My Bullet Journal Journey | 2026 | Episode 3 | July

Hello Everyone!

It’s that time of the month again (I don’t mean that kind). It’s time to check out the latest bullet journal spread I’ve made. This time, it’s for July. Now, if you haven’t watched the video, don’t worry, you don’t need to go on a wild goose chase, to find it, you can watch it right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dK-t2EqKjw

Now, why am I making an accompanying blog post? Well, there are a few things I summarise in the video that I don’t fully explain, and I thought it would be nice to explain them here. So, here’s a deeper dive into the decisions I’ve made when making this bullet journal spread for July.

The Theme For My Bullet Journal – July 2026

So, as you all know, I associate themes, vibes and colours for each month of the year. July is no different. Originally, I associated it with the whole 80s vibe, like those loud print styles you see on posters and in TV shows, like Saved By The Bell (shoutout to those who watched that show, I loved it when I was growing up).

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It’s the whole geometric style with the print primary colours that outline cassette tapes, boom boxes and the like. I actually got it stuck in my head when I was in my early days of bullet journaling. I came across another spread that had the theme, and it influenced what I associated with July.

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However, because I’m experimenting with my bullet journal layouts, I thought I’d give changing July’s theme a try as well. That’s why, this month’s theme is bubbles! It’s also very appropriate as well, because the moment I came back from my vacation, at the end of June, I stumbled into the middle of a heatwave. It was so hot I did not film for about a day and a half, and because I was suffering from some jet lag (we arrived early in the morning on Monday, and I didn’t get any sleep on the plane), I had insomnia for a good few days, so the filming of the bullet journal spread didn’t start until the afternoon on Tuesday. Nevertheless, I did film it, and I did complete it, in the heat, and in my head, I did remark how appropriate it was that I chose the bubble theme.

Honestly, I wasn’t fully aware about the impact it would have on my own mental state at the time, because I’d planned the bubble theme, back in May, when I returned to making YouTube videos, since July is a summer month, and I thought, what’s more cooling, in the summer, than water. Of course, I did not want to use my paints just yet, and I still needed to finish using up some of the patterned paper I have, so I opted for the bubbles theme, which is adjacent to the water theme. Now, I probably could have done an ice cream theme, but I’m glad I went with the bubbles, because the soft pastels in the purples and blues actually helped (in my mind) cool me down, while I was making these spreads. If I had worked with the warmer colours, I probably would have given up halfway through, since it would have made me even hotter...mentally.

The Monthly Overview

So, the layout for the monthly overview has changed a bit, because instead of positioning my goals box and the “things to take into August” box is not at the bottom of the page. Instead, I positioned them towards the middle of the double spread, because I wanted to change the layout (like I said, I’m experimenting with it), and I wanted to see what would happen if I did. I like the way it’s laid out here, because I feel like there’s more room for the scrapbook style. I didn’t just want to use stickers and doodles to fill up the white spaces here.

I also changed the way the monthly calendar looked, from June's style. While the boxed dates are the standard look for creatives, I wanted to see what the list style would do. It’s working out so far (now that I’ve started to use it), but if I do have more than one event going on, it may be a bit tricky to include on the calendar. So, while it’s a good overview look, I don’t think I’ll be going back to it any time soon. Plus, it does waste a bit of space, because I didn’t want to duplicate the calendar on the back. I had originally planned to do just that, but then it would simply be redundant, and I’d be doing unnecessary things. Essentially, I’d be making more work for myself, by maintaining two separate calendars. In the end, I covered the back of the calendar with the scrapbook style again, not only to not leave it blank, but to also strengthen the paper of the journal, because it would probably lose its integrity, next to all the thicker card that surrounds it.

I also changed the Daily Habit trackers, where I no longer colour in the boxes that correspond to the day of the week, or the day of the month. Instead, I just highlight the day that I completed a habit, or hobby (since the same layout is used for my Hobby trackers too). I found that I was playing the guessing game, every time I tried to fill in my trackers, in June, and while it’s fun to see the squares being coloured in, because I’m always busy, I sometimes forget what day of the week I’m on, and the actual date (since I’m not working in a physical office or have a set routine…yet), it was rather difficult keeping up with my trackers. So, that’s why I’ve opted to go back to this style of tracking.

A Note On Calligraphy

Now, as I’ve said, in the video, I’m not a fan of the style of calligraphy I’m using. Every time I use it, I have to be careful with the way I create the letters and what flourishes I want to add, to make the calligraphy style match the theme, or be legible. So, whenever I write with this style of calligraphy, I’m always second guessing myself. Not to mention, I have a shaky hand, both because I drink coffee and because I naturally have a shaky hand, so being precise is pretty difficult for me (that’s why I prefer the scrapbook style).

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Basically, it means that when I’m doing calligraphy, I either have to be quick, when creating the flourishes for my letters, or I have to be slow, and plan each letter or word, in pencil first, before going over it with pen. That’s why, the June spread had those bulky styles on the main cover pages. It gave me some leeway, so that I wouldn’t have to be precise with the calligraphy. With the thinner styles of July, it just ends up looking wonky. So, in future journal spreads, you may find similar styles to the one I used for June, or something that actually looks like my cursive handwriting.

As a side note, I don’t use my cursive writing in my bullet journal, at the moment, because when I’m using it, I’m taking a moment out of my day to write in it. I do, however, write in cursive in one of my other personal journals, because I am using a fountain pen for that, and it’s usually pretty late at night, when I use it. I actually start to fall right to sleep while I'm writing, so that's why I write cursive in that journal; I can get the entry done, before I really need to lie down and sleep.

The Weeks

As I mentioned in the video, “Week 1” isn’t technically “Week 1”, I call it the “Pre-Week”, because it only has 4 days of the week, in the layout of the spread. The reason why is that the first three days of the week belonged to June. Now here’s the sticky part. In my previous video, for June, which you should check out, if you want to get more inspiration for your own bullet journal, I told you that I wanted to cut the weeks up, whenever two months take up some of its days. So, I literally took the first three days of this “Pre-Week” and gave it to the Last Week of June. Are you guys with me so far?

I did this because I wanted to start my monthly spread cleanly. Essentially, when the month begins, I use the new spread; I don’t linger on the old one, or conversely, I don’t prematurely use the new one, when I’m still in the previous month. Again, are you guys still following? Essentially, when the new month starts, I really should be using the new spread. So, that’s why I cut that week up, and it’s a similar story for Week 4 of July. I don’t include the 1^st of August, in that spread, because while it might be a Saturday, and it belongs in that week, I want to use my August spread, as soon as the 1^st of August comes up. I don’t want to still be lingering on my July spread, when it happens. Does that make sense?

Anyway, moving on, for weeks 1, 2, 3 and yes, week 4, I change the layouts of each week. Like I said, I’m experimenting this year, I’m looking for other layouts and styles that suit my style. If you guys remember, back in 2023, I used only 1 layout, throughout the entire year I created my bullet journal, and that was the half-track, half-task spread, where the middle of the spreads were dedicated to my dailies boxes, while the outer parts of the spread were dedicated to my weekly trackers. This time round, for Week 1, I chose to put the dailies boxes at the top of the page. I’ve used this style before (I think it was for a January spread that I showcased in that first year of the My Bullet Journal Journey series), and I like it, because it’s easy to access, and the layout is clean. At least, that’s what I think.

For Week 2, I chose this half down, half up style, so that it’s a little different, both to Week 1 and to all of the spreads that were used in June. I also like this style, because, again, it’s clean, and I still have space to add my doodles and scrapbook decorations. Of course, if I used weekly trackers this time around, you can probably tell where they'll be situated, and in that case, I wouldn't need to doodle as much.

For Week 3, this is where things get interesting. I wanted to try the half down, half up style, but alternate it, like you see here. The only thing that flummoxed me was the numbering of the boxes. I didn’t really know which way to number them, and I had made the decision to go from left to right, rather than from top to bottom. I thought it was a good decision at the time, but when I started using it, I got confused. I forgot that I didn’t go from top to bottom, and I almost wrote tasks for the 19^th July, in the box for the 21^st July. Luckily, I managed to catch this before I did write anything, but now I will have to actively remind myself that the boxes are numbered from left to right. And yes, I won’t be doing that the next time I try this layout again.

Finally, for Week 4, I literally did the opposite of Week 2. I also left out one of the boxes on the right-hand side, because, again that would have been used for the 1^st August, which I will not be including in this month’s spread.

The Review Page

Ok, at this point, I was very tired. I was still suffering from the heat, and my insomnia was getting a lot worse, because the fans were on, they were loud, they weren’t really doing much to cool me down, and the heat was just unbearable. In the end, I completely forgot to use the bubble theme that I’d been using throughout the entire month, but I will eventually add them to the page, when I get the chance, in July. For the time being, it’s a non-factor. I also haven’t changed up any part of the Review page, because I still like the layout and what it represents for me.

I’m not at the stage yet, to change it up anyway, because I do like the diary moment at the top, and the feedback moments at the bottom. It will always remind me what I did well during the month, and what I could have done better or what I could improve on, as I continue my bullet journal journey, and potentially everything else. The review page doesn’t have to solely be about the bullet journal, it can really be about anything, as long as it’s about the things I did in the month. So, for now, the Review page is here to stay.

Make Your Own Bubble Spread!

I know that header is a little misleading, but it’s also quite appropriate. It’s time you guys made your own July spread! You don’t have much time left. Oh, and don’t just make them, use them. A messy journal is a lived journal. Just making the spread won’t do much good, if you don’t use it. So have fun, make a mess of what you’ve made see just how nostalgic it can be, when you look back at your journals in a year, or even 5 years’ time.

Well, that’s it from me today. I’ll see you guys in the next one. It’s time for me to start filming the next Sims build for you! In the meantime, please don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment, share and follow me, here on Feather’s Charm, on my YouTube channel, on my other social media channels, and on Patreon. Your support really helps me make more content like this for you guys.

And as always, be kind, be creative, and be unique.

I’ll see you later!

Feather, out!