Posts Tagged ‘Ali Edwards’

A few weeks ago, I purchased Ali Edwards’ Scrapbook on the Road class.  This is an online class that includes an instructional ebook in pdf format as well as video lessons and printable elements.  There are 2 main videos that describe Ali’s philosophy and process for creating a travel mini album.  The other videos show you techniques for preparing your album pages.  She also includes full photos of her album pages before she leaves for her trip and then photos of the pages of her completed album.

I love Ali’s scrapbooking style. For many years, I’ve been a huge fan of her blog, her books and her digital scrapbooking products.  This class is a great value just for the a couple  of hours of video instruction from Ali.  It’s only $14, which is becoming quite a bargain for an online scrapbooking class.  Am I the only who has noticed that the cost of classes seems to be going up?

I really loved this class.  I’m going on a 2-week vacation this summer, and the album I made following Ali’s model will be perfect for documenting this trip.  I made a couple of pages using each of the techniques in the videos and followed her overall style for preparing the mini album.  I already had many of the supplies she used, and I added a few other items from my stash to complete the pages.  The techniques for painting chipboard, using transparencies with fabric patterns and printable items were easy to follow and give a unique look to the foundation pages of the scrapbook.

My favorite part of Ali’s scrapbooking on the road process is collecting bits and pieces from the places you are visiting.  This is something I’ve always done, but having the scrapbook right there with me instead of coming home with a bag full of papers and brochures means I can work on the album as I travel.  I love having pages already prepared to capture my thoughts and feelings along the way.  I usually carry a small notebook with me, but I’m really excited to see how this process works for me.  I’m also planning to try her ideas for storytelling on the road and travel photography tips.

I highly recommend Ali’s Scrapbook on the Road class.  Even if you already know some of the techniques she teaches, watching her process from start to finish will certainly give you some ideas for your next travel scrapbook.  Just browsing through her completed album pages is pure inspiration!

Image by shimelle via Flickr

Did you miss the True Scrap event?  It’s not too late to have access to Ali Edwards Keynote Interview, all 12 classes and the virtual make and takes.  True Scrap has made available video replays of the entire 3-day event.

For $127 you’ll receive video replays of:

• Kickoff/Keynote Interview (Ali Edwards and Lain Ehmann)
• Touch Me!! All About Texture (Nic Howard)
• Going to Pieces: Simple Tips for Turning Paper Scraps into
• Cute Embellishments (Kelli Crowe)
• Creative Stash Diving (Shimelle Laine)
• Make and Take: Jenni Bowlin
• Make and Take: Polka Dot Whimsy
• Scrapbook Organization Your Way (Aby Garvey)
• From the Ground Up: Design Your Story (Noell Hyman)
• Expressive Photography: It’s in the Details (Tracey Clark)
• A Few of My Favorite Things (Stephanie Ackerman)
• Lights-Camera-Action! Action-based photography (Katrina Kennedy)
• Make and Take: Scrapbook Circle
• Make and Take: unKit
• Inspiration Files (Tami Morrison)
• Super Stamping Secrets (Jennifer McGuire)
• Die Cut Dress-Up (Erin Bassett)
• Pain-Free Journaling the EZ Way (Lain Ehmann)
• Make and Take: Studio Calico

*Each class lasts approximately 30 minutes; make-and-takes are approximately 15 minutes.

That’s over seven hours of instruction time, plus five virtual make-and-takes!
Your purchase also includes soon-to-be released audio Q&As with many of the instructors, as well as supply lists and resource guides.

Don’t Miss Your Last Chance for True Scrap!

You have 3 choices when it comes to online scrapbooking classes.  Self-paced classes can be taken at any time.  You enroll in the class and work through the materials at your own pace.  Workshops are instructor-led courses that have much more interaction between the students and teacher and usually run for a specific period of time.  The third option is a virtual workshop which runs in real time usually through a webcast or chat room.

Here are a few of the websites that are offering self-paced online scrapbooking classes for spring.

Get It Scrapped at debbiehodge.com offers ongoing self-paced classes in art journaling, digital scrapbooking and much more.

Jessica Sprague has a large number of self-paced classes including beginner, intermediate and advanced digital scrapbooking techniques.  She also has self-paced hybrid scrapbooking projects, a family history album class and many more.

At Renee Pearson, Tiffany Tillman’s template class is now being offered as a self-paced course.  It’s called Summer Templates Reloaded.

Ali Edwards has a self-paced travel album class called Scrapbook on the Road. She teaches you her process for planning and completing a travel scrapbook.

Big Picture Classes has a large variety of self-paced classes.  Tracey Clark (from Shutter Sisters) now has her Picture Spring class as a self-paced option.  Amy Tangerine has a self-paced workshop called Get Those Creative Juices Flowing. I bought this class myself because I wanted to learn Amy’s technique for creating scrap paper albums.

More class options coming tomorrow!

Scrapbooking supplies can be used to make framed art for your home.  This can be a unique, customized gift for someone on your holiday list.  If you know what the colors and style of your friend or family member’s home, you can design a piece of framed art using scrapbooking papers and embellishments.

One of the best examples I’ve seen of this is the punch collage.  Ali Edwards posted this idea on her blog earlier this year. I loved this idea so much I made both the butterflies and the hearts for my guest room. It was extremely easy to make. The most difficult part of deciding on a color scheme.  You really don’t even have to have a color scheme.  You could just let the colors and patterns be random.

These punch collages are so quick to make and use very little supplies. It would take no time to make a few of them to give as gifts.

It’s that time again when your list of things to do seems completely out of control.  The holidays mean more shopping, more baking, more parties, more time with family!  Even though my time is limited during December, I try each year to take advantage of a couple of the online scrapbook classes that not only teach me new scrapbooking skills, but also help me to reflect and enjoy this wonderful season.

There are so many online scrapbooking classes going on right now, it’s hard to choose only one.  I’m taking 3, which may sound a little crazy, but the awesome thing about these classes is there is no pressure.  I can do them at my own pace and finish them in January if I need more time.  I also try to keep them simple.   I try to focus on the experience with these projects, not necessarily a perfectly embellished product.

Here are just a few of my favorite online scrapbooking classes this December:

Jessica Sprague’s Inspiration Everywhere – This is a free class that runs from November 29-December 8.  It includes creativity prompts, printable projects and organization ideas.  You don’t need Photoshop for this class either.  Jessica is one of my favorite online scrapbooking teachers.  She’s awesome! (And she thinks you’re awesome too!)

Tiffany Tillman’s 25 Days of Templates: Holiday 2010 Edition – I’ve become a huge fan of Tiffany’s template classes.  This class is available for both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements and runs from December 1 through December 25.  Tiffany will be teaching photography tips for the holidays, journaling ideas, design techniques and digital skills.  This class is not a repeat of her previous template classes.  It features new templates, digital scrapbooking products, lessons and techniques. One of the highlights of this class is an exclusive holiday digital kit designed by Paislee Press!

Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas – This is one of Shimelle’s scrapbooking classes that run each year, like her Learn Something New Everyday class.  Once you take the class, you get access to past year’s classes as well as ongoing registration in future classes at no additional cost.  It’s a great value!  Journal Your Christmas class begins December 1 through January 6, and includes 37 prompts that you receive by email.  There is a digital kit, and a class forum is included.  She also provides photography tips, crafting tutorials and a bonus workbook with holiday blogging tips for bloggers.  I love this class because she really keeps the journaling process simple and flexible.

Ali Edwards’ December Daily – Now this isn’t a class, but it’s an annual project that has become an Ali tradition.  She walks you through her process of creating an album for each day of December.  You can even go back and look at her albums from previous years.  If you need a shortcut for your December Daily album, she has created digital templates for your album available at Designer Digitals.  December Daily has become a holiday favorite throughout the scrapbooking community.

So, what holiday scrapbooking classes are you taking this year?

Ali Edwards is one of my all time favorite scrapbook artists.  Her blog is on my daily “Must-read” list.  Today she is offering a free word art download for Halloween.  It includes the words “Happy Halloween” and “Boo.”

Don’t miss this 2010 Halloween Freebie.  The download includes both .png files and printable pdf files.  You can find this free digital download at:

Ali Edwards 2010 Halloween Freebie

I’m disappointed that I’m not doing a Week in the Life with Ali Edwards this week.  Since my husband is one of the travelers stuck in Europe right now, it’s not a normal week for us.  I want him to be part of the album so I’m hoping to do it next week.

Everyone is talking “A Week in the Life” on their blogs.  Why is a Week in the Life with Ali Edwards so popular?  I have a few ideas.

1. Ali Edwards – it isn’t just the project. It’s her creativity.  Her approach to scrapbooking is so creative and inspiring.  The chance to follow along with her on a project is a unique learning opportunity.

2. Everyday Life – this project is about documenting your daily life, not just the special events or milestones. It’s about finding the special moments in the ordinary parts of your life.

3. Simplicity – Your A Week in the Life album can be a simple as you want it to be.  It doesn’t have any set rules for the end product.  You can keep it simple or embellish it all you want.

4. A Snapshot of Today – Ali Edwards mentions wishing she had one of these albums from her grandparents.  How cool will it be to see the things that made up your everyday life when you look at your album a couple of decades from now.

5. One Week – A project for a week is so much easier to manage than a 365 album or even a monthly scrapbook album.  Anyone can manage this project for 7 days.

A Week in the Life is an album theme that is easy to make your own.  If you haven’t considered it, take time to look at Ali’s blog for her suggestions.  The best part is that you can do this any week of the year, so I’m not really missing out.  I’m just going to be 7 days late thanks to some volcanic ash.