September is a chaotic time for just about every family. Back-to-school time comes with homework, assignments, special lunch days, dress-up days, and fees for numerous activities due on a variety of dates. Even if you don’t have kids, this is the perfect time of year to start a new organizational strategy. The fresh fall air is perfect for a fresh fall start. This DIY watercolour weekly planner is remarkably easy to make and is so pretty you’ll want to keep using it.
Ashley Perna/Geeks in Art
Materials:
- Watercolour Pencils
- Watercolour Pad (9″x12″)
- Pencil
- Sharpie Felt-Tip Pen, Black
- Paint Brushes
- Hi-Polymer, Non-Abrasive Eraser
- Ruler
- Mug of water (Dalek Mug Optional)
Step One: Draw Your Lines
Ashley Perna/Geeks in Art
The first step is to frame out the format of your planner. Basically, you want to divide it into two equal halves lengthwise, and three equal thirds horizontally, with the final square divided into two diagonally. To make it easier and to account for the spiral at top I measured half an inch from the top and bottom and put my squares in between those lines.
You can freehand the lines if you like, but I am incapable of drawing a straight line even with the assistance of a ruler, so I carefully measured. The boxes on my page are 4.5″ wide and a little over 3.5″ tall. I measured half an inch at the top of each box to write the day of the week. I also measured a quarter of an inch, as a guideline for the lowercase dates.
Step Two: Hand Letter the Dates
Ashley Perna/Geeks in Art
Hand lettering is a lot of fun – there are a million different ways you can be creative with the lettering style. For this planner, I used a simple script style. Start by writing the dates in light pencil in cursive, leaving space between the letters.
Next, draw a second line next to every downstroke, as in the first image above. Keep the lines think when your pencil/pen moves up, drawing additional lines to thicken the lines made when your pencil/pen moves down. Then, colour in these lines to give your letters a faux-calligraphy look. You can use whatever colour you want. I used black on these two because it stands out and I wouldn’t need to worry about the watercolour pencil crayons affecting the shade of the letters.
Step Three: Colour in the Squares
Ashley Perna/Geeks in Art
Now it’s time for the fun part! Colour in your planner using the watercolour pencil crayons. I wanted mine to have a blurry-watery effect, using blues and purples. I made the other one for my son, and tried to make it look like a sunrise, with oranges, yellows, and reds.
Step Four: Paint
Ashley Perna/Geeks in Art
Wet the paint brush with water and start blending the colours together. You may want to take a spare piece of paper and play around with blending colours, using varying pressure, and amounts of water first. Try different brush sizes and strokes to come up with a background for your planner that you love.
Step Five: Flatten and Posting Your Planner
Ashley Perna/Geeks in Art
After the page dries, you need to flatten it so you can use it as a planner without it curling all over the place. First, decide if you are happy with how it turned out. You can take this opportunity to add more colour and repaint if you want. If you’re happy with it, you can start using it as is. Pick up a fine tip black pen, to be sure the events you schedule stand out against the paint.
Alternatively, you can pick up a glass frame and a few dry erase markers to create a makeshift dry-erase board. This way, you can continue to enjoy your beautiful weekly planner all year long.
