Hi friends, it's Liz from @thegraytergood here with a non pink OR red theme idea for your February bullet journal!

My IG community helped me choose postage stamps for this month's cover page, a bit of a nod to vintage love letters and the romance that is typically associated with this month:) 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Your Archer + Olive Dot Grid Notebook (I have the A5 size)
• Black and Kraft dot grid paper (from the *new* Kraft Notebook and the Blackout Book)
• A black and a white gel pen (sizes 08 and 10)
• A black and a grey Sakura Glaze pen
• A pencil, eraser, and a ruler

1) Start by lightly marking the center line of your page (13 over for A5 size) with a pencil, and leave a 1 square wide column on either side of that line. 

2) Each postage stamp is 8x8 for the main body of the stamp, and the scalloped edges of each stamp is 1/2 a square wide. I started marking out the 8x8 squares after I spaced out my center column, and left 1 square width row between each 8x8 square. 

3) Cut out your desired number of black and Kraft paper squares, each 8x8, and use a tape runner or acid free glue to secure them to your page. Make sure to vary the placement of colors to create interest, and have a plan in mind before you go in to ink everything in. Start by pencil sketching everything in and then do your linework. Ink in the outlines, let that ink dry, and use your eraser to gently rub those pencil lines away before you fill in all the letters.

4) To make each letter different from the other, you can reference a wide variety of fonts and find inspiration from resources such as dafont.com. You can use different keywords such as serif, san serif, script, calligraphy, blackletter, etc if you need visual assistance in creating your desired look. The general rule of thumb when pairing fonts is that they should be quite different or almost identical. It's better to pair a heavyweight letter style with a thin script for some nice contrast that to pair a heavyweight style with a style of similar weight and thickness. Contrast often equals visual interest! 

5) I also researched some visual references for postage stamps, vintage letters, and more to create the "virginia" stamp as well as the cancelled lines. Feel free to finish and embellish with your chosen stamps, ribbon, or even a wax seal for a beautiful finishing touch. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and be sure to tag me on Instagram (@thegraytergood)  if you try this so that I can see it and cheer you on!

All the best, 

Liz