July 2025 Fireworks Journal Design
- Simply Jelly Jam
- Jun 24
- 4 min read
In honor of traditional firework displays in celebration of the 4th of July.
This month's journal design theme was inspired by the traditional firework displays often seen in the night skies in celebration of the 4th of July.
I used calendar stamps, embossing ink, white embossing powder, heat gun, white acrylic paint marker, gel pens, metallic pens, colored pencils, and rulers.
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:
Calendar Overview Pages
I decided on a fireworks journal design theme because I wanted to challenge myself to draw something new: fireworks. Fortunately, fireworks were easy to draw after a quick online search for "fireworks drawings" for inspiration.
I first painted the pages black with an acrylic marker. I would have used my black gesso paint as I have done for past journal designs, but I could not find it. The acrylic marker dried with a semi-glossy finish. I would have preferred a matte finish.
Before I put pen to paper in my journal, I tested various pens, markers, and colored pencils on a black sheet of paper. I also doodled a few fireworks as practice. Doing this made the actual journal design process a mindless process for me.
In the past, I either used a calendar stamp with black stamp ink on a white box (see my February 2025... journal design for an example) or drew a mini calendar by hand (see my October 2023... journal design for an example). This time around, I wanted to try embossing a calendar stamp with white embossing powder.
I have only used my embossing supplies a handful of times, so minor visual mistakes were made (amateur user error). The embossing process took longer than regular stamping or drawing a mini-calendar by hand, but I choose to believe that it looked 'fancier' with the calendar slightly elevated off the page.
Hobbies & Dogs' Pages
I made various visual mistakes, especially when I drew boxes smaller than I should have done, but it was easy to mask it with the same acrylic paint marker I used to make the page black. Because the pages are not truly white, it is challenging to mask mistakes because white-out or white ink would stand out.
I have yet to make a straight-line bingo on any of my I boards this year because life was sucking for several months. (Yay, health problems and other life challenges!) However, I am confident that I will be able to complete some of the fun challenges I wrote for myself in July.
Highlights and Mood Pages
The highlights page will be filled by the end of the month. For now, I included a few fireworks along the top.
I originally intended to fill the mood page with thirty-one numbered firework shells. However, after hours of designing the previous pages, I went with a simple circular tracker to finish the design quickly. With colorful fireworks doodled around it, I believe the page looks pretty good.
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? Doodle designs inspired by a fun holiday celebrated that month!
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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