Polkadoodles Digi Choosday Project | Red & White Valentine: An I ❤️ U Shaped Card

This week’s Digi Choosday DT prompt came with a fun twist... Valentine’s Day, red and white only (no pink!), featuring a person and not a standard-shaped card. As a total pink girlie, this was honestly a challenge! But I truly enjoy detailed prompts like this because they really tickle my creativity and push me to try something different.

For this project, I created an I ❤️ U shaped card using my Cricut Maker, and I’m sharing how I made it below so you can recreate it too!

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Materials Used

• Cricut Maker

• Red Solid Cardstock

• White Solid Cardstock

• Pattern Paper - Polkadoodles Love & Kisses Papers collection

• Digi Stamp - Polkadoodles Flower Rebel Girl

• Bearly Art Glue

• Foam Tape

• Ohuhu Alcohol Markers

• Ohuhu Acrylic Markers

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How I Made This Card

Note: For non-Cricut users, I’m sorry, this project was made using my Cricut Maker. If you’re great at lettering, I’m sure you can recreate this card manually though!

1. I designed this I ❤️ U card in Design Space, and the file is available in my profile here.

   
   
   
   

2. Cut all the different pieces using your Cricut machine.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Once everything is cut, it’s time to assemble! I used Bearly Art Glue for most of the sticking.

   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   
   
   

4. Glue together the solid red I ❤️ U piece with a score line and the solid white I ❤️ U piece with a score line. This will serve as the inside card base.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. Glue the other solid red I ❤️ U piece (without a score line) together with the I ❤️ U piece cut from pattern paper.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

6. Adhere the letters I and U and the heart shape using foam tape to add dimension. Then adhere the front and back part of the card base by putting glue on top of the score line of the inside card base.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

7. Prepare your digi stamp. For this card, I used the Flower Rebel Girl digi stamp and colored her with Ohuhu Alcohol Markers. To add extra detail, I drew tiny white hearts on her dress and bow using Ohuhu Acrylic Markers.

   
   
   
   

8. Attach the colored digi stamp to the center of the heart using foam tape.

And that’s it — your unique-shaped, red-and-white Valentine card is done! 

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Don’t forget to join us weekly on Polkadoodles' Digi Choosday! It’s always an Anything Goes challenge, and it’s a great way to get inspired and share your creations.

Feel free to follow my socials and my Design Space account, and if you recreate this card, I’d absolutely love to see your projects!

Instagram: @my.cat.and.crafts

Facebook: My Cat and Crafts

Cricut Design Space: My Cat and Crafts

Happy crafting!

Because Reading Deserves a Journal | Traci Reed Designs - Bookish

One of the many things I’m able to do again, or maybe finally make time for - since I stopped working is reading.

For some reason, it was something I barely did when I was working. Thinking back, the last time I really read a lot was when I got obsessed with recollecting the Sweet Valley High and Sweet Valley Senior Year books. And when I say obsessed, I mean starting from book 1 and reading in order. I think I was already around book 129 when we left for Saudi.

Yes… I managed to collect all of them again.

That part was actually half the fun, meeting people in different countries just to get books, checking second-hand listings online whenever we traveled, and hunting them down one by one. Right now, those books are safely packed in a plastic box at my family’s home, waiting for us to return to Manila and eventually move into our forever home.

And I say recollecting because I actually had these books before… only to sell them on eBay.ph back when I was in high school. Different priorities back then. Haha.

Fast forward to 2024, I found my way back to reading through my Kindle. I was very intentional about tracking what I read and used the Bookmory app to log everything. I genuinely love the app, seeing the calendar view and the number of books read is very satisfying... but I’ve always been someone who prefers writing things down. There’s just something different about it.

Still, here’s how my reading looked:

• 2024: 77 books

• 2025: 36 books

• 2026 goal: more than 2024 (hehehe)

When I needed to create something for Traci Reed’s upcoming Sweet Steals using the Bookish collection, the idea of making my own reading journal just felt right.

So this project was born.

This is a mini Reading Journal made using Traci Reed’s Bookish collection — part journal, part scrapbook, and completely me.

I originally planned to bind this using my Mini Cinch, but once I started playing with the collection, I knew I’d want more flexibility. The pages are so interactive and cute that I know I’ll keep adding to this journal. That’s why I chose disc binding, which allows me to easily insert pages anytime. Bonus: I can also just swap out the monthly pages and continue using this journal next year.

Because I’m a memory keeper at heart, this isn’t just a reading log. It’s a scrapbook reading journal. I’ve already added two photos — one taken in a quaint, pretty bookstore in Jordan, and another from the Ithra Library here in Saudi Arabia. More #shelfies are definitely coming.

I also added two small envelopes to this project. One holds extra embellishments I can use when I add more photos, and the other stores magnetic bookmarks I made using leftover scraps from this project. You honestly never know when you’ll need bookmarks!

And yes… this journal is absolutely meant to motivate me to read more this year. So far, I’ve already finished two books, mostly so I’d have something to update in this journal already. Haha.

This project was so fun to make, and I love that it can grow with me as my reading (hopefully!) continues.

For the full process, close-up details, and more inspiration using the Bookish collection, make sure to check out Traci’s blog as well.

Bee Happy Weeklies Week 1 | Annual Vision Board Spread

Kicking off the year with one of my favorite traditions, my annual vision board spread in my Happy Planner, and I couldn’t think of a better way to start Bee Happy Weeklies for the year than this.

Last year’s first Weeklies project was also a vision board, created fresh from a 2025 planning date with my husband. That spread was colorful, sparkly, and full of hope, and looking back now, 2025 truly turned out to be a good year creatively. I started that year as Bee Happy’s Q1 Guest Ambassador, which opened the door to several other design team opportunities. From being on 1 creative team, I ended the year, and started this one, on 6 creative teams, which still feels a little unreal to say out loud.

So of course, I had to do it again this year.

For my 2026 vision board, I kept the same happy, glittery, colorful energy. I used a Happy Planner page that says “let the memories begin," which honestly felt like the perfect foundation for this spread. I filled the page with positive, one-liner sentiments that instantly make me smile and feel grounded whenever I look at them.

Some of the sentiments I used include:

• Plan a Happy Life

• Enjoy Life

• There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy

• LOVE

• Be your own hero

• Go with the flow

• Live a colorful life

• Shine bright

• Let the memories begin

• See good in all things

• Enjoy where you are

• Always be fierce and passionate about life

• Be the light in the room

• Everything’s gonna be super duper

I just realized that I actually used “everything’s gonna be super duper” twice, so I guess that officially makes 2026 a super duper x2 year!

Right in the center, I die cut a bold gold 2026, anchoring the whole spread. I also added vacation stickers that we’ll fill out as plans come together — because dreaming and planning are half the fun.

This spread is my before-the-pen reminder that this year is about happiness, flow, creativity, and making memories.

Materials used from Bee Happy:

• Project Life Kit

• Happy Planner Stickers

• Bearly Art Glue

💡 PSA: Make sure to check out Bee Happy’s clearance sale corner for amazing steals on Project Life Kits and Happy Planner sticker books! They're perfect for vision boards and weekly spreads!

If you haven’t joined yet, I’d love for you to join Bee Happy Weeklies and hop into the Bee Happy Facebook group for inspiration, creativity, and fun weekly challenges. It’s such a great way to stay motivated, try new ideas, and create alongside an amazing community.

First Happy Planner Layout of the Year (and Hopefully My First Week of Daily Writing!)

This is my first Happy Planner layout blog post for the year and, tbh, I’m really hoping this is also my first full week of daily writing in my planner.

January feels just as fast as December - maybe even faster - and I honestly don’t know why. Every time we come back to KSA after a vacation in the Philippines, I lose my routine and need a few weeks to find my rhythm again. This time around, it was that plus the really cold winter season that had me feeling under the weather when we arrived.

It also didn’t help that my favorite essential oil, the one that was introduced to me when I was sick about three years ago, started bringing back that same “sick” feeling. I was so puzzled because I felt unwell even when I technically wasn’t. After reading about it, I realized that smell is the strongest sense tied to memory and emotion, so yes… it is possible for certain scents to trigger sickness memories. I tried not using it for a day, and I felt so much better. Crazy how the mind works, right?

So in gist, the past few weeks have been a mix of:

• Unpacking

• Catching up on deadlines (I really want to get back to my old pace where everything is submitted and scheduled in advance and not me chasing deadlines)

• Catching up on laundry and ironing (almost done!!! hopefully this week)

• And being cold. Always cold.

I swear, I still haven’t unpacked a whole luggage full of crafting supplies from the Philippines. Though I'm really looking forward to this! It's going to be like Christmas part 2!

But despite all that, I’m really thankful I’m feeling better now.

Here’s a photo of the projects I’ve made over the past few weeks, everything is packed and labeled for storage, ready for the next pop-up (whenever that may be). I won’t be posting them one by one this time since some haven’t been published yet, plus there’s a little mini album I made for our BF-GF anniversary. I loved making that one, and after finishing it, I loved flipping through it and rewatching the reel even more.

This Week’s Happy Planner Layout

For this week’s layout, I used the Live Creatively Happy Planner Sticker Book, just because I do.

The sticker sentiments I used are:

• Allow your purpose to guide your priorities

• I can & I will

• Just start

• Purpose • Planning • Positivity • Persistence – A Happy Life

• Plans are dreams in the making

I also added blank boxes for each day so I can slowly ease back into my routine. Ideally, I’ll start completing each target task, whether it’s a project or a chore and let that momentum carry over into the coming weeks.

I also opened a Happy Planner Planner Companion Accessories Kit that was gifted to me by a friend. Extra kilig because she got the planner size right! It’s such a small detail, but it means so much, proof that when people truly know you, they notice even the little things.

Life Lately

Last weekend, we tried a newly opened Half Lemon branch here in Al Ahsa. It’s the first Chinese resto / fast-food place in the area, and their milk tea tastes just like the ones in Manila - major win! Since they had just opened, we even got some freebies: keychains and a tumbler.

Best in facade - Iran!

Of course, Saudi should have a photo!

Spot the odd one out - what is Thailand doing in GCC area!

Grilled Cheesy Shrimp. Triggered my allergies though.

Nice view

Happy Girl. Hehe!

The next day, we went to Dammam Global City with friends. It was a very walk-heavy day but fun nonetheless. For SAR 22 (Php 330.00) it was worth it. We also tried a new restaurant, Positive which turned out positively good! hehe!

So here it is, this year’s first layout and a little life lately!  

See you all next week!