Ali Edwards's Blog, page 194

Week In The Life™ 2015 | Tuesday Words & Photos

Today I'm going to start my journaling with either "she" or "he" or "I" in an attempt to capture/write more about who each of us is right now (in alignment with my 2015 intentions). 

Please remember, as I share these photos with you, that this is
my life. These are my moments and my stories and my real emotions and feelings. Please remember that we all have pain and we all have great joy. Please remember that I'm not pushing anything other than advocating for you to document and celebrate your own life. Please remember that real life is just that, it's real - which is often messy and most of the time doesn't fit into a simple little box that is easily photographed. 

My goal is sharing my real life with you is to encourage you in your own memory keeping. We probably lead different lives. You might not know what it's like to go through a divorce. I don't have a lot of experience with death. You might not know what it's like to have a child who deals with a very real disability that will impact the rest of his life in various ways. I don't know what it's like to have all boys. You might not know what it's like to see the possibility of a new relationship after divorce and you might not understand that the "normal" path you have always thought you'd follow might just not be the way it ends up. There are so many things I don't know about what it's like to live your life. 

A few years ago when I originally ran 
31 Things, someone complained that I should not be teaching a workshop like that (writing about my life) when I was going through very hard times. It was too depresing for them. They didn't like the stories I was telling. They didn't like the sadness in my voice or the grey tint to my perspective on my own life at that time even as I tried to focus on the good. I will never forget that person's comments because for me, writing stories - even the ones that aren't always sunshine and rainbows - was part of the way I survived during that time. Maybe you are there right now. Maybe you are in a time in your life where it's really hard. Maybe this project or taking photos or writing about your life experiences becomes a lifeline for you as well. 

My point today, let's be kind and compassionate and encouraging to each other as we share our stories. Let's be the ones who lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. Let's remember that there isn't one path we all walk down throughout our lives. 

Here's a look at my Tuesday: 

I am thankful for his kind heart. 

I believe in the ebb and flow of life. 

Those of you who have followed along with this project for a number of years might remember other shower photos I've taken during Week In The Life™. The first one was taken during a time when it had become very evident that Chris was going to leave and my hands were over my eyes (
2011) and I think I've taken others as well but I couldn't locate them on a quick search last night. 

These shower shots have become for me a story in and of themselves. 

Some people think it's crazy that I'd take my camera into the shower. For this one I turned on the water and then stepped inside with my camera in hand, knowing that I would take one or two shots right as the water was beginning to come over my face. This was the third shot. As soon as I took it I put it back outside the shower. 

I try to pay attention to the things I see all the time in new ways, or at least attempt to appreciate their beauty. And lines, always there are lines. 

She asks, "Mom, how do I get to that place where I can type the words?"

He sleeps. When we first brought Sam home he found this basket and it's been his spot ever since here in the office. 

She brought me a non-fat latte. We work.

The challenge to myself, when documenting starts to feel mundane (during Week In The Life™ and in life generally), is how can I see this scene differently? How can I see us sitting in the office differently? What happens if I shoot from above or below or on the ground rather than straight on? What happens if I go to the other side of the room vs. in the doorway. I'm conscious of these things as I'm shooting and I enjoy the creative challenge of attempting to see differently through the lens. This is one of the techniques I recommend to people who say their life is boring or their story uninteresting or that they do exactly the same thing everyday - my challenge to you is the creative task of seeing your life, your surroundings, your routines in a new light. It's one of the beautiful ways we are invited to grow through the process of this project - regardless of whether you have kids or a spouse or no two days that look the same. 

And in the very same breath, I still love the repetition. I love seeing the same shot in the same location over and over again - it might look like nothing has changed.
Look again. 

What is a typical week in the summer for us? We don't really have one. Sometimes the kids are gone with Chris. Sometimes we are all gone on an adventure together. Sometimes they have camp. Sometimes they are with my parents. This week there is no camp so there's a lot of lounging and just hanging out. This is the first summer that camps felt less mandatory in terms of my ability to get the work done I need to do. My kids are getting older - they are able to occupy themselves and/or we have a friend or two come over for a playdate/hang out time. During the day while I'm working they do a combination of reading time, screen time, outside time, and general just play in your room time (usually that's legos for Simon and barbies or other people/animal toys for Anna). They don't play together much - the seven year age difference and the cognitive differences are both part of that. They do watch movies or shows together and have gotten pretty good at agreeing on what they are going to watch. Sometimes they will play a game together but most of the time they are doing their own things. Having some weeks that are definitely unscheduled is really nice - as well as having scheduled weeks with more activities. I like having both as a part of our summer lives. 

He sleeps. A lot. 

I fix a quick breakfast/snack for myself and both kids. 

She has pineapple, bacon and a hard-boiled egg. He has cantaloupe, bacon, and an english muffin. 

He was done with the photos early today. Both wear robes in the mornings. She has two pink ones - one that is almost beyond too small. He has a navy blue one and two Star Wars robes in his rotation. He needs a belt. 

I have cantaloupe, bacon and a hard-boiled egg. 

I'm having a hard time focusing. Might be that I know it's a transitional time as summer winds down. Might just be that I'm restless. Sometimes when I don't have immediate deadlines I have a harder time focusing (even though there are always deadlines) - it wasn't always that way but now that I'm overall producing more work it seems to be the case - almost like I don't know what to do when there's not something very specific to be done. It's always in flux. I mentioned on a podcast recently (
this one) that one of the things Katie and I are doing in the office is that when we get our tasks done for the day then we need to be done - as in leave the office, go do something else, live our lives. The kind of work I do can be consuming and my personality tends towards being all-in. In order for it to be sustainable, I have to take breaks and step away (mentally and physically) and have other hobbies and fill myself up in other ways. 

He watched way too many Scooby Doo episodes today. But he did go on a walk. A few weeks ago I implemented a 30-minute walk task for each day. He's got the Nike app on his phone and he walks for 15 minutes around the neighborhood and then turns around and walks 15 minutes back. He listens to movie scores (Star Wars and Indiana Jones) and classical music while he walks. He has been really open to this suggestion and I'm so thankful. 

She and I have caprese for lunch. 

He sleeps. Again. 

We work. My posture isn't usually that straight. 

She found this in a basket of things from her birthday party a few months back (remember how it was a later-in-the-year-friend-party?). It was wrapped. She shared it with each of us. 

He has an hour of reading to do each day. He often falls asleep. Today it was on the couch in my office. 

After Katie leaves for the day around 4pm I usually start dinner or do a pick-up around the house. Today I picked up just a bit before we took Sam to his first vet appointment. 

She had a meltdown in the care on the way to the vet. She'd like to be able to stay home with Simon or by herself, but it's not time for that yet. 

I had a meltdown because I forgot the paperwork from the Humane Society that had Sam's medical records. 

He ate three tostadas tonight and cut his own strawberries. 

I cooked artichokes for myself and Anna. 

He had horse lessons. Chris and I take turns getting him there and supporting him through his ups and downs. He's currently frustrated because they are intentionally switching horses to help him develop his skills communicating with the horses. He, as you might imagine, would rather ride just one. It's a lesson in sticking with it, in practicing things that are hard, in communicating and in not giving up. It's always been a fine line for us as we make activity choices for him - easy or hard, stick with it or let it go.

After all that, he actually got to ride his favorite horse tonight.

She and I ate dinner and then headed over to the pool for her to get some sillies out.

After we were there I wished I'd brought my suit. 

As we drove back home she requested Taylor Swift. She always requests something from her playlist now. 

By 8:30pm we were all back at the house for popcorn and a show before bed and working on this post. 

Thank you for sharing your stories with me. They fill me up. They give me hope. They teach me. 

Let's keep telling stories together. 

SHARE A LINK TO YOUR BLOG

I'd love to have you share a link to your TUESDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.

Week In The Life™ 2015 | Monday Words & Photos

Just a couple of details before we dive in to my Monday words and photos:

I'm shooting with a 
Canon 5DMKII with a 24-70 lens and an iPhone 6+. Any editing done to the photos is done in Photoshop using Curves and/or Levels or using RadLab. 

The themes I noticed today with my own photos as I went back through them tonight: hands (
photos of things in hands as well as hands doing things), shots looking down, people sitting around the table, and embracing the dark and light.

In sharing my photos today I'm going to share different things I might have been thinking related to taking the shot or the story that lead me there or another observation. 

Here's a look at my Monday, starting with the ceiling fan in the photo above which is pretty much the first thing I see each morning: 

So hard to get up today. I'm a morning person and it was harder than usual. My kids don't go back to school until after Labor Day so we are still on a summer schedule (which means very little schedule) but I still have to get up to work. This shot is with my iPhone using the lesser of the two cameras (hence the grain).

I love this bedding - sheets from Target and stripped duvet from Ikea. 

Dressing in my closet. Self-timer with camera sitting on my bed looking into the closet. 

Yeah, there's a window in my closet. 

As I mentioned above, I'm continuing to work on seeing light and letting the dark be dark and the light be light. This is one of my favorite shots from today.

My Dave's bread was moldy, much to Aaron's dismay, so we went with smoothies instead. 

Daily dose. Thyroid. Birth control. Vitamin D. Allergies. Omega 3.

Aaron and Audrey and me at the table. In and out. Here and there. It's part of our lives right now. Sometimes it's just me here in this house and sometimes there are seven of us. We talk about taking the leap. Fear is currently holding me back; love keeps me moving forward. 

It was not lost on me when I uploaded this photo that the main headline in my local paper read "room to grow."

Aaron and Audrey move on with their day and Katie arrives. 

We head upstairs. Email. Facebook. Conversations. Laying out the plan for the day. Chatting. 

I always seem to have more stuff on my side of the table.

Waiting for the kids to return home after being gone on a camping adventure with Chris. 

Welcoming Anna (Woody, Aaron's dog, was helping).

Chris giving Simon a big hug before leaving. 

Hugging and loving and them giving me the gift of a photo of the three of us. 

This is what we do. 

A major favorite shot of the day for me. I moved her room around last week and did some re-organizing in there when she was gone this past weekend so that when she came home she'd get to see things new again (mainly toys separated into baskets with like things: ponies in one basket, other animals in another, Playmobil people in another). It worked.

Today when she came home she grabbed the iPad and chilled out in her bed for awhile. 

I'm conscious of what re-entry might feel like for Anna and Simon. I don't know exactly what it feels like because having more than one house was not part of my growing up experience, but I do know what it's like to be gone from the house for awhile and to come home and just want to chill. So I give space for that to both of them. 

And then we usually have popcorn for dinner. 

Simon had lots to chat about. He's pretty much either totally into us or totally not and today he had stuff to share. Mostly it was about how he had saved up enough money from odd jobs at Chris' house to be able to buy a couple new lego sets. He and Katie did some research and we both laughed when he mentioned something about the spinning "wheel of death" while they looked up where 
the new Scooby Doo lego sets were available locally on the computer. 

And he was awesome for me in front of the camera today.

Meet Sam-I-Am - our newly adopted 5-year-old cat. He came home with us from our local Humane Society last week officially as Anna's cat. Currently he's living in the office as he acclimates to our house. He hasn't met George yet but he and Woody are getting along just fine when Woody is visiting.

Hanging out. Watching Scooby Doo to get ready for his new lego sets.

Sleeping in one of his favorite spots around the table. 

This one plays and plays and plays. Today I saw her carting this baby doll around (one that I moved to the top of the toy crib pile when cleaning out her room) with the bag and happily engaging in some sort of imaginary play. 

She's one that would almost always prefer a playdate. <

I did a major Costco/farmers market run on Sunday to stock the fridge with food. It has been awhile. I also chopped up a lot of the fruit to make it easier to access. 

Simon likes cantaloupe and watermelon and strawberries. No raspberries or blueberries. 

Anna likes it all but was disappointed that I didn't give her any pineapple. 

Lunch plate. 

Back to work upstairs. 

An order of embroidery floss arrived for a workshop I'm teaching in France next month (the class is called Book Of Joy and we'll be doing a tiny bit of hand-stitching). Katie and I picked out our favorites - hers had a lot more pink than mine. 

Chris took Simon to Toys R Us to pick up the lego sets. He sent me a few photos of the process. He also told me that when they pulled up to my house Simon told him, "I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Books for Anna. Legos for Simon. 

I remind her regularly to please not stand on the couch. She is usually in motion. 

She also loves this corner spot for reading and watching. 

While working during the afternoon I would get up and walk out and see what was happening. 

I love looking into both the kids rooms and capturing them with the door as a frame doing whatever it is they are doing at the time. The whole concept of "looking in" is one of my favorites. 

I also took a few other shots to show you as examples of different angles. 

Here's a shot that is straight down on her head. This one shows more of what she's actually playing with vs. the overall scene. 

And one more where I laid on her bed and held the camera down to be able to include her face.

I like all three - each tell a piece of the story of her play. 

Legos at the table. He almost always builds the sets here and then eventually moves them up to his room (or I move them up to his room when I need the table cleared). 

Snack. 

During the afternoon I filmed a video for the next mini-class release called
Love You Because. You can read a bit about it on the mini-class bundle page here. 

I often put my hand down on my project before filming to make sure the focal point is correct. 

She was ready for a little more interaction by this point in the day. And ready to go to the pool. 

But first George had a vet appointment (Sam has one tomorrow). 

On late-summer afternoons after I've finished up work we often head to our local swimming pool. It was near 6pm when we got there today and it was basically empty. 

Simon often brings a book and does a bit of reading before jumping in. He always looks for the shade. 

We don't stay too long - maybe about an hour. I love that it's so close that we can jump in the car (or bike) and be there in just a few minutes. It's a relaxing place for all of us and seems to help as we transition to evening. 

This is a good example of an imperfect self-timer shot. My focus point was off (on the towel) but I went with it anyway. Reading 
Essentialism, which is awesome by the way. 

And no, I didn't get in today.

Sigh. 

I'm telling you, every time I do this project there are a few shots that stand out over all the others. This one + the one of Anna in her bed up above are two of those I absolutely adore. 

Man feet. With flip flop tan lines. 

The story here is that this is the first summer Simon has ever worn flip flops. Before this summer he never liked the way they felt on his feet/between his toes and for whatever reason this season I bought him another pair (as I've done every year even when he wouldn't wear them because I guessed/hoped that one day he might like them) and he has worn them just about every day. 

Cleaning up a bit while making dinner. Frozen pizza and fruit. 

Sometimes we eat with legos and books and flowers all over the table. 

Reading out loud to me in my office while I work on this post. Reading = win. 

Playing one more game before bed in the red Pottery Barn over-stuffed chair with his name on it that he's had since he was two or three. 

Uploading, editing, writing this post. Ready for bed. 

Dated word on the top image in this post available here. I just added "words and photos" using the font Mrs. Eaves. 

SHARE A LINK TO YOUR BLOG

I'd love to have you share a link to your MONDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the 
free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.

Week In The Life™ 2015 | Let's Do This

Hands in the air. 

That's how I feel on Monday morning of Week In The Life™. Okay maybe not that excited, but pretty darn close. Let's do this thing. 

This thing, this week of documentation, is an awesome opportunity to capture life right now. 

And if you are reading this and it's Monday night and you forget to take photos this morning, no sweat. Start now. Start tonight or tomorrow morning. 

Here are a few other things to remember this week: 

1. Go with the flow. Don't panic if you don't get photos of every single detail. Remember this is not a sprint, but a longer distance spread out over the course of seven days. If you miss a morning or two or an evening, no sweat. Keep going.

2. Focus on the words and photos this week. There's no need to try to do everything - taking photos and writing things down is enough. 

3. Have fun seeing your life through the lens of your camera. 

And here are a few things I mentioned in my Ready Set Go post last year which is absolutely still applicable today: 

Look for the stories. Read this post for inspiration. As you go about your day, think to yourself about how you can capture those stories with your lens. How do all these different stories weave together to create the life you are living right now?
Answer the question, "what is the truth of my day?" As you walk around your house, your office, your kids school, think about and document the truths that make up your day.
Remember that it's NOT about the products. It never has been and it never will be. Yes, they are fun and I love working with them to bring an album together, but the products are not the point. If they help get you going in the right direction then that's awesome - but don't let them detract from your experience.
Remember that the best camera is the one you have with you.
Get yourself in the photos - by whatever means necessary - at the very least once per day.
Without a doubt, this project often mirrors back to me many different things about my life. It is often a catalyst for change as I see things in front of me that really can't be ignored much longer. I challenge you to think about those things this week.
Or skip all that intentional stuff and just have fun taking a whole lot of photos of your daily life.
Join the free Week In The Life™ community message board and gallery here.

Bottom line, I challenge you to take this opportunity to celebrate and to write and to photograph your life as you are living it right now. No one can tell this story but you.

I'll be back tomorrow sharing my Monday words and photos. I'll also share a few photos along the way on Instagram using the hashtag #weekinthelife. 

And PS, yes, there's a whole story about that photo and how I love that it's grainy and dark and at Margaritaville in Las Vegas and that Aaron took it and about how much I love dancing and live music and how I need to bring a little more of that Ali into my everyday. 

I also wanted to take a minute today to announce and introduce you to a new camera bag collaboration with Epiphanie. I partnered with them to come up with a classic, clean-lined everyday camera bag and it's now available in three colors. 

Here's a short promo video with more details: 

I love how these turned out and have been carrying around the cream bag for the last few weeks (with and without my DSLR).

SPECIAL PROMO DURING WEEK IN THE LIFE™ | Use code ALI20 for $20 off until August 21st. 

Happy documenting!

Give Sunday | 32

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 32 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. 

New Story Theme Now Available | Build

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

This month we are telling stories of things we've built, are building, or are planning to build: life, stories, houses, legos, businesses, families, relationships, etc.

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 Build:

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 Build:

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!

31 More Things | Registration Now Open

I'm also excited to let you know that registration is now open for 31 More Things. This is a follow-up to my original 31 Things workshop that encourages longer storytelling via daily prompts over the course of 31 days. We've also created a simple kit to go along with the workshop that includes the grey strips, washi tape and a small set of alphabet stamps. 

Class begins September 1st. Hope to see you in the classroom!

Week In The Life™ Photo Tips

Photos are a huge piece of documenting a Week In The Life™. 

Someone on Twitter recently mentioned that they fall more in love with photography after working through this project each and every year. I feel exactly the same way. There's something very special about focusing on everyday life photography so intensely for a whole week. Every single year I'm given the gift of at least a couple photos that become some of my personal favorites for the year, if not of all time. 

As we get ready to embark on another Week In The Life™ adventure next week, here are some things to think about related to the photos:

1. Look for white space when taking your photos. What does that mean? It means looking through the lens and adjusting the composition of the photo to show more sky or more ground or more wall - essentially blank space within the photo where you can add your stories via photoshop or with a pen directly on the photos. Last year I added words to just about every single photo in my album. You don't have to follow that lead, but man I love that I took the time and the effort to add all those words. 

2. Pick something to capture and repeat it each and every day. In 2012 I took a photo of myself sitting at my dining room table each day. Think about what you do daily - that might seem super basic like sitting in your car or riding the bus or at your desk - but can become a bit more interesting when it's visually repeated. I used that series of photos in my Project Life® 2012 album during the Week In The Life™ week (which is a question that often comes up about what to do in PL during WITL). 

3. Make friends with your timer BEFORE the week begins. Practice a bit (this weekend would be a great time to do that). Read the manual - or at least read about the timer feature. It's important that YOU are a part of the visual story you are telling. Self-portriats are a very important piece of this project for me - I want to literally see myself inhabiting my life. For the photo above I set my DSLR down on the floor of the grocery store, set the timer, clicked the shutter, and walked back to my cart and reached for a bottle of soy sauce. Remember that self-portraits don't always have to be shots of your face - capture yourself in your normal environments (bed, desk, car, couch, table, etc) doing what you regularly do in your life. 

4. These days I take most of my everyday shots with my iPhone. BUT for this project I almost always use my DSLR more. The best camera is obviously the one you have with you - for this project I make it a point to have it with me and to use it. 

5. Take photos of things. The way your room is currently set up. Your closet. Bookshelves. Stacks of stuff. Dishes in your cabinet. Kids toys. What are you into? What are they into? What are your pets into? 

6. Get close up and far away. One of the ways I include things is by not always getting up so close as to block out things in the background. Get a combo of close up faces and full rooms - doing this gives you the most flexibility when it comes time to bring all your content together. Also, having options allows you to tell different types of stories - the close-up shot might be great for one story about the thing itself whereas the wide shot might be great for telling a different kind of story. 

7. Along those lines, I want a record of the way things are, not how I wish them to be. That might mean messes. That might mean the unmatched bedding. That might mean weeds. That might mean you doing the same thing over and over during the course of the week. 

8. Make a date with the obvious. The obvious are the things you look at every single day and probably pay very little attention to it. Photograph that stuff. Dishes or doing the dished. Drawers. Work space. Shoes in the closet. Cereal. Saying the evening prayer. Things that you walk by all the time that you barely pay attention to. 

9. Look for opportunities to document relationships. This can be people to people, but it's often even more interesting to capture the relationship that people have to their surroundings - a child to it's bedroom, the family to the dinning room table, an adult to their favorite chair, a child to their most treasured toy. Aim to capture those you love, or yourself, in their environment/element, doing what they regularly do. These are some of my favorite shots.

10. After doing this project for many years I've developed some personal photography rhythms. I don't try to capture every little thing every day. My goal, over the course of the week, is to have captured a good visual representation of our lives right now. I might miss a morning or an evening or parts of each day and that's okay. Find a pace that works for you. Remember this is one week.

You can do this. Celebrate the life you are living - the imperfect, beautiful, hard, awesomeness of your very own life. 

In terms of my personal process during the week, each evening I upload my photos and write about the day - sharing it in a blog post the following day. This is definitely a time commitment but it's super worth it when I go to work on brining all my content together and I have all the words right there to flow into my album.

Also remember that you might not use all the photos you take this week in one album. Most people take more than they need - which is awesome because it gives you choice (which can also be challenging for people who have trouble with too many choices). Those photos are often used to tell other stories in tradional layouts or Project Life® - or they simply become part of my photo collection. 

Take some time to consider, maybe even make a list of the things you want to make sure to capture over the course of the week. A couple things to consider: 

a self-portrait each day // remember that it doesn't have to be your face - think feet (showing where you are going), hands (showing you doing something), parts of your face, etca photo of everyone in your household all together // I took one photo of the three of us last year during WITL that ended up on our Christmas cardthe inside of your bag or purse or wallet // very "right now"the place you rest // couch, bed, outside, insidethe place you playwhat you are readingwhat you are watchingwhat you care about most in the whole worldyour daily outfit // what makes the way you dress "you"up-close portraits of your family members // your camera is out and you are capturing the stuff of life - might as well try to get a couple great shots of other family members or yourself along the way

Looking for more photo ideas? Here are a couple recommended reads:

5 Tips For Lifestyle Photography from A Beautiful Mess5 Tips For Taking Everyday Life Photos from Get It ScrappedCapture Your 365 has some great photo lists each month - here's the one for AugustAssignment Daily Life from National Geographic

Most of all, have fun and capture your own life through the lens of whatever camera you have available and add context via your words. 

You can do this. 

Week In The Life™ 2015 | Getting Ready

Next Monday I'll be embarking on my annual 
Week In The Life™ project. Seven days of daily life documentation. Seven days of photos and stories of my/our life right now. Seven days of content that will be placed into the album above in the coming weeks after focusing on the words and photos next week. 

I generally don't do a lot of album prep for this project, especially since for me it's so much about the photos and the words and that's what I want to focus on during the actual week. I did go through and put my page protectors in order and cut up the 3x4 cards 
from the kit as you can see above. This will give me a nice flow when I start printing. 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to add my words via Photoshop again
like I did last year (directly onto my photos before printing) - that enabled me to include so many more words which I'm really thankful to have now. 

As usual I'll be sharing my daily photos and words here each day (posted the day after) and you're invited to share yours.  

Here are a few posts to get you in the mood for documenting and telling stories next week: 

Our Days Are Built With Stories
What Stories Will You Tell?
Getting Real: Thoughts On Creativity & Scrapbooking

Also, I was a guest on a recent edition of the Paperclipping Roundtable podcast called Look For The Light. We talked about everyday life photography and some of our favorite ways of seeing through the lens - definitely applicable as you embark on this project. 

2015 INTENTIONS

My personal intention with this project for 2015 is to simply capture who we are right now. 

I'm specifically interested in the who - what are the things that make each one of us who we are as we go about our everyday life. Obviously that will include our daily routines and some of the same themes I include every year, but that's where my head and heart is at for this project this year. What makes Anna, Anna? What makes Simon, Simon? What makes me, me. What are our individual strengths right now? What are our challenges? I'm not really sure what that's going to look like just yet, but that's what I'm most interested in capturing via my words this time around.

Most likely it might be less about the times of day, less about a recounting of exactly where we went and what time we ate and when we did such and such. Those things will be represented of course - maybe more on some days than on others - but my intention is to get to the heart of who we are right now in August 2015. 

As usual my photos will drive my stories. Obviously the photos are an integral part of this process, but when focusing on the concept of
who they might be even more important. I'm excited to figure this out as I go along. 

Please keep in mind that everyone will have their own intentions going into this project. Some might be focusing totally on a chronological accounting of the day, others might be only about food, others might have tons of photos and some people might do a more limited number per day. Make this work for you.
What do you most want to capture about your life right now? 

ACTION LIST

1. Think about what you'd really like to capture during this week. What photos do you really want to take? What stories are you on the lookout for? Are there specific stories you'd like to make sure to include this week based on the life you are living right now? 

2. Download and print the
Daily Sheets.

Download the 6x8 Daily Sheets here.
Download the 8.5x11 Daily Sheets here.

PS | I didn't end up using these last year and I'm not sure if I will or not this year. They are a great way to track your day and I definitely recommend using them if this is your first time and you want a bit more of a path forward. Last year I mainly used my photos as a guide and worked hard to get my words into each blog post at the end of the day.

3. If you ordered 
the kit, take some time to look through it and see which cards you might want to use during the week (vs. ones you'd fill in after). There's a couple in there that are good jumping off points for stories to tell during the week.

4. Consider purchasing the 
Week In The Life™ layered templates (in 6x8 or 8.5x11) or the 4x6 printable cards/overlays (these are great if you just want to include pieces of this project in Project Life®). I'll be using some of the 6x8 templates (specifically the full page daily one with the days of the week). See below for more details on those sets.

5. Charge your camera battery. I tend to use my bigger camera vs. my phone during this week. I usually include a few phone photos but most tend to be with my 5D. If you print photos at home you might also want to check your ink levels to see if you need to order more ink.

6. Get your head in the right place. This isn't a competition. This isn't about who has the best or the most or crafting the perfect story of your perfect life, this is about documenting
what is real in your life at this point in time via words and photos and intentional embellishments. You are not going to get in trouble if you forget to take photos or write things down. If you find you forgot at one point or another it's no big deal, just start where you left off. Every year someone leaves a comment that they woke up and forgot to take photos on Monday morning so they end up bagging the entire project. That is not what this is about. Start where you're at with what you have right in front of you. You can do this. 

7. Live your life. Next week just do your regular stuff of life and capture it along the way. I will absolutely take more photos next week than I do on a "normal" week because I have a specific intent to capture more. The photos I take during these weeks often end up being some of my favorites for the year simply because I'm focused and know, without a doubt, that the effort is worth it. 

DIGITAL PRINTABLES & TEMPLATES

For the last few years I've designed layered template/overlay sets that can be used as the foundation for your album or as a jumping off point. 

The new digital layered templates and printables are now available in my shop. I'll be using at least 
the date portion in my album on my 6x8 full page photos. 

Here's a look at the new sets:  

First up is a 
4x6 set of overlays that include both dated and non-dated versions (PNG and PDF for easy printing). These are also great for adding to Project Life® (anytime of the year) - either on top of photos or printed out as journal cards. 

The 
6x8 layered template set includes 14 total pages for use in Photoshop/Photoshop Elements (daily pages + photo collage pages as shown above // not all pages are shown in this one preview).This set includes seven new pieces of word art on the collage pages. Additional preview images located here. 

If you are new to working with digital layered templates in Photoshop you can check out my post for working with the templates last year (the steps are basically the same). 

Also available is an 
8.5x11 layered template set that includes the same number of pages and designs as the 6x8.

YOU CAN DO THIS

Let's tell stories together. I'm super excited to embark on this project again and I can't wait to see what kind of stories I end up telling over the course of the week. 

You can scroll through all my past Week In The Life™ posts here. 

Celebrating Memories Of Week In The Life™ | Andrea

Today I'm sharing 
#WITLmemories from Andrea. You may know her from Instagram as @andreacollects.

Big thanks to all my #WITLmemories guests this year! Tomorrow I'll be back with my big getting ready post for next week's documenting. 

#WITLmemories is all about sharing the Week In The Life™ love. It's about re-visitng our past projects (to reflect and learn and get inspired), sharing ways of telling the story of our daily lives, and creating a community of people around this popular project to support and encourage one another. 

You're invited to share your own personal favorite 
#WITLmemories via Instagram, Facebook or your blog. What do you love about the project? What do your past albums mean to you now? Feel free to share a link to your blog post in the comments below. 

Here's a look at Andrea's 2014 album:

MONDAY

Monday October 27, 2014

I want to remember what we keep on our bedside tables.

Sometimes it’s not a specific moment that is special. Sometimes it’s just a small detail.

Every evening I’m the one who goes first in our bedroom to read a few pages before I sleep. I turn on our bedside lamps and automatically take a look at what is on our bedside tables. They look the same (lamp, photo of us, alarm clock and books/magazines) but also so different in the choice of reading material we have there. 

TUESDAY

Tuesday October 28, 2014

I want to remember that I love to come home and see the light through the entry. I love to come home when he is already there.

There is something special about coming home and knowing that someone is waiting for me. I’m feeling safe and it shows me that I am not alone. The first thing I do, when I open the door is saying “hello” and asking him how his day was. The same two things each and every day. 

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday October 29, 2014

I want to remember that I love to cook.

Every evening I’m standing in the kitchen to cook something for our dinner. I love the time I spend alone in the kitchen. It helps me to calm down after a busy day at work and I can go through the whole day again with my thoughts. It also helps to just focus on prepping our dinner and not thinking about anything else. Or I make plans in my head about things I want to do after dinner. Cooking helps organizing my thoughts. 

THURSDAY

Thursday, October 30, 2014

I want to remember how our evening routine looks like.

Our evening routine includes several things. When we both get home one of the first things we do is starting our computers. Then it’s time for dinner prep which takes around 30 to 45 minutes. We eat dinner together every day and try to make the dishes right afterwards. Then starts the fun part. Doing projects, being online, knitting, talking, watching TV and sometimes we take a walk or eat dessert. 

FRIDAY

Friday October 31, 2014

I want to remember our weekly trip to the grocery store.

Every Friday we buy our weekly groceries. We don’t really like that but it has to be done. To treat ourselves we first get a coffee and than do our shopping. We always go prepared in the store. We always only buy the things on the list we made. This way we make sure to not spend too much money or buy things we don’t really need. We take turns in paying our groceries. One week it’s on me, one week it’s on him. 

Week In The Life™ 2015 is happening next week (August 17th). For more information about Week In The Life™ check out my projects page and pre-order your kit that makes it easy to focus on capturing and celebrating your words and photos with a fun, story-focused intentional embellishments. Week In The Life™ 2015 will begin August 17th if you'd like to record along with me during the same week. If you want to dive even deeper you can also check out my archive of past Week In The Life™ blog posts. 

Family Camping 2015

Ah, family camping. 

I'm a fan of repetition in design as well as in life. 

Repetition in life is called tradition. 

Our location is the same (outside Olympia, Washington on some timber land that my brother's company owns) and many of the people are the same from year to year. This group was started by my brother and sister-in-law and some of their friends and usually includes my cousin Rob (the best storyteller and all-around creative genius) and his family along with an extended collection of my brother's friends. Some stay out there all three nights and some come just for the day. This year Rob organized an art show for the kids to draw pictures of Shakey the Bear - a family camping legend who brings treats to well-behaved campers. 

This year also marked the first that the adults were officially and completely outnumbered by the kids. There were so many babies! Simon was in heaven - he loves babies. 

Each family is responsible for one meal. I had Sunday breakfast this year and ended up doing a dry cereal bar that included purchasing a whole bunch of fun kids cereals (and bringing way too much home too). 

This was also the hottest Family Camping adventure to date. We spent a lot of time in the water to stay cool which not a single person complained about. This year one family brought some kayaks and another brought a big inflatable floating thing and I brought a couple water chairs. Water time was definitely a highlight this year. 

It's one of my favorite places to take photos. Being outside all day long is an awesome opportunity to capture light at just the right moments. I shot most of these photos with my DSLR and a few with my iPhone 6+.

Looking at this photo of Anna and Lucy and friend Hannah made me go back in my archives to find this one of them just a couple of years ago: 

And then there's this one from this year: 

Which totally made me look for this one from 2011: 

Right before our very eyes. 

My cousin Rob, my brother John, and my longtime friend Paolo. 

Simon and Auntie Liz and baby Olive. 

Sweet Jane. 

Story time. The stuff legends are made of - these kids will remember this stuff forever. 

The morning hike up into the woods. 

Some of our crazy crew. 

Shake leaves these awesome notes around from time to time and the kids follow the clues to find goodies such as drawing materials, glow necklaces, and other treats. 

The suit is from JCrew. My sister had it first and I loved it on her so I got one for myself. 

Paolo and Anna out in the kayak. 

Baby Olive. 

The kids art show. 

Freeman. He is rad. 

See past Family Camping posts here: 2011, 2012, 2014.

Give Sunday | 31

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 31 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.