Category: creating

creating

Boho Hello – Gathering Gratitude Through Color

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

As we near the end of October, I’m finding joy in the ways color can connect us.
Each shade tells part of our story — warmth, change, hope, and reflection.
This week’s Boho Hello Card blends Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Pool Party, and Petal Pink — a palette that feels like both sunlight and shadow, capturing the balance of fall perfectly.

When I started this project, I wanted to express gratitude through color — the way each tone complements the next without overpowering it.
Daffodil Delight adds warmth and optimism, Cajun Craze brings grounding energy, Mossy Meadow centers it, and Pool Party lifts it all into light again.

Each color has its own role, but together, they create harmony — much like a creative community built on individual strengths.

“Boho” to me means freedom — the permission to mix structure with spontaneity.
This card is layered, imperfect, and full of heart.
I added touches of Basic Black and Petal Pink for balance — contrast and calm, like gratitude and growth side by side.

Color has emotion.
It tells stories when words feel too heavy — stories of comfort, change, and courage.
So today, as you create, pause to notice what colors you’re drawn to.
They might be saying what your heart already knows.

💬 What colors describe your gratitude right now?

As we blend colors and stories this week, remember that creativity connects us.
Every hue, every handmade hello, every shared story adds to the tapestry of gratitude we’re creating together.

The Power of Hello – Small Gestures, Big Connection
creating

The Power of Hello – Small Gestures, Big Connection

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

Sometimes, it’s not the grand gestures that make the biggest impact — it’s the quiet, heartfelt moments.
This week, my Hello Card reminds me that gratitude doesn’t always need a speech; sometimes, it’s as simple as reaching out to say hi.

There’s something grounding about crafting cards with simple sentiments.
The word “hello” is universal — it’s both a beginning and a continuation, an invitation to reconnect.

When I designed this card, I chose soft golds, warm neutrals, and a touch of texture to mirror that feeling.
It’s not about perfection; it’s about presence.

In a digital world of instant messages and scrolls, a handmade card still carries unmatched magic.
It’s tangible — something you can hold, display, and feel.
And behind every handmade “hello” is time, intention, and love — the most human elements of connection.

As the month closes, I’m grateful for all the little connections — the comments, messages, and creative shares that bring this community to life.

💬 Reflection Prompt:
Who in your world could use a small hello today?
Maybe a friend, a neighbor, or someone who once supported you when you needed it most.

Send them something — even a quick text or handmade note — just to say you’re thinking of them.

This week, let your creativity become a bridge.
A simple hello can change someone’s day — and it costs nothing but your presence. 💛

Reflecting in the Light: A Month of Creative Growth
creating · Creative Rituals · creative wellness · Everyday Joy · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation

Reflecting in the Light: A Month of Creative Growth

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

You made it. Through this month, through your art, through another page of your story.
Whether you created daily or once, showed up with energy or exhaustion—your presence matters.
As June comes to a close, today is your invitation to pause, reflect, and notice the growth that bloomed in the light.

🌞 Creative Reflection Is a Form of Self-Care

It’s easy to focus on the projects left undone, the cards unshared, or the journal entries we “meant” to finish. But growth happens in the showing up—not the perfecting.

Take a breath. Then take a moment to ask:

  • What did I learn about myself through creating this month?
  • What surprised me in my art or my mindset?
  • When did I feel most at peace while crafting?

Jot your answers down—or better yet, craft them into a final page or card.

✨ Try This: “Light Reflection Card”

Create a single card or journal page that reflects your month:

  • Use light-inspired elements: sunbursts, gold foil, vellum, soft pinks or yellows
  • Write one sentence that completes the phrase: “This month, I rediscovered…”
  • Add a quote, scripture, or word that encapsulates your theme (e.g. “rise,” “grace,” “glow”)

Place it somewhere visible or share it with your community to encourage others.

Art is more than paper and ink—it’s how we remember who we are becoming.
Through every torn edge, soft color, and word written in ink, you’ve shown up for your story.
Let this final project be a quiet celebration of that light.

🌼 Want more reflective prompts and creative support?
Subscribe to my Creative Newsletter for weekly inspiration and exclusive access to printables, sneak peeks, and healing-centered resources.

From Pieces to Peace: Repurposing Scraps for Healing Projects
creating · creative expression · Creative Rituals · creative wellness · Everyday Joy · Healing through art · visual storytelling

From Pieces to Peace: Repurposing Scraps for Healing Projects

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

Every crafter has a collection of paper scraps, die cuts, and half-finished projects tucked away. But did you know these fragments can become powerful tools for healing and reflection?

Today, we’re looking at how to repurpose your “leftovers” into beautiful, meaningful art that honors your story—and gives your creativity a second life.

🧩 The Healing Power of Repurposing

When life feels broken or chaotic, taking scraps and transforming them into something whole mirrors your own healing journey. For trauma survivors, caregivers, or those managing chronic illness, this practice is deeply symbolic.

Repurposing teaches us:

  • Nothing is wasted—not even the pieces
  • Imperfection can still be beautiful
  • Art can grow from the ordinary

🛠️ 3 Simple Healing Projects Using Scraps

1. The “Today I Survived” Tag

  • Use leftover cardstock, bits of ribbon, and one or two words (“strength,” “hope,” or “rest”)
  • Add a date stamp and keep it in a jar or on a ring
    💡Great for those living with invisible illness or emotional recovery

2. Gratitude Grid Cards

  • Punch or cut small squares from scraps
  • Arrange in a grid and write one thing you’re grateful for in each
  • Use them as daily journaling prompts or send to a friend

3. Scrap Collage Healing Spread

  • Pick one word you want to focus on this week (e.g., “ease” or “belonging”)
  • Use layers of paper, fabric, ink, and torn text to visually explore it in your journal or scrapbook
  • Reflect on the message that emerges as you create

There is no such thing as “just a scrap.” Every piece of your story has value. Every moment of healing matters.
Through creativity, you are not only piecing together paper—you are piecing together peace.

subscribe to my Monthly Creative Club for weekly sketch templates, healing project tutorials, and a warm community to share your process.

Sacred Space: Creating a Light-Filled Crafting Nook
creating · Creative Rituals · creative wellness · Everyday Joy · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation · self-care

Sacred Space: Creating a Light-Filled Crafting Nook

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

Where you create matters. It doesn’t need to be big, fancy, or even tidy—but it should feel yours.
When you’ve walked through trauma, illness, or exhaustion, a soft and sacred space to create becomes more than practical—it becomes healing.

Today, let’s explore how to create a light-filled crafting space that supports your creative rituals and nourishes your well-being.

✨ Why Space Impacts Creativity

Your surroundings influence how safe, calm, and inspired you feel. When you’re crafting through chronic illness, depression, or grief, clutter and chaos can shut you down. But creating a small, sacred, and intentional space invites your brain to exhale.

Think:

  • A desk by a window
  • A basket with calming supplies
  • A candle or diffuser scent that soothes
  • Soft lighting or a salt lamp

This is less about organizing and more about honoring your creative energy.

🌼 Try This: “Light Nook Checklist”

Create your own sacred space by including:

  • 🌞 A natural light source or lamp with warm tones
  • 🎨 Your 5 favorite supplies within arm’s reach
  • 🪞 One visual reminder of your why (a quote, photo, or scripture)
  • 🔇 A soft boundary (curtain, tray, sign) that says: this space is yours

💡Tip: Keep it simple. Even a tray on your nightstand can become a creative altar.

Your space doesn’t have to be Pinterest-worthy—it just has to be safe, sacred, and supportive.
When you give yourself permission to protect your light, your creativity can flourish with more peace.

join my newsletter to receive monthly prompts and tips for nurturing your creativity through healing seasons. Subscribe here

Purposeful Papercrafting: Creating with Meaning (Not Just for Pretty)
creating · creative expression · creative wellness · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation · visual storytelling

Purposeful Papercrafting: Creating with Meaning (Not Just for Pretty)

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

In a world of perfectly staged projects and curated feeds, it’s easy to feel like your creations need to be impressive. But what if your creativity didn’t have to be performative? What if it was enough for it to be meaningful—to you?

Today, I want to invite you to rediscover the heart of papercrafting: creating to connect, remember, and heal.

💌 Creating with Intention

You don’t need a holiday or event to make a handmade card. Sometimes, the most powerful reason to create is just because someone crossed your mind.

  • Make a card that says “You’re not alone.”
  • Scrapbook a photo that reminds you of your resilience.
  • Journal a note to your younger self.

Let the purpose of your project guide the design—not Pinterest.

🌱 Make a “Purpose Page”

Use this idea to create a one-page layout or journal entry:

Center prompt: “Why I Create”
Surround with:

  • A photo of your hands crafting
  • Quotes that ground you
  • Words like “hope,” “connection,” or “presence”
  • A short letter to your future self

💡 This becomes an anchor page—something to revisit when you’re feeling uncertain or uninspired.

🧡 Intent > Impress

Not every creation needs to be shared. But if you do, let it be because you’re proud of the meaning, not just the polish.

Your paper, your story, your heart—these are tools of healing and remembrance.
When you create with meaning, you create with light.
And that’s always enough.

🧡 Want more guided prompts like this?
Sign up for my newsletter and get a free “Purposeful Pages” digital guide + weekly gentle reminders to keep creating from the heart.
Join here and let’s create what matters.

What If You Created Like You Believed In Yourself?
creating · Creative Rituals · creative wellness · Everyday Joy · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation

What If You Created Like You Believed In Yourself?

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

Somewhere along the way, we learned to second-guess our creativity. To hesitate before sharing, to doubt our worth, to minimize our joy. But what if—just for today—you created like you believed in yourself?

What if your next scrapbook page, handmade card, or journal entry was crafted with confidence, not criticism?

🧠 The Inner Critic Is Loud—But You Are Louder

Many of us who’ve lived through trauma, chronic illness, or self-doubt know the script: “Who do you think you are?”
You’re someone brave enough to try.
Someone creative enough to make beauty from scraps.
Someone resilient enough to keep showing up.

✨ Try This Confidence-Boosting Prompt:

Take out a tag, journaling card, or scrap of paper and write:

“Today, I create like I believe in myself.”

Then:

  • Stamp or decorate around the phrase.
  • Use bold, joyful colors—whatever speaks to your version of light.
  • Add it to your wall, vision board, planner, or card front.

💡 This is your creative permission slip. And no one else needs to validate it.

📣 Bonus Challenge:

Post your tag in the VIP group, or share in your stories with the hashtag #CraftWithConfidence—you’ll inspire someone else, too.

You don’t have to wait until you feel “ready” to create from a place of belief.
Start now. Start messy. Start joyfully.
Because you, your story, and your art are more than enough—just as you are.

🧡 Need a little more guidance on creative confidence?
Join my Monthly Membership for healing-focused prompts, mindset encouragement, and exclusive live sessions.

Color as Medicine: Using Light & Hue to Heal Through Art
creating · Creative Rituals · creative wellness · Everyday Joy · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation · philosophy & creativity

Color as Medicine: Using Light & Hue to Heal Through Art

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

Have you ever noticed how a soft blue can calm your nerves, or how a burst of yellow makes you feel awake and alive? That’s not just a coincidence. Color carries energy—and when we create with intention, color becomes a tool for healing.

Whether you’re crafting through chronic illness, processing grief, or simply craving a little more peace, today we’ll explore how to choose colors that support your emotional and creative well-being.

🎨 Why Color Matters:

Color psychology isn’t just for designers—it’s deeply personal. For trauma survivors and those navigating stress or fatigue, using light and hue can support self-expression when words are hard to find.

Color can help you:

  • Regulate emotions
  • Invite a desired feeling
  • Create sensory calm or joy
  • Reflect your inner experience

🧡 Try This: “Color Your Healing” Prompt

Choose one of these emotions:

  • Peace
  • Hope
  • Release
  • Strength
  • Joy

Now pick 2–3 colors that you feel when you think of that word.

💡 Example:

  • If your word is Hope, you might choose soft coral, pale yellow, and blush pink.
  • If your word is Strength, you might lean into deep navy, rust, and gold.

Now create:

  • A card
  • A journal page
  • A scrapbook layout background
  • Or even a simple tag or swatch set

Let the color tell the story.

Art speaks in ways our words sometimes can’t. And color gives voice to emotions we may not even fully understand yet. Whether you’re creating for release, expression, or just presence, trust the hues that call to you.

You are allowed to feel. You are allowed to heal. And you are allowed to do both… through color and creativity.

subscribe to my Monthly Creative Club and get guided color prompts each month plus project ideas, videos, and more.

You don’t need to know the rules—just show up and create with light.

Creating Together: Why You Don’t Have to Craft Alone
Community Inspiration · creating · creative expression · creative wellness · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation

Creating Together: Why You Don’t Have to Craft Alone

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

Creativity can be incredibly personal—and also profoundly communal. When you’re navigating healing, chronic illness, or emotional burnout, connecting with others through creativity can feel like opening a window to let the light back in.

Today, let’s talk about the magic of crafting in community—and why it might be just what your heart (and hands) need.

💛 Why Crafting Together Matters

Whether online or in person, creative connection brings:

  • Companionship without pressure—just show up as you are.
  • Encouragement when you feel stuck or self-critical.
  • Motivation to follow through with your ideas and projects.
  • A space to be seen in a season where you may feel invisible.

For survivors of trauma, grief, or long-term illness, isolation is a common thread. Crafting together becomes a gentle, joyful thread that ties us back to ourselves and others.

✨ What Creating Together Looks Like:

  • Virtual Create-Together sessions (like my Friday lives!) where we share space, ideas, and laughter.
  • VIP Groups that feel safe, kind, and filled with inspiration.
  • Album Retreats or scrap nights focused on connection—not just productivity.

💬 “I joined for the creativity… but stayed for the kindness.”
That’s something I hear often, and it never stops being true.

🛠️ Don’t Overthink It:

  • You don’t have to have all your supplies ready.
  • You don’t need to talk if you’re not feeling it.
  • You don’t have to finish a full layout.
    Just being in the space makes a difference.

You don’t have to craft alone.
You deserve spaces that feel safe, creative, and healing.
And when we create together, our light expands.

✨ Join me for Create Together Friday Live at 10:30am Pacific inside my VIP Group!
You’ll get to see behind the scenes of this week’s layout, ask questions, and soak in a little creative peace.

💌 Not in the group yet? Click here to join the VIP Community and let’s create something beautiful—together.

My May: What I Created and How I Grew
creating · creative wellness

My May: What I Created and How I Grew

Tina Biornstad-SzafranskiLeave a comment

This month, our theme was “Bloom Where You Are.” And I did just that—in ways I didn’t expect. Some days I created beautiful spreads. Other days I sat in stillness with scissors in hand, unsure what to say but still showing up.

May wasn’t about perfection. It was about presence. About making space for creativity, connection, and self-compassion in the in-between moments.

So here’s a little look at what I created—and how I grew.

🌱 What I created:

  • 6 full 6×8 layouts using gentle colors like Wild Wheat, Bubble Bath, and Lost Lagoon
  • 12 journaling cards with single sentences that helped me process emotions
  • 5 handmade cards I sent to friends as part of our Happy Mail challenge
  • A “Roots & Wings” layout using the Thoughtful Journey DSP to honor my mother
  • A creative ritual I’ve now added every Sunday: light a candle, shuffle some scraps, and make just one thing—no pressure

💬 What surprised me:

  • How calming repetitive stamping can be when I don’t overthink it
  • That I actually loved using florals—especially sunflowers and daisies
  • How connected I felt sharing my journey inside the VIP group
  • That documenting the small wins made me feel big joy

Reflection from my journal:
“Creativity didn’t save me this month—but it made space for me. It reminded me that I am still growing, even when I feel stuck.”

🌸 What I’m proud of:

  • Showing up, even on days when my energy was low
  • Giving just as much to myself as I gave to others
  • Using my art to process my feelings instead of bottling them
  • Helping others tell their stories by sharing mine

You don’t need a gallery of perfect projects to call yourself creative. If you made one thing with your heart this month—you bloomed.

➡️ Now it’s your turn:

  • Take 5 minutes today to reflect on your May. What did you make? What did you feel? What are you proud of?
  • Post a photo of your favorite May project using #MyCreativeMay and tag @gemspaperscissors
  • Want to keep your momentum going into June? Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for gentle inspiration all month long
  • Grab the Bloom Tracker and color in the petals you’ve filled with intention, creativity, and care