Hi, friends! 

It’s Char from the Design Team, and today I’m going to show you how to create a Memory Spread for your Bullet Journal.

From the most basic and simple spread to a more structured one, I’m going to show you some examples of different types of memory spreads you can include in your Bullet Journal.

Supplies

Below is a rundown of some of the products I used to create this spread. If you would like to purchase any of these products, remember to use the code CHAR10 at checkout to save yourself some money.

• A5 Dot Grid Notebook - My personal favourites are the 192 page journals, but this would work in any type, any size.
• Calliographs - These are amazing for layering colour, and I love that you can switch between the fine and broad tips depending on how much detail you need to go into.
• Gel Pens - I love using the white gel pen to add highlights to really make these doodles pop. The neon green really made the title pop here, too!
• Fineliners - I used the Sakura Pigma Micron in 0.1 to outline the doodles on this.

When to Incorporate a Memory Spread

As with all things Bullet Journal, the types of spreads you add to your yearly, monthly, and weekly setups are all about prioritising what is important to you.

Personally, my Bullet Journals act equally as functional planners and nostalgic scrapbooks. To make them more of a keepsake item, I always include some sort of memory spread in my yearly setup at the beginning of each new Bullet Journal. That way, when I’m flipping through my finished journals, I get a quick overview of each year through a few condensed spreads.

Similarly, I love to do memory spreads for trips and vacations. There are always more specific things I want to remember when I’m on vacation (restaurants, shops, activities, etc.) in case I ever go back to revisit the same place, or in case I want to pass along some recommendations to someone else in my life. 

You may also want to create memory spreads for specific milestones in your life, like a birthday, a graduation, a wedding, etc. This can be a great way to revisit a monumental time in your life that you might want to look back on in more detail.

Catch-All Memory Spreads

If you’ve seen any of my posts, I’m sure you know that I’m all for an elaborate bullet journal spread (dutch doors, watercolours, and more time-consuming setups than I would sometimes like to admit lol).

But I’m also a firm believer in not overcomplicating things for yourself if you don’t have to. Whether I’m creating a memory spread for the year as a whole or for a specific vacation, my personal go-to is very basic. 

Usually, I’ll do a blank two page spread with nothing but a title and lots of room to cut and paste photos, ticket stubs, and whatever else I want to hold onto. It can act as a bit of a catch-all for those little moments you want to remember, and there’s something so satisfying about the scrapbook-type feel of these more simple spreads. 

Here’s an example of what these look like for me, both before and after the pen. 

Catch-All Travel Spread: before the pen

Catch-All Travel Spread: after the pen

A Year in Pictures Memory Spread

The photo memory spread is a very popular way to memorialise your year. I definitely had my own phase with these, but ultimately found myself forgetting to bring my Instax camera with me and never took enough photos to fill them. I personally have phased these out of my own journal, but I think they’re such fun spreads and (if you can fill them out) they can definitely be a great way to look back on your year! If I trusted myself to fill them up, I would definitely still be doing these to this day.

The All-Purpose Memory Spread

This week, I’ve created an all purpose memory spread that you can incorporate into your Bullet Journal at any point in time. I’ve included three categories in this one: 

• Events/Accomplishments - you can include things like…
• Awards you’ve won
• Special events (monumental birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
• Favourites - you can include things like…

• Music
• Shows
• Movies
• Restaurants
• Books

• Highs and Lows - While it’s great to look back on the positives, sometimes acknowledging the difficult times you’ve overcome can be even more empowering.

If you’re using it for a specific event, you can change out the titles, categories, or embellishments to make this spread more personal to you.

Video

Printable:

To make things even more simple, you can download a free printable version of this spread, fill it out, and paste it into your own journal.

Click to download now. 

I hope this helped you get started on your own memory spread! If you’d like to see more of my spreads, you can find me on Instagram at @chardangerfield.art. 

Don’t forget to tag @archerandolive, @archerandolive.community, #AOShare and #archerandolive if you recreate this spread on your own. See you next time!