If you prefer to WATCH a video of my set up, you can either scroll to the bottom of this page or check out my video on youtube here!
Getting ready to set up for October in my bullet journal, I really didn’t have many ideas for a theme. I figured something using orangey fall colours would be my best bet, but other than pumpkins and koi fish I couldn’t think of anything else. So I posed the question to my Instagram family – should I do a pumpkin theme this month. Surprisingly to me, the resounding answer was YES!
When the people ask, I will answer!
So despite the fact that it’s spring here in NZ and the flowers are blooming and the sun is shining, gone with a pumpkin theme for my October 2018 bullet journal set up.
September in Review
Last month was the first month that I used an Archer and Olive notebook, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I was able to use all my pens and watercolour without having to worry about bleeding or ghosting. There was such a sense of freedom with creating in it. I highly recommend this notebook if you like to use paints and heavy pens in your bullet journal.
Also during the month, I stuck to very minimal weekly spreads. When I say minimal, I mean that I only drew up boxes for each day of the week, with no extras such as trackers, or weather or memory boxes. This has really worked well for me and I’ll be carrying on with it throughout October.
Supplies Used:
- Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook
- Pencil, eraser and ruler
- Winsor and Newton Cotman Watercolour Paint
- Kelly Creates fine liners
- Tombow Fudenosuke
- Circle Stencil
My Bullet Journal Set Up For October 2018
To start, I always create a monthly cover page. I love having one to indicate the start of the new month, and it’s a great page to just be creative without having to fit in anything essential.
Like last month, I chose a font that I discovered on Pinterest to use throughout the month. I used a circle stencil to help me with the circular sections of the font. This stencil is one of my favourite bullet journal tools and I use it all the time! You can watch how I use it in my video at the bottom of this post. I added the much requested pumpkins, and to add interest and some contrasting colours I also painted vines and leaves.
October Bullet Journal Monthly Log
This month I decided to change it up a bit and went with a calendar layout. We actually have school holidays this month and we’re going on holiday for a week. Using the calendar layout, I can highlight the days that we are away and easily see at a glance. Of course you can do this with the original bullet journal monthly log, but I’ve always found it quite messy. So I definitely have a preference for the calendar layout when I have to block out days.
As you can see, I again kept it very simple, and left a small space for any notes or reminders I need for the month. To letter the word “notes”, I used a Tombow Fudenosuke Twin Tip pen.
The following two pages are my usual trackers that I have almost every month. The first page is my meal tracker – specifically for dinner. Down the left hand side are the dates of the month. Next to these I’ll note down what we had for dinner each night. This serves as a reminder of what we’ve eaten. In future when I’m stumped with ideas for what to cook for dinner, I usually flip back to these pages in my bullet journal for ideas of something we’ve had in the past that I haven’t cooked for a while. It doesn’t sound it, but I do actually find this really useful.
On the right hand page I’ve created a simple habit tracker of 10 things I want to track this month. I’ve left 31 little boxes for each habit which I will fill in when I’ve completed the habit at the end of each day. I decided not to number the boxes with the dates as I prefer the minimal look of leaving them empty. But this does make it harder to fill in!
I’ve used the same font as before and for the cursive lettering underneath I used a Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen.
Bullet Journal Meal Log
This next spread is something new I’m trying out. Lately, I’ve been gaining a bit of weight, and I know this is down to my eating habits. Unfortunately, I enjoy my food too much and I have a preference for all things sweet and or deep fried.
I’ve taken this idea from @jashiicorin – it is a Meal Log where you note down everything you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, and then you add a “traffic light”. Green for good, healthy food, red for bad foods, and orange for something in between. A traffic light will be added for the whole of the day as well. Here is Jess’ example:
And here is how I’ve set up my meal log:
The next couple of pages I have left for journaling. Every few days or so, I like to sit down and write down any significant events or crazy things my kids have said. I also write down any thoughts or feelings and ideas I may have. It’s just a great little memory keeper.
If you would like to know about the benefits of journaling in your bullet journal, please have a read of this blog post:
Why You Should Journal and How To Do It In Your Bullet Journal
I’ve only decorated one page this month, with a watercolour pumpkin and vines and leaves.
October Bullet Journal Weekly Spread
Next comes my first weekly spread for October. I’ve gone with a simple layout again. Simply section off the pages into 8 sections, I boxed in 7 of the sections, one for each day of the week and left the last to add a bit of decoration. More pumpkins and leaves!
And that is my Bullet Journal set up for October 2018. If you would like to watch how I’ve put this together, then watch my YouTube video below. If you enjoy the video, please like and subscribe to my channel!!
I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration for your own bullet journal set up this month. If you decide to recreate any of these spreads, please remember to post a photo on Instagram and tag me @littlemissrose. I’d love to see your work!
Happy Journaling,
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