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creativity || my october bullet journal setup & tips for decorating yours!

IoanaOctober 14, 2021

I had fun taking out the washi tapes for my October bullet journal set up and wanted to share the results before the month was up! In this post, I’m sharing:

  • Close-ups of the spread I made
  • A review of how I’m using my bullet journal despite moving digital with my main task management system
  • My top practical tips for aesthetic journaling and decorating
  • Reminder that there is 1 day left to complete our Vibely challenge and have your response featured with everyone else’s on Instagram

the spread

I shared a video of my process to Instagram, which you can watch below.

As an aside: I’m still trying to strike the balance with longer-form content (it’s a looming goal of mine to get back to YouTube), and this is one of those things where I can’t decide if it would actually be of enough value to share as a full-length YouTube video. Let me know if you have an opinion on it!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ioana | bujo & organization (@mistralspirit)

In general, my process looks like this:

  1. Sketch out the functional component. In this case, the layout of the habit trackers.
  2. Choose the colour palette and designs. I used washi tape and stickers only for this spread, which makes it both fun and less involved on my part! It also lets me use other artists’ work in mine, so I’m living vicariously through their artwork.
  3. Try out various layouts via trial-and-error!

links and discount codes to all the products used

All of the washi tapes and stickers I used were kindly gifted by The Washi Tape Shop. While all my active discount codes and affiliate links are always on my Links page, here are the details for this long-time favourite shop of mine!

Use the code MISTRALSPIRIT to get 10% OFF on ALL store items.

FREE international shipping always applies.

Let them know I sent you by using my affiliate link: http://www.thewashitapeshop.com/?aff=96

I earn a 10% commission on anything you buy and that really helps support my business!

review of my bullet journal system

As I’ve mentioned before, I moved to using Todoist for my task management system. However, bullet journaling is by no means obsolete for me!

Here’s what my bullet journal is still useful for because it’s an analog system:

  • Recording scribbley notes during meetings
  • Taking down tasks during class so I don’t pull out my phone in a lecture (we have small class sizes)
  • Habit tracking and time tracking for my various projects
  • Intention and priority setting at the start of the week
  • Creativity and fun!

top tips for decorating

🍂 If you’re going for aesthetic, the colour palette is KEY. I chose this first and had it right next to my work area.

🍂 Trial and error – the wonderful thing about washi tape is that it isn’t permanent! Un-stick and re-stick to your heart’s content.

🍂 Balance. This helps a spread look put-together and visually appealing. Something heavy at the top means an equal weight at the bottom. Juxtapose details and simplicity, bright colour and muted colour, etc.

🍂 As always, functionality first. I usually decorate after my spread is finished for this reason, but some fall-themed fun at the start of the month was obviously warranted!

our vibely community

Have you heard of our Vibely community yet?

If not, Vibely is our very first Mistral Spirit virtual space, complete with a Virtual Café and weekly Challenges that we complete together. It has three purposes:

  • As a space to connect, share perspectives, and learn from each other.
  • An inspiration hub. Through the challenges, we’ll curate some of the best advice, inspiration, and creativity from all the assorted thinkers & curious minds who also love the essence behind Mistral Spirit.
  • A source of action. With a community of like-minded individuals, we can stay accountable to our goals and grounded with our expectations.

It’s also a platform that is focused on positivity and is accessible to everyone! If you don’t have access to Facebook, or Instagram, you can join our community and take part in building relationships and working towards your goals with us.

our current ongoing challenge

1 DAY LEFT: What does your October planning setup look like?

Every Thursday, I post a new Challenge and it’s open to complete for 2 weeks. Afterwards, you can still complete it, but those 2 weeks are the time period for having your response included in an Instagram feature (which you can also opt-out of if you choose)!

Visit our virtual community to complete the challenge!

COMPLETE our OCTOBER SETUP Vibely challenge by October 14

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Comments (1)

  • blog || november 2021 bullet journal spread: browns & pinks – Mistral Spirit

    November 5, 2021 at 6:40 pm

    […] is what my October set up looks like when it’s all filled in with time tracking and task scribbles. I say task […]

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Nice to meet you!

Hi, it’s Ioana! I’m a blogger, brand marketer, and recent Queen’s Commerce alumni. When I’m not drinking coffee, reading, studying or exploring the city, I dabble in creative projects like this one!

Latest posts

  • Writing 50k words in ONE month: National Novel Writing Month 2022 Prep Vlog + Goal Setting + Events

    November 1, 2022
  • "Company" on Broadway in NYC

    July 25, 2022
  • what it means to be your own friend (feat. my last bathroom selfie in Goodes Hall)

    April 26, 2022

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ioana.pitu

ioana | mistral spirit | organization & creativity
A sketch from Piaţa Sfatului, Braşov this mornin A sketch from Piaţa Sfatului, Braşov this morning. 🏫 I tried a triple-crosshatch technique to suggest the medieval-era clay tile roofing, inspired by a framed sketch in a local restaurant. Definitely using it again! I love playing with interpretive lines like this: the way a messy bundle of strokes demand to be seen a certain way depending on their context, but are entirely unclear when seen too closely.

Supplies:
📘 @moleskine watercolour sketchbook
🖊️ @fabercastellcanada 0.3 fineliner

📍 Piaţa Sfatului, Braşov

#travelsketch #urbansketch #urbansketching #travelsketching #sketchbook #moleskine #uskromania #urbansketchingromania #brasovart #brasovsketch #romania #fabercastell #pittfabercastell #moleskinesketchbook #travelsketchbook
Loved visiting this castle today 🇷🇴 Saving i Loved visiting this castle today 🇷🇴 Saving it here so I can paint it later and because this song was perfect for it. 👌 Bran Castle is the castle (actually a fortress) in the Transylvania region of Romania that inspired Bram Stoker’s original Dracula story.

📍 Bran Castle, Transylvania, Romania

#brancastle #romania #travelling #romaniamagica #travelblog
Quick little sketching break in Carvoeiro, Portuga Quick little sketching break in Carvoeiro, Portugal. @usktoronto #usktoronto If you’ve ever wondered how long these sketches take… here is how much I can sketch in 20 mins! Looking forward to adding a bit of dimension to this one after with watercolours. 🤗 

2 supplies I always carry with me:
@moleskine art sketchbook
@fabercastellcanada 0.3 black fineliner

#carvoeiro #urbansketchers #traveldrawing #drawingsketch #sketchbook #sketching #artjournal #travelsketch #drawyourday #sketchbookart #illustration #urbansketching #sketchjournal #finelinerdrawing #moleskine #moleskinesketchbook #traveljournal #travelwatercolor #traveldiary
Not exaggerating when I say @torontostationeryshow Not exaggerating when I say @torontostationeryshow was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. ❤️ Had an absolute blast sharing the @thewashitapeshop love, meeting other journalers, helping customers find their style of washi, giving out free samples, starting off a few young bullet journalers with their first washi tapes, chatting with other vendors and basically just having the best paper party ever. 🎉

@dreyray and @queeniescards you are both incredible. 🙌 And so are the 80+ other vendors we had the pleasure of sharing a space (and a passion) with. 🥰

#torontostationeryshow #torontostationeryshow2023 #stationeryshow #stationery #hobby #papercraft #journaler #journaling #stationerylover #stationeryshop
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Writing 50k words in ONE month: National Novel Writing Month 2022 Prep Vlog + Goal Setting + Events

Writing 50k words in ONE month: National Novel Writing Month 2022 Prep Vlog + Goal Setting + Events

I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this year! National Novel Writing Month is a worldwide, virtual writing event during the month of November during which hundreds of thousands of people around the world set one goal for themselves: to write 50,000 words (a novel) in a month. That’s 1,667 every day. I first did Camp NaNoWriMo twice…

by Ioana November 1, 2022November 1, 2022
“Company” on Broadway in NYC

“Company” on Broadway in NYC

We decided to make our first night in New York City a Broadway night. I’m so glad we ended up choosing the musical “Company”… it completely blew me away! The story opens on the 35th birthday of Bobby, a bachelorette whose friends are all married couples. We then get to see vignettes of each couple’s…

by Ioana July 25, 2022October 22, 2022
what it means to be your own friend (feat. my last bathroom selfie in Goodes Hall)

what it means to be your own friend (feat. my last bathroom selfie in Goodes Hall)

Earlier today I took what will likely be my last bathroom selfie in Goodes Hall. (Hopefully in equal part because I’ll grow out of it and because I’m about to graduate from undergrad. 😋) Isn’t it an amazing feeling to be fascinated by an area of study? The utter excitement that comes along with it!…

by Ioana April 26, 2022August 17, 2022
A sketch from Piaţa Sfatului, Braşov this mornin A sketch from Piaţa Sfatului, Braşov this morning. 🏫 I tried a triple-crosshatch technique to suggest the medieval-era clay tile roofing, inspired by a framed sketch in a local restaurant. Definitely using it again! I love playing with interpretive lines like this: the way a messy bundle of strokes demand to be seen a certain way depending on their context, but are entirely unclear when seen too closely.

Supplies:
📘 @moleskine watercolour sketchbook
🖊️ @fabercastellcanada 0.3 fineliner

📍 Piaţa Sfatului, Braşov

#travelsketch #urbansketch #urbansketching #travelsketching #sketchbook #moleskine #uskromania #urbansketchingromania #brasovart #brasovsketch #romania #fabercastell #pittfabercastell #moleskinesketchbook #travelsketchbook
Loved visiting this castle today 🇷🇴 Saving i Loved visiting this castle today 🇷🇴 Saving it here so I can paint it later and because this song was perfect for it. 👌 Bran Castle is the castle (actually a fortress) in the Transylvania region of Romania that inspired Bram Stoker’s original Dracula story.

📍 Bran Castle, Transylvania, Romania

#brancastle #romania #travelling #romaniamagica #travelblog
Quick little sketching break in Carvoeiro, Portuga Quick little sketching break in Carvoeiro, Portugal. @usktoronto #usktoronto If you’ve ever wondered how long these sketches take… here is how much I can sketch in 20 mins! Looking forward to adding a bit of dimension to this one after with watercolours. 🤗 

2 supplies I always carry with me:
@moleskine art sketchbook
@fabercastellcanada 0.3 black fineliner

#carvoeiro #urbansketchers #traveldrawing #drawingsketch #sketchbook #sketching #artjournal #travelsketch #drawyourday #sketchbookart #illustration #urbansketching #sketchjournal #finelinerdrawing #moleskine #moleskinesketchbook #traveljournal #travelwatercolor #traveldiary
Not exaggerating when I say @torontostationeryshow Not exaggerating when I say @torontostationeryshow was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. ❤️ Had an absolute blast sharing the @thewashitapeshop love, meeting other journalers, helping customers find their style of washi, giving out free samples, starting off a few young bullet journalers with their first washi tapes, chatting with other vendors and basically just having the best paper party ever. 🎉

@dreyray and @queeniescards you are both incredible. 🙌 And so are the 80+ other vendors we had the pleasure of sharing a space (and a passion) with. 🥰

#torontostationeryshow #torontostationeryshow2023 #stationeryshow #stationery #hobby #papercraft #journaler #journaling #stationerylover #stationeryshop
Ranking my bullet journal spreads 2016 - 2023! 📚 I love having 8 old bullet journals to look back through because each one contains bits and pieces of goals I set, and projects I worked on, and organization methods I forgot I once tried. I’ve always had the weird sensation of remembering a moment as it’s happening, and I think a part of the reason why is that I’m obsessed with never forgetting what it’s like to be at the beginning of something. Some day when I’m old, I might figure everything out. But I always want to remember what it was like when I didn’t. ❤️

#bulletjournal #bujo #bulletjournalideas #bujoideas #bujoinspiration #bujosystem #organized #planningtips #planningsystem #planning #planner #torontoplanner #torontoplannerjunkies #canadianplannergirls #studentplanner #bulletjournalflipthrough #bujospread #bulletjournalspread
Stumbled across this exhibition called “Housewar Stumbled across this exhibition called “Housewarming” by @karinegiboulo while at the @gardinermuseum a couple months ago and I’m SO glad I did. It not only gave me the remarkable sensation of both delight and discomfort at the same time, but it gave me the push to check out more local museums! I find they’re a rare solo sanctuary for me and always leave me a little more excited and inspired than when I arrived.

About “Housewarming”: Montreal-based artist Karine Giboulo (@karinegiboulo) invités you on a journey through a life-size reimagining of her home, animated by more than 500 polymer clay figures. With the pandemic as a constant presence, the colourful dioramas animating each room prompt reflection about the challenges we face as a society, from climate change and food insecurity to consumerism and the housing crisis. 

#creative #creativity #museums #gardinermuseum #torontomuseums #torontocreative #torontolife #karinegiboulo
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