Ali Edwards's Blog, page 7

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. 

SUPPLIES

Pieces 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

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: 

SUPPLIES

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!

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: 

SUPPLIES

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

Pieces Of You | In Your Words

Welcome back to Pieces Of You! Today's prompt is "In your own words."

When I was thinking about ways to respond to this one (with Anna as my focus) I started to think about how much communication I have with her (and our other kids) via text messages. I scrolled back through our text messages (it's pretty awesome how far back I can go) and took a few screenshots. In Photoshop I cropped the screen shots to 4.25 inch x 8.25 inch and printed them on ink jet vellum using my Espon XP15000 printer. I layered three printed screenshots on top of each other and ran them through my sewing machine before using red line tape to adhere it into my notebook. 

Other than that I continued to follow the design formula I set up at the beginning of this project with a photo on the bottom + a pattern paper with a stamped title on a die cut label on the top. 

Here's a short process video: 

And here are additional images: 

PS: At some point in the past Anna + Audrey went in my phone and added "Favorite Daughter" and "Favorite Step Daughter" to their contacts in my phone. 

Stories are all around us! 

SUPPLIES

Pieces Of You Notebook
Pieces Of You Stamp
Printable Vellum
Epson XP15000 Printer
Pattern Vellum (similar pack available + includes transparencies)
Die Cut Pack Of Labels 
Sewing Machine
Red Line Tape
StazOn Ink 
Tiny Attacher
Corner Rounder

Pieces Of You | You Love

Welcome to the second prompt in our Pieces Of You notebook project. Today's prompt is "You Love."

When I came to my table to work on this entry today I decided that I wanted to simply follow the design formula I set up for the first prompt. To change things up a bit I went into Anna's room and took a photo of her bulletin board. It's fun to include an image that reflects the life she's living right now (the stuff of life). To change things up a bit today I decided to use a Kuretake brush pen for my journaling (stamping would work great here again today too) along with a Posca Paint Pen in hot pink. 

Let's dive in to the process video: 

Here are additional images: 

I also loved adding in the small "You Love" stamp in between my handwritten journaling. 

SUPPLIES
Pieces Of You Notebook Pieces Of You Stamp Storyteller Kit 01 Die Cut Pack Of Labels  Sewing Machine Red Line Tape StazOn Ink  Tiny Attacher Corner Rounder Kuretake Brush Pen  Hot Pink POSCA Paint Pen  Watercolor Scrapbook Kit  (digital also available)

Pieces Of You | You Are

Welcome to the next chapter in our Pieces Of Life project: Pieces Of You.

I decided to focus on my daughter Anna this time around and I'm excited to document some pieces of who she is in this season of her life. 

Let;s dive in!  

For this project I grabbed a few pattern papers from my stash (from the first and second Storyteller Kit and some floral vellum) and a pack of die cut labels. I'm setting up a formula for myself to follow for each of my entries with pattern paper + a label + the prompt stamp.  

Here's the process video: 

And here's the spread again: 

To tell this story today I decided to go big with stamped words as I respond to the "you are" prompt. I'm using the newest Alphas Are Awesome #25 stamp set in three colors: Willamette, Columbia, and McKenzie. 

My photo is 4.25 inches x 4.25 inches and the pattern paper at the top is 4.25 inches wide x 4 inches tall. 

SUPPLIES

Pieces Of You Notebook
Pieces Of You Stamp
Storyteller Kit 02
Alphas Are Awesome #25
Die Cut Pack Of Labels 
AED Inks: Willamette, McKenzie, Olympia
Sewing Machine
Red Line Tape
StazOn Ink 
Tiny Attacher
Corner Rounder 

Stamps Are Fun 04 | Ali's Project 02

I'm back today with another project idea using the 
Stamps Are Fun 04 set. 

These are available via our Stamps Are Fun subscription which features a new 6x8 designed by me each month. If you are just interested in this particular stamp set you can choose the month-to-month option and then reach out to our Customer Service team to cancel the subscription. 

Today I'm using the set to document a story about feeling proud of prioritizing expanding my creative adventures this year. 

Let's dive right  in to the video: 

Here are some images of the completed project: 

This is a 11 inch x 8.25 inch page that will go in my 10x8 album for 2025. 

I used the gratitude definition stamp set to add a text pattern to the pattern vellum. You could stamp this on plain vellum or on pattern paper or cardstock. I love using stamps to create patterns! 

After stamping I ran my photo and the paper through the sewing machine to create the full foundation. 

To hold my story I cut our watercolor circles from a pattern paper from the Watercolor Scrapbook Kit. I ran each circle through the sewing machine after stamping "so thankful for these moments." Journliang was added using a Uniball Deluxe Micro pen. 

SUPPLIES

Stamps Are Fun 04
Vellum Pattern Paper
Watercolor Scrapbook Kit
StazOn Ink
Sewing Machine
Uniball Micro Pen
10x8 Scrapbook Album

Stamps Are Fun 04 | Ali's Project 01

It's a new month with a new Stamps Are Fun stamp set! This month's set features a variety of gratitude and thankful sentiments that are great for titles and subheads. This is one I will likely come back to again and again. It's great for scrapbooking and would also be great for cards. 

These are available via our Stamps Are Fun subscription which features a new 6x8 designed by me each month. If you are just interested in this particular stamp set you can choose the month-to-month option and then reach out to our Customer Service team to cancel the subscription. 

Today I'm sharing the first of two projects using this stamp set to document some pieces of my life. I'll have a second project to share tomorrow. 

Here's the process video: 

Here are images of the completed project: 

This story is going into my 10x8 album for this year. I'm really enjoying mixing up the sizes and having fun creating projects both inside and outside of page protectors. I'm also having fun diving into my stash and using up some of the things I've had sitting in my to-use pile like these squares I cut from a pattern paper from the Punctuation Scrapbook Kit. 

I cut up the pattern paper into 4x4 squares to fit into the pockets. I used this new stamp for a title "so much gratitude" and to add a little something fun along the outside edge ("merci"). 

I also ran these squares through my sewing machine. 

SUPPLIES

Stamps Are Fun 04
Punctuation Scrapbook Kit
StazOn Ink
10x8 Page Protectors
Epson PictureMate PM400
AED Willamette Ink
Sewing Machine 
Uniball Deluxe Micro Pen 10x8 Scrapbook Album 

Alphas Are Awesome 25 | Project Idea

Today I'm sharing a quick project using the new Alphas Are Awesome 25 stamp set. 

Let's dive right in to the process video: 

Here are some additional images: 

For this story of gratitude I'm using story cards from the first One Little Word® Mini Kit this year and adhering them to a cut up piece from a page protector. 

I cut up a folded over piece of page protector (think the bottom part of the big pocket of a 6x8) and put it over the top of my photo. It's adhered on the back using red line tape. This allows me to add story cards to the front and two story cards to the back for a flip up. 

Secondary stamped words are from the The Garden 4x6 Stamp Set.

SUPPLIES
Alphas Are Awesome Stamp Set 25One Little Word® Mini Kit Story Cards The Garden 4x6 Stamp Set  AED Willamette Ink AED Circle Stamp Block Gina K Electro Pop Neon Ink Screamin Green   Uniball Deluxe Micro Pen  Epson XP15000 Printer Red Line Tape Brother Sewing Machine  6x8 Page Protector (cut up)