January 2026 Tea Themed Journal Design
- Simply Jelly Jam
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
Inspired by my new journal's cover.
The cup/mug design on the cover of my new dotted journal inspired me to go with a tea themed journal design for January!
I used archival ink pens, watercolor paints, paintbrushes, calendar stamps, archival stamp ink, acrylic stamp block, and pencils (for initial sketches).
NOTE: While the page layouts are like Bullet Journal (BuJo) setups you have seen online, I use this journal as a diary/memory keeper, not for productivity. 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 main points covered in this post:
SeQeS Journal
A new year means a new dotted journal for me. I got the SeQeS A5 dotted journal notebook (coffee design) with gold guilded edges from Amazon.com for $24.95 USD. This is my second SeQeS dotted journal. I used the ginko leaf design with silver guilded edges all through 2025.
The 160gsm thick paper makes it great for paints. The pages warped when I saturated, but I have yet to have any paint bleed through the pages.
There are two ribbons to serve as page markers, a pen loop, and a pocket on the inside of the back cover. Since this journal serves as my diary/memory keeper, I tend to store photos, stickers, and other personal collectibles in the pocket.
The journal also came with a metal bookmarker with stencil cutouts, two decorative paperclips, two sticker sheets, 2026/2027 calendar sheet with American holidays noted, and a grid spacing guide/how to draw simple shapes sheet.
Calendar Overview Pages
The cup/mug and floral/leafy design of the journal's cover inspired this month's design. Since I am not much of a coffee drinker, I chose to go with a tea theme.
I doodled a tea cup, tea bag, and tea leaves. I used watercolor paints to add color and create faux ring stains. I stuck with a minimal soft color palette of brown, blue-gray, green, and red (tea bag's tag).
Hobbies & Dogs' Pages
As I did with the other pages, I doodled a tea cup, tea bag, and tea leaves. I also included a red tea pot for a spot of color. I thought about adding more, but I left it minimal since it will look fuller at the end of the month.
Highlights and Mood Pages
I did not mean to overlap my doodles with the last day/line for the highlights page. Hopefully, I would not need the full line to write something positive for that day. If I have more to say, I can write on the lines below it. The faux ring stains should be easy to write over with a dark pen ink.
Detailed Info About the Pages
The calendar overview is where I note important dates I want to document in my journal. For example, I will make a short note of something that happened on different days.
I also highlight the best and worst things to happen during the month. I primarily want to document positive things on the decorated pages, but I feel it is also important to document bad things, especially if it is a lesson learned.
While many journal enthusiasts track their habits, I track my favorite hobbies as a reminder to dedicate time for fun. I also track the things I want to do for my dogs to ensure their happiness and well-being.
The hobbies I track are:
art + crafts,
writing, and
gaming.
I also track the following for my dogs:
when they go for a joy ride (their favorite thing to do),
when they go for a long walk,
when I care for their coat with a brush, leave-in shampoo, or bath,
when they receive 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 young dog's training progress. We will focus on mastering a few skills. I would love for her to become a Canine Good Citizen one day. Unfortunately, I am horrible with training. We have a long training road ahead of us.
The BINGO game is just a goofy activity to note and track a wish list of things I would like to accomplish during the month.
Every night, I write a line of text highlighting one good thing about the day on the highlights page (left). It forces me to think on the bright side, especially on the most challenging days when my depression hits hard.
I treat my mood tracker page (right) as a coloring page of sorts. Each night, I will color-in a part of an image or shape that represented my overall mood for that day.
What's Next?
Struggling to come up with a theme for your journal design? Maybe your journal cover can spark inspiration!
Have you set up your journal design? Comment below to share what theme you went with and the materials you used.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
~Simply Jelly Jam
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