Week in the Life™ with Ali Edwards | a brief look back

I am thrilled to be a part of looking back and sharing our Week in the Life™ memories as part of gearing up to participate in it again with Ali Edwards this August. For more information on Week in the  Life™ click here. For more information on my own albums click here.

***note I have fully completed one album (2011) and the rest are a work in progress. I do have notes and photos and partially filled albums, which is fine. It was a busy period of my life and the last thing I want to do is berate myself for not finishing some project. But, they are on my list and will happily announce when I do finally finish them!! And just because life is busy doesn't mean you can't take some photos. Make the time. It will be worth it. Click on!!

Now back to the story. 

As part of the gearing up for Week in the Life this summer, I was asked to share one day for each day of the week (Monday through Friday) to be able to share on Instagram. Yes!! of course I would love to share! Happily most of these were already finished, just a few needed a bit of journaling and hoping I had not lost the little Thursday flair button! 

A little note for finishing up old projects: keep a "materials file" which is a gathering of the products, photos, notes that you want to use. Keep them in a plastic bin or folder of some sort. Makes it easier to pull together old projects. (or say goodbye to them if you are really uninspired…but hopefully you won't feel that way with this project! Re-work it or try something new to get your inspiration back.  I did that for my 2011 project and it worked out great. This project is worth it!)

Here are my five days I have shared on Instagram this week on AliEdwardsDesignInc. 

MONDAY

MONDAY | APRIL 23, 2012

"hello Monday | get to work day"

A little about me: I am a work outside the home mom and was working a pretty heavy schedule with long hours and a long commute for four years while my husband was in a PhD program. We all have different seasons of life and reasons we are busy. This just happened to be one of my busy work seasons. And even though the schedule was tough, I have found that capturing self portraits helps increase my self awareness, self compassion and decision making. I also know that I am part of this story and I want to make sure I am a part of these books as well!

On this particular Monday, I worked (as noted by the photo of my purse with my work tablet and other accessories) and then made it home before dark to do finish up work. I was driving a lot for work during this part of my life so the fact I made it home at a decent hour was a good thing. And I like that I captured my scrapbook desk / work desk that was actually in the bedroom of our apartment at that time. Making it work, right?


TUESDAY

TUESDAY | OCTOBER 21, 2014

"Remembering the little things"

Fast forward two years. My daughter is now four years old and is definitely growing up. Here's my journaling from the title page: "The story of this photo is her independent spirit at 4 years old. That she often gets her own milk and cereal, even when the jug is full and she boasts how strong she is since it is so heavy. That today I poured some in a measuring cup for her because I was stressed and didn't want to clean up a big mess, just in case. That one of her habits is pulling her hair back with her left hand because she refuses to wear anything in her hair and loves it long. That the yellow sunflower mix is still looking good after celebrating her grandma's birthday over the weekend. It was a good morning. Hello Tuesday."

The story of this photo is also that I am no longer driving the long distances I was. Still working but not to the extent I was in the prior 4 years. So thankful I had time to spend at home that morning to capture little moments like this.

I also love the daily schedule in Ali's kit last year but I had not filled it out during the week. I just finished up my journaling in time to share it with you now. Thankfully I had written notes on Ali's daily sheets so I had some great nuggets to add to the schedule. My favorite little nugget: 8 am: "Mom, you can't go to work in those pants can you?" Note to self: must do laundry!


WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY | JULY 27, 2011

imperfect stories + photos matter

I love to make sure I capture some photos of the characters of the story that is our life. That afternoon I came home from a busy day and because it was Week in the Life™ I grabbed my camera and got my daughter to cooperate with a few photos on the balcony. And while I'm super thankful to capture her cute face at 17 months, I'm also happy I captured the story behind our day with additional photos, like places I went that day. Lunch at Panera (so that's where my Panera card is!!) Clean bathrooms at Central Market (when you drive a lot in Austin traffic you are thankful for clean bathrooms!) And then the stories not told with photos. Here I added a note from her teacher at daycare and I love that I added those details.

Also remember the photos and stories don't need to be perfect. It is the collection of little photos and stories that make this project so great.


THURSDAY

THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2013

the bedtime routine

In 2013 I started each day with a focus on a particular time of day or routine. So for each large photo on the left side and the smaller photos on the right side I have a focus on things like the morning routine, work routine, afternoon routine, bedtime routine and after school routine. You can break it down as you need for your routine. I liked that it gave me some focus to make sure I got a good photo for the enlargement each day. That took pressure off of me to not feel like I had to take a zillion photos each day. Again, my work routine was very busy during this time but taking the time to capture a bit of my life has been amazing to look back on. Instead of focusing on the negative, I was able to reflect on the beauty that is all around me and the stories that are present if I just look and reflect.

Here I captured how her room looked at the time, which is cool to look back on. I also captured her love of pajamas and blankets. Doing the the pajama dance and hiding under her blanket. So happy to have these little moments recorded!

The journaling: Evening routine: "You right now. Bedtime routine at 3. You really love your pajamas. Just like Mom, as soon as you get home it is PJ time! We like reading a few books like Sandra Boynton "Pajama Dance" and maybe watch a Curious George episode or two. And milk. Always milk. We love you."


FRIDAY

FRIDAY | JULY 29, 2011

observations

One of the things I love about Week in the Life™ is just simply to observe your life as it is right now. I like to capture the photos in a documentary style much of the time. And I like finding new points of view, such as placing the camera on the floor and then seeing what you get (as in the top right photo.)

I also love this project for easy comparisons between years. For instance, in Thursday's photo I notice the difference in her bed. Here she is 17 months old and still has the full crib. Two years later she has the rail off for a toddler bed. ***big sigh here as I reflect on how fast time flies

I also like that I captured my husband picking up my daughter from daycare. He is a very caring and involved father and he did this most days so I could focus on work. He was going through a rigorous PhD program and stressful internship at the time, which makes me even more thankful for all he does. Again, this time of our lives was busy. But I'm so very thankful I captured what I could.

And I'm so thankful for Ali for her inspiration with this project. It's amazing and I will happily be joining in again this year! Hope to see you there too! Below is a free graphic Ali created. It's in the Week in the Life Community. You can find that here!

And a few more thoughts:

- Looking back over several years at a time in such a compact view is amazing. To me it is like Project Life in a smaller time frame. Easy to compare previous years easily. Note changes, growth. Things you are proud of. Things you want to do better at. Things you are grateful for. As I looked back over these I  really think this is my favorite project. Unfinished albums and all. I'll get there.

- Have a plan. Using the digital templates and kit make it much easier. But you could go more simple or more elaborate. Do what's right for you.

- Be flexible with your plan.

- Plan for extra time during the week to take photos and notes. It does take a little more time than usual. If you need to, try to focus on a particular person, time of day or routine to make sure you get a good photo for that day's main photo. That has helped me.

- Take notes!! Definitely use a journal or notebook or Ali's Daily Sheets. Something. Jot down a few quotes or things overheard. Bits of life are what you are after. Things you may not remember if you are finishing it up later. A lot of the photos I take are just for triggers to help remind me of what we did that day. I don't include them all, but it helps with the journaling too.

- Like I said above, keep materials together in a materials file so you can put it together when you have time. Do what you can in the moment, but don't beat yourself up or let yourself feel down if you see others getting it done faster. "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." --Theodore Roosevelt.

- Relax and enjoy the week. Let it unfold as it happens.

You can do it!! I can do it!! One photo at a time, one journaling card at a time. Most of all, view your life through the lens of gratitude. When I do, I remember it's pretty awesome.

Thanks so much for letting me share some of my Week in the Life with you!

a few layouts to share | Ali Edwards Digital Creative Team

I'm excited to share with you a few layouts I have recently created for the Ali Edwards Digital Creative Team. I know, I know. Still pinching myself! I just love her products and they work so great with the stories I want to tell.

First up: Everyday Love

This is a two page layout in my 2014 Week in the Life. The pages are 6x8 in size each. The beautiful words from Ali's Stories of Life set just jumped out at me so I created a background patterned paper from two of the words and then repeated that "everyday love" at the bottom of the right hand side. I also just used the one "story" at the top of the second page which created a nice visual triangle there. I can't tell you how much I love script + type + photos. I added a simple chipboard circle that I had painted gold and a silver glitter letter sticker. Love this layout.

Next up: Jingle All the Way

This is a two page (6x8 size) layout from my 2012 December Daily / Bucket List album. I posted this one on Instagram and commented about the upside of taking a long time to finish projects is that new fun products come out that can spark you to finish a page. It's another way of looking at being content with where you are in your process. 

The set I used here is the Merry and Bright Text Overlays. Oh, how I adore overlays! These are so fun because they add a softness at the edge that is so cool. I just added the .png file right over the photo and turned it white. 

For the title I cut out the original words, enlarged them and added them to their own layers to make "Jingle All the Way" stand out a little more as the title.

And it's hard to see, but I also used "holiday delights" on the grey card with white handwriting to list all the delights of the night. Also, at the bottom of Ali's "remember this moment" card, I printed just the "merry & bright" words from that file. 

To print onto regular journaling cards, I created a new 3x4 file in PSE and added the overlay, printed it on white copy paper, then taped the card onto the paper and ran it through the printer again. It worked great! Only I had taped along the bottom of that grey one, so there was empty space when I removed the tape. No worries! I just started adding silver washi and then it just kept going! So I ended up lining both cards with silver washi tape. Fun way to make mistakes work in your favor! Just cover them up! 

Anyways, I adore this page as I've been wanting to use jingle bells for quite some time and finally made it happen! I picked these up at my local craft store and had to use metallic thread instead of twine because the bell is quite tiny (I didn't want to add too much bulk.) I added some gold chipboard to play off the sequins I added to the confetti / star pocket. It's attached with a glue dot and redline tape on the outside of the page protector. I may stitch it down too once I have the backside finished. 

Was hoping to add more detail shots, but I figured something is better than nothing! And again, I just loved working with these products and really love being able to finish up some pages in my projects.

And the winner of the Ali Edwards Week in the Life Stamp is...

And the winner of the Ali Edwards Week in the Life Stamp is…

Croppinak "Loved your video! and am impressed with your prep for WITL. I started on it today, but don't have the kit. I would love to win the stamp set. Thanks for the giveaway!"

Please email me: annetteharing@yahoo.com and I will get it in the mail!

Hope you all had a wonderful Week in the Life! I've been slowly working on mine. My class at Big Picture Classes started this week and other things have made it a very busy week. Hope to find time to get more done. Have been sharing a few of my images on Ali's Week in the Life™ community as well which has been helpful.

Thanks again for the great feedback! I got a lot of practice doing videos for my class and am excited to keep learning more.

Thanks again!

Week in the Life™ 2014 | my preparations + video

Hello! This past week I spent time photographing and documenting a regular week in our lives. I've captured things like how our bed looks unmade, the giant stack of stuffed animals in my daughter's room, places we went, things we did. The regular and the new. It was a good week. Busy week. But a good week.

During the week I don't have much time to put things together. My focus is on living life and capturing it as I can in words and photos.

But I did get a chance to prepare some things before the week and it really helped me get in the mindset and get excited about it.

So I thought I would share a few of my preparations for Week in the Life™with you here.

A little backstory: Week in the Life™ is a project created by Ali Edwards to capture a regular week in our lives. You can watch a video from Ali and read more about that here.

I have tackled the project once a year since 2011. Have completed a full project once. My 2012 and 2013 albums are still in progress. You can find my 2011 album here.

The great thing this year is that Ali has created a kit that can make the project easier. You can find that here. If it is sold out, you can absolutely create your own kit. I have for the past three years and have loved it. You can read about my 2012 plan here.

Also be sure to check out Ali's post about getting ready here. Lots of good information and inspiration. Basically all you need!

Please note even though I am on Ali's digital creative team, I would be using her digital templates anyways, as you can tell from my past projects. I'm just super thankful I can use the digital supplies and show inspiration on these products this year. Otherwise, I have no affiliation with Ali for this kit. Just sharing things I love and hoping to inspire you too!

When I was getting ready for the week, I was inspired by Kristin to share a bit more about the kit. Check out her awesome post of preparation here.

Here is a video about my preparations + photos below. Let me know if you have any questions and if you like this type of video. I can do shorter but often I get carried away in details. Let me know as I am considering sharing more video here similar to what I do in classes.

2014 Week in the LIfe™ Preparations from Annette Haring on Vimeo.
Sharing my preparations for Week in the Life™ 2014 using the Ali Edwards kit + supplies from my stash.

And here are some photos of my preparations. Album with title page on the left, supplies from the kit + my stash on the right. I use paper trays from Target for my organization and as well as trays, baskets, etc. The little white bowls you see in the box are from Ikea and the round ones are from Target. The really small one is an antique butter pat dish. Love those and things like Jello molds for organizing the little things. But that's for another post.

Adore these kraft bags. Link at the end of the post. I even bought a set to use in last year's too!

A look at my title page so far. I painted the chipboard numbers to white and used the 2x2 pocket page for them. They fit perfect with the added paint and may not even need stitching! I think I will add a 2x2 page at the very end for consistency too.

Will be using the 3x8 daily sheets for documenting each day. On the back I can use photos, more journaling cards / more stories. A collage of receipts would be cool too but I think that's what I will be using in the daily bags.

And just a final note about my camera gear. Like I mentioned in the video, I was feeling a bit down because I didn't have an awesome lifestyle / documentary type lens. My kit lens has died so I don't have a wide angle anymore and then there is the wish that I had a better camera body, etc. This older rebel is five years old now. I happened upon this post at Clickin Moms and it hit me: love the camera you have. So I embraced the cameras and used what I had this week. And you know? It was awesome. I loved trying to play with my Olloclip more. I backed way up and tried lots of angles with my 50mm. I think I did a good job. At least for where I am now. It was good. 

So if you are feeling similarly, I give you this challenge: use the camera you have. At least we can get some photos. At least we can capture life. Isn't that what it's all about?

Ali Edwards Stamp Set Giveaway!!

And as a reward for making it through this post, I have a small give away! I am crazy in love with the AE kit and so I bought two. Yes, I am crazy! The only thing I don't need is two stamp sets. 

So if you would like to be entered to win this awesome stamp set, leave a comment below sharing a comment about Week in the Life. It could be your approach for week in the life. Any tips, when you are doing it. If it your first time. What you love about it. What supplies you are using. If you found this post and video helpful. Any of the above would work. 

I'll pick a random winner next Sunday, Nov 2nd. Good luck!!

Other supplies:

• Cozy Card set by Life Love Paper at Studio Calico
• Kraft Daily Envelope Set by Life Love Paper and Erica Hernandez at Studio Calico
• The Underground Project Life® kit by Studio Calico
• Handstitched tag from Handmade Modern by Elizabeth Rosemond

If you have any questions about supplies or help with Week in the Life, let me know!

And one last thing: be sure to check out Ali's free Week in the Life community on her site here. It will be a great source of inspiration and motivation. Also, I printed her daily sheets and used them this week as well. Some days I was better than others. Hoping to fill some more in today.

Have a great week!

Week in the Life 2012: Beginnings

Sometimes after an intensive time of living life + capturing it, I just have to step away from the project for a while. I sometimes pull out a project that needs a bit of love, or just stamp some journaling cards or do some other creative play. I used to call it procrastination and get on to myself. But I'm learning that it's part of my creative process and when I let myself have that time, then I seem to come back to projects more refreshed.

Week in the Life was one of those weeks. Lots of photos. Slowly adding the journaling and culling my images. How's that for a professional sounding word? ha! I heard it on a new podcast I'm listening to on my long drives for work. It's called jpeg2RAW: a photography podcast for the rest of us. I'm learning a ton and it's just so interesting to hear these awesome photographers talk about their journey. Between that and Paperclipping Roundtable and the Digi Show, it is making my drives a lot better each day.

I'll share a bit of the other projects I've been working on when i get time, but for now I just wanted to celebrate my first page! Simple but I love it. Sometimes that's what it takes for me to get going again on the project.

How is your Week in the Life project going? For more inspiration, check out Ali Edwards's blog. She will have an awesome post putting it all together, as well as links for others to share theirs. I love looking through and seeing so many wonderful ideas and projects. It's an awesome thing and makes me want to get mine done too! Check it out here.

Week in the Life 2012: So now what?

Week in the Life: the week after.

I'll be honest. I have really good intentions. That maybe last a day. Such is the case with the daily journaling for Week in the Life. I did Monday...on Monday night. And it was awesome! Last year I didn't keep up so well with the journaling and note-taking, but I was still able to put together an album that I love. So yes, it would be easier in the end if I would keep up daily, but that's not always what works for me. I wanted to share a bit of where I am in the process. Because this is a huge project. Especially if you have >1600 photos like me! Here's a look at my Monday journaling:

Monday's Journaling

A closer look. This is classic: "Where are my keys?" Typical Monday morning.

I'll admit it. I felt pretty good about myself! The behind the scenes: I got off a little early that day which made it much easier to do! So as real life rolled on, my dedication wavered. And that's okay. I tend to do a bit of pre-journaling by writing in various notebooks, etc before I decide what I want to say on the daily sheet. And that's where these come in: 

My arsenal of note-taking tools.

A few things that work for me:

• Planner. Useful for jotting down the main events of the day as well as details. I will go through my photos and see what I've captured to help jog my memory. Can't remember an exact time? That's what photo "details/information" or metadata is for. I found that when I was putting together my album for 2011 that I enjoyed having a few exact times in there. It made it look like I was oh so good at keeping up! Ha ha! Really just looked up the info in iPhoto!
• Grid lined notebook: Love this thing. Sam found it for me at the bookstore and I love it. I can sketch ideas, jot down notes, whatever. I start all my projects in here.
• Cute little notebook: Little notebooks are great especially if the sizes of the pages can be used directly in the project. Bonus if they are cute! This one is from Martha.

Hello cute little notebook!

• Daily sheets from Ali Edwards. I printed these out smaller to fit my project too. I am planning on slipping them in between the photo layouts for additional journaling. I like the small format of my book but one thing I observed is that I wanted a little more details about the week, and these planning sheets are great for that.
• A good pen. I bounce between pens. For the actual daily sheet I am using a Zig Millennium pen in I think the 01 size. Other than that I just keep a variety of pens handy because which pen I use depends on the mood I'm in! Random but true.
• Momento: an app on my iPhone that grabs all my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds. I can also jot down notes each day. So easy. I love it! Day One is also good for journaling.

So that is kind of where I am at right now. I did upload photos from my iPhone and Canon every night. I have also created smart albums for each day in iPhoto. And I have my album and pretty papers and things just waiting for when I have time to work on it. 

Which leads me to reflect about an epiphany I had during the December Daily rush of 2011. I had made my cover and planned my papers but putting it all together and posting all the time just wasn't working for me. I realized that it was ok!

I create because I love to do it. The photos, the moments and the memories are what I want to remember. Thankfully I found Instagram because it allows me to share in a "microblog" format with the photos and make connections with other scrapbookers that I enjoy.

Hopefully this has helped in some way to those who may be a little slower on the production side of things like me. My motto: enjoy the journey and savor the process. It's such a blessing to be able to capture so much of our everyday. It's truly amazing and I am truly grateful for it all.

So how is your Week in the Life coming along? Would love to hear other tips too!