When I look at bujo layouts and spreads I always ask myself, “How’d they do that?”. What materials do other bullet journalists use? I have researched the internet, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube for the materials that are used in bullet journals and I have tried and tested them for myself. Along the way I have learned what tools work for me to accomplish my goals.
I love avacados, so for this spread for August’s theme is all about avacados. Here are the materials I’m using for this spread… an avocado washi tape, a micron pen (for this particular drawing I used a 03 Micron pen black to do the avocado drawing and the word Avocado that is horizontal). On the page and on the facing page I used a piece of vellum. Vellum is a translucent paper that can be run through an inkjet printer or a laser printer and has multiple uses in card making, invitations, brochures, and other various paper crafts. Using vellum for me is a way that I can take advantage of all kinds of various fonts and create crisp images for my bullet journal. It’s also a plus because those files are saved for next year and all I have to do is a little tweaking. I have chosen to do a theme for each month like most bullet journalists do. I wanted to keep the continuity throughout every month so there is a Vellum Calendar for each month.
Copic markers are alcohol based markers that are used for graphic design, illustration, and other types of drawing. Like all alcohol based markers, they do not work well with bujo paper, they bleed through the paper and do not blend at all. The same can be said for Sharpie markers. However, I use my Copic markers on vellum paper because they blend beautifully and the color is amazing. On my August calendar, I used Copic markers to fill in color for my avocado theme.
The next marker that I have is the Faber-Castell PITT marker they come in 60 colors and they work really well with the bullet Journal papers especially the 120 GSM weight papers. They don’t bleed through and you can overlap the color to kind of get a blended look.
I also love to use watercolors, however bullet journal paper isn’t quite heavy enough to withstand all the water. So I use water color paper to paint my images and paste them in my spreads. I bought this travel watercolor set by Prima Marketing and I was very please with the vibrant colors. I also tried these Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens to see if they would work on bujo paper. They do. These waterbased pens can be blended with one another just by touching the tips of the nibs together or blending directly on paper or using a brush with water on it. Blending techniques are not useful on bujo paper, however they work as stand alone color pens that do not bleed through the paper. To resolve my issue, I used these pens to create the avacado image on mixed media paper and affixed it under the “g” in August on the monthly log page. I’m still playing with these pens, so until I figure a way to incooporate them into my journal I will let you know.
I needed a silver gel pen to complete another project and stumbled across these amazing glitter pens. I haven’t used glitter pens since I was a kid. All I have to say is WOW! I have used Gelly Roll pens in the past but these Atyou Spica pens blow them out of the water. There are two sets A & B, and just WOW. If you have a chance check them out. Seriously, I feel like a kid again adding a little sparkle to my pages!
Last but not least, it’s the little things that count. By that, it’s all the auxilary supplies needed to make journaling easier. You will need a cutting mat, an eraser, X-Acto knife, ruler, pencils, and some type of adhesive.
If you’d like to share what tools and supplies you use on your bujos, please leave a comment below. Have any questions, please feel free to ask. As always, take a moment to bring art into your day. Creativity happens in all mediums.
Artfully yours,
Andi
Artful-Living 