A Fresh Journal Spread & What’s Next for Happy Hangout Craft Club 💛

Can I be honest with you for a second?

I had to make the difficult decision to cancel our first Happy Hangout Craft Club event.

As excited as I was, the ticket sales just weren’t where they needed to be for it to make sense for either the business or me. Of course I was disappointed (who wouldn’t be?), but I also know that building a community takes time. This isn’t the end—it’s just the beginning.

And honestly? I have so many ideas.

With the cooler Arizona weather coming, I’d love to host casual morning hikes where we can walk, chat, find a peaceful spot, pull out our journals, and spend a little time creating together. If you’re anything like me, you know a small hiking backpack can fit a journal, some scraps, a glue stick, scissors, and a pen. That’s all you really need.

Most of our outdoor meetups will probably center around journaling and junk journaling because they’re easy to take anywhere. One thing that’s really important to me, though, is respecting the spaces we’re creating in. Please remember to clean up after yourself, pack out every little scrap, and never take anything from nature unless it’s allowed. We get to enjoy these beautiful places because people care for them, so let’s do the same.

Speaking of journaling…

Today’s spread reminded me why I love this hobby so much.

I challenged myself to spend just 30 minutes creating a page using only a magazine I already had at home. No overthinking. No planning every little detail. Just cutting, gluing, arranging, and letting my brain breathe for half an hour.

Sometimes I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to make something “Pinterest-worthy” that we forget crafting is supposed to be fun.

Thirty minutes later, I had a completed spread, my mind felt lighter, and I was able to jump right back into my day feeling refreshed. That’s what creativity does for me. It’s not about making something perfect—it’s about giving my brain permission to pause.

And if I’m being transparent… consistency is something I’m still working on.

I don’t always craft every day. Some days life gets busy. Some days my brain has 47 ideas and finishes exactly none of them.  But instead of waiting for the “perfect” time, I’m trying to build the habit of giving myself just 30 minutes. That’s it. Because small, consistent moments usually beat waiting for hours of free time that never seem to come.

One thing I’ve learned recently is that creativity doesn’t require buying new supplies every week.

Before you head to the craft store, try shopping your own home first.

That old magazine?
Use it.

Scrap wrapping paper?
Save it.

Receipts, envelopes, scrapbook paper you’ve forgotten about, packaging, tissue paper, book pages, printable images—you probably have more creative supplies than you realize.

Some of the best trends start because someone looked at something ordinary and saw it differently.

So here’s this week’s Happy Hangout Craft Club challenge.

Your 30-Minute Journal Prompt ✂️

Set a timer for 30 minutes and create a journal spread using only items you already have at home.

Your challenge:

• Don’t buy anything.
• Be resourceful.
• Use magazines, junk mail, printer paper, packaging, scrapbook scraps—whatever you already own.
• If you print something, that’s okay too, as long as it comes from resources you already have at home.
• When you’re finished, write a short journal entry answering this question:

“How did giving myself 30 minutes of creativity change the way I felt today?”

Remember, your journal doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It just has to look like yours.

And before you go, head over to Instagram and watch my newest journal spread! I’m challenging myself to share more of these, hopefully daily, because creating alongside you sounds way more fun than creating alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here. Whether you’ve been following from the beginning or you just found Happy Hangout Craft Club today, thank you for being part of this creative little community.

Here’s to creating more, buying less, and remembering that sometimes the best supplies are already sitting in a drawer waiting to become something beautiful.

See you in the next spread. 💛