From Blank to Beautiful: How to Pick a Bullet Journal Theme

Staring down at a blank bullet journal page can sometimes be more paralyzing than exciting. How do you pick a bullet journal theme? How do you know what colors and styles to use? How do you choose when there are so many options? I’ve stared down my journal one too many times, so I get it.

It can feel overwhelming!

That’s why in this post, I’ll go through how to pick a bullet journal theme using some fun elements and ways to tie things together in your bullet journal.

Why Pick a Bullet Journal Monthly Theme?

Depending on your journaling style, you may go into your bullet journal without a plan in terms of decoration. If having a cohesive aesthetic in your bullet journal isn’t really your thing, no hard feelings.

A cohesive bullet journal theme makes me want to use my journal more, since it makes me excited to open my journal and write in it. Are you the same?

A bullet journal is also a great source of creativity. Having a theme can inspire you to create new combinations of colors and art that make you feel good. It can give you a little serotonin boost, which in turn improves mood and lowers stress.

If you’re anything like me, life seems to be a series of never-ending decisions. When it comes to my bullet journal, it makes my life so much easier when I’ve made my aesthetic choices at the beginning of the month for the colors, stickers, and lettering styles I’ll be using. That means I don’t have to keep making new decisions throughout the month. It gives my brain a bit of a rest while allowing me to still use my journal to its fullest potential.

Stickers used in image above: Love Notes DIY Color Sticker Sheet, Love Notes Die Cut Sticker Set, Love Notes Deco Sheet, Love Notes Color Sticker Sheet, Blank Mini Calendars

Bullet Journal Theme Ideas & Inspiration Sources

If I’ve convinced you to try a theme in your bullet journal, your next question might be: how do you pick a bullet journal theme? Or how do you come up with bullet journal theme ideas?

The short answer is there’s inspiration all around us!

The longer answer takes us in different directions. Take a look at your hobbies and interests at the moment. Do any of these spark joy and make you want to see related art in your bullet journal? Think about recent books, movies, shows, games, anime, or anything else you’ve been into lately.

Don’t want a media theme in your journal? Consider the season! Each month and season has fun associations, from Halloween in October to beach themes in the summer. There are also lesser-known holidays like National Tile Day or National Umbrella Month, both of which give wonderful visuals.

Once you’ve picked something you want to emulate in your bullet journal, you can take a look through Pinterest. Searching for “[theme] doodles”, “[theme] icons”, and “[theme] color palette” gives a ton of ideas. Save the ones that catch your eye onto a Pinterest board.

You could also use sticker sets instead of doing everything from scratch! While a variety of shops offer different designs, Tablet & Quill stickers are made for bullet journals. Sticker sheets feature at least 31 stickers per sheet, so there are enough stickers for an entire month. Plus, there are black and white colorable stickers that you can customize with any color palette.

Stickers used in image above: Curious Gems Die Cut Set, Curious Gems Color Sticker Sheet, Days of the Week Style 01

Choosing a Color Palette

This next part is my favorite! If I’m using a sticker set, I pull out my swatch book to see what colors match the stickers I’ve picked.

I limit myself to 3-5 main markers and highlighters per color palette. It’s also a nice addition to bring in markers or highlighters in similar colors that are much lighter, so they complement the main palette while also giving me some matching colors to work with when highlighting. If you need some color palettes, this post has some ideas!

When not basing my color palette off of an existing sticker set, that Pinterest board from earlier comes in handy. By looking over the Pins, I get an idea for the vibes I want and see which colors work well together. Finding color palettes on Pinterest is also helpful if you don’t have an eye for what colors go together.

Once you have your color palette and your markers or highlighters, we can start picking our next component.

Bullet Journal Fonts and Handlettering Styles

Pinterest is yet again a big help when looking for fonts or lettering styles since it can help to narrow down what kind of style you’re looking for. Maybe for Halloween themes, you’re looking for a creepy serif style. For flower themes, you may want a script style. Searching for “[theme] font” should give some initial ideas.

Consider whether you’d like to recreate these styles by hand or print them out. If you’re doing them by hand, picking a simpler style is best so it isn’t as time-consuming.

You can think about whether you’d like serif or sans serif, script or print, bold or thin, minimal or flourished, etc. There are many lettering styles out there! But once you’ve picked one or two lettering styles you want to use in your bullet journal theme, you can create some cohesion throughout your spreads.

Stickers used in image above: Poisonous Potions Color Sticker Sheet, Poisonous Potions Deco Sheet, Days of the Week Style 05

Decorative Elements for Your Bullet Journal Theme

As a quick recap, you should have a theme, color palette, and lettering style picked out.

To tie it all together, you may want to add in some decorative elements to spruce up your spreads. While you can draw and doodle, you can use other elements too!

Stickers are an easy way to add art to your spreads without having to draw anything. Plus, with these colorable stickers, you can use any color palette you want, so you don’t have to worry about not matching the colors you’ve picked.

Washi tape is also a great addition. If you already have a washi tape collection, see which ones you have that match either the color palette or the theme you’ve picked. I’m a fan of more neutral washi tapes like this grid set or this solid colored set, which can match with tons of different themes.

Scrapbook paper, scraps of paper, and other paper pieces can be great for creating collage corners in your spreads.

Stickers used in image above: Frosty Penguins Color Sticker Sheet, Frosty Penguins Deco Sheet

Putting It All Together

Let’s walk through a bullet journal theme together so you can see this in practice!

At the time of this writing, it’s the end of August, which means it’s been too hot for too long. I’m ready for cooler weather and autumn! When I’m thinking about fall weather, I’m thinking about crunchy leaves and forest mushrooms. Out of the two, I’m picking mushrooms.

Since I’ll be matching the colors in this sticker set, I’ve chosen some markers and highlighters that go with it. There are reds, teals, and grays, along with a bit of yellow.

The next step is to pick a lettering style. I’m partial to this bouncy script style, so that’s what I’ll be using.

This sticker set includes a decorative sticker sheet, so instead of picking washi tapes or other decorative elements, I’ll be using this sticker sheet, which includes washi strips, circle stickers, flags, and a notes sticker. Easy!

Putting it all together gives a charming mushroom theme that is perfect for the beginning of autumn. If you’re looking for more autumn bullet journal themes, this is the post for you.

Stickers used in image above: Charming Mushies Color Sticker Sheet, Charming Mushies Die Cut Sticker Set, Charming Mushies Deco Sticker Sheet, Days of the Week Style 03

FAQ

What if this is still too much work to pick a bullet journal theme?

I totally get it! You can use sticker sets like these, or if you want to skip setup altogether, you can get a bullet journal-inspired planner like these.

What are some easy bullet journal theme ideas for beginners?

Take a look through the sticker sheets available; you don’t have to buy them! But they’ll give you some ideas for themes you can use in your bullet journal.

Do I need to change my bullet journal theme every month?

Nope! You don’t need a theme if you don’t want one. A bullet journal is super flexible, so you can pick a theme, use the same theme, or not have a theme at all. It’s totally up to you!

Theme Wrap Up

While it’s not required to use themes in your bullet journal, it can make your bullet journal experience more exciting. You don’t need to be artistic to have themed bullet journal spreads. Picking a theme can be a fun experience since it exercises your creativity.

Using tools like decorative stickers or functional stickers can make the process easier, so you can use your bullet journal as effectively as possible. Your journal is supposed to be a supportive tool.

You can check out this post for 6 Exciting Color Palettes for Bullet Journal Spreads, or check out the posts about bullet journal monthly themes in these blog posts!

I would love to see what bullet journal themes you come up with! You can leave a comment below or find me as TabletAndQuill on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

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