My bullet journal used to be a mess until I started using a pencil first

I mean, for the first few months my journal looked so sloppy. I'd go straight in with my pen and mess up a whole weekly spread, like drawing a box in the wrong spot or writing the wrong date. I felt like I had to be perfect and just deal with the mistakes. Then, about six months ago, I saw someone on a forum say they sketched everything out with a regular pencil first. I tried it with a basic #2 pencil from my junk drawer. Now I lightly draw all my lines, headers, and even my doodles before I trace over them with my fineliners. It takes an extra five minutes, but I haven't ruined a page since. It took the pressure off and made the whole thing way more fun. Does anyone else do this, or have a different trick for fixing layout mistakes?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_anderson6d agoMost Upvoted

That pencil trick is a total game changer, I started doing the same thing last year. What kind of eraser do you use though? I found my regular pink one smudges the ink if I don't wait forever for it to dry, so I had to switch to a white vinyl one.

the_phoenix5d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, does the white vinyl eraser actually work on ink without smearing? I tried one years ago and it left this weird ghost mark on the paper, like a greasy stain. Maybe they've changed the formula since then. Are you using a specific brand that works well, or did you have to test a bunch of them first?