Hello! As this is my first time writing for the Nikki’s Supply Store blog, I thought I’d do a quick introduction: I’m Joy, I live in Cambridgeshire with my boyfriend and cat, and you may know me from Instagram as @pinkcoatclub. I’ve been running an online sewing-themed gifts and accessories business for the last four years, but will soon be closing up shop. As well as stationery, I love dressmaking, roller skating, vegan junk food and Halloween.

I started bullet journaling in November 2020, in a bid to keep organised and motivated through another small business Christmas and to get a head start on planning for 2021. I'd been admiring other people's beautiful bullet journals for years but always assumed it was out of the realms of possibility for someone like me who couldn’t draw or letter and rarely wrote a birthday card without a spelling mistake or smudge. My initial spreads were incredibly simple and usually consisted of dividing the page into four and using days of the week washi tape. It was a great place to start and made sure I got into the habit of using it without worrying about having Pinterest-worthy spreads. Fast forward a few months, and sitting down to create my spreads is one of my favorite parts of the week and really helps me unwind. I’ve loved practicing my illustration and lettering and trying out lots of new products and I can’t wait to share more of this with you! 

This week I’ll be sharing how I used Nikki’s Supply Store’s exclusive A5 pastel dot grid pads. Each pad contains 50 full colour single-sided 80gsm sheets in a choice of five pastel tones with a white dot grid. I can’t resist a pastel shade and they inspired me to go with an 80s Memphis theme for August. I had so much fun cutting, sticking and playing around with different colour and shape combinations! Unfortunately, I only spotted this amazing Memphis washi tape at the end of August, but this would’ve complemented my theme perfectly.

This was my favourite spread from the month, and I added to the doodles around the edge throughout the week. I drew the letters for the days of the week before I glued the shapes into my journal which was a great shout. Lettering is not my strong suit and I messed a couple of them up the first time!

Archer & Olive Stardust gilded journal | pastel dot grid pads | Sakura Pigma Micron, various sizes

The next week, I was much more pushed for time and went with a super simple spread. This took me about five minutes to throw together, but the coloured boxes look much cuter than if I’d just divided the page up with a pen. This was also a great way to use up some of the dot grid sheets I’d cut into the week before. I keep all my paper scraps in an Archer and Olive journal box to use in future spreads.

Supplies as above, plus days of the week washi tape in cursive

 This was another super speedy and very minimal spread. I think the little pops of colour from the pastel dot grid paper add a bit of interest to an otherwise plain page. I rarely stray from the 4 x 2 layout I used the week before, but my work arrangements were quite different this week and I knew I wouldn’t be able to give myself many daily tasks. This layout actually worked really well for me, and I’ve used it a couple of times since.

 Supplies as above

On to September! I loved how Nikki paired the Perfect Peach papers with kraft paper tape in her August spread and used this as the inspiration for my September theme. I’d originally planned to go with an Autumn leaves theme, but the UK felt distinctly Summery at the start of September. I thought this colour combination, paired with some seasonally-appropriate botanical line drawings and monochrome washi was the perfect way to mark the changing of the seasons. Not only is collaging a great way to bring colour and consistency to your journal spreads, it’s also a very convenient way to cover mistakes. You’d never know this page originally said “August”, would you? *facepalm* The kraft pages were from the end of my previous journal, but you can also buy separate pads of Archer & Olive kraft paper.

Supplies as above plus doodled branches slim washi tape

 These ornate boxes have appeared countless times in my bullet journals, but this particular colour combination might be my favourite yet! I created a stencil when I first started jazzing up my spreads, and you can read how I did it here. I just love how the gold accents make the peach and kraft papers pop even more, and I’ll definitely be working this combo into future monthly themes.

Supplies as above plus gold Stabilo metallic 68 | coral and white Archer & Olive 0.7mm Acrylograph pens from the Warm Fall collection | black and gold banners days of the week washi tape

It finally started to feel a little more Autumnal in the UK, and I received Nikki’s Halloween washi tape collection in the post. It could only mean one thing: FULL AUTUMN MODE! I’m really pushing myself to work on my lettering at the moment and my days of the week are a bit wibbly but I’m really happy with how this spread turned out. Again, the peach paper on the right may or may not be covering up some decidedly dodgy lettering work, but it looks totally intentional! This cosy leaf washi was one of my favourites of the not-overtly-Halloween designs, and the golden dots are a fantastic year-round neutral.

Supplies as above plus autumn leaves washi tape in white | golden dots washi tape

I hope that’s given you a little inspiration for how to incorporate Nikki’s gorgeous pastel dot grid pads into your journal. Of course, you don’t have to stop there! They’d also be great for card making, writing letters, using as a desk pad and the smooth finish and dots are really helpful for practicing brush lettering. As they’re single-sided, they’d also be great for origami. Don’t forget to tag @nikkissupplystore on Instagram if you share a photo of how you’ve used these pads, or any other stationery items from Nikki’s Supply Store.

Supplies as above plus twinkly biscuits washi tape | Pentel Fude Touch in blue black

Thanks for reading!