Using rub-on transfer stickers.
I decorated my journal pages using cacti-themed rub-on transfer stickers and clear stamps I bought from Dollar Tree to save myself time.
NOTE: While the pages are like those who setup their Bullet Journals (BuJo), I use this journal more as a memory keeper/diary. The BuJo-inspired pages encourage me to make note of the good things in life, even on the worst days.
In case it's helpful, below are the topics covered in this post:
Calendar Overview Pages
Because I did not have a lot of time to devote to decorating my journal pages, I used rub-on transfer stickers and clear stamps I bought from my local Dollar Tree.
In retrospect, I regret not buying two sheets of the rub-on transfer stickers. I like a cluttered look on a journal page. Since I did not have a lot of stickers to work with, I doodled several plants, attempting to match the style of the plants from the sheet.
I mistakenly used the wrong calendar date stamp for the mini-calendar on the right page. I masked my mistake with a piece of scrap paper and the correct clear stamp to represent the month of May.
The calendar overview is where I note important dates I want to document in my journal.
The larger calendar fills much of both pages. I note events such as birthdays, appointments, and holidays within the appropriate block that represents a day in the month. During the month, I will make a short note of something that happened.
On the right, I will note the best and worst things to happen during the month. While I write a line of text highlighting one good thing about that day on my highlights page, I believed it was important to document the bade things as well. It will allow me to reflect on the past and press on with the future.
I also have a mini calendar for next month and another box where I'll note next month's events coming soon. I like being able to visually see ahead to things I may need to be aware of before those days come.
Productivity-related notes like to-do lists are managed in a separate and more simplistic Bullet Journal.
Hobbies and Dogs' Pages
For the hobbies & dogs pages, I attempted to fill-in the bottom half of the right page with a curved shelf of sorts. Sadly, it looked horrendous! Freehand is good, but next time I will search for my stencils to help with my sketches.
Since my hobbies & dogs pages primarily track my dogs, it only felt right to include Snoopy and his best friend Woodstock. Since I had a lot of empty space, I added three more yellow birds.
My hobbies & dogs are tracked across a two-page spread. While many journal enthusiasts track their habits, tracking my favorite hobbies reminds me to dedicate time for fun. The hobbies I track are:
arts + crafts,
writing, and
gaming.
For my dogs, I track the following:
when they go for a joy ride,
when they go for a good walk,
when I've cared for their coat with a brush, leave-in shampoo, or bath,
when they received teeth care with brush chews or teeth brushing, and
when they get to relax with a picnic in the park.
I especially wanted to track my puppy's training progress. We will focus on mastering several skills.
Highlights and Mood Pages
I added a few colorful plants to the bottom of the highlights page. I saved the black-and-white rub-on transfer stickers for mood tracker page. I originally intended to color-in plant each day, but chose to only color-in the planters instead.
Every night, I write a line of text highlighting one good thing about that day on my highlights page (left). I will write about a simple thing that made me happy.
Even on the worst days, I try to think about a highlight of that day to write down. This page is intentionally left blank since I will fill it in throughout the month.
I treat my mood tracker page (right) as a coloring page of sorts. Each night, I will normally color-in a part of an image (or shape) that represents my overall mood for that day: awesome, okay, sick, or bad/sad.
What's Next?
Short on time to decorate your journal pages hand drawn details? Use stickers to fill the pages and make it look lively!
Have you set up your journal design? Comment below to share what theme you went with and what materials you used to create it.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam