I totally missed Media Monday this week. I had stuff going on both Monday and Tuesday night, and by Wednesday it already felt too late, even if I had had the energy to do it, which I didn’t. So now it’s Thursday, and I’m honestly not sure if this post is even going to get published tonight or not. But at least I’m here and writing something.
Insert: I am actually publishing this on Friday.
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Today I thought I’d do a post showing three different monthly cover pages that I’ve done using a single quarterly subscription box from Archer & Olive. The box was from September 2024 (so I’m sure it’s not available anymore, sorry) and titled “Academia: Dark and Decadent.” I really loved the vibe in this box. It was dark, moody, and a little fantastical. I knew I wanted it as soon as I saw the preview. It seemed perfect for an October theme, too.
This is kind of fun for me, because the pages all use the same products, but they’re also all very different. I think it also kind of highlights how my style has evolved over the last couple of years.
October 2024
So I had just gotten this box, and it felt right for a kind of spooky, but not overtly Halloween-y October theme. For this page, I just used a large sticker as my centerpiece, with some patterned washi tape framing it. I lettered the month with a Tombow dual-brush marker. And that was it! Very easy, but the large sticker made it feel like a lot.
February 2025
For February, I had the idea for a theme that kind of felt like Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. You know, moldy wedding cake, a yellowing wedding dress, and lost love. I remembered the dark floral washi tape that had come with this box, and felt like that seemed like a good lost-romance vibe to base it on. For this page, I used one of the collage papers that came with the box and just rounded the corners a little by hand. I just wish the curtains had been closed. But it still gave me kind of a lonely, elderly feeling, which I liked. I added the floral washi tape and, again, lettered the month and year. It looks like it may actually have been the same marker, but I’m not sure. It may be a little lighter than the last one.
February 2026
This time, I have to admit, I used some additional products. Not because I don’t still have plenty left, but I was actually inspired by some “Waiting for the Night” washi tape and stickers I bought recently from Con*Quest Journals. One of the washi tapes has what looks like old, possibly magic, books on it. Others have images like bats, ravens, and skulls, very moody. I was looking for a bigger focal point, though, so I thought of getting out the A&O box again to see if anything fit, and I found this bookshelf picture in the collage paper pack. This time I had a corner punch to make nice, uniform rounded corners! I layered it on more papers from the pack, and used washi tapes from both sets. I also added the large bottle sticker from the Con*Quest set because I thought it needed a little something more, but I feel like it may be a little out of proportion. I do feel like the sets complement each other nicely in general.
I like how my cover pages have filled out as I’ve been doing more of them. The coordinating papers have been great for taking up more of the page without taking away from what’s in the center, and I’ve been using that technique a lot lately. I also like how this last time I was able to pull items from different collections and still create what I think is a coherent theme page. And I like the practice of making a new one each month and finding that I’m generally liking them more and more.
How about you? Are you doing anything fun in your bullet journal? Do you have examples of how your style is evolving?