It’s time to share my July Bullet Journal Setup 2021. I started with avocados and ended up with a guacamole theme. Just leaned into and so today, I am sharing my guacamole theme setup. Along with a new setup, I have new downloads available in the From Blank to Brilliant Library, as well as new product in the Shop, so you can check those out. If you would like to watch the setup, you can catch the video here, otherwise, let’s go.
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July Bullet Journal Setup 2021 Supplies
- Archer and Olive A5 Notebook (NML10 for 10% off)
- The Pigeon Letters Monoline Pens in 01, 03, and 05
- Archer and Olive Acrylograph Pens in Chrome, Buttercup, White, Brick Red, Jardin, and Pine Green
- Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink in Ground Espresso
- Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool
- Clear cellophane (recycled from packaging)
- Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen
- Natasha Miller Letters Mini Calendar Stamp Set
- Natasha Miller Letters What the Guac sticker set
- Tape glue, scissors, craft knife
General Setup
This will be the last month in my A5 journal so I decided to go all out with the cover page, and make up for the space by combining my Habit Trackers and my Brain Dump Page (which I called Notes this month). July has a lot more going on compared to June, and I have mixed feelings about it, but I will get into that later in this post.
If you are wanting to create the pull tab, I used a combination of the simple pull tab tutorial, and the invisible pull tab that I used in June. It was a little trickier, and I ran into measuring problems, but that had more to do with my general mood when putting this all together. If you have any questions about this pull tab, let me know in the comments and I will be happy to answer them.
The Dreaded Creative Rut
To be completely honest with you, I have spent the last 3 weeks in a creative rut. I have been procrastinating A LOT and this setup felt like a massive hurdle to get over. Mostly, because I don’t think I am as committed to the theme as I initially was, and then I over complicated this cover page so much that it sucked the creative energy out of me. I clearly managed to push through it since here it is, but it definitely took a lot out of me. So here I wanted to share some tips to push through setting up your bullet journal when you are struggling.
- Most important of all: don’t! If you don’t want to, then don’t do it. Lol! Ground breaking, I know, but don’t. As someone trying to grow a business and a following, I definitely fell victim to social media pressures that, honestly, are created by me. At the end of the day, it’s a notebook and will always be there for you when you are ready to get back to it.
- If you, like me, will go against your better judgement and try to push through, then keep it simple. Do the bare minimum to allow for functionality and maybe come back another day to add creative flair. My calendar page, tracker page, and notes took less than a quarter of the time that it took to create the cover page. Definitely keep it simple to minimize causing more stress.
- If you are still insisting on pushing through and your vision fails to translate onto the page, turn the page and keep going. You don’t have to go back and look at that page if you don’t want to. If anything, you can look back on that page, remember what you were going through, and give yourself a pat on the back for pushing through and carrying on. It works as a great reminder of your own resilience and is a great way to practice patience with yourself.
Final Thoughts
I hope you manage to take something away from this setup. Whether it be creative inspiration, or patience with yourself and the process. Forcing yourself to do something that helps you work through stress, may just end up causing more stress (especially in this scenario). And I’m sure you agree, that’s just defeating the purpose. It’s part of the reason I offer free printable stickers to subscribers. I am trying to help take the pressure off of bullet journaling for you. That definitely doesn’t mean I don’t feel pressure myself. I just have to work through it too.
If you’re still with me, thank you for coming to my TedTalk. And if you’re thinking there’s nothing wrong with the setup, I appreciate that everyone sees things differently. This was a struggle for me, and everyone’s struggles look different. As my skills improve, the struggles will look different. My last struggle was November 2020, and I have definitely improved since then. But, I’m starting to ramble. Let me know what you do to get through your creative ruts. Also let me know if you like the stickers, and are planning on using them. I would love to see how you adapt them to your layouts.
Talk soon!
