Ali Edwards's Blog, page 70
April 1, 2022
In Case You Missed It | April 1
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:
*Please note that we will not have an ICYMI post next week, but will be back on Friday, April 15th.
WEEK IN THE LIFE™ 2022
The all new Week In The Life™ products for 2022 are now available! We have two new albums, a new journal format, gorgeous main and mini kits, and a collection of coordinating Week in the Life™ products. This year Ali will be documenting her week beginning Monday, June 20th, 2022. We are planning a little farther out this year in the hope that members of our community who live internationally will be able to receive their supplies prior to the documenting week. We are planning a Week In The Life™ Prep Day for sometime in June prior to the documenting week. More details to come. Our digitals for Week In The Life™ will be available on Friday, May 6th. Place a Week In The Life™ order of $75+ and receive FREE domestic shipping** ($20 International flat rate) with code WITL2021SHIP.*Shipping offer valid through 11:59pm EST on 4/1/22. Must enter promo code at checkout to receive shipping offer. Cart must include a minimum subtotal of $75 from the Week in the Life™ shop category to qualify. Offer subject to change. Shop the collection here.
PIECES OF THE PAST | SET YOUR ALARMS
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 The Past. Pieces Of Life is a project that consists of two different themes each year. Our first theme for 2022 is Pieces Of The Past and our second theme later this year will be Pieces Of Play. Past themes include Pieces Of Me and Pieces Of Home. Find all of the details on Ali’s blog post here.
ALI + KRISTIN LIVE CHAT
Earlier this week, Ali + Kristin chatted about using the “currently” story lens (this month’s Story Kit™ theme + one of Kristin’s favorite ways to approach documenting), why they both see storytelling as an act of self care, and other things that are sure to come up when two passionate long-term memory keepers get together. A recording of the conversation is archived and available on our Instagram account. This conversation is also available in the CURRENTLY Story Class.
DON’T FORGET! SUBSCRIBER DAY HAPPENS SATURDAY
As a way to say thank you + celebrate this awesome memory keeping community, we are putting together our first Subscriber Day. Any current subscribers (as of March 31) will have access to this fun online event. You have until March 31st at 11:59 ET to subscribe to one or more subscriptions to gain access to Subscriber Day. Stay tuned for more information about the event! *All active subscribers will be added to the classroom on April 1st and the event will begin on April 2nd at 10am PST. This includes Story Kit™, Story Stamp™, Stories By The Month™, Digital Stories By The Month™, Story Class, Just Write, One Little Word® Mini Kit, and Quarterly Scrapbook subscribers.
NEW CLASS: THE STORY OF SELF W/ LAURA WONSIK
Join Laura Wonsik on a journey of self-exploration to learn more about yourself and your true identity. The Story of the Self is created by a memory keeper for memory keepers with the knowledge that this particular creative outlet is rich with material for this inner work. This class includes lessons in mindfulness, values, self-care, and vulnerability, all of which will help you uncover deeper layers of your story and find your authentic storytelling voice. In this four-week workshop, Laura will guide you through a variety of frameworks to explore your identity from different angles, using different methods, all tied together with the goal of being curious wanderers in the terrain of our identity. The content is aimed at building awareness of your inner and outer worlds in a way that becomes a practice ground for building insight, flexibility, patience and change through the memory keeping process. Learn more 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!
March 30, 2022
Join Us For "Pieces Of The Past" 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 The Past.
Pieces Of Life is a project that consists of two different themes each year. Our first theme for 2022 is Pieces Of The Past and our second theme later this year will be Pieces Of Play. Past themes include Pieces Of Me and Pieces Of Home.
Each 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 The Past the prompts will be as follows:
Monday: Family Of Origin
Where did you come from? What did your family look like when you were growing up? Who was part of your immediate family?
Tuesday: Most Loved Toy
What was the toy you loved the most when you were a kid? Which one (or what style of toy) did you play with again and again?
Wednesday: A Childhood Adventure
Close your eyes and think back to your childhood to remember an adventure. It might have been indoors or outside. Write it down.
Thursday: Education
Document a few memories about going to school. You might focus on early school or high school or even later. Consider simply constructing a list that includes names of schools you attended while growing up.
Friday: A Challenging Chapter
Everyone has pieces of their past that are challenging. Reflect back on a piece of your past that was hard (maybe when you were a kid or maybe later). What did you learn from that challenging chapter that impacts the person you are today?
Saturday: Best Childhood Memory
When you think back to your past, what is your favorite memory of growing up? Who was it with? Where did it happen? What was going on?
Sunday: Looking Back I See
Print out a photo of your childhood self (if you have access to one or simply picture yourself in your mind) and use the prompt "looking back I see" to reflect on who you were at that point in time. What kindness can you show your younger self?
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 your past that make up the chapters of your life. Enjoy this chance to look back and tell a little more of your own personal story. No photos for some or all of these prompts? No problem. Do an internet search for a favorite toy (or draw a picture) or take a photo of something that reminds you of that time or event or use pattern papers to illustrate your story. You've got this!
Here's a video from Ali inviting you to participate, reviewing the prompts, and sharing some ideas related to this project:
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 The Past stamp set is sold out but we do have a digital version here.
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.
Download the Pieces Of The Past one page PDF here.
March 28, 2022
Subscriber Day 2022 | Saturday, April 2nd
Just a quick reminder/heads up for current subscribers to any of our subscriptions that this Saturday, April 2nd is our first Subscriber Day!
As a way to say thank you + to celebrate this awesome memory keeping community we are putting together a fun online event that will be hosted by Ali. The content will be a mix of live and recorded video in one of our classrooms. Any current subscribers (as of March 30th) will have free access to this fun online event. If you are unable to join us during the live event you will have access to the private classroom for future viewing.
Here's the schedule:
HOUR 01: Welcome + Organization HOUR 02: Mixing + Matching SuppliesHOUR 03: Playing With The Scrapbook KitHOUR 04: Using Up Some Of Those Journal CardsHOUR 05: Q+A and Updates
If you currently subscribe to any of the following you are invited to attend and will have access to the classroom:
Story KitsStory StampsStory Class (includes Digital Story Kit)Stories By The MonthDigital Stories By The Month Quarterly Scrapbook KitsOne Little Word® Mini KitsJust Write
As always, thank you for being a part of this community!
March 25, 2022
Week In The Life™ 2022 | Collection Preview + Date Announcement
Welcome to the preview post for our
Week In The Life™ 2022 Collection.
These products will be available on Monday, March 28th at noon Eastern/9am Pacific.
This year
Ali will be documenting her week beginning Monday, June 20th, 2022. We are planning a little farther out this year in the hope that members of our community who live internationally will be able to receive their supplies prior to the documenting week.
Is this your first time learning about Week In The Life™?
Check out more details on this project that Ali started in 2005 here.
FREE domestic shipping ($20 International flat rate) on Week in the Life™ category orders of $75+ using the code
WITL2022SHIP. Shipping offer valid through 11:59pm EST on 4/1/22. 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.
PLEASE NOTE that we are waiting for one additional product to arrive for the Main Kit (currently in US customs) as well as the Large Stitched Heart Pockets. We anticipate those both arriving within the next two weeks. Orders that include these items will ship in mid-April.
We are planning a Week In The Life™ Prep Day for sometime in June prior to the documenting week. More details to come.
Here is an overview video of this year's collection:
Here is a look at the products via images:
Includes 21 page protectors in three styles (new style is a 2-pocket page with pockets measuring 10 inches wide x 4 inches tall).
Ali will be using this album for her 2022 project.
Here's an example of how Lisa Varshine recently used the new page protector:
Includes 21 page protectors in three styles.
The black chipboard frames fit inside the 4x6 pockets:
MINI KIT + JOURNAL BUNDLE | $24.99
Something new this year is a Week In The Life™ journal. Our team is super excited with how this turned out and anticipate a variety of ways it can be used. Some people might use it for note-taking/story collection during the documenting week and others may use it for their entire project this year. I 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).
There are also two blank spreads in between each day.
10x8 Transparency Dividers | $12.99
Here's a look at these in use:
These can be cut down to fit into the 6x8 album:
Large Plastic Phrases | $6.99
The largest piece "Around The House" is about 6 inches x 6 inches.
Here's a look at these in use:
Large Stitched Heart Pockets | $9.99
Here'a a look at these in use:
Pleather 2 Inch Circles | $8.99
Vellum Die Cut Pack | $9.99 (sized about 2.5 inches)
Here's a look at these in use:
Vellum 4x4 Cards | $6.99
Here's a look at these in use:
10x4 Journal Cards | $7.99
Here's a look at those in use in the new page protector included with the 10x8 album (these could also be cut into a 4x6 and a 4x4):
Week In The Life 2022 6x8 Alpha Stamp Set | $27.99
Week In The Life™ 2022 4x6 Circle Days Of The Week Stamp Set | $18.99
Week In The Life™ 2022 4x6 This Is Us Stamp Set | $18.99
Week In The Life™ 2022 4x6 This Is Me Stamp Set | $18.99
Week In The Life™ 2022 3x4 Story Stamp Set | $10.99
In Case You Missed It | March 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:
Be sure to set your alarm for Monday, March 28th when the entire Week In The Life™ 2022 collection will launch at 12pm ET. Prior to the release, Ali will be sharing a preview blog post that will include video walkthroughs, pricing, shipping information, and more. We’re still working on finalizing all the details for 2022 Week In The Life™ and we’ll be sharing those as soon as we have them!
ALI’S CRAFT THE STORY YOUTUBE SERIES
Ali is back on Youtube sharing a blog post and video most Fridays. Check out her latest video and blog post here.
SAVE THE DATE: SUBSCRIBER DAY
As a way to say thank you + celebrate this awesome memory keeping community, we are putting together our first Subscriber Day. Any current subscribers (as of March 31) will have access to this fun online event. You have until March 31st at 11:59 ET to subscribe to one or more subscriptions to gain access to Subscriber Day. Stay tuned for more information about the event! *All active subscribers will be added to the classroom on April 1st and the event will begin on April 2nd at 10am PST. This includes Story Kit™, Story Stamp™, Stories By The Month™, Digital Stories By The Month™, Story Class, Just Write, One Little Word® Mini Kit, and Quarterly Scrapbook subscribers.
NEW CLASS: THE STORY OF SELF W/ LAURA WONSIK
Join Laura Wonsik on a journey of self-exploration to learn more about yourself and your true identity. The Story of the Self is created by a memory keeper for memory keepers with the knowledge that this particular creative outlet is rich with material for this inner work. This class includes lessons in mindfulness, values, self-care, and vulnerability, all of which will help you uncover deeper layers of your story and find your authentic storytelling voice. In this four-week workshop, Laura will guide you through a variety of frameworks to explore your identity from different angles, using different methods, all tied together with the goal of being curious wanderers in the terrain of our identity. The content is aimed at building awareness of your inner and outer worlds in a way that becomes a practice ground for building insight, flexibility, patience and change through the memory keeping process. Learn more 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!
Scrapbook Basics: Telling Stories In Notebooks
One of the requests I recently received was to do a video showing a bunch of the notebooks I've used for memory keeping over the last few years.
Today's video includes a walk-throughs of eight different notebooks. Some were for travel, some have been shared in workshops, and some are for specific projects with a beginning and an end.
As you'll hear me mention in the video, I wasn't an early adopter of this memory keeping style. I resisted for quite awhile because I didn't feel like I needed another format. In 2020 I decided to try one out and ended up loving this method for a variety of reasons. I love that they feel like the perfect, simple place for combining words, photos and just a few embellishments. I love that they are a great place to play with stamps and to use some of those pretty pattern papers from my stash.
As you'll see in the video I've got a few go-to ways I often tell stories in notebooks and am excited to be starting a new one to document what's happening in my yard this year.
Want to participate in an upcoming notebook project? I'll be embarking on the Pieces Of The Past documenting project the week of April 4th. More details here.
Let's dive in:
Art Of Noticing Notebooks Pieces Of Life Notebook Bundle Notebook Covers Pieces Of The Past Notebook All currently available notebooks Travel Collection Notebook Pieces Of Me Notebook Empty Nest + New Stories Workshop Start To Finish #02 Travel Workshop (includes camper van notebook project) Pieces Of Live Blog Post Archives Stories Of Summer Notebook Stories Stamp Week (includes a few notebook ideas)
March 23, 2022
Day In The Life 2022™ | Special Guest Jennie Rey
Hi everyone! Jennie here to share my first finished Day in the Life project! I tried it a few times before but never finished it, mainly because I wasn’t sure what size to use. For this Day in the Life I decided to just add it to my 2022 6x8 album. I call it my Project Life album but it’s not in a weekly or monthly format, I just add stories of the year in a somewhat chronological order.
I really loved the album art on the inside of the 4x6 album so I decided to use the digital file to make a full spread (sized to the outside of the page protector) with this art and use that as a base for my project. Before printing I added the ‘stories from today’ word art from one of the digital die cut pieces. I used my silhouette machine and the foil quill to foil the sentiments of the digital phrase sticker sheet in gold onto vellum, and stitched the pieces onto the pages with my sewing machine.
I didn’t want to split this colorful sunshine with page protectors so I used Pam Baldwin’s technique of adding the page protector to the side of the page as a flip-out so when you open both flip-outs you can still see the whole album art.
Like Ali I decided to use the –ing words as lenses for my stories of this day. I had the words in the back of my mind during the day but I also just took pictures and if the photo somewhat connected to the word it got added into that category! With two page protectors with 4 pockets you only have room for 8 3x4 photos and 8 journaling cards and I definitely had more photos I wanted to use so I decided to add little flip-outs to the outside of the page protector. For each –ing word I selected 3 photos that I attached to each other using double sided tape and washi tape and I enlarged the digital chipboard piece as a very big tab. I really like how it turned out but it isn’t very practical! If I go through my album the flip-outs will fall open and it is a bit difficult to turn the pages. I tried to solve it using a transparent page in between but on Instagram Shu-Wen suggested to use little paper clips to hold them together and I think that is an awesome idea!
For my journaling I’ve used the 3x4 ‘a story’ cards. I had 2-3 stories for each –ing word so I didn’t want to stamp the time in the right corner. Before printing I removed the AM/PM and left the space blank. Because my journaling is on the other side of the page as the photos I decided to add a little title to each card and the color of the card is matching the color of the chipboard piece on the front. I printed the icon die cuts onto fabric paper and stitched those in the right corner of the cards.
To really separate my Day in the Life project from the other pages in my album I decided to turn it into a file folder of sorts with a front (again with that awesome album art) and a flap (?) to close it together.
I used some Velcro (because that’s what I had on hand) to keep it closed.
You can find a process-reel of this project on my Instagram: @thereypie.
If you would like to see more of my process in Photoshop or get some inspiration using digital kits you can check out my Hybrid All Year Round class!
Thank you so much for taking a look at my 2022 Day in the Life project!
March 18, 2022
Day In The Life™ 2022 | Ali's First Documenting Day Completed
I so love projects that have a beginning and an end!
Today I wrapped up my first Day In The Life™ documenting day for 2022 in my 4x6 album. It's been so fun to see all the different ways people are bringing their words and photos together and we'll have another blog post in the coming weeks rounding up some of those various ways to approach this project.
I shared my initial album set up for this first documenting day here.
Here's an overview video where I share my process:
Here are individual images to take you through the album:
I started my album with the "our lives are made of moments" sentiment card (included with the album) and printed out a photo that I adhered to the back.
The photo was a fun shadow experience from my morning. It's one of those shots that happens unexpectedly: I love how it includes my hand and my phone (pretty normal around here). On top of the phone I added the word art that you can download from this post.
On the die-cut peek-a-book floral page I added one of the puffy pleather circles that is an add-on option for subscribers this month (with the theme of Currently). On top of the puffy I added one of the chipboard stars from the kit.
On the back of the die-cut page I used the "today" stamp from the Basics 6x8 Stamp Set to create a graphic, text-based pattern. I took one of the blank circles from the kit and covered it with the clear word/phrase stickers and added the "stories from today" paper die cut on top. Love this layering.
I copied + pasted text from my IG post in the morning of the documenting day and added it to the pocket along with the date card.
The next section of my album follows a design formula that includes the "a story" 3x4 card with a 1/2 circle chipboard piece on the bottom and handwritten journaling added to the card. Each of those cards is paired with a 3x4 photo and each photo has a chipboard star on top. Each 3x4 card also has numbers stamped along the top for the hour of the day.
Your story doesn't have to be long to be meaningful. We are each simply living our own story right now.
For the last two pockets of this documenting day I added a 3x4 card from the Awesome Story Kit that was on my table and paired it with one more photo from the day.
I'll be doing a second Day In The Life™ documenting day later this year (most likely in the fall). For that one I'll be using the lens of gratitude and will be adding the journaling cards and photos into this same album.
Here's to getting stories told and having fun in the process!
SUPPLIESDay In The Life™ 2022 Kit
Day In The Life™ 2022 4x6 Album Bundle (includes page protectors, envelope pages, die cut/printed pages)
Day In The Life™ 2022 The Basics 6x8 Stamp Set
Day In The Life™ 2022 Painted Wood Veneer Words
Currently Add On Puffy Circles
Awesome Story Kit 3x4 Card
Epson PictureMate PM400
Fiskars Trimmer
We R Memory Keepers Hole Punch
Staz On Ink
Uniball Vision Elite Pen
In Case You Missed It | March 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:
ALI’S CRAFT THE STORY YOUTUBE SERIES
Ali is back on Youtube sharing a blog post and video most Fridays. Check out her latest video and blog post here.
CURRENTLY STORY CHAT
Earlier this week Ali hosted our Currently Story Chat™ with our amazing guests: Nolana, Kaleb, and Elizabeth. A recording of the conversation is now available in the Story Classroom, along with an audio-only file. You can also find the conversation on our instagram account here.
SAVE THE DATE: SUBSCRIBER DAY
As a way to say thank you + celebrate this awesome memory keeping community, we are putting together our first Subscriber Day. Any current subscribers (as of March 31) will have access to this fun online event. You have until March 31st at 11:59 ET to subscribe to one or more subscriptions to gain access to Subscriber Day. Stay tuned for more information about the event! *All active subscribers will be added to the classroom on April 1st and the event will begin on April 2nd at 10am PST. This includes Story Kit™, Story Stamp™, Stories By The Month™, Digital Stories By The Month™, Story Class, Just Write, One Little Word® Mini Kit, and Quarterly Scrapbook subscribers.
NEW CLASS: THE STORY OF SELF W/ LAURA WONSIK
Join Laura Wonsik on a journey of self-exploration to learn more about yourself and your true identity. The Story of the Self is created by a memory keeper for memory keepers with the knowledge that this particular creative outlet is rich with material for this inner work. This class includes lessons in mindfulness, values, self-care, and vulnerability, all of which will help you uncover deeper layers of your story and find your authentic storytelling voice. In this four-week workshop, Laura will guide you through a variety of frameworks to explore your identity from different angles, using different methods, all tied together with the goal of being curious wanderers in the terrain of our identity. The content is aimed at building awareness of your inner and outer worlds in a way that becomes a practice ground for building insight, flexibility, patience and change through the memory keeping process. Learn more 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!
Scrapbook Basics: Adhesives
As part of my Scrapbook Basics/Craft The Story series I'm sharing information today about my go-to adhesives for memory keeping.
This topic was prompted with issues I've been having getting the right refills ordered for my Scotch Rolling Adhesive (they changed the packaging, the outer case, and the refills and the ones I had been getting from Amazon didn't fit the older cases). I've finally got the new case along with the new refills and I'm back to using it regularly (you might have seen me using red line tape in my recent Rainbow Scrapbook Kit videos). As I mention in the video I'll let you know if I feel like the updated version doesn't work as well as the past version of the roller.
Let's dive right in to the video:
Scotch Rolling Adhesive
Scotch Rolling Adhesive Refills
Foam Adhesive Dots
Red Line Tape
Glue Dots
Tiny Attacher
Glue Pen (similar to what I shared)
Mini Brads
March Stories By The Month Kit
Paper Piercer/Craft Pick
Washi Tape
