Happy 2026! I hope you had a wonderful New Years Eve. My family had a lovely dinner together and it was cozy and peaceful- just what we all needed to start off another year. I am always excited about the start to a new year. I love the idea of a fresh, clean slate and creating brand new goals and dreams.

I have not always loved the beginning of the year. I used to dread January. The after Christmas blues really took a toll on me. However, over the years I’ve learned that January doesn’t have to feel cold and sad after the holidays. It can be a gentle reset if we are intentional about how we enter into this month. Even though all of the holiday decor is down and it is one of the darkest and coldest months here in Ohio, it can still be cozy and magical. Here are just a couple of ideas that have helped me transition into January recently. Let me know what you think and also I would love to hear how you like to transition into a fresh new year.

Give your home a refresh

One of my favorite January rituals is to buy some fresh flowers or greenery to sprinkle throughout my home. When the Christmas decorations comes down, I always feel a bit sad. I just love the twinkly lights and magical vibe of December. One way that helps make my home feel peaceful again is to buy fresh flowers and greenery to fill the space where the decorations used to to be. I love going to our local grocery store to pick up some eucalyptus and white hydrangeas if available. I also bought some really realistic faux white tulips from amazon last year that have been a great decor hack especially since tulips don’t last too long and these last forever! I love putting my flowers and greenery into beautiful vases. Last year I even bought an orchid and I just loved seeing its pretty blooms throughout January. Something about bringing nature into your home really makes things feel fresh and beautiful.

Another thing I love to do is to bring in a comforting new winter or even spring scent to fresh up my space. I love evergreen candles for January and February and a lemon candle for the spring. My mom just gave me this candle warmer for Christmas and I am in love with the soft warm glow it gives off and how it creates a lovely scent with my candles without an open flame. It even has a timer!

Obviously I think changing up your art or pillows can be a fun way to refresh your home also. You don’t even have to buy anything- just moving things around your home is a great way to make things different and I love to do this especially when the Christmas decorations come down. I feel like I have so much more room and I love to change things up!

Adding fresh white hydrangeas flowers throughout my home in January is one major way to refresh and make me not so sad when the Christmas tree comes down.

Adding a fun new tablecloth and some fresh flowers really makes my home feel refreshed and ready for a new year. These flowers are actually faux from Amazon!

An Inspiration Board

Every January I feel an intense need to do a reset with my life and reflect and think about what went well last year and what I would like to change for the new year. I love praying and setting goals with God, making collages filled with colors, patterns and ideas that inspire me to hang in my art studio and basically just thinking about how I want the upcoming year to go. I call this my Inspiration Board. Some people call it a vision board- whatever you want it to be! All you need are some fun magazines/ catalogs (tip: check your local library, often they have magazines they are getting rid of once they are a couple months old.) You will also need some scissors, glue/tape and paper. I go through the magazines and cut out any colors, words, patterns, anything that I find visually appealing and tape it to my paper. It is really interesting the patterns that emerge. You will be surprised to what you are drawn to and what your mind is interested by. Do not overthink this process, just cut out anything that speaks to you! This is part of the creative process of figuring out your style and what excites you!

Below is part of an inspiration board from a year ago when I first started adding lots of greens to my blues and whites. It later determined the color scheme for an entire series which was fun to see evolve. The inspiration boards are awesome to visually see what is inspiring you at this point in your life and will motivate you to work towards what is on the boards especially if you post it somewhere that you will often look at it. I keep mine in my studio so I can use it as constant inspiration. Such a fun tradition I look forward to doing each year.

One of my inspiration boards I created inside of a small sketchbook.

A Fun New Challenge

January is the PERFECT month to start a challenge for something you have been wanting to do. I started my daily painting challenge back in 2017 and I have been painting ever since. This year I plan on painting daily in my sketchbook for January 2026. Last year I did a July portrait challenge in my sketchbook. You could use this goal for anything you are interested in such as writing, playing an instrument, reading, working out, etc. You could start small with a week or month challenge and then keep going if you want. The key to keeping the momentum is show up to your challenge even if it is for just 10 minutes. Some days you might have an hour, some days 20 minutes and there will be days when even 5 minutes is all you can do. That is ok, just keep going and showing up! You will feel amazing when you show up each day and you can see your progress. One of my favorite things to do is look through my old sketchbooks and see all of the paintings I have created over the years.

Starting year 9 in my sketchbook for my daily painting challenge.

I hope some of these ideas have you excited for January. I would love to know what you do to make January fun and magical. I am trying to find the beauty and wonder in every season especially as I get older I see how time is very precious and I never want to rush away time. So here is to entering 2026 with intention and with creating the life that excites you! Have a lovely start to the year!

xoxo

Michelle