Ali Edwards's Blog, page 93
May 10, 2021
Quarterly Scrapbook Kit: Circles Coming Soon
Heads up that our second Quarterly Scrapbook Kit (Circles) will be available on Monday, May 17th.
If you previously purchased the Heart Scrapbook Kit this will be auto-shipped to you after it releases next week.
Here are reminders about how this Quarterly Kit works:
The kit will be available for $34.99 and that includes both the physical kit and the digital files . The digital files will also be available separately with next month's regularly scheduled digital release.
Shipping will be free domestically and $4 for international addresses.
This first kit will ship separate from other subscriptions, but the remaining kits will ship with your existing subscriptions.
This is an auto-ship subscription which means that when you sign up for this first kit you are signing up for the other three as well (this is the same set up we use for the One Little Word® Mini Kits ). Subscriptions will remain available while supplies last. If you miss this first subscription you will be able to start with the second one when it releases if they are available. If we have extra inventory of this first kit when the second kit becomes available the first kit will move to the shop and regular shipping rates will apply.
We do have a few of the Heart Scrapbook Kits remaining (the first kit in this Quarterly Subscription). Purchasing the Heart Kit between now + May 16th will reserve your spot for the rest of the upcoming kit this year. If you aren't interested in the Heart kit you can start with the Circle Kit and then you'll automatically receive the other two kits coming later this year (Hexagons + Stars). Once the Circle Kit goes live on May 17th any remaining Heart Kits will move into the shop and will be offered outside of the auto ship subscription for $39.99 (you save $5 by getting it via the Quarterly Subscription).
Here's a look at the contents of the Circle Kit:
The Circle Kit includes double-sided 12x12 pattern papers, double-sided 6x8 pattern papers (sized to the page protectors), 3 large plastic circles, 3 pleather circles, 12 fabric half circles, 1 sheet of transparent circle stickers, and two large nested chipboard circle sets.
Here's a look at the patterns on the other side of the 12x12 pattern papers:
Here's a look at the patterns on the other side of the 6x8 pattern papers:
Here's a look at the components included with the Circles Scrapbook Kit:
And in case you missed it before here's a look at the contents of the Heart Scrapbook Kit:
Here's to having fun getting more stories told!
AE Creative Team | EVENING Story Kit™
This past month we have been documenting stories about ending the day and our evening routines. And today we are delighted to share with you the projects that our Creative Team made using the EVENING Story Kit™.
And just as a reminder, this Wednesday, May 12th, is the last day to subscribe and receive the EVENING-themed products.
As always, we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!
May 9, 2021
Week In The Life™ 2021 | Bring On The Stories
We've taken another trip around the sun and arrived at the 2021 Week In The Life™ community documenting week.
As we kick things off today I'd like to share something I posted to Instagram this past weekend about this project:
Moments of joy. Moments of sadness. Moments of boredom. Moments of chaos. Moments of quiet. Moments where I had to go in my room + close the door because it was so darn loud. Moments that repeat. Moments that take my breath away. Moments that seemed annoying at the time. Moments of laughter. Moments of learning. Moments that will simply never exist again.
Back in 2005 I created an album project because I had agreed to teach an album class at a scrapbook magazine event (thank you Creating Keepsakes). I knew that I valued everyday life storytelling with an emphasis on the words + the photos so creating an album around those kind of stories seemed like a natural extension of what I was already documenting.
Fast forward to 2021 and next week I'll be embarking on this project for the 16th time. Seven days. 168 hours. I'm so excited to see what stories I capture this time around. I love the invitation to get curious about my life right now and really pay attention to the rhythms + routines of what's real for me at this point in time.
As I was getting ready for today's #weekinthelife Prep Day (details via my profile link) I carried all my albums from my office into my bedroom and laid them out on the floor before filming myself talking about the ways I've approached the project over the years. As I sat on the floor flipping through each one I thought to myself: this is my life reflected back to me via stories and photos. These albums are time capsules that include highs and lows and everything in between for seven days in a row each year.
I write about the basic stuff. I take photos of the basic stuff. It's what our lives are made of day to day to day. Worth the work of documenting? 100%.
As you begin the process of capturing what's real in your life right now I want you to remember that there are no perfect photos, no perfect words, no perfect way to approach this project, and no perfect way to finish it. You can do this and it can be a really fun + enjoyable way to take a closer look at your life right now.
Over the years I've written a variety of posts related to this project (check out the full archives here). Here are a few of my favorites that might help you get your head + your heart in a mood for documenting:
Start Thinking About Stories You Might Want To Include In Week In The Life™ 5 Reasons To Join Me In Documenting A Week In The Life™ Things I've Loved + Things I've Learned About Week In The Life™ Thoughts On Week In The Life™ + Getting Ready Week In The Life™ Photo Tips What Stories Will You Tell? Our Days Are Built With Stories (one of my personal favorites)
I'll be sharing photos + reflections here on my blog each day starting on Tuesday of this coming week.
Let's do this!
May 7, 2021
In Case You Missed It | May 7
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:
CRAFT THE STORY YOUTUBE SERIES
In this week's Craft The Story video (Episode 18) Ali is taking you along with her while she finishes up her Pieces of Me project for 2021. Find it here.
CLASSES
Week in the Life Prep Day is happening tomorrow, Saturday, May 8th. The class will feature eight hours of great content, presented as a mix of recorded and live video. In addition, each lesson will also include a free download, a challenge, and an opportunity to participate in a live chat. We hope you can join us! Find it under classes here.
Hello Story registration closing soon: 5/11. We’re so excited by the feedback so far from Hello Story 3 students. The class features three storytelling structures/techniques that will bring both creativity and clarity to your documenting process: no-photo layouts, cut paper collage, and repetition. Through in-depth explorations of each topic Ali will share with you how she uses each of the story structures to get her stories told. Registration closes 5/11. Register here.
CHATS
This week we introduced a special series of daily Week in the Life-focused Story Chats. Monday, May 3rd through the 7th, Story Chat WITL Edition went live on our Instagram account and recordings of each of those conversations can be found here. Each day focused on a different topic: planning & prep, stories, photos I (talking about people), photos II (focusing on things), and finishing (happening tonight at 4 pm PT). Find all of the details here.
SALES
In honor of National Scrapbooking Day, we’re offering newly marked-down items, all $5 or less, to help you document your stories. The sale runs from 5/01 to 5/07 at 11:59 pm EDT. Head to the site now!
We’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
Finishing Up My Pieces Of Me Project
In today's
Craft The Story video (Episode 18) I’m taking you along with me when I finish up my Pieces of Me project for 2021. You can see the first blog post on this project + images here.
If you are reading that post at another time or you missed our community documenting time it's totally not too late to embark on this project for yourself. More details can be found via the Pieces Of Us archives.
Let's dive in:
Here's a look at the spreads in my notebook:
I had a couple photos I took from this day and decided to add them both into my project. As you'll hear in the video I decided to change up my journaling a bit from what I shared on Instagram - adding more and using the prompt "this body" as the jumping off point.
Chipboard heart is from the February 2021 Stories By The Month™ kit.
For the last page in this notebook I printed up my journaling and stamped "my story" at the top of the page using the Pieces Of Me stamp set. Under my photo I added some pattern paper from my stash. Fabric heart is a past Story Kit add on option. Word phrase sticker is from the Week In The Life™ Phrase Sticker Bundle.
Later this year I'll be adding another notebook to this folio for documenting Pieces Of Home. More details on that to come later this summer/early fall.
Pieces Of Me Notebook
Pieces Of Life Felt Folio
Pieces Of Life Folio + Notebook Bundle
Pieces Of Me Stamp
Staz On Ink
Deli Paper (for gelli plate prints)
Scotch Rolling Adhesive
Epson PictureMate PM400 Printer
Epson XP15000 Printer
Heart Scrapbook Kit
Rolling Date Stamp
Micron Pens
Fiskars Paper Trimmer
Fiskars Scissors
Week In The Life™ Phrase Stickers
May 6, 2021
Story Chat Show Notes | WITL Photos People
Hi Friends! We hope you were able to join us last night for our WITL Stories conversation on Story Chat. As I mentioned during our chat, it is my intention to have show notes available after every episode. Please understand there will be a reasonable turnaround time between the episode and the notes. I greatly appreciate your patience as we figure out all the moving pieces in these new content offerings. Some episodes will lend themselves to more notes than others, but please feel free to leave a comment if there is something specific that you do not see listed below.
Episode Date: 5.05.21
Topic: Week in the Life Photo (People)
Guests: Ingunn Markiewicz, Elizabeth Heinz, Linda Jordan
Resources
For more inspiration from Ingunn, find her on Instagram here. For more inspiration from Elizabeth, find her on Instagram here. For more inspiration from Linda, find her on Instagram here. For more inspiration from Story Chat host, Lisa Varshine, find her on Instagram here. Photo editing apps mentioned in the episode: VSCO, PicTapGo, A Color Story, Lightroom Mobile. Desktop editing software also mentioned: Lightroom and Photoshop Elements. Linda recommended using her Apple watch as a timer for her iPhone. Printers mentioned: Epson XP15000 (oversize printer, up to 13x19), Epson PM400 (mini printer for up to 5x7 prints). We all recommended Persnickety Prints as a vendor for printing photos. Ingunn takes all of her photos on her phone (I'm personally still shocked by this, they are amazing). We all reiterated that the best camera to use is the one you have!Mark your calendars for Week in the Life: May 10th to 16th.
This was the third in a series of episodes this week, each on a different topic: planning & prep, stories, photos I (talking about people), photos II (focusing on things), and finishing. All of our Story Chats are held live on our Instagram account and saved to our Instagram Television Channel (IGTV), this series covering WITL will also be available as one lesson in our Week In The Life Prep Day Classroom. Prep Day will take place Saturday, May 8th, and registration and full details are available here.
May 5, 2021
Week In The Life™ 2021 | Special Guest Jennie Rey
Hi everyone, Jennie here! Week in the Life is right around the corner and it is one of my most favorite projects! This year will be my 12th time participating and all of my previous albums are finished, so happy with that! Even though I have a lot of finished albums I do not do a lot of planning before the week starts. I do tell the people around me Week in the Life is coming (so they know what is happening when I am all over place taking pictures!) and I print Ali’s daily sheets (find them here). During the documentation week I just focus on taking pictures and I make sure I write something down every night (during the day I often use the Notes app on my phone to write down some little things I do not want to forget).
Usually that is all I have when I am bringing it all together but this year I am more prepared than ever! After receiving the Week in the Life products I just couldn’t wait to dive in and try out a few things using photos from last year. And with that I decided on a ‘design formula’ I will use for every day.
I will start each day with one of the transparencies with a 6x8 photo behind it. On the photo I will have a little cluster of the plastic and chipboard diamonds that were in Ali’s Mini Kit. I might start the week with another transparency and/or a 6x8 photo and I really like the idea of cutting that photo into the shape of a half circle!
On the back of the 6x8 photo I will have my journaling. My plan is to divide my journaling into paragraphs (7 or 8 per day) and stamp a time on top. I often includes times in my journaling for Week in the Life but I am not too precise about it. For example I can tell a little story about our morning routines and stamp the time we got out of bed on top of it, even though the story is about a few hours.
I really liked those plastic half circles that were offered this year and decided to combine those with the awesome designs from this year’s layered template set. I recolored the days of the week in Photoshop to the same color as the plastic half circles, cropped them to 3x6 inch and stitched them together using my sewing machine (you could also add some sequins between the layers!).
On top of the half circle I will add one of the die cut circles with the date stamped onto it (I saw Morgan Beal do this repeated stamping and isn’t it the best idea?! – oh and I know I have stamped a 2020 date on this one, my date stamp didn’t have 2021 on it!) and I will tie some twine to it.
I will attach the half circle to the journaling page using a strip of washi tape so it will be a flip-up and on the back I will put a photo of what we are having for dinner that day (well that is the plan… but I tend to forget plans like this halfway through the week so I might have to add something else…).
I also plan to include large photos cut into a half circle shape. I will glue them back-to back and they will go outside of the page protectors. On top of it I will add another die cut circle with some twine tied to it.
To continue with the circle theme I decided to fill a 2x2 page protector each day with the quarter-circle die cuts and photos and ‘stuff of life’ cut into quarter-circles. If I haven’t got enough pieces to fill front and back of the page protector I can cut it down to just half of it (and maybe combine it with a 4x6 pocket) or to two columns by cutting one off. I will use the digital kit to create a few more of those quarter-circle die cuts (for example with the designs of the other pieces in the kit) and each day I will add the fabric circle with the day on it.
I definitely want to use this year’s layered templates so I printed them out on regular printer paper so I will remember to use them. I especially love this one with the speech bubbles: I plan to make notes on this draft one of some things that are said around here! I might not use all of the layered templates but I will use a few (maybe some doubles) and on a day I will not use one of the templates I will just replace it with a 6x8 photo.
I also plan to use the ‘looked like this’ cards. This year there will be six people in the house during Week in the Life so I will ask them to each fill out one of the cards and, just for fun, I might fill out one for our cat!
I love love love this project: some of my most treasured photos were taken during Week in the Life. Remember to just have fun! There is no right or wrong and an album with just 5 days in it or with just one photo a day is still a treasure! You can do it!
We are so thankful to have Jennie with us today! For more inspiration from Jennie, you can find her on Instagram.
May 4, 2021
Story Chat Show Notes | WITL Stories
Hi Friends! We hope you were able to join us last night for our WITL Stories conversation on Story Chat. As I mentioned during our chat, it is my intention to have show notes available after every episode. Please understand there will be a reasonable turnaround time between the episode and the notes. I greatly appreciate your patience as we figure out all the moving pieces in these new content offerings. Some episodes will lend themselves to more notes than others, but please feel free to leave a comment if there is something specific that you do not see listed below.
Episode Date:
5.04.21
Topic: Week in the Life Stories
Guests: Jess Forster, Jen Schow, Laura Wonsik
Resources
Feelings wheel (mentioned by Jess). Week in the Life daily sheets from Ali. Find them in this blog post.For more inspiration from Jess, find her on Instagram here. For more inspiration from Jen, find her on Instagram here. You can also find more from Jen on her YouTube channel. For more inspiration from Laura, find her on Instagram here. You can also find more from Laura on her YouTube channel. For more inspiration from Story Chat host, Lisa Varshine, find her on Instagram here.Mark your calendars for Week in the Life: May 10th to 16th.
This was the second in a series of episodes this week, each on a different topic: planning & prep, stories, photos I (talking about people), photos II (focusing on things), and finishing. Join us Wednesday, May 5th at 5pm PT to chat Photos I (people) with Ingunn, Linda, and Elizabeth.
All of our Story Chats are held live on our Instagram account and saved to our Instagram Television Channel (IGTV), this series covering WITL will also be available as one lesson in our Week In The Life Prep Day Classroom. Prep Day will take place Saturday, May 8th, and registration and full details are available here.
Week In The Life™ 2021 | Ali's Starting Place
Week In The Life™ is coming next week!
From Monday, May 10th through Sunday, May 16th I'll be documenting stories of our week alongside an awesome community of memory keepers who believe in the power of storytelling to make a difference in their lives.
This year I'm mixing things up for myself + giving myself wholehearted permission and space to be really playful and have fun. After embarking on this project every year since 2005 I'm embracing being a little more free to see how it all unfolds. There will absolutely still be photos and still be words but it might look a little different than it has in past years.
In this Saturday's Week In The Life™ Prep Day I'll be sharing more about my 2021 documenting approach, a video walkthrough of how I'm setting up my album, how I put together the pages I'm showing below, digital downloads (some seen below in my set up), and a couple fun page ideas to add to your project. Jess Forster and Lisa Varshine will also be joining me to share some of their wisdom + experience related to this project. You're invited to join us for this $5 event that starts at 7am Pacific and goes through 2pm Pacific. All videos will be archived + recorded for future viewing.
Please remember as you take a look at my set up for this project this year that it's just that: my personal set up. This project is all about you and your own particular story in your own life right now. There isn't a right or a wrong way to approach this (or any) memory keeping project and I want to encourage you to find a rhythm that works for you. You might have fewer photos or you might have more photos. You might have a whole lot more words or fewer words. You might be using everything from your stash or all new products or a fun combination or no products at all. It all works.
I also invite you to check out my Week In The Life™ archives for a look at all the ways my albums have come together in past years.
In today's post I'm sharing a look at my very colorful beginnings along with the design formula I'm planning to follow for each of my days.
Let's dive in:
As you might have noticed, I'm going super colorful this year and I'm so enjoying the process of play. The Week In The Life™ circle is included in the Mini Kit and the background "this week" paper and the date circle are downloads that will be available during Prep Day. Tissue paper + Mod Podge (inspired by projects from Hello Story 3) came together on top of the printed "this week" page to bring the whole thing to life. I'll share a process video for putting this together during the first hour of Prep Day.
Behind my title page I added a "reason why" page because I love using that as a jumping off point for my album. The background "reason why" paper will be a download during Prep Day. The "why" was stamped using this alpha stamp set.
After my title + reason why pages I set up a design formula that I follow for each day (some things might change as I bring it all together but this is my starting place):
I'm starting each day with the daily overlay included with the 2021 album bundle.
The first page protector in my formula is the 2 pocket, 4 inch x 6 inch (included with the album). In the top pocket I'm including one of the plastic half circles and cutting off some of the page protector along the top so that the circle comes up out of the page protector. In the bottom pocket I'm adding the 4 inch x 6 inch journal card from the Mini Kit that includes 10 -ing words. I'll be handwriting my responses to each of those each day during the week.
The next page I'm adding in each day is a printed (sized to 7 inches wide x 8.25 inches tall) day of the week design from Week In The Life™ 2021 Layered Template + Overlays package. I printed those on Epson Ultra Premium Matte Presentation Paper.
Here's a look at that layered template + overlay set:
On the back of that printed page I'm planning to include a full page photo or photo collage (and it might end up being a two-page photo spread along the lines of something I saw Pam Baldwin share on IG this past week).
In between that photo enlargement or photo collage I'll be including a couple page protectors as inserts for story + more photos: (1) a 6 inch x 8 inch that's cut down to 3 inch x 8 inch and holds the "today" card from the Mini Kit and (2) a 3x8 page protector holding one of the 3 inch x 8 inch cards from this set.
Currently I've got a full page 6 inch x 8 inch page protector in there after the 3 inch x 8 inch but I might end up taking that out.
And repeat.
My journaling plan this year is to simply respond by hand to the prompts on the journal cards. I'm going to let those prompts lead the stories I capture and I'll be doing that writing each day. In past year's I've generally just focused on my words + photos during the actual documenting week but this year I'm planning to write on the cards during the week and deal with my photos + embellishing after the week is over.
This year it will be me + Aaron here from Monday until Friday afternoon when the kids come back. I love the opportunity to tell the story of what that kind of week looks like around here (our every other week reality). Currently I'm planning to take photos as I feel like it and I honestly don't feel pressure to use them all. In the past I've taken some of my most favorite photos during this week and I can always use photos from this week to support other stories I might want to tell in my documenting adventures.
I'm super excited to embark on this project for my 16th (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) year and so look forward to telling stories alongside you next week.
SUPPLIESWeek In The Life™ 2021 Polka Dot Album BundleWeek In The Life™ 2021 AE Mini KitWeek In The Life™ Alpha + Numbers Stamp SetWeek In The Life™ 3x8 Journal Card SetWeek In The Life™ Prep Day DigitalsWeek In The Life™ Large Plastic Half CirclesWeek In The Life™ 2021 Layered Template + Overlay PackageTissue PaperMod PodgeAE Slickwriter PenAE Precision PenEpson XP15000 Printer
May 2, 2021
Projects + Product Releases | May
Hi Friends! Can you believe it's May? Today we’re sharing a monthly preview of upcoming projects and product releases. Please understand that some of these release dates may change and more information will be available prior to an individual release. This post is just to serve as a snapshot of things to come later in the month.
New Guest Storytellers in Evening Classroom // The first of the month means we have two new lessons in the EVENING classroom. This month we are delighted to welcome Michelle Flynn and Lisa Varshine as Guest Storytellers. Learn more here.Story Chat | Week In The Life Edition // Starting today, May 3rd, we're excited to share a special series of daily Story Chat Live Conversations happening every day this week. Each day we’ll chat about a different topic: planning & prep, stories, photos I (talking about people), photos II (focusing on things), and finishing. Find more information, including the schedule here.Week In The Life Prep Day // Registration is live for this year’s Week in the Life Prep Day! Join us Saturday, May 8th for our second-annual WITL Prep Day. At the top of each hour (for a total of eight hours of fun content!) Ali or a guest will introduce the topic for the hour. Some content will be presented live (and recorded for future viewing) and other content will be recorded + presented during that hour. The goal is to give you a some fun ideas + things to think about + action to take on finishing up past projects or getting ready for Week In The Life 2021. Find all of the details here.Week In The Life // Starting Monday, May 10th through Sunday, May 16th, Ali will be embarking on one of our favorite week-long community documenting adventures and we invite you to play along. Find out more here.Hello Story 3 // We’re excited to share that Hello Story 3 is in progress and the feedback so far has been amazing! It’s not too late to register! Registration closes 5/11. Find out more here: https://aliedwards.com/shop/classes/h... Story Chat | Strong // Ali will be LIVE on the Ali Edwards Design Inc Instagram account on Wednesday, May 12th to talk about story ideas related to this month’s theme. Tune in to ask questions and chat about the stories you want to tell this month. We’re excited to have Ali and creative team members Jess Forster, Kasha Gage and host, Lisa Varshine joining us this month. The chat will be live at 4pm PT/7pm ET and recorded on both the Instagram Television channel (IGTV) and in the Story Classroom. May Story Kit // On the 13th we’ll be revealing a new Story Kit theme, Strong. We can’t wait to share this one with you! Stamp Restock // From May 24th to May 28th, we’ll be restocking some of your favorite stamps, releasing some new stamp designs from Ali, and sharing a few brand new ink colors in the store. In conjunction with these fun new releases, Creative Team member, Laura Wonsik will be hosting a Live Community Stamp Day on June 19th. More information to come.We're excited for all that's in store this month. As always, thank you for being here!
