Ali Edwards's Blog, page 11
February 12, 2025
Alphas Are Awesome 23 | Project Idea
Earlier this week we released a new Alphas Are Awesome stamp set (#23).
Today I'm sharing a look at a page that I put together using this new set where I'm letting the typography be the main design element.
Here's a quick video of how my project came together:
The number stamp + journaling cards will show up in an upcoming Project Life® spread.
This project is going into my 2025 story album using a 10x8 album.
Alphas Are Awesome 23Storyteller Kit 01 (Fun)Micron Pen (.05)Rolling Date StampSewing Machine6 Hole Punch Amazon Storefront (printers, papers, etc)
February 11, 2025
Stamps Are Fun 02 | Ali's Projects
Today I'm sharing a closer look at a couple projects I made while playing with the new Stamps Are Fun 02.
Let's dive right into the video:
Here's the first project:
For this one I wanted to play around with the idea of using one of the stamps to create a pattern on top of a pattern paper. I grabbed one of the patterns from the Storyteller Kit and repeat stamped using "this memory" and staz on ink.
This one will be added to my One Little Word® album.
Stamps Are Fun 02Storyteller Kit 01 (Fun)One Little Word® Canvas BannersVellum Frame from stashBasics from my Amazon Storefront (links to printers, paper, sewing machine, trimmer, etc)
And here's the second project:
For this one I decided to use some of the stamped frames I made last month using Stamps Are Fun 01 (two on vellum and one on cardstock) and combine them with the sentiments from set 02.
I dove into my stash and grabbed a couple 3x8 pattern papers from past kits and stitched them together to create a new page and then stitched a third photo panel (full width is 11 inches). I stitched the stamped shapes onto of the middle panel and adding the "crafting" stamp along with my journaling.
It was so fun diving into my stash for those 3x8 papers - loved merging them together to create panels.
This one will go into my 2025 10x8 stories album (I'm sharing more about that in the Storyteller classroom).
February 10, 2025
New Releases | February 2025
Welcome to a monthly overview post of our available subscriptions this month, including our brand new monthly Stamps Are Fun and a general release of new stamps. Look for a new chapter of Pieces Of Us coming later this month.
The other new subscription we are starting this year is called Stamps Are Fun and features a 6x8 Stamp Set designed by Ali and shipped to you each month.
This subscription does not include class content but will be supported through blog posts sharing ideas for using the stamp sets each month. Some months the stamp set may be aligned with the theme of the Storyteller Kit but mostly they will be a fun, random assortment of words and shapes. This monthly physical stamp subscription includes the digital version of the stamp.
Here's the pricing for this monthly subscription:
$20.99 - 12 month commitment $23.99 - 6 month commitment
$28.99 - month commitment
*Digital version of the stamp is included in subscription price.
Ali will be sharing a process video for these projects tomorrow here on the blog.
Our Stories By The Month kit continues with the this selection of items for March 2025.
This subscription includes 4x6 and 3x4 cards in paper and vellum, chipboard, sticker sheet, and an embellishment. It also includes access to a classroom.
Here's an overview of the kit this month:
If digital is more for you in this season we've got you covered. This subscription includes the digital Stories By The Month kit and access to the SBTM classroom.
This kit is also available to physical Stories By The Month™ kit subscribers as an Add On.
ALPHAS ARE AWESOME | #23
We've got a new Alphas Are Awesome (#23) and this year we are also offering a coordinating 4x6 Numbers Are Awesome set.
Physical kit subscribers can add these to their box for no additional shipping. There are available to Add On (for physical kit subscribers) and are also now available in the shop.
Look for a process video later this week for the project Ali created above.
Here's a look at what's in the current Storyteller Kit.
Details about this kit:
Four kits per year releasing in January, April, July, and October. When you sign up you are committing to the four kits (or however many are left in the year). Includes classroom + content from Ali and contributors that will be spread out over three months. Shipping is $1 domestic + $5 international (same as Story Kits). You can also shop the Add On subscriber section and add to your box during the Add On period for no additional shipping (on the 10th + 11th each month). Physical kit subscribers can add the digital kit for $14.99 during the Add On period. We are unable to offer a "skip" option with our quarterly kits
Here's a video overview of the new kit:
2025 STAMP RELEASE
We have a fun selection of new stamps available as well this month! Physical kit subscribers can add these to their box and have them ship with their kits. These are also now available in the shop (and ship free). Please note the new sweatshirt shown below cannot be added to subscription boxes.
Ali's been working on projects that incorporate some of these stamps. She'll be sharing the process videos that go along with them later this week.
Let's take a look:
GARDEN WALK 6x8 | You might be starting to think about growing some things this year and this stamp set (along with a second gardening one below) will help you document those stories.
CURRENTLY 6x8 | This set is great for journal card titles and sub heads.
LIFE CAPTURED 6x8 | This is a fun set featuring a bunch of our projects along with story love, this week, and this month. Circles measure about 1.75 inches.
LOVE ALWAYS WINS 4x6 | Sentiments of love for the stories of your life.
XO 4x6 | Blocky, chunky shapes for the win! Use these to create embellishments or create bold, fun patterns.
THE GARDEN 4x6 | A second garden set that includes uppercase lettering, -ing words, and a couple outline shapes.
BORDERS 4x6 | 3.5 inch pattern strips that are great for adding to 3x4 cards.
CELEBRATE WE WILL SWEATSHIRT | One of Ali's favorite song lyrics from Dave Matthews Band.
February 7, 2025
In Case You Missed It | February 7
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to the latest
In Case You Missed It. Just a reminder that this is a quick post that will happen every Friday afternoon with all the updates and links that have happened throughout the week. So, let's get to it:
STORYTELLER KIT CLASSROOM UPDATES
Did you know our new quarterly Storyteller Kit subscription will have monthly classroom content? This month Ali shared her content. She has so many beautiful projects and interesting prompts available in the classroom now. Coming up next week (live February 12th) will be our contributor content with projects from Linda, Jen, Denine, and Nolana. Then on March 12th our community sharing will begin. We’ll have more details on how this will be structured later. We’re excited to share that Linda Jordan will be back with live Zoom calls to chat about the kit and story sparks related to this quarter’s theme. New this year, she’ll be joined by a different co-host each quarter! This time the call will take place this Sunday, February 9th at 11am Eastern Standard Time. The lesson with the link and additional information is live. Find it now in the Fun Storyteller classroom.
JANUARY REVEAL
Our January kits are here! Last month we revealed our newest kits and stamps. In addition to our first Storyteller and Stamps Are Fun Kits, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit and the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series. Head to the blog for Ali’s post with all the details about this month’s release.
ONE LITTLE WORD® 2025
It's not too late to join us in the 2025 One Little Word® workshop? We are just getting started and are all on board with letting January be January + taking our time as we begin developing a relationship with our 2025 word. The January prompt is up in the classroom and we'd love to have you join us as we work to make our words visible in our lives. Want to learn more? Since 2006, Ali has been choosing a word to live with each year as an alternative to resolutions. In 2011 she started offering a workshop to help keep our words visible throughout the year with a simple creative prompt each month. We also have a selection of One Little Word® supplies to help support your creative storytelling over the year.
Ali is excited to have @azzarijarrett, @lizelayne, and @lucrecer back with for lots of conversation and community in 2025. Register now for 12 months of inspiration and community support as you make your word visible in your life.
Head to the blog now for Ali's product video and all of the details for this year's collection.
FEBRUARY DIGITALS
The first Friday of every month we have a new digital release available in the shop. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Shop digitals here.
As always, we’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
February 4, 2025
Project Life® 2024 | Week 39
On my project list this year is finishing up my 2024 Project Life album and February is feeling like a good time to focus on filling in the pockets.
For this spread I'm employing one of tried + true design formulas which is using label stickers on my photos and simply adding in a couple journaling cards.
Let's dive in to the video:
Here are some close up images of my spread:
9x12 Page Protectors
Stories By The Month 2024
Label Stickers
Currently Stamp
Pendleton Ink
Tiny Attacher
Uniball Vision Elite Pen
Epson PM400 Printer
Basics via my Amazon Storefront
February 3, 2025
Storyteller Kit 01 | Special Guest Jen Wong
Hi, friends! I’m thrilled to share my first project using the new Fun Storyteller Kit. When I first heard that the theme of the kit was “fun,” I immediately thought about all the fun I have while traveling. I love traveling and have quite a backlog of trips to document. I’m starting a traveler’s notebook to document a trip taken to Hawaii last summer and thought the Fun Storyteller Kit would be perfect for making my first page in the notebook.
Since the kit comes with 7 numbered 3” x 4” journaling cards and this trip was 1 week long, I thought I could tell a story of something fun everyday we were on the trip. I’m starting right in the middle of the trip, on our fourth day where my family and I did a fun hike.
I always take a lot of photos on my travels and one way I like to include multiple photos is through photo collages. I created one on the left side of the page and created a fold-out page on the right, to highlight a large landscape photo.
The left page photo collage is embellished simply with a couple of the die cuts and an orange word phrase sticker from the January SBTM kit.
On the right, I created a pocket where the 3” x 4” journaling card resides. I wanted to tie more of the orange from the card onto my page, so I used the digital version of the beige die cut flower to recolor it orange and adhere it over the pocket.
I digitally created a tab for the top of the page using one of the labels from the kit and “the story” text from one of the story cards.
On the inside of the right page is a large photo which is embellished with one more label and a speech bubble from last year’s June SBTM kit.
You can hear me talk about my decisions and see how I put these pages together in the video below.
I’m excited to continue working with the kit and I can’t see what projects you make with it!
Ali's Junk Journal January 2025
I loved joining in with the first half of @megjournals January Junk Journal challenge. Mine turned out to be more collage/mixed media than what you might think of as "junk" (found papers, etc) but it was SO FUN and a great way for me to dive into a creative project in 2025.
I shared videos of each of these pages on my Instagram account and also wanted to photograph and share them here.
I made my own little journal using watercolor paper for the cover and then a bunch of deli sheets I'd already painted on in the past as the base for my pages. I ran it through the sewing machine to create a binding.
And then I just let myself play using the prompts as the jumping off point.
January 31, 2025
In Case You Missed It | January 31
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to the latest
In Case You Missed It. Just a reminder that this is a quick post that will happen every Friday afternoon with all the updates and links that have happened throughout the week. So, let's get to it:
STORYTELLER KIT CLASSROOM UPDATES
Did you know our new quarterly Storyteller Kit subscription will have monthly classroom content? This month Ali shared her content. She has so many beautiful projects and interesting prompts available in the classroom now. Coming up next month (live February 12th) will be our contributor content with projects from Linda, Jen, Denine, and Nolana. Then on March 12th our community sharing will begin. We’ll have more details on how this will be structured later. We’re excited to share that Linda Jordan will be back with live Zoom calls to chat about the kit and story sparks related to this quarter’s theme. New this year, she’ll be joined by a different co-host each quarter! This time the call will take place on Sunday, February 9th at 11am Eastern Standard Time. The lesson with the link and additional information IS NOT live at the moment, but will be posted soon. In the meantime, mark your calendars!
2025 PRODUCT + PROJECT SCHEDULE COMING SOON
Stay tuned for our updated project + product release schedule for the upcoming year. We love to be able to share this as a way for you to plan, think about what you might want to participate in this year, and simply share some of the things we have coming up to help support + inspire storytelling. Please note that, as you might imagine, any schedule we share is subject to change throughout the year based on a variety of variables.
JANUARY REVEAL
Our January kits are here! It's the Earlier this month we revealed our newest kits and stamps. In addition to our first Storyteller and Stamps Are Fun Kits, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit and the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series. Head to the blog for Ali’s post with all the details about this month’s release.
ONE LITTLE WORD® 2025
It's not too late to join us in the 2025 One Little Word® workshop? We are just getting started and are all on board with letting January be January + taking our time as we begin developing a relationship with our 2025 word. The January prompt is up in the classroom and we'd love to have you join us as we work to make our words visible in our lives. Want to learn more? Since 2006, Ali has been choosing a word to live with each year as an alternative to resolutions. In 2011 she started offering a workshop to help keep our words visible throughout the year with a simple creative prompt each month. We also have a selection of One Little Word® supplies to help support your creative storytelling over the year.
Ali is excited to have @azzarijarrett, @lizelayne, and @lucrecer back with for lots of conversation and community in 2025. Register now for 12 months of inspiration and community support as you make your word visible in your life.
Head to the blog now for Ali's product video and all of the details for this year's collection.
JANUARY DIGITALS
The first Friday of every month we have a new digital release available in the shop. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Shop digitals here.
As always, we’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
January 28, 2025
Storyteller Kit 01 | Special Guest Jill Drangsholt
Hi friends! Jill here. I don't know about you, but I'm loving this new Fun Storyteller kit and the opportunity to dig into it for 3 month. Today's project was inspired by several things Ali did in her lessons that got me excited to make this insert in my 2024 Project Life album for my Alaska cruise last summer. I plan on making a full album for that trip so I just wanted an insert for some of my favorite photos and a few notes.
When Ali showed how she wanted to use those fun 3x4 cards for documenting her upcoming trip, I realized that they would also be perfect homes for photos for a 7 days cruise. And since Ali challenged us to use the small pockets and tags, I decided to pair those with them to hold the journaling.
With 7 cards and 8 pocket cards, I tried to figure out which page protector to use. Then I realized that if I cut the top row off of my favorite Becky Higgins design F page protector, it would leave me with eight 3x4 pockets and 16 total spots for my cards. Perfect!
That's when I had the idea for attaching the colorful fun vellum to the top of the page protector to fill the spot I had just cut off. I loved how Ali combined a transparency and page protector in her album and wanted to try something similar. What I didn't think about until I was midway through the project was that the vellum is a 12x12 and the page protector is actually bigger than that. Oops! So I had to do some problem solving and ended up reattaching part of the page protector that I had cut off (the part with the hole punched in it). It wasn't exactly the look I had intended but it was close enough.
For the little pockets, I attached them to the outside of the page protector so I could easily take the tags in and out. And that made the perfect opportunity to make a see through shaker pocket beneath them. So I looked in my ephemera from the trip and ended up using my hole punch to make my own confetti out of a map I had from Victoria BC. I love how it turned out!
I also pulled out these day of the week strips that I had saved from Week in the Life that made the perfect little heading for the journaling tags.
Check out my process video to see more of how this project came together:
Here are some additional images:
I hope you enjoyed my project! I have more ideas to come with this kit that I am excited to share with you. In the meantime, you can follow along with my other crafting adventures on Instagram (@jill.drangsholt).
January 24, 2025
In Case You Missed It | January 24
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to the latest
In Case You Missed It. Just a reminder that this is a quick post that will happen every Friday afternoon with all the updates and links that have happened throughout the week. So, let's get to it:
2025 PRODUCT + PROJECT SCHEDULE COMING SOON
Stay tuned for our updated project + product release schedule for the upcoming year. We love to be able to share this as a way for you to plan, think about what you might want to participate in this year, and simply share some of the things we have coming up to help support + inspire storytelling. Please note that, as you might imagine, any schedule we share is subject to change throughout the year based on a variety of variables.
JANUARY REVEAL
Our January kits are here! It's the Earlier this month we revealed our newest kits and stamps. In addition to our first Storyteller and Stamps Are Fun Kits, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit and the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series. Head to the blog for Ali’s post with all the details about this month’s release.
ONE LITTLE WORD® 2025
It's not too late to join us in the 2025 One Little Word® workshop? We are just getting started and are all on board with letting January be January + taking our time as we begin developing a relationship with our 2025 word. The January prompt is up in the classroom and we'd love to have you join us as we work to make our words visible in our lives. Want to learn more? Since 2006, Ali has been choosing a word to live with each year as an alternative to resolutions. In 2011 she started offering a workshop to help keep our words visible throughout the year with a simple creative prompt each month. We also have a selection of One Little Word® supplies to help support your creative storytelling over the year.
Ali is excited to have @azzarijarrett, @lizelayne, and @lucrecer back with for lots of conversation and community in 2025. Register now for 12 months of inspiration and community support as you make your word visible in your life.
Head to the blog now for Ali's product video and all of the details for this year's collection.
JANUARY DIGITALS
The first Friday of every month we have a new digital release available in the shop. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Shop digitals here.
As always, we’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
