Ali Edwards's Blog, page 216

And The Giveaway Goes To…

GIVEAWAY | Three (3) people will win Return to the Collection, a self-paced online video workshop about scrapbooking with a collection of patterned papers from Shimelle.

#48 |  orange gearle said…Thanks for the chance to win! I love Shimelle!

#212 | Cindy Wick said…Love the new line! I’m so glad she’s found a manufacturer that recognizes her talent. Would love to take another class from her.

#370 | Paris Anderson said…Sounds like a great class!!! I would love to take it.

Congratulations! Please email Katie with your contact information.

 

 

Sponsored Giveaways | Shimelle

GIVEAWAY | Three (3) people will win Return to the Collection, a self-paced online video workshop about scrapbooking with a collection of patterned papers from Shimelle.

Return to the Collection showcases six layouts in start to finish videos, using one collection pack of patterned papers.  The concepts are presented so you can make the ideas work with any paper collection you need to use, so you don’t have to work with the same supplies as shown on screen.  Through a mix of single and double pages and pages with single and multiple photos, we walk through a variety of tricks and techniques that will help you use those papers beautifully then dress it all up with embellishment too.  Everything is shown step by step via streaming videos, which you can work through at your own pace and return to at any time.

If you have a stack of patterned paper you just had to have but you’re yet to cut into it, it’s time to try something new.  Return to that collection with this workshop taught by Shimelle Laine.

If you win and you’ve already signed up, no problem – you can have your choice to give it to a friend or take a full refund on the class price.

ABOUT |  Shimelle has been teaching online scrapbooking classes since 2003, and things have come a long way from the plain text emails of those days to the video content of today that lets you scrap along in real time.  In addition to her own workshops, she was a Garden Girl at Two Peas in a Bucket, creating the popular Adventures of Glitter Girl video series, and just debuted her signature collection for American Crafts.

CONNECT | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | Instagram

TO BE ENTERED into this giveaway please leave a comment below (if you are reading this post on Facebook please come to my blog to leave a comment). Comments will be closed at 8pm Pacific on Sunday, July 6th. The winners will be announced shortly after. Please be sure to check back or subscribe (click here to get posts delivered to your email box) to see if you are receiving one of the items.

Round Up Of New Product Releases

Happy Weekend!

It’s been a while since we’ve shared some of the new product releases over at Designer Digitals so we’ve gathered them all up to share with you today.

First up are a really fun set of new 3×4 journal cards: To The Sea (also shown above in the image above).

The product includes the individual PNG files + a PDF for easy printing at home.

I use Epson Matte Presentation Paper for printing these journal cards.

Glorious Travel Moments | Great for adding directly to a photo.

Time For | This set includes 10 sentiments in both the banner and parentheses word art.

Memory 6×8 Album | This is a personal favorite of mine and I can’t wait to use it for an album (I’m thinking of creating some pages and printing them out to make a hybrid 6×8 album that includes traditional products as embellishments). I’m thinking one of my recent trips or a Top 10 favorite memories album.

The product includes 20 “number” pages (numbers 1 through 20), seven single word/phrase pages and a couple extra to mix and match to document your story. Great for documenting a vacation, a loved one or family member, or even simply 20 favorite memories from your own life.

Loved seeing this example of how lizziet5 is using the template set:

Evening

Morning

Memory Words

Beach For The Win

Numbers | These are the 20 number files that were used in the Memories 6×8 Layered Template album.

God Bless Your | This one came about after I shared a photo of Anna where I added the words “God bless your mighty heart” in Project Life.

Make A Choice | I love the idea of using these on a journal card or on a layout. Any one of them could be a title or a jumping off point for a specific story from your life.

Celebrate America | Word Art Freebie

To those of you celebrating around the USA this weekend: Happy 4th of July!

I put together a freebie package of four word art files to help you document your stories from today.

Download the Celebrate America freebie here.

If you’d like to learn more about digital memory keeping or working with these products check out my Getting Started series here.

Hope you have an awesome, safe weekend!

Project Life® 2014 | Week Seventeen & The Long Haul Memory Keeping Attitude

Happy Thursday!

Today I’m sharing a look at Project Life® 2014 | Week Seventeen.

Here’s what was on my mind as I was working on this spread: I’m in this for the long haul.

That’s my memory keeping attitude.

Not because it’s my job, but because it’s what I love.

A long haul attitude helps keep things in perspective. Here’s what it means to me:

For Project Life® it means that some weeks have a lot of content and some have less. There’s an ebb and a flow. I think sometimes I’ve “felt bad” (it’s all relative people) that I used “filler cards” (cards with designs on them and no room for journaling/adding more than a few words) vs. a story or antidote or something personal. That’s just silly (and evidence of another time I set up rules for myself). I’m over it now because I’m focusing on the bigger picture. The bigger picture is that it’s not any single week or spread that means the most to me – to me it’s being able to flip through and watch the progression of time and celebrate the whole of it.
For photography it means that sometimes I’m obsessed with capturing life through a lens and other times I just let it go. The common denominator though, is a general consistency in photo taking as a lifestyle. Taking pictures has really simply become a part of my life and I’m okay with the ebb and the flow. It’s habit and routine. Sometimes I get out of the habit for a week or so and that’s totally cool too because I’m in it for the long haul. This became super apparent to me the other day when I was looking for photos for the If This Table Could Talk post. Even when I had a whole lot less photos in one month or another, there was still something there. Those photos are memory triggers, story threads and I’m so thankful I have anything at all.
It’s not about keeping up, it’s about recording the stories that matter most. A long haul attitude means that those stories that matter most often bubble up to the surface. I’ve noticed as I work through Project Life® it actually helps me identify the longer stories I want to tell (either in those albums or in my traditional albums). From there I usually start a post on my blog, get that long story recorded and then make a layout from it when I have a chance.
As mentioned above, I’m on the lookout for stories – a single event, a conversation, a pattern, an experience, a perspective. I’m on the lookout for the things that make my life mine – some of those stories are common life experiences and some of them are very unique to my own life experience.

A long haul attitude helps me let go of the pressure to “keep up” and allows me to enjoy telling the stories, enjoy taking the photographs and then enjoy the process of bringing them all together.

I’m excited for the stories I still have to share from the past and for the stories I’ll experience in the time still to come and for the stories that bring the two together.

#scrapbookingmatters

Here’s a look at Week Seventeen:

This spread includes product from the main Studio Calico Penny Arcade Project Life® kit, the High Striker kit and the July 4th Card Set (gold heart – love this one particularly).

As you’ll notice I used a few more “filler cards” (these things need a new name – I think it’s the word “filler” that makes me feel like it’s “less than” or “fluff” vs. actually contributing to the overall story) this week which is part of what spurred my thoughts about the long haul above.

Okay so, Copic Markers. There’s lots of people out there who do really fancy things with them but I am really enjoying them for just writing out words. The set I’m currently using is a Ciao 12-pack with basic colors.

I created a layered journal card with a black and white printed background + white cardstock stitched on top with pink thread.

I don’t always change my thread. Pink worked here.

I’m letting it go that there aren’t more words here.

Those so much I could say. At the very least for me is adding a bit of writing on the photos. I wrote more about that in my post for Week Ten.

Those gold embellishments are puffy stickers and they are so cool. I used them on almost every card/photo this week.

ACTION ITEMS/IDEAS

Be in it for the long haul. There is so much good that comes from documenting our lives whether you are writing out a long story or playing with paper and pretty embellishments as you jot down a note or two about your day.
Let it go. What memory keeping hang up can you let go of this week that will help you move forward and tell a more complete story?
Include different visual perspectives. Don’t forget to take photos from both a close up and a far away point of view. I love seeing the combination of the two in this spread.

SUPPLIES | 2014 | WEEK SEVENTEEN

Click on the images to link to the products.

InLinkz.com

Project Life® is a product and a system and a lifestyle created by Becky Higgins. It can be anything you want it to be. The core pieces used in my album are available here. If you live outside the US check Becky’s site for more information on sources. View all my posts about Project Life® here.

Thank You Technique Tuesday | New Adventures Await

Hey guys!

Yesterday an announcement was made that Technique Tuesday and I are ending our licensing relationship. This means the end of the Studio AE stamp subscription program and the end of stamps designed by me and manufactured/sold by them.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with Technique Tuesday over the last 6 years. Their attention to detail and quality is something I appreciate and I wish them nothing but the best.

If you would like to purchase any of my stamp sets (once they are gone, they are gone) here’s some links to get you to the right place:

You can purchase any remaining AE stamp inventory from Technique Tuesday here, here, or here. You will know that the stamps were designed by me if the name of the products include my name.
You can purchase any remaining Studio AE stamp sets from Technique Tuesday here.
Scrapbook.com has some sets available here.
Simon Says Stamps has quite a few sets available here.

Some of my personal favorites that are still available include the following:

WHAT’S NEXT | Good stuff! There’s some cool things on the horizon that I’ll be sharing here in the next couple of months. I’m excited. I’m focused. And I’m so ready for the next phase of this adventure!

If you want to stay up to date with what’s coming next you can:

sign up for my newsletter
sign up to have my blog posts delivered to your email
follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter

Thank you so much for your continued support of my products! My goal has always been (and continues to be) to create things that will help you tell the stories of your life.

If This Table Could Talk

Today I want to celebrate this spot: our dining table.

This round black table hasn’t been around forever. In fact it was purchased in January 2012, a few months after Chris had moved out. The previous long rectangle table we owned together fit better in his house and I was open to getting a new one.

A fresh start for new stories.

Along the way I purchased some chairs from Ikea and the grey couch from Overstock.com (originally purchased for another room until I wondered if it would fit in this spot) which is definitely the favorite feature of the kids and the cat.

I love this space.

It gets used every day for meals, for conversation, for homework, for coloring, for reading. I love the windows that wrap around and the different light that comes in over the course of the day. I love opening the windows when it’s pouring rain just to hear the sound as it comes down through the trees and onto the patio or on those early days of spring and summer to bring in fresh air.

This table has seen and heard many things. Harsh words and kind words. Tears and laughter. Giggles and jokes between siblings. It’s been piled on and spilled on more times than I can count in it’s life with us. It’s been a resting place for adults and kids alike.

I take at least a couple photos there every month because it’s such an anchor in our lives.

Sometimes a kid or two is sitting there doing whatever it is they are into at the moment. Sometimes there’s simply evidence of our existence: books, computers, the newspaper, or a set table waiting for companionship. Sometimes I’ll place my camera on the kitchen counter and use the timer to make sure I’m captured in the mix.

The things we own are pieces of our stories.

If this table could talk it would tell stories of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners, drinks consumed, old and new friends, lives shared, computers, newspapers, coffee, hot cocoa with marshmallows, coloring books, homework, Santa letters, cut flowers, plans made, books read aloud, laughter, tears, laughter that turns to tears, birthdays, wishes, legos built, taxes, best part of the day/worst part of the day sharing, strategies for getting Simon to try more foods, secrets whispered, frustrations expressed, forgiveness granted, Anna jumping up and down on the couch and me telling her to sit on her bottom (over and over again), holidays celebrated, songs sung, manners taught and re-taught, one too many bean & cheese tostadas to ever count and so much more.

 

Is there a story you can tell about a piece of furniture or an area in your house? What stories would that piece/space tell if it could talk?

And The Giveaway Goes To…

GIVEAWAY | ONE (1) person will win a July Our Adventure Kit from Scrapbook Circle.

#327 | Daisie Hanson said…This is a fantastic prize! They have such a great site and the kits are gorgeous! Hope I win!!

Congratulations Daisie! Please email Katie with your contact information.

 

 

Around Here | Scrapbook Layout With A Whole Lot Of Words

Happy Monday!

Did you guys know that scrapbook magazines that you can hold in your hot little hands are NOT dead?

For some reason that kept coming up this past week with the close of Two Peas and the general sentiment that the world as we know it is ending.

I’m here to tell you that scrapbooking is not dead.

Really and truly.

It’s been around a lot longer than any of us and it will continue on into the future. It might not be the same as it was eight years ago or last week, but it will survive as long as people are interested in telling their stories with photos and words and products that support those stories. It might look completely different next week or next year or ten years from now but it won’t die.

Thank God. Because people, this memory keeping stuff keeps me sane.

Now back to the topic of magazines.

There’s a really nice magazine available that you might not know about called Scrapbook & Cards Today that gives you the option of paying to have a magazine shipped to your door OR you can download it for free (yes, that says free) and read it on a digital device.

They are a quarterly magazine (meaning 4 issues a year) and for the last year I’ve been writing a column for each issue called Stories With Heart. Most months my column includes three to four layouts and writing to support the subject.

Today I wanted to share one of the layouts with you guys that was featured in the current issue called Around Here:

These words came from this post.

A couple things you might notice right off the bat:

There are no photos.
There are a lot of words
There’s a really big title.

Now my guess is that some of you out there have written Around Here posts for your blog, or maybe you’ve considered it and never taken action. They are fun and easy to write because all you have to do is sit down and come up with a list of what’s happening in your own life right now. I try to include a combination of silly and serious and thoughtful and practical when I write these up. They are such a great way to capture a bunch of memories/moments/happening stuff all at once.

After I write up and post one of these they are then ready and waiting to be crafted into a scrapbook layout or added as an insert to Project Life®.

This time I decided to do a 12×12 layout.

I ended up creating a 12 inch x 12 inch page in Photoshop, copying and pasting my text into two text boxes, adding the little circles next to each paragraph and then printing directly onto the 12 inch x 12 inch cardstock on my Epson R2000.

One of my personal favorite things from the craft portion of this layout was using those giant Black Stamp Uppercase letter stickers from Me And My Big Ideas folded over the top and bottom edge of the cardstock.

The little chalkboard banners was included in a Studio Calico kit at one time. You can get as set of them here. I wrote on there using a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

Inside each circle I added a little embellishment. For this I really just went through the stash of stuff on my desk to collect a bunch of little things: hearts, stars, sequins, circle stickers, geotags, etc. My guess is you might have some of those things in your stash too.

On the embellishments in the second row I stapled them first and then adhered them to the card stock with mini glue dots because the stapler doesn’t fit all the way into the page.

Around the edge of the page (anywhere the letters weren’t going over the side) I added some orange washi tape. I have no idea who made that one. If you know I’m happy to link it up.

SUPPLIES | AROUND HERE

Click on the images to link to the products.

InLinkz.com

Sponsored Giveaway | Scrapbook Circle

GIVEAWAY | ONE (1) person will win a July Our Adventure Kit from Scrapbook Circle.

ABOUT | This kit includes a variety of products from favorite companies including several Scrapbook Circle exclusives. This bright and cheerful kit will supply you with perfect products for documenting your adventures close to home or in faraway places.

We love designing and sharing our boutique style kits every month. We take much time and pleasure in curating each of the items that we include in our monthly kits. We love sharing daily inspiration and connecting with others who share our same desire to create + preserve memories.

We offer a single kit option plus subscriptions where kits are purchased at a discount.

SPECIAL OFFER | We are offering Ali’s readers a 20% discount off of their order now through the end of June.  Just use code ALI20 at checkout to receive the discount.

CONNECT | Blog | Shop | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

 

TO BE ENTERED into this giveaway please leave a comment below (if you are reading this post on Facebook please come to my blog to leave a comment). Comments will be closed at 8pm Pacific on Sunday, June 29th. The winners will be announced shortly after. Please be sure to check back or subscribe (click here to get posts delivered to your email box) to see if you are receiving one of the items.