Hi friends! Welcome back to my blog and thanks for joining me for my monthly plan with me. In this post I will be sharing with you all the details you need to recreate these spreads in your own journals.
For this set up I will be using my Summer Sunflower Stickers Set (wow, try saying that ten times fast … yikes!) and I have listed all the items I have used to create my spreads below. I have also created a handy how-to video which is linked above to make sure this setup is easy for all to follow along. So, grab a drink, pull up a chair, and lets get to it!
In this setup I will be using :
– My favourite Archer & Olive A5 dot grid journal
– My set of lovely sunflower stickers (available here)
– 01 Fine-liner, I use Pigma Micron
– Tombow Brush Pen Yellow 090
– White gel pen
– Scissors / Craft knife
– Ruler
– Pencil
– Eraser
COVER PAGE
To begin my setup, I will start by adding the large group of sunflowers sticker to the right side of my blank double page spread. Try and keep the sticker as central as possible, remembering to take into account that you will be adding a title.
To create my title, I am using my 01 Pigma Micron, and allowing each letter of the word “AUGUST” to sit inside a two by two dot grid square. To keep the title central, I count in by 13 squares to find the middle and pencil my title in from the middle of the word outwards before penning in the design.
To create my Dutch door design, I count in by 8 squares from the right hand side and create a soft pencil guide line. I will then use my scissors or craft knife to cut along this line, being careful to cut around the design where it extends over the guide. I find it helpful to create a faint pencil line along the cut away onto the page underneath to ensure the design below doesn’t go into the visible area created.
INSIDE COVER PAGE
Using the guide made from the cut away above, I can map out in pencil where my title lines can go without entering the visible area. I have three titles which are Events, Goals and Colours. Under Events, I will add any important upcoming events I need to remember to ensure I don’t forget as I can be very forgetful. I will set myself a monthly goal which could be anything from try to smile more to eat less biscuits … but they’re so good! Under the Colours title I will add in a set of swatches for any colours I will be using in my spreads. If you are recreating the sunflower design, this is where you would put your colour pallet in for a reference, or if you use highlighters etc this is where your key would go defining each of the chosen colours. To finish off this spread, I have added my header image of three sunflowers to brighten up the page.
MONTHLY LOG & TASK LIST
This month, I want to keep the spreads simple and let the stickers designs do the work. To do this, I will not be setting up my trusty box grid calendar as usual. Instead I will be creating a list view calendar.
First things first, these spread need a title. In keeping with the text on the cover page, I am using my 01 fine-liner to add each letter of the title into approximately a two by two dot grid square. I like to leave a one square column on the left hand side to help the spreads not feel squished onto the pages.
For my list calendar, I begin by counting in three squares, and in the third square column I will write the numbers one to thirty-one … because there are thirty-one days in august. (Trust me I checked about ten times!) To the left of my calendar numbers, I will add the letter to correspond with each day of the week (this is correct for 2022, but if your setting this up another year … PLEASE check the days of the week against your dates to ensure they are correct). Following the line of dots down on the right hand side of the numbers, I will draw a single line to help differentiate and separate the dates from the events when added in. To highlight easily and clearly where the weekends lie in my calendar, I will use my yellow brush pen to colour the lines and corresponding dates.
Finally, this wouldn’t be a summer sunflower spread without adding in some of those big bold sunflowers. I will be keeping my task list as a simple bullet list, so on the right side of the list page I have added a bold double sunflower sticker. Looking fab!
ORGANISATION SPREADS
It’s August, we’re more than half way through the year, and I still have tons of things on my to do list that are just not getting done! I have created some bad habits, and my good habits are slipping out of favour. When my life gets like this, I like to sit down and get organised. To get organised, I love creating a current, should and want list, (inspired by Ryder Carroll. If you haven’t read his book – The Bullet Journal Method – I highly recommend!) and creating a habit dump. I promise it’s not as gross as it sounds!
So, lets get organised! I divide my left page into three columns which are approximately nine squares wide, and create a title row three squares deep. The titles I need are Current, Should and Want. This is a fairly simple way to unclutter my otherwise manic mind. In the current column, I will put all the projects and to do items i am currently working on. The Should column is all those things I should be doing but I’m busy procrastinating, and the want is for all the things I want to be doing but I don’t have time left after my main procrastination of the day. Nice and simple, and now i have a clear view of just how much procrastinating I have been doing … excellent! The aim, of course, is to use this to work out redundant tasks by crossing them out, and if tasks need to move into a different column. It can be helpful to re-write your columns out fresh once you have had a good go through.
Now for that habit dump! (seriously, I promise it’s not as gross as you think!) So to get to grips with all my habits, good and bad, I need to visualize exactly what all these habits are. If you have ever made a brain dump or a mind map in your journal, this is essentially the same concept but focused on different trackable habits. To create my habit dump, i’m going to start by adding a large sunflower sticker to the centre of the page and use my white gel pen to add the title “HABITS”. (See I told you it wasn’t that bad!) From each of the petal points I will then draw a line out and list all the things that I could possibly want to track. Trackable habits could be anything from logging how often you read, to checking how often you wash your hair! If you have developed a bad habit, track it! You will soon see your habits come to life on the pages, become more aware of them and start to make changes without even realizing.
WEEKLY SETUP
The last spreads to create, and arguably the most important, are of course the weekly spreads. You can fill in this weekly spread in one of two ways: either set up tasks and assign them to particular days along with any events that day, or at the end of the day, use the day to write down all the things you achieved. I used to assign my tasks, however I now find the latter approach much more successful. I leave my journal open on my desk on the task list page, and work my way though it adding and marking off as I go. At the end of the day, I add in what tasks I started or finished that day so that I have a log of when I achieved them if I need to look back for reference at any time whilst still having a clear view of my schedule for each day ahead.
To create these spreads, I am first going to take two of the long sunflower border stickers and place one along the left side of the page. This should be no more than seven squares wide. I am not going to stick my second border sticker down, instead I am going to count in seven squares and draw a faint pencil line down to create a guide. Using the space remaining, I will set up eight days per spread, each day being in a column nine squares wide with a one square wide column border between days. Each day in my journal is nine squares high and allows three squares high for the daily title.
To create my daily titles, I will use my yellow brush pen to colour the nine square row at the top of each day’s column. I will then underline the title under the third row of each day and add a small borderline two squares in and two squares high either side above the line. This layout will give me space to write the title of the day of the week in yellow, the date in the first blank title space, the month , and finally in the last space I will log the weather on that day (because why not!?). I will repeat this step until I have enough spaces for all thirty-one days, and will use the final space to add any notes or reminders to remember for next month.
Remember that guide line we drew in seven squares in on the right side pages? Well now were going to cut down them and remove the excess paper. (Handy tip, keep these off cuts as these can be handy as a travelling to-do list in your journal for super busy times.) Remember when cutting these away NOT TO CUT THE FINAL PAGE! On the last page of your daily spreads, this column will be used for the second sunflower border sticker. All that is left to do is rub out any of those pencil marks, share your recreations on Dot&Cross social media, and begin filling in your journal.
