Hi! It’s Kate from @journalwithkate on Instagram and today I’m here to share a selfcare morning routine to restore your calmness.

Self-care is something we all should be implementing on a daily basis, yet for most of us it comes as a bit of a struggle. The best way of incorporating self care is by starting the day off with it. 

Recommended supplies

• Archer and Olive Notebook: Here I'm using the B5 Morning Sun dot grid notebook. It's bigger than the usual A5. Perfect if you find yourself needing more space. Especially when you’re practicing with the larger tip brush pens.  Click on this link or use code KATE10 to save money on your order! These notebooks are perfect if you’re looking for pages that don’t ghost or bleed! 
• Pencil and eraser: I start nearly every spread by sketching the design with a pencil. 
• Archer and Olive Acrylograph pens: For this spread I’ve used the following colors in both 0.7 as well as 3mm: 
• Cocoa from the Cool Fall set;
• Brick Red from the Cool Fall set;
• Dusty Rose from the Jewel collection;
• Ginger from the Vernal (spring) collection;
• Gold from the Metallic set. 
• Stencil and brushpen: For the title I’ve used a stencil and the brown Pentel Touch pen. 

Get started 

I started off with a sketch of my idea. Once I liked the design I  used washi tape as masking tape to keep the crisp lines for the borders. I colored in the shapes with the colors I mentioned earlier. To give it a finishing touch, I separated the shapes by outlining them with the 3mm Gold Acrylograpj pen from the Metallic set. Man, I love the color combination if I may say so myself!

Next up was outlining the border. I’ve used the Copic multiliners (fineliners) in the sizes 0.05 and 1.0. 

For the title I used a stencil. You can find bullet journal stencils literally everywhere, especially on Etsy! For the handlettered ‘morning routine’ I used the brown Pentel Touch Sign pen. 

Finally I used the Uni-ball Signo gelpen in size 0.38 to write out the checklist. 

If you want to see how I created this spread step by step, watch this video. 

For the handlettered part of the title I’m using light pressure for the thinner upstrokes and heavy pressure for the thicker upstrokes! Overall I’m really pleased how this spread turned out! 

I hope you find this blog post helpful and you’ll start creating your own selfcare morning routine. Having a self care morning routine doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s just about making small changes that make a big impact. Download a free printable version of this self care morning routine checklist here!

I’d love to see what you create and what your self care morning routine looks like. Use the hashtag #archerandolive or #archerandolivecommunity. Don’t forget to tag me on @journalwithkate and @archerandolive so we can see your work. Have fun!