Week In The Life™ 2022 | Ali's Album Set Up
Welcome to a post outlining how I'm setting up my album for Week In The Life™ 2022.
If you are brand new to this project, welcome. This project is worth your time + energy because your life - no matter your circumstance - is worth documenting and honoring and celebrating and capturing via photos and words.
I first started this project back in 2005 with the intent to capture the basics of what was happening in my/our lives. The albums I've put together are some of my most favorite because they capture very specific points in time and have given me a chance to honor our everyday stories.
Today's post is going to show you how I'm using our 2022 Week In The Life™ collection to create a structure for my storytelling. Please know that there is no requirement to use the same things I'm using to participate in this project with our community (just know that we make products to support this project if you need anything). Your album might be smaller or bigger. You might be using products from your stash or no products at all. There are no right or wrong ways to participate. Honestly, I'm just glad you are here and have an interest in telling your story.
If you are here for the first time checking out this project and an album approach is totally not your thing I highly recommend checking out the journal/notebook that includes prompts we made for people who might want something a little different.
2022 STORYTELLING APPROACH
For this year I'm using three specific journal cards in my album to guide a portion of my storytelling:
- One word for today: what's one word to describe each particular day?
- Facts + feelings: one of my favorite prompts that can be about something from the day.
- Morning, afternoon, and evening: on this card I might document what I'm eating, what I'm seeing, what the kids are up to, etc.
These three are what I consider to be "casual" homes for my story meaning I'll be handwriting on these cards each day during the week. I love that they can be quick thoughts and it gives me an opportunity to include my handwriting in my album.
In addition to those cards I'm also planning to write up a daily commentary with thoughts and reflections on the day as a whole as I've done in the past. Some years I've used different words or prompts each day to guide me but I think this year I'm just going to focus on listening to my life to see what it has to say.
Actually I might start my longer journaling with something along the lines of "Today my life told/showed/reminded me..." and use that as the primary lens for documenting this week.
I'm also considering do a IG reel each day during the documenting week with little snippets of movement in my life. A few years ago I did an entire vlog (you can see it here) which I loved but was also a lot of work. I'm not committing to this completely but I love the idea of it and even if I did just a couple days that would be a fun way to document the week along with the still photos and words I'll be adding to my album.
Let's dive in and see what this looks like in my album right now:
Here's a look at the repeated structure I'm using for my project this year:
This year I'm using the 10x8 album. Each day will begin with a pattern transparency and a stitched pocket heart.
Following the pattern transparency will be the full page 10x8 page protector. Inside that pocket I'll be adding either a full page photo or a photo collage on both the front and the back.
Next up will be the 4-pocket page protector. This page will include one of the vellum "one word for today" cards + the chipboard frame from the Mini Kit + the Facts + Feelings card from the Main Kit.
On the back side of that pocket page I've placed the 4x6 journal card from the Main Kit.
The final page protector in my structure is the one with two 10x4 pockets. Inside the bottom one I added one of the 10x4 journal cards (which can be cut into a 4x6 and a 4x4 if that works better for you) and plan to add either photo collages, long photos, and/or journaling in those pockets. I'm pretty sure that's where my longer journaling will go.
So that's where I'm at right now as we move closer to the documenting week.
Next week on the @aliedwardsdesigninc IG account we will be having a series of Lives hosted by Kristin Tweedale on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
PS: I had planned to put together a week of new videos with Week In The Life™ tips for next week but I met Covid for the first time earlier this week and I'm not sure just yet how I'll be feeling (thankful I've got a bit more time before the documenting week begins). Depending on how I'm feeling I hope to have some new videos/blog posts to share with you next week but it might not be daily. These videos will be focused on tips for mindset and approach and other things I've learned after doing this project for many years.
I set up my Foundation Pages and my formula is similar to yours and that excites me because you are the queen of design! Thanks for sharing! ...Can't wait to see your whole project come together!
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I hope you are doing alright! Take care of yourself and thanks for sharing.
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Thank you, looking forward to documenting. Can I put in a request? I would love 4x8 page page protectors (holding 2 4x4). With all the great 4x4 cards that are now available with the new 10x8 albums (and the 4x4 travel album), it would be nice to be able to use those cards in all my 6x8 albums.
Love that idea! Hope we'll get that page protector soon. :)
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