Planning and journaling – Keeping it creative

creativity, goal setting, intentional living, lifestyle, planner girl, planner lifestyle, Planning and journaling, Setting goals and intentions

Falling for a New Season: My Autumn 2025 Bucket List

Posted on Aug 28, 2025Aug 29, 2025 by Laura

As August is fast coming to a close, my thoughts have turned to the approaching Autumn and what I’d like to achieve and have fun doing over the next three months. My mind is brimming with ideas, and, as has become my routine for the last couple of years, just prior to the beginning of a new season, I work on writing a bucket list, planning things to ensure I live intentionally and in line with my core values.

In today’s post, I’m excited to share my bullet journal pages in which I’ve created a bright and colourful double page spread for my Autumn 2025 bucket list which serves as a reminder of my plans and provides inspiration to keep me on track. I’m also going to explain a little bit about the process I go through to come up with the best, personalised ideas which reflect what I want in my life currently. Finally, I thought it might be helpful to provide some detail about each of the items on my list and why I chose them.

How I prepared myself for creating my autumn bucket list

Reflection and reconnect – I took plenty of time to look at previous bucket lists and plans. I asked myself lots of reflective and orientating questions such as – what did I enjoy in the summer time? are there any activities that I would like to continue doing? what did I focus on in previous autumns – do I want to revisit any activities, or, are there things on my lists that I didn’t get around to but would still love to try? I also checked in with my vision board for the year, again asking more probing questions including what are my priorities and intentions for 2025? what kind of seasonal activities fit in with these? which classic activities and pastimes do I associate with autumn? what do I most love about the autumn season? what memories do I hope to create? what do I need emotionally right now? (e.g. comfort and cosiness, connection with others, rest and recuperation, creativity and expression, a fresh perspective, a new sense of purpose, self compassion etc) which activities are likely to instill these?
Gather inspiration – I asked friends and family members to share their favourite autumn traditions and talk about what they look forward to the most about the season. I also went online seeking ideas – Googling ‘autumn bucket list ideas’ checking out Pinterest for all things autumnal and searching tags on Instagram including #autumnaesthetic, #autumnvibes, Finally, I took time to explore what’s on in my local area over the coming months and if there were any events I’d like to attend.
Jot down anything that resonates with me – as I did the above, I jotted down anything that came to mind or resonated with me, include activities to try out, things to start doing this autumn, moods or vibes I want to create and how I wish to feel.

My Autumn 2025 Bucket List illustrated in my BuJo

Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative

I chose a neutral colour background from the 12×12 paper pack I purchased Dovecraft to ensure all of the items on my bucket list and the decorative stickers I made stoodout and created the most impact. I also selected a colour palette of deep red plus shades of orange, yellow and brown to give the pages an autumnal feel.

My chosen bucket list items explained

Choose a new seasonal decor item to display in our home – I love changing up our home decor each season and I’ve got quite a collection of autumnal items to display. I do think it’s nice to pick out one or two new items to add each year and I’ve already been looking online for inspiration. Although it’s not quite autumn yet, I’ve already spotted a pumpkin garland on the Lisa Angel website that would make a lovely addition (okay, I might have cheated and ordered it already but it won’t go up until September 1st!).
Buy a vegan scented candle kit and make own jar candles – I love scented candles and I’ve been wanting to have a go at making my own for a while now. I’ve found various suitable beginner kits and I think candle making is a really nice, cosy activity to do with my husband one weekend. Crafting together is always fun and a wonderful way to strengthen our emotional bond. I’ll be opting for a scent that I associate with winter time so that we can use our handmade items later in the year.
Create an autumnal hanging basket using pansies or violas – We’ve been making our own summer hanging basket arrangement for the past couple of years and I love the charm that it brings to the front of our house. I thought it would be nice to have a go at making an autumn one this year in rich seasonal colours, and my mum said that pansies or violas would be good choices.
Make a list of TV series to watch this autumn – There are always lots of great dramas on the TV as the nights draw in and to ensure we don’t miss any must sees, I like to make a list in my bullet journal. My husband and I both enjoy crime and psychological dramas and watching an hour of TV together is a nice way to relax after a busy day.
Make the vegan rocky road fridge cake from The Veganuary Cookbook – In January, I made a vision board for the year and something I wanted to do in 2025 was eat more plant based. We’ve made lots of recipes from the cookbook so far, but until recently, we’ve mainly done main courses. After flicking through the dessert and bakery chapters in our cookbook I found the perfect quick and easy to make recipe that I can’t wait to try.
Have a go at making the leaf mandala from Painting Calm (using own paint colours) – I found a lovely book in a National Trust shop last year which focuses on connecting to nature through the art of watercolour and my husband bought it for me for Christmas. There are so many different exercises and projects to try and, as I’m keen to spend more time developing my watercolouring skills, I’ve added an autumnal idea to my bucket list.
Try a new recipe with pumpkin in it – For almost a year now, my husband and I have enjoyed the taste and health benefits of lots of home cooking. As part of this, we try as much as possible to eat seasonally. During the autumn, the supermarkets are full of nutrient rich pumpkins and other squashes and we love trying different varieties and experimenting with different recipes.
Enjoy an autumnal treat at Costa or Starbucks – Going to a cafe for coffee and cake is a regular pastime of ours but we tend to opt for the same drinks and sweet treats each time. It’s always good to try something different and both of these chains bring out seasonal flavoured drinks and limited edition bakery items so there’s bound to be something new to try.
Complete an autumn themed jigsaw – There are so many benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles and I find them great for helping me to maintain good mental health. I’ve already browsed a range of autumn themed jigsaws online and I’ve picked one out to treat myself to next month so I made a sticker from the Amazon image and added it to my bullet journal spread.
Visit Castle Lake for seasonal bird spotting – My husband and I love spending time in nature and one of our favourite outdoor activities is bird spotting. Last week, I was looking online to see if I could find any nature reserves that we haven’t yet visited, and I came across a place called Castle Lake. Their conservation group website describes the place as ‘a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers’ and promises an enjoyable circular walk so I added it to my list straightaway!

Final words…

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my bucket list for this autumn and reading about why I picked each of the items on it. During the season, I will look at my bullet journal double page spread regularly when planning out my weeks and days. For any items that fall into the project category (such as candle making), I’ll sit down and do some goals planning, such as turning them into SMART goals and outline key action steps. I also like to tick off items as I go along (yes I made myself some little tick stickers on my Cricut!), whilst at the same time remembering that my list isn’t something to work through and ensure I get finished by the end of November, but simply a collection of intentional living ideas to help me and my husband make the most of the coming autumn months.

Wishing you an amazing autumn season,

art, Bullet journaling, coloured pencil, creativity, goal setting, intentional living, lifestyle, line drawing, planner girl, planner lifestyle, Planning and journaling, productivity, Setting goals and intentions, Uncategorized

Setting up my Bullet Journal for July 2025: Summer flowers theme

Posted on Jul 1, 2025 by Laura

Happy July everyone! This month, I’ve opted for a floral theme for my bullet journal, taking inspiration from nature, particularly wildflowers and those found in our garden. I initially found some simple flower bouquet stickers in my collection and planned to have a go at recreating them but, I decided that doing some drawing for my front cover was going to take enough time so I used the stickers themselves in my following pages. I know I said when I moved into this notebook that I was going to try to avoid too many stickers in my BuJo but the vinyl is very thin so I relented!

The front cover

For the cover page, I sketched out a number of flowers and leaves focusing on different shapes and sizes of bloom as well as different colours for both the flowers and the foliage. I took some inspiration from my own garden as we currently have some lovely bright orange poppies next to our pond, lavender in one of our pots and some pink flowers with white tips in our hanging basket.

After sketching, I used a size 0.2 Pigma Micron to outline before using coloured pencils and a blending pencil to add some nice, bright colours. I kept the stems black so the focus was on the blooms themselves.

The monthly calendar

This is my usual calendar layout with stickers added as decor. I wanted to do something in the white spaces between and decided to add a few loose petals. I opted to do the title in a different font from my usual choices and I selected a nice bright purple which I felt complemented the flowers.

July finances

I like to choose quite a pale colour for the lines in my finances log and I picked out this minty green to go with the mid pink colour of the title. I also used one of my stickers leftover from the calendar and added a few petals to look like they’d fallen from the bouquet.

Monthly goals

A goals page has become a regular feature in my monthly bullet journal pages. I look at my vision board for the year and also my bucket list to help me choose a small number of goals to work towards. When I first started adding goals, I would come up with around eight in total, but I soon discovered that this was too much and for the last few months, I chosen five which I feel is a lot more attainable, even if I’m busy with work and fitness classes.

I’ve actually created some more little stickers to add to my goals pages but unfortunately Cricut Design Space is currently down for maintenance and I wanted to get today’s post up at soon as I possibly can so I’ll have to print and cut them later and add them tomorrow.

Weekly spread

This has become my favourite layout for weekly spreads as it allows plenty of room for events and to dos. Sometimes, I’ll add decor at the bottom of the boxes and sometimes it’ll just be a long list of things I want to get done that day so I’ll skip the decor. Often, I’ll add more information or to do lists to the boxes as the days go by. Also, on a weekend, we might make last minute plans so I’ll write in what we got up to in retrospect. This helps me remember any days out so I can include photographs and text to my highlights journal when the month is over.

Final words…

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog to look at my bullet journal set up for July. I’m super excited to use my pages this month as I love how bright and colourful they are. As well as drawing flowers, I’ve also treated myself to a flower press and I’ve been busy pressing blooms from our garden. I’ve had mixed success with it so far, with some of the flowers falling apart when I’ve removed them from the greaseproof paper, but I’ve also had some which look fantastic. I’m hoping to get my watercolours out to have a go at painting the results but this was one of my goals for June and, so far, I haven’t dedicated any time to it. I have my second lot of flowers pressing and they’ll be ready by mid month so hopefully, I’ll give it a go at some point in July or, if not, August.

Wishing you a relaxing month where you find time to do some of the things you enjoy too.

intentional living, journalling, lifestyle, mindset, Planning and journaling, reflective journalling, self care, Setting goals and intentions

Why I’m ditching The Five Minute Journal and what I’m trying now

Posted on Jun 26, 2025Jun 26, 2025 by Laura

For the past couple of years now, I’ve been using The Five Minute Journal consistently as a way of recording what I’m grateful for, thinking about how to make my day as good as possible, selecting a positive affirmation and making a note of the main highlights each evening. There are so many positives about this journalling system, which, as the name suggests, can be filled in very quickly using the prompts given. So, you might wonder why I’ve made the decision to stop using it? Today, I’m going to be sharing my main reasons and also talking about what I’ve started using instead.

Why I’m no longer using The Five Minute Journal

As you can see in the photo above, I’ve worked my way through four of The Five Minute Journals lasting six months each. I’ve mainly enjoyed using this guided journal with daily prompts, but a few months ago, I started to think about trying something else. This was mainly because I felt like my practise was getting a bit stale and repetitive and wanted something that I would really look forward to filling in twice a day. Here’s some of the things which have made me fall out of love with it:

The Gratitude section – I found this first bit really difficult to fill in when half asleep in the early morning. I would have preferred to list what I was thankful for in the evening so I could draw from things which had happened during my day.

The ‘What would make today great?’ section – I liked coming up with things that would make a difference to my day but I also felt like I wanted to explain why and the journal did not allow enough space for this. I think I would have preferred it if the section was a little more flexible so that you could maybe write one thing and provide an explanation or 2 or 3 things without going into detail.

The Daily Affirmation section – I liked choosing an affirmation for the day but I did sometimes struggle with coming up with one and had to resort to looking on the Internet for ideas which kind of made the process take a lot longer than five minutes.

Highlights Of The Day section – I continued to enjoy writing my highlights and often found myself writing a fourth one. I would have liked a bit more room to write in more detail for this part but, this would have taken longer than five minutes to complete if it was longer.

What did I learn today? section – For this part, the idea was to write something that the day had taught you about yourself or your situation, so, for example you could write ‘scrolling the news on my phone makes me feel sad’ or ‘sometimes when I feel hungry, I’m actually thirsty and should try drinking water before turning to a snack’. Often, I found this difficult and would end up writing something general that I’d learnt that day such as a new piece of knowledge or some advice that I’d come across. However, I felt that these ‘learnings’ were not really what the section was getting at. I felt like this became a drag and something I dreaded trying to fill in which isn’t how I wanted to feel as filling in the journal is meant to be a positive experience.

Weekly Challenges – these were something I looked forward to, but, I didn’t always have time on the particular day it was presented on and I often ended up forgetting about it when really, it would have been better to do it on an alternative date. Also, I think I would have preferred it if there was a menu of options at the back of the book and you could choose one which suited you at that time.

Despite me not wanting to purchase another ‘The Five Minute Journal’, what I didn’t want to do was abandon journalling altogether. And, luckily, I found an alternative journal in a garden centre whilst I was visiting family. My new journal is beautiful to look at, great to write in (much better quality paper) and allows more flexibility with what you can write about. I create a morning and evening entry and I would say it takes me no longer than ten minutes in the morning and no longer than fifteen in the evening. It’s helped me to fall in love with journalling again and I’m really enjoying filling it in. It also has an extra little prompt each day which changes regularly and, every now and then, it has something different on the next page which you can choose to fill in at some point during your day.

My New Journal

Below, is the journal that I’ve just started using partway through this month. I picked it up at Easter time and was really looking forward to getting going with it. I’ve also photographed some pages to give you an idea about the morning and evening prompts and also some of the extra challenges that are dotted throughout the book. You’ll also see that it has some gorgeous illustrations too which definitely adds to the appeal!

Final words…

Any regular practice in life can sometimes get a little boring and become hard to maintain interest in, so it can really help to shake things up every now and then. I’m interested to know if other journallers have ditched a particular form of journalling and tried something new. Sometimes change can be scary but often, it can also be invigorating too. I would love to hear what you think of my new journal and if it appeals to you too so let me know in the comments.

creativity, journalling, lifestyle, memory keeping, Planning and journaling, reflective journalling, TN journaling, Traveler's Notebook, Traveler's Notebook Spreads

How I journal about my holidays: creative ways to record travel adventures

Posted on Jun 13, 2025Jun 20, 2025 by Laura

(N.B. image heavy post this time)

Last month, we spent a lovely week in Faro, the capital of the Algarve region of Portugal. Whilst I usually do a double page traveler’s notebook spread each month, documenting the main highlights, when we go on holiday somewhere new, I will dedicate a whole notebook to the trip which includes journalling, lots of photographs, ephemera and general momentoes which can be stuck in. Today, I’m sharing how I prepare for my journal before I go and whilst away and I’m also including examples of double page spreads showing the different creative ways I document my holiday.

What I do prior to and whilst I’m away

So, let’s start with my preparations so that working on and completing my journal is much easier when I get back home. These are key to ensuring I have all the information and need and key details that I might otherwise have forgotten.

Before I head off on my holiday

Before I go, I make the journal itself. I create a TN wide size insert choosing colours, patterns or images on the scrapbooking paper which suit my coming trip. So, for example, this time, I opted for a bright and cheerful flamingo, flower and leaf themed paper from the Paradise Crush collection of 12×12 papers (200gsm heavyweight cardstock even though referred to as paper). This was because I had read that there are flamingoes to be seen in the lagoon (Ria Formosa). I love selecting the cover paper myself and then hand-stitching blank white paper for the inside. I choose quite thin white paper so the journal doesn’t get so thick that it won’t close properly when I add to my pages.

Shortly before travel, I add a small notebook to my handbag and make sure I have a pen too. This is useful for writing details during my holiday so I don’t forget things when I return. Just a word of warning if you’re going on a flight though – be sure to select your pen carefully as the liquid ink in my V5 Pilot Hi-Tecpoint pen must have expanded whilst in the air and when I got it out to write with on arrival the pen came apart and I got covered in ink! Luckily, it was just my hands that got ink all over them, not my clothes.

The final thing I take with me is something to store ephemera (collectable bits and pieces) in. This time, I took a popper wallet and it came in very useful for keeping papers flat. I do wish I’d opted for a slightly bigger folder though as I had some bigger things that I had to fold up to ensure they fit.

During my holiday

Notetaking Throughout the holiday, I make notes and reflect on my day. This is easy to do in the little notebook I mentioned earlier which comes with me wherever I go. This could include the name of a place we visited, my menu choices in a restaurant or cafe, timings of events during the day, a funny anecdote or how I felt in a particular place.

Taking photographs I take lots and lots of photographs whilst we’re away – better to have too many than not enough, right? However, for me, it’s not just about taking photos of each other and things my husband and I see or do, it’s also very much an aide memoire of various elements of our trip too. For example, when in Faro and on our day trips, I took photos of menus from the various eateries we went to, a screenshot of the weather for the week, close up shots of cocktail descriptions, shop fronts where I made my souvenir purchases and screenshots of locations of places we planned to go later on in the week. Also, talking of photos, I took my selfie stick so that we could take shots of the pair of us together rather than having to ask other tourists to take them for us.

Collecting ephemera In the traditional sense of memory keeping journalling, ephemera usually refers to stickers and die cut paper and card images which can be glue or stuck into the journal pages. However, for me, it means anything and everything which could be stuck in as a memory of our holiday. On our trip to Portugal, I collected and saved business cards for cafes and restaurants, maps picked up at the Tourist Information places, leaflets such as the one advertising our boat trip so I could cut out letters for titles, small images or bits of information, receipts from shops and eateries, paper tickets (e.g. entry to the cathedral and for our train ride to Albufeira), samples from paper bags we were given to house our souvenirs in and even the cup cover for our glasses in our hotel room. Some of the things I didn’t end up using but at least I was well prepared with paper goodies I did want to add. I also only used parts of my items sometimes, so, for example, I trimmed a large map down to fit on a double page spread and I cut the logo from a business card of a place called Veganbox we ate in a few times.

Creating my travel journal

It’s up to you how you do your journalling and the elements you include within the pages but here’s some ideas:

travel information including modes of transport and tickets
the weather whilst you’re away
places of special interest you visited
photos of the accommodation you stayed in
maps of the place you stayed and other areas that you visited
meals, snacks and drinks enjoyed plus related ephemera
photos of scenes, selfies, family, food and drinks enjoyed etc
souvenirs and why you chose them
information about any traditions of the place / country you went to
an explanation of something new that you learned whilst you were there
activities you did and what you did to relax

Supplies that I find useful and you might too:

roller glue – I use tonnes of this stuff and have two rollers – permanent (to ensure things stick really well and removeable (for when I might want to reposition elements on a page)
stickers – from a variety of larger and small businesses online (purchased from Amazon or businesses such as Papermaze, or Etsy to support small UK sellers), or made myself in Cricut Design Space and printed and cut
We R Memory Keepers 1,2,3 punch board – for making the mini envelopes I included
Washi tapes – I have collected so many of these over the years and use them in my memory keeping as well as my bullet journal planner
Die cuts – I didn’t use any this time but small ones of these are useful as decor on pages
Pens – biros or gel ink and possibly coloured pens for writing straight into the journal

I’ll let the photos of my pages do the talking now but if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me.

Final words…

Times are certainly changing with creative journalling and memory keeping. A few years ago (maybe a few more!), everything used to be paper based, but now, many things that I would usually stick in to my journal, such as flight information, boarding passes, entry tickets to places and for excursions and so on are often completely digital. To make sure I can still include at least some of these, my husband has to screenshot the e-tickets on his phone and then forward the images to me in WhatsApp so I can print them off. It’s not the same, but at least it provides some sort of record and adds to the memories stored within my travel journals.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my travel journalling process and seeing photos of my actual pages. There’s quite a lot of work involved in the journals I produce, but you could cut down the time involved by just adding photos and short captions. You could also choose to draw elements of what you see and do on your travels and this would be another lovely way to make the process both creative and therapeutic too.

Thanks for reading and I hope I’ve inspired you to create your own travel journal to document holidays (A.K.A. vacations),

art, bullet journal, Bullet journaling, creativity, goal setting, planner girl, planner lifestyle, Planning and journaling, productivity

Setting up my Bullet Journal for June 2025: Portuguese ceramic tiles theme (AKA azulejos)

Posted on Jun 1, 2025 by Laura

This June, I’ve gone for something completely different for my monthly BuJo decor. Usually, in the Summer months, I opt for bright colours and seasonal things such as fruits, butterflies, ice cream and beach holidays. However, this time, I took inspiration from our recent trip to The Algarve in Portugal and decided on a Portuguese ceramic tiles theme. Although a range of colours appear in these traditional items, the most popular by far is dark blue on a white background. The designs can be incredibly intricate but I opted for simple patterns as I really wanted to add cute swallows somewhere in my theme but at the same time, ensure I hadn’t set myself too much of a drawing challenge!

The Front Cover

I created my two tile designs on dotted paper from my Claire Fontaine pad and then traced them using pencil so I could create a repeating pattern and keep the images looking almost the same. They’re not exactly identical but this is in keeping with the hand-painted look which the traditional ceramic tiles would have. I then decide to outline the squares with a light sand colour Tombow. The June title was hand-lettered using my darkest blue Tombow and I went over it twice to intensify the colour. As I didn’t have a very dark blue Tombow, I had to make use of my Crayola Supertips which made it quite difficult to be precise with the colouring as the pens are quite thick and not super pointed. I think the tiles turned out okay but I’m not sure if the tile outline is impactful enough and I’ve been debating using a darker colour.

Monthly Calendar

I worked on a few more fairly simple tile designs for the spaces around my calendar, again using tracing paper to copy the images multiple times. I opted for a darker surround, but, as a dark yellow is quite often used in addition to the dark blue on azulegos, I thought it made them look more vibrant but still similar to the actual Portuguese tiles.

Finances – income and expenses

My usual financial information record with a Portuguese tile sticker I made using an image from Canva.

Monthly Goals

I’ve been setting monthly goals for a while now and like how they keep me focused on what I hope to achieve. I used both my vision board for 2025 and my seasonal bucket list to help me choose specific goals and I have some printables which I got from Etsy to help me map draw up action steps. I also use my monthly calendar and weekly spreads to record when I will work on each of the goals to ensure I meet with success.

I got some washi and PT tapes from The Washi Tape shop last month and decided to add a few motivational phrases on the pages. I love the different messages but I wish they were pre-cut like some of their other collections.

Final words…

I hope you enjoyed seeing my various spreads for this month. I don’t think I’ve ever done a theme with such a small range of colours before and I’m certain I’ve never used blue shades as the main focus of my palette at any time of year. I’m still not sure I’m happy with the front cover but I guess I’ll have to live with it as it’s done now! Let me know your thoughts or suggestions if you have any.

Wishing you a joyful June,