Ali Edwards's Blog, page 196
June 28, 2015
Give Sunday | 25
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 25 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.
June 24, 2015
Celebrating Memories Of Week In The Life™ | Nicole Reaves
Today I'm sharing #WITLmemories from Nicole Reaves.
#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.
From Nicole: "Last week I completed my third Week in the Life™ and right now I’m in the thick of printing the photos and putting everything together. While the documentation process is quite intense, these albums hold pages of some of my favorite everyday moments as a family. Memories that I very well would have forgotten if I hadn’t actively participated in this project. Thank you so much for following along as I shared parts of my favorite layouts this week!"
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 some of Nicole's pages from past projects:
MONDAY
Monday, July 25, 2011
My children, Morgan and Parker, are three and one, and life right now is both exciting and exhausting. As a stay-at-home mom, our days are full of diaper changes and laundry, games and crafts, snack distribution and trying to keep everyone happy. On this particular summer day, my sister (who was a new mama to twin boys) and I planned a last minute trip to the zoo that afternoon. Not only am I grateful for the time I can spend with my own kids each day, but also with my nephews and best girlfriend.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
School is in full swing this week and while Morgan is adjusting to full-day kindergarten, her little brother Parker is getting his own taste of school life during half-day preschool two days a week. Even though it was only for a few hours, it was very weird having both kids at school on that first day. When we picked Parker up before lunch, he said ‘I love school!’ and I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s all so bittersweet.
NOTE: Nicole used my Week In The Life™ 8.5x11 Vol. 5 Layered Templates for this project.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Today is the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As Parker and I walk past the flag at half staff in front of the library, I think about the day my children will ask more about the events that happened that day. I think about the people who were affected, how quickly things can change, and to hug everyone extra tight. We will never forget.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
On Thursdays over the summer, we usually head to downtown for storytime hosted by our local library. The kids can hardly sit still through the stories, but love the singing and dancing in between books. On this day, we also enjoyed a visit from Grandma (my mom) and a trip to “Old McDonalds” (as Morgan likes to call it). At three years old, she is saying so many adorable things. I’m so glad I’ve included her silly questions and mispronunciations in my album, because those are the little things I never would have remembered four (or more) years later.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Fridays around here mean catching up on housework and laundry so we can enjoy the weekend together. I put a new recipe in the crockpot for dinner (which has become a family favorite since then) and spent much of the afternoon picking up sticks around the yard after last nights thunderstorm. My husband, Mark, has taken the week off work to finish a new retaining wall in our backyard, so Parker has been extra busy between helping me and handing Daddy the tools he needs.
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 happen in mid-late August. If you want to dive even deeper you can also check out my archive of past Week In The Life™ blog posts.
June 22, 2015
For The Love Of Instagram
I'm definitely a fan of
Instagram.
I scroll for inspiration, for connection, for pleasure.
I love it most for the simple beauty of the images and for inspiration on how to look through the lens (of my camera and my heart). I like that Instagram can serve different needs - that I can follow and unfollow as my tastes and interests evolve. I follow some memory keepers, but a lot of who I follow are photographers or thinkers or writers or artists who bring good feelings into my day. When scrolling through my feed I want to smile, laugh, be made to think (might be the way the shot was taken and it might be the story included in the comments), or have my heart-warmed.
It's defintiely become more commercial over the years and I've contributed to that as I share business-stuff/memory keeping projects and products on my personal account
@aliedwards and via the @aliedwardsdesgininc account. And the reason why it's become more commercial is because people are there - scrolling and reading and commenting and interacting with one another.
Today I want to spread some good stuff. For the last week I've been jotting down the people/businesses that are currently brining me the most joy and inspiration in my Instagram feed. If it had to narrow it down to nine (excluding family and close friends) these would be the ones I'd keep (at least this week):
@chrisburkard | Chris Burkard | Surfing, outdoor and lifestyle photography. Pictures that blow my mind almost every single time and inspire me to get outside.
@humansofny | Humans Of New York | Storytelling at it's finest. Basically a guy (Brandon Stanton) who goes around New York and takes photos of people and documents part of their story via a quote from the person he's photographing. Raw, heartbreaking, inspiring.
@travelandleisure | Travel & Leisure Magazine | Travel photography - the places I've been and the places I want to go.
@afarmedia | Afar Magazine | More travel photography. Never enough. This is a great magazine as well.
@floretflower | Floret Flowers | I read about this company in Martha Stewart's magazine and immediately started following her on Instagram. They are a small flower company based in Washington state that grows the most beautiful varieties of some of my favorite flowers including dahlias and sweet peas.
@dallasclayton | Dallas Clayton | Some of you guys might remember that I wrote about this guy last year after hearing him speak Alt Summit. He's an illustrator and an attitude changer.
@nytimes | The New York Times | Their tagline on this account is "Telling stories in photos and stories about photos." Not hard to guess why I like and follow this one.
@taylorswift | Taylor Swift | Because why the heck not. Because I'm a fan. She makes me happy and we might just have plans to see her in concert later this summer.
@lovesarahschneider | Sarah Schneider | No idea how I came across Sarah but I like her feed - lovely light-filled images, insanely beautiful house (wait till you see the fireplace in the backyard), big heart, great style.
I'd love to check out your favorites too! Remember that taking the time to document that stuff you are into right now is part of our story. What I love and am into today might be different next week. Capture life my friends - it's so worth it.
Hope you have a great week!
New Story Subscription Special: Sign up for a Story Kit™, Story Stamp™ or Digital Story Kit™ before July 14th and receive my tried & true storytelling workshop Storyology for free: http://aliedwards.com/themes/go
In the self-paced Storyology workshop, I'll lead you through an in-depth exploration of some of my favorite techniques for telling the stories of life. This lecture-based creative session (2 hour presentation + handout), with time built-in for story brainstorming, is an awesome place to begin or refresh your desire to focus on the stories. You'll complete the workshop with a practical, go-to list of techniques to use each time you set out to document a memory or a moment of you life and be inspired to tell your stories fearlessly.
Current Story Subscriber? Check your account under My Classes for access to this workshop. Love you guys and thank you for your support!
June 21, 2015
Give Sunday | 24
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 24 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.
June 16, 2015
Celebrating Memories Of Week In The Life™ | Jess Forster
Today I want to share a campaign with you that we've been featuring on the @aliedwardsdesigninc Instagram account: #WITLmemories
#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.
Jess Forster was one of the first people I thought of when we were brainstorming people to invite to share their Week In The Life™ memories. Below are some of her favorite pages from past albums including stories from 2010, 2012, and 2014.
Here's Jess in her own words about this project, "My WITL albums are full of these lovely little details. In the past five years, I have documented life through various stages of everyday life. From life as a couple, to expecting our first child, to life with a newborn / toddler and finding our groove as a family of three. Week In The Life™ is one of my favourite projects and I am so thankful to have them to look back on. An intense project - the albums are so worth the result! Thank you for letting me share my past projects and snippets of my life with you!"
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 Jess:
MONDAY
Monday, April 24, 2012
8:43 AM I shower with purpose. I am in and out in 4 minutes flat. Although my mom is here, I can’t shake this new mom habit. I get dressed and start planning the grocery list in my head. What a treat to go grocery store by myself!
Background story from today:
While on maternity leave and my husband out of town on business, my mom visits to help me with my 5th month old daughter. It’s been more than three years since entering into parenthood and this small piece of information that I recorded in my WITL album struck a cord with me, as we are expecting our second child in August. It is also a reflection on our morning routine.
TUESDAY
Tuesday, October 29, 2014
9:28 AM: Arrive at work, in my work attire. Confession: I never know what to wear and this outfit was the third choice of the day. Feeling like I am always late, I run as fast as my swollen ankle can take me into the office.
Background story from today:
Two years into this working outside the home mama gig and I still trying to figure it all out. From trying to decide what to wear, to daycare drop off, to constantly feeling like I am running late, I can only imagine what life will be like with 2 kiddos vs 1. I am guessing that I will feel constantly pulled in different directions. Also, I will I ever love work attire?
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hello Wednesday. Midweek. Aaron arrives home at 7:30 pm. I am happy to see him because he has already had some long days at the office this week. The busy period has started again. I can’t change that. Tonight we eat sushi and watch tv. After watching Iron Chef America, the coffee challenge, I head upstairs to brush my teeth. Aaron takes Charlie outside for the last business of the night. I am thankful that Aaron is in charge of the evening outings. I am not a fan of the dark backyard. Our evening routine includes reading in bed. He is reading, “Drood”, on of the many books I got him for Christmas. I am looking at recipes for tomorrow’s trip to the grocery store.
Background story from today:
A different house and a different time in our lives - Hard to believe that this was our typical evening routine only five short years ago. There three main differences: We lived in a different home; Aaron worked really long hours; We had lots of free time. I love that I captured time together as a couple, just the two of us. Ordering in food, watching tv and reading in bed – what luxuries!
THURSDAY
Thursday, April 27, 2012
7:05 PM Listening to Jack Johnson during bath time. I Think Jack is so right. Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart & everything is better when we are together.
Background story from today:
That Jack Johnson album came out the year my husband and I got married. Only 3 short years ago we didn't realize that apps like Songza and Spotify would allowed us to stream music for free from our smart phones and let us have spontaneous dances parties in the middle of our bath time routine. This tradition had to start somewhere! I love that music can integrate different times periods in our lives.
FRIDAY
Friday, September 13, 2013
Daily Gratitude - I am thankful for a slower paced day with no commute & one on one time with my girlie.
Background story from today:
Just two short years ago, we scheduled all of our activities around my daughter's naptime. Now she no longer naps and we gave very full days together while we are at home.
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 happen in mid-late August. If you want to dive even deeper you can also check out my archive of past Week In The Life™ blog posts.
June 15, 2015
New Story Theme Now Available | Go
Say hello to a new
Story Theme for my Story subscription program: Go.
This month the focus is on the places we go (around town and around the world), letting things go, going with the flow, get up and go, etc. This is a great month to catch up and tell stories of past adventures or embark on a new one - because it's always a good time to get up and go.
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 Go:
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 Go:
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!
If you are looking for additional opportunities to learn more about memory keeping with an emphasis on storytelling, check out the self-paced version of my popular workshop
Hello Story. This class includes 12 complete lessons (covering 12 different "story structures") with full-color handouts, 36+ layout examples created specifically for this workshop including 12x12, 8.5x11 and Project Life® inserts, over 62 videos (a video presenting each theme and step by step process videos) and 12 digital packages (valued over $48). It's packed with content and layout ideas and just waiting for you. Some of my most favorite layouts I've created from the past few years are included in this workshop. Full details here.
June 14, 2015
Give Sunday | 23
This year, in honor of my 2015
One Little Word® "give," I'm sharing a hand-drawn quote each Sunday here on my blog.
Just a few words from me this week - stuff that's on my mind and in my heart.
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 23 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.
June 10, 2015
Five Inspiring Blogs That Fill Me Up
Today I wanted to talk a bit about blog reading and what I've been reading lately that's been filling my mind and heart with good stuff.
These days I'm using Bloglovin as my blog-reader and I've been really happy with it overall. I don't spend as much time as I used to reading blogs, for a variety of reasons including time and my general desire to read more books. It's an ebb and a flow as always. When I do have time I like to scroll through the Bloglovin app on my phone or at my desktop computer and then click on the topics that are of interest to me. You can also follow my blog via Bloglovin here.
Top of mind for me recently is really considering what I'm feeding myself (literally as well as metaphorically). My question to myself is this:
What words and images am I'm choosing to let into my life? It's a choice every day to read stuff that fills me up vs. focusing on negativity or stuff that's really just basically garbage (total personal judgement and opinion, obviously, on what constitutes garbage). I want to read blogs that build rather than break-down. I want to read blogs that contain authentic stories of figuring it out as we go along - because it's what we are all doing. I want to read blogs that inspire me to make the changes I want to make in my own life, at my own pace.
With those things in mind, here are five of my current favorites that you might already be reading or might be new to you:
Design For Mankind | Erin Lochner's posts about motherhood and how we spend our time have been really inspiring me.
INTO MIND | This is just a really lovely, clean, interesting site. Love the 30-day Minimalism Challenge and the Practical Minimalism 101.
Elise Blaha Cripe | Elise continues to inspire me - especially in the areas of time management and focusing on what's most important. Loved her post yesterday about how she finds time for reading.
Be More With Less | Courtney consistently produces interesting content about simplifying life and getting to the heart of the matter.
Hands Free Mama | A longtime favorite, Rachel has a new book coming out later this year (a follow up to Hands Free Mama) called Hands Free Life (preorder now available - publishing in September). I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of Hands Free Life and it was super, super inspiring. I can't wait to read it again and mark it all up when the actual book is out and I'll probably write more about it in the Fall.
Here's to lifting each other up through the process of sharing our own stories.
June 8, 2015
Summer Manifesto 2015
For the last few years I've put together a Summer Manifesto (2014, 2012 finished album & 2012 list). It's a nice way to set some specific intentions for the summer months that help guide our activity and leisure choices.
Some years I've made a mini-book or created something to go along with it - documenting the process or telling the story after the fact. This year my creative plate is already pretty full and I'd like to work on Project Life® if/when I have extra time so I'm not planning on adding any other memory keeping projects besides Week In The Life™ in August.
And the truth is there is really just one thing I want to focus on this summer. One simple thing. It's a gift I want to give to my kids and to myself:
I want to get in the pool with my kids.
Now I know some people out there have body issues that keep them out of swimsuits and out of the water - that's not really my issue. If that's your issue there's a great article that Jessica Turner wrote about that last summer that is so worth your time: Put On That Swimsuit.
Is it fear of the water? Nope. Swimming has been a huge part of my life and I actually love being in the water.
So what keeps me out of the pool?
Sometimes I want to read (Dear Kindle, I love you). Sometimes it's just too cold (dude, I'm getting old). Sometimes I just want some time by myself to chat with my friends who are often at the pool at the same times we go. Sometimes I just don't feel like it. All generally valid reasons for not getting in the pool, but this summer I want to make a different choice. I want to do those other things I just listed AND I want to play with my kids in the pool.
My kids regularly ask me to get in the pool with them and I regularly say "just a minute" or "not today" or "no thank you."
This summer I want to say yes.
Yes to being with them in a playful, fun environment. Yes to diving down to the bottom to retrieve toys. Yes to throwing Anna up in the air. Yes to letting Simon tickle my feet under the water.
It's time for me to get back in the pool and that's exactly what I plan to manifest in my life this summer.
If you were to have just one thing on your Summer Manifesto what would it be?
Just an update on Week In The Life™ Kit pre-orders. If you pre-order before 6/15/15 you'll receive the digital/printable cards and digital stamps (shown above) for free. Already pre-ordered? You are awesome. These files will appear in your Ali Edwards account under "My Digital Files" when your order ships. Full details on the kit can be found here.
June 7, 2015
Give Sunday | 22
This year, in honor of my 2015
One Little Word® "give," I'm sharing a hand-drawn quote each Sunday here on my blog.
I found the words for this week's quote on Amy Poehler's Smart Girls instagram account. Amy Poehler and her best friend Meredith Walked created Smart Girls to help people celebrate their truest self - which is rad - their motto is "Change the World by Being Yourself." I love following them. From their About Page, "We emphasize intelligence and imagination over “fitting in.” We celebrate curiosity over gossip. We are a place where people can truly be their weird and wonderful selves."
And one of the reasons I love quotes is that they often introduce me to people I might not have otherwise encountered - like Pema Chödrön who wrote the words above. She's a Buddhist teacher, author, nun and mother.
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 22 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.
