Happy New Year!

Happy 2026 Everyone!

It is a new year full of endless possibilities. It is also a new year with new goals. Do you have new goals for the new year? Or, are you still working hard on the goals from previous years? I figure, as long as I have goals to work on, that falls under self improvement. Goals can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be.

As for me, I have a scrapbooking goal, junk journal goal, crocheting goal, de-cluttering goal, pet training goal, exercise goal, family goal, finance goal, and mental health goal, to name a few.

Crocheting Goal

Last year, I started a project called a Temperature Blanket for 2025. I created at color wheel using different colored yarn for the different temps we see in Northern Illinois. For each day of the year, I crochet a single row on my blanket using the color of yarn that the daily average temperature falls in.

I finished crocheting through April 23rd and I will continue to work on this 2025 blanket. I am sad though. I panicked because on September 1st, 2025 my weather station stopped recording the weather! My hubby said it was probably due to the government shut down, but I am happy to say that the readings are now there and I can continue my blanket.

Paper Crafting Goals

This year, since I met my 1/2 year scrapbooking page goal of 100 pages, I decided to try to complete 14 scrapbook pages per month in 2026. That is 168 pages, but I think I am going to really shoot for an even 200!

I do want to share the last two pages I created on the last day of 2025.

I still consider myself a newbie with Junk Journaling. I struggle so much with it because I have such a hard time with collage. Not to mention that I struggle with the point of junk journaling. Some of the junk journals I see are beautiful, but they are so fragile looking. The few pages I have completed over the years tend to look more like scrapbook pages with photos and journaling. I guess that must be my style of junk journaling, as it can be whatever you make it to be. From what I have gathered, it is a free flowing art form that can have a lot of personal meaning, or can just be Art made with materials you have collected.

For my goal this year, I have decided to try to completed 2 junk journal pages per month. To help with this goal, I joined a group called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal. Granted, I just noticed that they spelled traveling with two L’s, so my title page has a typo, ugh! I’m not going to change it though, LOL. So far, I am rocking my goal, HAHA. I have completed 5 pages in my traveling journal to prep it for it’s travels. I still have another 2-page spread I want to add to it before mailing it out, but I’m not quite sure what to add. Let me show you what I have so far… Ignore the spelling error, HAHAHA

Inside the little envelope there is a quote, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. I think that is fitting with all of my goals this year.

The second and third pages have areas for my travel journal sisters to sign in when they receive my book. I am not sure how many sisters will receive my journal, but I hope 19 spots is enough!

I was told that I should include a page about me. Here are a few of my favorite things. I am easily distracted by dogs and books, I love the Mega Make & Take at the Scrapbook Expo, I love HP and A Discovery of Witches books, water falls, kayaking, camping, zoos, my puppies, crocheting, and for some silly reason I like trying to stack rocks! Oh yeah, and I love peanut M&M’s.

I am still trying to figure out my focus word for my focus board. Hopefully my new bullet journal will arrive tomorrow and I can get to work on narrowing it down.

Happy 2026! I hope it is everything you hope it will be!

~BrandyAnn