Creative Bullet Journal First Page Ideas
Today, out of all Bullet Journal page ideas, we will be talking about that important first page.
Starting something new can be very scary, so the Bullet Journal first page is always a challenge.
Even now, when I’m already on my 3rd journal, there is still so much anxiety around it! But as with always, preparation is the key, so let’s prepare for it together with these ideas.
I’ve got plenty of ideas here that will help you set up a show-stopping first page. Get ready to get inspired and start your brand new Bullet Journal!
First, let me tell you that as scary as starting a new journal, it’s worth it.
I hope you’ll also give it a look and get ready to start your planning journey right now.
The best way to fight the first-page fear is to be prepared. It’s much easier to just jump into it if you know what you want to draw on the page and have your inspiration and all the materials.
Even though this post is a part of my Bullet Journaling for beginners series, in truth, these ideas can work for any journal, be it your first one or the 5th one.
And be sure to keep on scrolling because there is a freebie for you at the end of the post, as well as some more resources.
This post may contain affiliate links. They will be of no extra expense for you, but I receive a small credit. Please see my Disclosure for more details. Thank you for supporting Masha Plans!
Bullet Journal First Page Ideas
Of course, this is your journal, so if you don't want to create anything on your first page - don't. There are no rules for the things you have to include in your journal.
I hope these ideas will inspire you and help you create your own perfect first page.
Write Current Year
When I think of my journal cover page, I know what I want. I want it to reflect basically what’s in the journal. I believe just writing a current year is pretty telling.
If you plan to start it in the middle of the year, you can always write two years. If it’s your second notebook this year – just add part two.
I find that this is the most useful front page for Bullet Journal, and in the future, it’ll be pretty helpful in sorting out my journals.
I also believe it’s the most neutral idea as well – it won’t define the whole journal style. It’ll just simply state the date.
I love this idea of Nicole's. It's a fun way to make the years stand out more by overlapping the years in different fonts.
As you see, for 2021 I decided to decorate a page with a year by adding tons of color blotches and some geometrical shapes.
If you decide to do something similar in your Bullet Journal, you can do it more aesthetically by using muted colors or shades of gray.
For 2022 I decided to go with the year and use kraft paper and some washi tape.
Gold accents on black are something I’m really obsessed with, and I’d definitely recommend using the gold acrylograph pen for that (be sure to use code MASHA10 for 10% OFF).
I absolutely love this incredible cover page and how the artist actually combines my idea of the year with my next idea of a quote.
An Inspirational Quote
Who doesn’t like a good quote?! Find one that motivated you and start your new planner life with it!
Use the power of words to help support you in your new adventure.
This is a beautiful example of fantastic lettering and floral drawings. And it's a fun idea if doing things digitally is easier for you, to draw it on your iPad, print and then add it to your Bullet Journal.
For me, I'm usually better on paper, but if you're the opposite this could be a fun idea to try.
It was very interesting when I got my first Archer and Olive Kraft Journal, so of course, I had to start it by creating a quote page.
This is something I'm always saying, and for me, it's kind of a great motivation to keep on using my BuJo. This is basically a reminder of what happens to me when I don't use it anymore.
Positive Affirmations
Affirmations are very powerful, especially if you write them down. So think of something you’re struggling with and write a positive affirmation about it.
That’s a great way to kick-start your journey to a more productive and intentional life.
I couldn't find many pages with this idea, but thankfully I stumbled upon this beautiful creation.
If you're not sure, check out these 10 easy affirmation ideas to get a general feeling of what affirmations you can use.
Mandala
Mandalas are great, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
It’s extremely therapeutic to draw one, and maybe that’s exactly what you need when dealing with your first-page fear.
Another advantage of drawing a mandala – it’s really not something that has to be done in one sitting. So you really don’t have to worry about finishing it up fast. You can turn it into a yearly project and do it bit by bit any day you feel like it.
Eva really is a queen of mandalas, and her mandala cover pages are always absolutely stunning!
I love how she decided not to go with just one mandala but add lots of smaller ones. It must be hard to get such intense black, but doesn’t it look absolutely amazing?
This beautiful mandala is an example of what you can do with your first page. Technically this is a coloring page, but it could work as a cover page for sure!
My One Word For This Year
A very interesting practice I found when I started Bullet Journaling is to actually pick a word to be your word of the year. This means – picking one word which would describe what you want to become and achieve by the end of the year.
This is a great practice to get some kind of direction to follow the whole year. For example, in 2019, my word was success.
I work on my blog, I plan on taking some classes, and moreover – I have several new projects in mind. So my main goal and direction for the year are to be successful in my endeavors.
This is my word of the year for 2021, as you see, I decided to add some more things to it by adding the meaning of the word.
I think it’s kind of a good thing because each word can have so many meanings for each person, so it might be more powerful to actually write down how exactly you want to interpret this word.
Another cool way to decorate your work of the year page is to repeat the word, basically creating a pattern out of the word.
The image above illustrates perfectly how such an approach can look cool and stylish. You can use color or just fill out some of the words with patterns to add a bit more spark.
For my 2022 Bullet Journal setup, I went with the word strong.
The way I decorated this spread is by writing down the definitions of the word that work best for me. And the top part will be filled with different situations in my life where I’ll need to be strong.
Welcome Page
What does your journal usually start with? My Archer and Olive ones always start from a “this book belongs to” page.
You can use that as your cover page or create one in whatever journal you have.
You can just create a welcome page so your journal always welcomes you back when you open it.
I really love this idea! I think I’ll try to use it in my next journal, maybe. It kind of makes you feel warm when you open your journal to such a welcome.
This is my welcome page from the 2021 – 2022 Bullet Journal setup. I went with a pretty simple decoration of just some washi tapes.
You can click "read more" if you want to see the full setup.
Bullet Journal Key
Key is a very useful page since the symbols there are the ones you’ll use all the time.
Starting your journal with a key will be both useful and less stressful.
Also, here is a cool trick: you can make a separate key and attach it with some washi tape. That way, it’ll be pretty easy to fix if you don’t like it or need a new one.
That’s not exactly what I did here, but there is some washi tape, so I thought I’d include it anyways.
What I love about the key page is that it can be super simple, and you can just use some pretty lettering to decorate the page.
A Drawing
Of course, you can always just draw something. Floral drawings are a very popular theme for the Bullet Journal title page.
A beautiful page with flowers. They are just the best for drawing!
I love how the year was added in gold ink; it just looks so stunning in contrast with the black background.
Another type of illustration you can do is this type of landscape one. They look amazing and so aesthetic!
In this image, the artist used paints, but you can achieve a very similar effect with other materials, like Tombow Dual Brush pens.
Patterns
Something else you can create as your cover page is a pattern.
Creating patterns is just as calming and meditative as creating mandalas, and it can be pretty simple too. All you need is a pen and maybe a ruler.
Adrienne is amazing in patterns, and how interesting she makes it look by just changing up the colors.
You can do so many with the patterns! Just fill out the page with them, or maybe add a year in the middle.
Another way would be to choose a word or letter and use patterns to decorate the inside of them.
Another fun idea is to create patterns with washi tapes.
This is a very cool way also to use some of your washi stashes.
Alternatively…
You can also always just skip the first page and head straight to the planning section. The first page is actually overrated and not as important as it seems when you sit to make one. So don’t let your fears hold you back from being productive and planning for success.
I know that the first page will never be the best one. Simply because with experience, you get better, and your future pages get prettier. You’ll notice I’ve included only a few of my covers in the post, which is why I just don’t like any of my covers anymore, I got a bit better, and those don’t look that pretty to me.
As an example, here is the cover page from my 2018 journal. I’m not impressed.
So maybe you can just leave it blank for the moment and come back to it later when you’re more confident, and it doesn’t give you any more anxiety.
I really hope this post was useful and gave you some ideas. At any rate, I just want to ensure you know we all share those fears and have to fight that anxiety. But if you’re prepared, I promise, it gets better. Hopefully, my ideas helped you to prepare a bit.
Supplies For Bullet Journal Cover Page
I can talk about stationery for hours, but let’s try to do a little roundup here, just to get you started.
Here are some of the supplies you’ll need:
- A journal. Of course, you’ll need one! Your perfect journal will depend on a lot of different things (check some blog posts below to learn about that), but you can actually start with any notebook you have lying around. My personal favorites, though, are Archer and Olive journals (and you can get 10% off with my code MASHA10).
- Fineliners. Fineliners are the basis of any doodles or drawing you will make, so make sure to get a few, preferably with different tip sizes. This will definitely give dimension and help you with the setup. Among my favorite fineliners are Sakura Pigma Micron and Staedtler Pigment Liner.
- Markers. You probably will want to add some color. I would offer to get some brush pens, like Tombow Dual Brush Pens or Sakura Koi Brush Pens. I also absolutely adore Zebra Mildliner Highlighters, they have two different tips, and their colors are so so pretty! For a bit more budget options, definitely check out Crayola Super Tips Markers, they are great, and you can use them for lettering as well as coloring.
In case you want to have some more recommendations, check out these posts:
- How To Pick A Perfect Bullet Journal Notebook
- 13 Notebooks You Should Try For Your Next Bullet Journal
- Bullet Journal Supplies For Beginners
More Resources
There is so much more on the blog to help you with your Bullet Journal.
But not to overwhelm you, here are just a few posts that will help you out with your next step:
- How To Overcome Bullet Journal First Page Fear
- Bullet Journal Cover Page Ideas For Every Month Of The Year
- Step By Step Bullet Journal Setup Guide
Free Bullet Journal Printable
Of course, I didn’t want to leave you without a freebie, so I designed a cover page for you, full of mandalas but with space to add your name and other details on the first page.
It’s fun, you can enjoy coloring it in, and it’s already in the Resources Vault under “Other Pages”.
If you don’t have access yet, you can always sign up in the form below.
Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll get the password to get 50+ free Bullet Journal printables, stickers, and worksheets to use right away.
If you’ve never used printables before, be sure to check my post How To Use Printables In Your Bullet Journal.
It’s pretty basic, and you can find all the supplies you need in my post Supplies For Using Bullet Journal Printables.
What did you use for your cover page? Or planning to? Looking forward to reading your comments below.
I hope this post was useful. If you find it so, please share! If you enjoy my content and want to show your appreciation, please consider supporting me with a cup of coffee.
And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob.
Hi, I’m just a teenager and I’m new to bullet journaling. And your tips were very useful to me. S o thank you sooo much.
I’m from sri lanka so i couldn’t find the right brush pens and stuff. Your recommendations are so good I’ll try to get them.
Hello Binadie, so happy to hear it was useful!
thanyou for that wonderful and useful idea i will try that
Thank you, happy you liked these!
👍💞