Ali Edwards's Blog, page 124
October 10, 2019
AE Creative Team | FAMILY Story Kit™
This month's story theme is all about family, and as always, our Creative Team has created really special, heartfelt projects to tell their stories. And just as a reminder, Saturday, October 12th, is the last day to subscribe to the Story Kit™ and receive the FAMILY theme.
As always, we are so grateful to our awesome team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!
October 7, 2019
Project Life® 2019 | September
I've got a busy month coming up working on December Daily® projects (foundation pages + Product Play 3 content) + Wellness Story participation so I took some time today to get our September story told in my Project Life® album.
In looking back at my September photos what I saw was simply and obviously a return to our regular routines. I decided to focus on that as I selected, printed and told the story of our month.
Here's a look at how I brought it all together:
For September I decided to include one 6x12 full page insert and then one full page 9x12 photo at the end.
When selecting photos - I feel like I took less in September - I picked ones specifically that showed more rather than less of us generally (meaning groups of people). I wanted to show how "everyday" life for us is back to the way it is for the majority of the year. Along with those photos I also wanted to include photos of each of the kids individually and mark what grade they were starting.
After printing my 3x4 photos for the first part of the story I grabbed one of the 4x6 cards from the September Stories By The Month™ Kit and decided to cut it up and use the shapes on top of my photos.
After cutting out those shapes I added the one with the text on it to the top of one of the 3x4 cards using foam dots. Above that I added one of the half-circle chipboard pieces.
Next I took those pieces I cut from the 4x6 card and arranged them on top of my 3x4 photos.
After adhering those down I used the "September details" stamp from the kit and added that to the top of each of the shapes cut from the 4x6 card. I also used added a silver mini brad to each of the journaling shapes.
For my 6x12 insert I printed one photo of each kid and then created the grade circles in Photoshop. This photo collage was put together in Photoshop and then printed out all at once to fit into the full page 6x12 page protector. I printed and punched out the circles using a 1 inch circle punch and adhered them with foam dots.
I saved my "back to regular routines" custom word art (png + jpg) and have it for you to download here.
The second part of my story this month includes two enlarged photos. One showing Ernie snuggling in his fuzzy bed with text printed on top and the other a photo of Simon taking photos of Anna out on the trampoline. On top of each I punched 3x4 cards to create circles and paired them with chipboard and sticker circles.
The font I used here is called Blackout. I used a 2 inch circle punch to cut the "today was a lovely day" from the 3x4 card.
I used a 1.5 inch circle punch to punch this circle design from another of the 3x4 cards and paired it with two of the chipboard circles.
Generally I include a process video but that didn't work out as planned this month. I hope to have one with my post for you again next month.
SUPPLIES9x12 Album (we hope to have more of these in-stock mid-late October)
9x12 Page Protectors
6x12 Page Protector
September 2019 Stories By The Month™ Kit (digital version available here) : details on subscribing here
Avery Index Tabs
Foam Adhesive Squares
StazOn Ink
Power Punch
Epson PictureMate PM400 Printer (for 3x4 photos)
Epson XP15000 (for enlargements)1 Inch Circle Punch1.5 Inch Circle Punch2 Inch Circle Punch
October 2, 2019
My Current Printers 2019
One of the questions I get most often is about what printers I use here at home to print my photos and digital products and journaling.
The number one reason I print at home is convenience. I often work last minute with unique sizes and want/need to be able to put projects together at random times without having to think/plan ahead and order prints. I've been printing at home since I started memory keeping back in 2002 and have had a number of printers over the years. The vast majority of my photos are still looking great in my albums. I know some people worry about longevity and I honestly haven't run into that issue.
If you decide that printing at home isn't for you I recommend Persnickety Prints because they "get" memory keeping and scrapbookers. I'm also a big fan of Artifact Uprising for high-quality photobooks.
I've recently made a couple changes to my printer collection and wanted to give you guys an update on what I'm currently using to print my photos.
In my office right now I have five printers. It is highly unlikely that you need anywhere close to five printers but as this is my business a couple of the printers are laser printers - one small one for black + white for general printing and larger color laser that we use for printing in-person full color workshop handouts. I don't use either of those for memory keeping projects.
In addition to those laser printers I have three ink jet printers that I use for memory keeping.
The new printer I decided to order and test out is an Epson Expression Photo XP15000 (in the image above). This one is replacing my previous oversize printer from Epson (purchased in 2016) that was starting to really struggle (issues related to print quality and the fact that it was HUGE and lived under my desk because it was so big).
Knowing that I wanted/needed a printer that could print up to 13x19 (most often I'm printing 12x12 on that size paper) I went looking online to see what was currently available. I was interested in finding one that was less expensive (my previous one was around $600) and potentially had a smaller overall footprint so I could have it live on my shelves vs. under my desk (which was fine but annoying).
I came across the Epson XP1500 (ink jet) and purchased it from Amazon in July. It's small enough to fit on top of my shelves while still printing up to 13x19 and it is also significantly less expensive ($277). I've been using it for the last few months for printing 8.5x11 (I print images cropped to 6x8 on 8.5x11) and larger and it's been working great. I use Epson 13x19 Glossy Photo Paper for printing the 12x12's and Epson 8.5x11 Glossy Photo Paper for other sizes. This printed has one tray so you can also print 4x6 from it but I use another one when printing that size. If you are looking for a printer to enable you to print larger format I would definitely recommend this one.
I print from my computer wirelessly to this printer and it works great here in my office. I don't print directly from my phone but I assume it would work that way as well.
The second printer I still have here in my office is a Canon Pixma MG7720 (ink jet). It's an older model now with a much higher price point vs. when I originally purchased it a few years ago (now over $500 and originally purchased for less than $200). It's been a good printer that I used regularly for my 8.5x11 printing needs. It does have two trays which is nice if you want to hold multiple paper sizes inside the printer. I believe they have a newer version of this printer available but I'm not sure of the exact model number. I've been super happy with the quality of prints from this printer - the only downside is that it doesn't print larger.
The printer I use for printing all my photos that are 4x6 and smaller is an Epson PictureMate PM400. I've been using this one for a number of years (including the previous model). It is my go-to when printing photos for Project Life. This printer is connected to my computer via a wire but I believe it works wirelessly as well. As mentioned above, I don't print directly from my phone but rather print directly from my computer.
I'm pretty comfortable saying that I would be completely happy with only having the combo of the Epson PictureMate PM400 and the Espon XP-15000. If you only want to have one printer I'd take a close look at the sizes you want to be able to print. If you only print 4x6 and smaller for Project Life then the Epson PictureMate PM400 is an awesome choice. If you want to print a wider variety of sizes I'd go with the Epson XP-15000.
If you want to learn more about working with digital products in paper projects you should check out my online workshop Hybrid.
Read my past "Current Printers" post from 2017 here.
October 1, 2019
For The Love Of Books | What I Read In September 2019
September tends to be a super busy month for me with back to school and December Daily® launch and all the other stuff of life. This month I finished up two books and started a couple others that I haven't yet finished. Totally looking forward to sinking into the fall season and reading by the fireplace whenever possible.
Here's what I read in September:
For my October Book Of The Month I went with The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
COMPLETE LIST OF WHAT I'VE READ IN 2019
JANUARY
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (BOTM / Amazon) | Totally enjoyed this super-fast-to-read thriller. A great way to start out the new year.
There There by Tommy Orange (local book club book for January) | This was a brutal book but an important read in terms of exposing ourselves to different voices - in this case Native Americans. There were lots of places I wished I would have underlined and I might just go back in and read it again for those words. It was a little confusing to follow the characters as it went back and forth - I definitely found myself flipping back to previous chapters to make sure I remembered whose perspective I was reading. Read it.
Verity by Colleen Hoover | Super satisfying thriller. Started it one evening and finished the next morning. Just read it.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith | Finally had a chance to start this series (written by JK Rowling under a pen name) and I totally enjoyed it. Detective mystery that kept me interested.
FEBRUARY
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity In A World Made For Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown | 5 stars. There is nothing else to say besides this: this is an important book that should be read by everyone. Stories matter, especially of those who have been and continue to be marginalized in our society.
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai | 5 stars. I loved this book. I loved the weaving of the two different time periods (1980's during the AIDS crisis in Chicago + 2015) and I loved how the author posed questions about love, friendship, memories, stories (and who gets to tell them), imperfect people (everyone), and the passage of time. It was heartbreaking and rich and beautifully written.
The Winter Sister by Megan Collins (BOTM) | 3 stars. A fast ready but one that was really just "okay" for me. The characters, the story, the whole thing - it was just not quite there. I've read so many better thrillers over the last few years.
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum (BOTM) | 5 stars. Loved it. Go read it. Three generations of Palestinian-American women's stories of daily life, courage, family, expectations, faith, etc. Really enjoyed the storytelling and how it all unfolded. So many times as I turned the page I kept thinking to myself how the stories of these women continue today here in the US and around the world. So, so different than my life experience. This is why I read.
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani | 3.5 stars // Picked it up because it was included in the New York Time's 10 best books of 2018 (others I've read from that list included "There, There" and "The Great Believers" which were both really good). This book was a super quick read - read it over the course of one day - and it was interesting but not awesome. Some pieces felt disjointed - I kept waiting for the author to go deeper into the story.
Maid by Stephanie Land | 3.5 stars. As an advocate for telling your story, I generally appreciate memoirs like this that detail how lives are lived because I believe there are always things to be learned from people's experiences. While reading her story I had a wide variety of thoughts running through my head regarding poverty, single-parenthood (a piece I have lived + was thankful every single day that I had a job to support myself and my children), the way the "system" works, as well as thoughts about people I have interacted with throughout my life. From that standpoint, I'm glad I read it (and it was a super quick read).
MARCH
Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (BOTM) | 3 stars. I found this to be a satisfying thriller. It's totally possible that I wasn't paying close enough attention while I was reading it (meaning I wasn't trying to figure out what was going to happen) but I definitely enjoyed it. Aaron read this on our vacation and also enjoyed it. Definitely good for a beach read.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | 4 stars. Beautiful writing that I definitely think will stay with me for awhile. My local book club read this last month and I missed the meeting because I wanted to read it myself before having a conversation and the early part of my month was just too full to make time.
Daisy Jones + The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | 4 stars. I initially resisted this title as I was thinking I wasn’t interested in a story about rock & roll but people kept talking about it and then my book club picked it and down the path I went. I am so glad I went down that path! I definitely had a hard time remembering that it was fiction. I kept wanting to look up the band online to listen to their music and see their faces and read what had been written about them. That’s basically how well written and clever this book is. Beyond that, I loved the entire format for how she told the story and I loved the themes of love and loss and addiction and honesty and passion. So good. Highly recommended.
Next Year In Havana by Chanel Cleeton | 4 stars. Read this on vacation and loved the imagery. I'll definitely consider reading the new book she's coming out with that tells the story of Beatriz Perez: When We Left Cuba .
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith | 3 stars. This is the second book in the Cormoran Strike series and I didn't like it as much as the first one but it's a solid mystery with characters returning and their stories continuing. I like reading these ones on my Kindle on vacation. I'll definitely keep reading the series.
APRIL
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (BOTM) | 3 stars. I really struggled with this book and I think it's probably just a personal problem with some of the subject matter surrounding autism. It's hard for me to articulate but I generally don't select books talking about Mom's + kids on the spectrum because it's already part of my daily life (and has been ever since my son was 2.5 years old). With this book I just kept having mixed feelings - about the characters, about the plot, about people trying to "fix" autistic people, etc. I'd be interested in hearing what other parents with kids on the spectrum felt about this one.
All The You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr (BOTM) | 4 stars. I really, really liked this one. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I appreciate real life stories, but this one has really struck me for a particular reason: we live in an era where content/source material for our personal stories are able to be gathered via email and text and social media messages. Voices live on in their own words - similar to written letters of the past but also different (more immediate I guess). In this book I love reading David Carr’s words of encouragement to his daughter as she navigates early adulthood and addiction - he had a way with words that has me underlining and nodding and reflecting on my own life and relationships. So good.
Lost And Wanted by Nell Fredenberger (BOTM) | 3.5 stars. I read this one while traveling and actually enjoyed the science mixed in with the story. I feel like I learned a little something about physics that is totally foreign to me and I liked the weaving through the story. I wanted to know how it was going to resolve itself and there were definitely parts that will stick with me.
Wolfpack by Abby Wambach | 5 stars. This is a super quick read based on a commencement address and I loved it. Can't wait to share it with my girls.
MAY
The Valedictorian Of Being Dead by Heather B. Armstrong | 5 stars. I'm going with 5 stars on this one because I think it's such an important read about depression + hope + life. It's Heather's own experience - not a prescription - showing a path she took to get out of a significant depressive episode. It's also a lot about understanding and kindness and asking for help and showing up for people. Really important read.
Boss Up: This Ain't Your Mama's Business Book by Lindsay Teague Moreno | I got to read an advance copy of this one (it's available for preorder now) and it's a fantastic, straight-talking roadmap for getting started and for continuing to evolve and thrive as a woman entrepreneur. Lindsay takes the lessons she’s learned through her own experience and shares them in an honest, humorous, and inspiring way. Boss Up will make you want to dive right in and take the next steps forward no matter where you are in the process.
Clean Mama's Guide To A Healthy Home by Becky Rapinchuk | As part of my personal wellness journey (more to come in a later post with an update about this) I'm working on reducing toxins in my house and this book and her site have been so, so helpful to me. It's easy to read and it was super inspiring me - I literally went around my house and got rid of just about everything I could that was a toxic cleaning product/personal care item.
JUNE
The Sound Of Gravel by Ruth Wariner | This is a tough book, along the same lines as Educated and The Glass Castle. I actually thought I had read this one already but I think I was confusing it with The Glass Castle. Definitely worth reading if you are a fan of memoir.
Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center | I got this book as advance reader copy from Katherine (you can get this one via Book Of The Month before it releases to the public here ). I loved this story of forgiveness and empathy and compassion and love and strength through struggle. Totally enjoyable.
In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware | Read this one super quick on the beach. I didn't find it to be scary at all but that might have been because I was reading it on the beach during the day. It was a like not love for me.
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah | I've read The Nightingale and The Great Alone (one of my favorite books in the last few years) so I decided to pick up one of Kristen Hannah's earlier books. I liked it - a good friendship filled beach read that definitely had me crying at the end. If you have to pick one of her books I highly recommend The Great Alone or The Nightingale.
JULY
Evicted: Poverty + Profit In The American City by Matthew Desmond | 5 stars : I started this one at the end of June and finished it fairly quickly - it's definitely an important book about poverty and housing. I love books like this where the author embeds themselves to tell the story.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager | 3 Stars : As a fan of thrillers I found this one to be just okay. I felt like it lacked depth overall and was just kind of boring - could totally be me. Ha.
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo | 5 Stars : Super fascinating, very graphic look at the sexual/desire lives of three women + the stories they tell themselves + the stories that are told about them. Non-fiction that reads like fiction (pretty amazing storytelling using this voice/lens) - amazing achievement in terms of the research and then storytelling that went into writing this book.
The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger | 3 Stars : I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen and how the story was going to be resolved and I stayed up too late to finish it up, but it I didn't love it. The way the characters behaved was a little like nails on a chalkboard for me (probably the point) and the issues raised are definitely timely for my friend group. I could see my book club enjoying this one for the discussion.
Recursion by Blake Crouch | 5 stars : Somehow I missed that this was a recent BOTM book - I totally loved his book Dark Matter - so I ordered this on my Kindle after seeing Stephanie's husband reading it. I totally loved and devoured this mind-bending, sci-fi novel. This was one of those books that I just wanted to stop everything and read.
She Explores: Stories Of Life Changing Adventures on the Road and in the Wild by Gale Straub | This is kind of a coffee table book (the cover looks awesome for sure) but the stories were really motivating to where I'm at in life right now. Loved it and gave me a bunch of new people to follow on social media who love the outdoors.
Wabi Sabi Welcome: Learning to Embrace the Imperfect and Entertain with Thoughtfulness and Ease by Juile Pointer Adams | Another coffee table style book but one I also read cover to cover and really loved because it was talking about a bunch of things I've been working on related to being more casual with get togethers. Really felt like it filled me up.
Turn Of The Key by Ruth Ware | This one came in the mail on the the 30th and I finished it on the 31st just in time to add it to my list (I get my Book Of The Month picks in advance as part of them Ambassador Program). Super satisfying thriller.
AUGUST
The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood | 5 stars : I have all kinds of feelings about this book and it’s hard for me to get all those thoughts/feelings in order. At its core, this is a love story. One of the main characters is autistic (Gentry). It’s raw and real and touching and hard and hopeful and human and deals with all kinds of family/relationship issues, especially loyalty and honor and love. It’s told from different characters perspectives (loved that) and Gentry’s version of the story is written using Middle English because that’s his passion. It takes a bit of getting used to the language in his chapters but I thought it was a completely awesome way to fully embody the character. As the Mom of a 17 year old who was diagnosed with autism at age 3, I had a definite soft spot for Gentry. I so appreciated that he was simply who he was and that he had people in his life who accepted and encouraged him for who he was and supported him in his passions (which complicates pieces of the story as it develops). Life is complicated and beautiful and I definitely felt those feelings as I read this one.
Thirst: 2600 Miles To Home by Heather "Anish" Anderson | 4 stars : Since I can’t hike right now (ankle sprain) I decided to order some books about hiking/hiking memoirs and this was the first I read. I read it in a few hours and enjoyed it - I can’t imagine hiking 40+ miles daily for two months - definitely inspiring in the “get out there and make it happen” realm.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | 5 stars : An excellent, devastating book from the author of The Underground Railroad (which I have here but still haven't read).
The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliet Ashton | 4 stars : There is something about this book that I found really, really delightful. It might be because it was different than what I've been reading (my last book was "The Nickel Boys" so there's that), or maybe it was just the right book for me at the right time. Whatever it was, I totally enjoyed it and I loved how she used the lens of the Sunday lunches to tell the story.
The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr | 5 stars : This is an older book but still super valuable about how the internet is actually changing the ways our brain works. Fascinated by so much of it - especially the chapter about memory. Felt super important and still mostly relevant. Following it up with Digital Minimalism: Choosing A Focused Life In A Noisy World.
You can see my 2018 Reading Recap post here and what I read in 2017 here.
September 30, 2019
AE Creative Team | September 2019 Stories By The Month™ Digital Kit
Happy Monday friends! As we say farewell to the month of September, we wanted to share with you the creative and inspiring projects by our Creative Team using the September 2019 Stories By the Month™ Digital Kit.
There are so many ways to use the digital elements in these kits - from big titles, to repeated shapes, to filling up the pockets in your pages. And as always, a huge thanks to our awesome team for sharing their creative inspiration with all of us!
September 26, 2019
New Class Announcement: Wellness Story
Hey Friends!
Just wanted to let you know about the launch of a brand new workshop that is a collaboration between me and my good friend Robyn Conley Downs: Wellness Story.
I'm pretty sure I started following Robyn a number of years ago for her recipes (because they are great) and stuck around because of her completely practical approach to wellness. I absolutely consider her as one of my mentors in life. I cheered her on as she planned and started her Feel Good Effect Podcast and she invited me to come on her podcast as her first "listener-guest" (spoiler - it was so fun and I was so honored to be invited on and share my wellness story). You can catch that original podcast episode here: Finding Real Health In Real Life: Feel Good Effect Success. She had me back on in another season to talk about One Little Word®.
Over the last year Robyn and I have been meeting up, brainstorming, and creating the prompts and videos you'll see in the Wellness Story classroom.
You can hear us talk about the ideas behind the workshop in her newest podcast episode: How And Why To Tell Your Wellness Story.
Here are some details from the class page:
Join mindset, routines, and habits expert
Robyn Conley Downs of Real Food Whole Life and storytelling advocate Ali Edwards as they come together to help you identify and document your current wellness story.
Through this hands-on, 4-lesson workshop-style course, Ali and Robyn will walk you through the dynamic process of documenting and understanding your personal Wellness Story. In each weekly module, you’ll receive access to an instructional video and audio file, specific prompts, and a PDF, all designed to allow you to use writing and photography prompts to document your story. You will also have access to the support, accountability, and encouragement of the Wellness Story community, as well as to Ali and Robyn, who will be on hand to answer questions and provide guidance. By the end of the course you’ll have a clear understanding of your current wellness routines, habits and mindset, plus how they are supporting your wellness goals. With a gentle is the new perfect approach, Robyn and Ali have created this course to help you bring awareness to your current story approach to wellness, to create meaning from your day-to-day actions, and to create lasting change in your own life.
Join us for this special opportunity to be a part of the first time we offer this workshop.
Get all the details + register
here. Registration is open now and the first lesson will be available on October 7th. Registration will close on October 14th. Our initial plan is that we will run this workshop again in the future. As with all my workshops you have access to the content even after the "live" portion of the class has ended (in this case "live" is simply a class where the lessons are not all available when the class opens - the content will show up over the course of four weeks and then you will have on-going access to it).
Robyn and I also recorded an episode of her Feel Good Effect Podcast where we talked about the course and what it entails.
Take a listen here.
Hope to see you in the classroom!
September 23, 2019
Project Life® 2019 | August
I took some time to finally tackle getting my August photos printed and documented in my
Project Life album - it's been a busy month with December Daily® launching and back to school and all the things that go along with both those events.
I am totally loving looking back at the month as a whole. This month what I saw when I looked back at my collection of photos was this: rest + wide open sky + friends. If you were to walk up to me and ask me what was happening here in August I'd probably think of something like "end of summer" stuff but it's unlikely I would come up with "wide open sky + rest + friends" without looking back at my photos to really see those two themes jumping out at me.
So good.
Let's dive right in and see how I told my story this month:
August starts on the backside of
my July stories. In addition I added four more page protectors: a 9x12 that is cut down to a 3x12, a 6x8, a 6x12, and a 9x12 that holds 9, 3x4 photos.
This year I've been using the physical
Stories By The Month™ kits and I'm continuing that this month. We do have subscriptions available and you can start anytime (click here to view the current month). If you like the designs I've used here you can grab the digital version of this kit and print at home.
You might notice right away that I created my own "unifying element" for this month using one of the digital word art pieces. I created those by cutting up a 4x6 card - before printing I added my text.
Download the 4x6 "august is" yellow card here.
I don't always have a "unifying element" that is this specific but I loved the process of looking at each of my photos, typing up a little something, printing + cutting, and then adding to each of my 3x4 photos (added to either the top or the bottom).
If you have this kit in your stash you can also make something very similar using the "august is" stamp.
I had quite a few 3x4 photos I wanted to include this time which is why I ended up with additional inserts - I printed all the ones I wanted to include and made it work. I cut one of the 9x12 page protectors down to hold more photos and then also added a 6x8 page protector that holds both photos and journaling cards.
You might also notice that I used the word/phrase stickers + chipboard pieces to add to my 3x4 photos (they got one or the other as an embellishment).
As I mentioned above I noticed that I'd taken a lot of photos of the sky in August. I decided to include four of them together on the back side of a 6x8 page protector along with two 6x12 enlargements. On top of one of the 3x4 photos I added one of the wood veneer phrases from the kit.
An easy way to create additional embellishments for your stories is to cut shapes out of the journal cards. Loved cutting out these tags from one of the journal cards and adhering them with foam squares (this tag shape was also included in the stamp set along with the text "making me happy" so you could easily create these on your own as well).
I printed a second photo enlargement and then the rest of my 3x4 photos with chipboard or word/phrase stickers on top.
On the 6x12 photo you can see another example of creating an embellishment by cutting up a journal card from the kit paired with a chipboard circle. I also journaled around the outside edge of the photo.
Here's a look at my process:
9x12 Album (we hope to have more of these in-stock mid-late October) 9x12 Page Protectors 6x8 Page Protector 6x12 Page Protector August 2019 Stories By The Month™ Kit (digital version available here) : details on subscribing here Avery Index Tabs Foam Adhesive Squares StazOn Ink Power Punch Epson PictureMate PM400 Printer (for 3x4 photos) Epson XP15000 (for enlargements)
September 19, 2019
AE Creative Team | October 2019 Stories By The Month™ Physical Kit
Happy Thursday friends! We are delighted to bring you another round of creative inspiration from our awesome Creative Team! Today we are sharing the projects they created using the
October 2019 Stories By The Month™ Physical Kit.
As always we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their projects and the stories of their lives!
September 16, 2019
The Family Resilience Handbook | A New Workshop With Jess Forster
I'm super excited to let you know about a brand new workshop here on my site called The Family Resilience Handbook.
Led by Creative Team Member Jess Forster the goal of this workshop is to take a deep dive into the stories of family resilience. Specifically you will be creating a 6x8 album of your family and it's members have bounced back from various life challenges to move forward. Through four focused lessons you'll reflect on and describe your own family's history, establish your families personal motto (this can be for any kind of family), and document family resilience through family interviews. Brandi Kincaid and I will be contributors to this workshop to show different definitions of family.
When Jess presented this concept to Katie and me we loved the idea so much. It's such a perfect, direct example of why storytelling matters and that scrapbooking can be a way of better understanding, accepting, embracing, and celebrating the stories of our lives.
So what does resilience mean anyway? According to the dictionary here on my computer it means "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness."
This workshop includes a digital package that can be used to tell your stories. It will also go along really nice with the September Story Kit™ which is the theme of Family. Jess, Brandi and I will be using a mix of the Family Story Kit™ and the digital kit from the workshop as the base for our projects (my projects for this workshop will be different than the projects I'll share in the Story Kit™ classroom).
I asked Jess to answer a few questions about herself and this workshop so I could include a little Q&A with this post:
1. How did you come up with the concept for this class?
Family resilience has been a topic I have been interested in for a while, both personally and professionally. For more than 12 years, I have worked in a hospital as a medical social worker, with children and families diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I have seen families been given a life changing diagnosis and in turn, thrive in the face of adversity. It is an honour and a privilege that on a daily basis, that I get to do this work. Little did I know that these experiences would help inform our family perspective, when my daughter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of three, when I was eight weeks pregnant with my son. Now that we have emerged from that time period, my husband and I are keen to promote resilience in our own children. Inevitably, I wondered if I could do something creative, like use my scrapbooking skills to create a "liveable" album, a place to hold and celebrate our challenging stories and how we responded to these situations. Eh viola, The Family Resilience Handbook was born!
2. Tell me about your work life and how that impacts your memory keeping.
As I alluded to above, as a paediatric diabetes social worker, my work life has introduced me to many children and families from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences. On a daily basis I listen to stories of how people are actively trying to cope with their reality. Families share their most intimate thoughts and feelings about what it's like to live with a chronic illness or other mental health concerns that they may have. My work has definitely impacted the way I see the world and how I make sense of my own life. It has allowed me to reflect on the story I want to live and helps me find gratitude every day. This translates to how I make and keep my own memories. I often write about what I think and feel in my layouts and celebrate where myself and my family are at. In addition to helping me tell my story, memory keeping is also a really fun creative outlet that is a great stress relief and allows me to play.
3. What’s your best advice for people who want to include more challenging stories in their memory keeping?
Great question! All families face challenges but some families deal with especially difficult circumstances. For any number of reasons, I think it is important to ask yourself some questions before you start to document challenging stories.
Is it the right time to tell the story? If you are actively living in a challenging situation, maybe it makes more sense to wait. Give yourself permission to process what you are going through before putting your pen to paper or photos into pockets. If you can’t tell the whole story, can you tell one aspect? Try telling parts of story that feel more manageable then trying to tackle a whole life altering family event. Is it your story to tell? When telling challenging family stories, only you can decide if it's appropriate to talk to other family members and ask for their support before beginning to a memory keeping project about a challenging, complex or painful family situation. Recognize that it is your perspective on a shared experience and some family members may disagree with you.
Ultimately, we all have challenging stories and including these types of stories can reflect the amazing ways we live each day and can add value, depths and layers to your pages.
4. What do you hope students take away from this workshop?
My hope is that students recognize the importance of preserving a wide range of memories and experiences and will start to feel comfortable writing these types of stories in layouts. I hope that students will have a greater understanding of themselves, their families and how family resilience works. I also hope that we have fun over the course of our time together and celebrate the unique ways we have dealt with adversity.
Want to learn more about the idea behind Jess Forster's new Family Resilience Handbook workshop? Check out the podcast she recorded with Stacy Julian: https://www.stacyjulian.com/podcast/jess-forster
Get additional details and register for this workshop here. The classroom is open with an album set up lesson. The first lesson will be available on September 16th. Registration for this workshop will be ongoing but the main interaction with Jess will happen during the four weeks when the lessons are made available.
September 13, 2019
Family Story Kit™ + October Stories By The Month™
In the
Story Classroom this month we are focusing on stories related to the theme of Family.
Here are a few thoughts about this particular theme:
The story of our life is likely filled with stories about our family - the ones we were born into, the ones we grew up with, and the ones we’ve created as adults. This month we are going to tackle stories about our families.
Initial story ideas for the Family theme include:
Write about your family of origin. What does that family look like today?
Write about your current family. Who is included and how do you decide who is included?
Do you have a family manifesto? Now is an awesome time to write one up or document your family values.
If you are new to the Story Subscription program, check out all the details
.
If you are already a subscriber the content in the classroom will be available to you on the 15th.
STORY KIT™
Here's a look at
the
Story Kit™ contents for Family:
Here's a video overview of the
Story Kit™ and Add-On options this month:
STORY STAMP™
The Family
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™ for Family:
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™
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 2018.
Here is a full look at the kit for October:
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
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. If you subscribe to more than one you will have a Box for each subscription and the ability to purchase Add-On's for each one. 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.
Check out
this post for more information about this new subscription, including differences between the subscription options offered.
THE FAMILY RESILIENCE HANDBOOK WORKSHOP
I also want to invite you, whether you are a subscriber or not, to check out a brand new workshop taught by Creative Team Member Jess Forster called The Family Resilience Handbook.
In this workshop Jess will lead you on a deep dive into the stories of family resilience. Specifically, you will create a 6 x 8 album of how your family and its members have bounced back from various life challenges to move forward. Through four focused lessons, you will reflect on and describe your own family's history, establish your family's personal motto, and document family resilience through family interviews.
What you'll learn:
How to define your family's beliefs, communication styles and ways of organization
Tips for telling stories across a variety of time periods and how to apply a resilience framework to your family stories
Ideas for working with older photos or how to document stories that don't have pictures
A closer look at Jess' Family Resilience Handbook album + how it can be a livable document in your family life
This workshop includes a digital package of printables/word art that compliments the products included in the Family Story Kit™ (it's not a requirement to be a subscriber to participate in this workshop).
