It’s already time to share my December Bullet Journal setup. This month I have chosen gnomes as my theme. It’s already seeming like this theme is overdone but this is my version of it! Especially since I didn’t have any gnome stamps so I’m drawing all of my gnome elements this month.
I’ve already uploaded my Plan With Me video if you want to watch the process. Otherwise, I’m including my supplies I used as well as some tips and tricks for my December Bullet Journal setup.
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Supplies
Basically, a metric trash ton of pens! Since there was no stamping, I pretty much used every size pen I had! With more detailed lettering and doodling, I wanted to make sure I could create my vision so I used what I needed.
Because of using strictly pens, I rediscovered my love of the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen. My go-to for lettering in my bujo is usually faux calligraphy, but thanks to diligent practice in September with the Fude, I was able to use it for all of my calligraphy, saving a lot of time and re-work.
But here is the breakdown of the pens I used:
- Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen
- Tombow Mono Drawing Pens in 01, 03, and 05
- Pentel Touch Sign pen in black
- Papermate Flair in black
- Crayola Supertips in:
- Magenta
- Gold
- Kelly Green
- Taupe
- Black
- Light grey
- Dark Brown
For my monthly view page, I ended up using the Freestyle Foil Quill pen in a bold tip. This was a bit risky for me as I had never used it before so my first time was in my bullet journal. This was off camera as I was playing around so I didn’t have the camera setup. Overall, I really like the effect. I will be posting a video/tutorial specifically on the Foil Quill pens but a couple tips right now include:
- Make sure the tip is very hot before starting to use it
- GO SLOW! If you think you’re going slow enough, go slower. My lettering ended up being spotty because I went too fast
- Tape down every edge of the foil. This makes it easier to design with/on
Tips and Tricks
For my December Bullet Journal setup, I relied on doodling and colouring a lot. So my biggest tip from this setup would be to wait for everything to dry before erasing or writing over top. Specifically, because of the high quality of the Scribbles That Matter paper, you want to wait for the ink to dry before erasing over top of it.
The same can be said about lettering with white over black or colour. Make sure the foundation layer is completely dry to ensure the best opacity of the white pen/marker. If the base layer is still wet, the white ink will pick up the undertone of the underlying colour.
My last tip would be about colouring in with markers. You have to go very slow and be meticulous about your lines going back and forth. I rushed through the colouring a bit so there are streaks and spotting in my colouring. The slower you go and the more careful you are about lines overlapping, the better your colouring will look.
Final Words
If you would like a free copy of the print I include at the beginning of my month, make sure to sign-up for my email newsletter. This will be going out to all subscribers on December 1st.
If you would like to participate in my doodle challenge, I have uploaded the free printable here. I have also uploaded a free monthly view printable to take the hassle out of constantly drawing lines and measuring perfect squares.
If you have any further comments or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I will be more than happy to answer any questions.
