Ali Edwards's Blog, page 108
September 17, 2020
Project Life® 2018 | Week 52
Wrapping up my 2018 Project Life album with one more holiday-filled spread using products from the 2019 December Daily® collection.
You can see a walk-through of the first half of my 2018 album here and I'll share a video walkthrough of the second half here on my blog soon. For those of you who are Story Kit subscribers I plan to look back through my past weekly Project Life albums and see what holes I have in my documenting in order to continue including this format in my monthly process videos that come with the subsection.
Here's a look at how I told the story of this week:
For Week 52 I loved using the 3x4 tags from last year's December Daily® collection (a new version is available for 2020 here). A digital version of the same tags I used can be found here. I love how they look across the spread!
I used the large cork "remember all the love" sentiment on top of a trimmed tag as my title card.
In order to allow the ribbons to be up above the tags on the left side of the page I used a craft knife to slice through the page protector in order to create space for the ribbon to come through. I love how that turned out even if I accidentally cut too close on one edge (a staple is holding it together right now).
I also added some of the chipboard banners to my 4 inch x 6 inch photos as well as other star embellishments.
I also had fun cutting up a couple photos and adhering them onto the tags and adding the gold puffy stars to create a pattern.
Here's a look at how this all came together:
SUPPLIESProject Life Design A Page Protectors
December Daily® 2019 Dimensional Bundle (cork + glitter banners)
Ribbons
December Daily® 2019 4x6 Shipping Tags
Metal Star Brads
Tiny Attacher Stapler
September 16, 2020
AE Creative Team | October 2020 Stories by the Month™ Physical Kit
Stories of Autumn. Stories of October fun. Stories of captured delights. Today we are delighted to share some creative inspiration from our awesome Creative Team using the October 2020 Stories By The Month™ Physical Kit.
There are so many storytelling possibilities in this little pouch of products. As always, we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!
September 15, 2020
Project Life® 2018 | Week 51
This past weekend I decided to go through my leftover products from December Daily® 2019 and use some of the them to finish up my weekly Project Life spreads from 2018. I loved getting out and cleaning out my red wood box (see the video for more), using up some more of the products, and getting it ready for my 2020 storytelling.
It's never too late to tell your stories.
Also, we've added some past products to the December Daily® box product options in order for you to take advantage of the box shipping special. You can see what's available for the Box Order Period here.
Here's a look at how I documented our week:
As most of you know, during December my memory keeping focuses on creating a December Daily® album. In past years when I was doing weekly Project Life (I'm doing it monthly now) I most often left my weekly spreads for December blank as I worked on my December Daily® album. It was super fun to finish up these last two weeks of 2018 using products from last year.
For this spread I decided to use journal cards from the 2019 December Daily® Main Kit as a unifying element across the spread. In addition to those cards I also added a couple tags, puffy stars, and one of the large transparent pieces into the 3x4 pockets.
It was also fun to include a few things from the 2019 Advent Calendar (puffy wreath, gold glitter stars, etc).
On each of my 4x6 photos I created an embellishment cluster that included a die cut paper star, a gold puffy star, and a chipboard word/phrase sticker on top. This is a simple way to add consistency throughout your spread and minimize the number of choices you need to make when telling your stories.
Here's a video overview of the process:
Project Life Design A Page Protectors
December Daily® Main Kit 2019
December Daily® 2019 Puffy Sticker Bundle
December Daily® 2019 Chipboard Bundle 2
December Daily® 2019 Die Cut Bundle
December Daily® 2019 4x6 Shipping Tags
Red + White Twine
September 14, 2020
Project Life® 2020 | July
Decided to go simple with my July documenting in my 2020 Project Life album.
As I was working on this project I was thinking a lot about how I'm currently loving this project as a way to capture pieces of the month. It's totally not a record of everything we did, but an overview. Right now an overview is feeling just fine.
Here's a look at how it came together in my album:
This month I decided to go directly to my Instagram account and copy + paste text from some of my longer posts. I pasted the text onto digital journal cards that I adjusted in Photoshop before printing. On some of the cards I added some messy stamping using stamps from the July Stories By The Month kit.
In July I participated in Everyday Explorers Co. Positivity Passport Challenge. I decided to simply write down one good thing that happened each day within the notebook using a brush pen. It came in a little clear pocket and I used a Power Punch to punch holes so I could add it to my album.
It was really fun for me to do a words-only project for the month.
My second insert for July included two full page photos printed at 8.5 inch x 11 inch. One is a photo of Anna from one of our adventures - on top I added one of the chipboard pieces from the July Stories By The Month kit. Along the edge I added an Avery Index Tab.
On the other side I paired a photo with some journaling on a 8.5 inch x 11 inch canvas. I used a couple digital word art pieces from the 2020 July Stories By The Month Digital Kit.
Here's a look at the spread without the inserts:
On the "July Memories" card I repeat stamped "so darn fun" to add a little "something" to the card. On top I added a word/phrase sticker that says "embracing imperfection." I added a couple more chipboard shapes onto a couple photos on the second page of the spread.
Here's a look at how this month came together:
9x12 Album
9x12 Page Protectors
Positivity Passport from Everyday Explorers
Epson XP15000 Printer
Epson PictureMate PM400 Printer
July Stories By The Month Kit (digital version available here)
Rolling Date Stamp
Black StazOn Ink
Avery Index Tab
Brush Pen
Power Punch
September 13, 2020
Mornings Story Kit + October 2020 Stories By The Month
This month we are focusing on stories related to the theme of
Mornings.
Here are a few thoughts about this particular theme:
Our days are made up of mornings and evenings - the daily cycle of wake and rest (with a whole lot of other life thrown in the middle). Let’s document some of those specific morning and evening stories of today and yesterday - the way things are and the way things were at other times in your life. No day like today.
Initial story ideas for this theme include:
The
Story Kit™ includes:
Here's a video overview of the
Story Kit™ and Add-On options this month:
The
Stamp Set:
Here's a video overview of the Story Stamp:
DIGITAL STORY KIT™ (Included with the STORY CLASS)
Your digital kit and the classroom and any Add-Ons purchased will be available to you on the 15th once your card has been charged for the month.
Here's a look at what's included in the Digital Story Kit™:
And a couple peeks at the layouts I created with the kits this month in addition to the one featured at the top of this post (
full details, including process videos and how-to handout, are included with subscription):
Again, thanks so much for subscribing and/or considering my
Story Subscription program! If you have any questions about this program please let me know below in the comments.
Stories By The Month™ kits include 4x6 chipboard, 3x4 and 4x6 cards, a 3x4 stamp, a sticker sheet, and an embellishment (wood veneer, cork, etc). Stories By The Month™ Kits are all based on the designs we offered digitally each month throughout 2019.
Here is a full look at the kit:
And a video overview:
This subscription is a great option for those who are looking to tell more calendar/everyday life sorts of stories.
Add On options are available to all Story Kit™, Story Stamp™, and Stories By The Month™ subscribers
(this excludes Digital Story Kit/Story Class subscribers since you don't have any part of your subscription shipped already). Please note that the Crafters Ink pad option will only be available to Story Stamp™ subscribers.
Current and new subscribers can select + purchase Add-On's via your new drop-down menu access under your user name in the top right corner of the site.
Depending on product availability subscribers may be able to purchase the Add-On's after the Add-On period has ended and regular shop shipping rates will apply because they will ship separately from the kit.
September 11, 2020
AE Creative Team | TRANSITIONS Story Kit™
Happy Friday friends! This past month we have been telling stories about transition, change and the lessons we have learned in the process. And today we are delighted to share with you the projects that our Creative Team made using the TRANSITIONS Story Kit™.
And as a reminder, tomorrow, Saturday September 12th, is the last day to subscribe and receive the TRANSITIONS-themed products.
As always, we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!
September 10, 2020
For The Love Of Books | July + August 2020
My reading pace has slowed way down again and I'm honestly just rolling with it.
Also a quick heads up that I'm shifting linking the books I'm reading from Amazon to Bookshop.org which supports local book stores. You can see a visual list of everything I've read so far in 2020 here.
Here's what I read (and in one case listened to) in July + August:
Untamed by Glennon Doyle // Listened to this one via Audible. What I loved about this book is how she writes - so much inspiration for how we write our own narratives as memory keepers. So many takeaways for me within this book.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi // This is the only book I read in July and it was so, so good. Highest of recommendations for this multi-generation, multi-narrator family story. She just published a new book that arrived last week and I'm really looking forward to diving into it soon.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager // Quick + super creepy read (found this to be creepier than others by this author).
The Last Flight by Julie Clark // Super quick read. Enjoyed it + wanted to know what was going to happen.
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai // Finished this one yesterday and it’s both brutal + so very beautiful. I think I first read about The Mountains Sing in the New York Times or our local paper and something in the review compelled me to get it. This book opened my eyes + my heart to life in Vietnam in the 20th century and invited me to consider perspectives I honestly hadn't thought through previously - which, as always, is why reading + storytelling is so important. It’s the authors first novel in English (she learned English in 8th grade and has written other fiction + poetry in Vietnamese) and this historical fiction combines pieces of her own story with others she interviewed. @nguyenphanquemai_writes that this is her “desperate plea for peace and for humans to love other human beings more.” Thank you so much for sharing this multi-generational story and for giving me the gift of seeing the world via a different lens.
Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao // Tough subject matter (actually subjects as there are a lot of really hard things that happen to the two women). Beautiful writing. I knew very little about this book going into it (received as part of a Pantsuit Politics seasonal book club) and I’m glad that I didn’t know much at all. A really good book if you are looking to deepen your empath + understanding of our world.
September 9, 2020
Day In The Life™ 2020 | September Documenting Day
Mark your calendar for our second + final Day In The Life™ documenting day on Friday, September 25th.
I'll be using products from the 2020 Day In The Life™ collection and using the lens of "thankful for" to document my day. Check out the 2020 Kit + album along with a few other shop products to go along with this project.
Check out how I told my stories from the first documenting day from earlier this year here.
September 8, 2020
December Daily® 2019 | Completed Album
As we move into December Daily® season for 2020 I wanted to share a full walkthrough of my completed 2019 album.
I loved using the 4x6 last year and loved working primarily outside of the page protectors (I'll be doing that a bunch in my 6x8 album for 2020 as well).
Check out the 2020 December Daily® Collection here.
Also, if you need inspiration for finishing up your own past December Daily® album you can follow the hashtag #donebydecember on Instagram as members of my Creative Team share how they are working on finishing up their December Daily® projects from past years. You are not alone if you have unfinished projects and we are here to help you get your stories told!
September 4, 2020
Hindsight Is 2020 Freebie With Tazhi + Krystal
Today I'm excited to welcome Creative Team Members Tazhiana Gordon + Krystal Iduante as they each share a project they made with a freebie word art set you can download below.
Each Friday Krystal + Tazhi and a group of like-minded memory keepers have been sharing projects they create + stories they tell using past Story Kit products on Instagram. They've named it Story Kit Crush and there's an awesome hashtag that you can follow on Instagram to see all their past projects: #storykitcrush.
Krystal asked me a big ago back if we had any word art that said "Hindsight is 2020" because she wanted to create a project documenting "what the year is teaching me" to use in conjunction with the kit they are crushing this month: Learn. I loved the idea so I made up a freebie word art file for those of you who might want to follow their lead and document what the year has been teaching you. Prdo
Download the Hindsight Is 2020 word art here.
Both Tazhi + Krystal have awesome YouTube channels where they share tutorials and projects. Check out Tazhi's YouTube here and check out Krystal's here.
Here's Tazhi's project:
Tazhi's sharing a tutorial on her channel today that shows how she created this awesome rainbow effect by blending distress oxide inks from Tim Holtz/Ranger on top.
And here's Krystal's project:
I am so thankful to both these women for the personal stories they share and they way they show others how to use the products we create. They teach me cool stuff all the time and I'm so, so grateful.
