Ali Edwards's Blog, page 84
September 23, 2021
AE Creative Team | September Stories By The Month™ Digital Kits
For many of us, this month is all about transition and getting back into a routine, and we are delighted to share the awesome projects our Creative Team created using our September Stories by the Month™ Digital Kits!
As always, we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!
September 22, 2021
Storytime | Inspiration + Book Suggestions
Today's Storytime video addresses two recent questions: (1) where do I find inspiration for my stories and (2) do I have any books to recommend that include writing tips + inspiration.
Let's dive right in:
Books mentioned in today's video:
Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text For Writing + Life by Marion Roach Smith Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide To Loving The Craft by Jane Yolen Writing Down Your Soul: How To Activate And Listen To The Extraordinary Voice Within by Janet Conner
More:
Books About Writing Blog Post
Check out the Storytime archives here or subscribe on YouTube to be notified when a new video is available.
September 21, 2021
My December Daily® Reason Why
Hi Friends! This is Lisa. As December quickly approaches and the excitement for December Daily® builds, we invite you to share your December Daily® reason why. For more than a decade, Ali has been participating in this project and each year she begins the month by setting her intentions. Your reason why is a statement that encapsulates your reason for showing up each year, for doing the work, for capturing the good, the bad, and everything in between. It's your reason for documenting these stories. We'd love to know your reason why.
Ali says, "My reason for embarking on this project year after year is because it helps me create, locate and capture joy during December, even when things feel hard." To help you share your own reason why, Ali has created a digital package that includes the "reason why" word art, as well as templates for both a 6 in x 8 in page and a 10 in x 8 in page to include in your album. In addition, we're including the art for the hashtag: #myddreasonwhy and a social square formatted as a home for your text. If you feel comfortable, we'd love to see your reason on social media and share it on our accounts. If you do share, please use the hashtag and tag our @decemberdaily Instagram account.
As a special treat, and in celebration of sharing our intentions and excitement around this project, Ali is sharing a sneak of her 2021 reason why page.
She created this beautiful page with our Canvas Stitched Envelops and the Holiday Phrases 4x6 Stamp Set. We love the gorgeous texture and interactive aspect of this spread! Shop the entire 2021 December Daily® collection here.
Day In The Life™ 2021 | Mark Your Calendar For October 15th
Just a quick heads up that the second documenting day for Day In The Life™ will be happening on Friday, October 15th, 2021.
The story lens Ali will be using for this documenting project is "today I/we/you." Each of the journal cards has a jumping off point if you need it (such as "so very grateful," "pieces of life right now," and "loving these things." Ali will be using those eight "today" journal cards to guide her storytelling on October 15th.
We've got a limited number of kits + albums remaining if you want to use the same supplies as Ali for this project.
Check out Ali's first Day In The Life™ documenting day in her album here.
Grab a digital version of the Main Kit here.
More information on this project:
Day In The Life™ Documenting Over The Years Day In The Life™ | Words + Photos + Documenting Life (my words + photos + thoughts on the first documenting day this year) Day In The Life™ Blog Post Archives
September 17, 2021
In Case You Missed It | September 17
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:
NEW STORY KIT THEME
On Monday, we revealed our September Story Kit™ theme: CARE. We’re so excited to share this one with you. Take a look at Ali’s blog post, complete with video walkthrough and product photos here.
DECEMBER DAILY
The boxing period is live! Shop the collection here.Restocks // After years of fine-tuning the shopping experience, we’re thrilled that the collection went live without issue. We know that some products sold out quickly and we sincerely apologize for the frustration. As of now, we will not be restocking sold out items (the only caveat being stamps, if necessary). Low Quantities // Today we started a new blog post series called Going, Going, Gone. In these posts we will be providing a list of all of the December Daily® shop products with quantities below 100. Find the post here.Key Dates // Here’s a list of upcoming dates related to December Daily®, for quick reference:
Boxing period ends September 30th, and items are tentatively set to start shipping October 1st. December Daily Prep Day is happening Saturday, November 6th.November 1st the first of 30 lessons will go live for Product Play: Back to Basics. October 19th our new class Create with Canva starts. December Daily® digitals will be released on October 13th.
CRAFT THE STORY YOUTUBE SERIES
Ali is back this week with a new video in her Craft The Story video series. In this week’s video In today's video (Episode 33) Ali is sharing an easy and fun idea for using your stash of 4 inch x 6 inch journal cards (or any journal cards). Watch the video here.
CLASSES
December Daily® Product Play: Back to Basics // For 30 days in November you’ll receive one new idea per day (for a total of 30) brought to you by members of our December Daily® Creative Team, our AED Creative Team, and Ali. Ideas in this workshop will focus on physical products from the Main Kit and our 2021 collection. Our goal with this workshop is simple, fun ideas to use your products to spark stories. Register or learn more here.Create With Canva // In this two-week workshop, Kim will introduce you to the technology of Canva, a free, design anywhere, graphic design platform that is filled with powerful tools for memory keepers. Learn how to organize your digital files, print your photos, and work with all types of digital elements to create hybrid projects that unleash your creativity. Kim will be using December Daily® digitals. Register or learn more here.Don’t forget you save $3 when you enroll in December Daily® Product Play: Back to Basics or Create With Canva by 9/30/2021.
STORY CHATS
This morning Ali, Jess, and Lisa had a fun live conversation over on the December Daily® Instagram account. The ladies talked all about December Daily®, what the project means to them, their different approaches, and this year’s #donebydecember challenge. Find a recording of the conversation 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!
Going, Going, Gone | September 17
Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to our first Going, Going, Gone post.
We've received quite a few requests for quantity updates for our December Daily® shop items. In response to those requests, we're sharing all of the shop items that have quantities BELOW 100. Some have quantities in the 90s and others have as few as 13. We hope this list is helpful as you plan your personal documenting experience with the project. As always, thank you so much for your support!
December Daily® 2021 Holiday 4x6 Stamp Set by Paislee Press
December Daily® 2021 Phrase Sticker Sheet Bundle
December Daily® 2021 Crafter's Ink Bundle
December Daily® 2021 Numbers 4x6 Stamp Set
December Daily® 2021 4x6 Funny Holiday Puffy Stickers
December Daily® 2021 Chipboard Houses Sheet
December Daily® 2021 Wintery Botanicals 6x8 Stamp Set
December Daily® 2021 Number 6x8 Stamp Set
December Daily® 2021 Holiday Phrases 4x6 Stamp Set
December Daily® 2021 Metallic Ink Pad Bundle
December Daily® 2021 Alpha 6x8 Stamp Set
December Daily® 2021 FA LA LA Mug
December Daily® 2021 Holiday Icon 6x8 Stamp Set
December Daily® 2021 10x8 Night Before Christmas Album
Regarding items that have already sold out, we sincerely apologize for the frustration. There are many variables at play in determining our inventory for each item and it is impossible for us to tell which items will be popular each year. As of now, we have no plans to restock sold out items. The caveat being stamps. If and when we sell out of any of our stamps, we will provide updates on plans to possibly restock.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Use Your Stash : Story Card Album
In today's Craft The Story video (episode 33) I'm sharing an easy + fun way to use your stash of journal cards to get more of your story told.
Like many of you I have a decent sized stash of 4 inch x 6 inch journal cards. As I was recently working on organizing my card collection (see more about that below) I was thinking about ways to use them for what they were meant to be used for: holding stories.
Let's dive right in:
And here are some additional details on this idea:
Heads up that in the video I mention that we don't have any of the yellow album in stock but I was wrong - you can grab one here.
When I break up my Story Kits™ + Stories By The Month™ kits I organize my cards into three categories:
Sentiment/quote cards (no room for writing) Journal Cards: specifically designed with room for a story or specifically prompting/inviting you to tell a story Pattern cards (great for adding label stickers or embellishments on top to create homes for your words)
Want to read more about how I break up my Story Kits™? Check out this post.
Want to read more about my recent organizing adventures? Check out this post.
Make it a daily project for a certain time period. Try a week or a month. Add a stack of 4x6 or 3x4 cards to your bag and pull one out when you have a few minutes of waiting (a great alternative to picking up your phone) and grab a pen and simply respond to a few of the cards. Grab a few cards and put them at your bedside table and write a bit before you go to bed or first thing when you wake up. Invite your family to participate by responding to one of the cards. I also love the idea of having this album out somewhere in your house where family members could grab a card and respond to one of the prompts.
This is such a simple way to use what you have without it having to be chronological and without having to print photos (of course you can add photos if you want).
These individual cards all come together to create a bigger story of your life via words.
Want to play along with me? Let's get some more stories told.
SUPPLIES6x8 Albums + Page ProtectorsYellow Linen Album Story Kits™ Stories By The Month™ Kit Scrapbook.com Pocket Card Organizer Box Rolling Date Stamp
September 13, 2021
Care Story Kit + October 2021 Stories By The Month
This month we are focusing on stories related to the theme of Care.
Caring for others and for ourselves is a big part of our lives as humans. This month we are telling stories about how we care for others, how we care for ourselves, and how we have been cared for in the past (and maybe how we want to be cared for in the future).
Initial story ideas for this theme include:
Who do you care for in your life right now and what does that look like?
Tell a story about a time when someone took care of you and a time when you took care of someone else.
Make a list of things you care about right now and a second list that includes things you don’t care about right now (or working to not care about).
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:
DIGITAL STORY KIT™ (Included with the STORY CLASS)
Your digital kit and the classroom and any Add-Ons purchased will be available to you on the 15th once your card has been charged for the month.
Here's a look at what's included in the Digital Story Kit™:
And a couple peeks at the layouts I created with the kits this month (
full details, including process videos and how-to handout, are included with subscription):
This month Lisa is joining me in the classroom with a pocket page spread.
Again, thanks so much for subscribing and/or considering my
Story Subscription program! If you have any questions about this program please let me know below in the comments.
Stories By The Month™ kits include 4x6 chipboard, 3x4 and 4x6 cards, a 3x4 stamp, a sticker sheet, and an embellishment (wood veneer, cork, fabric, etc).
Here is a full look at the kit:
And a video overview:
This subscription is a great option for those who are looking to tell more calendar/everyday life sorts of stories.
Add On options are available to all Story Kit™, Story Stamp™, and Stories By The Month™ subscribers
(this excludes Digital Story Kit/Story Class subscribers since you don't have any part of your subscription shipped already).
Current and new subscribers can select + purchase Add-On's via your new drop-down menu access under your user name in the top right corner of the site.
Depending on product availability subscribers may be able to purchase the Add-On's after the Add-On period has ended and regular shop shipping rates will apply because they will ship separately from the kit.
September 12, 2021
AE Creative Team | Teach Story Kit™
This past month we have been documenting and celebrating stories about being taught and the lessons we've learned along the way. And today we are delighted to share with you the projects that our Creative Team made using the Teach Story Kit™.
Also, just as a reminder, today, September 12th, is the last day to subscribe and receive the TEACH-themed products.
As always, we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!
September 11, 2021
Never Forget Freebie
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. We’d like to take a moment to remember the sorrow of that day but also honor the dedication, commitment and strength of the first responders who selflessly sacrificed their lives for strangers. May we never forget the lives lost and the bravery of the heroes that live among us. Click here for this free digital file.
