Ali Edwards's Blog, page 33

An Overview Of Our 2024 Projects + Products

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.

Earlier today, Ali and Lisa were live on our @aliedwardsdesigninc Instagram account talking about the plan, as well as a few sneaks of upcoming project releases. Find that recording here. 

We put together a PDF for those of you who might want to print it out and refer back to it throughout the year. 

Download the PDF here.
Here's to a year of getting stories told in a way that's sustainable + enjoyable + meaningful.

Start Story Kit + Stories By The Month February 2024

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
Start.

We all start somewhere and we all start at some time. Stories of starting, starting + stopping, starting and then beginning again are present during most chapters of our lives. Sometimes it's an easy start and sometimes it's a phenomenal feat that we even make it to the starting line. This month we are diving into stories of starting: from the beginning, from the middle, and those times when we find ourselves starting all over again. 

Initial story ideas for this theme include:

What are you starting in your life right now? Is there a fresh start you are experiencing? 
What have you started + stopped recently or at some point in your life? How did that impact that particular season of your life? 
False starts. They happen! Can you think of a time in your life when you experienced a false start? Tell that story. 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. 

STORIES BY THE MONTH™

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. 

INSPIRATION BY THE MONTH (DIGITAL STORIES BY THE MONTH)

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.

ALPHAS ARE AWESOME #10

This 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.

Here's a look at the stamps in use: 

ADD ONS

Subscribers will also be able to add a variety of other items listed in the Add On category under My Subscriptions. 

Ali's planning to use the frames as a repeated element in an upcoming Project Life® spread along with the chipboard numbers from the Start Story Kit:

In Case You Missed It | January 5

Happy Friday and Happy New Year, 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:

40% OFF MOST DIGITALS + CLASSES

Dive into the world of digital and hybrid storytelling this new year with 40% off on most digitals and classes in our shop, available throughout the entire month. Embrace the art of preserving memories in a way that resonates with your unique narrative style. Use promo code SPRINGDEAL to get 40% off select digitals and classes all month long. Happy creating! Shop classes here. 

ONE LITTLE WORD® 2024 IS HERE

Workshop registration opened this week and we have a new collection of carefully curated products available to help make your word visible throughout the year. ⁠Shop the collection here.
Visit our "Classes" page to see all of the details for this year's workshop. Register before 1/1 and receive the early bird pricing of $45 (registration after 1/1 will be $50) for 12 months of content related to making your word visible in your life.⁠ Register + learn more here.

JANUARY DIGITALS ARE HERE

It’s the first Friday of the month and that means we have a new digital release available in the shop. This month we’re excited to offer digital versions of our entire 2023 Travel Collection, including album art. Play with scale, recolor objects, add journaling, print multiples…the sky is the limit when playing with digitals. Head to the link in our bio now to find this month’s digital releases. Shop digitals here.

DECEMBER DAILY® CLASSES

2023 DECEMBER DAILY® PREP DAY. Join the December Daily® community for a fun online December Daily® prep day on Saturday, November 18th, 2023. Use this opportunity to finish past December Daily® projects or start working on your project for 2023. The first live video will start on Saturday, November 18th at 10:00 am Eastern. Cost is $5.
DECEMBER DAILY® PRODUCT PLAY | TRY THIS. December Daily® Product Play is all about ideas and inspiration for working with physical products from the December Daily® Collection. For 30 days in November, you'll receive one idea per day from the contributors to this class (includes Ali). Ideas in this workshop will focus on physical products from our 2023 December Daily® collection. Whether you are preparing to document 2023 or finishing up telling stories from past years, we hope these fun, creative ideas help you use your products to get your stories told.
2023 DECEMBER DAILY® HYBRID PRODUCT PLAY. Hybrid scrapbooking combines digital products with physical supplies to create paper (or printed) memory-keeping projects. For this class, our contributors will share with fun, creative ideas and inspiration for working with these digital products from the 2023 December Daily® Collection.

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!

A Look Back At All Ali's Projects In 2023

I'm working on getting my office cleaned up and ready for 2024. While I was doing that I thought it would be fun to put together a video where I flip through all the projects I've worked on in 2023. 

As you watch this video I don't want you to have any thoughts of competition or that you didn't do enough (check out this post about finding your own "enough"). People in our community participate in these projects when it works for them. Please remember that this is my job and part of my job is to share ideas and ways of documenting - you get to be the boss of your own experience and find the projects that fit your own season of life. Don't let your hobby cause stress or make you feel less than. You are awesome just as you are right now. 

While filming this video I was so filled with gratitude for memory keeping. I am so thankful that this is such a big part of my life and that we get to come together to encourage and inspire each other to tell the stories of our lives. Thank you for being a part of this community and thank you for sharing your own stories along the way. 

Let's dive in! 

Also, right now classes are 40% off using code SPRINGDEAL (not valid on 2023 December Daily® or 2024 One Little Word®)! 

Classes mentioned in the video above: 

Start Here | Design Formulas For Memory Keeping Storytelling With Week In The Life Start To Finish Travel #3 (where I share my process for the Dave Matthews album along with other contributors) One Little Word® - new class is now available for 2024

Here's where you can see posts on the other projects: 

Halloween Through The Years (not a class but a series of blog posts on how I built the album), Part Two, Part There One Little Word® 2023 Album Walk-Through Week In The Life™ 2023 December Daily® 2023 Completed Album Story Play Archives  // four themes - including Day In The Life™ - that we use to get more of our stories told with a week of free content/ideas to go along with each one Story Kit Subscription // includes a classroom where I share my projects each month Just Write // storytelling inspiration that just focuses on the words Daily Pages // check out Kristin Tweedale on Instagram for more details on this project

One Little Word® 2024 | On Choosing Our New Words

Our 2024 One Little Word® workshop officially starts tomorrow! Don't forget that you can get $5 off when you sign up before January 1st (it will move to $50 on January 1). 

Last year our team shared a conversation about choosing our words (both in the classroom + publicly) and we decided to do that again as a way to kick off the new year. 

We wish you all the best in 2024 and hope to have you adventure with us in the One Little Word® workshop this year. 

Here's our conversation: 

December Daily® 2023 | Clean Up

I took some time over the last few days to clean up my table after a couple months of December Daily® fun. I love getting it all out at the beginning of the season and then I love putting it all away! In this post and video I'm sharing a look at my clean up and organization process as I ready my space for 2024. 

Here's the video: 

3 QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF AS I CLEAN UP

1. Do I really love this + think I could use it in the future? We are to the point now where there's no way I can use all the items we produce for December Daily® each year. Our goal is to offer a collection of items that can work for a variety of different memory keeping styles so there's always some pieces that find their way to the bottom of my pile. When I'm going through all the items leftover at the end of the season the main question I ask myself is do I see myself using this item in the future. Sometimes it's a strong yes (I'm looking at you Kraft pockets from the Main Kit this year) and other times it's an easy no. The things I want to keep get stored and the things I want to share go into my "to share" box. 

2. Would someone else love having this more? Just nice to think about and then act on when I feel this way. 

3. Can this item work in a different project? Some of the items we offer for December Daily® can be used in other projects throughout the year. As I'm organizing items I keep this in mind and flow those items into my regular organization system (most often by shape). 

I love, love, love reaching this point in the year where I feel ready + excited to move on! 

Thanks again for being part of this community!

SUPPLIES

Photo Organization Boxes (for bigger embellishment pieces, story cards, etc)
Embroidery Thread Boxes (for smaller embellishments) 
Large Storage Bags
Scrapbook.com Storage Envelopes
Brother Labeling Machine
December Daily® Envelope Bundle

December Daily® 2023 | Completed Album WalkThrough (Just Music)

When I finished up my December Daily® album yesterday I recorded a walk-through of the project so I could share the entire thing today. I decided to just add music for this one and I'll do another walk-through with general project reflections soon. 

Here's a look at my completed 2023 project: 

Check out my December Daily® archives for all the individual posts for each of my stories. 

December Daily® 2023 | Story 25

Welcome to Story 25 in my 2023 December Daily® album. 

Okay, this could be my favorite Christmas Day scrapbook page/pages I've ever made. It's got multiple pages, photos, and just the right amount of words for me this year. 

I'll be back again soon with a full video walkthrough of my completed project. 

Let's dive right in to the video: 

I'm still in the one-album camp for this project. I know some of you out there love giving yourself the flexibility and freedom of to make your pages as thick as you want with as many stories you want and if that's you - awesome! My album is definitely full and I love it!

Here's what it looks like on my table: 

Now let's take a look at the individual pages in this story: 

For this story I knew I wanted to use the vellum 25 as an entry into my Christmas Day storytelling. Because I had the back of Story 24 blank I covered that with pattern paper and one of the felt pennants from last year's collection. 

If you are reading this in "real time" these pennants are on a super sale. 

I cut out a rectangle from the middle of this red pattern paper (and had the Gather pattern paper back to back at the same time) in order to create a peek-through window with the vellum 25 card from the Specialty Journal Card pack. I used from washi tape from Tim Hotlz to frame it. 

On the back side I used a fun pink + red striped washi (also from Tim Holtz) to frame the vellum from this side. 

After turning the intro/frame page you'll find three, 5x7 pages that feature photos with word art (Christmas morning memories) and journaling and a full page of memories without photos. I used plastic page attachers to add these to the album but you could also simply punch holes in your photos. 

Along the outside edge I used circles from the circle pattern paper I punched at the beginning of the season. These are adhered back to back to create page turners on the photos/stories. 

Download the "Christmas morning memories" word art here.

This was a fun solution for me this year! Some years I do one photo or a collage of photos - this year it feels like a little booklet and I love it. 

If you don't have the circle pattern paper you could easily just punch circles from pattern paper and add numbers and sentiments. You could also use the circle stamp we offered this year. 

As I was printing out my photos I had a few other things I wanted to record from our Christmas Day. I used the word art at the top and made a simple list to hold the rest of the stories without photos. 

The last page for Story 25 is a full page photo of what it looked like before the kids came down on Christmas morning. We had hung five playground balls from the ceiling that held a collection of gift cards for each year. We wanted something different and fun to do when giving the cards. It went over well! Festive fun!

On my desk I had a few more of the vellum stars from the December Stories By The Month kit so I decided to "hang" those in the same area of the photo as the balls. I loved mimicking the hanging ornaments with some embellishments on top of the photo. 

On top of the vellum stars I cut sentiments from the banner pattern paper and adhered them using foam dots. These stars were attached to the page using a Tiny Attacher and twine. 

To finish off my album I added the "more twinkle lights" pattern paper to the back. On top I added a little message and a chipboard star. 

And I know I will totally laugh seeing this in the future: I brought this up to my office from the kitchen as a memory of what I cooked on Christmas morning. 

SUPPLIES

December Daily® 10x8 Album
December Daily® Main Kit (digital available)December Daily® Specialty Journal Card Set (digital available)
Vellum Stars from December Stories By The Month Kit (here's something similar)
Twine
Plastic Page Attachers
Felt Pennant Flag
Gold Brads
Tim Holtz Washi TapeMore basics can be found in my Amazon Storefront

December Daily® 2023 | Story 24

Welcome to Story 24 in my 2023 December Daily® album. 

I'm so excited to be close to wrapping up this project for another year! For today's story of our Christmas Eve I ended up creating a custom digital layered template and some word art to support my story (download available for you below). Love the focus on words + photos and also love being able to add in items I'd crafted earlier in the season. 

If you need a refresher on how to use digital layered templates in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements I've got an older post for you here. 

Here's my short video for Story 24: 

Here's the Table Of Contents: 

Earlier this season I played around with these large plastic hearts to create more shakers (because it's been that kind of year). I took three of the large plastic hearts and some patterned transparencies from my stash and started stitching. Before reaching the end (using the outlines as a stitching guide) I added a bunch of sequins and then stitched each one closed. They have been sitting on my table throughout the month just waiting for their turn. 

I ended up using gold brads to add them directly to one of the full page pattern transparencies. This worked as a really nice overlay for my words and photos focused print. 

I started off with one of the layered templates we offered this year and adjusted it to fit the story I wanted to tell. I enlarged the template to 11 inches x 8.25 inches and then created the "Christmas Eve Memories" word art as a title for each of my journaling sections. You can download my adjusted template and the stand-alone word art below. 

I didn't take a lot of photos on Christmas Eve (which is pretty normal for me) but the ones I did take were a nice representation of our day. I used those images as jumping off points for my journaling and then added in a few other memories that didn't have photos to go along with them. 

If you aren't into digital layered templates you could make something similar using the grid paper from the kit this year. 

Grids for the win!

Download the PSD Layered Template + word art here. 

SUPPLIES
December Daily® 10x8 Album December Daily® Main Kit (digital available) December Daily® Specialty Paper Pack (digital available) Large Plastic Hearts Basic supplies via my Amazon Storefront

December Daily® 2023 | Story 23

Welcome to Story 23 in my 2023 December Daily® album. 

When I looked back through my photos to identify a story from the 23rd the one main photo I took that day was of Anna + friends hanging around the table. I love that the photo is very representative of the season of life we are in right now. Your current season might be full of little kids and toys or the expectation of kids or the missing of kids or not have anything to do with kids at all. 

Let's dive in: 

Here's the Table Of Contents: 

For today's story I'm continuing to echo some of the design elements I've used earlier in this album: wreaths + circle photos + circle text + velvet ribbon. 

I started with a base of the fun x + o pattern paper and initially planned to simply have the wreath/vellum/tree be an interactive element to reveal my journaling and photo. As I was constructing the page I ended up deciding to add another wreath cut in half and bring in the red velvet ribbon for that awesome pop of red. 

Inside the wreaths that are framing the center wreath I added some pattern vellum + story numbers + a gold chipboard star. 

The wreath with the "so much joy" vellum is stitched to the piece of velvet and attached under the washi tape from my stash. It lifts up to reveal journaling printed on vellum that is attached to a circle photo. 

My photo and journaling circle were punched using a 3.5 Inch punch. I also used a 4 inch circle punch to create the white border around the photo/journaling. 

Around the outside of the page I created a border using old washi tape from my stash. 

I'm also adding in our Christmas card and the "I see you" journaling project I put together for Prep Day this year using the Starbucks bag + pattern vellum on the back. 

SUPPLIES

December Daily® Main Kit (digital available)
December Daily® 10x8 Album
December Daily® Clear Sticker Sheet
Red Velvet Ribbon 
3.5 Inch Circle Punch
4 Inch Circle Punch 
Washi Tape from stash
Plastic page attacher
Ink jet printable vellum 
More basics in my Amazon Storefront