If you have ever watched Jessica Michaels work, you know she has a gift for seeing exactly what a paper is asking for – and this month, the May 2026 Main Kit patterned paper spoke to her loud and clear. The moment she spotted that bicycle design, she knew it needed to be hand stitched, and she ran with it. Jessica created the most beautiful travel notebook spread documenting her daughter’s little bike adventures at the campground, and she used the May 2026 Main Kit, May 2026 Embellishment Kit, and a sweet fussy cut accent from the May 2026 Pocket Life Kit to bring the whole thing to life.
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Her travel notebook is a LifeCrafted album by Citrus Twist Kits, a binder-style album she comes back to again and again because of how well it holds up over time. This project is a lovely mix of handmade texture through stitching, sweet personal photos, and all the layered embellishment goodness that makes scrapbooking so satisfying. If you have been on the fence about hand stitching, let Jessica be the one to convince you – she walks you through every step, and trust us, it is completely worth the extra time.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Cut Patterned Paper to Fit Your Notebook
Start by selecting the bicycle design paper from the May 2026 Main Kit and cutting it down into two pieces sized for your travel notebook. Jessica cut one piece to fit inside a page protector and one slightly wider piece for the outside page, which needed a little extra width to show off the full bicycle graphic. Getting those sizes right at this stage makes everything else fall into place more easily.
Step 2: Poke Holes for Hand Stitching
Place your patterned paper on top of a foam mat and use a brad tool to poke holes along the design lines you want to stitch. Jessica followed the lines and curves of the bicycle graphic, working methodically across the image. The foam mat underneath is key – it gives the tool something to push into and keeps your holes clean and even so the stitching lays flat.
Step 3: Hand Stitch with Coordinating Thread Colors
Thread your needle and begin stitching through the holes using coordinating thread colors pulled from the kit’s color palette. Jessica ran multiple colors across the design, following the lines of the bicycle paper, and the finished result is a richly textured spread that no stamp or sticker can replicate. It does take time, but as Jessica puts it, it is always worth it once you see how it comes together.
Step 4: Fussy Cut Your Pocket Life Kit Accent and Prep Photos
Pull out the May 2026 Pocket Life Kit and fussy cut one of the illustrated accent elements to use as a layering piece beneath your photos on the right side. Jessica also printed three photos slightly smaller on her Canon selfie printer to fit the spread nicely. For one photo, she used a corner rounder to round one corner so it would echo the curved lines flowing through the bicycle paper – a small detail that quietly ties the whole layout together.
Step 5: Punch Binder Holes and Add Paper Reinforcements
Because the right-side page sits outside the page protector to accommodate the full bicycle design, it needs binder holes punched in. Jessica used her We Are Memory Keepers hole punch to create the holes, then cut small circles from a coordinating Pocket Life Kit paper to use as reinforcement layers over each hole. It gives the page a finished, intentional look rather than bare punched circles.
Step 6: Place the Foam Title and Layer in Embellishments
Open up the May 2026 Embellishment Kit and start building your cluster. Jessica anchored the left side of her spread with the foam “the good life” title, then layered in leafy bits with gold detailing, small flowers from the ephemera diecut pack, and little tabs along the tops of her photos. Before adhering any flowers, gently curl or lift their edges slightly to give them a dimensional, three-dimensional look that adds depth to the cluster.
Step 7: Stamp Phrases and Layer Across the Spread
Using stamp sets from previous Hip Kit Club kits and coordinating ink colors, begin stamping adventurous words and phrases across the spread to fill in the layout with personality. Jessica mixed and matched from two different stamp sets, layering them in as she went. If a stamp slips and lands a little off, just overlap it with a second impression to create an intentional grunge effect – Jessica did exactly that with her “let’s wander” stamp and it looks like it was always part of the plan.
Step 8: Add Ribbon to Your Tag and Call It Done
Thread a piece of ribbon or twine through a small tag and tuck it into the side of your album so it peeks out from the binding when the book is closed. Jessica loves this little finishing touch because it adds a charming detail you can see even without opening the album. At this point, trust yourself that the spread is complete, leave that top right corner as your intentional white space, and step back to enjoy the finished layout.
Products Used in This Tutorial
About the Designer
Jessica Michaels
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