Hi lovely readers,
I'm back from my roller derby tournament Eastbourne Extreme and I've only got aches and bruises!
So before I ramble on about roller derby (which I could genuinely do all day), onto this week's blog!
Now as with any kind of journalling, it is a personal choice on whether you use stencils or do freehand mandalas.
However, if mandalas aren't your thing I recently discovered through watching a tiktok that you don't need to use the entire stencil!
You can create funky patterns and doodles using different sections of the stencil.
For example in my 23 books for 2023 I used a stencil to create a repeated pattern as a border for the page.
Alternatively, I used a mandala stencil to create a doodle for decorating my monthly log
As you can see I used a corner and part of the central design.
Top tips if you do use stencils:
You can colour directly into the stencil if you prefer
You can outline the shape then colour in once the stencil is removed
Try your stencil on a plain piece of paper or a post it note before going into your journal
Obviously some people prefer freehand doodling and are far more artistic that I will ever be!
I definitely prefer using simple stencils that I can then adapt into a complicated doodle or a mandala.
This is because I find repeated patterns calming and trying to think of doodles isn't always easy for me.
I decided to try both techniques out on a page in my bullet journal. I split it into two: one side for stencils and one for freehand doodles.
This helped me decide that stencils are my way to go!
If you would like your own stencils, you can find loads on Amazon and Etsy. I use a set of 36 plastic mandala stencils but as always, the choice is yours!
See you next week and thank you for reading!
Sophie ☯️📚📖
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