The 'mood' tracker is one of my favorite journal drawings!
Because I am curious to learn more about the Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 stream in April, and because I get to attend a Nintendo Switch 2 Experience, I painted a Mario characters journal design theme!
I used calendar stamps, stamp inks, archival ink pens, gel pens, watercolor markers, and a paintbrush.
NOTE: While the page layouts are similar to 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
April is going to be a Nintendo-filled month for me, and so I created my second Nintendo-themed journal design! My March 2021 Journal Design theme focused on game scenery.
This time around, I added as many characters as possible. I added a Yoshi egg to connect the page to the artwork on the mood page.
For these pages, I included the following characters:
Princess Daisy
Princess Peach
Mario
Luigi
Toadette
Toad
Boos
Waluigi
Wario
Princess Rosalina
Bowser Jr.
Hobbies & Dogs' Pages
I included some recognizable baddies to fill-in the negative space of these pages. The proportions are horribly off, but I started my sketch with the intention of only adding three or four characters. Instead, I later decided that more was best. Again, I added a couple of Yoshi eggs to connect the page to the artwork on the mood page.
For these pages, I included the following characters:
Chain Chomp
Larry
Ludwig
Wendy
Koopa Paratroopa
Pokey
Bob-omb
Spiny
Monty Mole
Goomba
Highlights and Mood Pages
The highlights page is mostly plain, but adding a few Koopalings along the bottom added some much needed color.
I included the following characters on this page:
Iggy
Lemmy
Morton
Roy
My original thought for the mood page was to have Yoshi atop a cloud or block popping eggs out of his backside. I eventually gained the courage to do something out of the norm and fill the page with many Yoshis.
As I sketched and outlined thirty Yoshis, I realized that I did not think about how to number each one to represent a different day of the month. After little thought and lots of stalling, I decided to number the nostrils.
This is by far my favorite mood page design I have drawn! I may recreate this digitally to create wallpapers for my phone and tablet.
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 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? Find inspiration from some of your favorite gaming characters!
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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