Ali Edwards's Blog, page 201

Bring On The Adventure

Later this month we, these five kids + me + Aaron, are heading out on an adventure in a RV for Spring Break. 

The photo you see above was our first all-together adventure over two years ago - everyone is quite a bit taller and smarter and sillier and better acquainted. 

We decided, this being our first RV outing, to not go too far. We'll be keeping it within Oregon and hitting up two different state parks on the coast. We've got our spots reserved and have started thinking about meals and snacks and activities. 

Having new experiences is one of my love languages and this has been one we've been talking about for awhile. 

So in the spirit of planning and thinking ahead and organizing and wanting to have some good ideas in place before we head out, I'd love to hear any ideas or tips you might have for traveling with kids in a RV. 

Menu ideas? Craft ideas? Games? Scheduling the day?

Because Choosing Glasses Should Be Fun

Hi, my name is Ali Edwards and I wear glasses. 

Every single day. 

I remember being in grade school and dreaming about how I would love to be able to wear glasses (which of course Anna asks for from time to time now too). When it became a reality I was actually excited but as I've gotten older sometimes they just seem more annoying than anything else. One of the things that has started to make it fun is having more than one pair at a time. For twenty plus years I had one pair at a time. Over the last year, through my partnership with David Kind, owning more than one pair has made it fun because they've become more of an accessory (and you know I don't really do a lot of those either) rather than just picking up the same pair everyday. 

Bring on the "fun" Ali, right? 

Last year I partnered with David Kind to share my process of selecting glasses using their awesome try-on-at-home service. You can read about my experience last time here and here. I have loved going back and forth between the green and black pairs. It usually comes down to which one is sitting next to my bed when I get up in the morning. 

I'm back again with another round of silly photos of me showing the pairs I have to choose from this time. And, as I did last year, I'd love to have your input. I've got a couple pairs I'm leaning towards of course, but it's always fun to have this be a community vote. 

So here's the deal, this time I'm looking to mix things up and was most excited to check out the thick clear pairs. 

I've really enjoyed the process of working with David Kind and the process for receiving and sending back the glasses is super easy. A new thing they have happening now is that rather than having a stylist choose all six pairs for your try-on box, you choose three and the stylist chooses three. 

Happy Monday! I hope you have a great week!

Give Sunday | 09

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

Because we all need this reminder. Because sometimes things can get way too serious. Because Katharine Hepburn rocked. Because we have so much to be thankful for every single day. 

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 09 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. 

Hello Beginning

When Simon finished his first horse session at RideAble today he asked me this question, "Do you think this will be a powerful memory?"

"Of course it will be." I answered as I helped him change out of his boots and back into his tennis shoes. 

"Will it protect me when I encounter Dementors?"

Ah, a very specific Harry Potter reference. 

What he was wondering, this awesome boy of mine, was if this memory would be powerful enough to become his patronus. 

Harry Potter fans will recognize this quickly, others may need an explanation: 

"This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring it." (Miranda Goshawk)

An animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. 

The way the Patronus charm works is that the wizard must concentrate, with all their might, on a single, very happy memory to protect themselves in the darkest moments. 

What Simon was telling me, through this short conversation, was that he loved this experience. 

The truth is, he didn't need to tell me. 

I could see it in the way he was paying attention, in the way he was careful and kind, and in the way he smiled at me when he caught my eye. 

Simon was on a horse once before if I remember correctly, many years ago down in Bandon on the Oregon coast. That horse, as Chris and my parents will remember, was named Silver. Today he met Chica and he was smitten. 

We signed him up for these lessons with the hope that it would be something he could get excited about and connect with (to the horses, to the instructors, to the other students, to the experience). 

Today was an awesome beginning. 

Life is for living. And for making memories and learning new things and finding stuff to get excited about and sharing deepest affinities.

#gosimongo

Project Life® 2015 | Week Five

Happy Thursday friends! 

Today I'm sharing Week Five of my 2015 Project Life® album. I had most of the photos printed for this one a week or so ago and was able to get my journaling added yesterday. 

Last weekend I taught a workshop called Storytelling With Project Life®. During the process of putting the education portion of that workshop together I went back though years of Project Life® spreads and again and again the overwhelming thought that kept coming up was that I love looking at ours lives one week at a time. 

The ability to actually "see" our lives in this way is such a gift. 

Here's a look at Week Five: 

One insert this week includes a note from one of Anna's friends at school. 

When I work on these weeks my goal is never to capture every little thing. My goal is to catch some of it - some bits of our lives via conversations, observations, memories, pieces of paper, drawings, and photographs. 

The "Monday" card is from my The Story Of Today 3x4 Card Set. 

Still completely loving adding in Anna's artwork as the date card for each week. I'm simply cutting them up and adding them into the pockets. 

I added in one of my #givesunday quotes from a few weeks back. 

Words, words, words. 

Yes. Bits of life. Stories don't have to be long to tell so much about our lives. 

Writing directly onto my photos continues to be a go-to technique, especially if I've already filled up the 3x4 pockets. Above I used a Staedtler Lumocolor Permanent pen. 

SUPPLIES

Firsts Story Kit™Cirque Project Life® KitThe Story Of Today 3x4 CardsSmall White TagsDesign A Page Protectors6 x 12 Page Protector

The Weekend Lens | Crop & Create Markham

Last Thursday Katie and I flew to Toronto, Ontario Canada for a weekend event called Crop & Create sponsored by Scrapbook & Cards Toady magazine. 

We had the best time. 

Sometimes when we travel to events we are in and out - no time for sightseeing or extra stuff - just take care of business and get back home. This trip we planned in an extra day, mainly to make sure we were able to get there since we were traveling across North America from West to East in the winter. It's just so unpredictable and having that buffer day makes everyone feel a bit better. 

Since we made it safe and sound on our scheduled travel day, and since Catherine was so organized in advance, we were able to drive a few hours from Markham, Ontario to Niagara Falls. 

When we landed Thursday evening in Toronto and it was -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit). We call that cold. 

On Friday morning we made the 2-hour or so drive to Niagara Falls with the lovely ladies from Doodlebug Designs and Vicki Boutin (all teachers at the event). We were not disappointed. It was our first time and it was awesome. 

We were on the Canadian side, which people seem to say is the best view. 

So all these photos were taken looking over towards the United States. 

Seeing it in the snow and ice was amazing. We'll definitely have to come back in the warmer months to get a taste for what it's like then as well, but seeing it this way was seriously cool. 

We walked all along a walkway where you can see both sets of falls. 

iPhone pano shot for the win. 

And yes, it was that cold. 

So beautiful. 

We were really thankful for the opportunity to get out and see this place we've only read about and seen on TV or movies. 

The event itself was also really great. Organized. Fun. Happy people, ready and willing to learn and enjoy each other's company. I couldn't have asked for a better group of students. 

You guys rocked. 

We did three classes at this event that seemed to be well received: Day In The Life™, Love You Because, and Storytelling With Project Life®. All include a lecture portion and then hands-on work time. I will be offering these workshops as downloadable classes later this year. You can also check out where else I'll be doing in-person teaching events here. If you are in Paris or surrounding countries we want to see you next month at Version Scrap. 

At the end of the event I got up and said a few things, including a big thank you for all the kindnesses received, and shared a few things I'd written down that I wanted to remember about the weekend (because you know I love repeated prompt journaling): 

I want to remember how cold it was at Niagra Falls and how great the company was.
I want to remember the smiles on so many of your faces as you came into the classroom or greeted me in the hall.
I want to remember how lucky I am to have Katie here with me.
I want to remember how great it is to be in the company of other people who are just as passionate about memory keeping as I am.
I want to remember seeing all the heads down, hands moving in the class this morning as people responded to the writing prompts.
I want you guys to remember that you have everything you need inside of you right now to include more of your words in your projects.
I want you to remember the your voice matters. And the person it should matter to most is YOU. 

Thanks again to Catherine at Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine for inviting me and for running such a smooth event. We've love to come back!

I also wanted to tell you guys that I finally caved and bought a Kindle. I went with the Paperwhite because I want it to be only for reading - no other activities like surfing the web or social media. I also just saw that it's on sale on Amazon right now because it's National Reading Month. Good time to jump in if you've been thinking about it too. 

I sent Aaron a text message and told him it was possible I was in love with the Kindle. 

It was awesome and lightweight and I could read when the lights were out in our hotel room. I started and finished The Girl On The Train on this trip (loved it). I don't think I will be only reading off here from now on, but I definitely will anytime I'm traveling. 

Give Sunday | 08

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

Joan Didion is one of my favorite writers. Raw. To the point. Real. You can listen to an interview with her that aired on Fresh Air back in 2005 - Writing A Story After An Ending - where she talks about her memoir The Year Of Magical Thinking about the time in her life after the death of her husband. In the interview she says, "I don't actually process anything until I write it down." This interview is very much about death and loss - and might be a tough listen for some people depending on your life situation. 

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 08 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. 

Around Here

ANNA

Listening | Pitch Perfect soundtrack and Taylor Swift's 1989

Reading | READING. It's like magic. Seriously the coolest thing to witness and encourage and nurture. She's determined and not easily frustrated, which in and of itself is a gift. 

Planning | Her birthday party. We're doing a delayed party this year not just because she was sick but because at least four other girls in her grade at school have birthdays this month and every weekend has included a birthday party already. Next year there's talk of a joint kids party. 

Playing | Barbies and fairies and princesses - in all kinds of awesome scenarios. I love the imaginative play all over the house. Two of her favorite places are the spot seen in the photo above and in the bathtub in my bathroom. 

Practicing | Gymnastics twice a week. Love how much she is loving it. Love that she is making friends with the other girls in her class - none of which go to the same school as her. 

SIMON

Reading | Totally into murder mysteries. I think it started with the Clue movie that he has been obsessing about recently - including typing out the entire script by watching it via subtitles (it ended up being 52 or so pages - I call that awesome typing practice). Last week he checked out two different books at the library after searching "murder mysteries." One of the things that is awesome about this is that he's often most interested in books where he has seen the movie first. 

Listening | He's been building his own playlist on Spotify recently and it's so awesome because it is so him. I'm planning a separate post to document that list soon. 

Entertaining | He had his first friend sleepover last weekend and it went really well. Movies and video games for the win.  

Joining | He's all signed up for some horseback riding lessons with a local group called RideAble. We've heard great things from other families who have taken their kids there so I'm hoping it will be something for him to look forward to and enjoy. It's something he's expressed an interest in before but the timing wasn't quite right. Making it happen this spring. 

Choosing | Short sleeves when the sun is out. Those of you who have been around a long time know that's a pretty big deal. 

ALI

Planning | We booked a RV for Spring Break and Aaron and I are brainstorming RV-adventure-with-5-kids strategies.

Obsessing | Currently consumed with the new workshops I'll be teaching this weekend at the Crop & Create event outside Toronto. Obsessing means working really hard (creating, journaling, photographing, writing), thinking about it way too much, and then procrastinating on the handouts and samples by cleaning. I'm excited and nervous and hoping I remember how to do this in-person stuff again.  

Making Space | For kids activities. For quiet. For looking them in the eye. For hugs and silliness and hanging out together without my list being so long and so loud. 

Listening | To his stories and questions (usually about Scooby Doo, Clue, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc). To her stories and questions (usually about the ups and downs of girls and boys in kindergarten). To NPR. To the hum of the dishwasher and the washer and dryer (sounds of comfort). 

Remembering | I don't have to have it all figured out. 

Give Sunday | 07

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

I am a huge fan of the words of poet Mary Oliver. She recently was interviewed for one of my favorite podcasts, On Being, which you can check out here. 

I come back to this quote again and again when I find myself down or afraid. It's a lovely, uplifting battle cry. 

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 07 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. 

AE Digital Creative Team | Layout Inspiration

Here's a look at this week's inspiration from the AE Digital Creative Team using designs from my digital shop. Remember, many of these awesome women are paper scrapbookers who use these projects in conjunction with their paper projects. 

Don't forget to click on the team member's name to visit their blog. If they have written up a post about their project with more details we've linked to that otherwise it goes to their main blog page. 

In addition, I launched three new products yesterday: 

Check them out here: For The Love Of Words, AM/PM Digital, and Great Story 3x4 Cards.

First up for creative team inspiration today is: Everyone Has A Story (product shown above)

Pam Baldwin | I love Pam's use of a large initial + the "made of moments" word art + her story. I also like how she parked that with a page that let her play with larger sized type. 

Carly Robertson | Carly paired the "little stories" word art with a chipboard element and 4x6 card from the Gatherings Story Kit™.

Lindsay Bateman | Sweet and simple from Lindsay - love how photos can be "little stories."

Next up: Who What Where Why Boxes

Kelly Schmidt (Linked to layout) | I love how Kelly printed out a collage of this word art set to create a pattern paper behind her photos. 

Trisha Harrison (Linked to layout) | Trisha enlarged the boxes to 3x4 and used them as a jumping off point for a variety of photo stories in this Project Life spread. 

Cristina C. (Linked to layout) | Cristina printed the boxes on vellum - love how they are layered on top of additional pieces of her story.

Next up: What Today Looked Like

Donya Gjerdingen | Donya cut "observations" with the Silhouette - love how it fits the width of her page (I think 6x8). 

Annette Haring | Annette used this set as titles for her photos. Love the idea of putting each title inside a white box. 

Ginny Hughes | Such a sweet moment captured here. Love the combination of "conversations" + the minutes // hours // days word art. I also love how she added stars to opposite corners of the page. 

Emily Webster | One of the things that I hope with my products is that they can (1) be used for lots of different stories and (2) be used multiple times. This is one of those sets I can see using again and again because the sentiments are so versatile. Here Emily used the days of the week word art to highlight the day a photo was taken. 

Finally for this week: Photo Grid No. 01 | 8.5 x 11

I used this grid for one of my Gatherings layouts for last month's Story Kit™ - another template that can be used to tell so many different stories. 

Celine Navarro | Totally love how Celine went black and white with this one and then added products on top. 

Sasha Farina (Linked to layout) | Who doesn't have a series of photos like this on their phone? I have a bunch because it's one of Anna's current favorite things to do. Love how Sasha brought all these images together with this template and used one of the rectangles for her journaling. 

Teresa Victor | Another super cool idea for a template like this, Teresa highlighted her current "guilty pleasure" TV watching paired with solid blocks of color and some of my Twenty Fifteen word art. 

Hope you guys have a great weekend!