Ali Edwards's Blog, page 181

Day In The Life™ 2016 | Working With The Layered Template Set

Happy Monday! This week I'm going to be sharing how I collected all my Day In The Life™ content together to tell the story of my day. 

Today I'm sharing a layered template tutorial to walk you through the steps of working with my new Day In The Life™ layered template sets and tomorrow I'll share my completed project + my Week 13 of Project Life® (home for my Day In The Life™ inserts) along with a video overview. 

For my own project this time I used one of the 6x12 templates + supplies from the Day In The Life™ kit to record my story. These layered templates - for use with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and offered in both 4x6 and 6x12 sizes - were designed specifically to work with the rolling time stamp that was part of the now sold out Day In The Life™ kit. 

Here's a look at the 4x6 set: 

And the 6x12 set: 

Both sets are super versatile and can be used for a variety of projects, including just weekly in Project Life®. Here's a look at how to work with the Day In The Life™ layered template sets: 

DAY IN THE LIFE™ LAYERED TEMPLATE TUTORIAL

And here's a look at how my 2, 6x12 pages turned out (I'll share the additional inserts that made up my day in my post tomorrow): 

Also, in addition to the two new sets we've also re-released my Day In The Life™ 6x12 Layered Template set and Day In The Life™ 6x12 Photo Collage Layered Template as Classic AE products in my shop (this means it was originally available at Designer Digitals). 

If you are interested in learning more about getting started with digital scrapbooking check out my free series of posts here: Getting Started With Digital Scrapbooking. 

Here's a look at the first 
6x12 layered template set in use in my Project Life® album back in 2013: 

On the back I used a 
Day In The Life™ 6x12 Photo Collages Layered Template set:

You can check out a tutorial on working with that particular layered template set 
here. 

See all my past posts about 
Day In The Life™ here. 

Day In The Life™ Photos + Words | March 2016

Today I want to share with you my photos and words to tell you the story of a day in my life yesterday. 

Thank you to those of you who played along - the #aedayinthelife hashtag was a trending topic on Instagram much of the day - which was fun but also ends up having all kinds of crazy images included in the hashtag feed from people who are just tagging whatever the trending topics of the day are (such is life in our technological age). I loved browsing through your photos and I especially loved being given the specific opportunity to remember once again that we are all just living our own lives day to day - we are in different seasons and moments and I love the reminder to embrace the whole of it for what it is right now. 

I planned, as I usually do, to take photos with both my iPhone 6+ and my DSLR but I ended up with mostly iPhone shots. I usually like the opportunity to use my bigger camera for these projects, but today felt more like a phone day and it just simplified things for me overall. I took all the photos below myself - using the timer on my iPhone or DSLR for any shots that include me. For Week In The Life™ in May I'll definitely be using my DSLR in combo with my iPhone. Quick reminder that the Week In The Life™ pre-order period ends on March 31st. 

I shared more photos on Instagram today than I have in the past for my Day In The Life™ projects and I really liked that format for both the photos and the words. Tonight as I put this post together I simply had to copy and paste what I'd already written on Instagram for my journaling. As you'll see below I've included a few other photos that I didn't post on Instagram - I decided to not add any additional words to those images and just let them tell their own story within the flow of the photos from my day. What you see below includes most of the images I took today (a little over 40 images) and definitely enough to tell the story of this day.

PS | If you are looking for inspiration on ways to see through the lens of your own camera (phone, DSLR, etc) please make sure to check out my Lens Of Joy workshop that starts next week. It's a deep dive into my thoughts and processes for how I personally see through the lens (vision & voice: composition, design, etc) along with a closer look at my uploading, editing, choosing and printing processes. 

Here's a look at my day: 

5:52am | Up and at 'em (or something like that). The story of my morning so far includes both kids waking up way too early and me telling them to go back to bed // allergies (ugh) // feeding animals // moving laundry around // making coffee // and now sitting at my desk to do some editing before the kids get up for real to start the "get-ready-for-school-routine."

6:54am | A Tuesday that feels like a Monday for this one.

7:42am | Kid-to-school-drive #01 underway.

7:56am | Drop off in the gym for morning assembly. Chat with teacher about allergies and give her an @oliverjeffers alphabet book for the classroom (accidentally bought two). Love his illustrations and books.

8:14am | Pull back up to the house to find George & Sam hanging out on the front porch waiting for me.

8:23am | Next up is this guy. He totally lamented that I didn't let him stay up when he woke up at 5:30am. He would have liked some time for video games before school. Bagel & cream cheese & strawberries for breakfast for him.

8:49am | A conversation about being respectful and kind as he climbs out of the car to begin his school day.

9:13am | Back at home and at my desk to work. I'm usually in my office most days from now until about 3pm when I start kid pick-up/afternoon activity facilitation. On my work to-do list today: One Little Word April content, handouts for @sctmagazine event, and new digital products for April. Ready, go.

10:23am | Yep, pretty much the same spot as early this morning.

12:15pm | A benefit of working from home is that when you really need a nap after a bad night of sleep, that can be a possibility. Aaron's been in his bed with the flu since we got back from our toad trip and I'm really hoping I don't get it and I'm really trying to take care of myself. So a short mid-day nap it is. And yes, I still have my coat and vest on because it's cozy.

2:56pm | Worked after nap and now rounding up stuff for kid pick-up. Noticing how awesome it is that the sun came out after a cloudy and foggy morning.

3:28pm | Pick up kid #01 from school. Question: "How was your day?" Answer: "Same as always." (Which, according to Simon, means it was a good day.)

4:16pm | Soccer Chocolate Kittens begin another season! Anna's totally been looking forward to this. Me too. About 20 minutes after this photo was taken Anna sprained or twisted her ankle which resulted in quite a few tears - I think more tears just over the fact that she was so excited about soccer starting in the first place.

5:53pm | Simon starts horse riding again tonight for a spring session (we stopped for the cold and dark winter months). Tuesday's for the next few months will be busy from after-school until we get home after 7:30pm. Figuring out the logistics for snacks and food and travel times from one place to the next.

6:33pm | Peek in on Simon when I take Anna to the bathroom. He likes to ride without us watching. 

7:29pm | Home again. Unload car. Feed animals. Start dinner (taco Tuesday of course). These two end up on the papasan chair with Anna asking if she can play video games with Simon. I'm listening to him teach her the basics of Lego Dimensions. So far, so good. 

8:05pm | Dinner on the couch + just a little bit of the Lego movie + a little time to edit my photos from today. By this time of the day I'm tired. I'm not a late-nighter - I'd much rather get up at 5am (which is what I do). A bath after getting the kids in bed is calling my name.

8:59pm | Reading about presidents before lights out.

9:20pm | Getting my post ready for tomorrow and Sam telling me it's time for bed. 

So what's next? I'll take the next few days to work on how I'm going to incorporate today's content into my Project Life® album and plan to share that with you here next week. 

Again, thank you for sharing your stories. I can't wait to see how you bring your own photos and words together.

Day In The Life™ // Tomorrow March 29th, 2016

Here's your reminder that you're invited to join me in documenting a Day In The Life™ tomorrow Tuesday, March 29th, 2016.

Don't get too caught up in any one part of this. Seriously. Just grab your camera (your DSLR, your iPhone, a small camera - whatever you have is the best one to use) and start taking photos. Think about your story as you are taking photos. What is your waking-up story? What is your morning story? What is your mid-day story? What is your evening story? What is your bedtime story? And then fill in the gaps along the way. 

There isn't a "right" number of photos for this project or a "right" way to approach it. Some people like to write things down throughout the day and other people just use their photos as memory triggers (this works great if you are working on bringing your content together soon after the fact and less great if you wait a long time between the content collection and the making of your own project). 

I know for me I'll be writing down times (most likely that will happen as I post my images to Instagram throughout the day using the hashtag #aeditl) and little micro stories throughout the day. I'll ask myself questions like: 

>> What's the central theme of our life right now and how can I capture that visually?

>> What is the stuff that seems really small & mundane right now but is actually a really beautiful reflection of who we are today? 

>> What makes us "us" at this point in time? 

>> What are the basic details of our day - times, meals, routines, etc? Numbers are a great way to tell this story - think miles driven, cups of coffee consumed, pages read, etc. 

>> I remind myself over and over again that it's not about what is or isn't perfect, it's about what simply is. 

I'm including my personal documentation as an insert in  Project Life® but it would also work great in a traditional album or as a mini-album as well.

This is a great warm-up for Week in The Life™ coming up in May. Don't forget to take advantage of the shipping specials for Week In The Life™ kit/product preorders which ends March 31st (kits will be shipping first week in April). 

HELPFUL LINKS + ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Read about how this project got started here.
Download free Daily Sheets for documenting your day. Purchase my new Day In The Life™ Layered Template Set (6x12 or 4x6) or order my Day In The Life™ Mini Kit for a physical kit approach (or combine the two together). Check out other products recommended for Day In The Life™ documentation here. 
Check out my Day In The Life™ stories from 2013: January | February | March | April | May | June | May 2014 | May 2015
You can also check out how I incorporated them into my completed Project Life® spreads in 2013: January (Week 5) | February (Week 9) | March (Week 13) | April (Week 18) | June (Week 26)

Hope you'll consider participating!

Project Life® 2016 | Week Ten

Today I'm happy to be sharing Project Life® 2016 | Week Ten.

Here's a look at how it all came together: 

So what's up with the ampersands? What I loved about using them here is that I just kept thinking about how our stories go on and on and on. Within any given week (or day) there are so many different stories we could tell - the "&" represents how there's always another one. I also love the simple repetition from one card to the next. 

All of the 3x4 cards I used this wee are from the Homespun kit from Studio Calico. 

When looking through the Homespun 3x4 cards I was looking specifically for the ones that had some kind of a design on the bottom (or the top if you turn it around) that would hold the chipboard ampersands and then have space for my story in the white area. 

Title card is the Tough marketing card that's included each month (a different design each month to go with the theme) with the Story Kit™. Along the bottom I added 1/2 of a label sticker.

I wrote on Instagram that I loved how this looking down angle made me think of fireworks. Love the idea of flowers as fireworks. 

Right on top of the photo I used my Cascade Alpha Stickers to communicate that memory. 

Lots of my stories this week, written directly onto the cards, are about the meetings we've had with Simon's teachers and the high schools. He also had an evaluation this week with a psychologists to get him qualified for Developmental Disability Services via our local county. 

I love all the words. I love that they are pieces of our bigger story. Writing directly on my photos continues to be an easy way to get more words/context into the overall story. 

Hope you are having a good week!

SUPPLIESAED Cascade Mixed Shapes ChipboardAED Cascade Alpha StickersAED 6-Pack Label StickersAED SlickWriter PenTough Story Kit™SC Homespun Documenter KitRolling Date StampProject Life® Design A Page ProtectorsBlack StazOn

AE Digital Creative Team | March Inspiration

Today I'm sharing Creative Team projects using the March release of digital products. You can read more about how I've changed up how I release my digital products here.

 I'm excited to let you know that we now have a Creative Team Gallery where you their projects all together in one place. Tons of inspiration over there. Click on any of the projects there in the gallery to see additional close-up images. 

Click the links below to visit the designer's blog and/or check out the product links. Most of these projects are hybrid - meaning that the designers are printing out the digital products to use in their projects. 

Brandi Kincaid | Brandi used designs from Gratitude Digital Journal Cards & Celebrate Digital Journal Cards

Carol Chastain | Carol used designs from This & That Digital  Journal Cards, Celebrate Digital Journal Cards, and Day In The Life™ Circles.

Emma Speller | Emma used designs from the Digital Day In The Life™ Mini Kit, Day In The Life™ Circles, Celebrate Digital Journal Cards, and Day In The Life™ 6x12 Layered Templates No. 2

Ginny Hughes | Ginny used designs from That & That Digital Journal Cards and Day In The Life™ Mini Kit No. 1

Ingunn Markiewicz | Ingunn used designs from Spark Digital Stamps, and Thicker Travel. Check out more images of her travel album in the Creative Team Gallery.

Jen Schow | Jen used designs from This & That Digital Journal Cards, Old & New Digital Stamps, and Thicker Travel. You Can read more about her layouts on her blog here.

Jen Carlson | Jen used designs from the Cheer Digital Stamp, Black & White Digital Stamp, Sparks Digital Stamp, Day In The Life™ Circles, and Gratitude Digital Journal Cards.

Kelsey McEvoy | Kelsey used designs from Celebrate Digital Journal Cards and This & That Digital Journal Cards.

Pam Baldwin | Pam used designs from Gratitude Digital Journal Cards and Celebrate Digital Journal Cards

Sarah Zayas | Sarah used designs from Celebrate Digital Journal Cards, Gratitude Digital Journal Cards, Sparks Digital Stamps,  and Black & White Digital Stamps.

Spark Your Story | Scrapbook & Cards Today Spring 2016

A very big Happy 10th Birthday To 
Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine!

Starting today until March 30th the Scrapbook & Cards Today team will spend 10 full days celebrating with projects and giveaways. You can read more about how they are celebrating over on their blog here.

The new spring issue is now available and this year my column in each issue will include a traditional layout and a Project Life® spread and a fun download (click here to see all the free downloads from this issue). You can also follow along over on their Facebook page. 

Today I'm sharing the full images of my layouts from this article here but invite you to
click over and download your own FREE digital copy of the magazine and read my full article that includes much more about the concept and ideas related to each layout. You can also become a subscriber and have it delivered to your home address (awesome). They have even set it up where you can download just a PDF of my article: Spark Your Story.

Here's a look at the pages I created for this issue with a focus on going big with alphas and words: 

YES | SUPPLIES

AED Astoria Chipboard Alpha
AED Oversized White Alpha
AED Slickwriter Pen
One Little Word® Alpha set from 2015 (no longer available in white)
Word and Phrase Stickers from various past Story Kits™
Freckled Fawn Together Is Best Chipboard Phrases
Freckled Fawn Gypsy Kit ("yay")
Freckled Fawn Together Is Best Pink Sequin Heart

PL2014 | WK21 | SUPPLIES

Project Life® Design A Page Protectors
AED Gratitude Journal Card Set
AED Love Life Journal Card Set
One Little Word® Alpha set from 2015 (no longer available in white)
Various chipboard pieces and word/phrase stickers from past Story Kits™

Project Life® 2016 | Week Nine

Happy Friday! Here's a look at my Project Life® 2016 | Week Nine:

This week I took a pretty lax approach and really just focused on filling in those pockets. Things have been pretty crazy around here the last couple of weeks as we've been dealing with getting Simon a high-school placement that is the best possible fit for his specific needs. We've got "advocacy action" happening around here in high-gear - touring, talking, more talking, and going back again to ask the questions we didn't know to ask the first time. 

This week I worked on the back of the cards I created using the Day Of The Week craft dies. Because I wanted to keep the transparent part of the pockets around the letters I went ahead and trimmed all the cards/artwork to fit without covering the letters.

The "Made With Love" card was from the Craft Story Kit™. The Label sticker is from this bundle. 

One weeks like this sometimes it's nice to be able to fill more than one pocket with one image. That image could be an enlarged photo or it can be something like your kids artwork. 

The "write this moment on your heart" is from the Tough Story Kit™ which is available now via subscription. 

The "adore this" chipboard circle is from Freckled Fawn's Oxford Embellishment Kit.

I used the "morning" and "evening" stamps from the Stories Of Life stamp set with Pistachio Green Memento Ink on the back of one of the journaling cards I created last week to write a few things about the day. 

This stamp set is currently included in the Week In The Life™ pre-order can be added to your Week In The Life™ box anytime before March 31st for free shipping (flat rate $10 international). 

The second half was filled with some much-needed friend hang-out time. 

I also really love taking the opportunity to include a piece cut from Anna's math homework the week before and a copy of her morning checklist. Stuff like that makes me so happy down the road. 

I also totally took advantage of the ability to write directly on my photos this week including using my Silver Metallic Marker and my Precision Pen.

I used my Friends stamp set on top of a lined-star journal card from my Love Life Journal Card set. The "So Thankful" card is from Gratitude Journal Card set. 

I used one of my Silver Metallic Markers to write directly on my photo. 

SUPPLIESAED Friends Stamp SetAED Stories Of Life Stamp SetAED Silver Medium Metallic MarkerAED Label Sticker BundleAED Love Life Journal Card SetAED Gratitude Journal Card SetAED Precision PenMemento Pistachio Green InkTough Story Kit™Craft Story Kit™Freckled Fawn Chipboard from the Oxford Embellishment KitRolling Date StampProject Life® Design A Page Protectors

Lens Of Joy Returns | 4-Week Photography Workshop

Designed with the storyteller in mind, Lens Of Joy is a 4-week online photography workshop that takes a deep dive into processes related to capturing life through the lens of your camera. I'll will walk you through my personal workflow from picking up the camera, looking through the lens, establishing the story, experiencing the moment, composing, uploading, organizing, editing, printing and pairing the end result with words to tell a more complete story.

I think this workshop is especially timely as we get closer to Week In The Life™ - there are tons of ideas and tips and all my thoughts in one place about the ways in which I look through the lens of my camera and my reasons why. 

Please note that this is a re-run of the same exact workshop that ran in the fall of 2014. All the content will be the same with the exception of the weekly Q&A videos which will be re-recored based on new Q&A threads each week. 

ALUMNI OPTION | If you previously took this workshop in 2014 we are offering an alumni-option for those of you who might want to participate again with the live re-run for $24. Stay-tuned for details on this option.

LENS OF JOY WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

From April 5th through May 3rd you'll encounter 11 different lessons that include over 8 hours of presentation/video content that address the following topics: 

WEEK ONE | The Art Of Seeing (Photo Vision): Your Photo Story, The Reason Why, Photo Mantra (includes two lessons delivered Tuesday & Thursday)

WEEK TWO | Composition & Design (Photo Voice) and Ali's Around The House Shooting Style (includes two lessons delivered Tuesday & Thursday)

WEEK THREE | Photo Workflow: Uploading & Organization, Choosing, Editing, Printing (includes four specific lessons one delivered each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday)

WEEK FOUR | Storytelling With Photos: Self-Portraits, Bringing It All Together, Storytelling With Photos In Project Life® (includes three lessons delivered Tuesday, Thursday & Friday)

Registration will close Tuesday, April 12th at 11:59PST.

Here's a 6-minute video intro to this workshop: 

STUDENT REVIEWS
moneybag | Wow, Ali you totally Wowed me with the class. I think i have figured out what has happen to my photography over the past four years. This class has reclaimed the excitement / and my voice I used to have before I had to put my camera down. Thank you so much for offering a class like this. I had to dig deep to figure things out:) Pat8 | I have gotten so much from this class about joy in what I do, about looking for story, technical tips, encouragement, design principles, and too many other things to name. Your video on shooting around the house was so very very helpful. Watching you work, hearing your talk through your objectives and methods, they were all fabulous. Char | I feel like this class perfect timing for me. I had started to become more intentional in my memory keeping and really spending more time on telling more complete stories. This class has really energized me and it is so lovely to listen to someone a few times a week who feels as passionate as you do about this hobby and the wonderful things that come out of it. So thank you so much for doing this class. It has been wonderful and I have learned a lot.

Please consider joining me for Lens Of Joy as we explore the ways we look through the lens and how that impacts that stories we tell. 

New Story Theme Now Available | Tough

Happy mid-March and welcome to a new Story Theme: Tough. 

As I've mentioned in past months, my goal is that these products are tools in getting your stories told. Our stories include ups and downs, weaknesses and strengths. The products included in this month's kit are designed to support and acknowledge the more challenging times in our lives from bad days to divorce, and they ways in which we bravely face those times. 

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 Tough:

And the Tough 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 Tough (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!

30% Off Classes & Journal Cards

Happy Thursday! 

Just a heads up that we are currently having a 30% off sale on classes (excludes One Little Word®) and physical journal cards in the shop. Prices are marked.

If you've never taken either Yesterday & Today or Hello Story I definitely recommend checking them out. Both originally ran as 12-week workshops and are full of storytelling ideas. Hello Story includes 12 different "story structures" (basically story themes) and each lesson includes three layouts + a Project Life™ idea for how to translate the theme into the pockets of your album. Each layout includes a process video to walk you through the steps of creating the layouts - this class was the inspiration for how I'm approaching the education portion of the Story Kits™.

Sale ends 3/11 at 11:59PM EST.