Ali Edwards's Blog, page 25
May 13, 2024
Pieces Of Joy: Ali's Notebook
I had the BEST time last week working on the chapter in our Pieces Of Life collection: Pieces Of Joy.
I shared my spreads each day on Instagram and you can see the process videos via my account over there.
This time I decided to throw out all my own expectations about what this project looks like and played with going big on each of the spreads. I used alpha stamps and brush pens and full page photos and some mixed media play to document pieces of joy in my life in this season.
I used the Alphas Are Awesome #13 stamp set + Willamette ink.
For "joy looks like" I used my own photos of flowers from my yard to create an explosion of floral joy. I removed the backgrounds from my flower photos (using AI tech in Photoshop), printed them on photo paper, and cut each one out to collage it together in my notebook.
For "joy tastes like" I used words to tell the story of some of the memories and moments in my life that taste like joy. I used a Kuretake Brush pen for the writing. The background is yellow paint on old dictionary paper.
For "joy feels like" I went with a full page photo as my background. On top of that I created a shaker using one of the chipboard frames from our Frames Scrapbook Kit. I stitched a piece of plastic on top and added in some star sequins on top of the quote. I stamped "joy feels like" on top of the yellow printed part.
To create a little repetition in the project I decided to paint another background and then use a brush pen on top again for the "joy smells like" prompt.
For "joy sounds like" I had a very fun time painting letters and cutting them out. I also printed a background photo and then added a star stencil + texture paste. I adhered the letters using red line tape.
For the final prompt I told the story about a song + memories from my senior prom. So much joy in both the song and the memories. I used frames from a past release and typed up my journaling to fit inside. I attached the frame to my notebook using a folded piece of mixed media paper.
On the backside I added a photo of some of my mixed media play from this past week. Lots of joy in my mixed media play right now.
Thanks for joining me for this round of creative play!
May 10, 2024
In Case You Missed It | May 10
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to the latest
In Case You Missed It. Just a reminder that this is a quick post that will happen every Friday afternoon with all the updates and links that have happened throughout the week. So, let's get to it:
MAY REVEAL
Today we revealed a new Story Kit™ theme: ENJOY! What have you been enjoying in your life recently? This month we are documenting stories about the people, places, and things we enjoy from yesterday and today. This universal theme will be awesome for helping you get more of your stories told. In addition to our new Story Kit™ theme, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit, the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series, and a new Quarterly Scrapbook Kit. Head to the blog for Ali’s post with all the details about this month’s release.
PIECES OF JOY
Every day this week Ali has been sharing her response to the daily prompts in the Pieces of Joy notebook. This project is a great opportunity for quick and simple documenting at its best! Ali’s got a blog post up with the prompt details, links to past Pieces Of Life projects so you can see what a completed one might look like, and a PDF if you'd like to play along in a different format. Head to the blog now.
MAY DIGITALS
The first Friday of every month we have a new digital release available in the shop. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Shop digitals here.
2024 PROJECTS + PRODUCTS SCHEDULE
As we continuing easing into 2024 we put together an overview of our schedule of projects + product releases for the upcoming year. We are sharing this as a way for you to plan, think about what you might want to participate in this year, and simply share some of the things we have coming up to help support + inspire storytelling. For the last few years we've followed a fairly similar cadence for our releases and our major projects will follow that release schedule again this year. Please note that, as you might imagine, this schedule is subject to change throughout the year based on a variety of variables. Find the post here.
As always, we’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
Enjoy Story Kit + June Stories By The Month + Frames Quarterly Scrapbook Kit
Today's the 10th of the month and that means a new
Story Kit, Story Stamp, and Stories By The Month kit.
This month we are focusing on stories related to the theme of
Enjoy.
What have you been enjoying in your life recently? This month we are documenting stories about the people, places, and things we enjoy from yesterday and today. This universal theme will be awesome for helping you get more of your stories told.
Initial story ideas for this theme include:
What are you most enjoying in your life right now? Make a currently list.
Look through your photos and pick one to enlarge. Add bits from the kit to tell the story of why you enjoyed this moment so much.
Tell a story about someone you are enjoying in this current season of your life. What it is about them that is bringing you joy? STORY KIT™
The
Story Kit™ includes:
Here's a video overview of the
Story Kit™ and Add-On options this month:
STORY STAMP™
The
Stamp Set:
Here's a video overview of the Story Stamp:
STORY CLASS // INCLUDES DIGITAL STORY KIT
Here's a look at what's included in the Digital Story Kit™:
Your digital kit and the classroom and any Add-Ons purchased will be available to you on the 12th once your card has been charged for the month.
This kit is also available to physical kit subscribers as an Add On each month.
Here are a few project samples from Ali:
Again, thanks so much for subscribing and/or considering our
Story Subscription program! If you have any questions about this program please let us know below in the comments.
We are changing things up with our Stories By The Month™ subscription for 2024 and you can read all the details here.
Here is a full look at the kit this month:
And a video overview:
This subscription is a great option for those who are looking to tell more calendar/everyday life sorts of stories.
Our Digital Stories By The Month™ kit is now called Inspiration By The Month™. With this subscription you receive access to the Inspiration By The Month™ classroom and the digital kit.
This kit is also available to physical Stories By The Month™ kit subscribers as an Add On each month.
This 6x8 stamp set is available to subscribers to add to their box during the Add On period and
also offered in the shop for anyone else.
The next theme in our Quarterly Scrapbook Kit is Frames! Here's a look at what's included in the kit along with a video overview. Don't forget that our Scrapbook Kit includes the digital kit for free.
May 3, 2024
In Case You Missed It | May 3
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to the latest
In Case You Missed It. Just a reminder that this is a quick post that will happen every Friday afternoon with all the updates and links that have happened throughout the week. So, let's get to it:
PIECES OF JOY IS COMING
Are you ready for Pieces Of Joy? Each day next week Ali will be sharing her response to the daily prompts in the Pieces of Joy notebook. This project is a great opportunity for quick and simple documenting at its best! Ali’s got a blog post up with the prompt details, links to past Pieces Of Life projects so you can see what a completed one might look like, and a PDF if you'd like to play along in a different format. Head to the blog now.
APRIL REVEAL
Earlier this month we revealed a new Story Kit™ theme: AROUND HERE! Documenting the basics of everyday life is a story lens I return to again and again. This month we are using one of Ali's favorite phrases "around here" to document what's happening in this season of our lives. This kit is great for Project Life documenting or any other kind of story where you are capturing life in the moment. In addition to our new Story Kit™ theme, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit, the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series, and a new Seasonal Paper Pack.
Head to the blog
here for Ali’s post with all the details about this month’s release.
MAY DIGITALS
The first Friday of every month we have a new digital release available in the shop. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Shop digitals here.
2024 PROJECTS + PRODUCTS SCHEDULE
As we continuing easing into 2024 we put together an overview of our schedule of projects + product releases for the upcoming year. We are sharing this as a way for you to plan, think about what you might want to participate in this year, and simply share some of the things we have coming up to help support + inspire storytelling. For the last few years we've followed a fairly similar cadence for our releases and our major projects will follow that release schedule again this year. Please note that, as you might imagine, this schedule is subject to change throughout the year based on a variety of variables. Find the post here.
As always, we’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
April 30, 2024
Join Us For "Pieces Of Joy" Next Week
Quick reminder that you are invited to join Ali next week as she embarks on the next chapter in our Pieces Of Life project: Pieces of Joy.
Past Pieces Of Life themes:
Pieces Of MePieces Of HomePieces Of The PastPieces Of Play
Each Pieces Of Life project consists of seven storytelling prompts - one for each day over the course of the week. Ali has been using notebooks to document these stories but you can choose your own adventure and simply share these prompts on Instagram, in a traditional scrapbook, in pocket pages, or even in a personal journal.
For
Pieces Of Joy the prompts will be as follows:
Monday: What Joy Means To Me
What does joy mean to you? Write your own definition or look it up and use that as a jumping off point for your story. Consider using "joy means..." at the beginning of each thought.
Tuesday: Joy Looks Like
What does joy look like in your life? Make a list or pick one thing and use that as an entry point to your story. Is joy a smile? A toy? A person? Something in nature? Make a list or dive deeper into one story.
Wednesday: Joy Tastes Like
What does pure joy taste like to you? Is it a summer fruit? A piece of cake? Something your Mom or Dad used to make? Something you cook that feels like home? A drink? Make a list or dive deeper into one story.
Thursday: Joy Feels Like
What does joy feel like to you? How does it feel inside your body? Is there anything else you can compare it to? When do you feel the most joy? What's most often happening when you feel joy? Make a list or dive deeper into one story.
Friday: Joy Smells Like
What does joy smell like? Summertime? Christmas? Is it something you smell regularly or only on special occasions? Do you have something that smells like joy in each season of the year? Make a list or dive deeper into one story. Saturday: Joy Sounds Like
What does joy sound like? Is it the voice of a specific person? Is it a song? A TV show? Something outside? Make a list or dive deeper into one story.
Sunday: A Joy-Filled Memory
Close your eyes and think about some of the most joyful memories in your life. Pick one to write about here in your notebook.
As Ali states in the "thoughts on the prompts" section of the notebook:
We all have a story. This practice is a wonderful opportunity to focus on some pieces of joy in your life. Enjoy this chance to focus on some pieces of joy that tell a little more of your own personal story. You've got this! I'm excited for you. Have fun!
We do have some of the notebooks available either in the physical or digital version if you'd like to collect your stories in that format. The Pieces Of Joy stamp set can be found here (digital stamp available too).
Ali's also put together a printable PDF in case notebook documenting isn't the method you'd like to use for this project and you'd like to have a place to jot down notes or your story.
April 29, 2024
Week In The Life™ 2024 | Special Guest Laura Wonsik
Hello ,story crafting friends! It's Laura Wonsik here and I'm excited to share my completed 2024 Week in the Life album along with a few thoughts about my experience this year.
This was my 8th year completing this project and if you catched the Instagram Live where I chatted with Ali, you might remember me sharing how much more relaxed I have become about this project than when I started. The chronology isn't perfect and not every story is told- imperfect and messy just like my life.
One thing that I find very helpful in pulling together large project albums like this is having a repeated formula that I am flexible about. It's nice to have a structure and it's also nice to feel "allowed" to break that structure.
All of the days include the same basic elements in whatever order makes sense for that days' stories. I particularly liked having the 3x8 filler card from the main kit as a home for photos that would have otherwise taken up a lot of space in the album.
This project is such a great stash buster. Ali has so many products that support everyday storytelling, so I always easily find filler pieces to help this project come together.
Some of my favorite photos of all time have come from this project. We often pull out the camera during "special events." But, there's an ease and relaxation that shines through in photos from everyday life. I'm all about photos of the kids in pajamas on a hammock.
Sometimes I capture moments I didn't even intend to capture. I snapped this photo of my daughter taking the dog out and my little one was tasting the raindrops. Oh, to have that childlike sense of wonder again.
I love the invitation to get in front of the camera in this project. I would love photos of my mom in everyday life as a child.
So much of our life is lived online, so why not screenshot some of those pieces? I play the NYT games everyday, I Marco Polo regularly and I love capturing text screenshots.
I love capturing snippets of my husband's day as well.
It's very helpful to have "stock photos" that I keep in my pocket for when the flow of the album needs a certain size photo. I took photos of my current beauty products, my earrings, my closet and some shots of my office to fill in as needed.
It's always a fun experiment to see what will happen when you put the phone down and set a 10 second timer.
This photo was an unintentional candid moment- I was trying to get a photo of myself cutting fabric and my daughter interrupted- what a perfect "interruption!"
I'm so thankful for this project and the way it helps me celebrate, reframe and savor the everyday moments of my life.
Thanks for following along with my story and I hope you enjoy the process of putting together your album!
Find more inspiration from Laura on Instagram: @Laura_wonsik.
Week In The Life 2024 | Ali's Sunday
I gave myself permission not to come back to my desk last night (Sunday) in order to simply enjoy the end of my weekend/week.
Sunday was what I hoped it would be: a day spent doing some of the things I love best including puttering around the house, being outside, connecting, reading, napping, and spending time with Aaron.
Here's a look at some pieces of my Sunday:
Sunday started early for me and Betty with a drive to Mt. Pisgah to meet some friends at 8am for a long walk in a local park where the dogs can be off leash if they can be easily recalled (lucky for me Betty is in that category). It's definitely a favorite place to take Betty because there is a ton of space to walk, roam, sniff, and to swim in the river. She gets really muddy and wet and tired and she loves it so much.
Once we got back home it was time for a shower for Betty. Back in early 2020 we added this shower to our downstairs bathroom and it's great for Betty washing. I've been doing this with her since she was a tiny puppy. Her most favorite part is at the end when she gets out and gets to go crazy rolling in the towels.
Aaron is not an early riser (not his first choice) so when I got home around 10 he was just getting up and having his breakfast.
After chatting with Aaron about our plans for the day (me = puttering inside/outside and lunch with Chris and Anna, him = music) I went up to my office to upload the photos I'd taken up to this point and did a little painting.
Next I knew I wanted to spend a little time outside so I checked on my seed packets again to create some kind of a plan for myself and then headed outside while I waited for Chris and Anna to pick me up for our lunch.
The lilacs are showing off.
Anna picked a new place she wanted to try out called "Yummy Crab." They do seafood boils and we split a shrimp and Dungeness crab boil.
Chris and I had invited Anna to lunch to have a check-in about school and sports and friends (basically all the things). It was a fun lunch and I enjoyed the three of us getting the chance to hang out.
They picked me up in their Tesla (which was fun to ride in to see what it was like) and then dropped me back off at home. We live about a mile away from each other which has made things pretty easy over the years when transitioning kids and dropping off backpacks and giving the kids some freedom of movement when they were younger between the two houses.
Still loving my house.
When I got back from lunch Aaron was sitting at the dining table working on music. He's created thousands of songs over the years and currently he's updating some of them. It's been awhile since he's been focused on music (because life and kids and responsibilities and choices) but recently he's been excited to dive back in and has been getting his laptop set up so he can work on it outside of his office (like the backyard, etc).
Betty took many naps on Sunday. She was definitely wiped out from our morning adventures.
In the afternoon I spent some time planting a few of the things I picked up from Johnson Brothers earlier this week. I like moving things around in the yard and trying different plants in new places. Trying a couple tomatoes in this space this time.
Aaron and I met up in our bathtub in the late afternoon and had a nice long soak. We ate leftovers for dinner and watched an episode of the Netflix show about the Cold War (and how it relates to where we are today).
It's been a week.
I love this project so much. I love starting it and I love getting to the end. Monday morning always feels strange after a week of this project.
I'm grateful to you all for coming along with me on this adventure.
I'll probably start working on getting my content into my album later this week. I like to give myself a little space before I dive in to let the memories settle.
April 28, 2024
Week In The Life 2024 | Ali's Saturday
Here's a look at my calm, easy, late-to-wake-up, pet snuggling, rainy, dog-walking, plant-digging, book-reading, green loving, laundry switching Saturday.
April 27, 2024
Week In The Life 2024 | Ali's Friday
Friday started when I woke up and immediately ran through the list of all the things on my mental list for today. Anyone else do that?
I also had a bunch of eyes on me.
Keeping my glasses clean is an ongoing battle.
Finishing up a bit of reading on the way to bagels.
First up was taking Anna and her friend Libby to their Friday morning bagel gathering. They started doing this at the beginning of the year and it’s been such a fun tradition. And they let me hang out and listen to their conversations about sports and school and the weekend. It makes me so happy to know her friends.
Next up I got to meet my friend Sarah at a local coffee shop for our co-working Friday. A couple months ago we were with Katie and the three of us decided it might be fun and healthy for us as work-at-home people to meet up on Friday mornings and sit together and do our own work. We’ve done it a couple times now and it’s such a great way to get me out of the house. Today Katie had a sick kid so it was just me and Sarah.
We chat for a bit and then we get down to work.
I worked on my newest Substack writing. I like having a designated time for working on that kind of writing (or working on the Just Write prompts). It’s nice to have a specific time set up where I’m not distracted by all the good stuff in my office. I also did some word art/drawing for our Story Play collection next year. I listened to the new Taylor Swift.
After Sarah and I finished up working I ran a couple errands including picking up some crab for our weekend and getting the shorter post placed in my nose piercing.
I also stopped at the grocery store for a few things to go with our crab: sourdough bread (this is a low gluten one that works for me), potato chips, butter lettuce, grapes and a salad dressing.
Working on a new canvas that includes all the circles I cut out of painted pages from earlier this year on top of an older Rifle Paper calendar. I'm really loving that something I worked on months ago can become part of something I create today.
Continued working on Story Play kit designs and listened to Led Zeppelin.
Friday is a kid transition day around here so everyone is headed to their other homes after school. Aaron and I look forward to these Friday’s and we usually start our hang out adventures around 4pm. Earlier this week we talked about heading out somewhere in our camper van but decided to just stick close to home (lots of rain in the forecast and lots of good TV we are excited about). It’s also the first weekend in a while where there isn’t a volleyball tournament for either of the girls. I'm ready for some hang around the house time.
I'm going to wrap up my work day early today to hang out with Aaron (my photos will be added into my project). I'll be back tomorrow morning with images from my Saturday.
April 26, 2024
In Case You Missed It | April 26
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to the latest
In Case You Missed It. Just a reminder that this is a quick post that will happen every Friday afternoon with all the updates and links that have happened throughout the week. So, let's get to it:
WEEK IN THE LIFE 2024 IS HERE
Monday we kicked-off our community documenting week for 2024 Week In The Life™. All this week Ali's been sharing her words + photos over on the blog. We've also had several live chats over on Instagram. Find them here. Ali will continue to share her daily posts, through the end of the documenting week and then will likely take a break for a few days before beginning her album. As always, she will be sharing her process on the blog. In the meantime, you can still shop our new collection here.
PIECES OF JOY IS COMING
Our documenting week for the Pieces of Joy collection is coming May 6th. We'll be sharing more details as we get closer.
APRIL REVEAL
Earlier this month we revealed a new Story Kit™ theme: AROUND HERE! Documenting the basics of everyday life is a story lens I return to again and again. This month we are using one of Ali's favorite phrases "around here" to document what's happening in this season of our lives. This kit is great for Project Life documenting or any other kind of story where you are capturing life in the moment. In addition to our new Story Kit™ theme, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit, the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series, and a new Seasonal Paper Pack.
Head to the blog
here for Ali’s post with all the details about this month’s release.
APRIL DIGITALS
The first Friday of every month we have a new digital release available in the shop. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Shop digitals here.
2024 PROJECTS + PRODUCTS SCHEDULE
As we continuing easing into 2024 we put together an overview of our schedule of projects + product releases for the upcoming year. We are sharing this as a way for you to plan, think about what you might want to participate in this year, and simply share some of the things we have coming up to help support + inspire storytelling. For the last few years we've followed a fairly similar cadence for our releases and our major projects will follow that release schedule again this year. Please note that, as you might imagine, this schedule is subject to change throughout the year based on a variety of variables. Find the post here.
As always, we’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
