Ali Edwards's Blog, page 5
April 28, 2025
Storyteller 02 | Special Guest Jill Drangsholt
Hi friends! Jill here. Today I have a funny story to share with you about a squirrel that has been visiting my house lately. But before I get into the story, let's chat about the design. I loved what Ali said in the classroom about doing the low hanging fruit projects first. Meaning, whatever is easiest and comes to you first. For me, that is usually something with a grid, especially if it uses a divided page protector. So for today's project, I cut apart two of the 12x12 papers to create a grid using one of my favorite page protectors with a 9x12 grid with 9 slots.
For my journaling spots, I cut out the hand drawn ovals from one of the patterned papers. You could totally just hand write your journaling inside of them, but I decided to use the digital version of the paper so that I could fit more of my story into the spaces. I also used the digital version of the Alphas Are Awesome #25 to create the numbered titles.
For a finishing touch to my layout, I cut out the word "question" from a few of the 3x4 cards to create word phrase strips and put them on each of my photos. I love how they communicate my many questions about what the squirrel was up to.
As a reminder, you are the boss of your supplies and are allowed to cut a small part out of a card without worrying about wasting it. Using a small part is always better than not using any of it!
You can read about my squirrel story in the photo above or hear more about it in my process video as I tell an expanded version of the story while putting the page together.
Here are a few more close ups of the photos in my layout:
I hope you enjoyed my project and my story! And if anyone has any insight into this squirrel's behavior, please let me know!
You can follow along with Jill's other crafting adventures on Instagram (@jill.drangsholt).
April 25, 2025
In Case You Missed It | April 25
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:
2025 WEEK IN THE LIFE COLLECTION NOW AVAILABLE
The all new Week In The Life™ products for 2025 are now available! We have a new album, our journal, a gorgeous main kit, an incredibly fun themed mini kit, and a collection of coordinating Week in the Life™ products. All of the products are in the warehouse and ready to ship! This year Ali will be documenting her week beginning Monday, June 2nd, 2025. Don't forget Ali's Storytelling With Week In The Life™ class is discounted until 4/30.
Our collection digitals for Week In The Life™ will be available on Friday, May 2nd. Layered templates will be coming to the shop closer to the documenting day.
SHIPPING DETAILS: Use code WITL2025 for FREE domestic shipping ($20 international flat rate) on Week In The Life category when you spend $75+. *Offer valid until 4/30 at 11:59pm EST.
ALI'S WEEK IN THE LIFE ALBUM SET-UP
Ali is over on the blog sharing her set-up + design formula for her 2025 Week In The Life™ album. Head there now to see how it came together.
STORYTELLING WITH WEEK IN THE LIFE
With our next Week in the Life™ collection just around the corner, we're offering a little something to help you get ready. The past WITL class is 20% off now through the end of the month. Whether this is your first time joining in or you're a longtime documenter, this class is filled with thoughtful prompts, practical ideas, and real-life inspiration to help you make the most of your week. Let's tell the story of your life, one week at a time. No code needed.
APRIL KITS ARE HERE
Our April kits are here! In addition to our second Storyteller and Stamps Are Fun Kits, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit and the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series. Head to the blog for Ali's post with all the details about this month’s release.
SHOP STORY PLAY NOW
Shop our
new Story Play collection now! This year's four themed kits can be purchased individually or in a bundle. Here are a list of the themes and the month's we will be inviting you to join us in documenting this year: Day In The Life™, Dogs + Cats, Watch + Listen, and Gratitude. Documenting dates will be shared soon!
Digital kits (including stamps) are available now. Once these kits sell out, they will not be restocked.
TENTATIVE 2025 PROJECT + PRODUCT SCHEDULE NOW AVAILABLE
Earlier this week on the blog Ali shared our 2025 project schedule. Recently we've been encountering some unexpected delays in manufacturing which is inviting us to be more fluid in our release/project scheduling (the reason why we've been holding off on sharing a more concrete schedule). Head there now for our rough schedule and a few general notes. We’re excited about the year ahead!
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.
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 23, 2025
Week In The Life™ 2025 | Ali's Album Set Up/Design Formula
Thanks for all your support on our Week In The Life™ launch!
I had so much fun doing a Q+A on Instagram that I ended up getting my album all set up with a design formula using pieces from the collection.
During the week of June 2nd I’ll be using the notebook to capture my stories - it’ll be wonderfully messy + loose + something I can keep close by as I go about my everyday life. After that I’ll print out my photos and figure out what words I want to add into the album. They will be stored together when I’m all done!
As with all our projects, there isn’t a right or a wrong way to approach this. It really depends on your own season of life and what makes sense and sounds enjoyable to you. The notebook might feel just right this year or you might want to go all in and do both or you might want to use your stash! It’s always less about the products and more about the storytelling - our goal is simply to create products that can be story sparks and homes for your memory keeping adventures.
More to come as we get closer to the documenting week! If you’d like to see what past completed projects check out our archives here.
Here's a flip through of my whole album that's ready for words and photos:
And here are the individual images of Monday (all the other days will follow the same design formula):
You can see my title page at the top of this post that uses a pattern paper with a cut out journal card on top. I also added the 2025 sticker from the sticker sheet in the Main Kit.
On the back of that page I'll be adding a reason why and I've attached one of the 1/2 circles with a paper clip to remind myself to use that when I work on that page.
From there each day will begin with a transparency. I cut down the 10x8 transparencies to fit into the 6x8 album (I'm saving the extras and may use them in the album when I'm putting it all together).
The next page in my formula is the 4x4 card (Main Kit) added into the album using a 4x4 page attacher.
Any place you see white or cream in this album is a space that will be a home for photos or words after the documenting week. Next up is a 3-pocket page protector with the Monday card and the vellum pocket and scalloped card (Main Kit).
On the back of that page protector I'm including the plastic quote (love how it peeks up out of the top of the page protector) and the "life in numbers" oval from the By The Numbers kit. The watercolor scallop 4x6 card is from the paper pack.
I decided to stitch the scalloped number 3x8 card to the days of the week pattern paper. I did this for each day of the week.
Next I've got a 2x2 page protector that's holding 1/2 circles, 2x2 cards from the paper pack, and some of the chipboard pieces from the Main Kit. 
And then I've got the scalloped color blocked page next. I'm excited to see what I end up adding on here - this would be a fun place for stamping or adding numbers/things counted or more photos. 
I'll end each day with a full page photo, a collage of photos, or some journaling.
And then the formula starts all over again!
SUPPLIESWeek In The Life™ Kit 2025Days 6x8 AlbumBy The Numbers Kit4x4 Page AttachersDays Of The Week TransparenciesColor Blocked Journal Card + Paper Pack Plastic Half Circle Pack
April 22, 2025
Week In The Life™ 2025 | Collection Overview + Project Details
Welcome to the preview post for our
Week In The Life™ 2025 Collection.
These products will be available on
Wednesday, April 23rd at noon Eastern/9am Pacific. This collection is in stock and ready to ship.
This year
Ali will be documenting her week beginning Monday, June 2nd, 2025.
Is this your first time learning about Week In The Life™?
Check out more details on this project that Ali started in 2005 here.
And yes! That means we are celebrating 20 years of this project!!!!
Use code WITL2025 for FREE domestic shipping ($20 international flat rate) on Week In The Life category when you spend $75+. *Offer valid until 4/30 at 11:59pm EST.
*Must enter promo code at checkout to receive special shipping offer. Cart must include a minimum subtotal of $75 from the Week In The Life® shop category to qualify. Offer subject to change.
STORYTELLING WITH WEEK IN THE LIFE™: Fashioned after the popular Storytelling With December Daily® and Storytelling With Project Life® workshops, Ali will take you on a journey back through her past projects and share ideas, tips, and inspiration for approaching this project (mindset, prep, etc), what to do during the documenting week, and tips on putting it together after the week is over. All the content is available in the classroom and you can go at your own pace. Sign up here.
This is a self-paced workshop with all the content ready for you to check out as we get closer to documenting our weeks.
This class is currently 20% off through the end of April.
We will be offering most of these products digitally on
Friday, May 2nd 2025. New layered templates will be released before the documenting week.
Here is an overview video of this year's collection:
Let's dive into the individual options:
Our 2025 WITL Kit includes the following:
8 - 3×4 single-sided journal cards 7 - 3×8 single-sided journal cards 7 - 4×4 single-sided journal cards 7 - 8" die- cut paper inserts 7 - 2.9×4.7" plastic quotes 1 - 6×8 sticker sheet 1 - 6×8 chipboard shape sheet (non-adhesive) 7 - 2.9×1.45" vellum stitched pockets 7 - 2.5×3.25" paper cards
Here are some up close images of elements in the kit:
Here are some ideas to get your creative documenting juices flowing:
The 2025 By The Numbers Kit includes:
2 - 7×8.25 papers 1 - 7×8.25 vellum paper 7 - 3×3.4 paper story cards 16 - 1.45×2.26 die cut tags 10 - 2×2 die cut circles 50 - 1.5" die cut numbers 46 - .8" to 5.1" plastic numbers, words, icons 1 - 6×8 sticker sheet
Here are some close ups:
Here are some ideas to get your creative documenting juices flowing:
Want both the journal and the By The Numbers kit? Here's a bundle of those two. These can be used together or separately.
Here's a few images of the kit + journal so you can see the scale:
A couple years ago we introduced a new journal option for Week In The Life™. Some people used it for note-taking/story collection during the documenting week and others used it for their entire project. We love that it brings additional options for people to tell their stories.
This is the same size as the One Little Word® Journal (6.25 x 8.5 approx).
Here's a look at the inside.
Each day includes a title page, a timeline, a "more of the story," -ing words, and a by the numbers page.
There are also two blank spreads in between each day (four blank pages total between each day).
Our friend Yin used the notebook for her project two years ago. She put together a whole blog post sharing what she did - totally worth checking it out if you are considering going in this direction this year. Here are a few images from her project:
6x8 DAY OF THE WEEK ALBUM | $31.99
Ali will be using this album for 2025.
We will have additional past albums in the Week In The Life™ category that you can add to your box to take advantage of the shipping special. This will include a 10x8 option (from last year) as well as 6x8 options.
Includes 21 page protectors.
PLEASE NOTE: We have had to have a price increase on albums due to the US tariff increases.
10x8 TRANSPARENCY DIVIDERS | $9.99
These can be used in a 10x8 album or be cut down to fit into the 6x8 album:
Here's a 6x8 example:
PAPER + JOURNAL CARD PACK | $14.99
This year we are offering a fun new pack that includes 11x8.25 pattern papers, 10x4 journal cards (easily cut up to 4x6, 3x4, or 4x4), 2x2 cards, and a set of 4x6 cards.
Here's a look at these in use:
PLASTIC HALF-CIRCLE PACK (2 INCH) | $9.99
Mix + match these half circles to create full circles or attach the half circles to the outside of a page (like you'd use a tab).
Here'a a look at these in use:
WOOD VENEER HEARTS | $7.99
Here's a look at them with other things so you can get an idea of the scale:
BY THE NUMBERS GLASS TUMBLER | $21.99
Here are some stamping samples!
4x6 ALPHA STAMP | $19.99
These are about .5 inches tall.
4x6 STENCIL ALPHA STAMP | $19.99
These are about .5 inches tall.
4x6 SEVEN DAYS STAMP SET | $19.99
6x8 NUMBER VARIETY STAMP SET | $28.99
Each number is about 1/2 inch tall.
6x8 WEEKLY MOMENTS STAMP SET | $28.99
Here's some sample stamping using the sets above:
This year we will again be offering a limited number of "Buy All" button packages. People who choose the "Buy All" option will also receive the heart mug (only available with the buy all option).
In addition to the products featured above we'll have a variety of basics and past collection items (including albums) available under the Week In The Life™ category, including page protectors, inks, etc (
not included with the "Buy All" option).
Week In The Life 2025 | Collection Overview + Project Details
Welcome to the preview post for our
Week In The Life™ 2025 Collection.
These products will be available on
Wednesday, April 23rd at noon Eastern/9am Pacific. This collection is in stock and ready to ship.
2025 DOCUMENTING DATES
This year
Ali will be documenting her week beginning Monday, June 2nd, 2025.
Is this your first time learning about Week In The Life™?
Check out more details on this project that Ali started in 2005 here.
And yes! That means we are celebrating 20 years of this project!!!!
2025 SHIPPING SPECIAL
Use code WITL2025 for FREE domestic shipping ($20 international flat rate) on Week In The Life category when you spend $75+. *Offer valid until 4/30 at 11:59pm EST.
*Must enter promo code at checkout to receive special shipping offer. Cart must include a minimum subtotal of $75 from the Week In The Life® shop category to qualify. Offer subject to change.
STORYTELLING WITH WEEK IN THE LIFE™
STORYTELLING WITH WEEK IN THE LIFE™: Fashioned after the popular Storytelling With December Daily® and Storytelling With Project Life® workshops, Ali will take you on a journey back through her past projects and share ideas, tips, and inspiration for approaching this project (mindset, prep, etc), what to do during the documenting week, and tips on putting it together after the week is over. All the content is available in the classroom and you can go at your own pace. Sign up here.
This is a self-paced workshop with all the content ready for you to check out as we get closer to documenting our weeks.
This class is currently 20% off through the end of April.
DIGITALS COMING SOON
We will be offering most of these products digitally on
Friday, May 2nd 2025. New layered templates will be released before the documenting week.
WEEK IN THE LIFE™ COLLECTION VIDEO OVERVIEW
Here is an overview video of this year's collection:
Let's dive into the individual options:
WEEK IN THE LIFE™ KIT | 34.99
Our 2025 WITL Kit includes the following:
8 - 3×4 single-sided journal cards
7 - 3×8 single-sided journal cards
7 - 4×4 single-sided journal cards
7 - 8" die- cut paper inserts
7 - 2.9×4.7" plastic quotes
1 - 6×8 sticker sheet
1 - 6×8 chipboard shape sheet (non-adhesive)
7 - 2.9×1.45" vellum stitched pockets
7 - 2.5×3.25" paper cards
Here are some up close images of elements in the kit:
Here are some ideas to get your creative documenting juices flowing:
BY THE NUMBERS KIT | $24.99
The 2025 By The Numbers Kit includes:
2 - 7×8.25 papers
1 - 7×8.25 vellum paper
7 - 3×3.4 paper story cards
16 - 1.45×2.26 die cut tags
10 - 2×2 die cut circles
50 - 1.5" die cut numbers
46 - .8" to 5.1" plastic numbers, words, icons
1 - 6×8 sticker sheet
Here are some close ups:
Here are some ideas to get your creative documenting juices flowing:
BY THE NUMBERS + JOURNAL BUNDLE | $29.99
Want both the journal and the By The Numbers kit? Here's a bundle of those two. These can be used together or separately.
Here's a few images of the kit + journal so you can see the scale:
JOURNAL/NOTEBOOK | $14.99
A couple years ago we introduced a new journal option for Week In The Life™. Some people used it for note-taking/story collection during the documenting week and others used it for their entire project. We love that it brings additional options for people to tell their stories.
This is the same size as the One Little Word® Journal (6.25 x 8.5 approx).
Here's a look at the inside.
Each day includes a title page, a timeline, a "more of the story," -ing words, and a by the numbers page.
There are also two blank spreads in between each day (four blank pages total between each day).
Our friend Yin used the notebook for her project two years ago. She put together a whole blog post sharing what she did - totally worth checking it out if you are considering going in this direction this year. Here are a few images from her project:
2025 WEEK IN THE LIFE™ SHOP OPTIONS
6x8 DAY OF THE WEEK ALBUM | $31.99
Ali will be using this album for 2025.
We will have additional past albums in the Week In The Life™ category that you can add to your box to take advantage of the shipping special. This will include a 10x8 option (from last year) as well as 6x8 options.
Includes 21 page protectors.
PLEASE NOTE: We have had to have a price increase on albums due to the US tariff increases.
10x8 TRANSPARENCY DIVIDERS | $9.99
These can be used in a 10x8 album or be cut down to fit into the 6x8 album:
Here's a 6x8 example:
PAPER + JOURNAL CARD PACK | $14.99
This year we are offering a fun new pack that includes 11x8.25 pattern papers, 10x4 journal cards (easily cut up to 4x6, 3x4, or 4x4), 2x2 cards, and a set of 4x6 cards.
Here's a look at these in use:
PLASTIC HALF-CIRCLE PACK (2 INCH) | $9.99
Mix + match these half circles to create full circles or attach the half circles to the outside of a page (like you'd use a tab).
Here'a a look at these in use:
WOOD VENEER HEARTS | $7.99
Here's a look at them with other things so you can get an idea of the scale:
BY THE NUMBERS GLASS TUMBLER | $21.99
2025 STAMPS
Here are some stamping samples!
4x6 ALPHA STAMP | $19.99
These are about .5 inches tall.
4x6 STENCIL ALPHA STAMP | $19.99
These are about .5 inches tall.
4x6 SEVEN DAYS STAMP SET | $19.99
6x8 NUMBER VARIETY STAMP SET | $28.99
Each number is about 1/2 inch tall.
6x8 WEEKLY MOMENTS STAMP SET | $28.99
Here's some sample stamping using the sets above:
WITL25 BUY ALL OPTION | $235
This year we will again be offering a limited number of "Buy All" button packages. People who choose the "Buy All" option will also receive the heart mug (only available with the buy all option).
In addition to the products featured above we'll have a variety of basics and past collection items (including albums) available under the Week In The Life™ category, including page protectors, inks, etc (
not included with the "Buy All" option).
April 20, 2025
Pieces Of You | A Memory Of You
We made it to the last prompt in the Pieces Of You chapter in our Pieces Of Life collection.
The last prompt is "A memory of you" and for this one I decided to include a couple past layouts I made about Anna many years ago now and one of my favorite photos of her as a little kid. I love bringing in the past scrapbook layouts - so many memories have been collected about her over the years.
I still love memory keeping and scrapbooking so much.
Let's dive in to the process video that includes a little flip through of all the spreads at the end:
And here's another look at the spread:
In the video you'll hear me talk about how much I appreciated having a design formula set up for myself at the beginning of this project. It made it really easy in terms of knowing what I needed (pattern paper + label + stamp + photo) for the second page and gave me creative freedom for the first page in each spread. I also love that this is a project with a beginning and an end. So fun.
Thanks for following along this week! We will be back with a new chapter in this series in 2026. We do have digital versions of all the notebooks available if you wanted to make your own in order to go back and do some of the previous chapters. You can see all the digitals for this collection here.
Pieces Of You Notebook Pieces Of You Stamp Epson XP15000 Printer Die Cut Pack Of Labels Sewing Machine Red Line Tape StazOn Ink Tiny Attacher Corner Rounder
April 19, 2025
Pieces Of You | Your Dream
Welcome back to Pieces Of You! Today's prompt is "your dream."
For this one I asked Anna to share a current dream with me and she responded, "Travel to Greece after senior year for a month with friends before college."
Love that vision. Greece sounds very dreamy to me too!
Let's dive in to the process video:
And here's a look at the spread again:
For this one I decided to go big with the text but rather than stamping I simply created a canvas in Photoshop and typed up Anna's text before printing on photo paper. I tried a couple color variations before committing to this one. The second page of the spread follows the formula I set up at the beginning of this project. The pattern paper is from the Alphabet Scrapbook Kit.
SUPPLIESPieces Of You Notebook
Pieces Of You Stamp
Alphabet Scrapbook Kit
Epson XP15000 Printer
Die Cut Pack Of Labels
Sewing Machine
Red Line Tape
StazOn Ink
Tiny Attacher
Corner Rounder
April 18, 2025
Pieces Of You | Most + Least Liked Foods
The next prompt in
Pieces of You project is "most + least liked foods."
For this one I texted Anna and asked her for a list of her most and least liked foods. To document her words I used an uppercase alpha stamp and the Kuretake brush pen along with the hot pink POSCA Paint Pen. Pattern paper is from the Grow Scrapbook Kit.
Here's the process video:
And here's another look at the spread:
Pieces Of You Notebook
Pieces Of You Stamp
Grow Scrapbook Kit
AED McKenzie Ink
Electro Pop Neon Ink
POSCA Pink Paint Pen
Upper Case Alphas Are Awesome #1
Kuretake Brush Pen
Border Stamp Set
Epson XP15000 Printer
Die Cut Pack Of Labels
Sewing Machine
Red Line Tape
StazOn Ink
Tiny Attacher
Corner Rounder
In Case You Missed It | April 18
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:
STORYTELLING WITH WEEK IN THE LIFE
With our next Week in the Life™ collection just around the corner, we're offering a little something to help you get ready. The past WITL class is 20% off now through the end of the month. Whether this is your first time joining in or you're a longtime documenter, this class is filled with thoughtful prompts, practical ideas, and real-life inspiration to help you make the most of your week. Let's tell the story of your life, one week at a time. No code needed.
APRIL KITS ARE HERE
Our April kits are here! In addition to our second Storyteller and Stamps Are Fun Kits, we also have a brand new Stories By The Month™ kit and the next edition in our Alphas Are Awesome series. Head to the blog for Ali's post with all the details about this month’s release.
SHOP STORY PLAY NOW
Shop our new Story Play collection now! This year's four themed kits can be purchased individually or in a bundle. Here are a list of the themes and the month's we will be inviting you to join us in documenting this year: Day In The Life™, Dogs + Cats, Watch + Listen, and Gratitude. Documenting dates will be shared soon!
Digital kits (including stamps) are available now. Once these kits sell out, they will not be restocked.
TENTATIVE 2025 PROJECT + PRODUCT SCHEDULE NOW AVAILABLE
Earlier this week on the blog Ali shared our 2025 project schedule. Recently we've been encountering some unexpected delays in manufacturing which is inviting us to be more fluid in our release/project scheduling (the reason why we've been holding off on sharing a more concrete schedule). Head there now for our rough schedule and a few general notes. We’re excited about the year ahead!
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.
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 17, 2025
Pieces Of You | Three Things I Love About You
The next prompt in Pieces of You project is "three things I love about you."
Anytime a prompt includes numbers I get excited because numbers are such great visual elements for our creative documentation. For this one I'm following the same design formula for the second page and decided to go big with embossed/stamped numbers and then added my journaling next to the numbers. I finished off the page by using a scallop stamp around the outside edges of the spread (letting it be messy because that's what's real).
Here's the process video:
And here's another look at the spread:
Pieces Of You Notebook
Pieces Of You Stamp
Storyteller Kit 02
Numbers Are Awesome Stamp Set 04
Stamp In Progress 6x8 Stamp Set (offered with the OLW collection this year)
Versamark Embossing Ink
Green Embossing Powder
Heat Gun
Epson XP15000 Printer
Die Cut Pack Of Labels
Sewing Machine
Red Line Tape
StazOn Ink
Tiny Attacher
Corner Rounder
