Hi, friends! 

It’s Char from the Design Team, here to talk to you about some of the most beautiful and colourful spreads you can incorporate into your bullet journal: swatch spreads!

Swatch spreads are super useful to use as a reference when building your other spreads. Having all of your colours in one place is ideal when you’re trying to find just the right colour for your doodles - plus, they can be a beautiful addition to your journal.

This week, I’m showing you a spread inspired by the iconic pantone colour swatches. Grab your pens and draw along with me!

Supplies For Swatch Pages

Below is a rundown of some of the products I used to create this spread. If you would like to purchase any of these products, remember to use the code CHAR10 at checkout to save yourself some money.

• A5 Neapolitan Time for Tea Dot Grid Notebook - This journal has 3 different types of paper so that you can pick your favourite. You can also do this spread on one of the Dot Grid Notepads, or on any of the other Dot Grid Journals. 
• Acrylographs - I stuck with pastel tones from a mix of different collections for this particular spread, but you could totally do a spread on one single collection.
• Fineliners - I used the Pentel Energel (in size 0.5) for the writing and outlines.

Video

Creative Pen Swatch Spread Ideas

There are so many other fun ways to swatch your pens in your journal. Here are a few of my favourites.

Swatch Journal: @crafteinated

Who needs a single swatch spread when you can do an entire swatch journal? Check out some of these amazing spreads from Design Team Member Ericka’s swatch journal.

Monochromatic Swatches: @b.bulletjournal

There is something so satisfying about seeing shades of one colour all together. Plus, I love how Brooke took this swatch spread a step further by drawing the pens themselves.

Clean and Simple: @plansthatblossom

This clean and simple swatch spread by Nicole is just *chefs kiss*. I love how she shows each colour with different line weights so that you can really get a sense of how you can use each pen.

Paint Drops: @crafticland

Changing up the shape of the swatches is a simple way to make your swatch spread a lot more fun. Check out this paint drop style spread by @crafticland!

Pen Caps: @mashaplans

Mirroring the tool itself is such a fun way to keep track of your colours. Check out this pen cap swatch spread by former Design Team member Masha.

Calligraphy swatches: @littlemissrose

If lettering is your thing, this is the spread for you. Check out this beautiful calligraphy swatch spread by Design Team member Rose!

Flower swatches: @my.life.in.a.bullet

I feel like the beauty of this spread speaks for itself… I mean, come ON with those flowers! 

Blackout swatch spread: @danosbujo

Neapolitan, Kraft, and Blackout notebooks can be amazing for swatching opaque pens like Acrylographs, paint pens, or gel pens. Here’s one from design team member Dano to show you how the coloured paper can make these shades pop.

Printable:

To get you started on your own swatch spread, I’ve created a simple one that you can fill in with the pens you have on hand.

Click to download now. 

I hope this inspired you to create your own swatch spread in your journal. Whether you play with the shape, layout, or paper colour, remember to have fun with it!

If you’d like to see more of my spreads, you can find me on Instagram at @chardangerfield.art. 

Don’t forget to tag @archerandolive, @archerandolive.community, #AOShare and #archerandolive if you recreate this spread on your own. See you next time!