31 Things

One of the reasons I enjoy following Ali Edwards is that she stresses the telling of a story, and I have lots to tell.  I joined her 31 Things class (in fact, I did the bundle, so, eventually, there will be 62 topics of my writing), and have been working my way through reflecting on the stories that she prompts.

Ali provides a lot of digital offerings, which always is a draw of mine to her classes.  I have chosen to do a hybrid album, meaning I set things up digitally, yet everything is eventually printed and pieced together in an album.  Ali set this up to be 12 x 12 pages, with 2 "things" on a page.  I decided that I wanted to go with a 6 x 12 album option, cutting each page in half after printing.  I ordered the following items to make this happen:

This We R Memory Keepers album is actually meant to store dies.  I liked the plain kraft cover, and its fairly inexpensive cost, so I ordered it.  I also ordered some Bazill orange peel white cardstock (great price through JoAnn's) and some Becky Higgins 6 x 12 Project Life page protectors.  Other materials needed were my drawer full of washi tapes, my Epson printer that can handle 12 x 12 sheets, Photoshop, MS Publisher, and photo paper.

Because this is Ali's livelihood, I won't use this blog to show every "thing" that we write about.  I did want to offer a glimpse of what I have been up to.  On each page, you are provided with a word as its theme.  You can pretty much go anywhere with the word you like, but Ali offers her pages and journaling for inspiration.  The tricky part of this is that some pages require a lot of space for journaling while others don't.  The other tricky parts include printing pictures to fit the spaces.  For photos, what I typically did was determine my space and create a new Photoshop document for that space.  I would then place my photos in the new file which was already cropped to the correct dimensions and save the photos as .jpg files.  I would place as many of these photos as would fit in a Publisher document (you can also do this in Word, I just like that Publisher lets you move photos around a lot easier without having to change settings) and print an 8.5 x 11" photo page (mainly because the photos were of various, and sometimes not-so-traditional, sizes.  I would then trim the photos and adhere them and the washi tape to the pages.

This was my title page that was simply patterned paper (I believe that is from Stampin' Up!) and the circular "31" provided by Ali and recolored with the help of Photoshop.

The first page shows the basics of how a single page looks in the book.  Ali provided the word art for each day, although she uses stamps in her margins of her pages.  I just really like her writing.

This is what a double-page spread looks like.  Ali keeps these together as one 12 x 12 page, but I really like the look of them separated.

One interesting thing is that I can't seem to adequately get my printer to "bleed" to the edges of the page.  Ali does offer a classroom kit for the tops and bottoms, and I think I will order this for the 31 More Things part of the class, as it's only $5 if you are in the class.  I have to see if it will be allowed, since I am trying to purchase the kit after I purchased the classes.

OLW: July Manifesto

For July, Ali has challenged us to create a manifesto.  I dug this a lot and gave it a great deal of thought.  How did my word, real, need to manifest itself this month?  I gave it some thought after watching her video, and I kept coming back to the two things that ring true during any stressful periods of life: trust and hope.

This card is from Ali's Believe Story Kit, a kit that is quickly becoming a favorite (don't worry, Tough is still high up there).  The stamp is from her Encouragement stamp set.  I used an Avery tab to flip the 4 x 6 card.

I liked the back of this card as well, as the message was very hopeful.  I used the blank side to so a quick summary of why this month needed this type of manifesto.

Ali provided the word art in the upper left.  The upper right is a gold foil transparency I bought at Michaels.  I tried to cut certain phrases into it as best I could.  The bottom is the acrylic "believe" from the Believe Story Kit, and the stamp is from the Encouragement stamp set.  The white star sticker came in something from Ali's...can't recall.

So, Ali encouraged us to get creative with this month if we felt so moved.  I have been working at watercolors, particularly brush script, which is, my friends, no easy task.  Lots of practice needed.  I am able to print fairly well, so I decided upon that with the words trust and hope.  I decided to do some watercolor swashes in the background of each word.  Then, I was practicing with my downward strokes, and thought they would look cool on the card.  I decided that making them into some abstract candles would be appropriate, as candles hold a great deal of symbolism for me.  The upper right-hand corner is a manifesto from Emily McDowell that was PERFECT for my entire year with real.  I had to include it.  I found it here.

WITL2016: It is finished!

This evening, I finished my 2016 Week in the Life scrapbook.  Woo hoo!

I used stickers that came with the 2015 WITL kit for the spine.

A very simple "Note to Self" on the inside cover.

Sunday's happenings.  Not very many photos taken at all on Sunday!  It was a busy day, nonetheless!  Several of the images and sayings were part of my Project Life collections on my app.  "Such a lovely life" is from the Happiness Is Edition.  "Hi, Sunshine" (this was a nice, sunshiny day) was from the Hi, Sunshine Value Kit.

The Emily Dickinson saying was from the Inspire Edition.  If you like watercolor scripted cards, this kit is full of them.  The number card is from a Project Life kit, but I could not tell you which one.  It was in my stash, and I thought it went well with the concept of the Dickinson quote.

The realtor came and took photos of the house for the MLS today, so I thought I would make a 4 x 6 collage of some of the shots.  It also shows the bright and cheery day it was.

The "Create Your Own Adventure" card is also part of the Inspire Collection.  I printed all of these cards on my Canon Selphy.  I find that they come out much better when printed on photo paper than on cardstock.

And thus, another year's WITL is complete.  What would I do differently?  Well, I was thinking that next time I need to type out the summary of my days on the day of occurrence. I think more recollection will be retrieved, and it might make me more certain that I have the pictures that really hit the mail parts of the day.  Some days, like Friday and Sunday, were very low in photos, but not because nothing happened.  Otherwise, I really like how it came out! 

WITL2016: Saturday

When you can't find a 3 x 4 card you need, make it!  This one is courtesy of some washi tape I had (no clue of the manufacturer...if you saw my drawer of washi tape rolls, you would understand) and Ali's stamp from her Tough Story Kit (which is one of my favorite story kits, like, ever).  The stamp on the divider is from her Wild Story Kit.  While I am in no way a "camper," or even moderately comfortable in the "wild," this kit is flexible enough to find its way into a crazy day in my life.

All things considered on this page were journaled on the last page.  My last page is NOT pictured today because it is entirely journaling, and some of an emotional nature. I just did not want to share with the world and risk reopening wounds.  So, starting from the upper left, this photo (enlarged below) represents the insanity of us trying to get our house ready to show to a potential cash buyer before it was even on the market.  We had a frantic morning, to say the very least. We then found out that the buyer was just doing a "drive by" of houses...talk about frustration!  This box showed my husband's way of "packing:" throwing random crap in a box and calling it a day.  Needless to say, it sent my OCD in a tizzy, and he did not attempt an "unlabeled, unthemed" box again. However, as the word says, "begin."  It was a start.  In the upper right, a text message with a colleague and friend about DIBELS.  It's what we do on Saturday nights, people.  Discuss data. #teachersrule  In the lower left photo is a new shower curtain for the boys' bathroom, courtesy of a Target trip as well as the move.  Their previous curtain was pretty gross to look at.  But hey...guests will be coming to our home!

Here, I took Ali's advice and put my phone down so I could snap some "ordinary" selfies while at Target.  Of course, I needed to be sure no one was around to watch this, as I felt a little silly.  The message, from Ali's Magic Story Kit, says, "Look for the magic in the daily routine."  I have to admit, Target can be magical.  The upper left cartoon is one I found online that fits perfectly with the interesting Facebook evening that ensued.  I thought I would add some levity in to this day.

In the evening, I found myself watching Twilight as I organized my craft table.  I also found myself being able to quote lines from the movie, which made me laugh and shake my head at the same time.  Oh, Edward.

This cute image I found while doing an image search.  The story I needed to tell, for which I used a 4 x 6 card, had to deal with the not very great side of social media, particularly Facebook.  It fit.  The cardstock tab sticker and word sticker are both from Ali's Read Story Kit.

And thus, Saturday comes to an end!

WITL2016: Saturday

When you can't find a 3 x 4 card you need, make it!  This one is courtesy of some washi tape I had (no clue of the manufacturer...if you saw my drawer of washi tape rolls, you would understand) and Ali's stamp from her Tough Story Kit (which is one of my favorite story kits, like, ever).  The stamp on the divider is from her Wild Story Kit.  While I am in no way a "camper," or even moderately comfortable in the "wild," this kit is flexible enough to find its way into a crazy day in my life.

All things considered on this page were journaled on the last page.  My last page is NOT pictured today because it is entirely journaling, and some of an emotional nature. I just did not want to share with the world and risk reopening wounds.  So, starting from the upper left, this photo (enlarged below) represents the insanity of us trying to get our house ready to show to a potential cash buyer before it was even on the market.  We had a frantic morning, to say the very least. We then found out that the buyer was just doing a "drive by" of houses...talk about frustration!  This box showed my husband's way of "packing:" throwing random crap in a box and calling it a day.  Needless to say, it sent my OCD in a tizzy, and he did not attempt an "unlabeled, unthemed" box again. However, as the word says, "begin."  It was a start.  In the upper right, a text message with a colleague and friend about DIBELS.  It's what we do on Saturday nights, people.  Discuss data. #teachersrule  In the lower left photo is a new shower curtain for the boys' bathroom, courtesy of a Target trip as well as the move.  Their previous curtain was pretty gross to look at.  But hey...guests will be coming to our home!

Here, I took Ali's advice and put my phone down so I could snap some "ordinary" selfies while at Target.  Of course, I needed to be sure no one was around to watch this, as I felt a little silly.  The message, from Ali's Magic Story Kit, says, "Look for the magic in the daily routine."  I have to admit, Target can be magical.  The upper left cartoon is one I found online that fits perfectly with the interesting Facebook evening that ensued.  I thought I would add some levity in to this day.

In the evening, I found myself watching Twilight as I organized my craft table.  I also found myself being able to quote lines from the movie, which made me laugh and shake my head at the same time.  Oh, Edward.

This cute image I found while doing an image search.  The story I needed to tell, for which I used a 4 x 6 card, had to deal with the not very great side of social media, particularly Facebook.  It fit.  The cardstock tab sticker and word sticker are both from Ali's Read Story Kit.

And thus, Saturday comes to an end!

WITL2016: Friday

Friday was a fairly ordinary day in the WITL, and I did not document with many photos.  I definitely could have included more...the donut that delighted my morning or the Max Freeze that saved me from pain...but it is what it is.  

The stamp used on the day tab was from Ali's 2015 WITL set.  The card was from my collection of 3 x 4s...every Project Lifer has a collection, am I right?  I split mine up a long time ago based on certain categories for the cards rather than the design set and/or manufacturer.  The word stickers are from one of Ali's Story Kits.  The word stickers are one of my favorite things from these kits, as they allow me to combine all sorts of phrases to suit the layout.

This shot was a little blurry, but that's OK since it includes info of my students on one of the shots.  The "High Five" card is from my "3 x 4 "collection.  I feel like this one was a We R Memory Keepers set for boys, but I might be wrong.

The card was from Ali's "Craft" Story Kit.  The narrative: May 13, 2016: Arose at 6:36, adding Max Freeze to my ankle.  Poured myself some Raisin Bran to start the day.  Drove to school at 7:30 where there were Market Street donuts.  Helped myself to a Boston Creme.  Yum!  We were visited by the BJHS Music department and the students got to try out potential instruments for fifth grade.  I prepared Friday notes, as usual, by tallying mark chart marks for students. Had PBJ and milk for lunch.  At 4:45, went to the chiropractor.  Excitement started at 5:15 with a call from the realtor indicating that a potential cash buyer wanted to see the house on Saturday.  Thus some major straightening ensued, as we did not even have the house on the market yet.  At 7:30, we ate some Olive Garden take out.  After that, I spend some time surfing Facebook and social media.  That actually serves as “down time” for me.  That and laughing at images sent to me via text.  One meme on Facebook was flying around that it was going to be a full moon on Friday the 13th, which would prove miserable for superstitious teachers.  Thank God, this proved to be untrue!  Full moon days when teaching are definitely not welcome. Kids tend to act completely off the wall.  My school day was fairly eventless.  I’ll take it!

WITL2016: Thursday

I don't know why I find myself taking photos of my pages sans daylight, but it just seems to fall that way with my workflow.  This day was, definitely, the longest, busiest, and hardest day of my week.  Being tired is one thing, but being tired on a really bum foot is a whole "nother" level.  Add to that the self-imposed stress of the beginning of a move, and, well, you get the idea.

On my tab, I used a stamp from Cathy Zielske's Adulting No. 1 set.  Oh so much fun this set is!  I am not 100% certain where the card on the tab is from.  It was in with my Ali Edwards story kits, but I am not sure which kit it belonged to.

Narrative: May 12, 2016: At 6:20, I awakened and prepared for Beach Day, which culminated in a beach-themed dodgeball tournament for grades 3-5.  At breakfast, I again, found myself grading.  I got one paper graded.  Oy. Time-consuming while I lack motivation is not a good combination. I then had a conversation with Max in which he explained, “There’s no beach here,” and recommended that I “cover my woooods” (codename for boobs) for school.  He then proceeded to need me to tell him every step he needed to do for everything he was asked to do. That, added to discussions and statements with Scott about my desire to NOT move and how bad the timing was, made for a very tense morning. Between the pain in my foot, the constant “on-the-go” at work, and now, packing at home and getting the house ready to show, I am a whirlwind of stress. Before leaving for work, I received a sympathetic text from Scott that helped. At 3:30, the tournament began.  Alas, between my foot and my lack of sleep, I was not very spirited. At 5:00, I made my way home, slept a bit, iced my foot, and snacked on some Twizzler bites.  At 6:15, Max had his last music concert at Northpoint.  He was so excited!  We had dinner afterwards at Bob Evans, which is Max’s favorite thing after concerts.  They even recognized his bow tie!  Mother Nature provided some beautiful scenery as the day came to a close.

That is all for now.  More embellishments will be had, I am sure, but the base page is done!