I’m not going to lie, I was on the Struggle Bus throughout the entire process of setting up my June 2021 bullet journal design. From start to finish I had issues getting this month’s set-up complete. At first, I was going to just skip this month altogether, but I finally got myself together to get it done.
I actually had two ideas in mind for this month. The first idea that came to mind was science related. This theme spoke to me because I was a science teacher for so many years. There were so many cute drawings and elements that I could include in this theme that could make it work in my journal. However, I wasn’t completely sold on doing this theme. Therefore, I just collected examples just in case I warmed up more to this idea.
The second idea that caught my eye was fruit related. I saw a bunch of pictures and videos related to this theme and it sparked a tiny interest in my spirit. I continued to allow that spark to grow and started to research it a bit more. Ultimately, this theme beat out the science idea because it’s the beginning of Summer and I felt I needed a theme that was bright and marked the start of the season.
Take a look at my process for creating this month’s theme below.
The Design Process
The Cover Pages
After searching Pinterest and YouTube for a ridiculous amount of time, I decided to use a lemon and lime design to introduce the month of June into my journal. I chose this design because it seemed sunny and bright. The yellow and green colors seemed to pop off of the pages.
I thought this would be a fairly simple design to complete, but it proved harder to create than I could imagine. Maybe my bad mood and lack of interest was the cause of my struggle. I had the hardest time drawing the circular shapes for the lemon slices and wedges. Everything looked crooked and weird in my eyes. It just looked like it was going to be a hot mess after everything was sketched out in pencil.
Once I added color, the design started to take shape and look really nice. The color made all of the difference. Somehow, the imperfections seem to make it look nice. The only thing I would change is the color of green I used for both the leaves and limes. I think I should have colored the whole limes yellow and made them lemons because they actually blend in with the leaves on the pages.
The Calendar
I decided to draw oranges on my calendar spread because I liked the idea of using variations of the color orange for the design. I had a difficult time with this spread as well because it was pretty much the exact same idea as the cover pages. The only difference was the color.
The pencil drawing of this spread looked suspect at first, but adding color made it look lovely once it was complete. I love the color choices I made for this spread. It’s one of my favorite pages in this entire design.
The Mood and Habit Trackers
For the next two pages, I tried to use fruit that were similar in color in order to create a since of cohesion in the design. Therefore, I used fruit that were red in color for both trackers. I chose cherries for the mood tracker because they were simple enough to draw without too much drama. I chose apples for the habit tracker for the same reason. I also added a red gingham pattern at the bottom of the habit tracker in order to give it a summer picnic vibe.
The Weekly Spreads
I decided to keep the weekly spreads as simple as possible since I seemed to be having a hard time getting this month’s theme done. For the first two weeks of the month, I drew strawberries. I love the red color and the simplicity of the design.
The last two weeks of the month were all about blueberries. I used my circle stencils to draw all of the blueberries. I colored the blueberries using light and dark blue markers. The green used for the leaves complimented the design nicely.
Final Thoughts
Even though this isn’t my favorite theme, I’m glad I pushed through and got it done. It looks nice enough to be a part of my journal and is a great way to kick off the Summer season in my journal.
What do you think of my June theme? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.
