Welcome to my very first Art & Soul post! These posts will be where I share the creative projects I’ve been working on. Ideas that bring a little calm and joy to my days. I try to do something creative each day, not to make something perfect, but because it’s a mindful way to slow down and find a bit of peace. My hope is that Art & Soul posts inspire you to be creative in ways that are simple, affordable, and fun.

Time to Dream
For the past few years, I haven’t looked too far into the future.
My focus was day to day, sometimes only hour to hour, shaped by what my body and brain could manage living with FND. Dreaming, planning, and setting personal goals felt distant. So, sitting down to create a 2026 Bingo card felt like an important step in my healing.
It was the first time in a long time that I allowed myself to look ahead and create goals. I chose goals that felt achievable, alongside a few bigger ones to push myself a little. Turning them into a bingo card makes the process fun and creative.

Creating Together
What made this even more special was that I didn’t do it alone. I sat down with Little T, Mr. L, my niece, and my husband, and we all chose our own personal goals. I loved watching my kids come up with their own goals, and it showed me what they are passionate about and what means most to them. Some of our goals are shared (things like going on a family holiday or going camping), which means we’ll get to mark those squares off together. I’ll hang my bingo card on the wall in my room as a reminder of what I want to achieve, and as a visible record of what I have accomplished.

Letting Go of Perfection
My niece and I used watercolour paints for our cards, which immediately required us to let go of perfection. The paint smudged a little. The lines weren’t crisp. My niece was growing frustrated that hers wasn’t turning out ‘perfect’, and I reminded her, life isn’t perfect either.
I encouraged her to let go of the need for it to look perfect and to embrace the artiness of it. The imperfections were a reminder that life doesn’t always go to plan, but we can choose to see it as a failure and mistake, or a learning and growth.
If you don’t think you have the time or patience for watercolour, you can use pens, pencils, whatever medium suits you best. You could even design one on Canva and print it out instead.

How to Choose 25 Goals
25 goals sound like a lot. When I said this number to my family, they all looked at me like I was crazy, but they were surprised at how easy they came up with their goals. The 25 goals on my card are a mix of connecting with family and friends, my faith, being creative, personal time and wellbeing, and some fun too.
I intentionally included some goals I know will be easy to achieve, because we need to celebrate the smaller wins that happen on our way to achieving our big ones. They help us keep going.

Punch Cards & Small Steps
Alongside the bingo card, I also created punch cards. The idea came from scrolling TikTok, but I loved how they break bigger goals into smaller, achievable steps. Also, once a punch card is completed, there’s a little reward written at the bottom to reward myself.

Reflection Over Perfection
Not only does the bingo card give me goals to work towards all year, it also gives me something to reflect on when the year comes to an end.
Why I completed some goals.
Why others weren’t achievable.
What I enjoyed.
What I didn’t.
It’s important to give yourself grace for the goals you don’t complete. Life has a way of throwing us curveballs, and unfinished squares don’t mean failure. They offer a space for growth and learning.

Get Creating
I invite you to create a 2026 Bingo card for yourself. In the PDF download below, I’ve given you some prompt questions you can ask yourself when coming up with goals. I’ve also added some goal suggestions and reward ideas for punch cards.

Scroll down to see our finished 2026 Bingo cards and punch cards.

Happy Creating!
Linda x