Botanical Weekly Planner Page

Each week in my planner is a new opportunity to experiment with my art. I try to let myself be free and let the art flow intuitively. 

Surprisingly, I feel more experimental than I do in my sketchbooks. 

One of the things I loved about our Watercolor Leaves and Florals class at CCBC was that we used the photos of wildflowers in field guides as references and created our own versions of real flowers.  

It gave us something to start with, yet we had none of the pressure to create anything realistic.

I created a "new" flower as I was making this page.  It's the yellow one. I was thinking of Queen Anne's Lace as I painted it.  

I can see now how much the drive for perfect realism puts a damper on my creativity.  Accepting that my painting isn't going to be photo-realistic releases my creative impulses and makes the process more fun and playful.

When I started painting landscapes, I wanted to capture every pine needle and flower in the scene.  Of course, that's impossible.  Learning to be playfully abstract in my watercolor paintings is far more fun for me than trying to recreate reality on the page.

Would you like to take a day in nature to play with your watercolors?  I hope you'll join me for my upcoming Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners at Raccoon Creek State Park.  Read more about it in this post:

https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2026/05/osher-nature-in-watercolors-worshop-for.html 

I hope you'll join me!

Weekly Planner: Spring Flowers!

Snow was falling as I created this new planner page. Our weather had turned from warm and spring-like back to winter, so I was hungry for some spring petals.

In Art World, you can have any season you like!

I created loose watercolor florals in the style I learned from Wendy Solganik of Willa Wanders. You can see her Teachable classes here: 

https://willa-workshops.teachable.com/l/productssortKey=recommended&sortDirection=asc&page=1

After the watercolor paint dried on the page, I played with line work around the flowers in ink, and added the dates & days. Later, I wrote in the events of the week. It's refreshing every time I open my planner and catch a glimpse of the colors and energy of spring.

What is your heart hungry for right now? I hope you create it with your art supplies.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner in Spring Colors

A recent visit to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse turned up some pages from a vintage book of children's fables. I love the black & white images, and have felt a hunger for spring.  I tore out a few images and laid them out on the weekly planner spread.

After gluing the images down, I added splashes of watercolor in spring colors.

Finally, I added the days, dates and events of the week.

Limiting my collage & paint project to a smaller size made it easy to jump into and begin.  

Do you have any printed material destined for the trash can that you could turn into collage art? I hope you give this technique a try!

Happy Creating!

Heart-Themed Weekly Planner

I love making valentines, and this year, had extra painted hearts leftover from my card-making.  You can see my Valentine's cards post here.

Needing a new weekly planner page, I gathered up a fistful of hearts, a few pens, some painted papers and a glue stick to create a collage page.

When I collage, I lay things out on the page, and when it looks sort of pleasing, I glue them down.  I used to try to make perfect collage compositions, which we all know isn't possible.  Sometimes I would abandon a collage creation without gluing things down.  I eventually learned to listen to my intuition, lean into the imperfections, and my creativity flowed naturally.

Now I know that when a piece looks imperfectly pleasing, it's time to glue it down.  

That's what I did in my planner page.  Then I added the days and events.

Following a process, even if your inner critic doesn't believe you're doing it right, helps to get the creativity flowing.  Step-by-step, you make something based on your intuition; something unique and beautiful.  Something that reflects your own inner beauty.

And starting with a low-stakes activity like making a weekly planner page can help you to build your art-making skills and try out new ideas.

Here's my step-by-step process for making a collage planner page:

1. Gather a few materials that catch your artist's eye -- they only have to be interesting to you.  You don't have to use them all.

2. Tear or cut out some shapes or pieces of the collage material and move them around on the page.

3. Listen for that weird little voice inside you (your Intuition) that quietly says "Yes." or "no" or "turn this piece upside down."  I've never heard my Intuition shout.  It speaks softly, gently, and often surprises me with unexpected ideas. 

4. When the collage pieces look sort of interesting or pleasing to your artist's eye, glue them down with wild abandon. If this feels scary, remind yourself that you are allowed to paint over anything you don't like with acrylic paint or gesso, or simply cover over it with more collage.

5. Add any other elements you'd like -- a wash of watercolor or ink, some colored pencil, whatever appeals to you.

6. Add in the days, dates, & appointments.

7. Step back and admire what you've created, with the option to add something else if you like.

8. Enjoy your days, knowing you started the week with creativity!

Happy Creating! 

Valentine's Inspired Weekly Planner

Snowed in and making Valentine's cards, I felt the draw of bright pink gouache paint for this week's planner page.  

I love Valentine's Day, making Valentine's cards and hearts in all shades of pink and purple!

Finding the theme, medium or idea that's inspiring to you is the first step.  The next step is to give yourself time and permission to play with that idea or material.  A weekly planner page is a great, low-pressure place to play.

Happy Creating!

Collage Calendar Page

After creating a stack of green painted papers for my collage sketchbooks, I had loads of leftovers.  They made wonderful elements in my weekly planner.

 The thing I love about collage art is that I never have to hone the artwork to a place of "perfection" as there is no perfect.  I pick out a paper that interests me; I get an idea of somewhere to place it; I try it in that spot, and either I like it or I don't. 

If I feel the glow of liking it, I glue the paper down; otherwise, I try something else. 

It's a wonderful game I play with my intuition.  You might think of it as a meditation on listening to your intuition, and that having an artwork at the end is a bonus.

In the dreary gray of winter, playing with colorful pieces of paper can really brighten your spirit.  I hope you'll give collage a try!

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner: Collage Papers

A friend recently gave me some beautiful art papers. For this week's planner, I combined some of them with a test piece of watercolor paper that I had used to try colors out on.  

I love the wild & free splodges of colors on test papers, and try to reuse them in other projects. The colors on this piece of paper matched the art papers I had chosen.

I love how laying out the colorful papers immediately transforms the blank page!

My advice when working with collage is to quickly pick out a few papers that appeal to you.  Don't overthink it!  Then lay them out and glue them down when they start looking interesting to you.  Don't try for perfect (it will never happen!).  

I glued my papers down with the heavy duty Yes! Paste, but you could use a glue stick or your favorite paper glue.   All that was left was to add the days & dates.   

 

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate it!

Happy Creating!

Playful Inspiration

Like a sketchbook, this little weekly planner is a place where I can experiment and play.  

Often a color and a texture -- like a watercolor wash in ultramarine blue -- is the starting point for an entire double-page spread.  As artists exploring possibilities, all we need is a starting point!

I have been walking by a grove of sassafras trees every day, and have felt inspired by their bright, flaming leaves against the blue sky, their twisted limbs dancing among the foliage.

The things that catch our attention and inspire us show up in our art when we play.

After the watercolor washes dried, I added days and dates in ink and filled in the main events of the week.

Aside from ultramarine blue, I used yellow ochre, and a mixture of azo yellow and alizarin crimson for the sassafras foliage.  The limbs are a mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

What has been attracting your artist's eye lately?

What medium, colors, & textures interest you?

That's all you need to start an experimental sketch.

Happy Creating! 

A New Week & New Art

One of the lovely things about a weekly planner is that you have to create it every week.  Because it's ordinary and routine, that takes the pressure off.  It's functional, with no expectations of being framed or even stuck to the fridge with a magnet. 

Let this be a reminder to give yourself time and space to doodle, with no expectations about the end product.  You don't have to make a planner page, just pick up a pen or pencil and a piece of paper and play! 

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner in Gouache & Marker

I was painting with gouache this weekend and decided to use up the extra blobs of paint in my weekly planner.  I love this planner because it gives me a reason each week to play with random art supplies.

I had a fistful of beautiful Faber Castell markers with dual tips -- a fine point at one end and a brush at the other -- found on a recent visit to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.  

The gorgeous markers added a lovely detailed element to this week's planner page.

I enjoyed the slow process of layering one medium on top of the next.  The clouds at the top of the page and the white lettering on the right side of the page were done with acrylic ink, and I used my Lamy fountain pen with permanent black ink to label the days of the week.

This quiet process of slowly making art based on your intuition and whims can be very relaxing and playful.  You don't have to make anything "important;" just play.  The beauty of the process is that you often develop ideas that you would never have thought of if you'd been "serious" about your art always.

 Art goals are fantastic to pursue.  Just remember to leave yourself some open time to play, too.

Happy Creating!

Planner Pages: Summer Blooms!

After taking a watercolor botanical class with Wendy Solganik of Willa Wanders (https://www.willawanders.com/), I felt inspired to decorate my weekly planner with roses, hearts and swirls.

It doesn't take much to add color & beauty to a dull weekly planner!  It's also a great way to give yourself room to doodle.  I find it's a low stress place to create because no one sees it but me most of the time.

What are some low-stress ways you add art-making to your life? I invite you to make a list of ideas and start trying them.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner: Spring Blooms

On a recent walk in Pittsburgh, I saw these flowers blooming.  Their shapes looked like fairy skirts, and the blue color inspired me.

So I decided to decorate my weekly planner page with them.  I sketched the flowers with my Lamy fountain pen and black waterproof ink, then added color with Caran D'Ache Aquarelle watercolor crayons.

I added the dates, and the page was ready to be filled in with the events of the week.
 

A little art can enchant even a weekly list of appointments and responsibilities.

Happy Spring!

Weekly Planner: Spray Ink & Stamps

Shopping for class materials at Michael's I found the clearance section and scored a 3-pack of Ranger Distress Oxide Spray for half price.  I love the antique paper look they create. My weekly planner is a great place to test out new supplies, so I spritzed on some Vintage Photo and added a dash of Walnut Stain.

When the ink dried, I stamped in the days of the week and dates with a little alphabet stamp kit I bought years ago.  The page still needed a bit of decoration, so I used a few hand-carved eraser and cork stamps I made years ago.

What supplies would you like to test out?  Having a weekly planner or even a sketchbook where you allow yourself to experiment with no expectations is a great way to relax and make new creative discoveries.

Happy Creating! 

Weekly Planner: Geraniums in Bloom!

I have a potted geranium on my studio desk thatI saved from the first frost last fall, and the blooms lift my spirits.  Why not incorporate them into this week's planner?

I began with an ink sketch with my Lamy fountain pen.  After the ink had dried, I added watercolor washes.  This notebook isn't made for watercolor painting, but it's still fun to decorate the ink drawing with some color, even if the paper crinkles.

I love the colors I see in this plant.  They create a beautiful color palette.

What do you see in your everyday life that inspires you? A quick sketch is a lovely way to celebrate the subjects and colors you enjoy.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner: Valentine's Hearts

I love hearts as an art theme. Easy to create, and open to many variations.  And the heart represents kindness, love, and caring.

For this page spread, I used watercolors in permanent blue violet and pyrrol red with India ink in a Lamy fountain pen.

I know we've just past Valentine' Day, so maybe you're done with hearts.

What if you chose a shape -- stars, ovals, circles, whatever -- then selected 2-3 colors you like, and added a certain line style.  Here, I've used swirls, spirals and wavy lines.  You could select short lines, blues and squares.  Try selecting your own "formula" for a weekly planner page.

You can trust your intuition -- that tiny voice within you-- to invent clever and exciting new combinations of shapes, colors and marks.

Happy Creating!

Planner Pages Inspired by 1919 Fairy Tales

I recently tuned up an old book my kids and I enjoyed when they were young, Friendly Fairies by Johnny Gruelle. Published in 1919, the book is chock-full of brightly painted scenes.

I love the pastel color palette, and the optimistic feeling of the illustrations.

Sometimes, simply a collection of colors can bring us inspiration.

Of course, the nature scenes and the charming little houses inspire me, too.

After flipping through Johnny Gruelle's artworks, I painted this weekly planner page, using his color palette.  A fun way to brighten winter-weary eyes!

 What colors inspire you?  Do you have a favorite palette of colors?  A weekly planner or a sketchbook can be great places to play & experiment with those colors.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner: Collage & Hearts

Another week, another planner design.  

Collage is a great way to get back into creating.  You don't need to find perfection, just gather some papers that feel sparkly to you, and piece some of them together loosely.

Remember, you're not going for precision.  Try for 50% chaos and 50% control, as my friend Ryan McCormick says.

 I like to use the tiny leftovers from card-making that would normally end up in the trash.  They get a new life as art, and I get interesting shapes.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner Page: B & W Collage

A weekly planner is a wonderful place to experiment with new ideas and designs.  There's no pressure to make something impressive.  You're just playing.

And creating with collage is a great way to play.  I recommend collecting a pile of paper scraps and images that you like.  They can have a theme, like these did, or just the theme that you like them.  I selected black and white images on old paper.

Pick out a collage bit that interests you, and try it out in several places.  If you get a tingle of "That's interesting..." glue it down!  Don't wait for "That's perfect!" because perfect never happens (in my experience).

I started with some collage bits, then added a few more, and penned in the days and dates.

Sometimes, your collage choices will tell you something about your inner thoughts.  I was drawn to the  photo of the train in the mountains as I've been reminiscing about our trip to Alaska, especially about our journey on the White Pass Scenic Railroad.

A bit of collage can add adventure to your week!  I hope you give it a try.

Happy Creating!

Collage Style Weekly Planner Page

This weekly planner page was so much fun to create!  When you work with collage, nothing is precise or perfect, and embracing that relieves you of so much stress!

You can gather papers that catch your eye, and then slap down whatever seems sort-of right.  Don't wait for exactly the right thing; go with the layout and materials that seem fun and sparkly to you.

Here, I used a label from some British baked beans, an old Ball canning lid box, and a variety of book pages and papers that were rust stained.   You can find out more about the process of rust staining in this post.

I used paint pens for the dates, and white gesso over a couple of the pages to make it easier to write on them.  Watercolor crayons provided a splash of color in the margins between papers.

I hope you try creating your own weekly planner collage page.  You can use whatever you have on hand.  What sorts of papers draw your eye?  Do you have favorite color combinations?  Why not start gathering a handful of papers and a glue stick to play with?

Happy Creating!

Bubble Planner

Another week, another weekly planner page! 

 

This week's inspiration came from looking at a variety of jar lids and other round items, and wondering what the page would look like if I traced them.  

I traced them with a pencil, then used India ink and a brush to create bubbles and swirls.  

I simply followed my intuition.

I recommend tuning into your intuition as a practice.  

 Kindly ask yourself what to do next in your art, and listen to the soft voice of your intuition -- not the noisy, judgmental voice of your inner critic, but the quiet suggestions that often sound unusual, unexpected or downright weird.  

Try those things.  

It's only paper, and you can make wonderful discoveries. 

It helps you to learn to trust your own artist's voice.

 Happy Creating!