Brian’s Week in Review: January 4, 2026

Welcome to my first Week in Review of 2026! Each Sunday, I like to share a quick recap for those who don’t follow along every day—and a little extra behind-the-scenes for those who do. You don’t want to miss these extras! ♥

A Week of Tasty Treats

Now that the chaos of the holidays is wrapping up, it’s time for me to get back to a routine – a pattern of healthy eating and exercise. Before that, though, I want to share with you some tasty memories from the past week:

New Year’s Day

Do you have a New Year’s Day menu? We go with the Southern favorite and always wonder why we wait until the start of each year – ham, collard greens, cornbread, black-eyed peas, macaroni-and-cheese and sweet potatoes. I love the combination! Over the years, Jeremiah and I have enjoyed the leftover collard greens atop of a bowl of creamy grits. If you didn’t already know we were Southern…

In preparation for our New Year’s Day dinner, I also made a fun sweet snack to try something new. I made a batch of Gold Fish Treats (Cheddar Gold Fish, marshmallows and butter prepared like the traditional Rice Krispie Treats). We love a mix of sweet-and-salty, so these snacks were a perfect complement to our meal:

The recipe has been making its rounds on social media, so we gave it a try. There are no leftovers, so…

Brunch with Noelle

Noelle is a longtime customer of mine who lives in Atlanta, but we’ve never met. The start of a new year was a great opportunity to change that, so we met up for brunch yesterday at my favorite breakfast joint – Thumbs Up Diner. I enjoyed another Southern favorite – fried catfish and grits. Yum! Here’s a quick selfie of Noelle and me:

I am so glad I had the opportunity to connect with Noelle – and the catfish was as good as ever.

Big Week Ahead

Your attention, please!

There’s a big week ahead of us, and I want to make sure you know all about it. I’ll give a very detailed breakdown tomorrow, but here’s a quick list of reminders:

• Monday – last day to sign up for product shares
• Monday – last day to sign up for the next Super-Awesome Fun Time Card Kit
• Tuesday – launch of Spring Mini Catalog
• Tuesday – launch of Online Exclusives
• Tuesday – launch of new kits
• Tuesday – addition of January’s Product of the Month
• Tuesday – start of Bonus Days

Back to My Week in Review

Here’s a look at the projects I shared with you this week (don’t miss the bonus add-ins) …

Monday

I kicked off the week with a look at one of my alternative projects with the Watercolor in Bloom Paper Pumpkin Kit. Following our Pumpkin in the Fungeon call (a call with my Paper Pumpkin subscribers), I was happy to share this fun card that combines several elements from the projects in the kit:

To learn more about this card and the products I used to make it, CLICK HERE.

Tuesday

Things got all classy and sharp on Tuesday with a New Year’s card I made using the Modern Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper. Oh, how I love the graphic patterns in this pack of papers! I had fun creating this card to look like a composition notebook:

My card features four numbers from the Alphabet ala Mode Dies. If you’d like a closer look at this project, CLICK HERE.

Wednesday

On the last day of 2025, I shared a little more information about five of my favorite projects from the year. It’s one of my favorite posts each year. From “big, honkin’ lobsters” to cards personalized to experiences with Mom and Ivy, the post is like a little journal of my year.

This is the project that stands out to me the most because (1) I made so many of these cards and (2) the cards are tied to my retirement this past year:

The cards are simple, but I really loved making them and sending them to such special people who have supported me over the years.

To see the other projects in my wrap-up or to learn more about this one, CLICK HERE.

Thursday

The New Year deserved another New Year’s card. Here’s a card I made with a disco ball from the Time for a Celebration Mix & Match Ephemera Pack. The sayings are stamped with the Reason to Celebrate, a new sentiment stamp set in the Spring Mini Catalog. Here’s the card I shared with you on January 1:

My card was inspired by an fun project by Stampin’ Up! designers, but (as always), I added more and more layers before adding a few more. 🙂

Bonus Color Combination

I didn’t include this graphic in Thursday’s post, but it’s a combination I love so much. If you love this mix of Pool Party, Timid Tiger and Secret Sea as much as I do, I hope you’ll save this for future reference:

To learn more about this project, CLICK HERE.

Friday

I was so happy to play with some more new products on Friday. The card I shared was crafted with a suite of Online Exclusives products that will be available on Tuesday. The Lovely Blossoms Designer Series Paper and Lovely Arrangements Bundle are featured on this card:

Modern and fresh! Don’t you just love that background of circles I cropped with the Lovely Arrangements Dies? That’s going to be a big favorite of mine (and, maybe, yours?).

If you want to read more about this card and get a closer look at the new products I used to make it, CLICK HERE.

Saturday

I wrapped up the week with another card I made with the Lovely Blossoms Designer Series Paper and Lovely Arrangements Bundle. There’s not a lot of stamping on this project (the paper was perfect as-is), but I added several layers that really highlight the beautiful flower at the center:

I love the cut-apart sheets in this pack of papers – it’s SO EASY to turn these images into a work of art!

To learn more about this card and a closer look at the products, CLICK HERE.

Looking Ahead

Lots of fun planned for the coming week. In coordination with the launch of the new catalog and Online Exclusives, I’ll share closer looks at the new products and some new projects with these goodies.

I hope you’ll come back every day. ♥

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

SUPER-AWESOME FUN TIME CARD KIT

Emma Goddard and I are hosting a Super-Awesome Fun Time Card Kit that is not to be missed! Our kit features two incredible bundles from the upcoming Spring Mini Catalog (Simply Beautiful and Beautifully Celebrated) and the goodies that coordinate with those bundles. I would LOVE for you to sign up today! To learn more, click on the image below:

PRODUCT SHARES – ORDER TODAY

I am hosting Product Shares and making Designer Series Paper Swatch Books from the 2026 Spring Mini Catalog (and coordinating Online Exclusives). There’s no better way to get a sample of everything. If you’d like to sign up or learn more, click on the image below:

Pick up December’s Product of the Month

While you are shopping the Last Chance Sale today, don’t forget that you can pick up the Product of the Month for just $5 with a $75 order. Here’s the pack of papers you can earn:

To learn more, CLICK HERE.