Ali Edwards's Blog, page 189

Give Sunday | 46

This year, in honor of my 2015
One Little Word® "give," I'm sharing a hand-drawn quote each Sunday here on my blog.

Click here to read my initial post and download the #givesunday word art title and checklist for helping you to give a little something today. You can also view all the past #givesunday quotes via the archives. 

Click here to download the #givesunday 46 quote. Please note: If you are reading this post via email you need to click through to the actual blog post to download the file. 

You're invited to join me. What will you
give today?

Have a wonderful Sunday. 

I Am Tag Book Mini Class Now Available

Earlier this year I decided to make the three workshops I taught in person in 2015 available online as self-paced mini-classes. The third workshop in that series, I Am Tag Book, is now available. If you have already purchased this workshop as part of the bundle option you should be able to access it under your user name/My Classes now. 

I Am Tag Book is a playful, fun exercise in painting, misting, embracing imperfection and reflecting on where you are in your life right now. As memory keepers, many of us focus on telling the stories of other people in our lives first and foremost. This simple tag book is an awesome opportunity to get yourself in the story or continuing telling your own story. Join me for an artistic exploration into who we are right now using “I am” statements and fun mixed media tags.

This workshop includes a supply overview video (10 mins), a presentation with an overview of the project and the reason why (20 mins), a process video that includes steps for creating the tags (40 mins), a 10-page handout with steps and images of my completed pages, and a message board and gallery for sharing and communicating with other students. Many of the supplies used in this project are also available in my shop under the Class Supplies/I Am Tag Book category. 

MINI CLASS BUNDLE OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE

The mini classes are each available for $18 or
choose the Bundle option for $44. Mini-classes included in the bundle are Day In The Life™, Love You Because, and I Am Tag Book. You can see a short description and images of each project on the Bundle page here.

Project Life® 2015 | Week Forty-Three

Today I wanted to share a super simple Project Life® approach which is great for focusing on the words and photos during any given week (or if you, like me, are playing catch-up). 

I've been skipping around in Project Life® this year, including some weekly spreads in the content for my Story subscription program. As I worked on a week that was included in the classroom content for the Cheer theme I was struck once again with how much I love this project and how I want to make time for it and that it doesn't have to be complicated.  

Blah. Blah. Blah. Sometimes I write stuff and I say that to myself while I'm writing it. Usually it's when I feel like I've said whatever it is I'm saying before - that whole broken record kind of thing. The truth is I've been focused on other projects and this one has been on the back-burner. The truth is I was really happy to work on this today and have another week complete. The truth is I don't think you can beat this format for everyday life documentation. Onward.

Here's a look at Week Forty-Three: 

This spread features cards from my Hello Today Journal Card set - this is a set of 3x4 and 4x6 cards that are a physical product now available in my shop. I've currently got three journal card sets available with three more coming in December. Want digital? You can grab The Story Of Today 3x4 Cards here.

Week Forty-Three was the week of Halloween so I've included a 6x12 page protector insert to hold additional photos and journaling (the story was copied and pasted onto 4x6 cards from this blog post). 

I done this style of using a same or similar design for each of the journal cards previously and it's always been a personal favorite (check out some past examples here and here and here). To be clear, I don't think I want to do this every week but I like having it as an option in my own personal style menu. It's nice repetition of design. It's simple. It keeps the focus on the words and the photos. 

At the bottom of each of the journal cards I used a rolling date stamp to specify the actual date and simply journaled my story below the day of the week using a Staedtler Permanent Pen or Uniball Vision Elite pen. 

My minimal embellishing included some of the kraft perforated phrase strips from the Cheer Story Kit™ paired with chipboard hearts. A Tiny Attacher was used to attach the heart and phrase strip to the photo. 

SUPPLIES
Design A Project Life® Page Protectors 6x12 inch 3-pocker Page Protector Avery 2-Inch Index Tabs Hello Today Journal Card set Cheer Story Kit™ (kraft perforated phrase, small black rubber speech bubble) Small chipboard hearts Rolling date stamp Staedtler Permanent Pen / Uniball Vision Elite Tiny Attacher

New Story Theme Now Available | Cheer

Say hello to a new
Story Theme for my Story subscription program: Cheer.

This month we are telling stories about cheering on, cheering for, being of good cheer, cheering loud and saying "Cheers" among other things. Come join us as we use intentional memory keeping products to get our stories told. 

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 Cheer:

And the 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 Cheer (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): 

Let's tell stories together!

Give Sunday | 45

#givesunday is happening on a Saturday this week because the new Story Kit™ and Story Stamp™ release happens tomorrow (on the 15th of each month). My heart is heavy regarding the tragedy in Paris. Praying for peace. 

This year, in honor of my 2015
One Little Word® "give," I'm sharing a hand-drawn quote each Sunday here on my blog.

Click here to read my initial post and download the #givesunday word art title and checklist for helping you to give a little something today. You can also view all the past #givesunday quotes via the archives. 

Click here to download the #givesunday 45 quote. Please note: If you are reading this post via email you need to click through to the actual blog post to download the file. 

You're invited to join me. What will you
give today?

Have a wonderful Sunday. 

December Daily® 2015 | Foundation Pages, Video Overview + Free "Intentions" Printable

Here we go!

Welcome back (or welcome if this is your first adventure) to one of my most favorite storytelling adventures: December Daily®. 

I've been getting my album ready recently and am here today to share my start. I'm primarily using the 
Main December Daily® Kit this year with a few things added in from some of the Mini Kits as well as a few additional products from my stash (there can never be enough stars). As I share my images below I'll be sure to identify which products come from which kit if they aren't from the Main Kit. 

I'm taking my own advice this year and making this project work for me. This year it means simplifying my foundation pages a bit to give me a little more freedom in December to get the stories told I want to tell. As you view the pages below you'll see that not everything is adhered down or pockets stitched/fused shut. I've also included a video overview at the bottom of this post for a more in-person look at where I'm at with my album. 

A couple other things I know to be true as I embark on this adventure again: 

I am very likely not to use a full 2-page spread for each day. Right now I've left more than enough page protectors in the album to accommodate a 2-page spread (a left and a right page) for 25 days. I know I'll be adjusting that as I go because not all stories need a spread. 
I am loving the neutral, white and grey this year with pops of red and green and silver and gold. 
I shared my Design Map a couple weeks ago - basically the current layout of the page protectors. If that's helpful you can download it here. My current pages seen here follow this set up but keep in mind it will likely adjust as I make my way through the month and don't always use 2-pages for a spread on a particular day. 
Please forgive the color discrepancies in some of my images below. I had a challenging time editing these this time around (dealing with loss of daylight).
I'm excited to add more embellishments from the Main Kit to my photos and journaling as I identify the stories I want to tell over the course of the 25 days. I'll also be printing any daily overlays on demand vs. printing them in advance. This will allow me to print them on my photos as well as onto cardstock without printing so many out in advance that I end up not using. I've cut up cards from the Main Kit 6x8 pages and have them in a basket on my table along with a box of other embellishments from the Main Kit ready to be used in December. 
I love this project.BEGIN WITH AN INTENTION

If you are in my Storytelling With December Daily® workshop you heard me talk a lot in the presentation this week about setting an intention for December/the holiday season/the album as a really wonderful way to begin this process. Last year I offered a
free printable to begin your album with the title "My (or Our) Reason Why" and you can still grab that here if it speaks to you. This year I'm starting off my album with a page titled "Intentions" which is similar to my reason why in terms of stating in advance why I'm embarking on this adventure again. Click the text below the image to download the easy-to-print PDF/PNG package.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE INTENTIONS PACKAGE.

If you'd like more inspiration and ideas about setting your intention and telling your story this year there's still time to join my 
Storytelling with December Daily® workshop. This is my first time offering an in-depth and official December Daily® workshop and over a thousand people have joined in and are sharing and supporting one another as we head into December. The first lesson includes video walk-throughs of all nine of my past albums with thoughts on what I've learned and loved over the years. The feedback about the content has been really great. We still have a few 4x6 stamp sets available that ship free to you after registering for the workshop (the class shop page and images will be updated when they are all gone). 

Here's a look at my starting point for 2015 (video at the end of the images): 

It's really hard to see via these images but I embossed the inside of my cover with 
White Embossing Powder (White Opaque Zing) and this 12x12 star stencil from The Crafter's Workshop by Jenni Bowlin. The size of the stencil is awesome because you can lay it right down in the album and then use Versamark Embossing Ink right on top without having to reposition a smaller stencil. 

You can see it better in this close-up here: 

The silver star is from the main kit and the metal "15" are an older product from Tim Holtz. He has 
something similar still available that is about 1/4 an inch shorter. These numbers are not actually attached to the album, rather I used placed the brads and then used a rolled up Sticky Dots inside the number to adhere it to the album. 

Opposite the embossed stars I added one of the printed transparent pages with a red snowflake and the rubber December Daily® banner on top (all from the main kit). I adhered the rubber banner to the snowflake and the snowflake to the patterned transparency using 
Super Sticky Red Tape. 

Currently the next page is holding the "merry happy love joy" pattern paper from the 
Main Kit. I might leave it as is or I might add something to it. I kinda just like it as it is. 

On the backside I included my Intentions page for 2015. You can grab this printable up at the top of this page. I included a couple different colors for you as well as the PNG file that you can use as you'd like for your personal projects. 

I used 
Tim Holtz scissors to cut one of the wood snowflakes in half and adhered them with a Scotch Dot N Roller adhesive. 

One of the things I did while setting up these pages was play with 
metal rimmed circle tags, embossing powders, stamps, and a 1-inch circle punch (among a few other things). For this sample I used the Icon Stamps and the Holiday Circles Stamps (both part of the December Daily® collection this year). The embossing powders I'm using this time include: Zing White Opaque, Tim Holtz White (works just like the White Zing),Tim Holtz Red Tinsel, Tim Holtz Gold Tinsel, Zing Pewter Metallic, and Zing Green Metallic. I stamped and embossed the above circles onto white cardstock, punched them out, and then adhered them to the metal rimmed circle tags. The black and gold "noel" pattern paper is from the Jasmine Jones Mini Kit and the "E" (for my last name) is part of the alphabet that's included in the Kelly Purkey Mini Kit. The chipboard gold star is from my stash of stars. 

Opposite my intentions page I have one of the 2 inch x 2 inch pocket pages. I cut off the third row of pockets (just laid it on my trimmer and cut it off) and added a 2-inch index tab. Inside I stamped "tis the season" on both sides using 
Memento Luxe Gray Flannel Ink. Into the pockets I added some of the metal rimmed circle tags I created above + a wood snowflake + a silver star (both included in the Main Kit).

On the back side I punched more circles from pattern papers and adhered them to the backs of the circle tags. I also used the white embossing powder on the back of the silver star. 

Knowing that December 1 begins on a Tuesday I decided to 
cut out "tuesday" using white cardstock and my Silhouette (traced the PNG file) and lay it on top of a piece of thick, clear plastic. Bazzill offers this and it's called Plastic Paper. The sheets I have here are from Studio Calico - I looked on their site but I didn't see them anymore. You can also achieve this same thing by simply cutting up some extra page protectors to slip inside the pockets.  

Day two currently includes an embossed large red #2 + one of the Jasmine Jones gold foil cards. The other two 3x4 pockets are empty.

Sometimes these foundation pages are a challenge to look at online because the backs of other cards are often still visible that will be covered when the final stories are told. 

I took one of the large red letters from the Main Kit - the 2 obviously - and used the "celebrate this" stamp + white embossing powder to create the textured pattern on top of the 2. To keep the two in the pocket I simply used some of the gold stripe washi tape from the kit and folded it in half across the top of the pocket. 

Day three includes the "3" card from the Main Kit + a "magic" card from the Kelly Purkey Mini Kit and an embossed 3x4 card from the Jasmine Jones Mini Kit.

Day four includes the "4" card with some small gold stars around the circle. It also includes the "ah, yeah" card, a tree, and green striped paper from the main kit.

Day five currently includes a full pattern page of stars, a #5 from the 
Emily Ley Mini Kit, and a set of five numbered tags (Main Kit) held together with one of these loop pins from Tim Holtz. 

Right now the tag set is just sitting in a 3x4 pocket. My plan is to do some kind of list of five "somethings" on this day and will either write or attach photos to the back of each tag.

On the loop pin I also added a metal 
circle philosophy tag from Tim Holtz ("cherish") and a wood star. The wood star is either from a previous December Daily® kit or from Freckled Fawn - again it came from my star stash. 

For day six I've got the back of day five and one of the 2 inch x 2 inch pocket pages. I took one of the white number tags and cropped it to 2 inch x 2 inch. I also added a couple more of those metal rimmed tags with the embossed circle stamps. 

In between day seven I added the full page "most wonderful time of the year" transparency (main kit).

The day seven card is from the 
Ashley Goldberg Mini Kit. 

For day eight I embossed another one of the large red letters - this time with a small star stamp. I paired that chipboard 8 with one of the super cute cards from the 
Emily Ley Mini Kit. 

Day nine currently features the #9 card from the main kit. I embossed the back of the red eighth (it's actually the pewter color but looks different here). I might not leave the 8 there or I might put a card or photo behind it - not sure just yet. On the full page 8.5 x 11 I slipped in one of the large wood circles. I'm thinking about doing a full page of circles (photos, etc) but want to wait to see what story I'm inspired to tell on that day. 

Day ten. I love this 6 inch x 8 inch paper from 
Ashley Goldberg's Mini Kit. I'm thinking of writing on that tree with a silver or white pen once I know my story (I'm still skeptical of white pens). 

Right now day eleven only includes one of the white number tags - I'll be using it in some way or another. One thing you might see me do is use that tag as a page in the album - punching three holes using it that way. Maybe a photo on the back trimmed to the same size as the tag. 

For day twelve, which currently begins on the back of the 2 inch x 2 inch pocket page, I cropped another one of the white tags to fit into the pocket. I've also added the branches full page pattern transparency here. 

Wood "december" circle from the main kit paired with a 13 card from Ashley Goldberg's Mini Kit. 

Day fourteen includes large red numbers, the back of the wood circle + a wood star, the "favorite moments" card from Jasmine's kit and the embossed "december" 6 inch x 8 inch page from the main kit. I'll likely emboss something onto those numbers again - another stamp maybe once my story is established. 

Day fifteen features the "golden days" 6 inch x 8 inch pattern paper + a "15" card from the 
Ashley Goldberg Mini Kit + a silhouette cut using this digital set: Daily Stories & Photos. I used the same plastic 4 inch x 6 inch piece I used on the "tuesday" at the beginning of the album. Those two cuts have been sitting on my desk for months and when I started putting these pages together I decided to include them here. 

For day sixteen I've included the "around here" card from the main kit + a gold chipboard 16 from the 
Emily Ley Mini Kit that I trimmed to fit into the 2 inch x 2 inch pocket. 

And for some reason I didn't get a shot of day seventeen - but you can see I've got a white number tag in there waiting to be used. 

Day eighteen includes one of the silver stars + the word "eighteen" from the One Little Bird Mini Kit. I love those little chipboard numbers. 

In the image above you can see both days 19 and 20 (
20 is obviously in the next pocket page). I paired one of the activity cards from Emily's Mini Kit + the #19 from Ashley's Mini Kit + the "happy holidays" 4x6 from the main kit. 

Day twenty-one features another one of the white number tags + the a 2 inch x 2 inch pocket page. Right now I've got another metal rimmed tag + a wood star + one of the wood trees. I might end up cutting that page down so they are less pockets when the day actually arrives or I might need them all. 

Day twenty-two features the "jingle all the way" pattern paper + two two's that were part of a metal number set. I have no idea on the source - anyone else have those and remember who made them? They are not attached to the page yet. 

For day twenty-three I've added the 6x8 hand drawn words pattern paper + the full page transparency with the circles + a today card + a wood snowflake + a "23" from the Emily Ley Mini Kit + a 3x4 "fa la la" card from Jasmine Jones Mini Kit. 

Christmas Eve currently includes a "24" card from Ashley's Mini Kit + a "good times" card from the main kit + one of my all time favorite cards designed by Jasmine and included in her Mini Kit ("together"). Rather than hoarding it I'm using it. 

For the twenty-fifth I'm leaving it pretty open and spread out over a couple of pages. Above you see the tree pattern and the 6x8 "ho ho ho" page from the main kit. 

Current last page is the "merry christmas" pattern paper from Ashley's Mini Kit. In the next page of pockets I've got a red snowflake and the "25" badge waiting. I ended up with a few more page protectors after the 25 spreads that I'll take out after I make my way through the month. 

Here's a look at my album via a video overview:

Again thank you so much for joining me in telling your own stories in your own voice this holiday season! If you have any questions about your order please feel free to connect with my Customer Service team here (make sure you are logged in to your account before starting your conversation). I'm happy to answer any process questions in the comments below. 

Bring on December!

SUPPLIES USED IN 2015 FOUNDATION PAGES

December Daily® Main Kit 2015
December Daily® Mini Kit by Jasmine Jones (a few 3x4 pattern cards)
December Daily® Mini Kit by Ashley Goldberg (a few 3x4 number cards) 
December Daily® Mini Kit by Kelly Purkey (black alphabet)
December Daily® Mini Kit by Emily Ley (a few gold chipboard numbers and 3x4 cards)
December Daily® Icon Stamp (available digitally here)
December Daily® Holiday Circles (digital circle set available here)
Crafters Workshop 12x12 Star Stencil
Versamark Embossing Ink
Embossing Powders: White Opaque Zing, Tim Holtz White,Tim Holtz Red Tinsel, Tim Holtz Gold Tinsel, Zing Pewter Metallic, Zing Green Metallic
Super Sticky Red Tape 1/4 inch
Metal Rimmed Circle Tags
1-inch Circle Punch
Tim Holtz Silver Metal Numbers (similar by smaller)
Tim Holtz Scissors
Silhouette
Heat Gun
Memento Luxe Gray Flannel Ink
Tim Holtz Circle Philosophy Tag
Tim Holtz Loop Pin
Daily Stories & Photos Digital Brushes

Give Sunday | 44

This year, in honor of my 2015
One Little Word® "give," I'm sharing a hand-drawn quote each Sunday here on my blog.

Click here to read my initial post and download the #givesunday word art title and checklist for helping you to give a little something today. You can also view all the past #givesunday quotes via the archives. 

Click here to download the #givesunday 44 quote. Please note: If you are reading this post via email you need to click through to the actual blog post to download the file. 

You're invited to join me. What will you
give today?

Have a wonderful Sunday. 

Saying Hello To 40

Today I am 40. 

FORTY. 

Dude. Can I still say dude? Actually, don't answer that because I'll probably still do it anyway. 

Well, I'm writing this when I'm still 39. I imagine that tomorrow I will feel much like feel today which, like I wrote about last week, is pretty good. 

I'm celebrating with many of the people I love most and missing some that are far away. My Mom's here. Paolo's here for a few days. Aaron's around. The kids are here. People are taking care of me and helping me celebrate and I'm letting them. That's a big step in the right direction for me. 

Today I just want you to know how thankful I am for you. Thank you for being here and reading and supporting and signing up and cheering on and commiserating and asking good questions and encouraging and sharing and celebrating your own lives. Doing what I do has been a crazy, wonderful ride - one that I never expected to be part of my life experience. 

Here's to many more opportunities to celebrate where we are right this very minute with open hearts. 

Storytelling With December Daily® | Classroom Now Open

Happy November! Today I'm letting you know that the Storytelling With December Daily® workshop classroom is now open and the Week One content is up and available. 

If you are on the fence about joining in here are a couple more details:

>> This workshop is really about getting you mentally ready for documenting December, with a specific focus on inspiration and storytelling ideas and an intention of setting you up to complete the album (in whatever form that takes you you). It's a listening and thinking workshop vs. a making things workshop - the making comes when/if you are setting up foundation pages this month and then getting stories told in your album in December. I'll be making and sharing my own foundation pages here on the blog soon. 

>> In addition to the original digital/cut file package I've added two more digital packages: one is the digital set of the physical Storytelling Stamp Set and the other is a set of word art/journal pages to encourage you to take notes throughout the workshop. 

>> There are a limited number of the 4x6 stamp sets still available - we will ship those for free wherever you are in the world. I will post on the class shop page when they are no longer available. 

>> If you are in the class, don't miss that I've created and am offering a MP3 file of the main presentation so you can download and listen to it like a podcast. You can find that on the Welcome page under the main video. 

>> Additional details on the workshop and registration is available here. 

Thank you to so many of you who have already signed up!

Halloween 2015

Ah, Halloween. 

We've got a tradition around here of having people over for dinner (chili, hot dogs, and this year we added corn dogs & tater tots) and trick or treating. Some years I've had family here (which I love), but as kids have gotten older it's more complicated for people to travel which I so totally understand (miss you guys). But the tradition of a gathering at my house continues and I'm so glad it does because it's just so fun. 

This year I was Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz, Anna ended up as Belle (there's a story there of course), and Simon was Doc Brown from Back To The Future. 

It was raining throughout most of the day so the kids were pretty up in the air with actually trick or treating. One of the fun things here is that we get a decent number of kids in our neighborhood so it's almost more fun to just sit all together in the foyer and answer the door and check out the costumes and stay dry and warm. 

For the front porch Anna and I mixed real and fake pumpkins. The cheshire cat is probably my best carving ever - I googled "cat pumpkin carving" and saw a variety of images as a jumping off point and just started carving. Anna loved it so much she wrote her name on the top of the pumpkin claiming it as hers "by Anna Edwards." Ha. 

Our guests for 2015: The Ackerman's. Dear friends. The come even though a couple of them have cat allergies (which resulted in an earlier exit this year). We love you guys! 

Originally Anna had planned (and I'd purchased) to be a pink bat-girl. She wore the costume at a party with Chris last weekend and decided she didn't like how it felt so she tried to get me to get her a new one on Halloween day. Uh, no. I suggested she wear one of her many princess dresses already in her closet and after a little back and forth she decided that was a good idea if I would help her look for some of the accessories that went with that particular dress. It was a plan. We found the purse and she was happy with that and that she got to wear her high heels and bright red lipstick. 

Simon's costume was found on Amazon and it really was perfect for him this year. He's been really into Back To The Future (just happened to be around the same time that the movie was getting a lot of play again because last week was the time in the "future" that they travel to in the movie). He wore it to the party with Chris and then to school on Friday. We asked him if lots of kids commented on his costume at school and he said something about "too many people talked to me about it." Love you Simon - it's because you are darn cool. 

Simon, never a fan of rain, decided to skip the trick or treating portion of the evening and watched Harry Potter instead (he was re-invigorated to watch it again after getting the Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter which is awesome if you have a fan in your home - it would make an awesome Christmas gift). 

Chris stopped by for a bit and he and Dave took the girls out around the neighborhood. They lasted about 30 enthusiastic minutes and each came back with more than enough candy and then were more than happy to spend the rest of the evening playing in Anna's room. 

There was some of this, of course. A little crazy chaos resulting from the mixture of candy, junk food, and sugary drinks. 

And Anna wants you to know that KitKat's are her favorite. 

I hope you and yours had a safe and fun weekend!