Journaling with Derwent

Hello and happy New Year!  How is 2020 treating you so far?  To be honest it already feels like we are on day 81 of January and Christmas was a lifetime ago, roll on February!

I know the blog has been quiet for the last couple of months, I have been working on another project for a stationery company and I've taken on some extra work too but I do have some posts lined up for you and they should up soon.  

I have also been on the Derwent blog this week with post about journaling if you want to check that out, you can find it here.  Please pop over and leave me a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Artline Monday - World Meditation Day

Tomorrow is World Meditation Day, a time to focus on yourself and your wellbeing.  I have been thinking about ways I can unwind recently so when I discovered this day it felt a little serendipitous!  I am definitely going to give it a go tomorrow and if it helps me it might become part of my daily routine!

World meditation day - created with Artline pens

The best way to celebrate this day is by making an effort to relax and clear your mind, whether that is by finding a quiet spot and sitting there while you try to calm the thoughts whizzing around your brain or by doing some yoga or other physical activity that helps you find peace.

If you can, take some time tomorrow and find a place where you feel at ease and relaxed.  This could be outside in your garden or somewhere with a nice view or you could sit in your lounge or lay on your bed.  Then get into a comfortable position, close your eyes and focus on your breathing, slow your breathing right down, inhale for 7 seconds, hold it for 5 seconds and then exhale for 7 seconds.  Try to let go of all your thoughts and clear your mind.  Even if you don't master the art of mediation straight away you should feel more relaxed and less tense after you have spent some quiet time focusing on yourself and your breathing. 


Do you already meditate or are you thinking about giving it a go?  I'd love to know!

Artline Monday - Birthday tracker for your bullet journal

It feels like it has been a while since we have done any kind of bullet journal spread so I thought I'd show you a nice and easy birthday tracker today.

Birthday tracker

I know you can add birthdays to your monthly log but if you have a place to record all the birthdays together it is easier to plan ahead for buying cards, presents and arranging celebrations too.

I started off by writing "birthdays" across two pages of my bullet journal with a Supreme brush marker, in magenta if you are trying to place the colour, and then drew six boxes with pink and magenta Artline 200 fineliners.  I halved the boxes so I had space for all twelve months and the wrote the first three letters of each month at the top of these sections.

To make things look a little more interesting I added backgrounds to the boxes by drawing a second shape behind them, either a little bit higher than the first box or a little lower and then drew diagonal stripes across them.

I also doodled a little banner on the right hand page and wrote "celebrate" inside it and then added a flora sticker in a small space I had left over.  

Now all that is left to do is for me to fill in the birthdays of all my friends and family!

I have written quite a few bullet journal posts over the last two years, including how to set up your own journal if you wanted to get started.  You can find all my previous post here if you are looking for some more inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by!

Artline Monday - 2019 memory keeping in your Bullet Journal

If you want to focus on the positive things in your life this year then this bullet journal idea will help you do just that!  If you don't already have a bullet journal all you need is an empty notebook and to read my post about how to get started, then come back here.  If you have already got your journal set up let's get on with this...

Memory keeping Bullet Journal spread

The idea behind this spread is to create a space to record your favourite thing/s about each month.  This could be the best book you read or a memory you want to keep, it could be a quote you heard and liked or just a movie you watched and really enjoyed.  You can use the space for whatever you want to remember and then at the end of the year you will have a record of all of your favourite things about 2019.

I wrote "2019 Favourites" at the top of my two pages using an Artline Supreme metallic marker (a sparkly pen for a shiny new year) and a little description about what I will be using the pages for.  Then I drew 12 boxes with my fineliner, leaving a space to add the first three letters of each month.  I also wanted to add some extra colour and sparkle to the layout so I gave each box a silver shadow with another metallic marker.

The last thing I did was add a quote along the bottom of my pages, I went with "This is your year to sparkle!" as it makes me feel inspired and ready to face the next twelve months!

I love using the Supreme metallic markers because of how shiny they are, you can see the silver shimmer in the ink in the photo below, they really do catch the light and sparkle!

Metallic shimmer

If you are more of a visual person you could adjust this layout a little and spread it out over four or six pages to give you bigger boxes and then you could add your favourite photographs for each month instead, I think that would be pretty neat!

Please let me know if you do give either of these ideas a go, I would love to see how it turns out!

Artline Monday - Self care ideas

January is a great time to get into some new good habits and indulging in some self care is definitely on the list of things I want to do more regularly this year.  I realised at the end of last year that I hadn't really been looking after myself or taking the time to do the things I enjoy so I decided to change that in 2019.  If you feel like you have been neglecting yourself a little then I have some easy and inexpensive ideas for you to try!

Self care ideas - created with Artline pens

If you are super busy then it can be hard to find the time to look after yourself and recharge your batteries but if you can squeeze in one of these activities once a week or even better daily then they should help you feel a little more pampered or refreshed.

Relax and unwind

Have a shower or bath

Whichever you prefer or can fit into your day, use a squirt of your favourite shower gel and wash your worries away!

Movie night

When was the last time you sat through a whole film without keeping one eye on your phone and scrolling through Facebook or other social media?  Grab some snacks, put your mobile out of reach, turn off the lights and pop on a film.  

Music

Play your favourite song or album, sing and dance along if the mood takes you.  There's nothing like escaping into music to bring a smile to your face.

Be kind to yourself

Read

Discover a new book or revisit an old favourite, take the time to sit and devour a chapter or two.  A good book is like a mini holiday if it sweeps you away to a different world or life.

Take a nap

Honestly naps are the best! Twenty minutes or half an hour curled up on the sofa is my ultimate treat.

Enjoy your favourite hot drink

Grab a cup or giant mug of your favourite hot drink, sit down, sip slowly and relax, warm your hands and your soul.  

Get warm and cosy

This is just for the next few months while it is still pretty cold outside, invest in a pair of think, warm socks to keep your feet nice and toasty and wrap yourself in a jumper or cardigan to chase away the chill of winter!  If you are at home you can add a blanket around your shoulders or a dressing gown, bonus points for a hot water bottle too!

I used lots of Artline products to create this spread including fineliners, metallic markers and Stix drawing and brush pens, lettering and doodling are another couple of things I like to do during my "me time" so this was a fun way to spend my morning!  

If you would like some more ideas to help you relax or battle through the rest of January then you can read my Ways to relax and January motivation posts for a bit of inspiration. If you fancy taking up a new hobby then check this post out for some ideas as well.

Artline Monday - Christmas planning countdown

Eeeeek there's only five weeks left until Christmas!  Have you started getting ready for the holidays yet?  If not don't worry, I can to help you with my handy Christmas countdown.

My Christmas countdown created with Artline pens

This is my Christmas bullet journal, I set it up last year and I use it for planning, lists and memory keeping.  You can find my previous post about it here if you would like to see how I use it for recording our holiday memories.  

This year I have planned out my timetable for getting everything ready using my Artline Stix pens and fineliners.  It starts today and has a checklist of things I need to do each week in the run up to Christmas. 

My checklist for weeks four and five

You might have already completed some of these steps or you might find it easier to do them in a different order so if you make your own list think about how to make it work for you.  I like to do as much as I can early so it is out of the way and then I can get on with enjoying the season so I might complete some of these steps before they are due but I have added them to the week I want to get them done by at the latest giving me some wriggle room.

Week five

This week I want to think about gift ideas (for the people I haven't already brought for), making sure I have all the postal addresses I need for cards and presents, checking when I need to order my Christmas turkey by and the date I can prebook my online food shop delivery and finally buy Christmas cards so I can get ready to start writing them.

Week four

I'm going to put my tree up and look for the best prices for the presents I want to buy.  I will get everything I need to wrap the gifts including paper, ribbon, sticky tape, bows and tags and I'll also work out how many stamps I need for my cards and buy those too.

Three weeks and counting

Week three

By this week I want to finish buying the presents and get them all wrapped and posted for the people I won't be seeing before Christmas. I will also get my cards into the post so they arrive in plenty of time for the holidays.  The last couple of things I want to do is start buying (and hiding!) the Christmas snacks and treats and look around for the best deals on the drinks we like too.

Week two

This week is the perfect time to visit friends and family as it is close to the holidays but not when everyone is crazy busy getting ready for the big day.  It is also when I will finalise my Christmas Dinner menu and before I buy half of the supermarket I want to make some extra room in the fridge and freezer.  At some point this week I'll want to do the BIG Christmas food shop so I will have everything we need apart from the fresh items that I will buy the following week.  There's one more thing to do, sort out some entertainment for while we are all home like DVDs and board games we can play together.

Week one 

Okay, for the last week before Christmas I just have a few things left to do.  They are do any food prep I can get out of the way early, collect my turkey and buy any fresh ingredients that I couldn't get before.  The finale thing I have on my checklist is to relax and enjoy the holiday, which I have to say is my favourite step!

I hope this helps you with your Christmas planning!

Artline Monday - Monday motivation

Do you hate Mondays?  I know a lot of people really dread this day of the week and we could all use a little #MondayMotivation sometimes so I thought I'd show you how I try to embrace the worst day of the week in my bullet journal.

Monday motivation in my bullet journal

I use my bullet journal to get organised and as a kind of art journal,  I create my own planner spreads for each day and month and then add doodles and sketches when the mood takes me.  You can see how I set mine up here if you are a BuJo beginner or if you would just like a peek inside in my notebook.

I like to have a positive quote or two to start the week with, looking at Monday as a new beginning instead of something negative helps me face the day in a better mood.  I chose a couple of bright Artline Supreme brush markers that remind me of summer days and fields of buttercups to write this quote so every time I open my bullet journal I will be greeted by something cheerful!

Bright & cheery - Artline Supreme brush markers & fineliners

The second page of my spread is where I plan my day.  As Monday is the start of a new week I have a section for my weekly goals and the things I need to get done that day.  Some of the tasks are simple but I write them down anyway for two reasons, one is so that I don't forget to do them and two is because checking things off my list gives me a little fizz of satisfaction that is definitely needed on a Monday!

I have another section to keep track of my fitness and well-being, back in January I said I wanted to increase my daily move goal and get more exercise so this is where I record how I am doing each day.  Seeing the figures in black and white (or in this case green and cream) helps me focus on my goal and motivates me to keep going those extra few minutes or distance.

My plans for Monday

Tips for a better Monday 

• Do as much as you can on Sunday evening to prepare for Monday morning, having your outfit, shoes, bag and other bits you need already to hand on Monday morning helps the day start smoothly and with less stress.
• Wake up early enough to have a relaxed breakfast and fuel up for the day ahead.
• Wear your favourite clothes, colour or scent to cheer you up. 
• Make plans to do something you love after work or school, whether that is spending time at home with a good book or meeting friends for some fun.
• Think of Monday as a fresh start and try to keep things positive.
• Read my Artline Monday posts.
• Smile, it will soon be Tuesday!

Do you have any ideas to help increase Monday motivation?  Let me know in the comments below so I can give them a go too!

If you want to see more of my bullet journal posts and spreads you can find them all here.

Have a great Monday!

Artline Monday - Plans for the summer holidays in my bullet journal

I started counting down the weeks until the summer holidays some time ago, I just can't wait for the schools to break up and to have my children home with me!  We are going to have so much fun whatever the weather is like (but I'm crossing my fingers for lots of sun!) so I thought I'd jot down a few ideas in my bullet journal to keep me going until they begin. 

My summer plans made with Artline Stix & fineliners

I split my pages into two sections, things to do on rainy days and things to do on sunny days and then I used my Artline Stix brush pens and Fineliners to create this spread.  The Stix brush pens are great to use for larger cursive writing and pairing them with the much smaller nib of the fineliners makes a nice contrast and my lettering look more interesting.

I don't actually mind the occasional rainy day over the six weeks, especially if I don't have to leave the house.  It's quite nice to curl up on the sofa with the kids and watch a film or read a book together.

We also have lots of board games packed away for wet and windy days, our favourite is Pay Day but if we have a lot of time to kill then we get out Monopoly.  Splashy the Whale isn't really a board game but it's still lots of fun if you don't mind getting squirted with water!

Summer fun on rainy days

My girls enjoy doing all kinds of arts and crafts when we are stuck inside, the last time they were off and it rained a lot we painted some #ArtlineRocks and made lots of colourful pompoms.

My youngest daughter still loves to build forts, I give her blankets, sheets and pegs and she will cover the room until she is happy with her creation.  I sometimes think she will be an architect when she grows up as she makes different areas and rooms inside the fort like bedrooms and reading corners.   

If we have to go outside in the rain then we will wrap up warm, put on our wellies and grab the giant umbrella to keep us dry or just the wellies and jump in the puddles, it's still fun to do even as an adult!

Summer fun on sunny day

I am looking forward to the sunny days the most though, I love spending time outside with the kids!  This summer we are going to go rock hunting and explore new places we haven't been before.  We will pack a picnic and take our dogs to the forest near us and have an adventure, I'm picturing some kind of Famous Five story but without the smugglers or crooks!  Oh and definitely no ginger beer, I really don't like that!

Long sunny days were made for barbecues so we will be having quite a few of them over the summer.  My favourite thing about a BBQ is that my husband does all the cooking and I am just on salad making duty while the children play football or tennis or their own version of cricket which no one really knows the rules to or how to win!

I really enjoyed creating this spread in my journal, it was lovely to spend some time day dreaming about the holidays and then using my pens to write and doodle all my plans.  Putting pen to paper makes them all feel more real and within reach, I hope the next five weeks go by quickly! 

If you are interested in setting up your own bullet journal then take a look at my Bullet Journal Basics post to get you started or if you'd like to give hand lettering and calligraphy a go then read this post for some ideas.

Have you started making any plans for the summer yet?

Artline Monday - Organising your finances with a bullet journal

Every April I always feel the need to get on top of my finances, it's probably because it is the start of a new tax year and usually when our wages and bills all go up.  This year I thought I would use my bullet journal to help me organise my money so I hit Pinterest for some ideas and created my own spread.

Bullet journal, calculator and Artline pens

One of the best things about a bullet journal is you only need a notebook and a few pens to get started!  If you haven't already set up one check out my Bullet journal basics posts for details on creating your own and then come back here for more information about managing your money in one! 

Income, outgoings, spent and saved

I have four sections in my spread, these are Income, Outgoings, Spent and Saved.  I used the dots on my pages to help me make the sections and drew them with a couple of Artline fineliners.

Money, money, money

I listed the money we have coming in under Income and used an Artline Supreme highlighter to colour in every other line so it was easier to read.  I then did the same with all the money we have going out under outgoings.  This includes things like rent, council tax, utilities, Netflix etc and I added another couple of rows to this section so I could record if these bills are paid automatically or if I have to make the payments myself.

I haven't filled in every amount in these two sections for privacy reasons but now I have photographed the pages I can add those details in.

There is one box under the Income and Outgoings sections for the totals.  You just need to add all of your incoming money together and pop the total in the first box and then add all of your outgoings together and write that number in the second box.  If you take away your total outgoings from your total income this will leave you with your surplus or spare money for the month. 

Spent and saved

On the second page I am recording what we have spent and what we have saved.  I drew boxes for Bills, Fuel, Food, Entertainment, Clothes, Stationery and the last box is for the money my husband spends during the month. I added numbers under each box and then used a highlighter to colour in how much we have spent.  As the month goes on I can continue to colour in further along the boxes as we spend more money.  This is a great way to see exactly where your money is going!

For the Saved section I drew some smaller boxes an labelled them with amounts like £1, £2, £5 and £10.  When I put some money into our savings I colour in the corresponding box with my highlighter so I can see how much I've managed to squirrel away!

I am going to repeat this spread each month in my journal with the hope that it will help me keep on top of our finances and maybe evaluate where our money is going and what we can cut down on.  

Do you think this system would work for you?

Planner Friday - March

Hello!  It's Planner Friday again over on the Trendy Twine blog and I am talking about how I am going to record my Easter holiday this year.  Please pop over and say hi!

Happy Easter!  I love the Easter holidays for a couple of reasons, one... well, it's chocolate and two getting to spend lots of time together with my family.  I wanted to document the holiday this year in my bullet journal so I raided my Annie's Paper Boutique supplies and created a candy coloured spread.

Products used: Tag its - pink and lemon

Documenting The Everyday stamp set

Documenting The Everyday #2 stamp set

How's The Weather planner stamps

Used but not pictured: 

This Is December #2 stamp set

I started by adding some strips of pretty washi tape to the top and bottom of the spread and then glued a couple of tag its onto the pages.  The tag its are great for adding a splash of colour and highlighting any information you want to stand out.

Recording the Easter holidays

I used the sun stamp from my How's The Weather set because I am wishing for some warm spring days while my children are off school, if the weather is awful though I have left myself space underneath the sun to record what it was actually like.

You can read the rest of my post here.

Enjoy the rest of you holiday!

Artline Monday - Valentines Day memory keeping

I'm a big fan of Valentine's Day, it is nice to be spoiled and to spoil someone you love so I really enjoy the 14th February.  This year I am documenting the day in my bullet journal using my Artline pens and a few bits and pieces from my planning supplies.

Valentine's Day spread created with Artline pens

I started off by adding some strips of washi tape to my pages and then I used my pink Artline Stix brush marker to write "Valentine's Day" copying a font I found on Google.  I left myself space on the first page to write the date and a couple of quotes and doodles too using the brush marker and Artline 200 fineliners.

Some of my favourite love songs

Then I drew a box, using the grid markings on the paper as my guide, with a pink fineliner.  This space is for a list of some of my favourite love longs.  I'm a bit of a soppy romantic and I love singing along with these while I am home alone.  In fact I have the Moulin Rouge soundtrack playing at the moment and have just finished a rousing rendition of Come What May!

Valentine's to do list & films to watch

On the second page I have space to record memories of what made me smile that day and my to do list of things I need to sort out before Wednesday.  I also glued in a journalling card at the top of the page and used this to list some love themed films I could watch while my husband is at work during the day.  

The last section is for me to fill in the details of what we did to celebrate Valentine's Day.  I wrote the heading for this part with a pink Artline Supreme highlighter and then went over the top of it with a black fineliner.  This is one of my favourite ways to create headings and titles in my bullet journal, it is so easy!

If you are interested in starting your own bullet journal check out my previous post for details on how to set one up or if you are already using the system please leave me a comment telling me how you are getting on with it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Artline Monday - New beginnings

Happy New Year!  It feels completely crazy that it is 2018 already and we have a whole new year stretching ahead of us, what will you do over the next 365 days, what do you want to achieve?  Today is the perfect time to sit and reflect on what you want and maybe commit that list to paper to remind you of your goals.

Starting again

The start of a new year is also a great time to start a new notebook so I grabbed this large dotted one and got to work with my black Artline brush marker and fineliner to write down my hopes and wishes.  To make things look a little more interesting I mixed different fonts together and added a few doodles too.  The brush marker is one of my favourite pens for trying out different types of lettering, I just love how it writes! 

Adding colour

I thought the black and white page was a bit plain so I added some colour using more of the Artline 200 fineliners and then it looked much more me!  Now whenever I use this notebook throughout the year the first page will remind me of everything I want to do and inspire me to act on it all!

So will you be making a plan for your year or will you just see where it takes you?  Either way I hope it is a fantastic one for you!

Artline Monday - Bullet Journal basics

Bullet journaling is, according to it's creator Ryder Carroll, an analog system for the digital age.  The idea behind it is to help you track the past, organise the present and plan for the future but a bullet journal is more than just a planner.  It can be anything you want it to be including a sketch book, to do list, notebook, diary and journal, that is the beauty of it!  It is also really easy to set one up, all you need is a notebook and some pens.

My notebook and Artline pens & highlighters

Ideally your notebook should have dotted or squared pages but if you have a lined or plain notebook sat on your shelf you can use that too. 

Index

The first page you need to create is your Index, this will be where you write the page numbers for each section of your bullet journal.  My favourite way to write headers in my journal is to print the word using a highlighter first and then write over the top of it in a smaller, cursive font, I think it looks really pretty.

There are three main sections in a bullet journal, these are the Future Log, the Monthly Log and the Daily Log.  These sections are bones of your bullet journal, anything you add after these are the meat, so-to-speak.

Future Log

Your Future log is an overview of the next six months.  You just need to split your two page spread into six equal size boxes and list the first six months you want to work with.  I have started mine in November as we are already in October. You can use these pages to plan ahead, add any birthdays, reminders and events to the corresponding month and this will give you an idea of what you will have going on.  You can add a little calendar for each month but I decided to pop some inspirational quotes on mine instead.

Monthly Log

The Monthly log is your month at a glance.  On the first page you write down the days of the month and then make a note of anything you need to do or remember.  Some of these things will already be on your Future Log so you can just transfer them across at the start of the month.  I have highlighted the weekends on this page as it helps me break down the month into weeks easily.

On the second page of this log you can get creative!  I have given myself space to list my goals, kids reminders, blog stuff and my tasks for the month but you can put anything on this page that you want to keep track of, accomplish or remember.  You can change this up every month too, if you find the page isn't working for you one month you can try something different the following month until you find your perfect system.

Daily Log

The third section is your Daily Log, this is usually a two page spread set up to plan and record your day.  I have a timeline on the first page, it starts at 6am when I get up and goes on until when I go to bed in the evening.  I use this to visualise my day so I can see what I need to do, where I need to be and at what time.  

I also have two more sections on this page, they are for the weather and a reminder of the goals I want to complete each day.  

Again, on the second page you can do what ever you want!  I divided up the page using a highlighter and the squares on my paper which is a quick and easy way to create a layout.  If you are using plain paper you could use a ruler to make your sections or draw them freehand, your bullet journal doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be useful!

Food tracking, memories, brain dump & more

My first section on this page is for me to record the food I have eaten and then the next two are for my best and worst moments of the day. 

Brain dump is where I write down things I need to remember and my Christmas countdown is just there because I'm childishly excited for the festive season!

I have a small section for my shopping list, I add anything on here that I either need to buy that day or things I am running out of and will need to buy when I do the weekly shop.

My last section is to record my mood that day, I am still doing my year in pixels as well but I wanted to keep everything together in the bullet journal instead of spreading them out over two books.

Ideas for your daily log could be:

• A doodle a day
• Exercise 
• Meditation
• Reminders
• Reading log
• Quote of the day

If you don't think you need a whole page or two for your Daily Log then you could create a weekly spread instead.  It is up to you to decide what would work best for you or try out a few different things and see how they feel.

Bullet journal symbols

On my Index page I also added a key for the symbols you use in the logs as part of this system.  They are a dot for tasks, a circle for events and a line for notes.  You can also use an asterisk to signify something as important.  Once you have completed a task you change the dot into an X.  Any tasks that you haven't completed need to be considered, is it something that still needs to be done and is it worth your time doing it?  If you no longer need to complete the task you can cross it through, if you decide to complete it at a later date you change the dot into a > to show you have moved it onto your Monthly Log.  If you think the task will be completed at a much later date, like in a month or two then you use this < to show it has been moved onto your Future Log.  This is called migration and it is an important way to help you manage your time and whittle down your to do lists.

So what do you think of Bullet Journalling?  Will you be giving it a go or are you already a seasoned user?