Ali Edwards's Blog, page 33
December 20, 2023
December Daily® 2023 | Story 19
Welcome to Story 19 in my 2023 December Daily® album.
When I played around with foundation pages prior to December one of the things I set aside was this plastic nutcracker, the
red/white envelope, and the vellum tags from the Main Kit. I didn't identify a specific story to tell during December but left it open to whatever might come up. I decided to play with that today to document some of the text messages and screenshots I've taken/received over the last week or so. Taking screenshots of family text message chains, kids social accounts, emails, etc are a great way to show the technology of our time and bring in some other voices from your life.
Let's take a look at the process video:
Here's the Table of Contents for this story:
The red/white envelope was included with this year's
envelope bundle. I knew that I wanted to use the nutcracker on the outside of the envelope and when I realized that one of the die cut labels would fit under his arms I was so excited. I used Maco Sticker Paper again for the title and then added gold puffy numbers on top between his arms.
For my story I gathered up a collection of screenshots and printed them either 2.5 inches x 5.5 inches or 3 inches x 5.5 inches. The vellum tags are from the Main Kit and the paper tags are from the pattern paper pack (
digital version available). Initially I envisioned that the screenshots would fill up the entire space on the bottom of the tags but most of them ended up with a border that I actually like even better.
I didn't back my tags with anything but you could totally add more photos, screenshots, or pattern paper.
I used
red line tape to adhere the nutcracker to the envelope.
I added eyelets to the holes at the top of each tag and used ribbons from this year's
Trim Pack.
December Daily® 10x8 Album
December Daily® Main Kit (digital available)
December Daily® Envelope Bundle
Tiny Attacher
Red Line Tape
Maco Sticker Paper
Gold Eyelets
Crop A Dile (to set the eyelets)
December 19, 2023
December Daily® 2023 | Story 18
Welcome to Story 18 in my 2023 December Daily® album.
Today is a simple story about early mornings with Betty illustrated by a full page photo, text inside a circle, and a felt title with gold puffy numbers on top.
Here's the video:
Today's Table Of Contents:
I'm so glad I went with the varying pen widths for the Table Of Contents. I really like how that turned out.
Full page photo turned black + white measures 11 inches x 8.25 inches. On top I'm using one of the circles from the Die Cut Bundle this year as a home for my journaling.
The red felt with the hand stitched joy was something I did a few months ago when I was starting to get excited about the upcoming season. It's been sitting on my table patiently waiting to support a story this month.
I ended up cutting a piece of pattern transparency to the same size as the journaling circle and then temporarily adhering the felt piece to it before I ran it through the sewing machine.
To add my story I used the Maco Sticker Paper again. It works so good!
Text inside a circle tutorial can be found here.
I used a gold brad to attach the trasnparent/felt piece which turns it into an interactive element to reveal the journaling underneath.
Puffy numbers from the Main Kit were added on top for the story number.
December Daily® 10x8 Album December Daily® Die Cut Bundle (digital available) December Daily® Specialty Paper Pack (digital available) Maco Sticker Paper Sewing Machine Red Line Tape Benzie Design Felt Embroidery Thread
December 18, 2023
December Daily® 2023 | Story 17
Welcome to Story 17 in my 2023 December Daily® album.
Last night Anna had a team + family bonding gathering for her new club volleyball team. There was cookie decorating, a gift exchange, and fun conversations for the players and the parents. To document this story I played with adding custom sticker paper journaling on top of the banner pattern paper.
Let's get right to the video:
Story 17 ended up being a two-page spread because I needed/wanted to fill in some of the circle spaces on the back of Story 16. I decided that I didn't want to do another round of small circle photos so instead I dove into my December Daily® and my regular stash to locate some circle embellishments that I could add on top.
As I looked through my circle embellishments I was looking at both the sentiments and the colors.
I love eclectic mixes like this! It can be really fun to layer and play around with embellishments that were released at different times as part of other kits. On this page I also used a brush pen to add the story number.
The "joy" sticker is from the Clear Sticker Sheet and the "let your heart be light" was from the Die Cut Bundle this year.
The second page is the main story featuring a full page photo collage pairing a photo of Anna and her friend and an up-close image of the candy they were using to decorate cookies.
On top of the photo seam I cut out and adhered some of the banners from the banner pattern paper. I used Maco Sticker Paper to add my journaling on top and then ran it through my sewing machine with red thread. At the top of the banners I added the "merry" sticker which is from the Clear Sticker Sheet.
December Daily® 10x8 Album
December Daily® Main Kit Paper Pack (digital available)
December Daily® Variety Die Cut Bundle (digital available)
Maco Sticker Paper
December Daily® Clear Sticker Sheet
Circle embellishments from past kits
December 17, 2023
December Daily® 2023 | Story 16
Welcome to Story 16 in my 2023 December Daily® album.
We've reached the time in the season where my posting will vary a bit as I celebrate the season with my family (kids are out of school now + here with us through Christmas Day).
We have two birthdays to celebrate each December: Elliott turned 17 and Audrey turned 15. Today's story includes some details about those celebrations.
Let's dive in:
Here's a look at the spread:
Working off the back of Story 15 gave me the back of the vellum wreath. I decided to print a large partial circle to fit in that space from Audrey's party. I paired the pocket page with the vellum wreath page which is a great home for multiple photos from the events this past week.
On top of the circle photo (and another one on the second page) I used some washi tape to cover up the portion of the circle that didn't include the photo. For this partial circle I also printed out a custom title that says "celebrating Audrey 15 + Elliott 17 birthdays." For my journaling today I used the prompt card "documenting December details" from the Main Kit. I used a brush pen for their names and then a Slick Writer to document a few details.
The gold glitter stars are from the Sticker Advent Calendar.
For the second page I printed and punched a bunch of photos from their birthday events. It was fun to vary the sizes and use circle punches to punch out the photos. I also added my story number using the puffy numbers from the Main Kit.
December Daily® 10x8 Album
December Daily® Main Kit (digital available)
December Daily® Advent Calendar (star stickers)
Washi Tape
Brush Pen
Slick Writer
3.5 Inch Circle Punch
2 Inch Circle Punch
2.5 Inch Circle Punch
1.75 Inch Circle Punch
1.5 Inch Circle Punch
Red Line Tape
December 16, 2023
December Daily® 2023 | Story 15
Welcome to Story 15 in my 2023
December Daily® album.
Today's story is about the beautiful pink camellia bush blooming in my yard right now.
I also include a how-to within the video for printing on the 4 inch x 6 inch journal card.
Here's the process video:
A look at theTable Of Contents:
A wonderfully simple story that pairs a 4 inch x 8.25 inch photo with a two-pocket page protector. Inside the page protector I added a 4 inch x 6 inch vellum journal card with a stamped number circle added on top.
Those green + gold chipboard pieces are so great.
I had stamped the "merry everything" circle earlier this season and decided to use that as a home for my number. I looked through my stash of stamps and found the Handwritten Number Set (digital available) and stamped it on top and embossed it with gold embossing powder.
Below the embossed number I repeat stamped "happy hearts" from the Tabs 4x6 stamp set.
Written Numbers Stamp Set (digital available)
December Daily® 10x8 Album
December Daily® Main Kit (digital available)
Tabs 4x6 Stamp Set (happy hearts)
6x8 Circle Stamp Set
Gold Embossing Powder
Versamark Embossing Ink
Gold Brad
AED McKenzie Ink
AED Willamette Ink
December 15, 2023
In Case You Missed It | December 15
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:
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.2023 SHIPPING SPECIAL: Use code OLWSHIP24 and enjoy free shipping ($20 international flat rate) when you spend $75+ in the One Little Word® category through December 17th. Offer valid on orders with subtotals of $75 or more from the One Little Word® category. Code valid through 12/17/2024 at 11:59pm EST. Must enter code at checkout to receive offer. Refunds will not be issued for forgotten or misused promo codes. Code not valid on previous purchases. Offer is subject to change.
DECEMBER DAILY® IS HAPPENING NOW
December Daily® is a December mini-album project that documents the 25 days leading up to Christmas. The simple goal is to capture the spirit of December via one story per day. Ali and Lisa have been chatting about various topics related to the project over the past few weeks. Community member Linda Jordan was live today talking about story ideas. Find those recordings on Instagram. Ali is sharing her stories in the same way she has in years past, almost-daily blog posts and videos. Find all of those on the blog, as well. Thank you all for making this project so incredibly special.
DECEMBER DAILY® DIGITALS
The 2023 December Daily® Digitals are here! Kits, Stamps, Paper, and Embellishments...the same fun & festive designs as the physical @decemberdaily products, only in digital format. We love to see how this incredibly creative community plays with digitals! Resizing elements and cards, adding journaling to papers, creating cut files, transforming files into transparencies, the sky is the limit with digital files. Want to learn more about creating with digital files? Our newest class December Daily® Hybrid Product Play is live and available to watch at your convenience.We have incredible content from six amazing contributors ready to explore at your convenience. Shop digitals here.
NEW 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!
December Daily® 2023 | Story 14
Welcome to Story 14 in my 2023 December Daily® album.
Most years I love to include something from my parents. This year I've been saving up some of the recent photos they've sent via text in order to get their voices/images into my project. I love seeing them enjoy these years in their lives together.
Let's go to the video:
Here's my Table Of Contents entry:
Here's a look at the different pieces in this spread:
I printed my photo 10 inches wide x 8.25 inches tall to fit the back of Story 13. I printed three smaller photos that are each about 1.5 inches wide x 2.25 inches tall.
I used foam adhesive to attach the three smaller photos on top of my enlarged photo. Above the photos I added the "falala" die cut and the quotation marks from a past chipboard set.
The second part of the spread includes the large die cut page insert stitched to a numbered 3 inch x 8 inch journal card from the Present Story Kit. On top of the journal card I added a 3 inch x 8 inch gold star page and added a photo of me and my Dad from 1980. On the outside of the page I added a gold embossed circle stamp and added gold puffy numbers on top and added a gold tab sticker along the outside edge.
On the journal card I added a few details about each of the three small photos on top of the rainbow photo.
I added the year to the photo of me + my Dad back in 1980. I loved combining the brush pen with the slick writer again.
December Daily® 10x8 Album
Present Story Kit 3x8 Journal Card
December Daily® Die Cut Page Inserts (digital available)
December Daily® Die Cut Pack (digital available)
December Daily® 3x8 Journal Card Set
December Daily® Gold Foil Sticker Tabs
Circles 6x8 Stamp Set
Kuretake Brush Pen
Slick Writer
Sewing Machine
Foam Adhesive
Vellum
Gold Embossing Powder
Versamark
Epson XP15000 Printer
December 14, 2023
December Daily® 2023 | Story 13
Welcome to Story 13 in my 2023 December Daily® album.
One of the stories I knew I wanted to tell in my album this year was about the collage ornaments I created over the last few months. I decided to go very big with a photo of all of them hanging together and paired that with the 2x2 collage page I made with some of the leftovers.
Posts about my collage ornaments can be found and and .
A post about my collaged page with the squares can be found here.
Here's today's video:
Table of contents:
Here's a look at my page via photos:
The outside of my enlarged flip-up photo is a page of 2 inch x 2 inch squares. On top of that I added one of the pocket ornaments from the Main Kit along with two additional hanging tags. One has my collage ornament title and the other is one of the ornaments cut from the transparent pattern paper with fabric numbers added on top. I also tucked a couple more circles inside the ornament pocket.
That little "holiday magic" circle is from a past December Daily® collection.
Along the bottom of the page I added an Avery Index Tab with the "pull tab to see more photos" stamp from this stamp set.
When you fold the page open it reveals a 4 inch x 6 inch photo that I'd taken when I first started working on the ornaments which is adhered back to back to my journaling card.
I added the journaling directly to this card by running it through my Epson PictureMate PM400 printer.
When you lift it up here's what you see on the inside. The photo is 10 inches x 16.25 inches. I cut it about 8.25 inches and used a piece of paper to create the flip up (see the video for details). I considered adding journaling to my photo but am really happy with it just being on the journal card as a separate page that is tucked inside the flip up.
That's what it looks like laying on my work table.
I used our plastic page attachers to add these pages to my album. Hoping those come back in stock soon - they are so useful!
I love how this page turned out.
December Daily® Main Kit (digital available)
Epson PictureMate PM400
Plastic Page Attachers
Sticker Page Attachers
Avery Index Tabs
December Daily® Paislee Press Stamp Set
Gold Foil Tab Stickers
13x19 Photo Paper
Epson XP15000 Printer
Holiday Twine
MINC Machine
2.25 Inch Circle Punch
We R Memory Keepers Hole Punch
Gold Brad
Black + White Fabric Numbers
December 13, 2023
One Little Word® 2023 | Completed Album Walkthrough
In this video I'm sharing a look at my completed 2023 One Little Word® project.
As with all our projects there isn't a right or a wrong way to approach your storytelling/documenting. I continue to use a binder album because that works well for me while others in our community like to use a notebook or other way to tell the story of life with their word.
Documenting the stories of living with a word each year is something I've done consistently since 2011 and it's absolultely made a difference in my life.
Check out previous video walkthroughs here:
2022: https://aliedwards.com/2022/12/one-little-word-2022-completed-album-walkthrough
2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0m71-rbf4w&t=6s
2011-2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en3SQJLWFX8
2018-2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3aG1L2_G8g&t=1s
Interested in a conversation about choosing a word? Take a listen
here.
If you are interested in joining the conversation about living with a word of the year you're invited to join our team + community in our year long One Little Word® workshop.
Sign up before 12/31/23 for $5 off.
If you are looking for supplies to help you tell the story of your word,
check out our 2024 collection here.
One Little Word® 2024 | Collection Release + Workshop Registration
Welcome to an overview post for the
One Little Word® 2024 product collection which supports our annual One Little Word® project. Everything is in the warehouse and ready to ship to you.
Brand new to One Little Word®? Click here for additional details.
2023 SHIPPING SPECIAL: Use code OLWSHIP24 and enjoy free shipping ($20 international flat rate) when you spend $75+ in the One Little Word® category through December 17th. Offer valid on orders with subtotals of $75 or more from the One Little Word® category. Code valid through 12/17/2024 at 11:59pm EST. Must enter code at checkout to receive offer. Refunds will not be issued for forgotten or misused promo codes. Code not valid on previous purchases. Offer is subject to change.
The 2024 One Little Word® workshop registration is now open.
The early bird workshop price will be $45 and after January 1, 2024 it will be $50 for 12 months of inspiration and community support as you make your word visible in your life.
In 2006 Ali began the tradition of choosing one word for herself each January – a word she could focus on + get curious about as she went about her daily life over the course of a year. Her words have included play, peace, vitality, nurture, story, light, up, open, thrive, give, whole, connect, space, habit, less, heart, pause, joy, and wild (2024). Each word has become an individual thread that weaves together stories of her life. They’ve been imbedded into who she is + into who she is becoming. They’ve helped her to breathe deeper, to see clearer, to embrace mistakes, and to grow.
At the end of 2019 Ali felt moved to change the way she was running this workshop and invited a group of people to join her in co-leading this adventure. Her goal was to bring in other voices, perspectives, and life experiences and to make it more about the wonderful, wholehearted community that comes together around this project.
Each monthly prompt (available on the first of each month) is designed to invite you back into conversation with your word. Some are writing exercises, some are crafty adventures, some are rooted in photography. Our goal is simply to help you stay connected to your word throughout the year in a way that is meaningful to you and your season of life. Some of the lenses we've used in the past to be in conversation with our words include: vision, adventure, practice, small wins, beginning again, reflection, etc.
Here's a look at some of the monthly responses in Ali's album for 2023:
In 2022 we added a live monthly Zoom call where we connect to share ideas, reflections and stories related to the monthly prompt. This has become a much-loved way to come together to learn from one another, to listen, to share our successes + our struggles, and to cheer each other on as we walk with our individual words. These calls are recorded and added to the classroom for future viewing on your own time.
Our team believes in the power of documentation + the power of words to make a difference in our lives. You are invited to come get curious about your chosen word alongside us as we journey together in 2024.
Joining Ali this year again on the One Little Word® team will be:
Azzari
Lucrecer
Liz
Victoria
Felicitas
Interested in seeing what these albums look like from past years?
Check out a video walk-through here.
What comes with the class:
12 prompts (one per month) that invite you to be in conversation with your word (delivered in a classroom via video + written handout)One Little Word® Main Kit Digital Package ($14.49 value)Monthly live Zoom callMid-month prompt reflection from members of our OLW teamGallery for sharingOptional Closed Facebook Group for additional community + connection (details on how to access this group will be coming soon)Register for 2024 here. Registration includes the full Digital One Little Word® kit.
ONE LITTLE WORD® 2024 COLLECTION
Here's a video overview of our 2024 One Little Word® collection which is in stock + ready to ship:
Digital versions of these products will be released the first Friday in January. Everyone who signs up for the OLW Workshop will receive the Digital Main Kit.
Here's a closer look at the product images:
The digital version of the Main Kit is included with the One Little Word® workshop.
The Main Kit includes prompt pages:
Pattern papers:
Monthly 4x6 cards:
Die cut page inserts:
Vellum pieces:
Chipboard:
Plastic words:
Tag Die Cut:
Here are a few styled images of the kit within the album:
A couple years ago we introduced a new product option for One Little Word® in the form of a quarterly Mini Kit subscription. Purchasing the first One Little Word® Mini Kit commits you to an "auto-shipment" + charge of the remaining three kits at the time of their shipping. The remaining three kits will be charged + shipped on/around 3/15/24, 6/15/24, 9/15/24.
You can see the Mini Kits that were offered in 2020 and 2021 here.
Here's the first mini kit for 2024:
We hope that spreading out the kits throughout the course of the year will do two things: (1) help keep you continue to connect to your word by giving you products you can use as you make your word visible in your album throughout the year, and (2) spread out the cost over the course of the year rather than a bigger purchase all at once (since we totally get that this is a busy time for spending).
The Mini Kits will ship free for $1 for domestic customers/$5 for international customers.
The Mini Kit is excluded from the shipping threshold minimum for the shipping special. If any kits remain after we've shipped to subscribers then we will add them to the shop for $30.
MONTHLY TRANSPARENT DIVIDERS // $9.99
STITCHED JOURNAL + FOLIO BUNDLE // $29.99
RAINBOWS + ICONS
MONTHS + NUMBERS
Additional items from past year's will also be available under the One Little Word® category.
