Hi everyone, it’s Amanda, and for my May 2024 bullet journal setup I went into this with literally zero plan. May kind of snuck up on me (also life has been hectic—Dallas planner convention, ShopARL booth, and I’ve been deep in prep mode for our new tote bag collection), so I was sitting there staring at a blank page like… what am I doing. Then it hit me: I’ve been consuming an unhinged amount of bag content lately, so I turned it into a theme—“what’s in my bag… but make it bullet journal.” For the cover page, I drew the actual items from my real bag and laid them out like a flatlay, using the objects in front of me as 3D references (which is such good sketching practice, by the way). I kept it super detailed with a thin fineliner, added grid paper for that warm, lined-up aesthetic, then colored everything with gouache diluted like a watercolor wash so it wouldn’t look too flat. I also went back in with colored pencil for extra texture and movement. This month I kept my setup more efficient: a cute cover + a mini calendar on crumpled “purse paper,” and a weekly module-style spread with appointments, a rolling to-do list, and small weekly habit trackers (less pressure than tracking all month). It’s simple, personal, and honestly just really fun to open up and see all my favorite little knickknacks and doodads living on the page.