Hey everyone! Erin Floto here from Erin Floto Designs. I’m extremely excited to be writing about this topic today because I feel as if I have been waiting for this Kraft dot grid notebook since the Blackout notebook came to realization. They are finally being released January 30th!

To give you a bit of background, I have always been a doodler and letterer since about high school. At that time, it was mostly to write notes that would get passed through lockers or under desks. While at that point in my life the “bullet journal” system we know today hadn’t been realized yet, sketchbooks were a very popular thing. One of my favorite sketch notebooks was a kraft paper notebook. Not only is this new Archer and Olive notebook bringing back some major nostalgic vibes, it is also a best of both worlds situation for me. Not only do you get to experiment like I was able to with the Blackout notebook, I also still have the ability to use black pens again! YAY!

(created by Bonnie, @archerandolive on instagram)

THEME IDEAS

Before I knew I was getting this notebook in time for my February set up, I knew that I wanted to do something with purple for the month of February. Purple is my favorite color and it has also been a hot minute since I have done purple as a main color for a theme. February seemed like the perfect time to do one of my classic but non-traditional Harry Potter themes while also going full on purple with a lovey dovey theme. 

Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in Harry Potter. I thought this theme would provide a fun way to incorporate chemistry since potion making (alchemy) is essentially chemistry here in the muggle world. And chemistry isn’t usually associated with love but as a scientist, experiments always bring me joy.

So, it felt like a fun theme to do overall. And because potions are liquid - I was all in on using watercolors for this month. I started to sketch out ideas and put together a page full of inspiration before diving head first into the month. I used both watercolors and pens with a water brush pen to get the watercolor effect I was going for!

(created by me, @erinflotodesigns on Instagram)

Another few ideas lean into the vibes that the kraft paper gives out:

• Vintage - Vintage cameras, jukeboxes, elegant teapots, wire dress forms - there are SO many different directions you can go with this theme! 
• Letters/Scrolls - Going along with vintage theme you can do old school letters and scrolls that used to be written on cloth paper with a brown hue. Kraft notebooks are the perfect canvas to create that effect.
• Travel - I don’t know why I associate kraft notebooks with travel. But I 100% do - probably because of the old school brown leather baggage and vintage globes. Or treasure maps. Yes, definitely the treasure maps. 
• Architecture/Living Space - Brown is coming back, baby! Brown leather. Mid-century modern homes. Creating the perfect modern home complete with your brown leather couch and IKEA potted plant in your bullet journal can give you the ultimate cozy feel. 
• Scrapbook - Include wrinkled up photos, newspaper, quotes, and add some washi tape and you could have a simple yet fun scrapbook theme to go along with your kraft notebook. 

(created by me, @erinflotodesigns on Instagram)

SUPPLIES

This is probably the section you may be most interested in. “What can I use in this notebook?!” - was the question I was asked about the Blackout notebook and I imagine that will be asked for the Kraft notebook as well. Well, let me tell you.

You can pretty much use anything. Even brown. Particularly if you are doing things like scrolls and paper, adding a slightly darker brown around the edges can make your doodle come to life.

One of the few items that does not work (but may work as a shadow effect) are the super light/pastel colors. Just by the very nature that the kraft notebook is darker then those colors, they are not able to produce the same pigment and therefore, look like a shadow, rather than a color. Below you can find swatches of several common bullet journaling pens

(created by me, @erinflotodesigns on Instagram)

HOW MY THEME TURNED OUT

You can watch the full video on my YouTube channel, but I’m extremely excited about moving into this notebook for February. I have added several of my core collections:

• Monthly Calendar - My first page has a full calendar with areas to mark travel/schedule since I travel a lot for my job and my husband has a very demanding and fluctuating schedule
• Mood Tracker - This month I am doing a geometric heart to fit with the love potion theme and tracking 3 simple moods with my theme’s colors: “the best,” “the ok-est,” and “the worst.”
• Daily Summary - My standard one line a day where I can put memories from the day, something I was grateful for during the day, or a milestone I want to remember for the future when I look back on these pages. 
• Habit Trackers - I used sticker from my Etsy shop to separate out into healthy habits and more habits so I can track things that I am trying to do to better my life and my surroundings.
• Body Focus - This is my body measurements page where I take measurements every two weeks to see my progress as I try to be more healthy.
• Patreon Commitments - This is a new page because my Patreon tasks/commitments were becoming too much for my master task list, which I’ve decided not to do this month.
• Budget - I have areas set up for my recurring bills (rent, etc.), business spending to help with taxes, and a want/need list to help me stop impulse buying items on Amazon and Etsy. 

(created by me, @erinflotodesigns on Instagram)

I hope this helps you get an idea of getting started in your future Kraft notebooks, including the types of supplies you can use and themes that may be great for this notebook!

If you are interested in purchasing Archer and Olive’s new Kraft notebook, join their email list (at the bottom of the website page) so you know the second they are available!

Thank you to Bonnie and her team at Archer and Olive for letting me set up for February and flashing me back in time to creating beautiful doodles in a kraft sketchbook!