Journal Pocket for Your Secret Notes

Today’s art project is all whimsy and flowers because we are making a little page for your journal where we can tuck away a secret note. We'll create a tiny (and pretty) panel to put your notes and affirmations, or whatever you want to hide away. If you love bullet journaling because it's something you enjoy that's just totally for you, I think you're going to have fun with this pocket spread!

Watch the YouTube video to see my entire process:

SHOP MY SUPPLIES HERE:

• Baron Fig Notebook

• Faber Castell Brush Markers

• Koi Brush Pens

• Pigma Micron Artists Pens

• Binder Clips

• Artist Eraser

*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains affiliate links from which, at no additional cost to you, I earn a small commission from.

So basically, this is random journal art that is just for fun! It is meant to be whimsical and personal and shouldn’t take more than an afternoon or even an hour. I am working in my bullet journal, the Baron Fig Confidant; it is great paper quality and the perfect size. To start, we turn the notebook and fold the page in half, which creates a space underneath where you can tuck a little note or drawing.

I am starting on the folded page by sketching out a rectangle to mark out an envelope. There will be a big burst of flowers coming out that I mark in roughly with some lines and circles. Thinking about the color palette, I’m using two very cool greens, a light purple, dark indigo blue, and a bit of magenta. Starting with some larger flowers, a loose spiral creates the look of a peony or rose. With the dark green, I begin drawing some stems and little leaves.

Tip #1 The whole design is that the flowers and leaves are bursting out of the envelope. This means that everything will be drawn going in an upward and outward direction. The blue leaves I am adding in, curl up and away from the envelope.

Tip #2 Use a binder clip to hold your folded page down. I am drawing across both pages and this makes it easier to draw as if it is just one page.

The main formula here is to think about your color palette beforehand, start with some larger flowers, and then just join them all together with lots of little leaves and stems. I expanded my color palette as I went, adding some peach, a cool pink, and brown. I am using a mix of Faber Castell and Koi brush pens.

When the flowers are nearly done, I color in the envelope in warm gray, of course, anything goes - white or brown would look good as well. Finally, fill in the flowers, add a couple of leaves peaking out over the top of the envelope, and add any last details. At this point, I am adding a sketchy black line with the Pigma Micron. I am using the 08, a larger nib - I’ve been into a chunkier drawing lately. I am adding the ‘Note to Self’ as a title below. It doesn’t need anything, but I like that this hints at what this layout is all about. I am not going over everything but am adding a few lines here and there, going over some of the flowers, just to make everything pop.

Tip #3 It is always a good idea to do your titles in pencil first before going over them in pen. Just in case!

When you remove the clip you can see what it looks like to open the page. The next step is to finish the page underneath so it looks good as a stand-alone piece. I pencil in where it works to place some more flowers, the idea is simply that this will be a bouquet, so the flowers come down towards a few stems. My process here is similar: begin with a few large flowers and then surround them with leaves, branches, stems, little berries, and all those details.

To finish this I am just adding some more sketchy pen, connecting it to the top, and adding a few leaves that aren’t colored in. I am excited to have this somewhat secret little pocket in my journal. I am going to use mine to tuck away some positive affirmations to myself. You can use it for anything: poetry, drawings, little notes, or affirmations.