August is the perfect time to let our hair down, travel, and explore new places.

This August Map-Themed bullet journal is designed to capture that adventurous spirit and set the mood for summer escapades.

Creating the cover page for the August Map-Themed Bullet Journal

In Greece, August epitomizes summer—a time for vacations, relaxation, and soaking in the sun. Honestly, I can’t wait to take a break and unwind.

For this month’s bullet journal, I wanted a theme that embodies the essence of travel and discovery.

What could be more fitting than vintage maps? I’ve always been fascinated by old maps, with their intricate drawings and charming details. It’s a pity that we don’t have maps with that same artistic flair nowadays. 

I started by designing the elements for my map. This part was really fun because I could let my imagination run wild. There are so many options!

For the map, you need some sort of land—obviously, since it is a map. You can draw random shapes, or if you want some guidance, you can throw rice onto your paper and mark the outline it creates.

If you’re going on vacation in August, it’s a great idea to create a map of the place you’re visiting. 

I made a few random islands because I wanted space to incorporate decorative elements.

At first, I thought I would use only one page for the map, but then I wouldn’t have enough space for all the decorations. Trust me, this is a two-page spread.

I drew some standard old map décor, like a ship and a compass.

I also thought it would be cute to add a mermaid sitting on an island. This was the hardest to draw; I’m still not very sure about the final result…

I also added fish, birds, and some tropical trees to make the page fuller.

On each island, I drew a few mountains. You can make them very detailed if you like, but I wanted them simple—just a few lines.

 Of course, you will need to add the name of the month, and your page is almost ready.

All that is left to do is to give it a vintage vibe. I used two brown inks to color the page.

I used the lighter shade to color the whole page. Don’t worry if it is not very even; that just makes it look older.

If you want to try something different, you can add two colors to the map, blue for the sea and brown for the land, by using some masking liquid. Personally, I wanted my map to be monochromatic.

Then I took the darker shade and darkened the edges of the page.

You can cut some of the paper for a more distressed look, but I didn’t find that idea very practical for journaling.

Here’s a nice tip: if you don’t have inks, you can use coffee or tea to stain your paper.

Lastly, I added a few details with a marker similar to the background color. And with that, the cover page was ready!

Creating the Calendar, Memories page, and Expenses page.

Next is the calendar. For this month, I made a monthly spread.

I marked the grid using the same brown marker and wrote the dates in brown shades. If you want, you can stain the page with inks as well.

I used ink to paint only the decorative strip of my calendar. For the décor, I drew a sea serpent for variation.

And I have to say I love the final result! Of course if you aim for something simpler, you can draw ships or islands.

Following that, I made a memories insert. After all, it is summer, and you want to keep those precious memories.

This time, I didn’t want to paint the whole insert, mostly because I didn’t want to go through all that trouble again. I am a little bit lazy I guess…

 So, I designed a big island in the middle and secured the areas around it with tape and masking fluid. Now it is ready for me to paint.

A useful tip is that if you make sketch guides with a pencil, you want to first use a pen on your designs before painting with ink. Otherwise, it is really hard to see the drawings. 

For this, I made a treasure island with pirate flags, swords, and of course, a treasure chest.

After I finished with the ink, I removed the tape and rubbed off the masking fluid.

I believe it is my favorite part of this month’s bullet journal!  I drew the outline and added the guide to the treasure and a ship.

I left the ship white, but I am not too sure about that. I will think about it; maybe I’ll use the masking technique and add some color to it.

To finish the page, I added the title and a few borders for my photos.

Lastly, I made the expenses page. I kept it simple to ensure I have plenty of space to write down everything I spend.

 I added a decorative ship next to the title and applied some ink all around the edges.

 I also used a stamp to create some ink stains. I liked that look, so I stamped a few on the cover page as well.

 And with that, my journal was ready!

Supplies you will need to make the July Under-the-Sea Bullet Journal Theme.

To paint the July Bullet Journal I used the following Tombow marker 992 I also used Stabilo’s markers 88/88 and 88/89

To mask the designs I used the Winsor & Newton Watercolor Medium, Art Masking Fluid.

To outline everything, I used the SAKURA Pigma Micron 01 Fineliner Pen to give it that finishing touch.

For the ink, I used the Stamperia Create Happiness CREAM Dye Ink and the Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad Vintage Photo.

 Lastly, if you’re on the lookout for a fantastic bullet journal, I highly recommend Notebook Therapy’s “Sun Solstice”, the one I currently use.

Thanks so much for reading! Don’t forget to follow me on social media for more DIY posts. If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out the July Minimal Bullet Journal spread too!