Top Nine of 2024 – Arts & Crafts

As my main art focus in 2024 was on my word of the year journal (which made this list), I didn’t do loads of other projects. I wasn’t even sure that I would find nine to share with you!

But a wee scroll back through my photos showed me that I was able to finish a lot of artistic and crafty projects in 2024. It feels good to put them all in one place!

So in no particular order, here are my TOP NINE arts and crafts projects from 2024.

Follow along in the photo above! Left to right on each row are described below.

1. Event posters in Canva. I built so many event posters online in Canva this year! Some were pretty basic, using pre-made templates. But others were a bit more unique. Each one was fun, and I enjoyed building my skills.
2. Pinty Ninth Passport. While Dan & I typically don’t exchange presents for Christmas, I had the perfect idea on December 23, and was able to quickly execute this in Canva.
3. Gallery wall. This project actually started in a basement cleaning session. I had a lot of paintings that were taking up space on a shelf, and I wanted that shelf!
4. Not Ladylike Community display. I was asked to table at an event early in the year, and I had nothing to put on my table! Using some found items, printed photos, and logo doodles, I built a display that matched the energy of NLL while providing a lot of information as well. It was super fun to build, and I did have a lot of folks stop at the table just to look at the photos.
5. Not Ladylike Community logo tablecloth. This tablecloth came out of #4, and wanting to have a cute setup for future tabling. I didn’t table any where for the rest of the year, but I did use this at Crafternoon, to everyone’s delight.
6. Zines! I made a bunch of zines in 2024, and it’s hard to choose a favourite. The big one pictured in the collage above was made in one session while we were vacationing in Jasper, National Park. It showcases all of the Not Ladylike Community events from 2024. It’s my first zine in this size and format, and I am super pleased with how it turned out. To purchase a different zine and support our mission, you can visit my shop.
7. My Garden Sign. Ooh boy, I needed a simple project that day. This isn’t even (technically) finished, but it was a spark that really improved my mood and outlook on creative projects. This sign lives in my front yard, and is made from old pallets and stakes that Dan cut down for me ages ago for an address sign. I painted over our address with the same paint from our front door and added the text and flowers using basic acrylic paints from my collection.
8. My chonky Time Journal. This is the art journal that I added to throughout the year, and I am in love with it so much.
9. Collage. In preparation for a collage workshop I hosted in January, I wanted to create a few “examples” to show the registrants. The first one I did took forever, and was not a great example, so I set some basic parameters for myself – and a time limit – and created two more.

Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments…you can be honest! 😉

I am keeping it “simple” with my specific arts and crafts goals for 2025 by letting a FEELINGS GOAL lead the way.

I WANT TO FEEL CREATIVE

Every year I set four feelings goals to guide the rest of my actions for the year. I decide how I want to feel, and then build goals around that. And trust me when I say this is not a backwards way of setting goals…it is the best way.

“We are searching for an actual feeling when we set a goal. It’s not the goal that drives us but the feeling we are seeking.” -Fresh Habits

It allows me to remain flexible, open and curious, and change tactics (more) easily when something stops working for me.

I will link to some posts and info about this method below, because I absolutely got inspiration for this from somewhere else. And it has served me well for many years.

What this is: wanting to achieve a certain feeling or emotional state and being flexible with the way we get there, long-term visioning, practicing emotional intelligence

What this is not: guilt, “good vs. bad emotions”, dissociation, setting goals to practice your feelings, how you feel about setting goals or about your specific goals

CREATIVITY LOOKS LIKE

Right now, feeling creative in 2025 looks like:

• Zines for fun and for sale
• Collage
• Cleaning and organizing my crafting space
• Multiple art journals
• Gelli printing practice
• Crafting in community
• Sharing my skills

I have some BIG IDEAS connected to arts and crafts, but that might have to wait until 2026. Unless someone reading this wants to help me organize a proper Zine Festival in the fall…

FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES

Check out some posts about my creative projects from 2024. They’ll give you a bit more details and more photos!

• Building the cover for my 2024 art journal (video)
• Updates on my 2024 Art Journal: #1, #2, #3
• Zine for the year
• My top craft projects from 2023

I learned about this way of goal setting in Danielle LaPorte’s book Desire Map. Here is a free article that captures the same vibe: A New Approach to Goal Setting Part 2: Focus on Feelings (Fresh Habits).