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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 » Whimsical Watercolor Travel Theme: April 2020 Planner Set Up

Whimsical Watercolor Travel Theme: April 2020 Planner Set Up

March 31, 2020 1 Comment

Bullet Journal Theme: Whimsical Watercolor Travel - bright colors & an illustrated feel to the graphics provide a fun, whimsical day-brightning theme for this month's plans. | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #plannertheme

Welcome to April! I know I’m ready for a new month, how about you? Here is my Bullet Journal theme for April – I call it Whimsical Watercolor Travel.

There are so many places I’d like to travel but haven’t done it. I could blame it on life, and kids, etc. But in reality, I know that it’s because I haven’t made it a priority. Maybe I’ll change that once the world calms down a bit.

April Theme: Whimsical Watercolor Travel

City Skyline Pencil Sketch - Bullet Journal Welcome Page | ChocolateMusings.com #sketch #bulletjournal #welcomepage

Honestly, I penciled in this month’s theme about 3 months ago – not knowing that most of the world would be on a complete travel ban and in the current situation we are in due to the worldwide pandemic. But that doesn’t mean I can’t dream, does it? In fact, I think the ability to dream and plan outside of our circumstances is keeping most of us sane right now.

I’m a firm believer that we all need some whimsy in our lives, and I think I added just the right amount to this month’s travel theme.

Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Water Reflection Detail Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Close up detail of Lettering Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Watercolor bullet train bullet journal weekly layout travel theme | ChocolateMusings.com #bullettrain #bulletjournal #weekly

I decided to experiment with watercolors and see how masking fluid worked in my notebook. First off, I masked off the entire building skyline on the welcome page. Secondly, I masked off part of the brick mortar in the bullet train weekly spread.

Spoiler alert: the masking fluid worked perfectly, and I plan on using it again.

Watch for my blog post demonstrating how to use masking fluid in your planner because I love using masking fluid + watercolor paints.

Side note – if you’re looking for some great quotes for your planner – check out my post where I compiled 75+ quotes on resilience perfect for motivation! I collected them with the idea that I wanted to calm the chaos and take control over what I could control.

Pages in this Month’s Planner

The pages I included in this month’s plans are:

  • Welcome Page
  • Monthly Calendar View – this page also has space at the bottom to write my goals. Look for the one with the suitcase & street signs.
  • Weeklies for each week with lots of room to make notes or make journal entries. Pro Tip: need more room? Attach an extra piece of paper to the page with washi tape.
  • The weeklies are: Hot Air Balloons, Bullet Train, Little Red Truck with Flowers, Metallic Bicycle, Flying Red Wagon
  • The last page for this month is my Brain Dump Page. By the way, if you don’t like the term “brain dump” find my list of different names for brain dump here. The brain dump page is essential for me. I love having a place to write down all the random thoughts that don’t have a home otherwise.
  • Not shown – I added a weekly task checklist with washi tape to each page. I’ll add a blog post about this later.

Go ahead, pin your favorites.

Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Bright fun watercolor hot air balloons - weekly bullet journal layout travel themed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor
Watercolor bullet train bullet journal weekly layout travel theme | ChocolateMusings.com #bullettrain #bulletjournal #weekly
Whimsical watercolor bike painting with metallic watercolor dots - horizontal weekly layout | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor
Little red truck with flowers bullet journal weekly layout, fun whimsical watercolor | ChocolateMusings.com #weekly #watercolor #bulletjournal
Travel theme bullet journal monthly calendar - watercolor suitcase & street sign | ChocolateMusings.com #monthlylayout #bulletjournal #travel
Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas
When wagons fly whimsical weekly bullet journal vertical layout | ChocolateMusings.com #wagons #weekly #bulletjournal

Things I learned while creating this month’s whimsical watercolor travel theme:

  1. Go easy on the water. The Scribbles That Matter notebook holds up to a lot of watercolors, but even its pages become saturated and bleed-through if you use too much water to blend paint on the page.
  2. The second thing I learned: Masking fluid works very well! I wasn’t sure how well the paper would react to the masking fluid, especially peeling off the masking fluid once finished.
  3. The third thing I learned while creating this month’s whimsical travel theme is that coming up with a lot of different designs for hot air balloons on the fly (ha!) was hard. Hmmm, maybe I should make a page of pattern ideas – it would work for hot air balloons or Easter eggs.

I have to admit that the watermelon one is my favorite – I also love the nod to Charlie Brown design on the end.

Bright fun watercolor hot air balloons - weekly bullet journal layout travel themed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor

Bullet Trains in a Bullet Journal

By the way, it’s not the first time I’ve used a bullet train in my bullet journal. I find it funny to use a bullet train in a bullet journal. January 2018 featured a bullet train for my future log. In this case, I painted with Crayola markers instead of watercolor paints!

If you’re curious, here’s a tutorial on how to paint with markers. Wondering what supplies you’ll need? You need a kitchen plate (no joke!), Crayola markers, and a water pen or water brush). Creating doesn’t have to be complicated.

Sparkle Watercolors Vs. Regular Watercolor Paints

Another fun thing I learned is that sparkle watercolors bleed more than regular watercolors. Ok, it’s not really ‘fun’ per se, but it’s good to note. Be aware of how much water you use if you use sparkle or metallic watercolor paints in your bullet journal.

FYI: I’m not going to stop using them. #becausesparkles

If you follow me on Instagram, you might notice that I love using circles of all kinds in my bullet journal. You can create a lot of whimsy and use fun colors in your bullet journal just by coloring in a circle and adding spots of color.

Finally, I learned how to create a super fun new cloud font. It’s fun and not complicated!

Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas

What Did You Think?

It felt good to try some new, fun techniques and to paint. Painting always soothes my soul. I would recommend finding something that creates peace in your life, especially when dealing with a stressful or unknown situation.

I hope you enjoyed this whimsical travel theme and that it inspired you to try something new or experiment with a new technique.

Keep in mind that your planner doesn’t have to be all about making plans and crossing off your to-do list (because let’s be honest – you crave a little creativity to spice up a boring planner). I think in addition to getting things done, it can be about learning, creating & documenting. That’s how I use my planner, and I encourage you to try using your planner for building your dreams and recording more than just your tasks.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day - Tricia
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YouTube Video UCefWa0NWVt5a_q9LWofOWhw_yIQ4ggBQBsg From the Archives: Fun & Whimsical Bullet Journal Set Up - Ideas and Plants - Loose floral wreaths
Lots of spring-inspired doodles with pastel colors. I changed it up this month with horizontal weekly layouts.


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Brain Dump Names: https://chocolatemusings.com/different-names-brain-dump/

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Products I Used: 
Daniel Smith Watercolor: https://amzn.to/3Ip8xbD
Princeton Velvetouch Paint Brushes: https://amzn.to/42IVnPQ
Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: https://archerandolive.refr.cc/triciam
Helix Circle Maker Tool: https://amzn.to/49kx5xY
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: https://amzn.to/42MogKR



Video Set-Up:

Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing). They're amazing https://amzn.to/2shdb4j
Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera https://amzn.to/3yt2lb4
Blue Yeti - USB Microphone https://amzn.to/2SNwb6a
Scissor Arm Mic Stand https://amzn.to/2CcGgm0






Contains affiliate links - if you use them, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you.
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Sneak Peek
00:33 Welcome Page
01:26 Monthly Calendar
02:42 Brain Dump
03:34 Weeklies
05:35 Journal
06:17 Habit Tracker
06:55 Flip Through
From the Archives: Fun & Whimsical Bullet Journal Set Up - Ideas and Plants - Loose floral wreaths
Lots of spring-inspired doodles with pastel colors. I changed it up this month with horizontal weekly layouts.


____________________

Brain Dump Names: https://chocolatemusings.com/different-names-brain-dump/

Social Links - Let's be Friends!
Website: http://ChocolateMusings.com
Shop: https://chocolatemusings.com/shop/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateMusings
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/chocolatemusingscreates
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChocolateMusings/

____________________


Products I Used: 
Daniel Smith Watercolor: https://amzn.to/3Ip8xbD
Princeton Velvetouch Paint Brushes: https://amzn.to/42IVnPQ
Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: https://archerandolive.refr.cc/triciam
Helix Circle Maker Tool: https://amzn.to/49kx5xY
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: https://amzn.to/42MogKR



Video Set-Up:

Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing). They're amazing https://amzn.to/2shdb4j
Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera https://amzn.to/3yt2lb4
Blue Yeti - USB Microphone https://amzn.to/2SNwb6a
Scissor Arm Mic Stand https://amzn.to/2CcGgm0






Contains affiliate links - if you use them, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you.
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Sneak Peek
00:33 Welcome Page
01:26 Monthly Calendar
02:42 Brain Dump
03:34 Weeklies
05:35 Journal
06:17 Habit Tracker
06:55 Flip Through
From the Archives: Fun & Whimsical Bullet Journal Set Up - Experimenting with Watercolor Leaves in my Bullet Journal. Featuring 2-to-a-spread weeklies and a loosely painted watercolor theme - I hope this planning session inspires you to paint or to try something new.


00:00 Introduction
00:15 Welcome Page Wreath
01:41 Monthly Calendar Page
03:04 Habit Tracker & Monthly To Do Pages
05:47 Gratitude + Week 1
06:35 Weeklies
06:52 Brain Dump
07:15 Journal
07:42 Whoops! Adding a Page
09:06 Final Flip Through


____________________

Social Links - Let's be Friends!
Website: http://ChocolateMusings.com
Shop: https://chocolatemusings.com/shop/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateMusings
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/chocolatemusingscreates
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChocolateMusings/

____________________


Products I Used: 
Daniel Smith Watercolor: https://amzn.to/3Ip8xbD
Princeton Velvetouch Paint Brushes: https://amzn.to/42IVnPQ
Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: https://archerandolive.refr.cc/triciam
Helix Circle Maker Tool: https://amzn.to/49kx5xY
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: https://amzn.to/42MogKR



Video Set-Up:

Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing). They're amazing https://amzn.to/2shdb4j
Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera https://amzn.to/3yt2lb4
Blue Yeti - USB Microphone https://amzn.to/2SNwb6a
Scissor Arm Mic Stand https://amzn.to/2CcGgm0






Contains affiliate links - if you use them, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you.
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Here's another #minimal #weeklylayout idea - use t Here's another #minimal #weeklylayout idea - use these cute day-of-the-week stickers, add the dates, and VIOLA! Your weekly setup is d.o.n.e.⁠ ✔️⁠
⁠
If you are feeling overwhelmed by all the creativity and additions to your planner or bullet journal, take a breath.😮‍💨 Use a minimal approach to your planner - it's ok if it needs to be ONLY functional.⁠
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Check out the link in my profile to these stickers. I also sell timeline strips if you hate writing the numbers over and over again. ⁠
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1373695869/⁠
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#minimalplanning⁠ #planner #bulletjournal #bujo #bulletjournalinspiration #bujoinspo #journal #journaling #bulletjournalstickers #bujostickers #etsy #smallbusiness⁠
#minimalplanner⁠ #simpleplanning #simplebulletjournal #bulletjournalcollections #bulletjournalingcommunity #bulletjournaltracker #bulletjournallayout #bulletjournaldailylog #bulletjournalph #bulletjournallife #bulletjournalsystem⁠
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Looking back at this February calendar page 📅 S Looking back at this February calendar page 📅 Sometimes simple is best!
Here's an easy-peasy heart layout. Add some paint Here's an easy-peasy heart layout. Add some paint splatters for extra color and fun!⁠
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I can never spell this one right. 🤦‍♀️😆⁠
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What is your "Go to" word for lettering? Many peop What is your "Go to" word for lettering? Many people write "hi" or "hello". Love is the word I choose! 💗💖💗💗💖

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1 Comment
Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020, Planner Spreads Tagged: 2020, april, Bullet Journal, bullet journal doodles, plan wit me, travel, watercolor, whimsy

Comments

  1. Ani says

    April 6, 2020 at 4:30 pm

    That April cover page is my favorite of yours so far. I love how it shines and pulls me into it. Honestly I need something like this right now to whisk me away. This is such a fun theme for the month! I just used paint in my journal for the first time, and I loved it. I love the Scribble That Matter notebook because it held up to way more water than I thought I was going to use. I used ink, and then water colors, and then acrylics. I’m still new at the painting thing, and I’m not quite sure-footed yet.
    Ani recently posted…Quarterly Goal Review and Blogging Stats – Q1 2020My Profile

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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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