Continuing my previous post on my December page flip throughs, my daily entries consisted of a main illustration for the day, and surrounding it are my journaling of the day’s events! I’m not that great a writer, and I don’t want to pressure myself into writing fantastic entries that are full of meaningful thoughts or anything like that. Therefore I try to focus my art on doodling and replicating photos that I’ve taken in my iPhone for that day.

Sometimes I take inspiration from Hobonichi entries shared on facebook pages or cute images I’ve seen on Instagram. Luckily I don’t have to rely much on prompts yet to come up with things to draw. There are too much interesting things around me that I would love to put into doodles and writing.

Of course I have to draw a Christmas tree to match the spirit of the holiday. There are a lot of amazing washi art out there of beautifully decorated trees. I really enjoy drawing this doodle in black and white at first. I was hesitant to color it in for fear of ruining the image, however, I’m glad I did it in the end. It would be nice to see my journey or art doodling throughout the year.

I’m really loving my Winsor and Newton Pocket Palette watercolor set. To make the picture stand out in the page, I’m learning to use deeper shades and bold  coloring. I had to refer frequently to the original photo in my phone, but I really like the rustic outcome of drawing it with black pen.

I tried a bit of stamping inside my Hobonichi, but it seems that some alcohol based ink is not very forgiving on the Tomoe River pages. It totally bled through to the back side.

I received some beautiful sticker flakes from my friend and I started using them to add some liveliness to my doodles. What good are stickers if you only hoard them and keep them in boxes. One of my stationery resolutions this year is to use as much sticker as possible, in my planners, in my journal, and in my Traveler’s Notebook (but still working on that…).

Finally, filling out the monthly calendar is another part of my art diary project. Inspired by some Instagram gurus who draw something significant and fun into each block of the day. The end result is very energetic and lively!

It’s a beautiful way to end the year, and a great start on my Hobonichi journey!