November Bullet Journal Layout

I know it's late in the month, but I thought I'd share my November bullet journal layout with you.

I'm a "cozy minimalist" (a term I found on Pinterest that fits me quite well) when it comes to bullet journaling. If I were any good at drawing and lettering, I could easily see myself doing a lot of decoration as a creative outlet. But I'm no good at drawing and only working on the basics of lettering. So, for now, I'm a minimalist.

Washi tape gives me some artistic flavor without any effort on my part. It also helps me to create a pleasing color scheme for the month.

I found this washi tape on Ebay. I'm pretty sure it took more than a month to get here from China, but I knew it would be awhile when I ordered it. The important thing is that it came in time for me to use it for the month I wanted to use it for. I was so impressed with this roll that I bought several more (different designs) from this same seller and can't wait for it to arrive.

I think there were 7 meters on the roll for right around $1, give or take ten cents (and with free shipping). I'm not only a minimalist, but a cheapskate as well, so that's the price point and length I look for when I'm buying washi tape.

I used some of my Artist Loft brush markers (store brand of Tombows) and some felt tip pens that I really like from Dollar Tree (also available at Dollar General in a multi-color pack).

I mainly used the smaller end of the brush markers for this month, although I did use the brush end of the sage green color to act as a highlighter on my mini monthly calendars in each weekly layout.

I hope Dollar Tree continues to carry these felt tip pens because I tend to go through about one a month, regardless of whether I'm buying the Staedtler Fineliners or these much cheaper ones from Dollar Tree (3/pack). I also like the slightly wider point on these (0.5 mm compared to 0.3 mm on Fineliners).


As for the layout, I'm sure I was inspired by Pinterest and Instagram. I tend to pick one thing I like from one layout, one or two things from another, and mesh them into something that works for me. And I have a really bad memory. So if you inspired me, thanks so much! I wish I could remember who to credit. If you'd see the size of my Pinterest bullet journal boards, you'd understand!

I'll be making a few changes in December, but I'm still in the pre-planning process for December pages right now. I'll share when I have the changes finalized.

I love the ability to tweak my layouts each month (or week, if I want to) to something that better suits my lifestyle at the moment.

My Thrifted Bullet Journal Case

I love the looks of my new bullet journal, and I want it to stay nice for as long as possible. A friend of a friend kindly made me a vinyl monogram for the front. It gets shoved in my purse a lot because I'm one of the (apparently) few bullet journalists that actually takes her bullet journal with her when she leaves the house, so I was afraid of being too rough on the decal.

While I was on a thrifting excursion the other day, I happened upon this beauty from At A Glance ($2 at Goodwill). I have no idea if it's still available or not, but it perfectly fits my bullet journal. As an added bonus, I can close my journal again if I want to (remember the broken strap?) and even keep my pen handy without putting binder clip marks on the cover.

This was barely used before it was donated, if it was used at all. I love the extra space to store Scripture coloring cards without harming the binding of my bullet journal.

I'm still completely in love with this Artist's Loft notebook. If you get wind that they'll be discontinuing them, please drop me a line to let me know so I can stock up! (This seems to happen every time I fall in love with a frugal supply.)

$5 Artist's Loft Bullet Journal Update: Strap Issue

So, if you're interested in bullet journals, you may be interested to know that the strap broke on my Artist's Loft bullet journal after about a week or so using it cross-wise as a pen loop.

This is not a deal-breaker for me because of the price point and the fact that the strap was more in the way than it was helpful. But, in the interests of full disclosure about the journal that I've been raving about, I thought I should mention it on my blog.

I have more (positive) things to post about this journal, but they will have to wait until I get some keyboard issues resolved with my laptop. (Almost the entire left side of the keyboard doesn't want to work, so I'm using the on-screen keyboard to type most of this.)