July was the first month that I added a little quote to my title page, I painted it on watercolour paper and stuck that into my journal.
I used the title page to kind of freestyle and let the creativity flow. Using actual watercolour paper allowed me a lot more freedom to experiment, as my cheap two euro journal has really thin and fragile paper. I’m not sure I like the result, but I tried a few new things and got to experiment with some techniques that I learned about. Clearly the masking tape failed me, but the use of masking fluid turned out better than expected. It’s hard to read, but it says:
Even busy bees stop to smell the roses
I chose this particular quote to remind myself to slow down and enjoy life, regardless of what else I’ve got going on. Ever since I started getting more creative I’m noticing that I perceive the world around me differently, almost as if I’m looking through a filter. I’m really enjoying the flowers that I see while walking the dog and often find myself imagining which colours and techniques I’d have to use to paint them. Not that I’m particularly interested in painting flowers… ha!
The hexagon areas were used to write down three goals to work towards that month, the square area is to register my satisfaction with each of the sides of the health triangle; physical, mental and social. It refers to how I define my own health and the goal is to have balance, shown in equal length sides of the resulting triangle once noted on the inverted Y scale.
While this page turned out exceptionally cute, if I do say so myself, I never want to draw 31 indivual little bees again! This was a pain to create, but I do think it came out really nicely. It doesn’t take much to imagine a faint buzzing sound! 🐝
There are many issues with these pages, such as how I used the lettering stencils, but it was a quick win and a learning experience. I really enjoy the irregularity of the lines and they were really pleasant to write on as well. Also, my first time using washi tape!
I forgot to take a photo of these pages empty, so I guess you’re getting a little peek at a filled out page!
I’m very pleased with how these pages turned out. I was not about to hand-draw a page full of hexagons (I had learned from drawing 31 bees!), so I made that part on the computer with Inkscape and printed it, then decorated it with paint and pens. The ‘other’ area turned out to be really helpful for writing down other health issues I wanted to take note of, like that one time when I ate something bad and gave myself food poisoning… ow!