Ali Edwards's Blog, page 98

Hybrid All Year Round

We are so excited to introduce you to Hybrid All Year Round, our newest workshop for hybrid storytellers from Creative Team member Jennie Rey! 

Hybrid scrapbooking pairs printed digital products with traditional physical items to create one-of-a-kind pages that tell your story in a completely unique way. In this 15-lesson workshop, Jennie will share fun and creative techniques for incorporating digital products into paper memory keeping projects all year long.

Some of the fun techniques Jenny includes in her class are:

Enlarging digital journal cards, stamps, and chipboard piecesCustomizing and creating unique digital elements Creating custom backgrounds and layered templatesPlaying with digital cutting machines and other kinds of paper

Meet Jennie and learn more about her new workshop in this video introduction!

For this workshop, Jennie will be using the 2017 Stories by the Month™ Digital Kits to create projects specific to each month as well as show you how to use these digital products for other kinds of stories not related to the month. If you are interested in using these specific digital kits, they are available as a bundle that you can purchase from the shop. 

In Hybrid All Year Round, Jennie will inspire you to "see" your digital products in new ways and use them as a tool to help you tell all kinds of stories! 

Meet Cute | Jennie Rey

Good morning, friends! We're excited to share a new "getting to know you" series, called Meet Cute. We plan to share these mini interviews on Facebook and here on the blog. Profiles will include creative team members, community members, AE team members, guest storytellers, and more. 

Our first guest is the amazingly creative, Jennie Rey. Jennie is an AE creative team member and she has just finished an incredible new class called Hybrid All Year Round. Registration for her class opens this Wednesday, March 10th at 9AM EST. More details will be available starting Wednesday, but until then, we wanted you to get to know a little about Jennie!

Where are you from?

I live in the Netherlands, born and raised in Amsterdam, but now living in Badhoevedorp, a little town next to Amsterdam with my husband Michel, our children Mila en Levi, Mila’s boyfriend Magnus and the cutest cat Bowie.

What is a fun fact about you?

My favorite books to read, series and movies to watch are dystopian, post-apocalyptic or fantasy. The more unrealistic the better! Recent favorites were: The Handmaids Tale (books and series), all the books from Blake Crouch, Counterpart (series) and I am now watching Snowpiercer (series). If you have a recommendation, let me know!

How long have you been a memory keeper?

I’ve been a memory keeper since 2003. In a supermarket, I saw this magazine about scrapbooking (full of torn edges, chalk and paper piecings!) and it was a life-changing moment for real! I started on the A4 size in a regular binder with a getaway to Disneyland. I have had so many awesome adventures through scrapbooking and met so many amazing women! With a friend I organized Scrap Camps, we did online events (all in Dutch!) and I even worked in a local scrapbook store for a while. In 2006 I was so lucky to be able to attend an in-person workshop from Ali and I am a big fan ever since. She has inspired me so much, in scrapbooking and in life.

What formats do you document in? The 12x12 size was too big for me so I started with making my own albums and using the 8x8 size (a tiny bit bigger because I cut down the A4 size to a square). I also did a lot of mini-albums (in all the sizes and shapes!). When the 6x8 pocket page albums became available I dove in and never looked back!

What is your favorite AE project?

My all-time favorite AE project is December Daily (with Week in the Life not far behind!). Our Decembers were always a bit complicated due to our far from normal family 😉 but Ali taught me to look through the lens of joy and gratitude and go find the stories that make me happy. I did and filled my albums with so many stories, not only the good ones but also the harder ones, because they are there for sure, but I can look at them differently now. I can honestly say that last December, in spite of all the hard parts of a crazy year, was one of the happiest months of my life. My December Daily albums (and my Week in the Life albums) are one of my most precious possessions because there are photos and stories inside that I wouldn’t have had now without these projects.

Why do you love hybrid documenting?

Hybrid scrapbooking is my absolute favorite because the products can be adjusted to whatever you want or need at that moment. You can go really really big or small, you can change the color, combine elements, leave things off if it doesn’t fit your story. Hybrid scrapbooking (and being able to print my photos and elements at home) has made my storytelling process so much easier!

What is one thing you hope people take away from your class?

I have to quote Ali on this one: “One of the things I really want you to take away from this class is the ability to look at digital kits with POSSIBILITY. I want you to understand that there are so many things you can do with digital kits to customize them to fit the stories you want to tell - and I want you to "see" that when you look at digital kits.”

Anything is possible!

Thank you so much, Jennie!! We loved getting to know you. For more inspiration from Jennie, find her on instagram at @thereypie.

Day In The Life™ 2021 | Join Me On Tuesday

A friendly reminder that our first Day In The Life™ documenting day for 2021 is happening on Tuesday, March 9th (the second community documenting day will be sometime in the second half of the year). 

I'll be using the lens/prompt "around here" for this round of the project. Included in the kit are 9, 4x6 "around here" cards that will be the home for my stories and I'll likely pair them with 4x6 photos. 

The physical kit for Day In The Life™ sold out but we do have the digital option available here or check out other physical supplies to support this project here.  

If you are interested in checking out different ways I've approached this project in the past check out my recent  Craft The Story™ video here. 

I'm looking forward to telling the story of my day alongside you on Tuesday! 

Retiring Digitals Sale

Starting Friday, March 5th, 2021 through the end of the month we will be holding a Retiring Digitals Sale. All digitals older than 2 years old will be 50% and will be retiring from the shop after the sale is over.

With these older digital products leaving the shop we are hoping to clean up + create space to navigate the current digitals easier as well as make room for new ones coming this year. 

PLEASE NOTE: We will not be retiring past Digital Stories By The Month kits and all past digital purchases will remain in your My Digitals account here on the site.

Our team has organized these into categories so you can find them a little easier: 

Retiring December Daily® DigitalsRetiring Week In The Life™ DigitalsRetiring Digital Story StampsRetiring Day In The Life™ DigitalsRetiring One Little Word® DigitalsRetiring Digital Stamp BrushesRetiring Digital Journal CardsRetiring Digital Layered TemplatesRetiring Classic Ali Edwards Digitals

Thank you as always for your support! If you have questions let us know in the comments below.

In Case You Missed It | March 5

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:

This week we released the new Quarterly Scrapbooking Kit featuring a heart theme. We are so grateful for your enthusiasm and support of this project! Find the kit here.Earlier today we released all of our digitals for March. This release includes items from the Pieces of Me Collection, the digital Quarterly Scrapbooking Kit (heart theme), and the Action Story Stamp. Head over to the shop and grab them here. Starting today, we’re offering 50% off select digitals. We're retiring some of our older digital items, but before we do, we want to give you one last chance to shop them—now through then end of the month. Please note, this does not affect digitals you have already purchased. Find them here.Just a reminder that our first 2021 Day In The Life documenting project will happen on Tuesday, March 9th. Learn more about DITL here.
Ali's next video in her Craft the Story YouTube Series is live. In this week’s video (Episode 09) Ali is sharing five ideas for things to do when you might not feel motivated to scrapbook but you still want to do something. This video is based on a post she wrote featuring these tips in 2019, find it here. Watch Ali's video and subscribe to her channel here.  Guest Storyteller lessons are currently live in the Connect classroom. We’re excited to welcome creative team member Kasha Gage and community member Neela Nalam. Head over to the Connect classroom to see their gorgeous projects. Find out more about Story Class here. Did you know we started a new monthly preview series? It will be posted in the Facebook group and on the blog on the first of each month. Check out what’s in store for March here.Don't forget! In Case You Missed It is also posted over in the Craft The Story Facebook Group. If you haven't joined, we wholeheartedly invite you to do so. We're so proud of the community we've built over on that platform. Find it here.

We’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!

5 Tips For Memory Keeping When You Aren't Feeling Motivated

In this week’s Craft The Story video (Episode 09) I'm sharing five ideas for things to do when you might not feel motivated to scrapbook but you still want to do something. This video is based on a post I wrote featuring these tips in 2019. 

Finding yourself feeling creatively unmotivated happens to every single one of us and is a completely normal part of being human. I'm here to normalize the ebbs and flows of creativity/scrapbooking/storytelling and to remind you that our stories don't expire and we are always welcome to take a break. Today's video gives you permission to ride the waves of motivation with practical tips for activities you can do to stay connected to your stories even if you aren't actively scrapbooking them. These tips are also great for simply reminding you why you do this in the first place + motivating you to get back to it. 

Let's dive in: 

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO
Joan Didion BookRoots Tech Event (check out my 20 min free class) Evernote (program I use to hold my stories)Sweatshirt

Projects + Product Releases | March

Hi Friends! Can you believe it's March? Because of the great response to our weekly In Case You Missed It Series, we wanted to try a new monthly preview of upcoming projects and product releases. Moving forward, be on the lookout for this post on the first of every month. 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. This information will also be available in the Craft The Story Facebook Group. 

Retiring Digitals Sale // Beginning on March 5th, we’ll be offering many of our digitals at a great discount before they are retired for good. Make sure to grab these before they are gone. More details to come.Quarterly Scrapbooking Kit // Tomorrow morning at 9am PST the new Quarterly Scrapbooking Collection will go live in the shop. Find out more here. Day in The Life #1 // We invite you to join Ali as she documents her first DITL of 2021 on Tuesday, March 9th. Find our more about the project here.Bloom Story Kit // A new Story Kit and Story Stamp will go live on March 13th. This month’s theme is Bloom. Be sure to check back a few days prior to the launch for a preview of this month’s add-ons. 
Hybrid All Year Round Workshop // We’re excited to share that creative team member Jennie Rey has put together an amazing class called Hybrid All Year Round. Stay tuned for more information on her class. 
2021 Week in the Life Launch // Later this month, the 2021 WITL release will go live. We’re so excited to share the new collection of products we’ve created for one of our most popular community projects. More details to come.

We're excited for all that's in store this month. As always, thank you for being here!

In Case You Missed It | February 26

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:

Our Pieces Of Me collection is now available. This community documenting project will start April 5th, 2021. We are currently offering a preorder of the Pieces of Me stamp that sold out and anticipate a 3/29 ship date. We are also working to make the patch available with the next release in the collection, Pieces of Home. Also, the collection (including the notebook) will be available digitally in next month’s regularly scheduled digital release on the first Friday of the month. Thank you all for your enthusiasm about this project! We’re so excited to tell these stories with you. Find the collection here. Learn more about the project here.We’re excited to share that the new Quarterly Scrapbooking Kit will launch next Tuesday, March 2nd at 9am PST. Thank you for your patience and understanding regarding our initial delay. Head over to the blog and check out Ali’s post for all the details on this new collection. Just a reminder the our first 2021 Day In The Life documenting project will happen on Tuesday, March 9th. Learn more about DITL here. Ali's next video in her Craft the Story YouTube Series is live. In this week’s video (Episode 08) Ali is taking you along with her as she organizes her chipboard pieces (taking them out of the backing and organizing them by shape). After the section on organizing, she shares a layout idea for using some of those chipboard shapes together (mixing the same shapes from different original packagings). Find it here. The creative team gallery and blog have been updated with all of their gorgeous February Digital Stories by the Month projects. This gallery is kept up to date and is a great resource for those of you wanting to get creative idea on how to tell your stories. Find the blog post here.Don't forget! In Case You Missed It is also posted over in the Craft The Story Facebook Group. If you haven't joined, we wholeheartedly invite you to do so. We're so proud of the community we've built over on that platform. Find it here.

We’re so grateful to have you all as members of this community! Thanks for joining me today and have a great weekend!

AE Creative Team | February Stories By The Month™ Digital Kits

February is all about love and finding magic in the mundane, and we love the way our Creative Team documented their stories using our February Stories by the Month™ Digital Kits.

Amy Gretchen

Barbara Picinich

Elizabeth Heinz

Ingunn Markiewicz

Jennie Rey

Jenny Theriault

Jess Forster

Kasha Gage

Kim Chaffin

Krystal Idunate

Laura Wonsik

Linda Jordan

Lisa Varshine

Tazhiana Gordon

As always, we are so grateful to our Creative Team for sharing their stories and creative inspiration with all of us!

Organizing Chipboard By Shape

In today's 
Craft The Story video (Episode 8) I'm taking you on an adventure with me as I organize my chipboard by shape + then make a layout using some of those pieces to support my story.

Chipboard is one of my favorite embellishments to add to my projects. Most of the chipboard pieces we offer in the shop and in our subscriptions include words (
that's on purpose) and I love looking through them for story jumpstarts as well as for words to support my stories. 

For awhile now I've been wanting to organize a box of random chipboard pieces that live in a drawer of my work table. Inside that box you'll find a collection of pieces that have been punched out of their backing from various kits + product releases from the last few years. In a few different videos I've dumped them out on the table to sift through them to see if I could find one to support a story I was telling. For awhile I also stored chipboard standing up in 
Dragan Boxes from Ikea and then at some point I started punching them out and putting them all together into this box. 

Check out a post about breaking up my Story Kits here.

My goal today was to organize and sort the majority of my chipboard by shape and then store them in 
plastic embroidery thread boxes (I'm pretty sure this idea came from Krystal at some point last year - maybe something from the December Daily® Prep Day event). I can tell you that I'm super happy I took the time to organize these by shape because it opens up a whole different way of looking at my chipboard. I think punching the pieces out of the backing + sorting by shape is really going to work for me - especially after I have used the main pieces of a chipboard sheet for a particular project. 

My current stash of chipboard fit into two of 
these plastic storage boxes from Amazon. 

This seriously brought me a whole lot of joy when I was done. 

Sorting by shape now gives me the opportunity to use them in "shape groups" on my projects which is way easier to do when they are all grouped together vs. looking through sheets for specific shapes. As someone who returns to repetition again and again in the way that I design my pages this makes me so darn happy.
Breaking them up and taking them out of their backing and placing them into new homes based on their shape is giving them new life because I get to see them in a different way. 

Let's take a look at today's video: 

Here's a look at the layout I created after organizing my chipboard:  

For this layout I enlarged a photo I shared on
Instagram recently to 7 inches wide x 8.25 inches tall (the size of the outside of a page protector in a 6 inch x 8 inch album). I took the journaling directly from my Instagram post and copied and pasted it into a box in Photoshop (I got those measurements by using a ruler to measure how much space I wanted my story to take up). 

Above my journaling I added pattern paper from the 
Heart Scrapbook Kit (this new quarterly subscription will be available on Tuesday, March 2nd at 9am PST) and added a stack of chipboard pieces that are all the same shape. 

I loved mixing the fonts and colors together and keeping the shape the same. I was able to select a few different sentiments that related to and/or supported the story about what I've recently been reading + my general love of books. 

On top of the main photo I added a foam stickers for my title and use 
chipboard asterisk pieces for the dots and a rolling date stamp for the date. 

SUPPLIES

Plastic Embellishment Storage Boxes


Ikea Dragan Storage Box
Heart Scrapbook Kit Pattern Paper from our new Quarterly Scrapbook Kit: this will be available on Tuesday, March 2 at 9am PST
Various chipboard pieces from past projects + kits (chipboard comes in every Story Kit + Stories By The Month Kit)
Chipboard Asterisks
American Crafts Foam Word Stickers
Metal Ruler
Fiskars Trimer
Epson Matte Presentation Paper
6 Hole Punch
Scotch Rolling Adhesive
6x8 AlbumsOTHER LINKS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO

Craft Jen Schow Instagram
Hybrid Product Play Workshop (includes how-to for the other project I show)