Cue the confetti and cheers to a new year! For many of us, 2020 was maybe not our “best year ever”, but a new year holds new hope! One thing that we love about memory keeping is the built-in practice of finding the good in the little things and documenting it. I know for myself, maintaining a memory keeping practice encourages me to document the positive moments that I might otherwise forget. As one year closes and another one begins, I am glad I took the time to record my 2020 memories - the highs, lows, and everything in between. For many, a new year means a blank slate, one we can fill with new goals and a fresh perspective. In today’s post, we have two designers who are sharing how they prepare for the New Year. Jil is documenting her word for the year in her Simple Dori Traveler’s Notebook with the New Chapter Collection. "Yay for a new year! I had fun documenting my word for 2021 with the New Chapter Collection. I layered several kit papers and a glassine envelope under my photo and then included one of the New Chapter Modern Memory Keeping kit pocket cards in the envelope. I stamped the "more/less" stamp on the card to capture mainly what I want more of in the new year. On the left side of my spread, I stacked the scribble stamp, the "welcome 2021" die-cut, a circle cut from the new year kit paper, a phrase stamp from the New Chapter Modern Memory Keeping stamp set, and a chevron die-cut. Finally, I created splatters with the black paint in the New Chapter Memory Keeping Classified Kit and scattered a few glitter enamel dots. I love the bright colors and bold black in the kit. The paper in the New Chapter Simple Dori Traveler’s Notebook provided the perfect backdrop for the story I was documenting." Selecting and documenting a word for the year is a wonderful way to focus your attention and creativity on what matters to you. We love how Jil used the Simple Dori Traveler’s Notebook for this practice. How clever are her glassine bag journal pocket and the stacked embellishments on the left page? Audrey’s crafty mind maps have really inspired us the last few months and her January design has us speechless again! Let’s see what she has to say about putting this gorgeous spread together.

 “Wow!! Is it really 2021? Welcome to this new year that holds such hope and promise!! To kick off this new year, I started with an old reliable -- my #craftymindmap.

A mind map is a diagram linking tasks around one central goal. A crafty mind map is just a diagram with all the deliciousness of crafty embellishments, stamps, and stickers!! For my January crafty mind map, using the luscious New Chapter Collection I started with the "Hello January 2021" sticker from the New Chapter Memory Keeping Sticker Kit. This represents my central goal for the month. I then add stamps, stickers, die cuts, embellishments -- all the crafty goodness that represents my goals and aspirations for January. I scatter them around the page making sure to group categories, such as my "to-do list" and my "to go list" in order.

Once I am done adding the embellishments and stamps, I connect all of them to the central goal, the sticker in the middle: Hello January 2021. After that is done, I connect the secondary goals. And VOILA, my crafty mind map is done! If you want to see more, you can find my process video on YouTube. Cheers friends! Happy New Year!"

Talk about FUNctional! We love Audrey’s use of the New Chapter Collection to embellish her crafty mind map. This layout lives in her planner, a location where she can refer back to it regularly. Planners are a great place to put spreads like this or even your word for the year. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the New Cocoa Daisy Planner, available in the shop. How are you utilizing your New Chapter items to prepare for the New Year? Share with us by tagging @cocoa_daisy on social media or posting to the Cocoa Daisy Fan Page. Best, Rachel, Memory Keeping Team Blog Coordinator