A simple watercolor hearts theme.
I didn't have a lot of time to devote my February journal theme. To keep it short, sweet, and simple, I used watercolor pencils to add colors and some hearts to represent Valentine's Day.
The Design Theme
While I pre-sketched the layout of calendars and various boxes in my journal, I didn't have a plan before I started working on the design.
I took a few minutes to think about a theme. Because the Festival of Arts is taking place in Walt Disney World and I really want to go there, I thought about doing an art with paint theme. I thought I could splatter paint on the pages and doodle art supplies such as paintbrushes, paint tubes, and palettes.
Instead, I thought scribbling with watercolor pencils would be quicker and easier so I could focus on other tasks.
I used: pencil and eraser, various Firefly and Tombow brush markers, pink Pen Gear pens, extra fine Sharpie, various watercolor pencils, and water brush.
Title
For the title page, I scribbled pink, blue, and purple watercolor pencils over a part of the page. I then used a water brush to blend and soften the colors on the page. I sped up the drying process with a small heat gun set to a low temperature.
I thought about practicing my brush lettering to write "February 2021" over the colors. Instead, I saved time by using my own lame cursive writing. It's not great, but I can at least read my own handwriting.
To finish the page, I drew a few overlapped hearts around the month and year.
Calendar Overview
The calendar overview is where I note important dates and tasks I want to remember to do.
The larger February calendar fills much of both pages. I note events such as birthdays, appointments, and holidays within the appropriate block that represents a day in the month. During the month, I'll make a short note of something that happened.
In a box towards the top-left, I note things I want or need to do in December. Below that box, I have a mini-March calendar and another box I note events coming soon in March. I like being able to visually see ahead to things I may need to be aware of before those days come.
As for the design, I scribbled pink, blue, and purple watercolor pencils where headers would go. I did this before writing the headers or drawing the outline for the various boxed shapes.
I scribbled the same three colors in the blank area below the larger calendar. I then decided to use a red watercolor pencil to scribble a few hearts and add a background to the page's header.
After I used a water brush to blend and soften the colors on the page, I then used markers and pens to outline the boxes, write headers, and add a quote to the bottom-right I saw online that read, "Your greatest responsibility is to love yourself and to know you are enough." I thought that was a great quote for a single person who's too shy to go out and try to meet someone new.
Highlights and Trackers
Every night, I write a line of text highlighting one good thing about that day on my highlights page. Usually, I write about a simple thing that made me happy. Even on the worst days, I try to think about a highlight of that day to write down.
On the trackers page, I note when I complete my favorite hobbies. While many journal enthusiasts track multiple habits, tracking my favorite hobbies reminds me to not forget to dedicate time for myself and happiness. The hobbies I track are:
arts + crafts,
writing,
gaming, and
workout.
Workout is a new tracker calendar for February. In January, I bought the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure game to help me achieve one of my New Year's resolution. I thought I'd only attempt to exercise three times a week, but I've devoted at least five days a week to playing the workout game. It only made sense to track the days I workout in my journal even though the game keeps track of that as well.
My dogs' care and happiness are equally important. I track the following for my dogs:
when they go for a joy ride,
when they received teeth care with brush chews or tooth brushing,
when I've cared for their coat with a brush, leave-in shampoo, or bath, and
when they participated in extended or extra playtime.
I kept the design of the pages simple with scribbled pink, blue, purple, and red watercolor pencils soften with water.
Mood and Websites & Stuff
The mood tracker page typically serves as a simple coloring page for me. Each night, I'll color-in something that represents my overall mood for that day: awesome, meh, bad/sad, or sick.
Sketching twenty-eight hearts on the page with a regular pencil was quick and easy. For grins, I made one heart larger to represent Valentine's Day. I then outlined the hearts and added dates with an extra fine Sharpie.
My websites & stuff page is where I'll note changes and updates made to this website, my YouTube channel, and my Instagram account.
Again, I kept the design of the pages simple with scribbled pink, blue, purple, and red watercolor pencils soften with water.
My Thoughts
Overall, the design theme isn't bad. I love the soft watercolors that keep the pages from looking plain and bland. It's not my favorite design theme, but it was quick and easy for me to do.
I attempted to record the impromptu February journal design for YouTube, but my video files were corrupted. I guess this wasn't my camera's favorite design either. If the raw video file survived, it would've been about fifteen minutes long not including the few minutes it took me to sketch the layout of calendars and various boxes.
If you're looking for a quick impromptu design for your journal, bullet journal, or diary, you may consider using watercolor pencils and a water brush to add some soft pastel colors.
What's Next?
I have family members celebrating birthdays in February, so check back later to see some birthday cards I created for them.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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