My Calligraphy Progress in 1 Year (and Our Journey in Journals 1 Year Blog Anniversary!)

You know what's crazy? The fact that it's been an entire year that I've been doing calligraphy and writing a post almost every week on this blog.

Okay, today isn't actually my one year blog anniversary; Our Journey in Journals was made around the 25th I think, but my very first blog post was published on 3/27/2016, so that's what I consider to be my blog's anniversary. Also, I don't really know what was the exact date that I started learning hand-lettering, but I know it was around the same time that I started OJIJ, so I also think of 3/27 as my calligraphy anniversary.

One measly year is not very much compared to a lot of other people, but it can really make a difference. In this post, I'll be going through the past year in terms of my calligraphy and this blog and see how they've both changed and (hopefully) improved. I hope that you'll find it inspirational to see that no matter how bad you think your stuff is now, it can only get better!

Easy Ways to Decorate Your Bullet Journal

When starting a bullet journal, it's always best to begin simply and minimalist. If you're still trying to figure out and adapt the bujo system to the best of your needs, then it's a good idea to avoid unnecessary frills. I'm also a big proponent of the idea that you don't need specific tools to plan well. However, it can still be fun to decorate your bullet journal; the hard part is making things pretty whilst avoiding hours of work dedicated only to embellishing your pages. Thus, I've gathered up some ways that you can easily decorate your bullet journal!

The Best Brush Marker for Calligraphy Beginners

Okay, I know that saying the "best" brush marker is a bit of a stretch, but I truly believe that out of all of the brush pens/brush markers that I know of, this is the overall best one for beginners starting to learn calligraphy. Seriously though, I really like these markers. They're amazing for calligraphy beginners, and even as a hand-lettering "veteran", I still use them all the time.

So, what are these magical brush markers? Read on to find out!

March 2017 Bullet Journal Setup

This is a really exciting month for me. Not only does March complete a full year of bullet journaling for me, both my one year calligraphy and blog anniversaries are this month! It only hit me yesterday that I've almost been using the bujo system for an entire year, and it's kind of crazy to see how it's both changed and stayed the same from when I first started back in April of 2016. Anyway, if you want to see my March 2017 bullet journal setup and compare it to April (link above), then keep reading!

Goulet Pens Stationery Haul

A couple weeks ago, I made my first order from the Goulet Pen Company. I'm really excited about the stuff that I got, so I decided to make this haul post about said stuff. I ordered late at night on February the 9th (Thursday), and I received the package on the 11th (Saturday). I bought a variety of fountain pens, fountain pen inks, notebooks, and accessories for fountain pens.

✒ My first ever order from @gouletpens arrived today!! I'm so hyped to try everything out, since all I've done so far is unpack everything and try the Kaweco Skyline Sport Fountain Pen. However, I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna love everything that I purchased. Aside from the Kaweco, I also got a Noodler's Ahab, a bottle of Noodler's X-feather, a crap ton of ink samples (17 to be exact), a notebook sampler, a Rhodia pad, a Goulet notebook, the cleaning package set, and the cartridge converters for the Kaweco and my Pilot Metropolitan, which I got back in August. As you can tell, Goulet does not mess around when it comes to packing for shipping. I also really like the whale card thing. Anyway, now it's off to playing with my new goodies!! ~Mae-Mae ✒ #stationery #stationeryaddict #stationerylove #stationeryhaul #gouletpens #fountainpens #journals #notebooks #pens #bulletjournal #happymail #unboxing #luxurystationery

A post shared by Mae-Mae Han (@ourjourneyinjournals) on Feb 11, 2017 at 3:33pm PST

Goulet is famous for their incredibly extensive packaging, and I was not disappointed; all of the liquids were wrapped in case of any spills, and all of the paper products were also wrapped for extra protection. I didn't take any pictures of the package before I took everything out, but I filmed this video of me opening all of the products. There were also a couple of extra goodies, like a Tootsie Pop and a handwritten thank you note that includes what ink color was used (though I think there's also supposed to be a Goulet bookmark, but I haven't seen it :( ). Anyway, now that I've gone through some of the non-stationery stuff, let's go to the actual meat of the post, shall we?

How to Make a Bullet Journal Monthly Memories Spread

There are so many different types of bullet journal collections out there; there are trackers, different monthly layouts, and all sorts of lists. However, one of my very favorite collections in my bujo is the monthly memories spread. I first heard about it from Boho Berry, who learned about it from Passion Themed Life, and I find that it's a great way to incorporate your bullet journal into memory-keeping. If you want to learn how to make this type of spread, then read on!