January Bullet Journal - A Creative Kickstart to the New Year
As January approaches, it’s the perfect time to set up our bullet journals for the start of a fresh year. Today, I’m sharing a January setup from my Mystery Journal—a journal I create and give away to an unknown recipient. This setup features a mix of organisational layouts and self-care spreads to inspire your planning and creativity.
Check out the setup video below to watch it all come together, or scroll on to see photos!
The Mystery Journal Concept
If you’re new here, the Mystery Journal is a special project where I design six months’ worth of bullet journal layouts and give the completed journal away. It’s a way for me to share ideas that might not suit my own lifestyle while offering creative inspiration for others. While this journal’s giveaway has closed, stay tuned for the next one for the latter half of 2025!
Supplies for the January Setup
This month’s Mystery Journal theme revolves around a stunning PET tape I recently picked up. Here’s what I used to bring the setup to life.
Colour Palette: Deep purples, light pinks, and pearlescent whites inspired by a particular PET tape.
Journal: Sage Leaves Journal from SassyPigeonHQ (gifted)
Pet Tape (gifted): A unique featuring flowers, castles, butterflies, and even fishbones. Unfortunately this tape disappeared from Journalsay’s site not long after I received it. I found it available on another site but it’s pretty expensive!
Decorative Elements:
Purple origami paper - I got mine from Daiso. It’s only purple on the front, with a brown Kraft paper back.
Pearlescent envelopes flattened for layering - I picked mine up at Officeworks here in Australia.
Iridescent transparent pink vinyl with a yellow reflect, perfect for adding tiny pops of shine.
Purple floral vine stickers and pastel washi tape from JournalSay (gifted)
Pigma Micron 01 fineliner for numbers and lines.
Tombow dual brush pens in 623 purple sage, Tombow 761 carnation, and Tombow 800 baby pink.
Glue tape - the superior way to adhere! (gifted)
Tiles washi tape (gifted)
Vintage scissors (gifted)
Alphabet letter stamp set (gifted)
ArrtX metallic paint markers, used both for lettering and stamping (gifted)
White acrylic paint marker for fixing mistakes
Cover and Calendar Spread
The setup begins with a single-page cover spread on the left, paired with a calendar on the right. For the cover, I layered torn pearlescent paper with purple origami paper, creating a textured, dynamic look. A torn edge is one of my favourite ways to immediately achieve a romantic look in my journals! The “January” header sits at the center, flourished and shimmering in metallic purple paint marker and framed by corner collages of pet tape designs and stickers. I wanted lots of contrast in this theme!
On the calendar page, I added a touch of shine by layering transparent pink vinyl over the date numbers. Though I initially messed up the days (oops!), my trusty white paint marker saved the day, and the vinyl layer hides all my sins.
Goals, Favourites, and Daily Highlights
The next spread is all about functionality with spaces for:
Goals: A section to set intentions and break down actionable steps.
Favourites: A gentle gratitude practice where you can jot down anything you loved during the month—TV shows, songs, games, or even meals.
Daily Highlights: A “one-line-a-day” section to capture memories, moments of gratitude, or even the song stuck in your head each morning. I messed up here too - my second-line highlights got a bit wonky! My solve here wasn’t quite as seamless as some but I wanted the journal winner to have an easy time writing over the corrected line, so I used a good old correction tape here.
Habit and Mood Trackers
To help the Mystery Journal recipient track their progress and well-being, I included:
Habit Tracker: A compact design with mini calendars for six habits. Each day’s completion is marked by coloring or circling the date.
Mood Tracker: A playful, doodle-based tracker inspired by the pet tape. Each day, the recipient can add a small drawing that represents their mood, creating a visual diary of emotional trends.
To round out the decorations, I felt like something was missing—so I drew a box around the elements. It’s one of my favorite ways to bring cohesion to a spread, especially when things feel a bit scattered - the box acts as a visual link, tying everything together.
Reflection and Spending Log Pages
Next up are the reflection and spending log pages. These two spreads are side by side, and I’ve designed them to feel balanced—the writing space for each section is the same size, creating a harmonious look. The spending log, a staple of my mystery journals, returns here. While I’ve moved mine to a dedicated financial planner, I always include one in these giveaways. The reflection page is designed to be flexible, leaving plenty of space for the winner to write about their wins, lessons, and goals. It’s not about criticism but constructive growth and celebration.
This is also where I began incorporating floral stickers. These worked better in horizontal spaces, unlike the vertically oriented PET tape. By cutting the stickers in half, I could use one piece at the top and another at the bottom, creating a cohesive look while conserving materials. To add headings to the pages, I used pearly torn paper pieces stamped with the section titles and attached them using a glue pen. If you’ve never used one, they’re fantastic for adhering small elements without mess.
The Flexible “Spare” Spread
I’m a big believer in including at least one spare spread. This page has some decorative elements but leaves plenty of blank space for the winner to customize. Whether they’d like to try memory keeping, jot down quotes, or experiment with stickers and washi, this is their opportunity to make the journal their own.
January Weekly Layouts
Weekly layouts are always a challenge, especially when designing for six months at once. For January, I’ve created five distinct layouts:
Week One: A short weekly starting on Wednesday, January 1, and running through Sunday. This allowed me to use larger decorative elements from the PET tape without cutting them down.
Week Two: A horizontal layout with decoration crossing the middle binding. I layered origami paper and PET tape for a vibrant centerline. However, I accidentally misnumbered the dates and had to correct them—my trusty white paint marker saved the day! What would I do without it?
Week Three: A minimalist vertical weekly with a decorative strip running horizontally across the center. This spread allows plenty of room for intensive planning, collecting of highlights or short-form reflective journaling!
Week Four: Featuring a narrow washi tape I wish I’d introduced earlier, this light and airy spread skips the darker purple paper for a fresh look. Pearlescent paper accents tie everything together.
Week Five: A classic square layout inspired by @Ruthie.Journals on Instagram. Each page is divided into six squares, with days of the week and decorative sections alternating. The balance of purple and pearlescent paper made this spread a standout, and I’m proud to say I didn’t make any numbering mistakes here!
Final Thoughts
With the January setup complete, I’m thrilled with how this mystery journal is shaping up, despite the occasional hiccup. January, as the start of a new year, is full of potential—and I hope this journal inspires its new owner to dream big for 2025.
Speaking of fresh starts, have you picked out your journal for next year? Are you diving into the setup process? If you’re still looking for ideas, check out my Paris-themed January setup from last year’s mystery journal or the initial setup for my 2025 personal journal. Let’s make this journal season the best one yet!