Going with a "fishy" design theme.
I worked with a "fishy" theme for my August journal design. I thought it'd be fun to reference small aquarium and fish tank photos for inspiration. It also seemed fitting to use watercolor paints since fish like water. I know. That was a lame joke.
NOTE: While the pages are like those who setup their Bullet Journals (BuJo), I use this journal more as a memory keeper/diary. The BuJo-inspired pages encourage me to make note of the good things in life, even on the worst days.
The Design Theme
For my August 2021 journal design theme, I struggled to think of an original (to me) design theme. When I can't think of anything, I check to see what random holidays are celebrated that month.
It turns out that August is U.S. National Fishing Month, among other random holidays being celebrated that month. I'm personally not fond of fishing because I've witnessed my brother "hook" himself many times resulting in ER visits when I was a child.
However, I the holiday reminded me of the small aquariums and fish I've owned in my past. I thought it'd be fun to doodle some fishy scenes since it's not something I've doodled much.
Title
For the title page, I referenced online photos of small aquariums or fish tanks. It's been so long since I've owned goldfish and maintained an aquarium. In retrospect, I could've doodles a betta fish in a small bowl. It would've been quicker and easier with less detail.
Since I'm determined to keep practicing and building my watercolor painting skills, I used that medium to color the pages. Unlike when I created my July 2021 Journal Design, I tried to avoid using a white gel pen to add highlights. I'm still heavy with the paint pigments, but I'm trying.
Calendar Overview
The calendar overview is where I note important dates I want to document in my journal.
The larger calendar fills much of both pages. I note events such as birthdays, appointments, and holidays within the appropriate block that represents a day in the month. During the month, I'll make a short note of something that happened.
On the left, I have a mini calendar for next month and another box where I'll note next month's events coming soon. I like being able to visually see ahead to things I may need to be aware of before those days come.
I'm grateful the journal pages tolerate watercolor. It's not meant for watercolor paintings, but I don't worry about the pigments bleeding through the pages. I went ahead and washed the background of the pages blue.
Highlights and Trackers
Every night, I write a line of text highlighting one good thing about that day on my highlights page. Usually, I write about a simple thing that made me happy. Even on the worst days, I try to think about a highlight of that day to write down. This page is intentionally left blank since I'll fill it in throughout the month.
On the trackers page, I note when I complete my favorite hobbies. While many journal enthusiasts track their habits, tracking my favorite hobbies reminds me to dedicate time for myself and happiness. The hobbies I track are:
arts + crafts,
writing,
gaming, and
workout.
My dogs' care and happiness are equally important. I track the following for my dogs:
when they go for a joy ride,
when I've cared for their coat with a brush, leave-in shampoo, or bath,
when they received teeth care with brush chews or teeth brushing,
when they participated in extended, extra, or hyper playtime, and
when something unusual happens with my senior dog.
The "Oh, Oh!" column in my dogs' tracker came in handy when I visited my Mom's house earlier this month. She fed my dogs something behind my back that made them sick. I was able to track their recovery in the column. I may increase the size of the column for more detailed notes next month.
Mood and Bingo!
I treat my mood tracker page as a coloring page of sorts. Each night, I'll color-in something that represents my overall mood for that day: awesome, meh, bad/sad, or sick.
I'll color-in a fish based on my overall mood at the end of each day. The page looks chaotic. I wouldn't be surprised if I color the fish wrong throughout the month of August because of how they overlap one another. It'll be fun to see how I mess up this page by the end of the month.
I created bingo page as a fun activity for myself. I noted tasks and wishes within the bingo blocks. I decided to treat myself to a prize if I filled in a straight line for a simple bingo.
I don't know why I drew an angel fish in the 'free' space of the bingo page. It's the only detailed fish I drew. It's a little out of place, but it's also the best-looking fish I doodled on all the pages.
My Thoughts
The doodles aren't the best, but I enjoyed sketching them while I watched TV the other night. Outlining and painting took hours to complete even though I didn't have much detail. It didn't matter to me in the end because I enjoyed focusing on my painting.
What's Next?
I hope to do some fabric paint projects soon. My Dad asked me to paint another face mask for him, so I hope to share that project with you next week. Otherwise, it's going to be a cleaning and reorganizing weekend for me.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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