Traci Reed Designs Mix It Up Monday : Christmas Desk Mini Flip Book

If there’s one thing I will never get tired of, it’s Christmas crafting. Long before I fell in love with paper, Christmas crafting for me meant the busy (but happy!) season of handmade wire keychains, ornaments and accessories, candles, and baked goodies. Every year, I would get a surge of Christmas orders, and those sales actually helped sustain our family and friends Christmas gift expenses, back when my husband and I were still dating, and even into our married life before we moved to Saudi. Christmas crafting has always been a part of my story.

Coincidentally, it was also Christmas crafting that led me into the world of paper crafting. It happened right on time, during the pandemic and just before we moved to Saudi. In 2021, I joined a Christmas Craft Day online event with a crafting community in Manila. Even with all the lockdowns and isolation, I found a new hobby to love and a warm community where some of the people I met have become truly good friends.

Fast forward to today: from starting with a little Christmas kit of cardstock, stickers, and ephemera, here I am with a craft room filled with stash I flew all the way from Manila—and many more I’ve lovingly accumulated over the years. Safe to say, I probably have enough Christmas-themed goodies to last a full year of nonstop Christmas crafting… and the best part? I don’t scrimp on my stash anymore! Hehehe!

So for this week’s Mix It Up Monday, I created a little desk mini flip book using two gorgeous collections from Traci - Festive and Make Merry. These two blend beautifully together, and crafting with them felt just like the cozy Christmas projects I used to make, but in a whole new medium I’ve grown to love.

Since I’m always drawn to journaling cards, I wanted a project where I could use all of them without worrying about limited tuck spots or layout space. This mini flip book became the perfect solution - a combination journal, decoration, and mini album.

Inside, you’ll find “currently” cards, lists, blank pages for writing, and framed sections for photos or memories. I used disc binding so I can easily remove pages to write or decorate, then pop them back in effortlessly. It’s small, functional, cheerful, and definitely bringing major holiday spirit to my craft table (as if the mountains of Christmas cardstock and ephemera weren’t enough!).

If you want to see how the rest of the team interpreted this week’s Mix It Up Monday theme, head over to Traci’s blog, you’ll find so much inspiration waiting!