March 2018 Plan With Me: Two Favorite Weekly Layouts + Video

March 22, 2018 2 Comments

March 2018 Plan With Me: Weekly Layouts

This month’s weekly layouts/spreads are very simple, but I used a couple of my very favorites. Don’t get me wrong I love to try new things and paint in my journal, but I also like to plan a productive month. Sometimes you just need a month without frills and these two designs are minimal, functional, and lovely if I do say so myself. Watch the set-up video below for how I set up the weeklies this month with the two different layouts I used.

Reverse “To Do List”

One new thing included in each week is the #InMy10Minutes section. It’s kind of like a reverse to-do list. Where I take 10 minutes per day (sometimes multiple segments), and I try to get as much done in those few minutes as I possibly can. Then I take just a minute to jot down what I did. This action combats the feeling of inadequacies. It also helps me realize that even on days where I feel like I got nothing done, that is not true.

March minimal weekly layouts with #inmy10minutes reverse to do list

Don’t Get Caught Up in the Inadequacies

#InMy10Minutes In My 10 minutes 10 minute tasks, how many things can you do in 10 minutes? I took a deep breath, cleaned the sink, spruced my reflections, shined the throne, make the bathroom floor sparkle, swept and scoured the kitchen, did the dishes - what did you do in your 10 minutes

Despite the ever-growing to-do list each week, this little box reminds me of what I did do. One day I might jot down that I took 10 minutes to read my kids a story before they went to bed, listened to each of their prayers, talked with them about their plans for the next day, and kissed them goodnight. Those 10 minutes were more fulfilling than a whole day of errands, and those are the kinds of things I want to remember. Other days I might feel very accomplished and clean four rooms with a flurry of activity. And yet other days, in 10 minutes I read a chapter in a book for some much-needed downtime. Try it out! Include a section in your daily/weekly/monthly spread to remind you of all the things you DID do. Tag me on social media (@ChocolateMusingsCreates) and use #InMy10Minutes. Check out the headers/layouts in my Shop! I’m adding more all the time – so check back often.

Some Weeks Are NO JOKE!

Despite my best-laid plans, some weeks just knock you down.However, since I spent the whole of March planning ahead, a whole week out didn’t completely frustrate me, I’m behind, but not frustrated. So this is how I logged a week with strep, double ear infections, and a hacked computer.

What to do after a terrible week. Write large and turn the page.

Next Month’s Plans

Next month I’ve planned out all sorts of circles – what goes better than circles than space & planets?

Question:

Do you have a go-to spread for your weekly or daily pages?

January Week #1 Bicycle Weekly – Using Objects in your Design

January 5, 2018 3 Comments

Using Objects in your Weekly Layout

Bicycle Weekly

I love the idea of using objects as functional pieces of my layout. I call this one ‘Bicycle Weekly’. Just so it adds some extra flair to the page and changes it up. Especially for the weeks I don’t have a lot of plans. This week was perfect because the kids wouldn’t go back to school until Thursday. So I used the big wheel from the bike to track weekly ‘to dos’ and appointments, the small wheel for dinner meal plans. I’m not saying that every week should be like this, but it is fun for a change every once in a while.

Question:

Do you have any objects you’ve included in your bullet journal as part of your design? What’s your favorite? Or do you have one that you want to include but just can’t find a way?

Bicycle Weekly: Turning objects into functional designs in your bullet journal: bicycle spokes for a weekly layout:

This Week’s Layout

This week I sketched out the circles and added details to the penny farthing bike (I think that’s what it’s called). The tiny 7 boxes on the right are so I can include flower doodles – which I want to start learning to draw. As you saw on the welcome page for 2018/January (or if you haven’t seen it, view it here). You can also watch an overview wrapping up December and the January’s spreads planned out. For those of you who are nervous about creating circles – never fear! I am working on a post to put your mind at ease when creating circles.

Monthly Theme: Transportation

This month’s theme is transportation. I was going to do superheroes but somehow the bullet train found its way in and that was it. I came up with a different type of transportation for each week. The last week I was running out of ideas – and I just could not get that cruise ship to look like a cruise ship! Ah well.

Here is the Plan With Me Video – watch below and if you’d like to see more, subscribe on YouTube. I already drew out the circles, so now it was adding details to make it look like a bike.

Just Keep Pedaling

Through writing this post, I’ve come up with several other ideas to help you in your bullet journal journey. I’m very excited for them (you might even get a sneak peek of my very first entry in my first attempt at bullet journaling!) My bullet journal has become a companion of sorts. It makes the adventure even better (in my opinion, of course). I’ve always needed some sort of notebook or planner but I have never found one that speaks…well…. speaks my language. I think bullet journaling and I soul mates. Did I just say that? Well if it’s posted on the internet, it’s true, right?!

I hope you have a fabulous week!

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

~Tricia

2018 in a word: Grow

January 1, 2018 6 Comments

In November I started thinking about where I wanted to go in 2018. I’ve never had a theme for a year let alone a ‘word’ for the year. 2017 has been so momentous for me. It’s a wonderful feeling to rediscover yourself and finally feel like you are on the path of goodness in your life. That’s where 2017 led me. I found it by bullet journaling and once I started that, the creativity bubbled out once again. So why is my word for 2018 Grow?

Why ‘Grow’?

I tucked my creativity away years ago – I just let life take over and honestly, those were a few miserable years. I call those the dark ages of my life. Once I found creativity, doodling, lettering, journaling, all enabled through Bullet Journaling, it was like a light opened and shined down like rays of sunshine on my soul.

Once this miraculous thing happened to me, I felt the need to spread this joy to others. Astounding changes started happening in my life. I truly felt the need to spread this experience to others who are stumbling through the dark ages of their own lives and I wanted to help them rediscover the creativity that was once lost.

What’s Next?

I would like to grow further. There are so many ways I want to grow. Grow a business, grow in my talents, grow spiritually, Essentially as a person, I want to enhance myself and become a better person. That is what “Grow” means to me.

I am not saying my journey is complete, but I would like to gather others along the way, grow with them and inspire them to grow on their own. I’m excited to start a year of growth and see where I end up at the end of 2018.

Read the pre-planning post for 2018 & watch the video to get a sneak peek of my weekly & monthly set up for January 2018.

Question:

Do you have a word or a phrase for the coming year? What’s your take on a ‘word’ for the year?

Watch the Video below to see my Hello 2018, Hello January Spread in my Bullet Journal.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

~Tricia

Weekly Layout – Mini Time Block + Pumpkins & Mummy Text

October 21, 2017 4 Comments

Simple Weekly Horizontal Spread with Mini-Time Block with Pumpkins & Mummified text

It is nearly the end of October! What happened? This month went by faster than September! This month has had some ups and downs. I think I take on too much emotionally. I internalize everything. Journaling has helped me overcome this and get me out a slump or help me pull myself back up and keep moving on. I created a simple weekly horizontal spread with a larger place for daily ‘to dos’ and a small area for time-blocking.

This spread focuses focus on just the area of time that I am struggling with – the evening time, which is when I do a majority of my blog/video work. I find that if I am slipping into a slump of some kind simplifying gives me freedom, which reignites my creativity. This is a HUGE reason why I am an advocate for my bullet journal. I have the flexibility to change things week-to-week or even day-to-day based on what I need.

Weekly Horizontal Bullet Journal with mini-time blocking and cute pumpkin doodles

Last week I tried to time block my whole day but left little room for those pesky ‘to dos’ that creep up but don’t need a time-slot. If I start using dailies, I think that weekly overview of the time blocks would be more beneficial. I haven’t made the leap to using a daily planner yet.

Ways to use the time block

In the video, I thought I might write the tasks assigned to the time block below, using brackets to designate the tasks for the block of time. But I could instead use color to appoint blocks of time assigned to a task. Hmmm.

Left side weekly spread view, pumpkin details and time blocking are sure to warm up that inspiration | Chocolate Musings

Cohesive Weekday Plans and Off-the-Cuff Weekends

I start my weeks on Monday if nothing else to make my weekends look larger. But I like having my weekdays together – it makes things feel more cohesive. A little section for meals, general ‘to dos’, fill up what might be considered the un-scripted bottom part on the left page.

Saturday and Sunday nestle nicely together. I do not time block those days – we do lots of family things like going to the park or playing frisbee outside or in the cul-de-sac or building the tallest Lego tower ever so Lego Batman can scale to the top of the table or going to QT (QuikTrip – a local gas station that has fun drinks!) that are completely unscripted and usually spur-of-the-moment type activities. Sometimes, we just sit and watch a movie. Often times, my little girl (who is turning 6 tomorrow! – what???), will ask me to show her my art for the week and she will try out my techniques. She saw my ‘mummy video’ (see the post here on how to create mummy text) and immediately tried it out.

If I have errands or events, I will jot them down in the Saturday/Sunday slots – but those days usually stay pretty clear.

YouTube Planning Video

I created a video of my set up for this week. Watch the video below or on my YouTube Channel here. Don’t forget to like and subscribe for future videos.

Mummy Text and Script Hand Writing

I discovered that making Mummified text was so much fun – and completely appropriate for the nearing holiday, I added some mummy text to the weekday names. If you missed it, here is the tutorial for making mummy text or mummy pumpkins or mummied mummys. Whatever you wish to mummify. The orange washi tape is to mark my monthly calendar (see the set-up here). I love the sparkle!

Doodle Details

I love the days written over the top of doodled pumpkins and the swirls of the green vines on the pumpkins below. Just enough whimsy and doodle to keep the page interesting, but give enough space to write and plan and all the things.

Overall

Overall I love this Simple Weekly Horizontal Spread. It has enough space to plan and create and enough function to accommodate schedules.

Mummy text and cursive writing mix for days of the week | Bullet Journal Weekly Layout with Mini-Time Block

Weekly planner layout with mini-time block and fall doodles

How to Draw Mummy Text + 2 bonus ways to use this technique

October 19, 2017 3 Comments

How to Draw Mummy Text

I created a mummy! No, I am not Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster or an Egyptian of old preparing a Pharoah for the afterlife. Nothing like that. I just created mummy font. An easy way to create a Halloween lettering effect without having to be fancy schmancy. In the video, I give you the how to draw your own mummy text with a step-by-step method of lettering mummified words with hints, tips & tricks.

Enjoy!

Here are some tips from the video:

#1 Font Tip:

You will lose detail from your word sketch, do not use a font with a lot of details.

#2 Font Tip:

Start with a thicker-font type (Arial Black is what I used for inspiration for the initial text) – that way you can show more great mummy details!

#3 Mummy Tip

Use different shapes such as triangles going in opposite directions to create variety in the wrapping.

#4 Mummy Tip

Add some rectangles in the mix of the triangles to create variety

#5 Mummy Tip

Start in different corners to give even more variety

#6 Mummy Tip

Extend your ‘wrappings’ beyond the lines of your sketched text to make it look bulky like a bandage

#7 Mummy Tip

When going around corners or curves, think of that time you hurt your knee or elbow and wrapped it with that bulky ace bandage? Think about how it stretched around your knee or elbow and bunched up in the crook of the inner part of your elbow. Do the same thing with the triangles around the curves.

#8 Tying it off

Like toilet paper trailing after an unsuspecting person exiting a public bathroom make it flow like a ribbon. You could also connect two letters together with a single ribbon connector instead of ending each one separately like I did.

#9 Bonus Techniques for Drawing the Mummy Text

Use this in other ways like wrapping the stems of flowers for a rustic bouquet or making a sweet, swaddled baby for celebrating at Christmas time or when a new baby arrives in your life.

#10 Super-Speedy Version of the video

This super-speedy version is the perfect size to share!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on “How to Draw Mummy Text”

Don’t forget to pin for later & follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration.
Follow @ChocolateMusingsCreates

P.S.

This would go perfectly in a bullet journal or planner for Halloween – just to change-up the headers for a month or week!

Want to know what I used to create this? I’ll tell you. (Contains affiliate links)

HP 32 LB smooth paper
Sakura Pigma Micron Pens
Papermate Mechanical Pencil
Waterpens
Watercolors

Microphone
Tripod
Camera
Editing software: Adobe Premiere