What are your 2026 hybrid goals?

[dawnmarch]

At the beginning of the year, I like to re-evaluate what in my crafting world is working for me and what isn't. And, more importantly, to set some fun goals for the year!

From a hybrid perspective, here are some goals I'm thinking about:

1. Do a New Year's clean/purge of my craft space. My craft room is also my office and my photo studio and the Christmas giftwrap central so things have spiraled completely out of control over the holidays ! I've got a million little cut-out embellishments, ribbons, rolls of wrapping paper, an over-flowing inbox, bits of ephemera and things for junk journals, new planners to deploy, etc. etc etc. Tomorrow, I'm going to start a major clean-up of the space for the New Year.

2. I love my hybrid planners and habit trackers. For the last few years, I've been doing a monthly habit tracker. At the very end of this year, I experimented with adding a little habit tracker to my weekly planner spread. I liked that so it's going to be my new format going forward. I'm also going to look at some planner formats online to see if there's anything else I want to change. I also need to brainstorm exactly what habits I want to track in the New Year.

3. I got a new Silhouette Cameo for Christmas. I REALLY want to figure out how to emboss with it this year. I feel like it adds a really finished touch to cards.

4. I want to use my digital supplies to make more crafts as gifts -- maybe another embroidery project, personalized mugs or ornaments. Definitely need more research on that.

5. I want to focus more on hybrid art/junk journaling this year. I tried it last year and really enjoyed it but I want to make it more of a focus going forward. I need to find a balance between that and my project life/memory planner.



Soooooooooo, how about you? Any goals, dreams, thoughts on the upcoming year?

 

[mocamom]

Ohhh this is a tough one, Dawn, and one I've been thinking about all week.

1. I know that I have to clean my sewing / craft room. Like you, I have made a mess with all of the Christmas projects I did so that's the first step since I can't find anything in there right now!

2. I need to make a visual board of some type. I have so many projects planned in my head, but inevitably when it comes time to make that card / quilt / project, I can't remember what I was going to do and end up doing a rush job.

3. That visual board ties into my next goal - I'll plan those projects based on what's already in my stash. I have no excuses NOT to do this. I have been blessed with so much, so it really is irresponsible to spend money on fabric, stamps, and dies where I don't need to. I'm going to enlist my daughter's help to keep me accountable

4. I say this every year, but I'm hoping I actually DO this - my goal is to make 5 Christmas cards each month. In the past I've tried 10-20 and then stop by April (my busiest time at work). Maybe if I stick to 5, I'll be motivated enough to do it and then when it comes to the bulk cards, I'll be ready to duplicate my favorite five and make multiples. I give away 40-50 at the local nursing home so maybe I won't be burned out again!

5. Lastly, I WANT to make more cards / quilts to give away. I truly believe we are called to give more than we receive and to meet other people's needs. I joined a card group on Facebook and people post from all over the US requesting cards for a loved one. Because I was so overwhelmed with my new job, I didn't make any and I want to change that. The same thing applies for my quilts. There are so many organizations who need quilts and I didn't make a single one. God gave me the ability and resources to make these cards / quilts and it's time I re-prioritize my life to make sure I make those. THAT's the part I truly have to continue to think over. What do I need to change to make a difference in someone's life?

Thanks for helping me get my thoughts in order, Dawn. This thread is wonderful!! I just put it in my calendar to come back every quarter and see if I'm holding to my goals. Maybe that's enough time to re-evaluate but not overly stress myself out with guilt!!

 

[Annsofie]

This is the hardest question Dawn! I really haven’t had time to think about my goals for 2026, but maybe I can sort something out here and now.

1. Just like you, I need to do a big clean up of my scrap place. How can it be so messy when it feels like I never have time to sit there?

2. Time is limited. I know I will be busy at work and I want time to actually create memories and be able to go on weekend trips with our RV and not just sitting home and document the memories. Hybrid is quite time consuming for me, which means I need to plan my time wisely.

3. I like creating pages for my A5 album, but you know how it is, I also want to mix it up and try something new. The problem is that I don’t know what.

4. My junk journal is full and I need to create a new (or a couple more) to be able to keep up with junk journaling.

5. I really want time to try out art journaling and mixed media in a deeper way, but I’m not sure this is the year that will happen.

 

[Annsofie]

At the beginning of the year, I like to re-evaluate what in my crafting world is working for me and what isn't. And, more importantly, to set some fun goals for the year!

From a hybrid perspective, here are some goals I'm thinking about:

1. Do a New Year's clean/purge of my craft space. My craft room is also my office and my photo studio and the Christmas giftwrap central so things have spiraled completely out of control over the holidays ! I've got a million little cut-out embellishments, ribbons, rolls of wrapping paper, an over-flowing inbox, bits of ephemera and things for junk journals, new planners to deploy, etc. etc etc. Tomorrow, I'm going to start a major clean-up of the space for the New Year.

2. I love my hybrid planners and habit trackers. For the last few years, I've been doing a monthly habit tracker. At the very end of this year, I experimented with adding a little habit tracker to my weekly planner spread. I liked that so it's going to be my new format going forward. I'm also going to look at some planner formats online to see if there's anything else I want to change. I also need to brainstorm exactly what habits I want to track in the New Year.

3. I got a new Silhouette Cameo for Christmas. I REALLY want to figure out how to emboss with it this year. I feel like it adds a really finished touch to cards.

4. I want to use my digital supplies to make more crafts as gifts -- maybe another embroidery project, personalized mugs or ornaments. Definitely need more research on that.

5. I want to focus more on hybrid art/junk journaling this year. I tried it last year and really enjoyed it but I want to make it more of a focus going forward. I need to find a balance between that and my project life/memory planner.



Soooooooooo, how about you? Any goals, dreams, thoughts on the upcoming year?

How fun to read your plans. It looks like you have a quite solid plan for 2026. Congrats to the Silhouette Cameo, I’m looking forward to see what you create. Mine is an old one that can’t be used for embossing.

 

[Annsofie]

Ohhh this is a tough one, Dawn, and one I've been thinking about all week.

1. I know that I have to clean my sewing / craft room. Like you, I have made a mess with all of the Christmas projects I did so that's the first step since I can't find anything in there right now!

2. I need to make a visual board of some type. I have so many projects planned in my head, but inevitably when it comes time to make that card / quilt / project, I can't remember what I was going to do and end up doing a rush job.

3. That visual board ties into my next goal - I'll plan those projects based on what's already in my stash. I have no excuses NOT to do this. I have been blessed with so much, so it really is irresponsible to spend money on fabric, stamps, and dies where I don't need to. I'm going to enlist my daughter's help to keep me accountable

4. I say this every year, but I'm hoping I actually DO this - my goal is to make 5 Christmas cards each month. In the past I've tried 10-20 and then stop by April (my busiest time at work). Maybe if I stick to 5, I'll be motivated enough to do it and then when it comes to the bulk cards, I'll be ready to duplicate my favorite five and make multiples. I give away 40-50 at the local nursing home so maybe I won't be burned out again!

5. Lastly, I WANT to make more cards / quilts to give away. I truly believe we are called to give more than we receive and to meet other people's needs. I joined a card group on Facebook and people post from all over the US requesting cards for a loved one. Because I was so overwhelmed with my new job, I didn't make any and I want to change that. The same thing applies for my quilts. There are so many organizations who need quilts and I didn't make a single one. God gave me the ability and resources to make these cards / quilts and it's time I re-prioritize my life to make sure I make those. THAT's the part I truly have to continue to think over. What do I need to change to make a difference in someone's life?

Thanks for helping me get my thoughts in order, Dawn. This thread is wonderful!! I just put it in my calendar to come back every quarter and see if I'm holding to my goals. Maybe that's enough time to re-evaluate but not overly stress myself out with guilt!!

Your plans sound doable Robin and even if you don’t hold your goals, you shouldn’t guilt trip yourself! You are just a human doing your best!

 

[dawnmarch]

Ohhh this is a tough one, Dawn, and one I've been thinking about all week.

1. I know that I have to clean my sewing / craft room. Like you, I have made a mess with all of the Christmas projects I did so that's the first step since I can't find anything in there right now!

2. I need to make a visual board of some type. I have so many projects planned in my head, but inevitably when it comes time to make that card / quilt / project, I can't remember what I was going to do and end up doing a rush job.

I like this idea. I tend to save or pin things online and then never look at them again because they are out of sight/out of mind. A visual board would be a great reminder

3. That visual board ties into my next goal - I'll plan those projects based on what's already in my stash. I have no excuses NOT to do this. I have been blessed with so much, so it really is irresponsible to spend money on fabric, stamps, and dies where I don't need to. I'm going to enlist my daughter's help to keep me accountable

4. I say this every year, but I'm hoping I actually DO this - my goal is to make 5 Christmas cards each month. In the past I've tried 10-20 and then stop by April (my busiest time at work). Maybe if I stick to 5, I'll be motivated enough to do it and then when it comes to the bulk cards, I'll be ready to duplicate my favorite five and make multiples. I give away 40-50 at the local nursing home so maybe I won't be burned out again!

Oh I love this. One of my personal goals is to volunteer this year and making cards is such a great idea!

5. Lastly, I WANT to make more cards / quilts to give away. I truly believe we are called to give more than we receive and to meet other people's needs. I joined a card group on Facebook and people post from all over the US requesting cards for a loved one. Because I was so overwhelmed with my new job, I didn't make any and I want to change that. The same thing applies for my quilts. There are so many organizations who need quilts and I didn't make a single one. God gave me the ability and resources to make these cards / quilts and it's time I re-prioritize my life to make sure I make those. THAT's the part I truly have to continue to think over. What do I need to change to make a difference in someone's life?

I have for several years wanted to get back into quilting. We have a group here that makes quilts for foster kids which I think is so meaningful. You can do as much on your own as you want but they also have big bees where they have people working on different stages. I like the piecing but hate the quilting part.

Thanks for helping me get my thoughts in order, Dawn. This thread is wonderful!! I just put it in my calendar to come back every quarter and see if I'm holding to my goals. Maybe that's enough time to re-evaluate but not overly stress myself out with guilt!!

 

[dawnmarch]

This is the hardest question Dawn! I really haven’t had time to think about my goals for 2026, but maybe I can sort something out here and now.

1. Just like you, I need to do a big clean up of my scrap place. How can it be so messy when it feels like I never have time to sit there?

2. Time is limited. I know I will be busy at work and I want time to actually create memories and be able to go on weekend trips with our RV and not just sitting home and document the memories. Hybrid is quite time consuming for me, which means I need to plan my time wisely.

For trips, I’ll sometimes just print/cut out a bunch of cute things to bring along and then journal by hand and decorate as I go. It takes some advance planning but then you can create during the quiet times of a trip.

3. I like creating pages for my A5 album, but you know how it is, I also want to mix it up and try something new. The problem is that I don’t know what.

Yes, exactly! I want to change it up but don’t know what I want to change to!

4. My junk journal is full and I need to create a new (or a couple more) to be able to keep up with junk journaling

I was thinking I would do one junk journal a year but I’m using a bound journal and with this and that, I only filled about half of it last year. So now I’m debating whether to keep going or start a new one for this year. It’s never going to work out perfectly space wise so I’ll probably just keep going. What format are you using for yours?

5. I really want time to try out art journaling and mixed media in a deeper way, but I’m not sure this is the year that will happen.

 

[Karen]

Oh I loved reading all of your goals ladies!

I too need to tidy up my craft room, but it's actually in pretty good shape which is honestly shocking after doing my DYD junk journal. I have made a huge effort to purge and organize my craft room over the last few months, so that's helped a lot. It was getting kind of claustrophobic in there. Now that I finished my DYD album though, I need to file away the leftovers to clean off my working table again. I will say that I made one investment in December that I think I'm going to LOVE. I bought THESE plastic folders so I could keep all the things I've printed out from each kit separate (for easier crediting). I put the papers in the back, a white sheet of plain paper with the kit name written along the bottom and then the elements spread out on the white paper. That way I can see what I have at a glance and just grab and go. (I'll add a picture later). But man did they make my junk journaling easier. I didn't have to dig through a random pile of goodies and then if I go back to use them later, I'll still know what kit they came from. And when I'm done, they can go in a hanging file to flip through later too.

@dawnmarch your embossing and new silhouette machine sounds awesome! I can't wait to see what you make with it!

@mocamom I am SO with you on the visual board. I have a kind sized bed in my craft room that is massive, so I flip it up against the wall when nobody is visiting. I made the bed frame so there are wood slats all across the bottom. I mounted a white board to that surface and I jot down my ideas on there, so when I have time to play, I look at that for ideas and know where to start. I would really like to buy a cheap corkboard to also add tiny print outs of ideas too. I need it to be all right there without digging in Pinterest! Also I think it's such a great idea to do 5 Christmas cards a month! (by now I'm done looking at Christmas kits though and ready to put them away for a while! Lol!

I don't know if this counts as hybrid, but sorta.... ? I saved my birthday money in August hoping for a black Friday sale (which happened) and bought a bird sketchbook class. I'm planning to start that this month. It's all in a journal and starts with simple bird sketches and then moves towards more mixed media painting of birds. I will definitely be mixing in paper goodies from here as I play. I'm so bad at drawing and always want to make the commitment to practice daily until I feel more comfortable, so I figured this would be a good stepping stone towards that.

 

[pagefrocks]

Ohhhhh great question! I LOVE reading everyone's responses . . . they inspire me for sure.

1. I would like to do a document your (fill in the blank), whether December or October, but definitely finish one! I've started several different years, and learned a lot along the way about what keeps me from completing, so this might be the year that with lessons learned, I can get it done!

2. I want to do a hybrid traveler's notebook. I've purchased digital kits for this, but haven't started yet. Again, this year maybe?

3. Last year I started designing some of my own cutting files for monthly, themed MDC's. I posted one freebie on my blog of a butterfly MDC, and want to now create a video each month and offer up the others free.

4. Not necessarily hybrid, but I want to play/learn more with my gelli plate.

 

[Karen]

Ohhhhh great question! I LOVE reading everyone's responses . . . they inspire me for sure.

1. I would like to do a document your (fill in the blank), whether December or October, but definitely finish one! I've started several different years, and learned a lot along the way about what keeps me from completing, so this might be the year that with lessons learned, I can get it done!

2. I want to do a hybrid traveler's notebook. I've purchased digital kits for this, but haven't started yet. Again, this year maybe?

3. Last year I started designing some of my own cutting files for monthly, themed MDC's. I posted one freebie on my blog of a butterfly MDC, and want to now create a video each month and offer up the others free.

4. Not necessarily hybrid, but I want to play/learn more with my gelli plate.

What's a MDC? I googled and the AI generated response if definitely not what you meant... Metropolitan Detention Center (a U.S. federal jail)

I LOVE playing with my gelli plate too! Sounds like a great list of goals!

 

[pagefrocks]

MemoryDex Card - Here is a link to my video:

 

[pagefrocks]

Let me know if I should remove the video link . . .

 

[Karen]

MemoryDex Card - Here is a link to my video:

OOOOH!! I'm in love. I actually just found the coolest 1920s recipe box at an antique shop last week and I'm intending some kind of art journaling card type of thing in there. Those butterflies are amazing! (I was looking for a rolodex type of box, but I think mine will work too).

 

[pagefrocks]

I like the idea of using index cards in a recipe type box - one per day - to document my day. It's a small bite, but enough that each day I can dabble with creativity and at the end of the year, have a whole box of decorated daily memories.

 

[dawnmarch]

Oh I loved reading all of your goals ladies!

I too need to tidy up my craft room, but it's actually in pretty good shape which is honestly shocking after doing my DYD junk journal. I have made a huge effort to purge and organize my craft room over the last few months, so that's helped a lot. It was getting kind of claustrophobic in there. Now that I finished my DYD album though, I need to file away the leftovers to clean off my working table again. I will say that I made one investment in December that I think I'm going to LOVE. I bought THESE plastic folders so I could keep all the things I've printed out from each kit separate (for easier crediting). I put the papers in the back, a white sheet of plain paper with the kit name written along the bottom and then the elements spread out on the white paper. That way I can see what I have at a glance and just grab and go. (I'll add a picture later). But man did they make my junk journaling easier. I didn't have to dig through a random pile of goodies and then if I go back to use them later, I'll still know what kit they came from. And when I'm done, they can go in a hanging file to flip through later

I use something similar. I think these are for baseball cards but I use them to store ephemera and elements. And then I use larger page protectors for bigger things. I keep I all in a binder so I can flip through

 

[dawnmarch]

@mocamom I am SO with you on the visual board. I have a kind sized bed in my craft room that is massive, so I flip it up against the wall when nobody is visiting. I made the bed frame so there are wood slats all across the bottom. I mounted a white board to that surface and I jot down my ideas on there, so when I have time to play, I look at that for ideas and know where to start. I would really like to buy a cheap corkboard to also add tiny print outs of ideas too. I need it to be all right there without digging in Pinterest! Also I think it's such a great idea to do 5 Christmas cards a month! (by now I'm done looking at Christmas kits though and ready to put them away for a while! Lol!

The secret white board is such a clever life hack! I used to keep inspiration ideas in my planner, sometimes just reminding me to go look at the ideas I have saved and pinned. I'm going to try to go back to using that more regularly.

I don't know if this counts as hybrid, but sorta.... ? I saved my birthday money in August hoping for a black Friday sale (which happened) and bought a bird sketchbook class. I'm planning to start that this month. It's all in a journal and starts with simple bird sketches and then moves towards more mixed media painting of birds. I will definitely be mixing in paper goodies from here as I play. I'm so bad at drawing and always want to make the commitment to practice daily until I feel more comfortable, so I figured this would be a good stepping stone towards that.

That sounds amazing! I'd love to learn to draw better. I can copy someone else's drawing pretty well but don't really have any inate creative drawing skills.

 

[dawnmarch]

Ohhhhh great question! I LOVE reading everyone's responses . . . they inspire me for sure.

1. I would like to do a document your (fill in the blank), whether December or October, but definitely finish one! I've started several different years, and learned a lot along the way about what keeps me from completing, so this might be the year that with lessons learned, I can get it done!

2. I want to do a hybrid traveler's notebook. I've purchased digital kits for this, but haven't started yet. Again, this year maybe?

3. Last year I started designing some of my own cutting files for monthly, themed MDC's. I posted one freebie on my blog of a butterfly MDC, and want to now create a video each month and offer up the others free.

4. Not necessarily hybrid, but I want to play/learn more with my gelli plate.

Oh, I would LOVE it it you'd join us in posting some hybrid projects! Our little hybrid community needs to stick together. I have done travelers notebooks for actual travel and really, really love that format and how "doable" it is. I really try to bring stuff along for the trip and journal as I go. AND, especially have other people on the trip with me add their favorite things or funny stories or a sketcu or whatever.

 

[dawnmarch]

MemoryDex Card - Here is a link to my video:

I love your beautiful creation and your sharing it with the community! It's interesting how many little niche "hybrid" and paper craft communities there are out there. Would love to tap into more of that here.

 

[garrynkim]

My hybrid goal is simple...make something this year in the hybrid genre I do a hybrid gratitude journal every year and a December Daily. But I'd really like to do more...
I just got a new assignment (calling) in church, I will be in charge of getting musical numbers for our weekly services. So I would really like to have a stash of cards on hand to mail each week a thank you to those who provided a musical number.
I would also like to do some sort of journal. I have a Mash up journal that I occasionally add physical stuff to like tickets and such, but I think I might be able to make that more hybrid focused. Even though I don't contribute much here, I do stalk this thread and love what you all do!

 

[scrapchyck]

I enjoyed putting together my ATCs in November and making some of them hybrid, then creating the little holder for them. Got me itching to make more things, so I did Lynne-Marie's freebie from her YouTube channel already. I like easy little projects like that...so satisfying!

I was a part of Lynn and Rachel's Pixel Paper and Paint Substack group this year and got all the collabs early as a paid member. They have amazing collage sheets in them and printable pages of elements, so my goal is to use some of those this year. I want to find something to use as an art journal. I might even buy some glue and some ink so I can finish edges. I do have some paint, so maybe I'll pull some of that out.

I have to be careful because of space, though. I used to have an entire craft room and all the things. I am definitely missing my corner rounder punch! I did find a folio I had kept that had some ephemera and alphas I'd bought in it along with some papers I'd printed. In the same stash, I found a box of buttons and brads and some travel-related word bits. Have no idea what I kept them for, but I am hoping to put them to good use.