Ali Edwards's Blog, page 94
May 2, 2021
Story Chat Show Notes | WITL Prep
Hi Friends! We hope you were able to join us earlier today for our WITL Prep conversation on Story Chat. As I mentioned during our chat, it is my intention to have show notes available after every episode. 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:
5.03.21
Topic: Week in the Life Preparation + Planning
Guests: Jennie Rey, Krystal Idunate, Morgan Beal
Resources
Week in the Life daily sheets from Ali. Find them in this blog post.
For more inspiration from Jennie, find her on Instagram here.
For more inspiration from Krystal, find her on Instagram here. You can also find more from Krystal on her YouTube channel.
For more inspiration from Morgan, find her on Instagram here. You can also find more from Morgan 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 first 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 tomorrow at 4pm PT to talk about stories with Laura Wonsik, Jen Schow, and Jess Forster.
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. I am also planning to share the video here in the blog post, however, that process takes a bit of time. Look for that recording in the next day or so.
May 1, 2021
Join Us For Week In The Life™ 2021 Prep Day
I am so looking forward to telling stories alongside you during the actual Week In The Life™ documenting week starting on Monday, May 8th. Two get ready for a week of seven days of storytelling we are hosting a Week In The Life™ 2021 Prep Day happening this coming Saturday, May 8th. Registration is now open.
Here are the details:
Join the Week In The Life™ community for a fun online prep day on Saturday, May 8th. Use this opportunity to finish past Week In The Life™ or Day In The Life™ projects or begin brainstorming ideas you might want to implement in your 2021 project. The classroom will open at 6:30am Pacific with the first live video happening at 7am Pacific. The last live video will be posted at 2pm Pacific.
Cost: $5
At the top of each hour Ali (or a guest) will introduce the topic for the hour. Some content will be presented live (and recorded/archived 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 to finish up past projects or get ready for Week In The Life 2021.
Here's a run down of the Prep Day schedule for 2021:
7am Pacific: Welcome + Ali's Foundation Page Process/Approach for 2021 (I'll be sharing images here on my blog next week of my set up - this hour will include video.) 8am Pacific: Jess Forster | Week In The Life Process + Tips 9am Pacific: Product Play #1 With Ali 10am Pacific: Creative Team Roundtable Discussion (also known as "Story Chat") 11am Pacific: Product Play #2 With Ali 12pm Pacific: Lisa Varshine | Week In The Life Photography 1pm Pacific: Looking Back + Lessons Learned From Ali 2pm Pacific: Q & A with Ali and Lisa/ Wrap Up
Each topic will have it's own Lesson within the Classroom. Inside each lesson you'll find the live video, a free download, a challenge, and a spot for conversation in the comments section of the lesson. Live chat will be available for anyone who wants to converse back and forth during the live event.
You're invited to come hang out and get ready for a fun week of documenting!
If you have specific questions you'd like me to address you can let me know in the comments below!
April 30, 2021
In Case You Missed It | April 30
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 our May Preview Post (monthly summary of all of the upcoming products/sales/classes, etc) will be posted Monday, May 3rd.
CRAFT THE STORY YOUTUBE SERIES
In this week's Craft The Story video (Episode 17) Ali is sharing the first of three Q+A videos that she will be sharing over the next couple of days. Find it here.
CLASSES
Week in the Life Prep Day opens for registration tomorrow, May 1st at 7am PT. All of the details will be available then. Find it here, under classes tomorrow.
Hello Story 3 is open for registration! We’re excited to share that Hello Story 3 has started and it’s been a huge hit! Hello Story 3 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 announced a great series coming Monday, May 3rd through the 7th, Story Chat WITL Edition. This will be a special series of daily Story Chat Live Conversations all next week, each on a different topic: planning & prep, stories, photos I (talking about people), photos II (focusing on things), and finishing. Find all of the details here.
CREATIVE TEAM
Our creative team is sharing their projects using the April Stories By The Month Digital Kit over on the blog. You don’t want to miss the beautiful pages these ladies have put together. Read it 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 5/04 at 11:59 pm EDT. Head to the site tomorrow, May 1st. Shop the sale here.
We’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
Q + A | Late Spring 2021
For this week's Craft The Story video (Episode 17) I'm sharing responses to a collection of questions gathered via Instagram earlier this week.
Today's video is the first of three - the other two are scheduled to go live tomorrow + Sunday.
I'm adding all three videos here below as one holding place for all three.
Let's dive right in:
Q+A | PART TWO
Q+A | PART THREELINKS MENTIONED IN THE THREE Q+A VIDEOS
Book Post Archives (For The Love Of Reading)
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Storytelling With Project Life® Workshop
Triathlon stories
Yoga With Adrienne
TEAM Plans Work Outs
Album Organization Video
Hello Story 3 Workshop
Story Camp (in-person event)
Moleskin Soft Cover Notebook
The Story Basket Blog Post
Lens Of Joy workshop
5 Tips For Scrapbooking When You Might Not Feel Motivated
April 29, 2021
Week In The Life™ 2021 | Story Chat Special Edition
Hi Friends! Week in the Life is right around the corner (May 10th to 16th) and next week we have all sorts of fun content planned in preparation for the project!
S omething new we're excited to share is a special series of daily Story Chat Live Conversations all next week, each on a different topic: planning & prep, stories, photos I (talking about people), photos II (focusing on things), and finishing.
Monday, May 3rd | 11am PT
Topic: Planning& Preparation
CT Guests:
KrystalJennieMorgan
Tuesday, May 4th | 4pm PT
Topic: Stories
CT Guests:
LauraJen S. Jess
Wednesday, May 5th | 5pm PT
Topic: Photos I: People
CT Guests:
IngunnElizabethLinda
Thursday, May 6th | 12pm PT
Topic: Photos II: Things
CT Guests:
KashaKellyAmy
Friday, May 7th | 4pm PT
Topic: Finishing
CT Guests:
AliJessLaura
Same as with our first Story Chat, these will be held live on our Instagram account, saved to our Instagram Television Channel (IGTV), and then all of them will 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 will available this Saturday, May 1st. These chats will feature three Creative Team Guests and our Story Chat host, Lisa Varshine. We are varying the times of these chats in an effort to allow as many people as possible the opportunity to watch live. Times are listed in Pacific time US. Please use a time zone converter for your most accurate local time.
Now, for the fun part: we'd love to include your questions in these discussions! Please comment with your questions below. We will try to get through every question. As always, thank you so much for being part of this community.
April 28, 2021
Five Thoughts On Memory Keeping
Five thoughts on my mind about memory keeping:
o1. There is no right or wrong way to tell stories. Never has been + never will be. Make a list. Write in paragraphs. Write on sticky notes. Record voice memos to yourself. Share photos + words on IG. Use a notebook. Use a binder album.
o2. The way you are telling stories right now might not be the same way you are approaching it next month or next year or in the next hour and, honestly, that's really awesome. We don't have to tell stories the way we've always done it. We can try new things and explore different approaches: go shorter or longer with your words, get up close or get father away with your photography, paint your own pattern papers or order them online, try new page sizes/shapes or simply stick a journal card into a pocket. Remember that you don't have to tell every single story for your stories to matter.
o3. Never underestimate the value of play in bringing you back to the things you love most. I've had the best time over the last few weeks being really playful with my storytelling approaches: more color, more paint, more shapes, more fun (all because I gave myself three starting places for my stories: cut paper, no photos, and repetition).
o4. Start with story. I've been talking about this concept for a number of years and I can't recommend it highly enough. Write the story first and then make your project fit your story vs. making your story fit your project. Of course some of your stories will be shorter + some will be longer + some will require more real estate and others less. Let the story dictate the size of your project.
o5. Stories matter. Stories matter. Stories matter. Documenting our stories help us make sense of our lives in the middle of living and help us to be more empathetic humans.
Projects shown in the image above were created as part of the Hello Story 3 workshop.
April 27, 2021
For The Love Of Books | January through April 2021
I've been in a weird reading place this year. I've added a lot to my collection but the amount I'm reading doesn't seem to be catching up to the amount I've been ordering. I've also started a number of books and have them in progress - I pick them up if I feel like I'm into reading them vs. focusing on one and reading straight through. No right or wrong or bad feelings about this - just noticing my current habits.
Here's a look at what I've finished so far this year:
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman | Loved it. Loved the way he revealed the back stories in the second half of the book (which I can totally see would be challenging for people who didn’t connect with the first half of the book). Loved the connections between the characters.
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel | Just okay for me. I really, really liked Station Eleven. This one just never came together for me - kept reading to see how it all wrapped up.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins | I read this and I think I enjoyed it generally but I honestly can't really even remember it. I often read books like this just for the opportunity to devour the story and get me back into wanting to read.
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse | There were things I liked + things I didn't about this one. It got me reading again (I can always count on mysteries like this to get me reading again generally). It can definitely be picked apart but it was also a fun read.
Nomadland by Jessica Bruder | I wanted to read this before watching the movie and I'm so glad I did. This one will stay with me for awhile.
Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier | I'm working on educating myself about this topic because I think it's important for a whole host of reasons. I'd recommend it along with watching The Social Dilemma.
Check out my past For The Love Of Books for books I've read in the past.
April 26, 2021
AE Creative Team | April Stories By The Month™ Digital Kits
April is all about little joys and lovely little moments, and we love the way our Creative Team documented their stories using our April 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!
April 25, 2021
Week In The Life™ 2021 Is Coming Soon
Just a quick reminder that Week In The Life 2021 is coming up soon! Our community documenting week is scheduled for May 10th through May 16th, 2021.
What is Week In The Life? Essentially it's a seven-day documentary project (started in 2005) that exists as an opportunity to capture the simple everyday details of your life with photos + words. One of the specific things I love about this project is that it has a beginning + an end vs. the pressure that sometimes comes with ongoing documenting adventures. The albums I've created are some of my most treasured in that they are wonderful representations of my family's life at a particular point in time. When you look at them all together they tell the beautiful story of the basic ups + downs of my/our life for one week each year.
I've got years (literally) of past blog posts that show how I've approached this project in past years - check that out here.
To help you get in the storytelling mood we've got a variety of things planned for the @aliedwardsdesigninc IG account + here on the blog the week before the documenting week and I will be hosting a $5 Week In The Life Prep Day on Saturday, May 8th (registration for the Prep Day will open on Saturday, May 1st).
We've also got a variety of products available in the shop to help guide and support your documenting. Check out those physical + digital products here.
Also, make sure to check out the #eightweekstocomplete challenge that @jess_forster has been leading for inspiration on Instagram to finish up past Week In The Life projects.
April 23, 2021
In Case You Missed It | April 23
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:
PRODUCT RELEASE CHANGES
Here’s a quick update about a few releases and sales being moved around: we are no longer planning an official Stamp Week in May, but we’re really excited that we will be releasing a few new products (hint: inks) and all-new stamps designs. As part of that release, we're thrilled to have Laura Wonsik hosting a community stamp day. More details to come as we get closer. Also, the Travel release is moving to June due to some logistical constraints. As a result, you might have noticed the Storytelling Basics sale has been moved up and is happening now. As always, we so appreciate your patience as we deal with these moving pieces. We’ll be sharing new details as we have them.
CRAFT THE STORY YOUTUBE SERIES
In this week's Craft The Story video (Episode 16) Ali is sharing how she plays with gelli plates + paint to create papers to use in her memory keeping projects. Find it here.
CLASSES
Hello Story 3 is open for registration! We’re excited to share that Hello Story 3 is coming and class starts next week! Hello Story 3 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. Register here.
SALES
Get back to the basics and enjoy 15% off of select items in the Storytelling Basics Collection through April 27th. Shop these embellishments and get inspired to tell your stories! *Offer valid through 11:59 pm ET on 4/27/21. No promo code required. Some exclusions may apply. Not valid on previous purchase. Offer subject to change. Shop the collection here.
We’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!
