​Yay, February, finally the January blues are gone and we can all look forward to the rest of the year. This month I have been watching a lot of Anna Brim's (Mrs Brimbles) patreon videos on creating watercolour animal paintings using watercolour. You can join in here on Anna's patreon page.

Anna painted a stunning grey scale giraffe, so hesitantly I decided to give it a go. I honestly never thought I would be able to paint an animal as I'm normally a Mixed Media  sort of girl, but finally I have mastered controlling the watercolour and brush to get the effect and shading I wanted using one of my Pentel Aquash water brush pens.

I didn't pencil draw the giraffe first, I just did a loose outline in a light grey wash and then started filling in the facial features first before moving on to the body patterns. Finally I added a touch a black pen to define the outline of the pattern and it was one... first attempt! I know I was gobsmacked too!

I didn't really know what to do with the finished giraffe, so eventually decided to cut it out and use it in my bullet journal. It's perfect for my Hello February page and now that I was on a roll with being able to control the watercolour I even attempted a touch of hand lettering using the watercolour brush. I have tried brush lettering before with brush pens and I really can't do it. I found it much easier using a water brush dipped in to paint. Not a bad attempt for my first try.

To finish the page I added a few leaves using a green posca pen and a a fitting quote 'Rise Above' and a bullet journal list of aims for the month. I am so happy with the overall page. I can't wait to see what else I can paint. There's no stopping me now!

Disclaimer: his page uses affiliate links, but they are all for products that I use and love myself.  I would never endorse anything that I didn't personally use.

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Related Posts:
Art Journal Page - Watercolour and Collage
Drawing Gum Watercolour Resist & Mrs Brimbles Collage Sheets
Art Journaling Series 

Self care is a BIG deal! We sometimes forget that a bit of 'me time' can lead to far better productivity and mental health. I decided to create a Bujo self care spread in my Bullet Journal to help remind me to make time for at least 3 self care things for myself a month... that's not too difficult is it? Well yes actually, I already failed at the first two I listed for January as I ran out of free time with work. I must do better!

I have split my page into 3 categories: Me Time, Health and Beauty and Lifestyle. Some of the things go without saying such as having a bubble bath and changing the bedding, but I think it is important to remind yourself that you ARE helping yourself and to recognise that you are managing to get a bit of downtime, however small that may be. You may wish to use some of the things you list as a personal reward for different things. For example you might successfully achieve a 'no spend' in a week or month, or you might be saving money or hit a work/life goal and reward yourself with a treat from the list such as a massage or a facial or a new outfit.

​I'm hoping this spread will bring about some positivity for me; it ties beautifully in with my word of the year - Happy!

I got an amazing Year in Pixels / Mood Tracker download from one of the planner groups I am in from a lovely lady Kirsty-anne Ross. I think it is again important to recognise your good days (and bad ones) and is a nice way to reflect on your year. I got an amazing quote off the internet to compliment the planner spread and then added my word of the year and a few embellishments.

Finally again linking to my word of 2018, I have a Things that make me happy page, featuring a few bujo doodles. This is like my 'mood board' page and is something I can look at to remind myself of my happy places. I have included a print out of a very apt motivational quote and some recollections washi tape. This is the first page of my new 2018 bullet journal and will always be my 'Happy Page'.

Thank you for reading, don't forget to sign up to the newsletter for regular updates,
Kerry xx

​DISCLAIMER: This page contains an affiliate link in conjunction with Etsy UK and Paperchase, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my link.

Related posts:
Bullet Journaling - all posts
18 Bullet Journal Spread Ideas With Pictures and Flip Through
20 Things to put in to a Bullet Journal
Bujo/Bullet Journal FREE Printable Day, Date & Month Headers

​Have you just got in to Bullet Journals and Bujo Planning and are stuck for creative inspiration and layout ideas or what to track and log? Below are some of my favourite layouts and bullet journal spreads that might help to give you a spark. All these pages were created using inserts from the wonderful Travelers Times on Etsy.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links.

I have almost completed my Bullet Journal / Lists Journal that I have been updating for the last two years. It is still being added to and is a great way to track goals, hobbies, my blog and other things in my daily life such as inch loss, reading logs and art ideas.

Below are 18 bullet journal page spread and bujo layout ideas to give you inspiration for your own journaling, complete with a video flip through at the end of the post.

These are all pages from my own bullet journal / bujo lists journal.

Click here to see how I came about with my Word of 2017 and here for 2018

See how I planned my Spring Pages in my bullet journal and planner - Spring Creative Pages

I love experimenting with my layouts in my planner and I absolutely love this weekly planner page.

A list of things to do, I use mine for my crafts, a completed and a still to complete list.

Once you set up a holiday packing list you can keep this in your bullet journal to refer back to for each trip and holiday that you take. I couldn't be without this page as I do travel a lot.

I use this page to list my favourite things and Monthly things I have done or read. I love looking back on these pages too.

Another list that I constantly add to or look back on.

Have a look at my Fitness and Weight Loss Journal here.

Tracking pages are great pages to have in your bullet journal. I can really see how my social media stats have grown and what my yearly achievements have been. Looking back on this now I can see the growth my online presence has had in a year.

In addition to tracking, I also use my bullet journals for doodle and handwriting practice. I have shared these before, but I love them so much they deserve another share.

Get more ideas in my flip through of an 'almost' completed bullet journal featuring all of the pages above and more information on what I use each page for.

To see my pages in a bit more detail and with more detailed information on how they were created have a look through the links of my best Bullet Journal posts:

• 20 Things to put in to a Bullet Journal
• Blog Planning, Organisation and Productivity
• Creative Weekly Planner Spreads and Layouts
• My Planning Style
• New Year Organisation - BUJO Planning & Goals

I hope this post has given you some ideas for your bullet journal, or at least to have a go at adding a few lists into your journaling. Do leave a comment to let me know how you got in to bullet journaling and how you use bujo in your planning.

​Take Care, Kerry xx

Yay, it's officially Spring take a look at at what I've been up to with my creative planning, journaling, BUJO and art work for March in my travelers notebooks, Uglydori planner and Lyradori art journals, including my Spring Bucket List in my bullet journal as part of the Planner Girls Collective series.

I love Spring time, but I have been so busy (and tired) at work that I really haven't had much time for planning or journaling.  Many of the things I am going to share have been completed as a work in progress throughout March, but I must say I am very happy with the results.

You can see how busy last week has been when you look at last weeks layout.  If you follow the blog, you will know that I draw out my layouts or change the layout each week (as seen here Bujo Planning and Goals and here Hello 2017 - Planner Girls Collective) as I use a blank notebook in my Uglydori.  I like how it is always different and can have more stickers or writing based on how busy my week is.  This page uses a gorgeous kit by Kelly over at Hazy Days UK, that was part of the Ugly Bug Plans subscription box - you can get similar kits here including my Aprils monthly view kit that I used, just drop Kelly a message and ask for whatever month you want - use the code HAZY15 for 15% off no min spend.

Related Posts:

• 20 Things to put in to a Bullet Journal
• Blog Planning, Organisation and Productivity

I've had quite a few people ask me what I put in my bujo / lists / bullet journal, so thought I would do a quick post to give you some ideas for what to put into yours. Mine is in no way or means perfect and it's not a 'true' bullet journal. It does follow a bujo style, but also has lists, my favourite things and other ideas you may or may not want to try.  ​All these pages were created using inserts from the wonderful Travelers Times on Etsy.

My completed first bujo / list type journal can be seen in full in the video below so you can see how I put the list ideas and page ideas in to practice. (Don't forget to click the You Tube logo to see it in full screen and to subscribe to my channel.

I plan on using this to track a variety of things throughout the year. It's a great memory keeper to look back on, as well as being a great way to keep my lists together in one place. As it is in my everyday carry planner it is something I can update on the go as an idea comes to me. It is also something I often refer back to when I need to find my packing list or look for ideas or tick off things I have tried in my art or creative journaling.

To see my pages in a bit more detail and with more detailed information on how they were created have a look through the links of my best Bullet Journal posts:

• 18 Bullet Journal Spread Ideas With Pictures and Flip Through
• Blog Planning, Organisation and Productivity
• Creative Weekly Planner Spreads and Layouts
• My Planner Style
• New Year Organisation - BUJO Planning & Goals

Part of my planning this year is focused on my blog planning and productivity within my blog and You Tube channel. I have spent a lot of time since September building up my blog, social media and You Tube channel, so decided to use one of my planners as a blog planner to plan my posts, filming and editing schedule and to track my site stats and to set Monthly goals. It has helped immensely with my productivity and it's a great way to see how my blog and social media presence is progressing each month. 

At the start of the month I write down my monthly stats for my blog including page views and unique visitors, I get the information from my Google Analytics account.  I then log subscribers to my blog, Bloglovin, Feedburner and my You Tube channel. Next I move on to my social media stats and log my followers and subscribers and any reason for any decline or inactivity. Finally I log my pins on Pinterest to see how they are increasing (or not) each month.

​After this I set monthly goals for each area and at the end of the month do it all again and add a + or - to say whether they have increased or declined and a comment to say how close or by how much they were above target. I have only done January (start and end), but it's working for me and it's great to see how my online presence is improving. 

​This was last years set up, you can see the new set up here

• Blog Planning Organisation and Planning Goals for 2018

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links.

I then use the actual diary to keep track of my blog post ideas and to schedule blog writing, taking photos, filming, editing, organising SEO and uploading. I use the codes above to plan the posts and editing schedule and so far this is working for me. ​It is a bit messy as I was just starting out and adjusted the codes to link to my bujo planning.

​I have so far kept this planner purely functional and non decorative (unlike my other planners), however, I have recently purchased the fab You Tube stickers below from Ugly Bug Plans (Ugly Bug-gers) and will be purchasing a Blog Tracking sheet from The Geeky Planner, so that will probably all change ._. I will keep you updated every few months or so.

Related Post:

• Blog Planning Organisation and Planning Goals for 2018

For the last two weeks I have been experimenting with my layouts in my travelers notebook and trying to get a balance between pretty layouts, functionality and bujo/bullet journaling style weekly spreads. I have used a mixture of hand drawn layouts, doodles and stickers.

The above page is my absolute favourite page so far this year.  I have been busy the last month finalising the directing of the school musical 'The Wizard of Oz' (I'm a drama teacher in a secondary school). I wanted my layout to encompass this in it's design.  I actually already had some Wizard of Oz stamps (way before I knew I was directing it), that I got from AliExpress for around £1... I know bargain! I then got an amazing Design Team package from Kelly at Hazy Days UK, so used a mixture of different kits including the Glass Slipper Kit and the Andy's Toys Kit. You can use code HAZY15 for 15% over at Kelly's shop with no minimum spend... make sure you check out the links.

The above planner spread was a play around with a different layout I had seen on Pinterest.  I wanted the week of the show to be all about positivity with a few inspirational mantras.  It turned out my worries were unfounded as the show WAS amazing.  The second half of the week is all about the Pamper and Plan event (just one month to go), I cannot wait for this. I have used gold foil date stickers from Filofabulouss (another of my favourite Etsy shops). You can check out more about my planning style and system here.

The pages above also use one of Kelly's Kits - this time it uses the gorgeous Precious Gems Kit. I again have played around with a bujo style layout and am really pleased with the end result.

WHATS STILL TO COME:
This brings me to my next set of plans for my blog. I am going to be doing quite a bit on Creative Journaling and hope to be able to offer you some inspiration, tutorials, journal with me's and journal ideas over the next few months, not just art journals this time, but smashbook style journaling and memory keeping.  So what do you think? Is there anything you would like me to cover? What would you like to see? I would love to hear your comments below. Take care and I hope you have a great week,

Kerry xx

Related Posts:

• 20 Things to put in to a Bullet Journal
• 18 Bullet Journal Spread Ideas With Pictures and Flip Through
  
• Blog Planning, Organisation and Productivity

I first started planning in September 2015, but it wasn't a passion until January 2016 when I bought my first real planner; A Carpe Diem in coral. I must say I loved using it, but it was more aesthetic than anything else and didn't really work for me as planner.  1. It was too big and didn't ever leave the house with me. 2. I discovered my love for notebooks and wanted to move to a travelers notebook / bullet journaling system (indeed I have - see my post here). 3. I was writing things in after I had done them rather than using it to actually plan.

In the post a few weeks ago I explained my new BUJO style system, where you can see my first weeks planning.  This has been working to a point, except for this week which was a write off due to having flu, so was filled in after the week (hence no BUJO tracking was done). What I have loved is playing around with the different layouts and getting to be creative each week using different styles, it was often limiting when you just have one style of inserts like last years. I really like being able to vary what I track and how I track things each week too.  I have been using my printable tracker boxes to track Vitamins, Exercise, Mood and Sleep on a weekly basis and then can add extra tracking if I wish to - or not. I made the notebook by cutting down an A5 sketchbook from Hobbycraft to fit in a regular tn, which proved to be quite tricky to get perfect, but it will do (the perfectionist in me is still struggling with some uneven pages).

Have a look below at my first Plan With Me video where I show you how I have decorated one of the weeks.  It is not what I had hoped it would be as I have not done any tracking or checklists as the planning came at the end of the week and after most of the week had already gone (this damn flu!).

​Make sure that you have a read of the other girls fantastic blog posts as part of the
​ 'Planner Girls Collective'. 

Related Posts:

• 20 Things to put in to a Bullet Journal
• 18 Bullet Journal Spread Ideas With Pictures and Flip Through
• Blog Planning, Organisation and Productivity