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Over the past year that I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve done a lot of themes. But this month is sort of special. You might remember that in June my subscribers picked my theme and it was beautiful! But this one here, I saw the suggestion and it inspired me. This Candyland plan with me is going to be special.
And it’s going to be special since I am designing it without a reference. I didn’t want to be replicas of the characters from the original Candyland game. What I wanted to do was use them as inspiration to create my own version of the classics.
I mentioned back in my Sailor Moon flip through that drawing out the scouts gave me some new confidence in my abilities and I wanted to try to explore that a little bit more.
This theme seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Planning it out
As far as picking my characters, I haven’t decided fully what I’m going so far. There are a lot of male characters in Candyland. I’m still not super comfortable drawing them but I’m going to include at least one. Or maybe, since I’m creating my own versions, I’ll make a Mrs. Mint instead of a Mr. Only time will tell.
My monthly spread for July is a bit shorter.
And that’s on purpose. July is going to be very busy for me so I want to keep things simple. Since I’m moving mid month it was important that I don’t overwhelm myself with things to do. With that as the goal I shortened my planning pages so that I could focus on just a handful of things that are top priorities.
I wanted this month’s theme to be super colourful. At the same time I wanted it to be easy to maintain. I figured that outlining spaces might be the best way to accomplish this.
The Candyland Set Up
Calendar
You guys know I’m a massive fan of the Ryder calendar.
But I couldn’t pass up the chance to do something super different and fun for this Candyland theme.
So for the calendar this month I did the Candyland board.
Not the EXACT the board but the colourful jist.
With so much colour I didn’t want the spread to look too crowded so I kept the actual candy simple and minimal. Just outlines.
But each space is a day of the month and I’ll use the space to write in events. I thought it was cute that I had July written at the top then at the bottom I have August with an arrow.
Side note, how adorable are these gumdrops???
Trackers
My habit tracker has been going by the wayside for a few months. So for my Candyland theme I ditched it altogether. I did keep my gratitude log and my chores tracker though. I think, with moving, it’ll be important to track these two things.
The gratitude log will help me build the feeling of home as I appreciate the progress of turning our new apartment into our space.
And the chores tracker will also help me figure out how to create a flow in the space so that it stays decently tidy. I’ll also see what jobs feel natural to do together.
Example.
It was easy to do my living room and kitchen tidy together at my current place since they are attached. They aren’t in my new one so I don’t think that will feel quite right.
But that’s the beauty of a bullet journal!
It helps you figure out how to be your most productive.
Planning Page
I dropped my planning spread to one page for the month and really all I want to do is write 3 goals and then the tasks that I still need to do. I also wanted a larger section to write in the things that I need to remember for my move.
In reality, the whole month of July will be moving focused. 2 weeks getting ready and 2 weeks getting settled.
Last year when I moved I went on a rampage setting everything up in one weekend but I was so sore and tired after getting everything done in a span of 3 days. So I might want to spread it out a bit this time.
I do want to capitalize on the week after the move though since the kids will be visiting with family.
First weekly
My first weekly spread kept the basic layout for my dailies that I had been going throughout the month of June. I just made them a little smaller.
I wanted to have some more “brain dumping” space for moving tasks and work tasks. So there are two separate boxes for writing those things at the bottom.
This spread is lollipop inspired.
I have lollipops with the date written in my silver gel pen and I drew my own version of Lolly in the bottom corner.
She has her iconic dress and the same colouring as the 80’s version but I made her a bit more cartoon-ish. What do you think? I think she turned out pretty cute.
What I’m excited about
There are so many things I’m excited for this month.
But one of the big ones is the chance to explore my creativity more and develop my drawing style. I hope that I make the time each week to try and create my own versions of these classic Candyland characters. It will be so fun to see how they turn out at the end of the month.
Shout out to Nichole who submitted the idea. I think it’s perfect for the month of July.
I’m also really excited about my new place.
At first, I was so sad about moving since I love my current place and put quite a bit of effort into making it feel like home. But I also love organizing and decorating. So I’m choosing to look at it as another opportunity to refine our style, our things and our organization habits.
What do you think?
Is moving a hassle or a chance for you to become more yourself in your new space?
Looking forward to hearing from you via email or in the comments!
Oh my gosh
I love it! You are so talented! I am doing celestial for July and succulents for August. I cheat and use stickers and washi sometimes. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Alisa! I appreciate you always taking the time to comment on my posts. I’m glad that you liked the theme and what I’ve done so far :). Can’t wait for you to see the flip through of July so you can see how your suggestion turned out!