Ali Edwards's Blog, page 173
September 22, 2016
Hybrid | New Workshop Registration Now Open
I'm excited to introduce you to my new 4-week workshop: Hybrid.
Most simply, hybrid memory keeping pairs printed digital products such embellishments, brushes + layered templates from your computer with traditional scrapbooking products. Over the four weeks I'll walk you through my favorite ways to use printed digital products to get more of your stories told.
Content for this four-week workshop will be broken up into three main sections: The Basics, Brushes, and Overlays + Templates:
The Basics: downloading, storing, organizing, opening, printing digital products Brushes: recoloring, adding to photos, going big, creating backgrounds + patterns, working with journal cards, tracing + cutting with the Silhouette, creating embellishments + printing Overlays + Templates: adding text to overlays and photos, photo collages, working with layered templates (what they are and how to use them), adding physical embellishments to printed layered templates
My goal is to walk you through the steps of making digital products a part of your regular memory keeping process. That might mean simply printing an embellishment or journal card you like or it might mean starting your entire layout on the computer and then printing it out and adding physical embellishments on top.
Examples of techniques will include both past projects and new ones centered on showing how to work with specific kinds of digital products. Video tutorials will be all new using Photoshop Elements 14 or Photoshop (depending on the project). When applicable Ali will also show how to use the digital products in Word. Please know that this is NOT a workshop that will teach you all the ins and outs of either Photoshop program. This workshop, as with all of Ali's workshops, will focus on the ways in which she uses her computer and digital products vs. exploring every available technique and option.
Included in the cost of the workshop is a full digital package of products, similar to what is offered in my Digital Story Kits™ (journal cards, brushes, and embellishments - valued at $19.99), and sample layered templates and additional digital items as they make sense for specific lessons (these will be made available later in the class). This workshop will be especially helpful for people who are subscribers to my
September 21, 2016
Entry Points & Participation
On the backend of this website, along with the shop products and photos and galleries and classrooms, is a place where blog posts are started and saved. Some make it to the light of day and others never do. Some are stories about my life or my kids or memory keeping topics I think you might enjoy. Right now there are about 30 in there - some just have a title while others have a few thoughts jotted down and others are more fully formed.
The other day as I was going through some of the ones I have saved for someday - some of which were started a couple years ago - I came across this one. This one was written while Simon was attending a summer camp at the University of Oregon probably in 2014. It was one of those moments when a specific idea popped into my head (entry points) and I knew I needed to get it out of my head through the process of writing it down. This idea literally stopped me in my tracks after I dropped him off. I stood outside of the UO art museum and typed up my initial thoughts right into my phone (Evernote is the program I use for stuff like this). I had the luxury of a few minutes to get those thoughts out before moving on with my day.
Those thoughts were story sparks.
A beginning. A jumping off point. A little piece of my story. A little piece of his story.
Later that day I read this from Chase Jarvis as part of his Hit List series: 13 Things Crucial For Success
#6 | Iterate.
"Nothing–and I’ll say it again, but louder–NOTHING will spring from your creative self fully formed. Genius, clarity, vision–whatever you want to call it–will come in fragments at inopportune moments over days, weeks, months, years. Be ready to catch each one of the iterations and push it out of you. The summary of those iterations will aggregate into something special."
The summary of those iterations will aggregate into a story.
I honestly could not have told you the definition of that word "iterate" before I read it on his blog. I had to look it up:
Ha. It's one of my favorite things: repetition.
All those little repeated stories (the iterations) coming together to form a bigger story. Sounds a lot like Project Life® to me. Sounds a lot like a scrapbook to me. Sounds a lot like what many of us like to do.
All that said, for whatever reason, I never did finish up that post and I never did hit publish. Most likely I thought I needed or wanted to add more to it - I wanted to make it a fuller, more complete story rather than being a fragment. I probably wanted it to have a beginning and a middle and an ending - this was probably before I got more comfortable with documenting stories in progress without a neat and tidy beginning and end - or some greater lesson to pass along.
So today I'm hitting publish. I'm hitting publish because I want you to see what one of my iterations looks like - a started story. It's part of a bigger story for sure - the story of me, the story of Simon, the story of opportunities and choices and participation and invitations taken and not taken.
It's about noticing entry points when then happen and potentially saying yes or saying no based on what's needed most at that time.
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
Every day this week I've driven over to the University of Oregon to either pick up or drop Simon off at a summer art camp.
Today I picked up a couple of brochures on the way out of the museum and wondered if maybe this is one of those "entry points" that occur every so often if we are willing to pay attention.
I wondered, as I do from time to time, why I don't come over here more, why I don't visit the museum or participate in art events - things I know would fill me up if I participated.
I wonder if this will be the time that changes.
Entry points are invitations.
We encounter them all the time. Most of the time we move past them as we hurry on to the next thing or discount them because of time, money, motivation, etc.
Not the right time. Not enough money. Too tired.
And sometimes they are the beginning of a new chapter.
My message to Simon this week has been about participating. I've said to him multiple times this week that it's through participation that we learn, that all I'm asking for from him is that he participates.
There's resistance there. It's not his favorite. It's something new. It's different.
Participation requires paying attention, maybe stepping outside our comfort zone, and acknowledging that we don't know everything at the beginning. It requires being a beginner.
An entry point to participate.
The lessons I want to teach him need to be modeled by me. I need to show up. I need to stretch. I need to participate.
September 20, 2016
Final Day In The Life™ Kit For 2016 Now Available + Mark Your Calendar
The final Day In The Life™ mini kit for 2016 is now available.
This year I decided to do this one-day documentary project three different times in different seasons and I've loved having it spread out. You can check out my previous Day In The Life™ posts from earlier this year here and here. I've been adding mine directly into my Project Life® album using inserts (one time was a 6x12 and another time was a Design F pocket page) and I plan to do the same thing for this third time.
The next day of documentation (if you'd like to play along at the same time) is scheduled for Thursday, October 27th, 2016. There's no class you need to sign up for as I'll be sharing my words and photos and my process for bringing them together using the kit below here on my blog.
Click here to see all of the Day In The Life™ products we have available in the shop (includes both both physical and digital versions of past kits and other coordinating products).
A digital version of this kit will be available at the beginning of October.
Here's a look at the complete kit:
And here's a video overview of the new kit:
I hope you'll join me in documenting your own day next month.
Kits are available now and ready to ship!
September 15, 2016
Story Kit™ & Story Stamp™ | Me
Today I'm excited to introduce you to the next story theme: Me.
Join me this month as we put ourselves first and get ourselves into the story.
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 Me:
And the Me 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 Drive (
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:
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!
September 12, 2016
December Daily® 2016 | Mini Kit Unboxing Videos
Happy Monday!
Today I'm sharing walk-through videos from each of the mini kit designers (or done by my team). We shared these last week on the @december_daily Instagram account (
using the Stories feature) and wanted to also share them here so you can watch them as much as you need to to get a sense of what's included. You can add mini kits to your December Daily® order here.
Holly Becker of decor8®
Liz Tamanaha of Paislee Press
Studio DIY
Jasmine Jones
Big thanks to all the designers for sharing their ideas and inspiration!
September 9, 2016
September Digital Release
Happy September!
In February we announced that we were changing up the way we release digital products from weekly to monthly. This month we are releasing 6 brand new products including the digital versions of the Just Thankful, Baby, Friends, Seasons and Birthday stamp sets we have in the shop. In addition, the digital version of the Drive Story Stamp™ is now available.
We've also brought back over 20 Classic AE products from my past collection previously offered at Designer Digitals (Classic AE products are designated with a grey box around the product preview and have their own category here).
Click here to see all new products added as part of the September Digital Release. We also created a new category in the digital section of our shop that includes all the new (excluding the Classic AE) products for the last couple months, as well a category where you can find all of the previous Digital Story Stamps™.
Drive Digital Story Stamp™Hello Baby No. 2Hello BirthdayHello FriendsHello SeasonsJust Thankful
If you are looking for more information on Getting Started With Digital Scrapbooking check out my free series of posts
here.
We have over 20 new
Classic AE products in the shop this month focusing on back to school, fall and everyday memory keeping products
Thanks for your support and here's to telling more stories together!
September 1, 2016
December Daily® 2016 | Order Selection Period Now Open
Ordering for
December Daily® 2016 has officially started.
EDITED | As many of you experienced this morning we had a major site crash at the launch time due to a crazy amount of people (love you guys and your enthusiasm) that far exceeded our previous numbers attempting to access the site at the same time. At this time, 10am PDT, things seem to be working smoother. I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration and want to profusely thank you for your patience as it got sorted out and our server capacity was increased dramatically. If, during that process, you ended up with multiples of products that you didn't intend to order please start a conversation with my Customer Service team and they will be happy to assist you in sorting out your order.
To me this December Daily® Order Selection Period has started to become a bit of a marker for the transition from summer to fall (two of the very best seasons in my opinion). My kids all go back to school next week which will be interesting and fun and exciting with our new blended family situation. And Simon is starting high school. For real. Activities are on the calendar and a new normal will slowly begin to take place.
With that in mind, the holidays will be upon us in the blink of an eye and my goal is to help you start thinking (even from a distance) about how you want to document your December this year. I'll be using a 6x8 album and the main kit for sure with probably a few other things added in along the way (I'm loving the stamp sets this year especially). You don't have to skip Halloween and Thanksgiving and jump right into bringing out your tree and your decor, but I think you know what I mean.
This Order Selection Period will run from now until the end of September and then we will package up your box and ship it to you in October. If you are signed up for the December Daily® email list you'll receive reminders and updates about shipping along the way. You can sign up for the specific December Daily® newsletter at the bottom of this page. We do not anticipate any shipping delays this year.
As you'll see below I've included video walkthroughs of the main kit, the coordinating products, and a video sharing some of my favorites from the mini kits for 2016.
I'm super excited to bring you this selection of December Daily® products this year and am hopeful you'll find something to make documenting your stories in December that much easier and more fun.
If you have any questions or issues with the order selection process please start a conversation with our Customer Service team.
Here's a run down (review in case you missed this post) of how it works with images of the products below:
HOW ORDERING WORKS
Add products to your December Daily® box.
Click "Order Box" to start the checkout process.
Review your order and click "Confirm Selection" At that time your credit card will be charged for the items you added to your box.
Throughout the month of September you can add more products to your December Daily® box (your card will be charged each time you click "Confirm Selection"). For example if on 9/1 you select my kit + Jasmine's kit, you will be charged for those two kits at that time. If you return on 9/10 and add an album and a stamp set to your box you will be charged for those items at that time. Once shipping begins in October, we'll pack everything up and send it to you.
The December Daily® box process includes a "Your Shipping" section which will allow you to see how much your current shipping charges are at any time.
Shipping charges, if they apply to your order, will be charged upon shipment.
Shipping rates for all items are as follows:
Mini Kits: $2 US / $3 CAN / $4 Int'l per kit
Main Kit: FREE US / $4 CAN / $7 Int'l per kit
Pre-Order Shop Items (dies, stamps, and tab stickers): Free shipping to everyone
Albums: $3 US / $4 CAN / $7 Int'l per album
Domestic customers who spend $99 on items will receive free shippingMAIN KIT 2016 / $49.99
Here's a look at my December Daily® kit for 2016:
You can see additional images by clicking on the main kit image on the
December Daily® Order Selection page.
When you purchase my main
December Daily® kit during the order selection period (9/1/16- 9/30/16), you will receive a free set of 6x8 hole punched transparencies (while supplies last).
MINI KITS / $19.99
These kits are designed to compliment the main kit or work on their own. Enjoy!
Designed by Jasmine Jones.
Designed by Pam Garrison.
Designed by Liz Tamanaha of Paislee Press.
Designed by Holly Becker of Decor8.
Designed by Kelly Mindell of Studio DIY!
ALBUMS & EXTRAS
This year we have four albums to choose from: 3, 6x8 choices and one 4x6. They all include 31 page protectors in the same configuration as last year. I'm going to be using one of the 6x8 albums for my project this year.
Check out the Coordinating Products video below for a closer look at the albums.
We have 7 new 4x6 stamp designs available (5 designed by me, 1 by Jasmine Jones, and 1 by Liz Tamanaha), as well as 2 designs that we brought back from last year.
In addition to the kits, albums and stamps we are offering some additional products you can add to you box:
December Daily® Chipboard shapes (which were designed to fit perfectly on the spines of the 6x8 album)
Red puffy alpha
A set of 3x4 silkscreens
A set of 4x6 silkscreens
Paint bundle
Joy circle craft die
Merry craft die
Metallic ink pad bundle
AE chipboard shapes bundle
AE aplha sticker bundle
Metallic marker set
Page Protector Bundle
Individual packs of variously sized page protectors
The coordinating items listed above (stamps, silkscreens, alpha, craft dies, etc) all ship for FREE anywhere.
Digital products, for those of you who are interested, will be available on October 10th. These will include new layered templates and overlays for 2016, as well as digital versions of my main kit, the mini kits, and stamp sets.
If you have any questions about the process or issues with the order selection process please start a conversation with our Customer Service team.
Thank you, as always, for your support and excitement about this project.
August 29, 2016
December Daily® 2016 | Announcements & Schedule & How It Works
It's time to start initial thinking about December Daily® for 2016.
It's definitely not time to bring out your Christmas stuff (unless you really, really want to) but it is time to start thinking about how you want to document your holiday season.
Around here we start that off by sharing new December Daily® products right around the first of September. This year we have changed the name of this ordering time from "pre-order period" to "order selection period." There was some confusion in the past regarding "pre-order" and what that meant when products sell out. In keeping with our goal of clear communication we hope that changing the name will help make it more clear that when things sell out they are likely gone. The production timeline for these products began in early 2016 - for us that means design, production, manufacturing, etc. - and we make every effort to order in quantities that will meet demand but that are also responsible business decisions (and some of those things are tough to predict). Thank you for understanding.
Last week we announced the Mini Kit designers:
Jasmine Jones, Pam Garrison, Holly Becker of Decor8, Liz Tamanaha of Paislee Press, and Kelly Mindell of Studio DIY!. Today we have sneak peeks of my main kit also available. You can check them all out here - click on the photo circle on that page to see sneak peeks of each of their kits. Full kits will be revealed when the order selection period begins this Thursday. On that page you will also find a sign up if you are interested in receiving December Daily® specific emails leading up to and during the holiday season (please note this is a separate email list from our regular marketing emails).
Here's a look at the general timeline for 2016:
On September 1st at 8am PST the order selection period will begin (kits + albums + other add-on products). You will be able to locate the shopping page under the December Daily® 2016 menu at the top of this page. Products are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are limited. The selection period, where you can add products to your December Daily® box, will be open until September 30th.
Add products to your December Daily® box. Click "Order Box" to start the checkout process. Review your order and click "Confirm Selection." At that time your credit card will be charged for the items you added to your box. Throughout the month of September you can add more products to your December Daily® box (your card will be charged each time you click "Confirm Selection"). For example if on 9/3 you select my kit + Jasmine's kit, you will be charged for those two kits at that time. If you return on 9/10 and add an album and a stamp set to your box you will be charged for those items at that time. Once shipping begins in October, we'll pack everything up and send it to you. The December Daily® box process includes a "Your Shipping" section which will allow you to see how much your current shipping charges are at any time. Shipping charges, if they apply to your order, will be charged upon shipment.
Shipping rates for all items are as follows (these are the same as last year):
Mini Kits: $2 US / $3 CAN / $4 Int'l per kit Main Kit: FREE US / $4 CAN / $7 Int'l per kit Pre-Order Shop Items (dies, stamps, and tab stickers): Free shipping to everyone Albums: $3 US / $4 CAN / $7 Int'l per album Domestic customers who spend $99 on items will receive free shipping.DIGITAL PRODUCTS AVAILABLE OCTOBER 10
December Daily® digital products for this year including the kits (cards + embellishments that translate to digital products), layered templates, and other products will be available for sale on October 10th (time TBA).
Starting November 1st I'll be re-running my well-received Storytelling With December Daily® workshop. The main content of this workshop will be the same as it was last year since it was a deep-dive into my processes and inspirations and storytelling ideas for the project since I first started - includes video walk-throughs and in-depth discussions of all my past albums and the way I told stories in each one. This workshop is not about working with any specific kit or product. I'll be adding in a new video overview of my 2015 album with new thoughts and reflections to this year's workshop.
Please note that we are considering an alumi option for people interested in participating again with the live community and will have more details as we get closer to registration.
If you are brand new to the concept of
December Daily® you can check out all my past projects here. You can also check out all my past blog posts sharing my foundation pages, processes, stories and more in my archives here.
August 26, 2016
Health Update & Listen To Your Body
I had planned to be sharing photos of my trip to Bali with you these last few days but I ended up having a crazy health scare with deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in my leg) and pulmonary embolisms (blood clots on the lungs) that landed me in the hospital last weekend. I've been sharing some of the story on Instagram and wanted to share a bit more of an update here.
My hope in sharing some of the more private details in this post is to encourage you to listen to your own body and to take action if/when it's needed to save your life or potentially that of someone you love. There is a lot more information about blood clots online (they can be caused by a variety of different things and not just long plane flights) but my suggestion is to talk to your own doctor if you have concerns. The internet can be a very scary place for health-related information and misinformation.
Here's my story:
After returning home from Bali I had a leg ache/cramp in my lower right calf that wouldn't go away. For me it was a pain that made me want to keep stretching it - it was not noticeable on the outside of my leg (no redness or swelling). We had returned to the US on Sunday and I resumed my regular day to day life activities. By Thursday the calf pain was still present and I developed a low grade fever and was experiencing an overall feeling of "not goodness" (which can sometimes be known as jet lag to make it that much more complicated). I worked in the morning and then told Katie I needed to take a nap. Once I was up and walking around again I continued to not feel good and told Aaron that I wanted to go to a local Urgent Care (it was after 5pm) to have them check me out because the pain hadn't gone away and I was starting to feel nervous about it (fearing a blood clot due to my recent long travel). After arriving at Urgent Care I was told to go to the ER because they didn't have an ultrasound machine to test for a clot.
There was a lot of mental second guessing going on along the way even in the beginning. Should I just wait until tomorrow and talk to my regular doctor? This is probably nothing. I hate going to the ER because I know how much it costs just walking in the door. It's probably nothing. But I'm definitely the person that wants to know what's going on and my anxiety is the kind that motivates me to take action/get a resolution vs. hide.
I drove over to the ER and checked in. They called in someone to do the ultrasound and told me that I had a clot in my right calf that stretched into my right knee (called deep vein thrombosis/DVT). After some discussion they decided to start me on a blood-thinning medication (Pradaxa) and send me home. They asked multiple times if I had tightness in my chest or trouble breathing and at that point it wasn't an issue I was aware of for myself. At the end of my time there the last nurse I talked to said to me, "Here's the deal: if you feel anything strange, anything out the ordinary like shortness of breath or lightheadedness or pain in your chest, come back in here right away. This isn't something to mess around with." I think his very specific warning helped guide my decisions the over the course of the next day. Just a note for the sake of my memory - the wait that night for some people in the ER was 9 hours. I was lucky (or unlucky as the case may be) to be in and out of there in just a little over 3 hours.
The fear with blood clots in your legs (or in your arms) is that they break off and travel to your lungs, heart, or brain. Without being overly dramatic, it can be fatal. According to the Mayo Clinic, "About one-third of people with undiagnosed and untreated pulmonary embolism don't survive."
So with that in mind (yikes), I went about my fairly regular routine and drove to fill my new subscription and did some work at my desk. I was tired and a little scared/anxious about what was happening, but okay. Early in the afternoon I was on the phone and walked upstairs to my bedroom and was winded and had trouble catching my breath while holding the conversation and needed to sit down. That is not normal for me at all and I definitely took note but chalked it up to just an overall feeling of fatigue that I was experiencing (international travel + moving in + getting back to work + the stuff of life).
I was scheduled to go sign loan papers for a refinance of my house at 2pm and had planned to drop Audrey off with her Mom on the way to the appointment. While driving there I became lightheaded (and, at that point, very scared). I wondered if my anxiety was getting the best of me and was I creating these feelings or was it really a very bad sign (I learned after the fact that anxiety can be a warning sign for pulmonary embolisms - even more challenging for someone who already deals with anxiety). I dropped Audrey off and then decided to drive straight to the ER. I walked in and, through big crocodile tears, told the intake person that I swear I wasn't crazy and that I could possibly be making this up because I'm so worked up or something could be really wrong with me. I told her what I had been experiencing and they got me started in the triage process.
I had an ekg and my vitals were fine. I was moved out of triage to a bed in the main section of the ER and met with a doctor. There was more crying on my part as I told her my story and that "sometimes I just cry when I talk when I'm really afraid" (those of you who've been around awhile might remember me learning the lesson about continuing to talk even when you're crying). After listening and checking me out she suggested doing a spiral ctscan because then I would either know it wasn't an issue or it would be and we'd go from there. Aaron arrived. They hooked me up to an IV to receive some kind of iodine injection during the ctscan. It was all very surreal but I felt really glad to be getting checked out to either alleviate my fear or take the next steps.
I waited close to an hour and then the doctor came back and let me know that there the ctscan detected a series of small blood clots on my lungs (I remember her saying two but at the follow-up visit to my doctor today we got to see the scans and there were definitely more than two). I might have cheered a little bit just in knowing that I wasn't making it up but I was also still very scared about what it all really meant. From there I ended up being admitted to the hospital for monitoring while they started me on Lovenox (a low-weight molecular heparin that is injected). I spent the night in the hospital and had the chance to talk to a bunch of different nurses and the doctor about what was happening - if everything stayed stable they planned to send me home the next morning.
I know not everyone likes the hospital but I'm one of those people who doesn't mind. I was really happy to be monitored and to alleviate some of the bigger fears I was experiencing under the care of nurses and a doctor. I wasn't in a hurry to get out of there.
The noisy chatter of all that is regular life (work, the internet, meetings, decisions to be made, putting all the stuff away in the house, etc) stopped and all that was left was the most important things: the people. I'm really thankful to my local community of friends and family who reached out with support and help with all the kids (and support directly for Aaron) while I was in the hospital. It's amazing how people mobilize when things like this happen.
The next day we talked about discharging me. I was still feeling "off" overall but my vitals were fine and I wasn't experiencing shortness of breath or any other major symptoms. We decided to have me do a walking test around the floor (I was in the cardiac unit of a section of the hospital called the Heart & Vascular Center) to watch my blood oxygen levels. As I walked around I was doing okay but towards the end my oxygen levels starting dropping below a level they were comfortable sending me home. So I stayed another night.
I really do try to live a life that focuses on gratitudes in my everyday life. Sitting in my hospital bed I had time to reflect on all that from a very different perspective once again. Health scares have a way of bringing the most important things, what truly matters, of our lives into acute focus. I might have laughed out loud a few times there in the room by myself - at the absurdity of the whole situation - and I gave so much thanks that I was okay and not the alternative. It was a very direct message to stop and rest.
The next day (Sunday) I had an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) and I did another walk-around test where my levels stayed closer to where they should be so it was decided I didn't need to take any oxygen home with me. The orders from the doctor were to rest and to continue getting the Lovenox injections for a few more days and then go back on the Pradaxa and check in with my doctor within a week. If I experienced any of the same symptoms again I'm supposed to go to the ER. I felt comfortable going home and was ready for the next phase (and significantly more calm then when I entered the ER on Friday night).
Coming home was the best gift. That night I sat on my bed with Aaron and all the kids while he played guitar while watching The Killers concert on Quello (an ironic band name for the situation but one of my favorites) and all the kids were either dancing or watching and I was overcome with gratitude for what is right now. It was one of those moments I don't think I'll forget.
The next few days were spent in bed with the exception of going to an infusion clinic for the Lovenox injections each morning (thankful to my friends who came over and took me to my appointment). I've been taking it as easy as I can with lots of resting, napping and reading. I was seriously so glad I had my Kindle along with me for the entire experience. So much waiting and resting both in and out of the hospital. From Thursday to yesterday I read Dark Matter, Where'd You Go Bernadette, Before The Fall and The Aviary. I didn't watch any TV. I turned off any noises on my phone. I just let my body rest.
Today I'm heading to the doctor for a check-in after this week. I'm looking forward to asking more questions and seeing what his take is on things. I'm cautiously optimistic that the medicine is doing what it's supposed to do and I'll be on it for the next three to six months at least. I'm taking it super slow and doing a little bit here and there and resting when I get tired (which is still often).
But I'm here and I'm oh so very thankful.
August 15, 2016
New Story Theme Now Available | Drive
Today I'm excited to introduce you to the next story theme: Drive.
Whether you drive to work, failed your first driver’s test, drive your kids around and around, are heading out on a road trip, or are driven crazy by one thing or another, we all have stories related to the ways we are driven in our lives (both literally and figuratively). Join us this month as we focus on the things that motivate us, the reasons we drive around, and stories related to driving/being driven.
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 Drive:
And the
Drive 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 Drive (
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:
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!
