep moving?

Learn from the lesson of the trapped hummingbird to solve your problem and if you need, ask for help.

Did you see any other life lessons from my hummingbird/life correlation? What did you learn? What would you use from this experience?

It’s amazing how objects and situations can take on a deeper meaning if you apply them to your life and learn from them. I painted this hummingbird a couple months before this recent experience with the hummingbirds in the garage. I look at this painting with renewed eyes and a fresh new perspective. This correlation will perhaps change the way I see these creatures going forward and it will be an opportunity to remind myself to pause, and really assess where I am in achieving my goals.

I gathered other inspiration when painting this hummingbird from the 300 Drawing Prompts Book. I love vibrant colors and how the colors shimmer, blend, and transition.

Hummingbird watercolor painting progression

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

One other hummingbird-to-life correlation is that the video (below) is close to hyper speed (okay, maybe not that fast, but it is sped up… a lot). Don’t compare yourself to other people just because they are moving faster than you. Be certain that you are seeing all the details.

For instance: This video is just under 2 minutes. But the painting took about an hour and a half to complete. All the times when I dipped my brush in the ink are removed. I edited out the time that I stood up and stretched my legs and removed out the long conversation with my husband and left the camera running (oops).

I looked at picture after picture before I even put pencil to paper to find inspiration for this lovely little fellow. My point is, it takes a while to do things, but you may be only seeing the final result.

Just a thought to end my life lesson journey. I hope you enjoy.

I learned many things from the plight of the fragile little hummingbird. One thing I have to remind myself is that there are people around that love me and want to help me and I have to ask for help.

Hummingbird watercolor

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Habits, Journal Prompts & Ideas Tagged: 300 drawing prompts, drawing prompts, hand drawing, Hummingbird, Inspire, life lessons, musings, painting, piccadilly, water color, watercolor

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About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

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