Hi loves! It's Kate from @journalwithkate and today I am going to show you how to use alcohol markers in your bullet journal! Wait Wut!? Alcohol markers in your bullet journal??? Yes, I said it! Alcohol markers in your bullet journal! Everything you can imagine is real!

I often use Copic Markers in my bullet journal and every time I post it I get asked the same question: Don't the alcohol markers bleed through the pages? There is one simple answer. YES, there is no way to prevent alcohol markers from bleeding through your pages, but there are ways to cover it up. Keep on reading and I'll show you what my methods are!

The supplies I use: 

• Journal: I've used journals of many different brands over the years. I can now honestly say that the Archer and Olive journals take alcohol markers the best. The paper doesn't soak up the ink immediately, which allows you enough time to blend the colors together. 
• A pencil and an eraser: I always sketch my drawings out before doing the line work. 
• Fineliners: Make sure to use waterproof fineliners to avoid smearing. My favorites are the Unipins and the Copic Multiliners. 
• Alcohol Markers: I've tested so many different brands over the years and I've found that Copics are the best quality. Building a Copic collection can get quite expensive. Don't think you need the higher end supplies to make beautiful artwork. I've seen people make beautiful art with the less expensive markers, like Ohuhu markers. 
• Colored pencils: I use alcohol markers for the base layer and add a colored pencil layer on top of it. This gives such a beautiful effect! Faber Castell Polychromos pencils are my faves! 

 Step by step: 

• Step 1: Search for a reference picture. Pinterest is a great resource for reference pictures. 
• Step 2: Sketch the outline with your pencil and go over your line drawing with a fineliner. 
• Step 3: Grab a separate sheet and slide it under the page you're working on to prevent the markers from bleeding trough multiple pages. 
• Step 4: Color in the base layer with the alcohol marker of your choice and add shading. 
• Step 5: Add extra shading and texture with colored pencils. 

And voila! Your'e done!

So, yes the markers bleed through the pages, but there are different ways to cover it up. The method I use frequently is using glue tape to glue two pages together. 

Another way to cover up the bleeding is glueing a pretty picture on top of the bleeding.

I saved the best tip for last! Get yourself an Archer and Olive dot grid Notepad and use those pages to glue on top of the bleeding and voila, you have a brand new bujo page!

Working with Copic markers gives me so much joy and the results make me even happier. That's why I don't mind buying an extra notebook each to replace the pages I've "lost". To me that is totally worth it!. Is working with alcohol markers worth it to lose a couple of pages due to bleeding? You decide! 

I hope you find this tutorial helpful and you'll start using alcohol markers in your journal! I'd love to see more people using alcohol markers in their journal, so tag me (@journalwithkate) and @archerandolive on Instagram. 

Good luck and have fun!