How I've set up my 3rd Bullet Journal

I've finally moved to my 3rd Bullet Journal! Yay! My last one coincidently happened to fill up completely as April was coming to an end, so I managed to start a brand new bujo at the beginning of May! If you want to see how I set up my 2nd bullet journal, you can follow this link. For my 3rd bujo I decided to go for a berry A5 dotted Leuchtturm1917 and seriously I'm in love. This colour is amazing!

In today's post I'll share with you how I've set up my new bullet journal, what changes I've made and which spreads I've decided to transfer from my previous one. So, make yourself some coffee (or tea) and sit comfortably, because it's going to be a looooong post!

I decided to continue using the Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, which are very good for bullet journaling. I love that they come in so many different colours and the plan is to choose a different colour each time I move bullet journals. 

The first thing you see as you open the notebook is a spread with the words 'Live. Love. Sparkle. Ignite.' I love that these 4 words combine exactly how I want to live my life, so I wanted to add them in my new notebook.

On the opposite page, I played a bit with watercolours and some lines, and I created this diamond shape with a colourful background. There's no deep meaning behind this. I just got a bit creative and I love the result.

The first page after the Index, is this quote I wanted to include in the beginning of my journal. It says: 'And so she decided to start living the life she'd imagined'. The last 2-3 years I've taken control of my life and I try to live each day doing the things I love and trying to live as I've always wanted to, so that's why I like this quote, to remind me. I also find that quote pages can be very handy when you have single page spreads and you don't know what to add to the other page!

Moving forward, the next page has the Key and the Colour Code for the whole journal. These are the colours I've been using all the time and they make my dailies so much more organised. I managed to finish this page super quick, since I used these stickers from my Etsy Shop. 😘

I totally changed the layout for my yearly log of Birthdays and Holidays. I chose this circle design that I've seen a lot on Instagram and added lots of colour. I have to say that I really like how it turned out and I really enjoy trying new things and spreads.

I've created a FREE Printable of this Birthday and Holiday spread, both in black + white and coloured for you.  

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I've also changed my Future Log layout as well. I like how colourful it is and so far it works pretty good for me. I've only added the next 8 months, since each bullet journal usually lasts me 6 months or so. Plus, I don't really plan that much ahead, and even if something comes up, I'll use the post it technique.

The next spread is my Annual Overview Planner. (You can find a printable of this as well in the Resources Library). This is where I plan all my projects and various tasks during the year. It helps me to see at a glance what I have to do each month. I like to write on this spread with a pencil, because I keep on changing my mind, or I like to move things/projects around! I usually try to add 1-2 big tasks/projects each month, and so far, this year has been one of the most productive EVER! Give this a try, I assure you you'll see results! 😉

The next spread is really cool and I had so much fun creating it. It was inspired by the lovely @helloiamprince. It's a 2017 Roadmap. Basically the road represents the whole year, and each flag is one of the months. You use this spread to write down the best memories, events, successes and generally anything you want to remember from each month. I really really like it, and I love that I can see straight away what I've achieved each month!

Moving forward, I have my Reading Challenge List. I basically have made a challenge for myself over on Goodreads, to read 77 books this year. And on this page I write the title when I finish a book. I am a bit behind on that, not because I didn't have time to read, but because I couldn't find anything nice to read!!! However, right now I'm reading King's Cage and I love it!!!! 

The next two pages have to do with books as well. The first one is all the new publications that I want to read each month. I like to keep track on that and it's also an easy way to find books to read. The second page is a list with past publications and books that I want to remember to read at some point. I haven't finish updating them yet, but May is looking pretty good!!! 😉

The next few spreads have to do with shopping and menu planning. I like to keep all these spreads together, because it makes my life sooooo much easier when I menu plan for the week and I make my shopping list!

The first page is my Vegetable Shopping List. A simple list to remind me of the fruit and the veg I usually buy. 

The other page is something that I saw Sarah Churchill do in her bullet journal and I thought it was such a great idea, that I had to recreate in my new bujo! It's basically a page for your Shopping List(s). I've drawn a notepad and on top of it you place your post it note(s) for your shopping list(s). Once the list is done and you're ready to go shopping, you simply take the post it with you! Genius!!!

After that, I added my Menu Planning. (I made a mistake there, cause I wanted to add my Supermarket List first, but what can you do???). I've used exactly the same layout as before, because I like how it looks and it's very functional. 

Next comes my Supermarket List, which is by far one of the most used list in my bullet journals! This is the list I check to see if I have these things in my pantry/fridge/house when I am making my shopping list each week. No major changes here either, apart from the header.

The next few spreads are the ones that I've talked about in my Diet Loss Plan in my Bullet Journal II, so you can head over there to check them out. 

So, this is the way I've set up my new bullet journal and I am very pleased with the result. One of the things I like about bullet journaling, as I've said before, is that you can change things around. So, I'm actually enjoying this whole process! If you want to learn more about how to transition to your next bullet journal, check out this post.

How many bullet journals have you used so far? Which are the spreads/pages/layouts you always transfer to the new journal?

Doodle Instagram Challenge: #doodlewithusinmay

Me and Alexandra (from @alexandra_plans) are celebrating our 1 year anniversary for the #doodlewithus Instagram challenge and we're inviting you to celebrate with us and take part in our #doodlewithus challenge for May. This past year has been incredible and we'd like to thank everyone who took part in the monthly challenges and has made the #doodlewithus Instagram Challenge so big and well known! There has been some incredible doodles and drawings and this comes to show how much talent there is out there. :)

Because we wanted to make it a bit special, we decided to turn it into a doodling competition for the chance to win some really cool prizes. The winner will get 1 pack of the Pelikan soft coloured pencils (that I love!) and 1 pack of Tombow Dual Brush markers.

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It's going to be 31 days of doodles that will hopefully get you to be creative and have fun! The theme of May's prompts is 'Party Time', and I seriously can't wait to start drawing!!!

As we did before, all the doodles are part of one big comprehensive picture. Imagine each day to be one piece of the puzzle. So, at the end of the month you will have one big doodle picture! :)

If you decide to follow this way, you'll have to create a table with 5x6 +1 boxes and you shouldn't add the days on the top. You can also make the boxes and dates in pencil, if you don't want the lines to obscure the end result. It's totally up to you.

Of course, if you prefer to draw the doodles in the traditional way, that's absolutely fine as well. The important thing is to have fun!

You can also download a free printout with the daily prompts here.

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For you to take part in the competition you have to:

• Follow me (Christina) @christina77star and Alexandra @alexandra_plans on Instagram..
• Draw something according to the day's prompt. You can take a photo of it, and share it with us on Instagram. 
• At the end of the month you have to upload a picture on Instagram with all the doodles together (either in a comprehensive picture or separately)
• Don't forget to add the hashtag #doodlewithusinmay and spread the word.
• Whoever has the most likes on Instagram by 11:59pm EST on the 1st of June 2017 will be the winner.
• The competition is open internationally.

We're excited to see what you'll share, and good luck!

Thank you for joining in!

Bullet Journaling With Etsy

Ever since I started my Green Lime Designs, I seem to spend way too much time browsing through all the amazing products sold on Etsy, and I have to say that I am amazed by the quality and the variety that exists. In today's post, I'd like to share with you some of my finds on Etsy that have to do with bullet journaling and that are on my wish list! So, let's get started!

Notebooks

Even though Leuchtturm1917 is still my favourite bullet journal notebook, I've found some amazing dot grid notebooks on Etsy that are so cute and unique, that I really-really want to give them a try.

First stop is the Little Bird Singing shop and their lovely notebooks.

I love all their designs and that's what attracted me to their shop in the first place. But also the quality of the paper they use sounds really good. You can choose from blank, lined, dotted or grid pages. Each notebook has 60 pages with 100gsm and they come in 6 size options.

Another shop with bullet journal notebooks that caught my eye, is the Cognitive Surplus.

The design of their notebooks is so unique and different! They combine science with design in a very interesting way and I have to say I'm very intrigued with their notebooks. Each notebook has 112 dot grid pages that are 100% recycled and fountain pen friendly (80gsm).

Notebook Covers

I haven't used a notebook cover for my bullet journal before, but after seeing some of the designs on Etsy, I would love to give my bujo a little 'jacket' with a fun and cute design!

I really like the Luna Blue Bags designs.

Apart from the design that is adorable, it also has ribbon bookmarks (extra bookmarks are always a plus for me), a pen holder and elastic closure.

Planner Pouch

I didn't know something like this even existed, but I really like the look and practicality of it and I'm definitely getting one! The Happy Bag Co has some really cute designs (like this Cosmos one in the picture below).

Planner Band

If you're using a planner / notebook that doesn't have a planner band already, then you can find some really cute designs on Etsy. Like this feather one by Creations By Bold Chic.

Bookmarks

I've also found some really nice bookmarks that I love the design. They look more like a jewel rather than an ordinary bookmark and they add an extra something to your bullet journal. Plus, they are practical too :) I love this one from Milaekem shop.

Stickers

Stickers is one of the easiest and quickest ways to add colour and design to your bullet journal! And of course I had to add the stickers from my Etsy Store: Green Lime Designs. 😉

Join the Creative Gang and get a 20% discount code every month for my Etsy Store.

Stencils

I think stencils can be very useful to create shapes and keep a clean look in your bullet journal. I really like the metal stencil rulers by Everything Is Ok 8.

Stamps

One more way to play around with shapes and design in your bullet journal is with stamps. I'm looking for some rubber stamps with useful everyday icons that I can easily add to my pages and save time from doodling around, like the ones below by KandeeMole.

Washi Tape

Lastly, but by no means least, you can find some really cute washi tape designs on Etsy in very good prices as well. I really like pastel colours, so when I saw the ones in the picture below by Bujo Supplies they instantly made their way in my Wishlist (that gets longer by the day!😬)

Are you shopping from Etsy for your bullet journal? What are your best finds? Share with us in the comments below 😉

Diet Loss Plan in my Bullet Journal II

I have a confession to make: I haven't exercised for over a month and I've been binge eating constantly for the past two months. Naughty-naughty! I can definitely see the kilos piling up, and I felt AWFUL the other day when I tried my favourite pair of jeans on and realised that it felt quite very tight at the waist (and other places I don't want to think about!)!

For some weird reason for the past two months or so, I've been trying to go on a diet and have been failing miserably!!! I start my day pretty good and when the afternoon comes I have these cravings for sweet things that I just give in to and then, since I've already spoiled the diet, I continue eating! And the same continues the next day!

But, I've had enough! Since the summer time is approaching really quickly here in Cyprus, and at one point I will have to wear my bikini (only the thought of that now gives me shivers!!) I knew I had to do something to take control of my eating habits and my workout schedule.

So, I opened up my Bullet Journal and started creating a diet plan for the next 8 weeks that will help me get back on track and lose all the extra kilos I've put on in time for the summer.

The first thing I did was to create a page where I track my progress. I find that seeing the results makes me try even harder, so it was really important for me to create this type of spread. Here I track my measurements in a table I created for the next 8 weeks. I also created a graph to track my weight loss progress. I can't wait to see the line go down!

On the next page, I created a general and simple Diet Plan. I want everything to be easy and simple so that I don't get discouraged with measuring quantities or complicated food. So, I have the general principles I've set for myself, and the foods I should stay away from in order to stick to the plan. I also created a list for each one of the meal categories, so that I can refer to this page each time I am meal planning or want to eat something and I need some ideas. There is not a big variety and that is on purpose. I want to give myself enough options so that I don't get bored of the same foods, but limit them so that my actions become automatic.

Lastly, I know that in order to succeed I have to get back to my workout plan. I want to start exercising 5 times per week (Monday to Friday) and I know I can do that if I put my mind to it. So, I created a very specific workout plan for the next 8 weeks in order to know exactly what I have to do each day. I might add some weights or other exercises as I go along, but this is the basic plan that I should follow.

I've also created some weight loss stickers to add to my bullet journal when I keep track of things or plan my week.

I also thought that it would help to talk about it online, in order to make myself accountable and give me that extra push that I might need. 😉 So, I'm starting on the 17th of April and I'll be finishing on the 12th of June.

How do you keep yourself motivated when you are on a diet? What spreads do you create in your bullet journal to help you along your journey?

** I'm not a dietician and this diet plan and workout schedule is created for my personal needs. You should consult your doctor before you start any type of diet plan.

Colouring Secrets E-Course

I was thinking of creating Colouring Secrets: an e-course that will cover tips and techniques on how to colour using coloured pencils, markers and watercolours.

If you'd be interested in a fun and affordable ($20) e-course on colouring, enter your info below and I'll notify you when it launches!

Tombow Dual Brush Pens: Review + Tips and Techniques

Today I'd like to talk about my latest obsession and that is the Tombow Dual Brush Pens. What can I say? I'm in love with them! They are so versatile and easy to use, adding colour to my every day life. In this post, I'll show you the colours I've got, I'll talk about their characteristics and then I'll show you some of the techniques I use, so that you get the most out of them.

The Tombow Dual Pens are water based, odourless and acid free. That means that they are easy to blend and that your designs will last for a long time. They come with two types of tips:

A flexible nylon brush tip

And a fine tip

The two tips give you lines with a wide range of thickness. With the flexible tip you can create fine, medium or bold strokes by a change in the brush pressure, or you can use the fine tip for more consistent lines.

As you can see in the image above, you can get lines with thickness from 1 cm to 1/2 mm. That makes them great for any project, including colouring, hand lettering, doodling, journaling and much more!

I'm using them constantly to practice my hand lettering.

I get my hand lettering practice sheets from the Brush Letter Practice Guide.

And I also use them every day in my bullet journal:

They don't bleed through the pages, they are easy to blend and they add colour to my pages 😊 They come in 96 amazing colours. Each marker has a number that indicates that colour.

I'm currently building my collection slowly-slowly, and I hope that very soon I'll have all 96 of them. 😉 I started with the basic colours, then bought the more light and pastel ones, and from there I add as I go along. The ones I've got so far are:

• 173 - Willow Green
• 245 - Sap Green
• 277 - Dark Green
• 346 - Gray Green
• 192 - Asparagus
• 243 - Mint

• 373 - Sea Blue
• 493 - Reflex Blue
• 553 - Mist Purple
• 476 - Cyan
• 528 - Navy Blue
• 565 - Deep Blue

• 636 - Imperial Purple
• 603 - Periwinkle
• 620 - Lilac
• 673 - Orchid
• 665 - Purple
• 703 - Pink Rose
• 723 - Pink

• 835 - Persimmon
• 847 - Crimson
• 925 - Scarlet
• 933 - Orange
• 025 - Light Orange
• 055 - Process Yellow
• 062 - Pale Yellow

• 990 - Light Sand
• N89 - Warm Gray 1
• N75 - Cool Grey 3
• N15 - Black

You can also get a colourless blender, that you can use with the colours to create a gradient effect and blend them. In the Tombow website

you can find and download the Dual Brush Pen Colour Selector, in order to see the swatches and choose the colours you want. You can also download the Dual Brush Pen Colour Tracker to swatch the colours you have like I did below:

You can get the whole set or you can buy them individually. They also come in convenient smaller sets.

You can use them as they are and have great results, or you can use any of the following techniques to make your drawings have more depth and dimension.

Tips & Techniques

The Tombow pens are water reactive and they will turn into water colours. All you have to do is use the Tombow blending palette, any plastic surface or a porcelain plate (like I did), some water and a brush. I used my Pentel brush, because I just love it, but you can use any brush you want.

Take some colour on your brush and then start colouring on your paper. The result will be a really nice gradient effect:

You can do the same with more than one colours:

You can also use the blender pen instead of a brush, even without water and have similar results.

One more way to use the plastic surface or plate like before, is to use two different colours. Place one colour on the plate and then use a lighter colour to pick some up like in the picture.

Then start colouring on a piece of paper and you'll see the transition from one colour to the next.

The more colour you pick up, the bigger the ombre effect you'll get. In the picture I only picked up a tiny bit and you can see the result. One good thing about these pens is that the tips self clean after blending, so you don't have to worry about ruining them. 😉

You can also touch the tips of two different Tombow pens and have a similar ombre effect too. I like to touch the two tips for about 7 seconds and then start drawing.

Using the above techniques you can colour any page you want and add more depth and dimension like I did in my colouring page below:

By the way, you can download this colouring page from the Resources Library  after you've subscribed to my Newsletter 😉.

I was thinking of creating Colouring Secrets: an e-course that will cover tips and techniques on how to colour using coloured pencils, markers and watercolours. If you'd be interested in a fun and affordable ($20) e-course on colouring, enter your info below and I'll notify you when it launches!

COLOURING SECRETS E-COURSE

If this is a product you'd be interested in buying, enter your email below and I'll notify you when it launches!

Thanks for your interest in the Colouring Secrets e-course. I'll notify you when it's ready to launch! :)

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Have you used the Tombow Dual Brush Pens before? What do you think about them? Any colours you'd suggest I buy next?

Bullet Journal: My April Set Up

March is almost finished and that means that I'm ready to share my April set up in my bullet journal with you. Pretty busy month ahead, with lots of things to do, a few birthdays plus the Easter holidays, which means that the kids will be off school for almost half of the month!!!! 😐

So, I have to make sure to do most of my projects before then and arrange for things to do while the kids are at home. Also I have to plan what to do for Easter! I'm sure that my lovely bujo will be there to help me focus and organise things in advance. 😉

Here are the pages/spreads I've created for the month of April:

My little penguin decorates the first page of the month yet again! I thought it was a fun way to start the month.

I decided to try this month at a glance layout that I've seen a lot of people using on Instagram. If I'm not mistaken the calendar wheel was created by Dee from @decadethirty and I've always wanted to give it a try. So far I love it! Such a fun way to see what you've got for the month ahead. I decided to use my stickers to add more colour and to colour code as well the different events.

The next page is my monthly focus, where I write all the main things I want to do this month. Plus a section for the next month where I basically brain dump everything I want to remember to do in May. By the end of the month this page is usually filled up!

(stickers used: Bullet Journal Title Stickers)

Moving on, the next page has my habit tracker. I have to say that habit trackers have grown on me, and even though I wasn't sure about them in the beginning, now I really like to draw the little boxes. It also feels good to see how you've done at the end of the month!

(sticker used: Bullet Journal Title Stickers)

As always I have a page for my gratitude log, which I like to fill in each month.

(sticker used: Bullet Journal Title Stickers)

Lastly I wanted to create a page with all the Easter activities I wanted to do with the kids during the holidays. I really like how it turned out and I think that little penguin is very cute!

So, I'm ready for the month ahead and I'm sure I'll managed to focus on my projects and finish all my tasks with the help of my trusty bullet journal. It's also the last month in my orange Leuchtturm1917. I've already started setting up my 3rd bujo. The new one is a berry Leuchtturm1917, and I can't wait to start writing in it! Don't you get excited when you start a new journal?

Instagram Challenge: #doodlewithusinapril

I'm excited to announce our Instagram Challenge for the month of April! It's the

#doodlewithusinapril Instagram Challenge

created by me and Alexandra (from

@alexandra_plans

).

It's going to be 30 days of doodles that will hopefully get you to be creative and have fun! The theme of April's prompts is

'The Circus'

, and I seriously can't wait to start drawing!!!

As we did before, all the doodles are part of one

big comprehensive picture

. Imagine each day to be one piece of the puzzle. So, at the end of the month you will have one big doodle picture! :)

If you decide to follow this way, you'll have to create a table with 5x6 boxes and you shouldn't add the days on the top. You can also make the boxes and dates in pencil, if you don't want the lines to obscure the end result. It's totally up to you.

Of course, if you prefer to draw the doodles in the traditional way, that's absolutely fine as well. The important thing is to have fun!

You can also download a

free printout

with the daily prompts

here

.

If you want to join us then:

• Follow me (Christina) @christina77star and Alexandra @alexandra_plans over on Instagram.
• Download the prompts below.
• Draw something according to the day's prompt, take a photo of it, and share it with us on Instagram. 
• Don't forget to add the hashtag #doodlewithusinapril and spread the word.
• Everyone is welcome! 

We're excited to see what you'll share! 

Thank you for joining in!