Start a new Bullet Journal With Me

The Right Bullet Journal For You

First thing before you can even start planning the pages to your Bujo, is to decide on what journal you are going to use. As personal preference, I love B5 sized journals. The journals I’ve chosen for this year are from Notebook Therapy. I have looked on Archer&Olive, but their B5 selection is rather limited compared to Notebook Therapy.

There are other online stores you can go to for Bullet Journals. I know on Amazon, you can buy Leuchtturm 1917, and STM journals.

In addition, if you look on Etsy, you may come across some shops where people sell pre-made journals for you to just fill in. There are plenty of options out there, just research first before trying out a journal. There is no rule about having to stick with one company each time. The same goes for the size of the journal to. My first Bujo was a Leuchtturm 1917 Bullet Journal in A5. I felt I wanted more space to write while using less pages. So I changed to a B5 and its perfect for me.

Digital Bullet Journals

Now these are are paper options, if you’re a iPad user, you have a lot of Bullet Journal apps available to do. While there are some for Android, I found that its more limited compared to iPads. But there are still Digital Journals if you fee like you don’t want to carry round a book with you but take a tablet with you.

Paper Weight

One thing to also take note of, is the type of paper the journal has. While you can use any book as your bullet journal. It matters what materials you wish to use to design your pages. Journals from Notebook Therapy and Archer&Olive are 160gsm. This is the thickness of the paper and what material are best suited for. For 160gsm, you’re able to use watercolour paints, and water-based pens and markers. They won’t bleed through pages.

However, if you wish to use Copic Markers, which are alcohol based. They will bleed through most paper. If you wish to Copic markers, I suggest you colour on special copic paper, then stick it into your journal. This is what I do for my monthly title pages.

Materials

One good thing about bullet journaling, you are free to be as creative as you want to. There are different styles of journals for you to use to. Be it scrap journaling, travel journaling, minimalistic journaling, etc. you can explore what works for you. Look on any social media website for ideas.

I started off with a minimalistic journal, using post-it notes to add some colour to my spreads. I was more focused on writing content than being creative. It wasn’t until I ordered from Notebook Therapy that I started to explore the use of different materials. I’ve become more creative with my journal. However I sometimes feel it becomes my main focus and takes me away from what is really important.

Here’s a list of the materials that I use when I’m journaling:

• Copic and Staedtler Fine liners
• Tombow Dual tip brush pens
• Dual Tip Brush Pens
• Swing Cool Highlighters
• Mildliners
• Play Color 2 and K pens
• Metallic pens
• Sasara Gel Pens
• Washi Tapes
• Stamps
• Stencils
• Copic Markers (on Copic Marker paper)

Planning Ahead

Once I have the bullet journal, I like to write a list of what spreads I want in the journal, so I can plan what order I want things to go in. In my current journal, I didn’t really plan ahead. I added spreads that should have gone at the front. Instead, I put them in in the middle of the journal and it looks a little strange, but I learnt my lesson.

As this is my second journal for this year, I omitted some spreads in this journal as I already have them in the first journal. Spreads such as; Future log, and other personal spreads that I mentioned and showed in my Season Greetings Everyone post. I didn’t see the point to recreating these spreads as I can just refer back to the notebook when needed.

Let The Fun Begin!

Before I begin to start working on my spreads, I like to create a Grid Spacing Ruler, and 2-fold outs that stick to the back of the front cover. These are to help me set everything up and save time.

I got these ideas from JashiiCorrin, who has some great ideas for being a little more creative when journaling.

First Collection

It can be really daunting staring at a blank page. Being unsure at where to really start. As I mentioned previously, I like to make a list of the spreads of what I want to put in the front of my journal. There are so many other different options, yet it all depends on what you want to do in your journal.

To give you ideas, here is a list to help get you started:

General Ideas

• Key
• Affirmation (why you want to Journal)
• Index / Contents
• Future Log
• Work/School/Project Schedule
• My Ideal Day
• Goals for the Year
• About Me
• Love Yourself (Self-Care brainstorm)

Personal Collection Ideas

• Yearly Mood Tracker
• Travel Log
• Books
• Movies
• TV Series
• Self-care Tracker
• Online Order Tracker
• Savings Tracker
• Spending Tracker
• Weight Tracker
• Health Tracker

I find that putting spreads that are meant to be used throughout the entire journal is best go to at the front of the journal. Making them easier to find and to clear show that it is not for a specific month.

If you want to track something for just the month, then I suggest adding it within the monthly log spreads. Grouping everything for the month together keeps things organised. As this system is designed to help organise your thoughts and tasks, then don’t make things more complicated then they need to be.

Be Creative in Your Bullet Journal

Next, I’ll go through and pencil lightly at the top of the pages to plan the pages in the book. Then I can start planning the layout on each page. For the trackers in the front of the journal, I wanted to use Dutch Doors, so its easier to differentiate between the rest of the spreads.

As I am using the Falling Stars Bullet Journal, I wanted to use this motif for the edge of the Dutch doors. It actually turned out a lot better than I thought, so I am really happy about that. From there I also decided to use the glittery washi tape across the top and cut out clouds to further use the design motif.

The Important Part

Lastly, add the trackers and info to your pages. Planning it all out in pencil first, before going over in pen. I did have to browse Pinterest to get ideas for some of the trackers. I couldn’t find a mood tracker for 6-months, so it took me a while to plan what to do in my head before putting it down on paper.

As I bought the journal from Notebook Therapy, they don’t have numbered pages. Having to write them in can be time consuming, but I find it’s easier for referencing that I do it anyway. If you are able to find page number stickers, then buy them to save time, but these journals are 176 pages, so be sure to get a set with the right amount.

Conclusion

There is still a few weeks before I have to start planning out July’s spreads. So I’ll post an up-date on them as soon as I get them done.

However, I have some other projects to do before the end of August. As my family and I are going to the UK for a family wedding. It will be the first time my family gets to meet my LO and my Husband in person. So its a very big event.

I also want to make a Bujo for my Mother as a birthday gift, but after talking to her about it, it sounds like she would prefer a Travel journal. There are a few things I have to plan out before the new journals arrive. I hope I can get it done before I leave.