Delving into Bullet Journaling with Paper Mate and Sharpie -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent these pens to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Have you discovered bullet journaling yet? My first introduction to it was someone coming into work and asking for a bullet journal. Now Paper Source sells many journals, but we did not have the official bullet journal nor had I even heard of it. I did some research on-line. For those who are like me and don't know, Bullet Journal or BuJo, was created by Ryder Carroll. He is a digital product designer in Brooklyn, New York. Through trial and error he came up with a system that worked for him. People say a bullet journal is like a planner, an organizer and a diary all in one. It is hard to understand this until you try it. (Source) The instructions for bullet journal says you can use any notebook, but they do sell an official BuJo Notebook. I decided to just us a journal I had at home. Mine has lines unlike the ones on bullet journal site which has a dot grid. From what I can tell bullet journaling is about finding a system that works for you. It is meant to be a quick way to organize yourself and be flexible to help each person. When I searched Pinterest I found ones that are used by students, teachers, and even for planning weddings. You can check out my Journals Board to see what I found. 


So recently I received an email asking if I would like to try bullet journaling with a set of Sharpie Art Pens and Paper Mate Flair Pens. I figured I would see what all the hype was about and give it a try. The general set up has an index in the beginning so you can find various ideas and things you will need. I have not put anything in my index yet.

After that it is somewhat up to you what you might want. I decided to keep track of some of my eating habits since I am trying to exercise more and lose some weight, plus am keeping track of my carbohydrates. 

I have not been great about filling it out all the time though. Oops!! I also did a list of things to do for the month.

The bullet journal guide gives suggestions of open circles for things to do, x's for things you have done and ^ for things to move to the next list and - for notes. I tried to stick to this for the most part. Next was a suggestion for Inspiration and or drawings. I put a quote or idea of a quote from a book I read recently thus far. 

My final section is my daily organization. This changes depending on what I need to do. It does help to organize my day and ensure I get what I need to done for the day.

Now when you look at the bullet journals on Pinterest or Instagram, you see pieces of art. They are gorgeous. I found it fun to play with the pens and colors as I began my journal. I was happy that the Sharpie pens do not bleed through the paper. The ones I received are fine point and the Paper Mate ones are medium point. The combination made it fun to play. Hazel could not wait to get her hand on my new pens, but I tortured her and would not let her use them until I really got going on my journal. To make my Bullet Journal a bit more beautiful I did a quick and easy font that I learned in middle school. My eighth grade history teacher always wrote his letters like this on the board and I liked them so much I began to copy them. I haven't written like this in so long, so it was fun to play with.

The teacher always did a double line on the left and I always thought it looked neat. I find this is an easy and quick way to give my journal a bit of the artistic look. Add the different colors and I love the way it looks. I have written them with the double lines first but it is actually easier to do the original letter and then add the extra lines.

In my bullet journal I added some shading between the lines. My take on the bullet journal is it is fun, but it can be time consuming. I will use it for the days I need to get things done and it provides me a place to put thoughts and lists. I am definitely not going to use it every day because that just does not work for me. There are many benefits and ways to do this so everyone has to find their own way. Have you tried bullet journaling yet? I do love the effect the pens give mine. Check them out!! I love mine!!

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party!! I loved seeing what everyone has been creating lately!! Below are some features from the party, but this is just a small sample of great ideas shared! This week we have two groups of features: Easter Crafts and Other Great Crafts.

Also remember for your child-oriented crafts, activities, lessons, etc. Sharing Saturday is going on!! For any cultural related posts (diversity and/or multicultural as well) be sure to share at the month long Creative Kids Creative Blog Hop.

Easter Crafts

1) From My Life from Home: Book Page Easter Garland

2) From Sparkle: Kaleidoscope Easter Eggs

3) From Nap Time Creations: Felt Easter Basket Tutorial

4) From The Scrap Shoppe: Hanging Vintage Easter Egg

Other Fun Crafts

1) From The Jenny Evolution: St. Patrick's Day Skittles Decorations (I know Hazel would want these out all the time if we made them)

2) From Pink Peppermint Designs: Follow Your Dreams Graduation Party

3) From Treetopia: DIY Rainbow Doormat

4) From Bombshell Bling: Baby Sleep Sack Pattern

5) From Homestead 128: Small Pattern Diamond Wall Stencil

 
Thank you to everyone who shared the last week!! I hope you will share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. I would love the help spreading the word about Crafty Weekends!!

Featured Button Code:

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 Please share family friendly crafts here. Just crafts and/or patterns--no recipes, lessons, etc. You can share craft product reviews as well. By linking up here you are giving me permission to share your links and to pin your links. Please follow my Crafty Weekends Feature Pinterest Board to see all the features from these fun link parties!

An InLinkz Link-up