Friday, April 24, 2020

FUN AND USEFUL HARRY POTTER WEEKLY SPREADS FOR YOUR BULLET JOURNAL!



This post has a collection of ideas that are perfect for bullet journalers that are also Potterheads, just like me! No matter what house you belong in, you can use these weekly spreads with any theme, and there are a lot of other unique spreads included , so be sure to read till the end! The photos used in this blog post are taken via Pinterest


Harry Potter themed Weekly Spreads:


 This page is very different and stylish - based on the quidditch stadium. Complete with those 50 feet high hoops that the quaffle goes through, as well as the spectators house stands, there is a golden snitch at the top as well. I love the fact that it's not overdone, and that the circles give you enough space to write comfortably. And a good Harry Potter quote page adds a nice touch to your theme as well.


This spread is mostly simple and spacious, but the main drawings make it special. It may be a bit hard to draw if you are artistically challenged like meπŸ˜‚,  but using this picture as a guide and at first a pencil , you'll be able to pull it off. After you have your final tracing in pencil, go over it with a pen and colour it in. Cute doodles in the extra spaces make it look more complete.


Almost just as same as the one above, the changes in this spread are that the theme is Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor and obviously as our favourite Ravenclaw is Luna Lovegood, we have a drawing of her that isn't too hard to make.



One of the spreads that I most like♥️! This is quite spacious and minimalistic, but for the cute little doodles of characters in Harry Potter , drawn in the middle in circle. They are actually quite easy to make, and if you wish to, you can even colour them in.


For those who are looking for a simple yet still a little decorative weekly spread with no big drawings, you have just seen the right spread for you. To still give it the Harry Potter touch though, the heading is written in a brown scroll and the Marauder's map footprints are drawn as well as a spell at the bottom.


We all sometimes love printed pictures instead of drawings , and a picture from the Harry Potter movies has been pasted at the top of this spread. Fancy cursive writing thats big but doesn't take up all the space, has been used for the headings of the days.


For all you non-Gryffindors out there, you can always change the themeπŸ˜‰. I love the difference in the set-up of boxes for this spread compared to others. And the little drawings and quote just makes it perfect over all. For me personally, I could never draw the house symbol so if I make one like this, I will print a picture. What about you? Tell me in the comments whether you think you are artistically challenged or not.♥️



This is quite NICE Hufflepuff themed spread (pun intended).
But since I don't belong to this house, I will change up the colours a bit (keep reading till the very end to know which house I belong in). The pages are complete with a list of goals and a To-do list, so it will come in handy for busy weeks.


By far the most different layout for sure! The idea is just so cool with the wands as dividers for seperate days. And the banner for the heading is extra curvy and long, and for some reason reminds me of dementors with their wavy hooded cloaks.


Finally, a spread for Slytherins! A very spacious layout complete with doodles and the Slytherin house symbol and colours. 🐍🐍🐍


And guess what? Another Slytherin spread. It contains a whole section for events that you can use if you have tons of outings planned this week. The layout is mostly focused on writing down the important stuff and has less drawings than most.


Now this is a spread for all! Has lots of writing space and all the house symbols! You can add more highlights here and there if you want, specially to the outline of the boxes.


Another spread with wands for dividers, except the positioning  is a bit different than the last one. This one is straight and generous with space. It also has a Deathly Hallows sign in the bottom corner!


Again a layout with all the houses, this spread is colourful and makes the page pop up more. I love the little doodles used to cover up extra space and the boxes are closer together for a change. It also isn't short of space!


All right guys, the mischief is managed for today! I really hope you do like and try out these ideas for yourself. I know I will! But before you leave, here is a promised fact about me: πŸ‘‡

FUN FACT: MY HOUSE IS GRYFFINDOR!!!!!

Question of the day: Tell me in the comments whether or not you are good at drawing or not (artistically challenged).

Check out my other Blogposts related to bullet journaling at Mariasitwat.blogspot.com and follow me on Pinterest @mariasitwat ! 

If you have 

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Pink Floral Themed Spreads for your Bullet journal!




Hello and welcome back! This post features ideas for your bujo that you can use if you're going for a pink and flowery theme. I hope you are inspired to use it , and remember, you can always change up the colour theme to suit yourself.

via Pinterest

 Lets start with a guide template on how to make quick and easy roses. This mood tracker can also be used for help. I love how 'feelings' is written instead of the classic old 'mood tracker' heading. Certainly gives it a cool touch.


via Pinterest @NickolaKosterman

This weekly spread layout seems very practical and easy to use. I really like that she has used cursive font as it goes well with the floral. Using stickers is also a great idea to customize your pages instead of drawing the whole pattern. 


via pinterest

The perfect habit tracker for this theme! The idea of the pink roses in a line through the middle, instead of being scattered, is unique and pretty. 
Via Pinterest @CrazyLaura
 This delicate drawing in the mood tracker spread may be a little hard for us artistically challenged folks, but using this picture as a guide will help. Unique and stylish, this drawing, once somewhat mastered, will certainly look great in your journal.


via pinterest
 One of my favourite weekly spread ideas. For those who prefer fancy rather than minimalistic, this is perfect! It also contains a to-do list which is great for tracking short goals. For me, quotes in random places look cute and aesthetically pleasing.


via pinterest
 Monthly spreads like this one take a little time to make, but if you don't like this two-page calendar style, there are tons more options for you that require less time and space. However, a nice bunch of flowers will look great with any style.


via pinterest
Another great weekly spread! This one is by far i think the most spacious. Also, it contains several highlights in green to make leaves and that gives a nice touch. Again, we see a to-do list box. Apart from maybe the heading, this wont take much time to make and is practical to use.



Did you like these ideas? Let me know in the comments! Check out my post on how to start a bullet journal.

Reading Ideas for Middleschoolers!πŸ“š

Hello and welcome back! In this post I've mentioned a few of my personal favourites and more, these books are mostly of interest to the people of ages 10 to 14. I hope this helps you!


Fiction:

1) Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling
2) The Hunger games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
3) Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan 
My fandom symbol
4) The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner
5) Divergent Triology by Veronica Roth





Story of a boy living in the wizarding world.
                                                       
Hunger Games is based in the future and has lots of technology and weapons that have not been invented in real life. The story can be thought of as a little dark and depressing as it portrays a war, but is still loved by fans all around the world. Only by actually reading the books will you understand why it is mentioned as one of the best fiction books of all time.


These series tell the story of a boy that lives in the present in the same world as us, but also in a completely different world at the same time. Based on Greek and Roman mythology, the books give us a different point of view from how we are used to seeing the Greek and Roman Gods and their personalities.
The sequels, The Heroes of Olympus, include several other demigods as well. 








Mystery:


1) Agatha Cristie's books

One of Agatha's most famous and best selling book





 2) Nancy drew by Carolyn Keene 






3) The five find-outers and dog by Enid Blyton 




4) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 





Classics:


1) Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott



2) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens


3) Anne of Green Gables by L.M.Montgomery


4) Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott



That's all the ideas I wanted to share 😁 I really hope this post helps you find new books to read and love. #Bookworm forever!!!

Follow me on Pinterest @mariasitwat for more fun and cool ideas.

Friday, April 3, 2020

J.K. ROWLING ~ AN INSPIRATION | HER LIFE STORY

J.K. Rowling Before Fame

Her real birth name being Joanne Rowling,the famous author was born in 1965, to Peter and Anne Rowling, who first met at a train in Kingscross Station. 

She grew up in small villages in England and enjoyed reading and writing from a young age. She was a big fan of author Jessica Midford's work and used to write fantasy stories for her little sister.
Fast forward to her young adult age, she attended the University of Exeter and claims that even then, she preferred reading Charles Dickens and others rather than doing work.
She was on a delayed train trip , a four hour ride, when she first got the idea of a wizard boy with glasses who did not know his identity. (Read on to learn more about how she created the wizarding world.) However, the first book of her best-selling series "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was not published until five years later due to a few sad mishaps in the middle. Her mother died from a disease when she was 25. Two years later she got married, but her husband was abusive. At age 28 she got divorced and was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. She was living on welfare and was almost on the verge of homelessness. She skipped meals so that she could feed her baby daughter (who she named 'Jessica' after her favourite author). Her baby was all she had left. At one point she couldn't pay her rent. By age 30 she wanted to commit suicide. But she did not and instead directed her passion into doing was she did best, and indeed no one can argue about that, her writing.




        How Harry Potter came into being

As you read, Joanne first got the idea of Harry on a train. She said it was the most physical bust of excitement she had ever felt. " I could see Harry very clearly. This scrawling little boy." she quoted. At that moment she had nothing to write these thoughts down on. For four hours ideas were building up in her head. As soon as she got home she wrote all of them down and decided that she wanted to write a book. After about six months of writing, she had written the first chapter, "The boy who lived", in 155 different ways. 


Rowling kept on writing most of her time. She used to sit in cafΓ¨s with her baby daughter for hours and write. A lot of characters and parts of the books were inspired by her own life. For example, dementors,the creatures that suck your soul out and destroy all your happiness, were inspired by the feeling Rowling experienced during the hardest times of her life. Chocolate always made her feel better so in Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry faints by looking at the dementors, Professor Lupin offers him choclate. Dolores Umbridge was inspired by a teacher that Joanne had, whom she hated on sight. 
Rowling also wrote the final chapter, the epilogue, of book seven around the same time of writing the first book. This was her way of telling herself that she would get there one day. 
She quotes "It was a way of saying to myself 'you will get it.' You will get a book seven one day." 

            After being published

After she finished her first book, Rowling tried to get it published many times but no one would buy it. About twelve or so publishers threw it on the rejection line. We can only imagine the regret they feel nowπŸ˜‚. Finally Bloomsbury publishing accepted her book and it immediately became a huge hit. Millions of copies of the book started selling and were printed in many different languages. 
But that doesn't mean everyone loved the story of Harry Potter. Specially after Book 2 and 3 were published, Rowling got a lot of hate. Parents starting saying that they did not want their children mixed up in witchcraft. People thought her books were increasing the practice of dark arts. She got a lot of hate letters from mothers saying that her books were too dark and disturbing as well as full of deaths. Rowling reacted by telling them that if they did not like her books they shouldn't read them further and that she would continue writing the way she wrote.


Joanne Katherine Rowling
FUN FACT: You already know that in the name "J.K. Rowling", J stands for Joanne. But what does K stand for? The author added an extra initial into the name that was being printed upon the Harry Potter book series. This was because the publisher told her to change her name up a bit so that just by looking at it, no one would be able to tell the gender of the author. He said that if people knew that she was a girl, young boys would choose not to read her books. Joanne decided to put the letter K because it stands for the name Katherine, the name of her grandmother.

Joanne gave so much to charity that she lost her billionaire statusπŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡

She is also the first author to become a billionaire by writing booksπŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡

She is a huge inspiration to everybody out there who feel that their lives are hopeless. Her story shows that no matter how bad things become, you can always change them yourself by following your passion. Her books have eight hit screen-play movies based on them, and have inspired huge famous theme parks of the wizarding world in which millions of Potterheads and tourists from all over the world come to visit. It still seems an amazing fact that the whole world of wizards was created by a single brain.  Even after all this time  , she will always be in our hearts.


@MariaSitwat on Pinterest.

I hope you found this short biography on J.K. Rowling interesting! Tell me in the comments what you think!



Wednesday, April 1, 2020

How to Start a bulletjournal



The Ultimate Guidelist to bulletjournaling! 

Hey guys! This post is all about how to start a bullet journal, and all the main pointers. Don't give up on the idea of starting one, even if it may seem like a lot of work at first. Remember, the journal is YOURS and so make it work the way YOU want to! One 
very important thing to keep in mind is that there are no rules.

 πŸ’œStart with a practice JournalπŸ’œ : 

If you're not sure whether or not this idea will work out for you, don't jump ahead with an expensive notebook and tons of coloured pens and markers. πŸ“–Use any suitable diary or notebook you find lying around in your house, and try out different spreads and trackers in there to see which suit you best. Whether you'd like a fun colourful bujo filled with cool spreads, or a plain one filled with minimalistic and simple trackers to keep you organized... the list goes on.                     

1) Index and Key

These two spreads are completely optional just like the rest.  The Index keeps track of whatever pages you have filled in and helps you find them easily.

My customised key



The key comprises of symbols that you might want to use while noting down certain things, such as a circle can be used to note down an event etc. You can either follow the orignal bujo key or customise your own.

                   

 2) Future logs

 In this spread you have a small calendar of the future months that you want to note down things in. Beside the dates there is usually space to write notes in. This is how most people like their future log to be. But you can make yours to suit yourself.

If you want to have a more detailed calendar of the month, create a monthly spread!

a) Monthly Spreads

 Your monthly spread can give you more space to note down events, plans, appointments etc in more detail. 

And then ofcourse you can also plan your weeks in more detail by using: 

b) Weekly Spreads

You don't have to make these for all four weeks of the month, but if there is a busy week coming up with lots of events and plans, this is the spread for you. Often people include their trackers in the weekly spread, such as water intake trackers or reading trackers.

Below are pictures of some examples on all three types of spreads that help you log the future. You can find thousands of more ideas via Pinterest, Youtube and Instagram to only name a few. 


Weekly Spread

Monthly spread Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest 

                                       3) Habit Trackers

There are countless things you can track in your bullet journal. Instead of setting up separate pages for each habit you want to track, you can fit everything in one spread and save your pages as well as time. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of having trackers in my bullet journal because I almost always forget to fill them inπŸ˜‚. So, as your practice journal is best to try out new spreads in, give it a go to see if this works out for you. Also, if there are some habits that you might want to have on a separate page, don't hesitate to do so.

Below are a few spread layouts and ideas that you might want to try: 


Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

     4) Fun Spreads

Apart from keeping your life organized, a bullet journal is a great way to be productive and creative. There are thousands (no im probably not exaggerating) of ideas out there of cool, fun and different layouts that you could try.  Check out some pictures below of spreads that I've tried myself and others that I've found really interesting.

This is a picture of a "Books to read" spread in which I have written down the books I want to read inside drawings of little books. There is also a "Movies to Watch" layout and I have written down ratings and the date that I watched the movie.

Gratitude log | via YouTube 




Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest


  You can also write down quotes to fill up the pages a little

That's it for this post guys! I hope I gave you the main idea of what kind of spreads are essential for your bullet journal! Follow me on Pinterest @mariasitwat!