With just some doodles of fruits and veggies.
Since Thanksgiving is celebrated in November, I couldn't help but think about food. It also didn't help that I was hungry while I doodled fruits and veggies on my journal pages.
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
Pumpkins came to mind when I stared at the blank pages dedicated to my November journal design theme. However, I felt like I've already done a lot of designs themed around pumpkins.
Since I couldn't think of an original idea, I went ahead with the pumpkin mindset. Except this time, I included a variety of other fruits and veggies to mix things up for myself.
Title
For the title page, I sketched a cornucopia as I assumed it looked. I've never seen one in-person, nor did I reference any online images this time around. I sketched some fruits and veggies I thought I could draw well.
I colored this and the other pages with a variety of Firefly and Tombow markers. I struggled with shading and blending. A part of me wished I used paints, but I was determined to take a break from paints in my journal and used a different medium this month.
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 wasn't sure how to fill the space above the December mini calendar, but I eventually decided to have grapes draped from the top down the sides. I'm glad I made that decision.
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.
Since I'll fill the pages throughout the month of November, I kept the design simple with fruits and veggies along the bottom of both pages. It's not that different from the pumpkin patch art in my October 2021 Journal Design.
Mood
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. For November, I'll color-in an apple based on my overall mood at the end of each day.
I added other fruits and veggies in front of the basket to tie the design with the other pages.
My Thoughts
Last month I decided to use other coloring mediums in my journal. I'm glad I used markers this time around. The colors were bright and vibrant.
However, I struggled with shading and blending the colors. I'm not sure if I struggled because these aren't alcohol ink markers or because I'm still an amateur artist. Either way, I realized I need to practice using markers and other coloring mediums more often.
I'm happy with the overall design theme. When I think of November, I think of Thanksgiving Day and food. Lots. Of. Food. So, it made sense to doodle some fruits and veggies.
What's Next?
I'm currently working on random arts and crafts projects, so I hope to share those with you in November. Check back to see how those turned out!
Have you setup your November journal design? Login and Sign up to share what theme you went with and what materials you used to create it.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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