When I was deciding on a theme for February’s bullet journal, I wanted a theme which was related to me personally; a theme which I had some attachment to. I grew up playing chess and I really love the game.
So, it was a no-brainer for me to decide on making a chess theme. Since this is a unique theme (I haven’t seen a lot of chess themes out there), I couldn’t really get inspiration from other bullet journalists. I hope you will tell me what you think of this theme in the comments.
Before we begin, do you need ideas for any other themes you are working on? You can check out my floral themed bujo, or my retro themed bujo or my Christmas themed bujo.
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Chess themed Cover Page
Here is my cover page for the month. I started by making not one but four borders and gave each one a different colour. I drew them in such a way that all the four borders overlapped each other.
Next, within the border, I wrote the month name in brush lettering and wrote out the calendar. I also made a few cut outs of chess pieces on black craft paper to stick around the page.
Chess themed Quote Page
I searched for chess quotes online and here are the three major ones that stood out.
- There are times when a well placed pawn is more powerful than a king.
- Life is like a game of chess. You cannot undo the moves, but you can make the next step better.
- When you see a good move, look for a better one.
As is evident, I went with the first quote. But somehow, I felt that every chess quote had some takeaway. In many ways, chess is very much like our life. (I’m getting philosophical, haha!)
The quote that struck a chord with me is one of Garry Kasperov’s (a grandmaster in chess) –
Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.
I then drew out some chess pieces and a chess clock around the sides of my quote page. Since the quote was about a king and pawns, I drew those chess pieces.
In order to get all the pawns in the same size, I first made a DIY stencil of a pawn. To do this, I just drew out a pawn and cut it out in that shape.
Next, I placed the stencil wherever I wanted to draw a pawn and outlined it. I also coloured in the chess pieces lightly, with Maped colour pencils.
Chess themed Monthly Spread
Instead of the usual simple calendar, I made a chess board, with 64 squares. In the top and bottom two rows, I drew all the chess pieces. Each square on the board is identified by a unique coordinate pairing, called board notation, from a1 to h8.
For a more authentic chess board feel, I wrote out those alphabets and numbers as well. In the rows in between, I wrote the dates to use as the monthly spread. To give a pop of colour to the spread, I put a little sticker on the side of the calendar.
You can get some cute planner stickers here, or if you are a beginner sticker user, get these affordable ones. I drew the outline of the chess board and painted the black boxes with acrylic paint, because colouring in would have been highly time consuming.
Remember to use a thin paint brush, if you are thinking of recreating this spread. I used a white gel pen to draw the chess pieces on the black squares.
Chess themed Weekly Spread
Since I have my exams coming up, I need a daily study timetable. So, I decided to do a Dutch door setup this time. To make it a little unique, I drew a chess king on the side of the page I was intending to cut. Then, I cut out the Dutch door along with the chess king, as you can see in the picture below.
Well that is it for the spread! I will leave the links to the products I used, in case you want to check it out.
Keep creating, keep planning! 💕
