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Creative Journaling , Creative Mindset/Thinking , Creative Thinking ,

Artistic Planning For Beginners

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Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Class Description:

I'll admit it: I have found myself in a planning rut more often than not. It can be difficult to fall back into a routine once you've neglected your planner for so long. I struggled for years to keep a consistent planning routine, and my life fell into chaos each time. Planning was boring, and nothing could keep me motivated.

Nothing, that is, until I discovered artistic planning. By adding something as simple as a brushstroke of color, I began looking forward to planning. I was able to bring order to my life and be productive while also indulging my creative side.

With this course, I will show you what artistic planning is and why it could be the right planning system for you. Then, we'll dive into what materials you'll need to get started and how to get into a creative mindset. Finally, I'll show you various planning spreads I've used in the past and help you figure out which spreads will work best for you.

What You Will Learn:

  • What a bullet journal is and how it works
  • The benefits of keeping an artistic planner
  • How to move past first-page fear
  • Variations of classic bullet journal spreads
  • Unique ways to personalize your planner

Supplies You'll Need:

  • Journal (Dot-grid recommended)
  • Pen or pencil
  • Highlighters (optional)
  • Brush pens (optional)
  • Ruler (optional)

Explore Class Projects:

In this class, you'll learn to create these amazing class projects, but more importantly, you'll learn how to create your own pieces in the future.

Class Content

About Instructor

Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Shelby is the co-founder of Foxsy and the creator at Little Coffee Fox. She is a professional watercolorist, letterer, and artist with a passion for teaching others to reintroduce creativity back into their lives. Shelby lives in Chicago, IL with her husband Jon and her pets Summer, Basil, and Korra.

218 Classes

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Class Details:

  • 📊Level: Beginner
  • ⏰Time: 45 minutes

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Be Part of the Foxsy Revolution

Join a thriving community of over 2,300 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let's paint a brighter, more creative future.

  • Access [coursetotal] classes with 250+ hours of content.
  • Work through over 400 lessons and 70+ projects.
  • Access the Watercolor Academy, Drawing Bootcamp, & Modern Lettering Academies.
  • Join weekly live classes.
  • Get personalized feedback on all projects.
  • Get real answers to your questions with Creative Support.
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  • “As a total beginner when I started, I’m amazed at the amount of skill and knowledge I gained. There’s a wide variety of courses so you can’t get bored.

    There’s always another challenge in the next class. Really appreciated the personal feedback when I submitted projects.
    Janet G
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    (I 'm still getting used to this lol)”
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    As a chronic copier of other people's art, the tips offered here will help me with my own creative process and prevent the block that I feel with "what next"."
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  • "This was so helpful! I loved the way Shelby broke down the basics in a succinct way and tips to use while practicing. Lastly, I appreciated Shelby mentioning that everyone is going to have a unique bounce lettering style.

    As someone who is new to brush lettering in general, I've been copying a lot of what I see. I need that consistent reminder to avoid potential frustration, especially as a beginner!"
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  • "I loved this course. I loved how it showed the lesson and then a project that corresponded with that project.

    The explanations were amazing and helpful and I really felt confident in doing the project. This was probably the best watercolor lesson I've ever taken and enjoyed."
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All Foxsy Memberships include:

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  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Monthly Membership

$29 / month
Go Monthly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Yearly Membership

$164 / year
Go Yearly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Lifetime Membership

$599 Never pay a subscription fee again.
Get Lifetime Access

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support
All plans come with a 30-day Money Back Guarantee.
Cancel anytime in your dashboard.
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Foxsy is an art education platform with on-demand creative courses. It’s designed so you can explore and grow your artistic skills.

The courses contain in-depth lessons and step-by-step projects to fuel your creativity and give you the skills to create your own amazing art.

Here at Foxsy, we are working to build a platform where you can have everything you need to give your creativity everything it needs to thrive.

Right now, we are working on building the best collection of online courses around, so you have everything you need to learn the new skills you've been putting off (or help you dust off some old skills).

We're doing this by working with online creators who have been where you are. Our instructors have all decided to make their creativity a focus of their lives. To devote themselves to exploring their creativity and helping others do the same, and many of them are self-taught. Basically, they get it and can help you no matter where you are.

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Ratings and Reviews

4.6
Avg. Rating
15 Ratings
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What's your experience? We'd love to know!
natalieblais
Posted 8 months ago
Find your creative Soul again!

2026 is the year of ME. Things I love. Things that light up my soul. Things that help me find my core and my purpose! Thank you for reminding me that the joy of art is the art itself! I needed that reminder. Off to smudge some pages and laugh!

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chipster
Posted 1 year ago
A nice introduction to what bullet journaling is--and what it can Become. ?

"The less pressure you put on your art, the more you'll Make Art". Really appreciate the words of wisdom and encouragement from Shelby. Although I did think it would be a tad more hands-on(?), the course was still enjoyable. Excited to journal afresh-!!

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kjeangar
Posted 2 years ago
Great intro to bullet journaling!

I learned so much as Shelby shared her experiences with art and creativity. The video on “Overcoming Perfection” and the “first page fear” were especially meaningful and helpful to me because I really struggle with fear of failure holding me back. Thank you, Shelby for assuring me that mistakes are inevitable and necessary for growth. “Done not perfect” will be my new mantra! Can’t wait to start!

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pammywolf
Posted 2 years ago
Great ideas!

Informative and Shelby is engaging/keeps your attention!

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kolina-winburn
Posted 3 years ago
Done Not Perfect!

I loved the section about perfection. It really helped me embrace the chaos that can come with a bullet journal. I do wish there had been more about how to use the planning to strengthen artistic pursuits.

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Helpful? One person found this helpful.
Zoie
Posted 3 years ago
Hard to rate

This was hard to rate because I had to step back and look at it from a different perspective. I would have given it 2 stars because it was not what I expected at all. If a person is a complete beginner to an artistic bullet journal it was a very broad surface explanation and it appears it was useful to newer people. There are not enough remaining characters to give a proper review, sorry.

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lryan27
Posted 3 years ago
Bullet Journalling for Artists

It was easy to follow and helped me to begin my bullet journalling journey. I highly recommend this course for anyone interested in starting a creative bullet journal.

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Helpful? One person found this helpful.
jgillis1
Posted 3 years ago
Plan Your Creativity

Planning and creating might seem like opposites but getting the results you want don't happen accidentally. There are "happy accidents" in watercoloring of course.

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Helpful? One person found this helpful.
kristin91
Posted 3 years ago
Tricks

I thought it would be more in depth

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dlcosper
Posted 4 years ago
Inspiring

Really liked the overall presentation; it flowed well, had good ideas, and was doable for a beginner. I appreciated the recommendations from inexpensive to high end and permission to use any and all. Now I’m ready for an intermediate class.

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Helpful? 2 people found this helpful.
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