Ali Edwards's Blog, page 165

Project Life® 2017 | Week Nine

One of my current goals is to get caught up with
Project Life® for 2017 before Week In The Life™ starts on April 17th. 

Super happy to let you know that I made that happen last week and will be sharing five weekly spreads with you over the next five days here on my blog. 

I will still be doing a Project Life® spread for the week I document 
Week In The Life™ - generally I just pick one photo per day as I usually do for most other weeks. For me the difference between these two projects is depth. In Week In The Life™ I go much deeper into the day with more photos and words compared to the overview weeks I include in Project Life®. 

As with most things, there isn't a right or a wrong it's really just up to how you want to handle it.
Remember that you really don't have to make it more complicated than it needs to be. 

Here's a look at Week Nine: 

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This was the week after Aaron and I got back from Mexico. It was a week of celebrating the engagement news with the kids and getting back into the swing of things at home.
All that good stuff. 

Title card is from the 
Bond Story Kit™ (there's a marketing card in each kit that includes a quote and a photograph). 

For the "HOME" card I used my 
Sans Serif Alpha Stamp + my Deschutes ink (card underneath is from the Project 52 Fresh Core Kit as is the repeated "yes" card). 

"Home is" circle is from Heidi Swapp's new 
Storyline Collection. 

On my Gratitude card this week I used a 
Pitt Artist Pen Big Brush to write something super short. 

Those leggings are from the very awesome 
Kal Barteski. Love wearing them to yoga. Also enjoying the chance to pretend I have a lot of tattoos on my arm by writing a bit more of my story on top of my photo. 

Because it was a big weekend of kids having friends over I used cards from my 
Here's To Us Journal Card set (physical product). 

SUPPLIES USED REGULARLY IN PROJECT LIFE® 2017

Project Life Design A Page Protectors
Project 52 Fresh Core Kit (anything with rounded corners)
Past Story Kits™
Rolling Date Stamp
12x12 Project Life® / Heidi Swapp / Black & White Album
Week By Week Word Art
Gratitude 3x4 NotepadLOOKING FOR MORE PROJECT LIFE® STORYTELLING INSPIRATION? 

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Check out my
Storytelling With Project Life® workshop that is now available as a self-paced workshop. Topics include: 

Lesson One | A look back at many of my past Project Life® albums (2010-2015) with individual video walk-throughs. The take-away from this lesson is the opportunity to learn from the past and reflect on what's worked and what's not worked to create a plan for right now.
Lesson Two | Process exploration. Setting expectations, creating a plan for yourself (key word here being "YOU") and setting yourself up for success by establishing a storytelling mindset. This content will be specific to telling stories in Project Life®.  
Lesson Three | Specific storytelling ideas, encouragement, and inspiration to spark stories.  
Lesson Four | Working with products in Project Life®.

Week In The Life™ 2017 | Things I Love + Things I've Learned + This Year's Approach

Week In The Life™ is quickly approaching and I wanted to take some time today to share some thoughts I've been having as we get closer. I've organized my thoughts into three sections for this post including (2) five things I love about the project, (2) five things I've learned over the years about working on this project, and (3) a little more about my overall approach. 

This project can easily become overwhelming but it really doesn't have to get to that point. Remember, as with all these memory keeping projects, it is imperative that you make it work for you. To figure out what works for you you have to
start somewhere and then often adjust as you go. You may want more page protectors or less page protectors. You may want more embellishments or less embellishments. You might want all black and white photos. After doing this project for over ten years I've found a general rhythm for documenting my week that's in alignment with the kinds of stories I want to tell and the kind of time I want to dedicate to the project itself. 

For me 
Week In The Life™ essentially consists of two main parts: (1) the documenting - taking pictures and writing down stories/words during the week and (2) bringing those photos and words into an album. I keep the two separate because that's worked really well for me over the years. 

You might also want to check out my 
Getting Ready post from last year which covers a few additional thoughts. 

FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT WEEK IN THE LIFE™ AND WHY I KEEP DOING IT YEAR AFTER YEAR

ONE // I love that this project gives me a very specific reason to use my big camera (I am currently using a Canon 6D with a 24-70 lens). Some of my most favorite photos have come from using my camera during this project. With the advancements and convenience of phone photography I most often just reach for my camera phone as I go about my days. This project gives me a very specific reason to carry my camera around and get the kinds of editorial photos I love to take that show pieces of my life right now. 

TWO // I love the opportunity to capture an entire week in depth once a year. I don't want to do all my documenting this way all the time (way too much), but I love having one week to focus on what life looks like right now. This project is different than Project Life® and different than Day In The Life™. I will still include a spread in my Project Life® album for this week by adding one photo per day like I regularly do throughout the year. For me Project Life® is an overview project whereas Week In The Life™ goes into more detail with a greater story intensity. Some people do choose to include their Week In The Life™ documentation in Project Life® but I prefer to separate the two in order to go into more detail for each day. 

THREE // I love that this project has a very specific beginning and end. I start on Monday and I end on Sunday and then I make it a priority to put the album together fairly quickly after my documenting week. My goal is to have this project be a time-capsule of one week this year and that if, for some reason, I did no other documenting this year it would tell a really darn good story about what life looks like at this point in time. 

FOUR // I love that this project gives me the gift of reflecting my life back to me right now. It's an opportunity to capture one week via my lens and my writing and then to take stock - what routines do I love and which ones do I loathe and how much control do I have over those pieces of my life. In looking back on any given Week In The Life™ project I'm transported back to emotions and thoughts and memories. Our stories are constantly evolving (through our own choices and the choices of others) and this project gives us a chance to make a record of who we are and what we care about and why we do the things we do.  

FIVE // I have long loved that this project makes me so very thankful for the good even during the very challenging. In 2011 I was in the middle of documenting my week when the decision was made to change the trajectory of our family. I didn't write about that directly in my album that year publicly because it wasn't the time to tell that story (not all stories have to be told in the moment or right away), but the fact that I needed to keep documenting because it was my job gave me the gift of remembering that there are always things to be thankful for and things to celebrate even when it's really, really hard to see it on the surface. 

FIVE THINGS I'VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS OF DOING THIS PROJECT

ONE // You don't have to take a thousand photos over the course of the week. In fact I encourage you not to because that is just too much. Don't get me wrong, I still take significantly more photos than I regularly do on most days of the year, but I've learned that I don't have to take a photo of every single detail throughout the day. For many people too many photos can lead to paralysis when the time comes to actually do something (select, print, etc) with those photos. Take enough to give you some choices when you go to document but don't take too many that you get overwhelmed and abandon the project before getting it into an album. The actual numbers will be different for each one of us. 

TWO // Throughout my years of embarking on this project I've learned over and over again that the words + photos are the most important parts for me. Because of that I give them the attention and time they deserve during the documenting week. I don't spend any time with my actual album creating during the documenting week because it takes more than enough energy just to get the words and photos taken care of and that's my priority. I highly encourage you to set aside some time at the end of each day to get the words down right then vs. waiting. I have come to find that I'm generally really happy that I took the time at the end of each day to create a blog post that includes my words + my edited photos for each day. Over the last few years the writing that I do for each day of my words + photos blog posts end up being what gets copied and pasted into my album. 

Here's an example of one of those daily posts from last year: Wednesday Words + Photos 2016. And here's what that day ended up looking like in my album: Wednesday In-Album 2016. 

THREE // Unless something very unfortunate happens, there will always be another documentation project opportunity. I've learned that I don't have to capture every single thing in this album because it's just not possible. I don't stress about what I might be missing. Whatever I do will be enough for right now + enough for this project. 

FOUR // Less is more. I know sometimes it must sound strange when I write about using less product when I sell product. My goal continues to be to provide you with intentional products that are tools for helping you to get your stories told (not stuff to collect and not use). If the products are inhibiting you or creating additional stress in the process then, in my opinion, they are not doing their job. Over the years I have learned that having less product to choose from has enabled me to focus more on the words + the photos which, as you read above, is my the main focus of this project for me. This is a big reason why I wanted to start offering kits for my core projects. 

FIVE // Your story is worth telling. My story is worth telling. No matter what your life looks like right now - single, married, kids, no kids, divorced, widowed, partnered, depressed & anxious, living with your parents, stay-at-home-mom, working mom, recovering, empty-nester, lost soul, grandma, pregnant, etc - the story of your right now is worth documenting. Not a single one of us knows when our lives or circumstances may change (for better or worse or whatever it might feel like in the moment). This is your chance to capture what life looks like for you right now over one single week. I am so, so glad that I have albums that show what life looked like before Chris left and I'm so, so glad to have albums that show what it was like when it was just me + Simon + Anna and I'm so, so glad that I will now have albums that show what life's like with Aaron + our new family. Your week might be super mundane and routine (never wish that away my friends - love it for what it is right now) or someone may pass away or you might eat way too much leftover Easter candy or your husband might decide to leave or you may win the lottery. None of us know what's going to happen next so take this opportunity to tell the story of what is right now and find the good in your today. 

MY GENERAL APPROACH TO WEEK IN THE LIFE™ AND 2017 THOUGHTS

ONE // As I mentioned above, I don't prepare my album in advance in the same manner that I do for December Daily® but I also don't do nothing. For December Daily® I do what I call "foundation pages" and you can see examples of what those look like for my past albums here. Generally before my documenting week for Week In The Life™ I do the following: 

Get my album "ready." That basically means laying out the order of my page protectors and assessing the products I have on hand to help me tell my stories. Taking the time to do this helps me understand the actual number of places/pockets I have available for my photos. I also often add photos outside of page protectors which is always an option when you might not have enough pockets - or you might, like me, just like the mix of having some photos inside pockets and some photos added to the album via rings. The goal here is to simply have some idea of the direction you are heading. I follow the same basic layout formula each day for my page protectors because that simplifies my overall process by eliminating a choice I would have to make later on. I don't personally find that this inhibits my creativity (some people do) - I'm super happy to just craft my story to fit within the pockets. 
Open up my Week In The Life™ Kit and take a closer look at the contents (either for the first time or re-visting them). Sometimes I will add certain products into the album in advance just to get a feel for the flow. Sometimes when I actually go to add in my photos and words I'll change some of that around - just depends on where the stories take me. We still have Week In The Life™ kits available if you are interested in following along with my approach. Make sure to look through the journal cards included with the kit for additional prompt-based story ideas to capture during your week. Looking at them in advance will help guide your storytelling. Make any digital files that I plan to use for this project easily accessible on my desktop. I will be incorporating some of the new Week In The Life™ Layered Templates into my 6x8 album. 

Here's a short video that shows you what I currently have hanging out in my album: 

TWO // Not preparing my album in advance doesn't mean that I don't go into the week without intention. You guys should know me better than that. My goal, over the course of the entire week, is to capture a sense of the "whole" of our lives in this house right now. That doesn't mean I have to take a photo of my breakfast every single day. That doesn't mean that I have to include every single detail. There have been some years where I've intentionally included what I ate for every meal each day and other years where I documented it if I wanted to vs. feeling like it was something I "had" to take a photo of during the day. 

THREE // Consider a story focus for each of your days. I'm thinking about potentially approaching my storytelling this way but I'm not sure just yet. Maybe one day you'll focus on food and the next day you'll focus on a full day timeline where you actually document what you are doing each hour and maybe on another day you focus on the things you are thankful for at this time in your life. Another way to add focus is to use a specific journaling prompt each day. The journal prompt can guide you in the photos you end up taking as you respond to the specific prompt - consider prompts like "around here" or "the story of today" or "currently" or "gratitude." You might choose to focus on one person each day and tell their story (invite their voice if they are able to add it themselves via writing and photos). 

Maybe your week would look something like this: 

Monday: Use the "around here" journaling prompt. As you take photos over the course of the day keep in mind that the story you are telling/question you are asking is "what does life look like around here right now?" 
Tuesday: Working life. Focus on what a day at work looks like for you. What routines in your life are related to your work? 
Wednesday: "Wednesdays are for..." Tell me the story of what a "regular" Wednesday looks like for you.
Thursday: Use "ing" prompts such as reading, eating, watching, wearing, to form your daily story. Take photos to go along with each of those words. 
Friday: "I go." Where are the places you go in your life right now? Use this prompt on a day you are doing a lot of "going." 
Saturday: "Normal day let me be aware of the treasure your are" (part of a quote from Mary Jean Iron). Focus on the very mundane, normal parts of your Saturday. What are the basics of your day? 
Sunday: "Today I am thankful for..." Tell the story of your day via the lens of gratitude. Take photos of the things you are thankful for and let that be your story. 

You might also consider picking one thing/theme to take a photo of each day regardless of whether you end up having a theme for each day. I was thinking of taking a photo of Aaron and I each day or something along those lines (I've done self-portraits in the past - sometimes taking a photo each day of me at our dining table or at my computer). 

FOUR // Consider using Daily Sheets. People have been using these for a number of years now to help document the days. They are a great starting point for learning how to write stuff down over the course of the week and then the content can be transferred to your album later. 

Download the 6x8 version here. 
Download the 8.5x11 version here. 

FIVE // Review these past posts to get you in the storytelling mood and to the heart of the matter. 

Week In The Life™ Photo Tips
Our Days Are Built With Stories
What Stories Will You Tell
Check out all my past Week In The Life™ posts via my archive here.

As always, thank you for being a part of this community and for your willingness to tell the stories of your life through these projects. 

April 2017 Digital Release + Week In The Life™ Digital Kit & Layered Templates

Happy April!

In January we announced that we are switching things up a bit with our digital products and will be releasing
one main themed digital kit at the beginning of each month. These are similar to the
Digital Story Kits™ in terms of the products included in the package. They will have journal cards, digital chipboard shapes, a stamp set, quote card, and sometimes other elements that will change from month to month. 

We are absolutely still continuing to offer our Story Kit™ subscription that includes options for a physical kit, a physical stamp set, and a digital kit. This digital kit has nothing to do with the subscription program and is simply a change to the way we are adding projects to our digital shop.

This month's digital kit theme is Easter/family/gathering together. Because tis the season. This digital kit package includes 12 journal cards, a quote card (in both horizontal + vertical orientations), a "stamp" set, and a set of digital chipboard pieces/shapes.

Like this style of kit? Make sure to check out our 
past monthly digital kits which are still available for purchase here. 

NEW PRODUCT BREAKDOWN FOR APRIL & WEEK IN THE LIFE™ 

April 2017 Digital Kit

Type | 12-Workshop Now Open For Registration

I'm super excited to let you guys know that registration is now open for one of my personal favorite 12-week workshops: Type.

This is a re-run of the same workshop that ran in 2015. No new content has been added.

Type begins Tuesday, April 18th and will cover a wide variety of fun and informative topics/ideas/inspirations related to working with type (alphabet stickers, letter stamps, hand lettering, and fonts) in your memory keeping projects with content available each week. In addition to the twelve lessons you'll also receive three bonus lessons from the awesome Pam Baldwin. 

WEEKLY TOPICS IN TYPE INCLUDE:
Week One // Type Basics : Intro to the basics of typography. Includes a 2-hour main presentation (split into two videos).Week Two // Type In Neat Little Lines & Rows : Formatting body copy and telling longer stories. Includes main presentation + 4 process videos.Bonus Content from Pam Baldwin // Tips from Pam for printing type on 3x4 and 4x6 journal cards.Week Three // Type Marriages : Investigating best practices for pairing fonts in our projects. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos. Week Four // Type vs. Type : Contrast between type choices in a title, between a title and text, and within the text itself. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos.Week Five // Type Play, Round One : 10 of my favorite ideas for playing with type. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos.Bonus Content from Pam Baldwin // Pam shares two awesome project ideas for playing with type.Week Six // Type Play, Round Two : 10 more ideas for playing with type. Includes main presentation + 3 process videos.Week Seven // Type Stacks : Stacking type for titles and content organization. Includes main presentation + 3 process videos.Week Eight // Dear Type, I'm Over You : Ideas to get type on and in other pieces of type. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos.Bonus Content from Pam Baldwin // Pam shares another layout and a Project Life® spread + two videos.Week Nine // Type By Hand : Ways to use handwriting in your projects. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos.Week Ten // Type On Photos : A look at ways to include words on photos: computer, type, handwriting, stamping, etc. Includes main presentation + 4 tutorial/process videos.Week Eleven // Type As Art : Focus on appreicating the beauty of letter forms + ways type as art can support our stories. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos.Week Twelve // Type Story : Bring all the previous lessons together with an emphasis on getting your story told. Includes main presentation + 2 process videos.

As with most of my workshops, content will be delivered in the form full-color handouts, keynote presentations that cover the main topic, and live video where I share my process for creating projects. There will also be a message board and gallery for sharing the things you create during the length of the workshop. 

The projects in this workshop are mainly traditional layouts with a few Project Life® spreads included. The lessons, design ideas and tips can totally be used for any kind of memory keeping adventure. 

As with all my workshops, you are able to continue accessing the information after the live class portion has ended. 

Early Bird Discount | Sign up between now and April 18th (when the classroom opens) and get 20% off the $99 workshop price. 

Here's an 8-min overview of the topics that are included over the 12-week workshop (this is also available on the shop page for the class): 

Included in this workshop are the following digital packages: 

Here are a few sneak peaks of layouts I created specifically for this workshop: 

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Consider yourself invited! Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below.

Hope to see you in class!

Spring Break 2017 | Kid's Choice Staycation

For Spring Break this year we decided to stay around here and assign each of the kids a day and let them choose the activity or activities they wanted to do for their day. 

We didn't set super specific rules and began the process a few weeks before just by brainstorming a list of possible things on a big chalkboard near our dining area. We didn't assign a budget but I think that would be something fun to do to encourage them to work within some constraints - most of the things they wanted to do were things that we do around here from time to time so nothing was super outlandish. It all ended up working out fine in the end and that I had a general idea in my head of how much we were willing to spend overall throughout the week. Most of the kids ended up choosing 1-2 activities and 1-2 meals (lunch and/or dinner). 

I loved seeing what kids picked out for their food and activities and how the whole thing evolved - it gave them a chance to be the boss of the day. 

Some overall thoughts on this staycation idea: 

Most days we didn't mobilize for the activities until around noon or a little after. This allowed Aaron and I to still get some stuff done (both work + home stuff) and made for a better overall pace for the week (meaning our days weren't packed without any breathing room). During those morning hours before we started our group activities the kids had screen time or played together around the house. They also all kind of just loved being able to chill out and not have to go through the motions of our regular school day routines. We were flexible. If a kid changed their mind about where they wanted to eat or what they wanted to do we went with it. We went with a Monday through Friday schedule vs. including the weekend days. Five kids = five days. We probably could have done seven, with Aaron and I each having a day, but I liked the focus just being on the kids choices. As with any bit of regular life around here there were ups and downs with attitudes and excitement throughout the week. But overall, this was a really, really fun week. 

All photos are just from my iPhone and I decided to do them all in black and white. In looking back through my photos, I definitely tried to get a bunch with the whole group or more than one person in the frame. Getting all these people into the frame is an interesting challenge but I love seeing the whole group engaged in life as it's happening. 

Anna was up first and she chose swimming at a local pool called Splash followed by a "linner" (lunch + dinner) at a sushi restaurant with a conveyor belt. 

Audrey and Isaac eat California rolls. Anna eats salmon sashimi (raw salmon + rice) or shrimp sashimi. Simon orders chicken katsu (panko breaded chicken). Aaron, Elliot, and I eat all kinds of different rolls. 

Tuesday was Isacc's day and we had lots to celebrate today as it was also his 12th birthday. 

He decided to start his day off with sandwiches from Subway for lunch (ordered via the app and Aaron went and picked them up and brought them back to the house before starting our adventure - keeping it simple). 

Paolo showed up - always game for fun. First stop was Dairy Queen for treats after lunch. 

Isaac's choices for the day included a trip to Greenhill (our local humane society) to visit the cats and dogs and then he wanted to go to a local trampoline center called Get Air. For some reason I didn't take any photos while we were there (probably because I was chatting with Paolo - ha - it was super crowded) but everyone had a good time (except when Simon's glasses broke in a foam pit and we couldn't find the missing piece - Aaron saved the day by running over to Walmart with the broken pair where they were able to fit the lenses to a different set of frames = crisis averted). 

Isaac's choice for dinner was Red Robin - dessert included to celebrate. 

We also stopped at Toys R Us on the way home to let him pick out a present. Lego's, of course. 

Wednesday was Elliot's day. He had originally suggested camping but was vetoed due to rain and then we talked about doing some kind of camp out inside. We ended up doing a Harry Potter marathon where we watched the first three movies and then the boys woke up on Thursday morning and finished out the series. Take-out pizza for dinner. No one complained about just hanging out at the house and watching movies.

I also ave to tell you that I still love this big brown couch and all the pillows and blankets and people piled on top. 

Thursday was Audrey's day. In the morning she and Anna decided to do food challenges which led to "eat it or wear it" challenges in the bathtub. Basically you either have to eat the food or it gets dumped on your head - definitely a game for the bathtub. Yeah. They had fun. 

Audrey's day included a trip to Toys R Us where each kid had a budget and were able to pick out what they wanted within that budget. Lots of great math practice happened while we were hanging out there. 

After picking out toys we headed over to The Original Pancake House for a breakfast for dinner adventure. 

To finish off her day she decided to take me up on the idea to stay at a local Hilton Garden Inn with an indoor pool. This place is literally about 8 minutes from our house but it was so fun to stay in a hotel and feel like we were somewhere else for just one night. With this large of a crew we got two rooms that were next door to each other - this time Simon and Anna and I stayed in one room and the other crew stayed in the other room. 

On Friday morning we woke up at the hotel and had breakfast there before starting Simon's adventure of seeing the movie The Boss Baby and lunch at the food court. 

Our Cinemark theater recently changed to all these kinds of chairs in it's theater. The perfect place for Aaron to take a nap. We also learned that there's not a food court near this movie theater any longer so we adjusted plans and ate at a buffet that all the kids loved. 

We wrapped up the week in the sunshine with a couple hours at home before the kids got picked up for their weekend adventures with their other parents. 

We would totally consider doing this again in the future. Such a fun way to spend Spring Break!

For The Love Of Books | January & February & March 2017

I love books. I love reading. I always have and probably always will. 

I like stories that take me away and I like stories that teach me about other cultures & places and I like stories that make me turn the pages one after the other. 

I make time to read for both enjoyment and enrichment and often choose it over other activities (
which is much easier in winter time when the weather is rain, rain, rain). I don't watch a lot of TV (we just have an Apple TV and Netflix and HBO). Aaron I just recently started watching Game Of Thrones (we are just starting season four and that's really the only thing I'm watching right now). All the kids in this house have daily reading expectations. It's just what we do.  

So all that said, last year for Christmas I put a subscription to the 
Book Of The Month Club on my list and Katie got it for me. I'm totally loving it and I think it's really spurred my reading again. Basically it's a monthly book subscription where they offer a selection of five books and you choose which one you want to read for that month. You can also add additional titles for $9.99. 

After I started posting about what I was reading on Instagram I was invited to be an Ambassador for them which basically means that they send me my selections early in exchange for helping them to promote the new selections at the beginning of the month on 
Instagram. Disclosure: I am also an affiliate for Book Of The Month so if you purchase via one of those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale. 

If you want to try the 
Book Of The Month Club they have a 3-month membership offer + a free BOTM tote bag for $9.99 available here. 

I'd like to start sharing what I'm reading a bit more regularly here on my blog. I've also been sharing using the hashtag #aereads2017 on Instagram if you are interested in following along over there. I'm also trying to stay up to date with what I'm reading over on Goodreads. 

I think you should know that I am not a super picky reader - I just like to read. And, as you probably know already, I really like stories.

IN PROGRESS

Started But Haven't Finished And/Or Currently Reading:

Pachinko (BOTM) // About 1/4 of the way into this one. 
Secret Garden // I think I have about 1/4 left of this one. 
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind The Frantic For A Simpler, More Soulful Way Of Living // Reading this one slowly when I feel like I want/need to read the words. 
Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood (Kindle) // Loving this one and picking it up here and there between other books. 
Marlena (BOTM) // Actively reading this one right now and am about 1/3 of the way through. 

Sometimes I start a book and get part way through and set it down for one reason or another - lately it's been that I've been more excited to read something else.

READ IN 2017

NOTE:
(BOTM) means the book came from the Book Of the Month Club. 

JANUARY

You Will Know Me (BOTM) // First book from BOTM. Read it in a day and a half (suspense). Enjoyed. Lucky You (BOTM) // I remember liking this one as I was reading it but to be honest I can barely remember it now. This is why I'm trying to remember to post some short thoughts on Instagram when I finish each one. 

FEBRUARY

Behind Her Eyes (BOTM) // Suspense. Crazy twist. Enjoyed. 
Perfect Little World (BOTM) // Vacation read. Liked the change of pace on this one (had been reading more suspense). This one was a sweet little story with topics of motherhood and family and tribes of people and how things change. 
What Alice Forgot (Kindle) // Vacation read. Totally enjoyed this story and imagining what it would be like to experience memory loss in this way. Not suspense.   

MARCH

The Twilight Wife // Aaron picked this one out at Target to read while we were on vacation and I read it when he was done. I thought this one was okay - probably had something to do with the fact that I read What Alice Forgot right before this one and they both deal with memory loss (this one is more suspense).
The Stranger In The Woods (BOTM) // Non-fiction. This true story about a man living in the woods of Maine for almost 30 years read like a long-form magazine article. I enjoyed the break from the fiction I've been reading. 
Exit West (BOTM) // This one was a lot different from what I've been reading and I appreciated it for that. Different kind of narrator (omniscient) and subject matter (refugees). Glad I read it. 

Project Life® 2017 | Week Eight

I took some time this past weekend to get back on track with Project Life®. 

First up is Week 08 - the week that Aaron and I spent in Mexico. You can read all about that adventure here (I simply copied and pasted that blog post for my journaling in this spread). 

This will likely be the extent to which I document this experience. I don't have any plans to make a separate travel album or engagement album. I love that this story can be told right here within my Project Life® album. 

Here's a look at how I incorporated my photos and story right into my spread: 

As you can see, the spread really ended up being a lot of photos which was how I wanted it to be. 

To hold the extra pieces of my story from this week I included a 6x6 envelope (love these for tickets, cards, brochures, etc) and two, 6x12 inserts: the divided one and the full page one. 

My title card for this week is from the Bond Story Kit™ with one of our room keys (love that they were branded for the event) adhered on top. 

Along the edges of both inserts I added an Avery Index Tab (back in stock in my shop). I used my Phrases Roller Stamp to add the sentiments inside the tabs. 

Again, love the Project Life® envelope for holding some of the extras including one of our drink stirrers. 

On top of my photos I added a few different embellishments across the spread. The small rubber hearts are from Crate Paper's Heart Day Collection (still available at Scrapbook.com at the time I'm writing this post). Those were part of my last Storytelling Stash Update. I used red line tape to adhere these to the outside of my page protectors. 

The other embellishments I added were some small circles with gold foil text that are included with the Day In The Life™ No. 3 Mini Kit (I stapled those on using a Tiny Attacher) and cork pieces from the Bond Story Kit™. 

Journaling (copied and pasted from my blog post) was printed on two sheets of 6x12 paper (cut down from 8.5x14) and inserted into the full page 6x12 page protector. 

The divided 6x12 page protector holds my photos and the full page holds my story. 

As I've been doing with each week in 2017 I also included a gratitude card from my Gratitude Notepad.

And here's what the spread looks like without any inserts: 

Don't forget that you can cut 4x6 photos in half and insert each half into a 3x4 pocket. I did that here in two spots and love how it turned out. 

SUPPLIES USED REGULARLY IN PROJECT LIFE® 2017
Project Life Design A Page Protectors Project 52 Fresh Core Kit (anything with rounded corners) Past Story Kits™ Rolling Date Stamp 12x12 Project Life® / Heidi Swapp / Black & White Album Week By Week Word ArtGratitude 3x4 Notepad

Story Kit™ & Story Stamp™ | Eat

Today I'm excited to introduce you to the next story theme: Eat. 

Eating is a huge part of our lives. We eat for nourishment and health, for fun, for pleasure, to celebrate, to comfort, and on and on. So many stories from yesterday and today about the role food and eating play in our lives. This month we are telling stories of what we eat, who we eat with, where we eat, when we eat and all the reasons why we eat.

Initial story ideas for Eat include: 

Document a day in your life via the foods you eat. Make that the focus on your documentation with words and photos. What foods did you eat as a kid vs. what you eat today? What’s the same and what’s different and why? Do you have a favorite recipe that really tells a story - of family or friends or deliciousness? 

If you are already a subscriber to you can now access the content 
in the classroom (make sure you are logged in to your account).

If you are new to the Story Subscription program, check out all the details
here. 

Here's a look at
the
Story Kit™ contents for Eat: 

EDITED // This Story Kit™ is currently sold out (the Story Stamp™ and Digital Story Kit™ are still available). Please join the waiting list in case any kits become available. 

And the
Eat Story Stamp™:

We also have a
Digital Story Kit™ subscription available that includes access to the classroom content. Here's a look at what's included for Eat (which also shows all the designs for the journal cards included in the printed version of the kit): Here's a video overview of the products included in the kits this month: 

Here's a video overview of the products included in the kits this month:

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!

AE Creative Team | Bond Digital Story Kit™

Happy Tuesday!

Today we're sharing the projects created by our awesome Creative Team using the Bond Digital Story Kit™.
Be sure to check out our Creative Team Gallery where you can go to see how the team crafted their stories using AE products - including additional images from the projects we are sharing below.  

Today is the last day left to start a subscription to receive this current theme. Remember that all subscriptions, including the digital subscription, includes a classroom with specific ideas for working with each theme.

Also a reminder that our Story Camp registration opens today at 10am PST. Click here for more information and here to register (please note this link will not be active until registration is live).

Brandi Kincaid

Casie Gutierrez

Ingunn Markiewicz

Jen Carlson

Jen Schow

Jenny Theriault

Jess Forster

Julie Gagen

Kelly Ishmael

Laura Wonsik

Mel Blackburn

Melanie Louette

Pam Baldwin

Sarah Zayas

And Then We Got Engaged

A week or so ago on Instagram I shared that Aaron had asked me to marry him while we were on vacation in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Today I want to share more about the story and our adventure. 

We planned this getaway last September after I had to miss going with Aaron to see Dave Matthews at the Gorge due to those blood clot issues (just finished up six months of medication for that). Many of you know that we are major Dave fans so when the event came through my email about Dave + Tim Reynolds putting on a three-night concert at a resort south of Cancun I knew we needed to make it happen. 

It ended up being one of the best trips of my life. 

Disconnect to connect.

We wanted to stay at the concert event property - we actually never left the whole time we were there which I personally loved - so we got a room at the Barcelo Grand Resort. We booked a room at the Barcelo Maya Beach (there are four or five properties all together that make up the Grand Resort) and our room ended up being literally less than two minutes from the concert venue.  

We would totally go back to this all-inclusive resort and are thinking about taking the kids back there after we make this official. 

We arrived on Monday night after dark and ate and then went for a walk around the property. As we were walking back towards our room we were caught in a downpour. We hustled over and crawled under a bridge over one of the pools - I led the way with that crazy idea - living the length and the width right there. Aaron later said he wished he'd had the ring on him at that moment. 

Amazingly enough, the sun was shining every day we were there except the last day when we left. It was awesome. 

Aaron took the vast majority of photos on this trip with his phone. I have to tell you that I loved having a break and just let him be in charge. I didn't even take my DSLR camera.

Navy pattern cover up is from Boden. 

I also didn't take my computer which meant I didn't do any work or even check emails. That might seem like a no-brainer for a vacation but I have had a hard time in the past pulling myself away - this time I made it happen and it was the best (got everything done I needed to before I left and just told Katie to be in charge). 

In the background of this photo you can see the stage set up that was located at the right end of the Barcelo property. 

The water was amazing and warm. 

We started our first full day by getting up early to catch the sunrise (we also knew we'd probably be staying up late on most of the other nights so this day made the most sense for getting up early). Living on the West Coast means we've seen our fair share of sunsets but sunrises are much more rare. It was so worth getting up early - especially as it ended up being the day he proposed. 

Aaron proposed when we were standing out in the water cooling off. He had gone back to the room right before and unknown to me had grabbed the ring. I had been telling him over and over throughout the morning how happy I was to be there with him in the sunshine. I was also telling him how much I loved him and how safe I feel with him. He is a solid, calm, good and kind man. As we stood out in the water he was standing behind me and hugging me and said "Will you marry me?" and I jokingly said, "Are you serious this time?" And he said I've been waiting for so long to do this and he got down on one knee in the water and asked me for real with the ring in his hand. And I said, "Of course I will marry you." And that was that. 

It was perfect. 

After proposing Aaron said, "wait until you hear about my other failures to launch." The best one was planned to happen the Monday before we left for Mexico. He had written out a bunch of words and phrases on notecards and had planned to come into the office (on a day Katie was here) and start placing them one at a time under the camera where I was filming a video for the March One Little Word® classroom. They said wonderfully funny, sweet and loving things (including one about how Katie has been there at so many of our most important moments - like the day we met at the movie theater). But his plan was foiled by a couple things including my kids being here that day (a last minute schedule change and then Simon was in the office working on an English paper for most of the day) and me finishing up my video recording much earlier than he anticipated. 

It all worked out. 

Late afternoon naps before the concert for the win. I think that was probably my face most of this trip. So happy. 

Last fall Aaron and I went to one of our favorite local shops - New Twist - to look for rings because we knew this was the direction we were likely heading. There were many, many discussions about all the factors over the last couple of years and the timing felt right. This one-of-a-kind design by Victoria Cunningham immediately caught my attention because I was looking for something different - something a little less traditional and something that would have a deeper meaning behind it and I just want one ring. 

One of the things I loved most about this one - which includes a slice of a diamond in the center - was that it has cracks inside the diamond slice. Those imperfections - so much like life itself and so much like our journeys to this stage - made this the perfect ring for me. 

Aaron wanted to have the chance to surprise me so I’ve been patiently (honestly) waiting until he found the right moment.

Dave and Tim were awesome. The venue was so cool and was part of the all-inclusive package so there was food and drinks available throughout the whole concert. Loved that part. 

It was definitely my first time to be able to stand in the ocean and listen to live music. 

I did a lot of this. 

Lots of fun conversations with other Dave fans over the course of the week. Lots of talk about how many shows everyone had been too - many people have been to so many all over the place. 

This was their "living postcard" set up. A few proposals happened in this spot over the three nights. 

Each concert day (there were three nights) included a live band playing around the pool.

We spent most of our time on chairs facing the beach rather than at the pool - hard not too when the ocean looks like this. 

I finished one of my books standing in the ocean. 

Really, it was the best. 

And man I love reading. 

So what's next? Most likely a small, private ceremony followed by a trip with all the kids to celebrate our family. 

Here are a few things I jotted down before leaving Mexico as well: 

I want to remember reading two and a half books and loving it. Finished up the forth a couple of days after we got home. I read Perfect Little Word, What Alice Forgot, and The Twilight Wife.I want to remember ignoring all the news.  I want to remember the complete break from work and social media and I want to set more boundaries in my everyday life.  I want to remember the shape of our days. Sleep till 9. Get beach chairs. Breakfast and then read the day away. Concerts at night.  I want to remember meeting Andrea and then Jill at the last night of the concerts.  I want to remember the color and feel of the water and the sun on my face and the instant friends connected by Dave Matthews.  I want to remember the calmness and ease of our days.  I want to remember getting proposed to in the Caribbean Sea and saying yes, of course, and then Dave having a sound check and playing parts of So Damn Lucky.  I want to remember standing in front of Aaron with his arms wrapped around me while we listened to Dave & Tim.