Ali Edwards's Blog, page 174
August 12, 2016
AE Digital Creative Team | Stuff Digital Story Kit™
Happy Friday!
Today I'm sharing awesome layouts made by my
Digital Creative Team using the Stuff Digital Story Kit™.
Be sure to check out our
Creative Team Gallery where you can go to see how the team is crafting their stories using my products - including additional images from the projects we are sharing below. We'll be updating it a couple times a month.
This month the team is sharing stories they crafted using the Stuff Digital Story Kit™ which is available for a few more days (last day to start a subscription is the 14th). Remember that all subscriptions, including the digital subscription, includes a classroom with specific ideas for working with each theme.
Just a heads up again that most of my team uses the digital kit to create paper projects - meaning they print out the digital pieces and add them to paper layouts/pockets (vs. completely digital projects).
Jen Schow (see more photos and a process video here)
Pam Baldwin (See more photos of this project in the Creative Team Gallery)
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Check out the Creative Team Gallery for more detailed photos of each members projects.
Interested in learning more about working with digtal scrapbooking products? Check out my free series on Getting Started With Digital Scrapbooking here.
Check out all my digital/printable scrapbooking supplies here
August 5, 2016
Around Here
I was on the Paperclipping Roundtable podcast earlier this week (talking about documenting mental health issues) and during the discussion I talked about how much I valued my Around Here posts - the ones that capture a combination of facts and feelings about what's happening in my home and my head and my heart at any given time. It was a good reminder to get myself back in the habit of taking the time to write it down and share it here and then turn it into a layout when I have a chance.
So here are a few things happening around here:
PACKING & PREPARING | Leaving on a jet plane this weekend for my Scrapmap trip to Bali. This one has been planned for a couple years and filled up fast with people who have gone on past trips with me. I'll likely be planning another one of these in the future to a different destination and I'll let you know the details for that when they become available. I'll be taking a Traveler's Notebook and using that style of documenting for this trip - my first time. I'm excited to mix it up, get a little looser with my documenting, and see what happens.
UNPACKING | Aaron, by the time this posts, will have completely moved all his belongings into my house (or very close to it). There is a big old mess exploding downstairs and in my bedroom and I'm taking it all in stride. Once we get back from Bali the plan is to finish up his music room in the garage (I have an extended garage which has enough space to park a car + make a room in the back) and then a lot of the stuff that's in the house now can move out to the garage. The plans for the creation of an additional bedroom upstairs are in the architectural drawing stage (this will be combining the room outside my office + my album shelf area into a a new bedroom for the girls).
LISTENING | To all the kid conversations. Listening for happiness. Listening for signs of stress. Listening to their banter. Listening to the ways in which they communicate with one another. Listening to "Pictures Of You" and "Just Like Heaven" from The Cure. Listening to podcasts: season two of Undisclosed, The Simple Show, and On Being.
WATCHING | Aaron and I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix. It's a bit too scary for me (meaning I have to hide my eyes at some parts) but I want to know what happens now. I definitely can't watch it alone.
PURCHASING | I bought a new camera this week and it's all Liz's fault. Actually, it was time - I went with a Canon 6D. I'll post more about it after I have a chance to use it.
READING | My copy of the new Harry Potter book came yesterday. Both Simon and Isaac were super interested (Isaac has read the series multiple times and if you've been reading my stories for any length of time you know Simon's affinity for the series). Simon followed me around for the rest of the night reading it out loud and he kept coming across characters and going "NO WAY. NO WAY." and getting so excited. I think he totally loves that it is in a script format (based on a play currently running in London) - one of his favorite things to do in the last year or so is to re-write movie scripts by watching them with the subtitles on and transcribing the stories into Word documents. Yep, he was excited.
LOADING & UNLOADING | The dishwasher. I'm looking forward to getting back from this trip and setting up some new house rules/kids jobs/chore charts. Adding four people to our house more than doubles the number of dishes when everyone is here and I want this to be a house where kids have responsibilities and share in the overall work of family life.
GIVING THANKS | This has been a really great summer. Simon has loved being on the swim team (a total surprise) and I think he's loved the social aspect as much as anything. It's been a great way to begin the transition to high school since it's a neighborhood pool and he's gotten to meet a bunch of kids who will also be at the same high school. He's really grown - literally and figuratively - over the last few months and it has been such a cool thing to witness. He's excited for high school and we are doing our best to keep that positive momentum going into the fall.
August 3, 2016
August Digital Release
Happy August!
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 Beach and Celebrate stamp sets we have in the shop. In addition, we have made the digital word art files and decorative badges from our AED Summer Pinterest Passport series available for purchase.
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 August 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™.
Summer Passport StampsSummer Passport BadgesStuff Digital Story Stamp™Hello BeachCelebrate Food Messy Circles
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 a variety of everyday memory keeping products.
Thanks for your support and here's to telling more stories together!
August 1, 2016
Day In The Life™ | July 2016
This past Saturday I documented my day by taking a photo and doing a bit of journaling each hour for Day In The Life™. Today I'm sharing how I brought those photos and words together using Project Life® Design F page protectors (I'm adding these into my Project Life® album).
First off I have to say that I really, really loved setting the hourly alarms on my phone as the reminder to take a photo and journal each hour. I've never approached this project that way before and it was a totally different experience. Usually I'm just taking photos whenever I feel like it throughout the day with the goal of simply capturing the real life routines of a regular day. I actually loved the limit/restriction of just taking a photo when the alarm went off. I ended up with 15 photos and 15 journal cards (I used the cards that came with the Day In The Life™ Mini Kit No. 2) that represent the day I lived. It was also super easy to just have the cards out on the kitchen counter to fill them in as the day went along.
Another thing I loved about the process this time was that I took all vertical photos. I did this because I knew I was using the Design F page protectors with the 3x4 pockets. Generally almost every single photo I take is horizontal - it's just what I've always done and since I religiously use the Design A page protectors for Project Life® with seven of the 4x6 pockets for photos it just makes sense (when I do use an occasional 3x4 photo I just crop it before printing to adjust the orientation). It was a fun creative challenge for me personally to play with the vertical orientation - all it takes is a simple thing like that to ignite a different part of my creative lens.
Yesterday I printed out the photos, created the title card, added the stickers and slipped everything into the pockets. Voila.
Simple and easy for the win.
Here's a look at how my day came together with a video overview below that includes information on using the new silkscreens in my shop (what I used for my title card):
I ended up using two sheets of the Design F page protectors (all of one and 1/2 of the other - on the back of the second one I'm just planning to tell a different story).
I varied the placement of the time cards and the photos - sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right - just for some visual variety.
My formula was simple: on top of the journal cards I added one circle icon and on the photos I added one black & white phrase sticker.
For the title card I used one of my new Days Of The Week silkscreens + some of my Pendleton (red) paint. I've included the how-to for using those silkscreens in the overview video below.
In addition I used the Time Roller Stamp and a rolling date stamp to add both of those onto the title card.
On the back of the first page I continued to add my photos and journal cards. On the back of the title card I paired a fun number pattern paper (this was from a past Studio Calico kit but they have the pattern available as part of a 4x6 paper pad here) with one of the speech bubbles from the Day In The Life™ Mini Kit No. 2. I didn't end up using most of those speech bubbles on this project but love that they are "everyday" enough to use in future Project Life® spreads.
For the third page of content I repeated what I had done on the first two. In the 4x6 pocket I added a "love" speech bubble and simply stapled it to the front portion of the page protector to keep it in place. The back side of this page is currently empty and waiting to be filled with another story (maybe one about all the stuff around here related to Aaron and kids moving in).
Overall, I loved this different take on the process and will definitely do it like this again another time in the future.
VIDEO OVERVIEW + SILKSCREEN DEMOSUPPLIESDay In The Life™ Mini Kit No. 2 Days Of The Week Silkscreen Set AED Pendleton Paint Time Roller Stamp Project Life® Design F Page Protector Studio Calico 4x6 Paper Pad - June 2016 (or via the Scout Scrapbook Kit) Rolling Date Stamp Tiny Attacher Stapler
July 28, 2016
The Next Chapter
Sometimes when I tell the story of my life I talk about how at one point, before getting into memory keeping and before having any kids, I envisioned that I was on a path to being a stay-at-home-mom and having five kids while my husband worked to support our family.
Life has a funny way of making things happen in ways we never expect.
My story, like most of yours, has twists and turns and highs and lows. We imagine things are going to happen one way and then something entirely different happens - either by our own choice or the choices of others. That has definitely been the story of my life - from having a child with autism to my career to going through a divorce to finding a new partner.
A couple weeks ago I posted the following on Instagram:
Almost 4 years ago my friend Kim left me a message telling me about a friend of hers who was looking for a friend. "You have similar stories," she said. We met a couple days later when Katie and I went to the Twilight marathon at the movie theater (a great story for another time). Since then we've been to China, New York, Disneyland & Disneyworld, France, Hawaii, Peru, Mexico, and to the Gorge to see Dave Matthews the last three Labor Day weekends. We've had a zillion and one discussions about the past, the present and the future - about who we are and where we come from and can this actually work. We are both over-thinkers (which serves us well in certain areas of our lives) which can be a little tricky when it comes to forward movement in a relationship, especially when there are a bunch of other hearts & minds involved. All this to say, we are moving forward together. ❤️. Anyone want to buy my house?
Moving forward together. That's what this next chapter is all about.
Since posting that on Instagram we've decided to stay in my house and make some modifications to hold everyone (my heart is super happy about this decision but I was also completely willing to move). We're in the process of having plans drawn up to create one additional bedroom and we are creating a room in the back of my garage as a space for Aaron's work and music.
Aaron has three kids ages 7 (Audrey), 9 (Elliott), and 11 (Isaac). As most of you know, I have two kids (Anna - age 7 and Simon - age14). All together, as basic math would have it, that equals five kids.
The crazy thing of life for us and our specific situation is that sometimes we'll have all five kids here in the house and sometimes we'll have none and sometimes it will be any other number combination. We both have caring ex-spouses who are very involved in their children's lives. All together we form a community of grown-ups who are working together for the greater good of these kids - one day at a time, one conversation at a time, one decision at a time.
We take nothing for granted and no decisions lightly. And nothing is perfect.
As I was writing this post I went back through all my photos for the last four years to share with you today. I've been taking photos all along since the day we met and since the day all our kids met. There have been many meals around tables and other adventures and celebrations and gatherings and everyday stuff. Not all of these photos and stories have been told or shared publicly. Some have made it into my Project Life® albums - many of those photos included the backs of kids' heads as it wasn't yet time to share them as part of the larger story of our lives.
Two years ago (almost to the day) I wrote a post called A Story Of Two People. When I re-read that today what I love reading most is this, "We are learning as we grow. Alone and together about who we are as individuals and who we are together and what it means to have our families expand." Taking our time was important to us because the story includes so many more people than just him and me.
As we begin the process of intentionally merging together it's with joy and enthusiasm from all the involved hearts. Simon told me, "I've always wanted brothers."
Here are some pieces of our story as it's evolved:
Our first coastal adventure in December 2012. They have all grown so much over the last four years. Anna and Audrey will likely not remember what it was like before knowing each other (they were both three/almost four when we met).
Sunriver 2013.
County Fair 2013.
Seattle 2014.
Disneyland 2014 with Simon + Isaac.
Out at the lake July 2014.
Spring Break RV trip 2015.
Reading Harry Potter by headlamp.
Traveling home from DisneyWorld July 2015.
And then there have been many adventures just me and Aaron:
New York 2012.
China 2013.
Paris 2013.
Dave Matthews 2013 (and 2014 and 2015).
Peru 2014 (can't wait to see you guys again Bob + Donna).
San Francisco 2014.
Coos Bay 2014.
Spring Break 2015 at a Golden State basketball game in Oakland.
One thing that I'm super excited about is that when we come home from a trip now we will be coming back to the same house instead of heading to our separate homes.
And then there's just the everyday life kinda stuff - some at his house and some at my house:
Playing music.
Playing video games.
Watching movies or shows.
Talking about blogs.
Reading books. Aaron is the very best at tucking his kids in for the night. Seriously impressive effort.
"Maybe someday we'll be sisters."
And many times around the table.
Here are some of the things I'm learning/re-learning/thinking about right now:
Life really does unfold in chapters. Some move the story forward with heartbreak and some with crazy amounts of joy.
It's okay to just embrace what "is" right now. What "is" for us is a very big transition. We are taking our time. We are embracing the mess that is moving two complete households into one. We are conscious and aware of feelings and tensions and figuring it out one step at a time.
That in sticking with my life mantra of living the length and the width I need to let myself really be happy in this season without falling back into fear.
I'm thinking a lot about and looking for ways to celebrate and honor the beginning of the next chapter. This is a big deal for all of us. The merging of personalities and my continued mission to celebrate each one for who they are.
I'm treasuring and not taking for granted having a partner again under the same roof again. The give and take of it all. I'm so glad that I had a decent length of time to essentially be on my own in this house - to embrace that time for what it was and all that it taught me about myself and my kids and all that I learned about Aaron along the way.
So much excitement for the creation of new traditions.
I'm researching and looking for ideas and tips for large family meal planning and organization. Even though they won't all be here all the time I want to have it be as organized as possible - I think we all operate better under those conditions.
Here's to stories unfolding and hearts expanding and in-the-middle-of-the-mess-transitions and opening wider.
July 26, 2016
Day In The Life™ This Saturday July 30th
Hey friends! Just a friendly reminder that I'll be embarking on my second Day In The Life™ project for 2016 this Saturday, July 30th.
For my documentation this time I'll be using this kit that includes 24, 3x4 cards (also available digitally here) + a sticker sheet + epoxy circles + fun speech bubble die cuts.
My approach this time is going to be a little different than in the past because I'm ready to mix it up.
Using my iPhone I'm going to set up hourly reminders and each time my alarm goes off I'm going to take a photo with my phone and write on one of the cards - right then and there. My hope is to have the majority of the project done by the end of the day by simply taking the quick minute or two each hour to document in the moment (meaning my words + photos will be taken care of minus any editing I might do before printing). In the days following that I'll print out my photos and add my embellishments.
July 19, 2016
Christmas In July | December Daily® 40% Off Sale
Just a quick update to let you know that this week I'm having a Christmas In July sale with 40% off all December Daily® products (both physical and digital) as we begin to make room for all the new 2016 December Daily® products. Look for more details in August regarding ordering kits and products for holiday 2016.
Sale ends July 25th at 11:59pm. No promo code required. While supplies last (digital products will not be removed from the shop after the sale is over but it's a great price to stock up now).
Also, throughout this week, we are doing December Daily® giveaways over on my @aliedwardsdesigninc Instagram account. That's a great account to follow for any and all product updates.
Hope you have a great week!
July 18, 2016
31 More Things Now Available As A Self-Paced Workshop
Happy Monday!
Just a heads up that my popular 31 More Things workshop is now available again as a self-paced class.
This workshop includes a collection of 31 prompts, presented in 31 lessons, that invite you to tell stories about your life via a single word as a jumping off point. Emphasis in this class is on simply practicing your storytelling skills using some of my favorite techniques and getting over your fears of putting words on the page. Some of the single-word prompts include: home, passion, color, cook, paper, mess, etc.
There is also a workshop bundle option available that includes both 31 Things (the original workshop) and 31 More Things. All together both workshops give you the opportunity to tell 62 different stories from your own life.
When I posted about this on Instagram the other day I received a couple comments that I wanted to share here today:
leslieraecannon_art // For anyone on the fence or even just starting to contemplate this class - just do it! It will be one of those things you look back on and be glad you did.
marilynva // Really enjoyed both of these classes.
kre8tivekate // This is an amazing and satisfying class if you want to develop your writing/journaling chops. I highly recommend it!
31 MORE THINGS KIT PROMOTION
If you are joining 31 More Things I recommend picking up the class kit which includes just what I used to tell all my stories in my album include the title strips, the washi tape, and a great little alpha stamp set. Make sure to use the promo code 5MORETHINGS to get the kit for just $5 (regular price is $13.99).
July 15, 2016
New Story Theme Now Available | Stuff
Today I'm excited to introduce you to the next story theme:
Stuff.
Because we all have stuff in our lives - specifically things & thoughts. Good stuff. Bad stuff. Light stuff. Heavy stuff. More stuff. Less stuff. This month we are looking around our homes to tell stories of our stuff.
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 Stuff:
And the Stuff 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 Believe (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 (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!
July 13, 2016
Project Life® 2016 | Week Seventeen & Transition Page
Today I'm sharing my Week Seventeen which signals the end of my first album for 2016.
I split my Project Life® years into 3, 4-month albums - so January through April, May through August, and September through December. For some people that might be way too much (too many albums) but for me this set up continues to work for the stories I want to tell.
I'm not up-to-date for the second album (May through August) but am slowly but surely working my way through as I go.
At the bottom of this post I'm sharing what I did on the last page of this album and a short video overview of this album.
Here's a look at my Week Seventeen:
This week is just a mix of cards that were on my work table from a variety of sources including the Believe Story Kit™ (available via subscription through the 14th), the Scout Documenter Kit (from Studio Calico), my Gratitude Journal Card set, and my Celebrate Journal Card set. I've recently been doing a lot of spreads that include a whole lot of repetition with the cards so it was fun to mix it up again between different sets.
Loving my "currently" craft die (added to the card in the middle on the right) - that little bit of texture on a journal card is great. I use the Evolution for my manual die cutting machine.
Still writing on my photos to tell just a bit more of my stories.
Fun sequin heart is from Freckled Fawn. Katie took this photo of Anna when Anna told her that she needed a new headshot and it must be on a white background (ha).
Little stories throughout the year = one big story at the end of the year.
Are you struggling because you feel like you have to tell every story? Give yourself a break and just tell something vs. thinking it has to be everything. Little somethings add up to a bigger something in the end.
The second half of the week including heading to Kentucky and Tennessee for meetings and for the Inspired Retreat.
Currently Craft Die Believe Story Kit™ Celebrate Journal Card Set Gratitude Journal Card Set AED Precision Pen Freckled Fawn Pink Sequin Heart Rolling Date Stamp Scout Documenter Kit (gold star, lovely card, stars card)
Next up I'm sharing a video overview of my first album for 2016:
Here's a closer look at what I did on the last page of January through April 2016:
To keep it super simple I pick one sheet of 12x12 paper and cut it up to fit into the pockets.
From there I took out one 3x4 card and added in a cute sentiment card (which is actually the back of the gold foil stars card that you saw in the spread for this week). In addition I added three transparent circles - two are from Freckled Fawn and one is from Studio Calico (2016).
Puffy yellow hearts also from Freckled Fawn.
Pattern Paper: Studio Calico Large circles: Studio Calico, Freckled Fawn Puffy Hearts: Freckled Fawn Metal Love Tab: Freckled Fawn Tiny Attacher
