Mintay Papers International Scrapbook Day 2026 Projects + My First Mintay Win!

I actually started writing this blog post just a few days after finishing my Mintay Papers International Scrapbook Day 2026 projects… but somehow I think I accidentally deleted the entire draft. So here I am rewriting this post days after the winners were announced - but to be fair, rewriting it now makes it even sweeter because I get to say this:

I WON!!! 💛

Yes. After years of joining Mintay Papers challenges, I finally won one.

And ironically, it happened right around the time I was already thinking of giving up joining altogether. Haha!

If you’ve been following my crafting journey for a while, you probably know how much I love Mintay challenges. I’ve joined so many over the years because I genuinely enjoy them - the themes, the creativity they inspire, and of course, the challenge itself. If you want to see just how many Mintay challenges I’ve joined, you can check out my Facebook album dedicated to all my Mintay challenge entries here.

And since starting this blog a year ago, I’ve also documented several Mintay challenge projects here on the blog too.

Mintay Papers World Card Making Day 2025

Mintay Papers International Scrapbook Day 2025 Challenges Recap - A Creative Sprint Against the Clock

Almost Didn’t Join This Year

Truthfully, I wasn’t even fully planning on joining this year’s International Scrapbook Day event.

Then one of my friends - who has been cheering me on creatively for a long time now - messaged me and sent me the challenge pub from Mintay. She encouraged me to join and I said ok, I'll try again.

And thankfully, I did.

Now here comes the funny part.

For some reason, I thought the challenges worked just like last year where we only had 24 hours to finish everything. So I spent basically the whole day cramming and rushing to finish all my entries.

Then the next day… I realized submissions were actually open for AN ENTIRE WEEK.

Imagine my face.

So naturally, my projects felt rushed to me. Not fully thought through. Not my usual layered-to-the-max style. Definitely not what I considered my “100%.”

But maybe that was exactly the point.

Because looking back now, these may actually be the simplest Mintay challenge entries I’ve ever made - and somehow, they became the ones that finally won.

Maybe simpler really was better this time.

My Winning Project - Four Stories 

Out of all the categories, I ended up winning the Four Stories challenge. I think the storytelling approach is what made this layout special.

Instead of documenting major milestones, I focused on the quieter in-between moments from the first quarter of 2026 - moments that may not seem huge individually, but still mattered deeply.

For this layout, I also challenged myself to do some serious scrapbusting by mixing different Mintay Papers collections and turning leftover bits into tiny boxes.

Each photo told its own story:

• January - a family photo with both sides before we left the Philippines
• February - my first Ramadan Iftar experience and finally trying dates after four years in Saudi
• March - a difficult health season, but also gratitude for healing and good care 
• April - our constants here in Saudi, the friends who make life away from home feel lighter

I skipped bigger events like our 15th anniversary and Valentine’s because those already had scrapbook pages and albums of their own. This layout became about the “ordinary” moments - the in-betweens that still deserve to be remembered.

And I think that’s why this page worked.

Negative Space Layout

15 years, one story… and a whole lot of self-control.

For this layout, I documented our 15th BF-GF anniversary from last January. This one is of course should be extra special which made it more challenging. Not because of the photos or the memories… but because of the empty space!

I’m so used to layering, tucking, and adding “just one more embellishment” (you know the struggle), so holding back for this negative space challenge really tested me.

But the truth is, it kinda helped knowing I already created a full mini album for this day (check it out here). So this layout didn’t need to carry everything - just a soft, simple highlight of a beautiful milestone.

Sometimes, letting your design breathe tells the story just as well.

Mini Folio Album

Simple on the outside… but full of little surprises inside.

For this mini folio, I kept the structure clean and beginner-friendly, but added just enough interactive elements to make it fun and functional.

This folio features:

• A belly band embellished with florals
• A Velcro closure
• An accordion pocket filled with cardstock for photos and journaling
• An elastic string in the middle for additional inserts
• Two pockets on the back panel with floral cardstock tucked inside

I love projects like this because they look compact and simple, but they can hold so many memories.

The Announcement 

The cutest part... I didn’t even see the announcement myself first.

Another friend - who also always cheers me on during Mintay challenges, sent me a screenshot of the winners announcement.

The moment I saw my name, I immediately called my husband because he knows how badly I’ve wanted to win a Mintay Papers challenge for years now.

And right after that, I forwarded the same screenshot to the friend who convinced me to join the iNSD challenges this year in the first place.

Needless to say… these girls are GIRLS’ GIRLS.

The kind who genuinely cheer for you, encourage you when you doubt yourself, remind you to keep trying, and celebrate your wins like they’re their own. Tbh, this win felt even more special because of the people surrounding me through it.

Looking back now, this entire experience feels oddly full circle.

The year I almost skipped joining.
The year I crammed everything thinking I only had one day.
The year I felt my projects were “too simple.”
The year I doubted myself the most.

Ended up being the year I finally won.

And maybe that’s the lesson I’m taking from all this, sometimes the projects made with less pressure, less overthinking, and more honest storytelling become the ones that connect the most.

Thank you so much to Mintay Papers for hosting these challenges every year and for choosing my project as one of the winners.

And thank you to the friends who continue cheering me on creatively. You really have no idea how much your encouragement mattered this year.

Now excuse me while I impatiently wait for the prize package because I absolutely cannot wait to share the unboxing with all of you.

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