2026 ~ Word of the Year & Crafty Goals!

 Welcome 2026!

Each year, I share on my blog a word of the year 

that becomes my guide in this journey called life.

As you may remember, I don't seek out a word ~

 it always manages to find me and

usually in the most obscure times like sitting in church !

True story! And it will always be my favorite :)

This year, my word is SURPRISE!

I was talking with my youngest daughter one day 

and in the conversation she said "Mommy, you are a surprise"

She said it with such love and the warm fuzzies I felt 

in that moment just melted my heart.

Surprise doesn't always mean shock, astonished or unexpected ~

it has a quiet, reserved feeling of amplifying joy.

And I thought, that's what I woud like to share - always.

At the beginning of December (already marinating in my word),

I remember thinking I won't see Surprise 'out in the wild'

like I did with my 2025 word, Peace.

And. just. like. that ..........

See!  

Already a surprise! :)

A few of my Crafty Goals for this year:

* I'm delighted to be on the Whimsy Stamps design team,

continuing onward with another year! Thank you! 💗

* I was invited to join the Newton's Nook Designs DT

Immediate YES!  A delightful paw-sitive adventure!

and

* Social Engagement DT for Simon Says Stamp monthly release!

BEYOND blessed, I tell you!  

🠋

* 2 NEW challenges for 2026!

* Color Me Happy! x1 per month personal challenge using different coloring mediums, same image. That image IS already picked out, LOL!

* Magpie Makes!  I'm a runner - and forager.  I find THE THINGS.

And sometimes (okay, OFTEN) I bring them home :)

I have always been a magpie, a recycler and thrifty, and this

monthly art assemblage with foraged materials has me beyond giddy!

I'm also continuing in 2026:

* One Plus Twelve card challenge ~ my favorite card challenge.

It's one that I created with the idea of stretching

our stamps and I just adore the challenge.

Do I have my 2026 stamp?  Still no ...... YIKES!

I usually have it months ahead 😨

The one I wanted to use MOST IN THE WORLD has been sold out for months.

For some reason, I'm struggling with letting it go ......

* Card Clubhouse  ~ My Instagram Wednesday card group ~

We have rebranded but still going strong. 

* Kell-of-a-mess (formerly Hot Mess cards)

I'm returning to the fun of making a mess, but only on cards.

* 3 Musketeers mystery image card creation group continues...

(No clue what year we are on, I always check what Barb says.)

* FAN-tastic SSS Monthly Hop 

(we are a group of IG friends that post x1 per month

our favorite Simon Says Stamp creations)

* The ProCRAFTination Club

(we are a group of IG friends that post x1 per month

a creation based on a subscription kit, online class, Crop N Create,

C9 virtual retreats and camps, etc - it's a GET 'ER DONE concept!

For me, I sign up, watch (or am away when it takes place) 

and my boxes stack up!

I'm sure I'm missing a few bits here and there 

but it will be some new, some similiar, some

 not-a-clue-what-I-am-doing!

Thanks for making it this far 💗

Wishing you a year filled with SURPRISES! 

2020: Word of the Year ♥

Hello 2020!

I am convinced I must have been Cinderella in my past life.

Yes, I married my prince charming :)

And while I occasionally wear glass slippers wish for a fairy Godmother,
I know that I'm very VERY blessed ♥

But here it is - nearly midnight on the first day of the new year -

and I'm already watching the clock nearly strike twelve!

I do love the freshness of a new year ...

 the clean slate, the chance to start anew.

There's a certain magic in knowing the next 365 days of the year

can be anything you want them to be.

Every year,

 and for the past 8 years here on my blog,

I have a Word of the Year that becomes my 'mantra.'

It's one that inspires me, and often nudges me,

and reminds me to grow as a person on different levels.

 

The funny things about my Word of the Year

 is that I don't choose them. 

They always chose me ♥ 

My husband wanted to go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve this year.

 I find that a lot of my funniest thoughts happen when I'm sitting in church.

{You might remember this year when I was daydreaming in church

and I got my WOTY ... loud and clear!}

This year - as righteous as holy water - there it was again.

I was on my phone sitting in the pews, lost to the latin prayers being said,

and took a quick scripture quiz on what my WOTY could be.

After 20 or biblical questions, it was the exact word I'd been contemplating!

:::: cue the angelic music and rays of light ::::

And I just knew.

I said it out loud for a couple of days,

trying it on for size.

And, unlike most of my clothes, it fit.

Bloom.

 By definition, bloom, as a verb, means:

 to mature into achievement of one's potential;

to flourish in freshness or excellence;

to shine out.

I'd been thinking of this particular word

because there is so much growing I hope to do.

As a wife.

mom.

grandmother.

steward.

daughter.

sister.

friend.

crafter.
writer.

It's more than just living - growing - in the moment ...

it's thriving, reaching, exploring, soaring!

Bloom.

On a creative level, my hopes are to carry this into my card making.

In order to bloom best, I'm also giving myself the gift of creative freedom.

If the 'one a week for 52 weeks' didn't work,

I'll just adjust the way I set out my potted self to grow :)

This is, after all, a wonderfully FUN journey of paper, stamps and ink!

What do I have planned for this year?

This!.

1. There's room for leftovers!

For this card series, I'll create a card with anything left over

from a crafting session.

Goal: Try to keep/use as many bits and pieces as I can in a creative way
and add them to a card.

2. Carded, Twice.
The world needs us - now, more than ever.
We're big on recycling ~ in our home, as volunteers locally helping to clean up our waterways, previously in classrooms.
Goal: Finding ways to reuse an item of a recycled nature on a card!
Items will be used, not tossed, on CARD + for the second time (Twice!)

Waste not, Want not!

3.  Grab it and Add it!

Don't you love having a stamp set with 8-10 stamps on it?

And then sometimes we use ........ one stamp.

In this series, I'll create a card by GRABBING a random stamp set

and ADD on as many stamps as I can from the set on to one card.

Goal:  Once a month,  using a different stamp company/set.

4. A grateful he(art)

Becoming an Oma to my darling granddaughter, Alice, 

has gifted me a love I could have not imagined.

She is the greatest treasure and my sweetest joy!

Seeing life through her eyes has given me a sense of grace and beauty

that I want to carry over into everything ♥ 

Goal:  Reach into my joy jar and pull out a word at random

and create a card based on that one little word ~
this will be a quarterly project!

In addition to these, I'll still continue on with The Project Bin design team,
the CCEE Stampers challenges,
 my One Plus Twelve card challenge for the second year,
 the 3 Musketeers, the Ready Set Go

 and Hot Mess Success challenges and the Crafters of Faith card groups.
And my newest venture, Stamp What? as created by my son
to use my 'old dusty Stampin' Up stamps'
 and he'll surprise me by choosing which one!

So, while I don't have a Jaq or Gus and I can't wave a "bibbidi-bobbidi-boo",

I'm excited to see what 2020 holds!

"Have enough courage to start and enough heart to finish." 

- Jessica Yourko

I always believe there's room to grow.

and thrive. and reach. and explore.  and soar.

I just hope I'm on time for it!

Happy New Year!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly