I decided to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month in my Journal.
Since July is National Ice Cream Month, and I just happen to love ice cream, I decided to make ice cream scoops my theme for July in my journal.
The Theme
President Ronald Reagan, in 1984, designated July as National Ice Cream Month. I guess he appreciated ice cream so much, the third Sunday of the month is National Ice Cream Day.
Since I love ice cream, I thought it fitting to try an ice cream theme in my journal. Initially, I thought about incorporating different types of ice cream. Soft serve, banana splits, sandwiches, bars, and floats were ideas that came to mind.
However, I struggled sketching anything other than ice cream scoops. I figured I should keep it simple. After all, simple would be quicker and grant me more time to work on other things, like learning how to draw something other than ice cream scoops.
Title Page
My favorite flavors are chocolate and vanilla. I know, they're considered plain flavors, but what did you expect from a simple person?
Since the journal reflects me and my likes, I thought it made sense to have a double scoop of chocolate and vanilla ice cream on a cone.
I wanted to try using my acrylic paints on the page, since it's not an art medium I tried in my last book. I didn't worry about perfection, especially since I'm a novice using cheap, beginner level paints.
I started with a rough sketch on the page. I attempted to imagine where shadows would go pretending an imaginary light source shined on the ice cream from the top-left of my page. I should've gotten myself an actual scoop of ice cream for inspiration, but I knew I'd just eat it before I could refer to it for the painting.
Because the vanilla didn't 'pop' against the semi-white page color, I decided to add a colorful background. I normally paint backgrounds before the main subject, but just like past projects, it didn't cross my mind until too late.
The "JULY 2020" and the sprinkles were added with Posca paint markers.
Calendar Overview
Unless I'm eating ice cream I have at home or at a place that serves it, ice cream will melt in the Texas summer heat. I thought melting ice cream would look good on paper.
Instead of using acrylic paint like I intended, I opted for a mix of Posca paint markers for the ice cream scoops, Tombow brush pen for lines and bold text, and Firefly brush markers for coloring headers and other elements.
After coloring the melted ice cream, I started to write the initials for each day (SMTWTFS) with a black Tombow. However, I didn't think it showed well against the chocolate ice cream. I rewrote the initials with Poscas but had to go over the M for Monday numerous times to cover the black letter beneath it.
Highlights
Fortunately, I didn't mess up my highlights page this month! Doing an ink test the day prior taught me which markers and paints I needed to avoid. Also, keeping the design simple with just a few scoops of ice cream left little room for mistake.
Trackers
Like usual, my hobby trackers will identify the days I do some arts and crafts, writing, and gaming. Last month I designated a mini calendar to track the days I took an extended walk with an RC car; except I didn't do that last month.
This month, I'll track when I attempt a new hobby. I own many art supplies I've yet to use or open the packaging for. I received a 3D pen for my birthday. I also have airbrush and wood burning kits sitting on my shelf. I think this would be a good month to give those supplies a try.
There are also several projects I've yet to try making. There are resin molds I haven't used yet, and I'm anxious to try making trinket boxes out of polymer clay. I also haven't used my Cricut Maker recently, so I should probably try Cricut projects I said I'd try for months now.
In addition to my hobby trackers, I'll track the following for my dogs:
when they go for a joy ride in the car
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
when they participated in extended or extra playtime
Mood
This page is not the best looking, but it'll be my favorite to fill-in each night in July. I like coloring activities, which is why I designed the page as is. It's a nice feeling to color in a scoop of ice cream before I go to bed at night, even if my day wasn't the best.
Websites & Stuff
The layout I made for June worked well for me, so I recreated the same layout for July. I'll track names/descriptions and dates for the different outlets I upload to.
I've consistently uploaded to this website and my YouTube channel twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I included the appropriate dates on this page.
I haven't posted to my Education Blog on my other website but have updated the website and worked on portfolio items in preparation of my return to the workforce. I found the length and total number of lines fitting for what I do to that site.
I'm still bad about uploading anything to Instagram. Hopefully that changes in July.
My Final Thoughts
I want ice cream right now. Oh, but I should mention my thoughts about the design theme, not what my taste buds want.
The acrylic paint was a great choice for the title page. It didn't bleed through the page, but it did warp the page slightly.
The Posca paint markers weren't a bad choice, but it did tear at the page a little when I got a bit heavy handed. Otherwise, it didn't bleed through the page.
I don't have any regrets. The design was quick to do after I completed a rough sketch of what I wanted. Perhaps coming up with a design theme took the most time to do.
What's Next?
I'll receive a new physical journal in a day or two. I hoped it would've arrived before July, but now I need to decide if I'll recreate my July theme in the new journal or save it for later. If I do recreate my July theme in the new journal, I'll let you know.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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