Ali Edwards's Blog, page 153
December 12, 2017
AE Creative Team | Give Digital Story Kit™
Happy Tuesday!
We're so happy to share the projects created by our awesome Creative Team using the Give Digital Story Kit™. Today is the last day left to start a subscription to receive this current theme.
A big thank you to our awesome team for sharing the stories of their lives and crafting it so beautifully!
December Daily® 2017 | Day 11
Welcome to December Daily® 2017 | Day 11.
Here is a look at this page from my Foundation Pages post:
This page was built as part of my December Daily® Product Play Workshop. That workshop includes a Silhouette file and a digital layered template to use for this page idea. I used the layered PSD file to mask my photos and print the 1/2 circle out.
Here is how the story ended up looking in my album:
The journaling page actually started out with a black pen on white cardstock (you can view my entire process in the video overview below). As I was working on it I decided I wanted to try something a little different so I scanned in what I had hand-drawn on the 1/2 circle, traced it using Illustrator, and then changed the hand-drawn portions to white and added a black background.
The photo circle was created using a layered PSD file (from the Product Play workshop). I masked two photos into the 1/2 circle shape, printed on photo paper, and then added a gold foil strip from the main kit.
To learn more about using digital products in paper projects check out my Hybrid workshop.
You could definitely try this with black cardstock and a white pen (see my white pen recommendations here). I printed mine on photo paper because I like the weight and the gloss.
To add a date I used one of the black chipboard numbers and this stamp set from Jasmine Jones and some gold embossing powder.
Here's a look outside the album:
I so love how this turned out!
DAY 11 | VIDEO OVERVIEWSUPPLIES
December Daily® Main Kit 2017 Printer: Canon Pixma MG7720Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper December Daily® 4x6 Stamp by Jasmine JonesGold Embossing PowderVersamarkSnappy TrayHeat GunDecember Daily® Black Chipboard NumbersSHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
December 11, 2017
Introducing Stories By The Month™
I am super excited to announce a brand new subscription option Stories By The Month™ which will be launching on December 13th (the same time the Story Kits™ go live).
Each month the Stories By The Month™ physical kit will include 3x4 and 4x6 journal cards, a 4x6 chipboard set, and a 3x4 stamp set. These designs are all based on the Monthly Digital Kits we've been offering throughout 2017. You can see all the designs here. We will continue to create new monthly digital kits as well for 2018.
What is the difference between Stories By The Month™ and the Story Kits™?
There are two main differences between the subscription options: (1) the Story Kit™ subscription includes a subscriber classroom (there will be no classroom/additional content in that same format with the Stories By The Month™ subscription) and (2) Stories By The Month™ is targeted to annual themes and holidays vs. a single word concept/theme each month.
Stories By The Month™ is great for people who want to tell everyday life stories, who may want less product overall, or who are looking for a different price point. This might be a nice stand-alone subscription or it might serve as a wonderful compliment to what you are already receiving each month with the Story Kit™ subscription.
As always, the products are geared to encourage you to document the stories of your life.
Here is a look at what's included in the first month:
Prices for the Stories By The Month™ subscription are as follows:
$9.99 per month for 12 months$11.99 per month for 6 months$15.99 per month for month to month (as always, you have to cancel to not have this be a recurring charge if you choose the month to month option)Shipping will be free for domestic subscribers and $2 for international.
Again, these kits are based on the digital kits we offered monthly in 2017. You can see all the designs in advance of receiving the physical kits here. Please note that the digital kits include a 4x6 sized digital stamp and the physical kit includes a 3x4 stamp (meaning not all stamps shown on the digital packages will be included in the physical version of the kit).
More details will be available when the new subscription goes live on December 13th.
December Daily® 2017 | Day 10
Welcome to December Daily® 2017 | Day 10.
For my story today I played with two enlarged photos and cut them into 2 inch x 2 inch squares to fit in the 12 pocket page protector. Sometimes with these small pockets I enjoy slipping in a bunch of embellishments or photos from around the house or pieces cut from things that have come into the house recently (packaging, etc) but this time I decided to go with full page photos chopped into a bunch of squares.
Here's what Day 10 looked like when I did my
Foundation Pages:
And here is what I ended up creating:
First I decided to staple the tree transparency to the back of the Day 9 pocket page. This enabled me to feel totally fine about moving on to the next page protector vs. feeling like I needed to fill in the pockets behind Day 9. I moved the story tag (waiting for kids to come home to have them fill these out) between the tree transparency and the 2 inch x 2 inch pocket page.
For Day 10 I decided to print two 6 inch x 8 inch pages and cut them up into 2 inch x 2 inch squares for both the front and the back of the page protector. You can see this process in my video overview below.
I removed one square of the photos and added the cork "10." I also added word/phrase stickers that related to the activities we had going on yesterday. I trimmed these stickers to have less blank space around each word.
On the back side I added my second photo (one of the cozy blankets on my unmade bed) and ended up typing up just a few words and printing them on vellum and slipping it inside the pocket on top of a part of the larger photo.
Font is
Remington Noiseless.
Here's a look at the front and back of Day 10 outside the album:
Bring on the simple!
December Daily® Main Kit 2017
Printer: Canon Pixma MG7720
Font: Remington Noiseless
December Daily® Word Phrase Sticker Bundle
2 inch x 2 inch Pocket Page Protector SHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
December 10, 2017
December Daily® 2017 | Day 09
Welcome to
December Daily® 2017 | Day 9.
Today I'm telling a story about how Chris and Simon signed up to work at his Boy Scout Troop Tree Lot and how much I appreciate the time that Chris has put in to make Boy Scouts a reality for Simon. It's been such a great way for him to be part of a community outside of school and to learn cool stuff along the way.
I don't think I will ever get tired of full page photos.
Here's a look at what my Day 9 looked like when I started via my
Foundation Pages:
I totally loved making that heart strip as one of my examples for working with hearts in the December Daily® Product Play Workshop. And I love that it was already done when I went to tell my story for today.
Here's what my spread ended up looking like in my album:
I went with a full page photo enlargement (adhered to the photo from Day 8) and added a cluster of embellishments on top including a wood veneer circle, a chipboard circle,
a number circle, a cork starburst, and then a gold chipboard heart and a green sticker to tie it together with the strip of hearts on the second page.
I cut off a bit of the wood veneer circle with scissors and then layered the other embellishments on top using glue dots and foam adhesive squares. I separated the gold chipboard heart with the green word sticker away a little bit from the main cluster to set it apart and then link it with the other stickers I added to the gold chipboard hearts that were already a part of my heart strip.
I decided to do reverse type (white on black) and printed it on photo paper and added the "holly & jolly" chipboard piece from the Main Kit.
And here's a look at both pages outside the album:
This page makes me happy. This relationship makes me happy.
DAY 09 | VIDEO OVERVIEWSUPPLIESDecember Daily® Main Kit 2017
Printer: Canon Pixma MG7720
Font: Remington Noiseless
December Daily® Star Embellishment Pack
December Daily® Word Phrase Sticker Bundle
December Daily® Product Play WorkshopSHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
December 9, 2017
December Daily® 2017 | Day 08
Welcome to December Daily® 2017 | Day 8.
Today's story hits on the topics of weather and of slowing down and paying attention.
Here's a look at what my Day 8 looked like when I started via my Foundation Pages:
And here's what it ended up looking like in my album:
I began today by thinking that I was just going to fill in the 3, 3 x 4 pockets. As I started filming I decided that I did want to include both the photos I'd take this morning - a close up shot of the grass and a farther away shot of my house.
The close up grass photo was printed to 6 x 8 and then I cut up the photo to fill the pockets - removing one of them to keep the see-through from Day 7. The photo of my house was cropped to 6.75 x 8.25.
On top of the bottom right photo I added a 1/2 circle chipboard piece from the December Daily® Chipboard Bundle + a cork number 8 from the Main Kit.
The handwritten "eight" is part of the December Daily® 6x8 Digital Overlay Package. Loved telling this kind of story today. Remember, this project/album doesn't have to be all about just Christmas - it can be stories of everyday life and simply stories of the season you are in right now.
DAY 08 | VIDEO OVERVIEWSUPPLIESDecember Daily® Main Kit 2017
Printer: Canon Pixma MG7720
Font: Remington NoiselessDecember Daily® Chipboard BundleDecember Daily® 6x8 Digital OverlaysSHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
December 8, 2017
December Daily® 2017 | Day 07
Welcome to December Daily® 2017 | Day 7.
No matter your approach to this project, some days you just want something quick and easy. Today was that day for me since I have a bunch of other deadlines I'm trying to meet. When I flipped to what I had already put in for my Day 7 I was super happy to see that I was invited to easily document what I've been listening to and watching.
One of the things I still love about setting up some of my album in advance is that some of the thinking has been done already. I could have come to today in my album and decided to do something much more "crafty" and elaborate or just something that took more time to tell a more complete story and that would have totally worked (even still sticking with a story about listening/watching) or I had the option to do something super quick and easy. Either way I didn't have to decide what kind of story I was going to tell today and that was welcomed. Also, I could have landed on today and been in the mood to do something totally different and tell something totally different and I would have had no problem doing that either.
Bottom line, once again, make it work for you.
As a reminder, here's what Day 7 looked like when I did my Foundation Pages:
I stapled one of the rubber wreaths to an extra piece of page protector I cut to 3x4 and added a white #7 sticker on the inside.
Here it is in my album:
Simple and easy.
Handwrite on the journaling card. Print out a screenshot of the movie image and a screenshot of the Spotify playlist. Add them to the pockets and call it good.
Isaac is away for a few days and when they are back I'll have all the kids fill in their interview tags.
Remember, it's the sum of all these stories that is most magical.
DAY 07 | VIDEO OVERVIEWSUPPLIES
December Daily® Main Kit 2017
Printer: Epson PictureMate PM400
AED Precision PenSHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
December 7, 2017
December Daily® 2017 | Day 06
Welcome to
December Daily® 2017 | Day 06.
I've been super excited for Day 6 to come up so I could do something with and assign a story to the page I made for the December Daily® Product Play Workshop (you are still welcome to join here and get immediate access to all the content).
Here's a look at what Day 06 looked like when I put together my
foundation pages:
As I considered different ideas for what to do with this page initially I thought about adding journaling in the top left corner with the white space or adding circle photos or something along those lines. In the end I decided I wanted to be "risky" and cut off the top left area by following the outer shape of the circles and add a photo to the back.
To achieve this look I used a pencil to first lightly draw lines around the circles to make cutting them out with scissors easier. I adhered the photo to the back before cutting so that it all happened at one time.
I totally love how this turned out! Such a fun way to create a different page shape.
The story I wanted to tell was about how happy I am to have a second table for eating + playing + gathering + puzzle building in our downstairs living area. I took photos of the puzzle I have currently in progress which is one from eeboo called Peacock Garden (this is my favorite brand of puzzle) and did it with the intent that I would have space available within the photo to add a story.
At first I considered typing a story to go in that space but then once I decided that I was going to cut the page to mimic those circles on the other side I decided to just handwrite some journaling using a combination of white and black pens. In the video you can see how I traced the shape of my page and tested out my hand-drawn title before actually writing on my photo. I also tested my pens on a portion of the photo paper that was cut off to make sure they worked with the paper.
The white pens I used include a Sharpie Poster Paint Pen and a thick POSCA white pen. The black pen I used is one of my Precision Pens. The photo paper I used is Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper. You can read more about white pens that I tested earlier this year here.
DAY 06 | VIDEO OVERVIEWSUPPLIES
December Daily® Main Kit 2017
Printer: Canon Pixma MG7720 (edited and cropped to size in Photoshop)
White Pens: POSCA, Sharpie Poster Paint Pen
Rolling Date Stamp
StazOn Ink
Pack Of Vellum - Multi Colors
3-Inch Circle Punch
Brother Sewing Machine (XL2600i)
Martha Stewart Glue Pen
Power PunchSHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
December 6, 2017
One Little Word® 2018
Taking a little break from December Daily® documentation today to kick off One Little Word® 2018.
Registration for my annual 12-month
One Little Word® workshop has begun. Register before December 31, 2017 to receive the early-bird price of $26 (after December 31st the price is $31).
The workshop will operate much like it has for the past seven years (started in 2011) - monthly creative prompts to encourage you to connect with your word via writing, photography, and collage. This year I'll be working in the 6x8 format like I have the past two years.
Past students have reported learning about celebrating progress rather than perfection, about the power of focusing on a single word and the impact that can have in your life, about how many little moments make up the patterns of our lives, about thinking of your future self as you make decisions today, about how your own journey is important, about how to step back into the story of your own life as an active participant, about learning what you most need from yourself, and about the power of coming back again and again to your original intentions as a means of reflection and forward movement.
In addition this year we are offering a gifting option if you would like to give the gift of this workshop. On the workshop shop page you'll find a link to "Gift This Class" under the orange "Add To Cart" button. After clicking through to purchase you will receive an email with a PDF that includes a one-time use code and link for your recipient to gain access to the classroom. Giving the gift of education is fun and meaningful and lasts all throughout the year.
As an enrollment bonus we will be including the One Little Word® Digital Main Kit when you join the workshop (
details about the physical kit can be found below). Just a heads up that this digital kit includes PNG files, not PDF files.
Is this your first time hearing about
One Little Word®?
Check out my new video here:
The premise is simple - choose a word to invite into your life for the coming year. You live with it. You let it speak to you. You might even follow where it leads. There are so many possibilities and no right or wrong way to approach the adventure. Sometimes words have come to me out of the blue and other years I've gone looking for what it was I most wanted to bring into my life.
You can read my archive of
One Little Word® blog posts here.
I'll be sharing my 2018 word after Christmas.
In addition to the workshop we've grown our collection of
One Little Word® products to encourage you in making your word visible in your life.
All these products are separate from class enrollment.
Here's a look at the new
One Little Word® Main Kit:
And a look at the One Little Word® Shop Products - that includes a bunch of new products to help you document your experience with your word:
Shop all new One Little Word® products here.
This year we will be offering two sizes of our
custom acrylic words (same as last year). You can request any word or name up to 8 characters. Please allow 3-4 weeks to receive your custom order.
Brand new for this year as custom
One Little Word® Necklaces in your choice of sterling silver or gold plated sterling. You can request any word or name up to 8 characters and it will be created for you in my handwriting. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery - see additional details below. Please check out the product page for additional information.
Here's a video about the new
custom necklaces:
Due to the custom nature of these necklaces, the lead time and expected delivery is 6-8 weeks from order placement.
For an estimated ship date, see the order windows below:
Order between: 12/6/17 - 12/18/17 Estimated to Ship: Late January at the earliest Order between: 12/19/17 - 1/19/18 Estimated to Ship: Late February at the earliest Order between: 1/20/18 – 2/28/18 Estimated to Ship: Early April at the earliestONE LITTLE WORD® SHIPPING SPECIAL
During the One Little Word® Kick-Off period shipping is free domestically and just $10 international when purchasing products included on the One Little Word® 2018 featured items shop page (please note that If you add any other items from other areas in the shop to your cart, normal shipping rates will apply to those additional items). Also, please note that the customizable words and the necklaces are each a separate purchase and each purchase will result in either free shipping for domestic customers or $10 for international per order.
This shipping promotion will be available through January 31, 2017 at 11:59pm EST. After that date regular shipping rates will apply.
December Daily® 2017 | Day 05
Welcome to December Daily® 2017 | Day 05.
Showing up today with a little story about self-care this month. This past year has been really awesome for me in terms of putting my health/wellness first (you can read more about my Wellness Journey here) but the last couple months have been more of a challenge as the weather changed and as my workload ramped up and our wedding/familymoon.
Yesterday I finally removed myself from my office chair and put on my tennis shoes and walked out the door for my 3-mile loop.
And it felt so darn good.
So that became my story.
Here's a look at what Day 05 looked like when I put together my foundation pages:
You can read more about these family story interview tags and download a template on my Foundation Pages post.
For today's story I cut a 6x8, 4-pocket page protector in half and attached an Index Tab along the edge. The "currently" stamp set is included with the Daily Words Stamp Set.
The large plastic 5 is from the Numbers Story Kit™ (in the video I mention it's from a Week In The Life™ Kit but that was a mistake).
My photo for today was from my walk - holding up a big leaf I had picked up from the ground.
Gold stars were added both the front and the back of the plastic 5.
Behind the photo I created a journal card in Photoshop to tell my little self-care story. See below for a free download of this word art and a journaling card.
I used a rolling date stamp to add the date.
A simple, meaningful-to-me, story for today.
SELF-CARE WORD ART/JOURNAL CARD DOWNLOAD
Click here to download this Self-Care Freebie Digital Package.
DAY 05 | VIDEO OVERVIEW
SUPPLIES
December Daily® Main Kit 2017 Printer: Canon Pixma MG7720 (edited and cropped to size in Photoshop)December Daily® Star Embellishment Bundle Tiny Attacher Index TabsDaily Words 4x6 Stamp SetNumbers Story Kit™ (past Story Kit™)Rolling Date StampStazOn InkSHARING FOR 2017
This year I'd love to invite you to leave a link in the comment section if you'd like to share your daily pages. As usual, please include a direct link to your blog post vs. a general blog address link.
For more inspiration on working with products for this project, check out my December Daily® Product Play workshop - registration is still open with immediate access to all the content.
