Hi friends, Penny here! I’m kicking off 2026 with my One Little Word® (OLW): NURTURE and the brand new Traci Reed Designs Story Foundations collection, and I’m thrilled to share how the two are working together on my pages.

I’ve been choosing a word since 2011, and each one has quietly shaped how I live and how I tell our stories. This year, NURTURE feels like an invitation to take loving, consistent care of what already matters most: our home, my people, my creativity, and the everyday life we’re living right now.

Story Foundations is the perfect companion for that kind of long-game project. Each chapter will focus on a different pillar of life (routines, relationships, celebrations, for example), so you can come back to it all year without feeling locked into a daily or weekly format, or a thematic or topical collection.

For this post, I’m sharing the first two layouts for my 2026 OLW project, and the monthly prompts I’ll be using to carry NURTURE through the whole year.

Layout One: NURTURE

My opening layout is all about introducing the word and giving it a visual home.

Across the top half of the page, I created a bold sunburst from Story Foundations papers: typewriters, “today” scripts, hearts, arrows, and pens all radiating outward. It gives the whole layout a feeling of energy and movement, like the year is stretching out in front of me.

Along the bottom, I paired:

• A wide sunset photo of our street

• A soft pink card that reads “Slowing down to appreciate this life we created”

• A large NURTURE title in soft watercolor letters

• A full block of journaling about my history with One Little Word and why this word chose me for 2026

It feels like an opening chapter: hopeful, grounded in home, and honest about the season I’m in.

Layout Two: Life Right Now (Routines)

For my second layout, I moved from big-picture intention into what life actually looks like inside our home using Story Foundations: Chapter One – Routines.

I documented:

• Morning light in the scrap room, mid-project

• A cozy Law & Order evening in the living room

• My two French Bulldogs underfoot in the craft room, my everyday companions

The top half of the page combines star-patterned paper, stitched edges, layered banners, two small photos, and a big dimensional “LIFE” title. The lower half features a grounded photo block anchored by the “documenting the RHYTHMS of life right now” card, framed with plaid, blue woodgrain, stitching, and a little illustrated open book.

Together, these pages show exactly what Story Foundations was made for: one layout capturing the heart of the word, and another capturing the quiet rhythm of how we’re living it at home.

A Year of NURTURE: Intro + Monthly Prompts

To keep NURTURE present all year (and not just in January!), I mapped out, with the assistance of ChatGPT, an intro plus 12 simple story prompts that I’ll work through over the year, exploring my word and using Story Foundations. You can easily swap in your own word if you’re playing along.

Intro – Meeting the Word

What does “nurture” mean to me in this season of life? Why this word, right now?

Monthly Prompts

January – Nurturing Home & Rhythms
The routines, rooms, and daily patterns that make our house feel like home.
February – Nurturing Myself
Gentle ways I’m caring for my body, mind, and spirit.
March – Nurturing Story
How I’m photographing, journaling, and scrapbooking so our stories are seen and remembered.
April – Nurturing Growth
Where I’m learning, stretching, or slowly changing.
May – Nurturing Relationships
The people I’m showing up for, and who are showing up for me.
June – Nurturing Joy
Little things bringing lightness, fun, and delight in this season.
July – Nurturing Balance
Finding a kinder pace between caring for others and caring for myself.
August – Nurturing Creativity
Time at the scrap desk, classes, projects, and creative play.
September – Nurturing Resilience
Small choices that help me keep going through challenge or change.
October – Nurturing Memory
The moments I most want to preserve and protect in our family story.
November – Nurturing Gratitude
The long-term results of steady care: relationships, home, health, and more.
December – Looking Back, Carrying Forward
How nurturing has shaped my year and what I’ll carry with me into the next one.

Why Story Foundations Makes This Easy

What I love most about Story Foundations is its flexibility. You don’t have to document on a schedule, have the whole year mapped out, or work with limited elements that may not meld with your story. You can:

Work at your own pace
Mix in photos from different weeks or months
Pair Story Foundations with other Traci Reed collections (like Bookish, Make Merry, etc.)
Let your word of the year quietly guide which stories you choose

For me, NURTURE will be the thread that runs through 2026, and Story Foundations will be the visual toolkit that helps me tell those stories, one layout, one small prompt, and one moment at a time. I am excited about documenting life in this season.

xoxo,

Penny