Last Updated on January 19, 2026 by Dee
There’s something so satisfying about a journal page decorated with little doodles. Those tiny drawings in the margins, the cute icons next to your to-do list, the small flowers trailing down the edge of your weekly spread — they transform ordinary pages into something genuinely lovely.
But when you’re staring at a blank corner of your journal, it’s easy to draw a complete blank. What should you actually put there?
That’s why I’ve put together this collection of over 50 journal doodle ideas. Quick, simple drawings that take seconds to sketch but make your spreads look so much more polished. And because I know how helpful visual references are, I’ve included free printable doodle guides at the end — pages of cute icons you can trace or copy straight into your journal.
Table of Contents
Why Add Doodles to Your Journal?
Doodling isn’t just about making things pretty (though that’s a lovely bonus). There are genuine benefits to adding small drawings to your journal pages.
For one, doodles help with memory. Studies show that drawing while listening or thinking actually improves recall. Those little sketches next to your meeting notes or study sessions? They’re working harder than you realise.
Doodles also make your journal more personal. Anyone can write a to-do list, but a to-do list with tiny icons next to each task? That’s uniquely yours. It reflects your personality and makes the mundane feel a bit more special.
Plus, they’re a lovely creative outlet that takes almost no time. You don’t need to set aside an hour for art — just thirty seconds here and there, adding small touches as you go.
If you’re looking for more ways to add creativity to your pages, check out my post on art journal inspiration for ideas on taking your journaling to the next level.
Nature Doodles for Your Journal
Nature-themed doodles work beautifully in journals because they’re organic, forgiving shapes. A slightly wonky leaf still looks like a leaf. There’s no pressure for perfection.
Flowers and Plants
Simple flowers are the classic journal doodle for good reason. A basic daisy (circle centre, petal loops around it) takes five seconds and instantly brightens a page corner. Try tulips for spring spreads, sunflowers for summer, or bare branches for winter themes.
Tiny potted plants and succulents make adorable additions to habit trackers or mood logs. Little leaf sprigs work perfectly as dividers between sections. A trailing vine along the edge of a page adds movement without overwhelming your layout.
For loads more floral inspiration, have a look at my collection of 150+ doodle art flowers.
Weather Icons
Weather doodles are perfect for mood trackers, daily logs, or monthly cover pages. A simple sun (circle with lines radiating out), fluffy cloud (bumpy oval), raindrops, snowflakes, lightning bolts — all quick to draw and instantly recognisable.
Try drawing a little weather icon for each day in your monthly spread. It creates a lovely visual record of the month and only takes a moment each day.
Leaves and Botanicals
Individual leaves make beautiful minimalist decorations. Eucalyptus branches (oval leaves along a curved stem), fern fronds (feathery lines), monstera leaves (distinctive split shape), or simple oak leaves add an organic touch to any spread.
Scatter a few leaves around your page title, or create a small botanical border along one edge. They’re especially lovely for autumn-themed spreads.
Food and Drink Doodles
Food doodles bring instant warmth and cosiness to journal pages. They’re also brilliant for meal planning spreads, recipe journals, or just adding a cheerful touch to any page.
Hot Drinks
A steaming mug is possibly the most universally beloved journal doodle. Draw a simple rectangle with a handle, add three wavy lines rising from the top for steam, and you’ve got instant hygge. Coffee cups, tea mugs, hot chocolate with marshmallows — all variations on the same cozy theme.
These work beautifully next to your morning routine tracker, reading log, or self-care pages.
Sweet Treats
Cupcakes, donuts, ice cream cones, cookies, slices of cake — sweet treat doodles add a playful touch. Draw them with little kawaii faces for extra cuteness. A smiling cupcake next to your “things that made me happy today” list? Adorable.
Fruits and Vegetables
Simple fruit shapes make lovely seasonal doodles. Strawberries and cherries for summer, apples and pumpkins for autumn, citrus slices for a fresh pop of visual interest any time. These are perfect for meal planners, grocery lists, or health tracking spreads.
Icon Doodles for Planners
Functional icons help you navigate your journal at a glance. Instead of writing “birthday” you draw a tiny cake. Instead of “meeting” you sketch a speech bubble. It’s faster to draw, faster to scan, and looks far more interesting.
Task and Event Icons
Build up a library of go-to icons for recurring events: a birthday cake for celebrations, a gift box for shopping tasks, a phone for calls to make, an envelope for emails, a calendar for appointments. Once you’ve drawn them a few times, they become automatic.
I’ve got a whole post on 100+ cute little doodles that includes loads of functional icons perfect for planners.
Mood and Feeling Icons
Tiny faces showing different emotions work brilliantly for mood trackers. Simple circles with different expressions — happy, sad, tired, excited, anxious, calm. You can also use weather metaphors: sunshine for good days, clouds for meh days, storms for difficult ones.
Activity Icons
Track your habits with small relevant icons. A book for reading, dumbbells for exercise, a water glass for hydration, a bed for sleep tracking, a heart for self-care, a pencil for creative time. These make habit trackers so much more visually engaging than plain checkboxes.
Decorative Border Doodles
Borders frame your content and make even simple spreads look more polished. They don’t need to be elaborate — sometimes the simplest borders are most effective.
Line and Dot Borders
A row of small dots. A wavy line. Dashes of alternating lengths. Small triangles pointing up. These take seconds to draw and create clear visual separation between sections. Try combining elements: dots with small hearts, lines with tiny stars.
Nature Borders
A trailing vine with small leaves. A row of tiny flowers. Branches stretching across the top of a page. These organic borders add softness and work beautifully with botanical or cottagecore aesthetics.
Geometric Borders
For a cleaner look, try geometric borders: triangles, diamonds, squares, circles. Repeat a simple shape along the edge of your page, alternating sizes or rotating angles for interest. These suit minimalist spreads perfectly.
Seasonal Journal Doodles
Matching your doodles to the season creates lovely thematic consistency throughout your journal.
Spring Doodles
Flowers blooming, butterflies, baby birds, rain boots, umbrellas, bunnies, Easter eggs, blossom branches. Soft pastel colours complement spring doodles beautifully. These are perfect for March, April, and May spreads.
Summer Doodles
Suns, sunglasses, ice lollies, watermelon slices, flip-flops, beach balls, shells, palm trees, waves. Bright, cheerful doodles that capture holiday vibes. My post on 50+ fun drawing ideas has loads more summery inspiration.
Autumn Doodles
Falling leaves, acorns, pumpkins, mushrooms, cozy jumpers, hot drinks, hedgehogs, apples, candles. That gorgeous warm palette of oranges, reds, and browns. Autumn spreads practically decorate themselves with these motifs.
Winter Doodles
Snowflakes, mittens, scarves, hot chocolate, snowmen, pine trees, presents, fairy lights, stars. Add sparkles and shimmer for that magical festive feeling. Check out my 150 winter things to draw for more cold-weather inspiration.
Celestial Doodles
Stars, moons, and cosmic elements add a dreamy, whimsical quality to journal pages. They’re especially lovely for gratitude journals, dream logs, or any spread where you want a touch of magic.
Stars and Sparkles
Simple five-pointed stars, four-pointed sparkles, tiny dots clustered like distant galaxies. Scatter them around page titles or use them to highlight important information. A sprinkle of stars makes anything feel more special.
Moon Phases
Drawing the moon phases in a row makes a beautiful header for monthly spreads. New moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, and back down. It’s simpler than it looks — just crescents and circles in different combinations.
Planets and Space
Saturn with its rings is instantly recognisable. Add a few basic planets, shooting stars, or tiny rockets for a full cosmic theme. These work beautifully for goal-setting spreads (reaching for the stars, quite literally).
Kawaii Style Journal Doodles
Kawaii (Japanese for “cute”) style means adding faces to everything. And it works surprisingly well for journal doodles because even the simplest object becomes charming with two dots and a smile.
A coffee cup with blushing cheeks. A happy little cloud. A sleepy moon. A cheerful cactus. The formula is always the same: draw any object, add two dot eyes, a small curved mouth, and optional rosy circles for cheeks. Instant personality.
Kawaii doodles are perfect for mood trackers, self-care spreads, or anywhere you want to inject some cheerfulness into your planning.
Best Pens for Journal Doodling
You don’t need fancy supplies to doodle in your journal, but the right pens do make a difference. Fine liners are the classic choice because they don’t bleed through most journal paper and give you crisp, clean lines.
The Mogyann Drawing Pens are brilliant value — you get multiple tip sizes so you can vary your line weights. For something a bit more premium, Sakura Pigma Micron pens are the gold standard for journaling and won’t smudge even with highlighters over the top.
If you want to add colour to your doodles, the Ohuhu Markers blend beautifully, though you’ll want to use them on thicker paper to avoid bleed-through.
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Tips for Better Journal Doodles
Want your doodles to look more polished? A few simple techniques make a big difference.
First, commit to your lines. Sketchy, hesitant strokes look messier than confident single lines, even if those lines aren’t perfect. Draw with intention, even when you’re uncertain.
Second, vary your sizes. A spread with all same-sized doodles looks flat. Mix larger feature doodles with tiny accent drawings for visual interest.
Third, leave breathing room. Doodles crammed into every available space can overwhelm a page. Strategic white space lets your drawings shine.
For more doodling techniques, check out my post on 80+ easy doodle drawings for beginners.
What’s Inside the Free Printable Doodle Guides
Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll get in this free 8-page printable pack. Each sheet is filled with simple doodle ideas organised by theme — perfect for keeping next to your journal as a reference or tracing directly when you need inspiration. You’ll find nature doodles, food and drinks, cute animals, everyday objects, celestial designs, plants, and more.
Grab the Free Printable Journal Doodle Guides HERE (below)!
Every freebie and tutorial on Artsydee is made with love (and plenty of coffee!)
☕ If you’d like to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee here → ko-fi.com/artsydeejourna
Start Doodling Today
You don’t need artistic talent to add doodles to your journal. You just need a pen and the willingness to try. Start with one small drawing in the corner of today’s page. A tiny flower. A simple star. A little heart.
That’s all it takes to begin. And once you start noticing how much more personal and polished your pages look, you’ll find yourself adding doodles everywhere.
Grab the free printable guides, keep them next to your journal, and reference them whenever you need a spark of inspiration. Your pages are about to get so much cuter.
Happy doodling!
Dee x
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