I can’t believe it’s been nine months since I started my seasonal bullet journal theme blog series! You can check out my autumn, winter and spring theme inspiration posts if you’re outside the UK, coming to this blog post later, or just getting REALLY organised with your bullet journal set up. Whether you plan your themes beforehand or prefer a spur of the moment decision, I hope this post will give you some inspiration for your summer bullet journal themes.

It’s barely started to feel like spring in the UK let alone summer, but we’ll be ready for it when it arrives with this summery inspo…

Desert Bullet Journal Theme

Nikki actually did a desert theme in March as she was off to Palm Springs, but I think it works really well as a summer theme. She painted the cover image with Royal Talens gouache paint, and added some cute printed tape and stamp washi from Bobo Design Studio in Palm Springs. Such a fun way to include a memento from your travels! If you’d like more ideas and inspiration for travel journaling, check out this blog post.

Beach Bullet Journal Theme

If you like the sound of sun and sand but are more of a UK holiday-goer, how about a beach or wave bullet journal theme? I had this idea as soon as I saw Nikki’s A5 Dot Grid Pads in the new “Ocean” colourway. I sort of made it up as I went along and was filming at the same time so it didn’t turn out *quite* as I’d envisioned! I still think it’s pretty effective for such a simple idea and it was very therapeutic to make. I think this method could also work really well to create a sunset scene with the autumnal set, or maybe some rolling hills with the botanical set?

I also tried out one of the new Pentel Twin Tip Sign Pens in “gold ochre”, which was a dream to use! My brush lettering is a little rusty so I’ll be referring to my Brush Lettering Tips & Tricks blog post and endeavouring to practice a little more.

Memphis Bullet Journal Themes

As you may have noticed, I’m a big fan of using coloured dot grid papers in my spreads, and this Memphis theme is actually one of the first ones I created when Nikki launched the A5 Pastel Dot Grid Pads in 2021! If you want something a little speedier and simpler, check out this very simple Memphis theme I did with Zebra Mildliners and a slightly offset fineliner outline.

Sunshine Bullet Journal Theme

Another speedy one for you! I may not be very happy with the lettering on this one, but I absolutely love how this Warm Rays Washi Tape works as a page border, and this is a pleasingly quick and easy cover page for months when you just don’t have a lot of time or motivation.

Hot Ghoul Summer Bullet Journal Theme

If, like me, you’re a bit of a Grinch about summer and permanently longing for Spooky Season, may I humbly present…Hot Ghoul Summer. I can’t claim credit for the name, but it did inspire me to create this ridiculous theme a couple of years ago featuring a ghost wearing sunglasses, a skull cocktail, a watermelon jack o’lantern and some ghostly flowers and ice-creams. I love using white paint pens on Kraft and blackout paper!

Lilac Bullet Journal Theme 

If you prefer your flowers to remain un-haunted, why not recreate this beautiful lilac theme Nikki did in June last year? You can see a step-by-step process of how she drew these lilac blossoms and more spreads from her theme in her YouTube video. Spoiler: They’re actually easier than they look!

Flowering Strawberry Bullet Journal Theme

I absolutely adored this colourful strawberry theme by Amanda Rach Lee, but I’m not a big fan of colouring in and opted for a monochrome fineliner version instead. I actually love the idea of doing an entire year of botanical line drawings and choosing a seasonal flower, fruit or veggie for each month. Maybe next year?

Gouache Oranges Bullet Journal Theme

When life gives you oranges, paint them! Despite not having had much success with paint in the past, I was keen to try a gouache theme since Nikki shared her desert one in March. I stumbled upon this real-time paint-a-long video by Ha Bui Art & DIY on YouTube and decided to just dive in and commit my first attempt to my cover page! I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out and will defo be trying some more gouache themes in the future.

Summer Floral Collage Bullet Journal Theme 

Love florals but hate drawing them? Nikki cut some cute floral images from magazines and incorporated them into this colourful collage spread along with peach dot grid papers, kraft tape and Mildliner doodles. You can see some of her process in this reel, and check out @ruthie.journals for some more amazing collage inspiration!

Houseplants Bullet Journal Theme

Here’s another cute botanical bullet journal theme with minimal - or no - drawing. Nikki used these cute rainbow blob markers and botanical dot grid papers to create a fun houseplants theme. She’s included an illustration of a happy pilea plant, but you could easily forego it or perhaps combine it with the last theme and use some plant pictures from a catalogue or magazine? You can see the full set up in her YouTube video.

Fairy Tale Castle Bullet Journal Theme

…and finally, I thought I’d rounds things off with one of the most preposterously extra themes I’ve ever done! I was inspired by Amanda Rach Lee’s May 2021 fairy tale theme but the cover image was a bit drawing-heavy for me, so instead I added a pop-up paper castle, because that’s much less effort, yes? I purchased an SVG file from Etsy, cut it on my Cricut along with some vinyl letters, and glued them into my journal. Unfortunately, the file I used doesn’t seem to be available any more, but there’s a huge number of pop-up files that can be cut by hand or machine, or you could even design your own if you’re feeling adventurous!

I hope that’s given you a little inspiration for your summer bullet journal monthly themes! Why not bookmark this page so you can come back to it every year? If you’ve been inspired by any of the themes in this post, we’d love to see! Please tag @nikkissupplystore and #NikkisSupplyStore on Instagram, where you can find heaps more journaling and stationery inspiration. You can also follow me, @joy.margot, for more craft content and pictures of my cat, Juniper.