Crafty Ass Female

In another great roundtable for the Season of Scrapbooking, we engage in a candid conversation about the significance of selfies in personal storytelling and documentation. The episode begins by highlighting the role of selfies as a means of self-narration, allowing individuals to contextualize their own stories. Kristin shares her realization during college that she lacked self-portraits in her scrapbook layouts, leading her to consciously incorporate selfies into her routine through the creation of the Thursday3 project.

Vanessa shares her journey with selfies, admitting her initial reluctance due to negative societal connotations. However, Kristin's encouragement and the support of the ALP community enabled her to view selfies as a valid form of self-documentation. She emphasizes the importance of capturing various aspects of her life, including her own presence, alongside her family and daily experiences.

The conversation takes an introspective turn as Kirsten reflects on their early experiences with pictures and the desire to be seen and recognized as part of the group. Selfies, for them, became a way to ensure their presence was acknowledged and documented. The discussion further explores the evolution of selfies over the years, from simply being part of the group photo exchange culture to intentional self-documentation.

The episode addresses the feminist aspect of selfies, challenging the notion that they are solely attention-seeking or self-indulgent. Instead, the guests emphasize that taking selfies is an empowering act, asserting one's presence and embracing self-importance. The normalization of selfies is encouraged, giving others the opportunity to explore self-portraiture as a form of personal expression and documentation.

Throughout the episode, the practical aspects of taking selfies are discussed, highlighting the ease and convenience offered by smartphones as versatile tools for self-capturing moments. The guests also touch upon the freedom to edit, experiment with filters, and embrace different styles, thereby enhancing the creative possibilities of selfies.

Listeners are invited to embrace the idea of selfies as a valuable means of self-expression, documenting personal stories, and cherishing moments in a visually engaging way. The episode aims to inspire individuals to see the power and significance of self-portraiture, reminding them that their self-worth should not be dictated by societal standards or external opinions.

Find out more about Awesome Ladies Live at awesomeladieslive.com

Our guests:

Kirsten is a school counselor by day, and a memory keeper by night. She makes fully digital layouts and balances that with crafty paper projects. Everyday life is her favorite topic. Originally from Germany, she and her husband now live in a beautiful corner of Washington State.

Vanessa is a mom, feminist, artist, latina, book lover, speech and language pathologist, and wife, who loves to learn and have deep conversations with other awesome people, especially awesome feminists!

Topics we cover on this Scrapbooking with Kits episode:

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Awesome Ladies Live!
How long have you been dreaming of just having a focused weekend to get some fun creative time in? And what if you could do it with people who want to learn and create just as much as you?
You’ll have time and space to:

Dates: Saturday July 15th and Sunday July 16th, 2023 (with optional activities on Friday July 14th)

Location: The Graduate Hotel, East Lansing, Michigan

$649 from January 1st 2023 until sold out. (Includes both days at the retreat, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, Breakfast on Sunday, all classes, all class materials — some exclusive to this retreat, and exclusive retreat merch).

Find out all the details at awesomeladieslive.com

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Our guests:
Carrie is an avid paper lover, obsessed with books, a foodie but not snobby, ADHD survivor and a ragey intersectional feminist, that is hopeful feminism can save the world.
Juli is an instructional designer by day and hybrid scrapbooker by night. She loves to use Canva for all her crafty projects, and she's a plant lady & romance reader who is obsessed with adding purple to everything

Join me as I talk to Carol Anne and Carrie about how and why they got started scrapping, and as we share some of our 60+ years of combined experience with you!

Topics we cover include:

Annie's Kit Clubs!

a HUGE thank you to Annie's Kit Clubs for sponsoring today's episode and the launch of season 10 of Crafty Ass Female! I've been loving the fabric they sent, so make sure to check them out at https://annieskitclubs.com/ and use code CRAFTY50

Whether you like crocheting, quilting, knitting or other crafts, Annie's has a club for you. Get a new shipment every month with supplies and instructions to make something beautiful. Try today for 50% off your first kit by using code: CRAFTY50

Find out more about Awesome Ladies Live at awesomeladieslive.com

Our guests:

Carrie is an avid paper lover, obsessed with books, a foodie but not snobby, an ADHD survivor, and a ragey intersectional feminist that is hopeful feminism can save the world.

Carol Anne is a long-time multi-format scrapbooker and cardmaker, who enjoys adding humor, honesty, and song lyrics to her layouts. Despite her quiet affect, she has been known to express an opinion or three when asked.

In this episode of the Crafty Ass Female Podcast, Kristin talks to Vanessa and Carrie to explore the relationship between feminism and storytelling. This episode continues our series featuring scrapbookers from around the world, coming together to discuss how and why they scrapbook.

Topics we cover include:

Annie's Kit Clubs!

a HUGE thank you to Annie's Kit Clubs for sponsoring today's episode and the launch of season 10 of Crafty Ass Female! I've been loving the fabric they sent, so make sure to check them out at https://annieskitclubs.com/ and use code CRAFTY50

Whether you like crocheting, quilting, knitting or other crafts, Annie's has a club for you. Get a new shipment every month with supplies and instructions to make something beautiful. Try today for 50% off your first kit by using code: CRAFTY50

Find out more about Awesome Ladies Live at awesomeladieslive.com

Our guests:

Carrie is an avid paper lover, obsessed with books, a foodie but not snobby, an ADHD survivor, and a ragey intersectional feminist that is hopeful feminism can save the world.

Vanessa is a mom, feminist, artist, latina, book lover, speech and language pathologist, and wife, who loves to learn and have deep conversations with other awesome people, especially awesome feminists!

In this episode of the Crafty Ass Female Podcast, Kristin talks to Tracey and Kate to kick off Season 10 of the show! This is the first of a series of episodes featuring scrapbookers from around the world, coming together to discuss how and why they scrapbook.

Topics we cover include:

Annie's Kit Clubs!

a HUGE thank you to Annie's Kit Clubs for sponsoring today's episode and the launch of season 10 of Crafty Ass Female! I've been loving the fabric they sent, so make sure to check them out at https://annieskitclubs.com/ and use code CRAFTY50

Whether you like crocheting, quilting, knitting or other crafts, Annie's has a club for you. Get a new shipment every month with supplies and instructions to make something beautiful. Try today for 50% off your first kit by using code: CRAFTY50

Find out more about Awesome Ladies Live at awesomeladieslive.com

Our guests:

Tracey Fox is a self-proclaimed “scrapbookin’, feminist nerd” living in Ohio with her husband and three cats. She is a director of data analytics by day and a scrapbooker by night, and she documents her introverted adventures with bright colors and lots of photos on every page. Tracey is on Instagram at @scrappylikeafox.

Kate Garvin lives in Ohio with her husband and two cats. She is a marketing project manager and has been scrapbooking since 2020. Kate is on Instagram @craftykate616.

Bonus! Listen to this episode to learn how to get a free Crafty Ass Female sticker using code podcast200 AND learn more about Awesome Ladies Live 2023!!!

In the 200th!!!!!! episode of the Crafty Ass Female Podcast, Kristin talks to Ali Edwards, and they discuss their love of television and how it helps them tell their stories. They talk about their favorite shows, both past and present, and how they connect to scrapbooking.

You'll hear about the shows we loved this year, why we loved them, and the shows we think are great recommendations for others (and a few that we thought were just okay).

Television is a great way to explore different story beats, take deeper looks at different characters, and how they can be used to enhance a scrapbooking project.

We also see how food TV shows have influenced our cooking and our lives, and it's been great to see their evolution from the days of 2am Food TV to everything available now. We discuss how some of these shows are more focused on competition and drama, while others are more focused on the process of cooking and being kind to one another.

This conversation was so epic that we had to break it into two episodes! The second half of this awesome conversation is coming up next week.

In this episode of the Crafty Ass Female Podcast, Kristin talks to this season's third and final December Daily Roundtable with four amazing guests: Tracey Fox, Nolana Lynch, Shannan Manton, and Juli Whetstone; and we're talking all about the tips and tricks we have for our December projects.

Throughout the episode, we discuss how we document their lives through the holidays, including Ali Edwards' December Daily project. Tracy, Shannon, Nolana, Juli, and Kristin are all excited about scrapbooking the December season and chatting about their different approaches to the project. Nolana and Tracy are traditional scrappers, Shannon is a minimalist digital scrapbooker, and Juli loves mini-books. They all enjoy the different ways that they can document their December memories.

Our conversation revolves around making the project work for your life, how to make it fun and exciting, and how to make it unique to you. Tracy discusses how she prefers to work on her December Daily album after the holidays are over, in a process she calls scrappy Christmas in July. This allows her to have more perspective on the stories she wants to tell and also batch-processes the photos and journaling. Other crafters in Ali Edwards' community have also been touting the idea of "Done by December", which is working on the project throughout the year so you don't feel pressure to work on it every day in December.

List of our favorite tips & tricks:

Work on this project whenever it makes sense for you. Day or night, every day or spread it out, finish it in December, work on it in January, or finish it throughout the year. Give yourself boundaries so that you're not trying to do everything and comparing yourself to everyone else in the process. Your project can't be everything, it can only be what you create. Foundation pages can be a great way to get ahead if you like working in advance. It can be fun and helpful to do things that help you get into the holiday season (playing music, getting out decorations, etc). Even if you're not preparing foundation pages, it can be helpful to prepare parts of this project in advance. Organize your supplies, think about what stories you might want to tell, etc. Make some things personal to you and your stories. If you're not a Starbucks person, don't feel like you need to go out and create a Starbucks cup page just because lots of people have one. You can create this project in any size that you want. It can be the same size you usually work it, it can be bigger, it can be smaller. There are no size restrictions. Your pages can all be different from one another. There is no need to tie everything together because you're already tying it all together with the month itself. Create some stock photography on days where the lighting is good, the house is clean, and you've got your camera out. Plan things out early, map out a few pages that you want to use for special days (or not special days).
Don't stress about the parts you find tedious. If you don't like those parts, skip them and move on to something else. Just because certain things are prominent in other people's books, doesn't mean they need to be prominent in yours. Let this album be in your style. Use the things you like. Create in ways that you find fun. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, unless you love their style too.

Tracey Fox is a self-proclaimed “scrapbookin’, feminist nerd” living in central Ohio with her husband, three cats, and no kids. She is a director of data analytics by day and a scrapbooker by night (and on weekends), and she documents her introverted adventures with bright colors and lots of photos on every page. Traditional layouts are her jam, but she has been known to dabble in other projects to keep up with all the fun in the scrappy community. Tracey has taught classes and contributed content for Get it Scrapped, Scrap Happy, and The Awesome Ladies Project, and she has served on design teams for Elle's Studio, Paper Issues, Freckled Fawn, Feed Your Craft, and Color Cast Designs. These days, Tracey spends most of her crafty time stashbusting and enjoying annual projects like #scrappychristmasinjuly.
Blog: [traceyfox.com](traceyfox.com)
Instagram: [instagram.com/scrappylikeafox](instagram.com/scrappylikeafox)

Nolana Lynch is a researcher, scrapbooker, social entrepreneur and more. She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband Aidan and son, Preston. She loves all things crafty - they bring her so much fun! When she is not working on her next crafty project, you can find her outdoors, enjoying the coastal air, the sound of the waves, hikes and the smell of the fresh Eucalyptus trees. Nolana has a rich past in social justice and environmental issues and is currently doing research on the capacity of Indigenous communities for sustainable livelihoods through native foods.
Instagram: [Instagram.com/nehlan.has.a.plan](Instagram.com/nehlan.has.a.plan)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nolanalynch

Shannan Manton is a digital scrapbooker and designer with a minimalist style. She lives in Sydney Australia with her husband and two teenage kids.

Juli Whetstone is a recovering perfectionist obsessed with purple. You can usually find her scrapbooking, reading, or taking care of her many plants. Through the ALP community she’s learned “my story matters”—even when you’re single & don’t have kids.

Welcome to another fantastic December Daily roundtable, where I am joined by four absolutely excellent ladies to break down how their process for December Daily works (or sometimes doesn't work!).

Our roundtable participants discuss the different ways they approach their December Daily album each year, sharing what works well for them and what they anticipate their process looking like this year. We talk about what sizes work and why, as well as finding ways to innovate inside of a project we all know so well.

About Our Guests

Amber is from southeast Pennsylvania, where she lives with her partner Jarett, his three kiddos, and their two sweet kitties. She has been scrapbooking over over 20 years and loves to share her projects on her YouTube channel. The major projects that she participates in every year are Project Life, Week in the Life, Day in the Life, numerous travel albums, and of course, December Daily!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBloFAPH3e0z7h2OsSDskzQ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adawson816/

Kaitlyn Fritsch is a Canadian quilt pattern designer living in New Jersey. With a passion for story and bold, contemporary design, Kaitlyn relies on memory keeping for her personal creative practice. When not creating, she loves hiking, baking, and reading, but can most often be found making memories with her husband, son, and poodle. You can find Kaitlyn online at her website or follow along on Instagram @fritschinstitches to see what she's creating right now.
Website: [www.fritschinstitches.com](www.fritschinstitches.com)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fritschinstitches/

Shu-Wen is a baker / crafter / music maker from Canada. She's been making cards for many years, but only recently started scrapbooking in 2020, and she's loved every moment of my creative journey. Her scrapbooking style has been described as whimsical, colorful, and interactive. She first participated in December Daily in 2020, drawn in by the challenge of documenting the joys of December with as many interactive pages as she could fit in an album (or 3!). Since then, she's enjoyed sharing her yearly "12 Days of Interactive December Dailies" Video Series on YouTube for those who love interactive pages as much as she does!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chouxpuffcreations/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/ChouxPuffCreations

Kirsten is from North Vancouver, BC and has been doing December Daily for over a decade now. She works in the ski industry, so busy Decembers are par for the course for her, making it even more important to have a process and plan going into it.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenh/

In this episode of the Crafty Ass Female Podcast, Kristin talks to this season's first December Daily Roundtable, with four amazing guests, and we're talking all about December stories.

Megan Anderson talks about her hybrid approach to memory keeping, her document now & make later plan, and how she's using photo books and 1 second everyday videos. Kasha Gage discusses her work as a photographer and family historian. Steph Grimes talks about her return to weekly Project Life and her plans to try new things next year. Jeanne Williams talks about how she has been a lifelong storyteller and got back into scrapbooking about ten years ago. She also talks about how she does a weekly Project Life and a 6x8 story album every year.

The conversation centers around how to approach December Daily storytelling, with the perspective that everyone has different lives, with different stories, and all of those stories matter. There is no right or wrong way to approach this project – and the best way forward is whatever works for you.

We talk about how we all generally go into December knowing that there are some specific stories we want to tell. Some of us try to focus on prompts or story ideas related to the date or what we're feeling in the moment and others rely more on going back and reflecting a little bit later on.

The conversation discusses the process of photojournalism and how that is a big part of the December storytelling process, especially when it can be a harder time to take photos.

We also get into the different ways that we are tracking our stories throughout December. There are some really great ideas from using the Notes app on your phone, to using a Travelers Notebook to free write and get ideas down, to using index cards to help keep track of ideas, and more.

About Our Guests

Megan Kiekel Anderson is a nerdy, queer, neruodivergent horror and speculative fiction writer. While she’s taken her memory keeping private in recent years, she loves documenting life through weekly round-up spreads and daily one second videos. She lives in Kansas City with her chaotic family, including too many cats, chickens, and foster kittens.
https://megankiekelanderson.com/
https://www.instagram.com/megan_nerdnest/
https://twitter.com/Megan_NerdNest

Steph Grimes is a lifelong storytelling and memory keeper. She made her first scrapbook from a kit when she was 21 and has been making scrapbooks for over 20 years. She lives in Maryland with her husband and dog, Ruby. She enjoys documenting all types of stories, from day-to-day life to the grandest adventures, but travel albums are her favorite projects. Steph currently serves as an Ali Edwards Ambassador and has previously served on the Elle’s Studio Design Team.
Website: createdbysteph.com
Instagram: Instragram.com/createdbysteph
YouTube: Youtube.com/@createdbysteph

Jeanne Williams is a lifelong storyteller and writer who lives in Arlington, Virginia. She has been married for 31 years to her college sweetheart and is mother to two amazing young adult daughters. She loves telling her stories through Project Life, story albums and various mini books and travelers’ notebooks. This will be her 8th year creating a December Daily album, a favorite project each holiday season. In addition to her creative pursuits, Jeanne loves the beach, reading, travel, coffee and happy hour on the porch.   
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeannemwill/

Kasha Gage currently lives in Huntington Beach, CA with her husband and cute puppy. She is a lifestyle photographer who loves capturing her everyday via photos + words. Memory keeping allows her to blend her passions for photography, design and storytelling.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kashakgage
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kashagage

Topics we cover in the show:

About Annie and Laura:
Laura Wonsik and Annie Simkin are childhood besties who grew up to be mental health therapists, sticker enthusiasts, and adult besties! Together, they formed the BFF Sticker Club- a vibrant Instagram community of “Stickies,” who love to share their passion for stickers, snail mail, and kindness (with a decent dose of sarcasm and lots of laughter). We hope you come and join the fun- it’s the friendliest little corner of the internet. You can find us at Instagram.com/thebffstickerclub

BFF Sticker Club on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thebffstickerclub
BFF Sticker Club on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/thebffstickerclub/

In 2015, MIM was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to leave her corporate job. During this time, she got back into using a paper planner and decorating it with stickers as a way to take her mind off things. MIM is now cancer-free and the host of the Planner podcast.

Mim started out making stickers for herself and then decided she would give selling them on Etsy a go — and was successful! Her next step was teaching people how to make stickers through a course she created, and now she’s creating her own planner community empire!

Mim talks about how the community she's built around stickers has grown over the years. We talk about how amazing it is to have this incredible online community of people who enjoy planning, scrapbooking, and all of our favorite paper crafts! Thhe community is welcoming, supportive, and friendly. Where people of all ages and from all over the world can connect with each other.

We get into how the commonality of anxiety is just one of the things that brings people together in both of our communities; and we discuss the different ways of dealing with anxiety and managing our daily lives.

We also celebrate the variety in the way that people use planners. We talk about personal favorite planners, how we’re using them, and the different ways that we love seeing other people use them as well! We both love seeing people find new and creative ways to use the stickers and other features to suit their needs.

Links:
The Planner Craft Pro Summit: https://www.theawesomeladiesproject.com/pcp
All About Mim: https://www.mimjenkinson.com/
Mim's Secret Sticker Society: https://www.mimjenkinson.com/sss
Mim's Planner Podcast: https://www.mimjenkinson.com/podcast

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Allie Trumpower to chat about her upcoming free event: Scrap School Summit (register FREE at scrapschoolsummit.com/crafty).

The conversation immediately dives into the importance of our creative community and why creating an online event that anyone could join in on -- for free -- from anywhere in the world. This event has an incredible lineup (including Kristin) of speakers, and Allie talked about the different awesome things that attendees will get to learn through the event!

A few of the topics we got into during this episode:

register FREE at scrapschoolsummit.com/crafty

About Allie:

Allie has been scrapbooking as long as she can remember – what started as a creative way for some “mother daughter time” quickly became a career when Allie discovered that she would love to design products for scrapbookers and creatives. Armed with a graphic design degree, Allie opened up Allie Scraps and designs printable (and some physical!) products for scrapbookers, planners, and bible journalers.

Always a fan of “getting messy,” but not liking the clean up, Allie created her line of printable “Art Starts” so she (and others, of course!) could get the messy, painty look without the actual… mess.

Allie is a fan of starting art journals and notebooks, but is super bad at finishing them. She’s also looking forward to this summit so she can learn even more ways to actually… FILL a notebook.

Oh and if you wanna know some personal details: Allie lives in Ohio with her husband and two little boys. Other than creating in any form, she also loves The West Wing, cozy sweatshirts, and brownie batter M&Ms!

The Virtual Scrapbook Festival ran from August 16th - August 21st, 2022 and was filled with live events, challenges, games, sharing, making new friends, and so much more. To find out more visit theawesomeladiesproject.com/festival
Use coupon code PODCAST to purchase the festival and enjoy all the live recordings, challenges, templates, and inspiration from the community on your own schedule.

What is an AMA? An AMA - ask me anything - is a format that was popularized by Reddit, drawing all sorts of people to answer all sorts of questions. We adapted the format for a live podcast recording and took some e-mailed questions, some questions live from people attending the recording (thank you for coming off of mute to ask!), and questions from the chat.

Plus - a bonus Currently List to finish out the episode!

In today’s episode, Kristin talks about the upcoming ALP Virtual Scrapbook Festival happening at the Awesome Ladies Project from August 16th through the 21st. You can join in on the fun at theawesomeladiesproject.com/festival.

In this episode I talk about:

Why crafting around a community of like-minded women is so amazing How I put together this festival to that no matter what your life looks like, or how you like to hang out, you feel excited to attend this event The different types of sessions we have going on throughout the week, including self-paced, live, games, crops, and more. The LIVE podcast recording happening during the festival, and a coupon code to make sure you can be there!

Today's episode is brought to you by She Podcasts Live 2022!

She Podcasts LIVE will be taking place in Washington, D.C. from October 11-14, 2022 at the MGM National Harbor.

This event is the world’s largest gathering of women podcasters and is perfect for audio content creators, storytellers, and more.

Attendees can expect to learn from exclusively female-identifying podcast editors, social media marketers, authors, podcast hosts, and others during this four-day event, where at least 50% of speakers will be women of color, LGBTQIA+ or both.

Register now and join us in D.C. this October! shepodcastslive.com

Save $50 on registration with discount code CAF!

In this episode, Kristin talks to Laura Wonsik about how scrapbooking (for us) is so much more than a hobby; it's a lifestyle.

In this episode Laura Wonsik and I talk about:

Scrapbooking is a huge part of our lives, but it has a high barrier to entry. So what are some ways in which we make things more accessible? Stamps –both using them and designing them. We talk about why we love stamping and the imperfection of stamping, and how that intersects with your own self-worth. I ask Laura what she's been creating recently, and also what her favorite stamp set is. We also talk about the BFF Sticker Club and stickers as a really easy entry point into the scrapbooking and documenting your life world!

About our Guest
Laura Wonsik is a therapist-by-day and scrapper-by-night based in Oxford, OH. She designs stamps for Ali Edwards and also runs the BFF Sticker Club with her childhood best friend, Annie. Her daughters, Ellie and Isla, are the main subjects of her memory keeping.

Show Notes
Laura's Instagram: laura_wonsik
BFF Sticker Club Instagram: thebffstickerclub
BFF Sticker Club Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thebffstickerclub
The Paradox of Choice: https://amzn.to/3PdpFlf
Misti Stamping Platform: https://amzn.to/3zGtvh9

In today’s episode, Kristin talks to Mei Ratz about her new podcast, the state of work in the world, and what it’s like trying to exist on an everyday basis in 2022

In this episode Mei and I talk about:

Mei’s new podcast: Make Work Human What it’s like trying to live and work in the world today The people who are currently inspiring us to show up

About Mei

Mei found the title “creative” hidden in her childhood among the Wind River Mountains. She traced out her love for creating connections on worn-out topographic maps and discovered a knack for problem-solving after frequently shooting her hand into the air to ask the hard questions. Now, several years later, Mei has replaced those worn-out maps with a degree in Communication Design—racking up awards with prestigious outlets such as National Geographic. After cutting her teeth with clients such as Pitch Engine, The Impact Investment Center, and NOLS. Mei is the creator of Nervous Means Do It. Mei is often recognized for her courageous pursuit of social justice initiatives, insightful content creation, and efficient team building. More recently, Mei spends her time working alongside Moe Carrick, where she passionately tackles topics such as leadership, fit, and DEIJ. She is a coach, a mother, an artist, and a determined optimist.
websites: mratz.com & moecarrick.com
IG: @meiratz

In today’s episode, Kristin talks to Kasha Gage about the reasons why we scrapbook, her love of photography, and the ways in which we love to celebrate stories throughout the memory-keeping community.

In this episode, Kasha and I talk about:

About Kasha Gage:

Kasha Gage currently lives in Huntington Beach, CA with her husband and new puppy. She loves capturing her everyday via photos + words. Memory keeping allows her to blend her passions for photography, design and storytelling.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kashakgage/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kashagage

Want to document what you’re currently doing in your life, but get blocked by the blank page?

The Currently List weekly journaling challenge will help you document what’s happening in your right now life in a simple, easy, and accessible way.

This fun and inclusive project uses the same seven one-word prompts each week and can be used on it’s own or in conjunction with your favorite memory-keeping project.

This week we are concluding our Week in the Life series with our third and final roundtable episode.

On today's show Kristin is talking to Shu-Wen of Choux Puff Creations, Amber Dawson, Nolanna Lynch, Jeanne Williams, and Steph Grimes to talk all about the best ideas for putting together your Week in the Life album.

What is Week in the Life?

From Ali Edwards.com:

A seven-day documentary project, Week In The Life™ began in 2005 as an annual opportunity to capture the simple everyday details of life with photos and words. The albums I've created are some of my most treasured in that they are wonderfully true representations of my family's life at a particular point in time. From the mundane to the profound, it's those simple little everyday moments that I treasure most.

Very Special Guests:

Shu-Wen Hello! My name is Shu-Wen (Choux Puff Creations) and I'm a baker / crafter / music maker from Canada!
I've been making cards for many years, but only recently started scrapbooking in 2020, and I've loved every moment of my creative journey! You can find my work through my Instagram or YouTube channels, as well as through my design team work for Citrus Twist Kits, Color Cast Designs, Layered Life, and on the Ali Edwards Brand Ambassador Team!

Steph Grimes I’m Steph Grimes and I’m a lifelong storyteller and memory keeper. I made my first scrapbook from a kit bought at Michael’s when I was 21 and have been making scrapbooks ever since, for over 20 years now. I live in Maryland with my amazing husband and our little red pup, Ruby. I enjoy documenting all types of stories from our day-to-day life to our grandest adventures, but travel albums are my favorite! This is my 6th year participating in the Week in the Life project and it is one of the highlights of my year each year.

Amber Dawson is 38, and has been scrapbooking in some form or another since she was about 15 years old. She live in PA with her boyfriend and his three kids who are with them part-time. Therefore, a lot of her documenting is of her and her partner, their 2 kitties, and the kids when they visit. She's done WITL albums for the last 2 years and has really enjoyed the process of digging deeper into their lives.

Jeanne Williams is a lifelong storyteller and writer who lives in Arlington, Virginia. She has been married 31 years to her college sweetheart and is mother to two amazing young adult daughters. She loves telling her stories through Project Life, story albums and various mini books and travelers’ notebooks. This will be her 8th year participating in Week in the Life, one of her favorite everyday documenting projects. In addition to her creative pursuits, she loves the beach, reading, travel, coffee and happy hour on the porch.

Nolanna Lynch

Best advice for Putting Together Your Week in the Life Album

This week we are continuing our Week in the Life series with our second roundtable episode.

On today's show Kristin is talking to Shu-Wen of Choux Puff Creations, Kirsten Heal and Steph Grimes all about the best ideas for capturing photos and words during Week in the Life.

What is Week in the Life?

From Ali Edwards.com:

A seven-day documentary project, Week In The Life™ began in 2005 as an annual opportunity to capture the simple everyday details of life with photos and words. The albums I've created are some of my most treasured in that they are wonderfully true representations of my family's life at a particular point in time. From the mundane to the profound, it's those simple little everyday moments that I treasure most.

Very Special Guests:

Shu-Wen Hello! My name is Shu-Wen (Choux Puff Creations) and I'm a baker / crafter / music maker from Canada!
I've been making cards for many years, but only recently started scrapbooking in 2020, and I've loved every moment of my creative journey! You can find my work through my Instagram or YouTube channels, as well as through my design team work for Citrus Twist Kits, Color Cast Designs, Layered Life, and on the Ali Edwards Brand Ambassador Team!

Kirsten Heal Hi, I’m Kirsten and I live in beautiful North Vancouver, BC where I take every opportunity to enjoy the mountains and the oceans. I’ve always had a love for crafts and photography, and when I found scrapbooking was like a really thing, I was hooked. That was 20 years ago. I live with my husband (who wonders when this phase may stop, yet buys me crafty stuff), my almost grown kids (19 & 17), two dogs (9&7) and two cats (12 & 1).

Steph Grimes I’m Steph Grimes and I’m a lifelong storyteller and memory keeper. I made my first scrapbook from a kit bought at Michael’s when I was 21 and have been making scrapbooks ever since, for over 20 years now. I live in Maryland with my amazing husband and our little red pup, Ruby. I enjoy documenting all types of stories from our day-to-day life to our grandest adventures, but travel albums are my favorite! This is my 6th year participating in the Week in the Life project and it is one of the highlights of my year each year.

Best advice for capturing photos for Week in the Life

Remote control or Apple Watch

Invite others to take photos

Sometimes scrapbooking and documenting our lives can feel a little extra

Spend 10% of your photo energy on taking interesting photos

Best advice for capturing words throughout the Week

Use lenses to help narrow down the stories you’re telling

There is a Thursday slump — here are some solutions

Write Notes

Hey! We’re continuing this Week in the Life series with Ali Edwards herself -- founder of the Week in the Life Project, chatting all about the origins of WitL, and so much more.

What is Week in the Life?

From Ali Edwards.com:

A seven-day documentary project, Week In The Life™ began in 2005 as an annual opportunity to capture the simple everyday details of life with photos and words. The albums I've created are some of my most treasured in that they are wonderfully true representations of my family's life at a particular point in time. From the mundane to the profound, it's those simple little everyday moments that I treasure most.

*In this episode, we get into some great topics: *

Learn more about Week in the Life at AliEdwards.com

Hey! We’re kicking off this Week in the Life series talking to Amber Dawson, Elizabeth Heinz, Megan Anderson, and Amy Gretchen all about the tips and tricks that make Week in the Life easy and fun.

What is Week in the Life?

From Ali Edwards.com:

A seven-day documentary project, Week In The Life™ began in 2005 as an annual opportunity to capture the simple everyday details of life with photos and words. The albums I've created are some of my most treasured in that they are wonderfully true representations of my family's life at a particular point in time. From the mundane to the profound, it's those simple little everyday moments that I treasure most.

*In this episode, we get into some great topics: *

Very Special Guests:

Megan Kiekel Anderson is a crafty nerd who loves documenting everyday life. She’s currently settling into her 1900 Witch House and writing lots of speculative fiction. Follow along with her adventures on Instagram and Twitter @megan_nerdnest

Elizabeth Heinz resides in Peoria, AZ. She's married and happily raising two boys, Bailey (22) and Joshua (19). She also has an affectionate Boston Terrier, Bond. She works part-time at Midwestern University as a standardized patient. When she's not crafting, she enjoys hiking, pickle ball, reading, and gardening. She's passionate about writing her story.

Amber Dawson is 38, and has been scrapbooking in some form or another since she was about 15 years old. She live in PA with her boyfriend and his three kids who are with them part-time. Therefore, a lot of her documenting is of her and her partner, their 2 kitties, and the kids when they visit. She's done WITL albums for the last 2 years and has really enjoyed the process of digging deeper into their lives.

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCBloFAPH3e0z7h2OsSDskzQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adawson816/

**Amy Gretchen **lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and one of her three daughters. She has been memory keeping since her first scrapbook 20 years ago. Since then her passion has evolved to include everyday photography as a way of telling her story. She loves how photos + words help her to see life more fully and have gratitude for the details. Documenting life on a weekly basis through pocket pages fits perfectly with her goal to capture the everyday moments and keep it simple.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/amygretchen

Instagram | https://instagram.com/amygretchenstudio

How does intersectionality come up while you’re scrapbooking your stories?

Today I’m talking to ALP community member Kinjal Tanna. We’ve bonded over the past few years over our millennial outsider-ness in the scrapbooking world. We talked about that identity (and others), while chatting about the industry at large, in this week’s episode.

In this episode, Kinjal and I talk about:

This episode is filled with so much heartfelt conversation, fabulous wisdom, and really great chat.

Let's learn how to craft the path to our own success.

It's finally time to welcome back one of my best friends, and a Crafty Ass Female regular Megan Kiekel Anderson, who is here to help me discuss how we can create success in our crafting.

Today we talk about:

Join us on the Awesome Ladies Project app to discuss this week's episode -- always free to join!

Find Megan on twitter @megan_nerdnest and on Instagram @megan_nerdnest and check out her short stories in publications too numerous to count!

I am so happy to have Brandi Kincaid back on Crafty Ass Female, and especially happy to have her join me for the Season of Habit.

Just some of the topics we cover include:

Brandi is an illustrator and paper crafter who makes and records memories with her husband Andrew, and puppy Augie Roo, in Bellingham, Washington. She spends all her free moments listening closely, playing with paper and glue, and drawing a version of the world around her.

When she isn't making a mess or dreaming up new designs, she's spending time at one of her favorite neighborhood bookshops, thrifting treasures, or watching episodes of Murder She Wrote, because nothing beats J.B. Fletcher.

Hey! We’re kicking off the season of habit with a three episode series all about Daily Pages.

Daily Pages are a creative self-documenting habit I created in the summer of 2018.

They're all about pulling a small amount of paper, thoughts, photos, words, or bits of life into a small notebook. Daily Pages are a creative habit for you to tell your stories.
Throughout this series, we’ll have different guest experts on each of the shows, sharing the different ways Daily Pages have impacted their lives, creativity, scrapbooking habits, and so much more.

In this episode, we get into some great topics:

Join us on May 7th and 8th for our FREE Daily Pages 101 Hands-On Virtual Retreat. You'll learn how to make all of my favorite Daily Pages, as well as all the tips and tricks the Awesome Ladies and I have for getting started with this amazing creative habit.

Register for free today at theawesomeladiesproject.com/dailypages
OR right on the front page of the Awesome Ladies Project App

Very Special Guests:
Shannan is a minimalist, mostly-digital scrapbooker from Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband, and her 12 and 15 year old kids. She has been scrapbooking since 2008 and loves music, movies and cooking. Her scrapbooking style is very clean and simple so Daily Pages have been a way to play and get over perfectionism. Shannan also designs digital scrapbooking templates and supplies at her shop shannanpages.com.

Christine is a longtime crafter, scrapbooker and documenter, and relatively new Awesome Lady. She is a lover of pretty papers, paints, inks and all things crafty. Christine lives in Northern New Jersey with her husband, daughter and Havanese.

Juli is a recovering perfectionist obsessed with purple. You can usually find her scrapbooking, reading, or taking care of her many plants. Through the ALP community she’s learned “my story matters”—even when you’re single & don’t have kids.

Hey! We’re kicking off the season of habit with a three episode series all about Daily Pages.

Daily Pages are a creative self-documenting habit I created in the summer of 2018.

They're all about pulling a small amount of paper, thoughts, photos, words, or bits of life into a small notebook. Daily Pages are a creative habit for you to tell your stories.
Throughout this series, we’ll have different guest experts on each of the shows, sharing the different ways Daily Pages have impacted their lives, creativity, scrapbooking habits, and so much more.

In this episode, we get into some great topics:

Join us on May 7th and 8th for our FREE Daily Pages 101 Hands-On Virtual Retreat. You'll learn how to make all of my favorite Daily Pages, as well as all the tips and tricks the Awesome Ladies and I have for getting started with this amazing creative habit.

Register for free today at theawesomeladiesproject.com/dailypages
OR right on the front page of the Awesome Ladies Project App

Very Special Guests:
Kinjal is a wildly enthusiastic Londoner, who lives with her partner and 2 tiny sproglets (children) in the cloudy capital of England. She loves all things scrapbooking and stationary and can usually be found under a pile of LEGO bricks or daydreaming about the parallel universe in which she is a minimalist!

Ann lives in the UK and is married with two grown up children. She currently works full-time and loves being able to get home in time to join the 5pm Daily Pages Zoom.
In her own words: "I have been crafting for a long time, started out with cross stitch and then got in to scrapbooking. I joined the UK Stampers Network about 12 years ago and that got me interested in stamping and paper crafting and I take part in ATC exchanges etc with them. I find crafting a great way to switch off from all the stresses we have and just lose myself in a creative project. I am so glad I found Kristin and the Awesome Ladies Community, it definitely helped me get through all of our lockdowns."

Honore is a treasured and stalwart of the Daily Pages community and I was so incredibly happy for her to join us for this discussion.
In her own words: "I have been playing with scrapbooking nearly 20 years; everyday I do is a new learning experience. I'm a member of the "bye bye baby generation" - WWII and a long-retired public librarian and training coordinator of library associates - persons who worked in public libraries but did not have a master's degree in library science."

Hey! We’re kicking off the season of habit with a three episode series all about Daily Pages.

Daily Pages are a creative self-documenting habit I created in the summer of 2018.

They're all about pulling a small amount of paper, thoughts, photos, words, or bits of life into a small notebook. Daily Pages are a creative habit for you to tell your stories.
Throughout this series, we’ll have different guest experts on each of the shows, sharing the different ways Daily Pages have impacted their lives, creativity, scrapbooking habits, and so much more.

In this episode, we get into some great topics:

Join us on May 7th and 8th for our FREE Daily Pages 101 Hands-On Virtual Retreat. You'll learn how to make all of my favorite Daily Pages, as well as all the tips and tricks the Awesome Ladies and I have for getting started with this amazing creative habit.

Register for free today at theawesomeladiesproject.com/dailypages
OR right on the front page of the Awesome Ladies Project App

Very Special Guests:
Carol Anne Wall is a long-time scrapbooker and an early Daily Pages enthusiast. She lives in Saint Paul, MN with her husband, youngest daughter, and two Scottish Terriers.

Carrie is a long time scrapbooker and craft supply hoarder who loves pretty paper more than almost anything else in life. She lives in Washington state with her husband, two cats, and an overstuffed craft room.

Jacqueline is a wife, teacher, procrastinator, and mess maker. I live in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada, and I scrapbook and make cards while dabbling in other crafts.

The Awesome Ladies Project App is coming soon to an app store near you! You'll be able to log in and do everything you already do on the ALP website, and more. If you're already signed up for the ALP community, you're all set and everything will work as soon as you download the app (in Early September). If you don't have a free account yet, no worries, you can create one when you download the app.

There are so many amazing things you'll be able to do right on the app, including upload all your fabulous projects, take great classes, join in on discussions with Awesome Ladies from around the world, learn new tips, tricks, and techniques during our live classes, and so so much more.

Learn more at https://theawesomeladiesproject.com/app

Christine is a graphic designer and the one woman show behind Everyday Explorers Co., line of clear stamps and paper products designed to help you document your everyday life with a sense of discovery and adventure. Originally from Manila, Philippines, she now lives in Berkeley, California with her husband.

You can find out more about Christine and Everyday Explorers Co at
https://everydayexplorers.co
or @everydayexplorersco on Instagram

Kate Smith is an artist obsessed with making humans smile. Every joke, piece of art and
product she creates is meant to be shared—meant to give you a small, simple and fun way to put joy into the life of another. She wants to remind you how good it feels to make another human happy. She wants to show you it doesn’t take much. And she wants to encourage you to do it every day.

Kate lives, works and travels full-time in her Airstream travel trailer with her husband and business partner, Ryan, and dog, Frank.

Learn more at katesmithcompany.com and follow her on Instgram at @katesmithcompany. You can find her new collection in Target stores starting in summer 2021.

More about Nicole Stevenson:

Nicole Stevenson is a multi-passionate creative, middle-aged first-time mama, impostor syndrome warrior, cake and Korean BBQ connoisseur, confessional journaler, second-hand shop scavenger, deep dive conversationalist and the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life.

She can't recall a time in her life when she wasn't making something.

At 24, she turned my passion into my profession when she started selling Random Nicole, her handcrafted clothing line at flea markets and backyard craft fairs, which she grew into a thriving retail and wholesale six-figure business that was carried at over 250 shops around the world.

Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, running her own workshop studio and eventually co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. Now, she connects, educates and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events, blog and podcast. She has a BA and an MA in English from San Francisco State University and a dual “PhD” in crafting to keep your sanity and badass business skills from the School of Life.

When she takes off her Dear Handmade Life “boss hat”, you’ll find her squeezing in time to write or draw, trying her damndest to make her baby laugh or hold still long enough for her to change his diaper, devouring one of the dozens of self-help books on her nightstand, trying to find something interesting to take a photo of on her morning walk in her mundane suburban neighborhood, watching Below Deck and eating the best sausage and orecchiette courtesy of her husband or dreaming of living a stone’s throw from the beach.

You can find her at

https://dearhandmadelife.com/

Nicole Stevenson is a multi-passionate creative, middle-aged first-time mama, impostor syndrome warrior, cake and Korean BBQ connoisseur, confessional journaler, second-hand shop scavenger, deep dive conversationalist and the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life.

She can't recall a time in her life when she wasn't making something.

At 24, she turned my passion into my profession when she started selling Random Nicole, her handcrafted clothing line at flea markets and backyard craft fairs, which she grew into a thriving retail and wholesale six-figure business that was carried at over 250 shops around the world.

Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, running her own workshop studio and eventually co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. Now, she connects, educates and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events, blog and podcast. She has a BA and an MA in English from San Francisco State University and a dual “PhD” in crafting to keep your sanity and badass business skills from the School of Life.

When she takes off her Dear Handmade Life “boss hat”, you’ll find her squeezing in time to write or draw, trying her damndest to make her baby laugh or hold still long enough for her to change his diaper, devouring one of the dozens of self-help books on her nightstand, trying to find something interesting to take a photo of on her morning walk in her mundane suburban neighborhood, watching Below Deck and eating the best sausage and orecchiette courtesy of her husband or dreaming of living a stone’s throw from the beach.

You can find her at https://dearhandmadelife.com/

Taylor and Katie Smith are sisters who have a top 1% Etsy shop where they sell vinyl and planner stickers. Katie designs the stickers and all the stickers are printed on site.

The Smith sisters are two totally different humans (and that's one of the reasons Kristin was so excited to talk to them — the other that she's been friends with Katie for almost a decade) and that's one of the reasons that lead to their incredible success.

They talk about the different things that they were both able to bring to this new business venture and how they were able to do over $100,000 in sales on Etsy last year, selling just stickers alone.

Taylor and Katie are now creating a brand new course helping other people achieve creative business success in the same way they have with their new course: Dream, Create, Sell.

Throughout the episode we talk about why they decided to create a course (they want to help other creatives and artists who are selling their work get more traction with their businesses). We also talk about who this course is for, what mistakes they see people making, and what students are going to get out of Dream, Create, Sell.

This is a great conversation for anyone interested in diving deeper with their art and their artistic business.

If you want to learn more about Dream, Create, Sell or Studio Sisters head to https://shopstudiosisters.com

Save 10% on Dream, Create, Sell with the code: RUKRISTIN

What are rukristin's Daily Pages?
- Daily Pages are a project that rukristin came up with in the summer of 2018
- Each day, she opens up a small notebook to the first/next two blank pages and creates something with pictures, paper, words, or the bits of life
- The Daily Pages project is a way for people to document their lives in a simple and accessible way. By using small notebook there is less surface to fill, which makes it simpler and faster to create pages and tell the stories of your life.
- Through repetition and habit building, Daily Pages helps to create incredible outcomes — both on the page and inside the artist.

What can Daily Pages do for you?
- Daily Pages will make you a better artist.
- You will level up your skills
- Whatever tools you're using? You'll get better
- You will find and develop your style
- You will tell stories about your life that you wouldn't have otherwise
- You'll use (more of) your stuff
- You'll get new ideas for how to use your stuff

More about this week's show:

Scissors are so important as a scrapbooker! Here's a rundown of the scissors we talked about on today's show and the things they are best at.

Everyday/all-around scissors: Grey/Yellow -- Westcott 8" Titanium Bonded Scissors

These are my everyday go-to scissors. I cut everything with these. I use them for Daily Pages, stickers, washi tape, whatever I need on a regular basis. These scissors definitely get the most use.

Cutting straight lines: Purple -- Westcott Extreme Edge Titanium 9”

For cutting straight lines, the most important thing is a long blade with a 'bent' edge. I use these scissors for cutting straight lines on paper when my trimmer isn’t an option. Like when I need to cut paper that’s less than an inch wide, or when the paper is super small. Or when I don’t want to bring the trimmer with me on a trip.

Another pair of Westcott Titanium scissors. These are my paper-only scissors. I don’t let the blades go near anything sticky, gummy, or something too hard for them to cut.

Heavy-duty: Red -- Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Non-Stick Micro Serrated Snips, 7"

It can be hard to find these Tim Holtz micro-serrated scissors with the classic red handles these days, but black is just as good. These are my heavy-duty scissors. I use these to cut bits of metal, chipboard, or anything else that might be extra tough. These scissors will go through some of the more annoying embellishments -- plastic, coated paper, any of the weird stuff.

Detail work: Orange -- Fiskars Micro-Tip Scissors, 5”

These are my detail scissors. I use these Fiskars scissors to cut out anything small. Whether I want to hand-cut the letters of the alphabet and create my own title, or I want to fussy cut something from a patterned paper; these are my go-to scissors.

The small blade is easy to maneuver in tight spaces, and the sharp tip will make clean detailed cuts to keep tiny images looking as crisp as you can make them.

Scissor FAQ

You can get by with cheap scissors. This is not necessarily the first place that you have to invest, but when you do, your money will go far.

If you're in the USA you can take scissors in your carry on with up to 4" blades. This is from the pivot point (or screw) to the tip. But TSA has the discretion to take whatever they want, so don't take your favorite scissors.

You can clean scissors with soap and water. Don't get water into the area with the screw and make sure you dry them thoroughly. I personally like to use a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol to get any of the sticky stuff off.

There's never a bad time to discuss some of the most important supplies that we use every time we go to papercraft. Inks form the foundation for stamping, creating color palettes, applying textures and so much more. I've been using Washi tape in more and more interesting ways recently - check out the Daily Pages Bootcamp and the @rukristin instagram to see much more.

This time on Crafty Ass Female, Brandi and Kristin dive deep into a topic that absolutely everyone feels. First we figure out the different forms of loneliness we feel, and how they manifest in our lives, especially creatively. We talk about the different ways we end up feeling about loneliness, and tactics to cope.

Brandi explores how she feels loneliness for others, and much, much more.

In this episode of the Crafty Ass Female podcast Brandi Kincaid is back for the second of a three episode series. Brandi and Kristin love to get deep on topics and authenticity is a good one. They get into a great conversation about what it means to be a person, a woman, and a small business owner, on the internet.

There are constant changes on social media. Whether it's one of the the algorithms that you're supposed to be keeping up with or one of brand new features that you're supposed to be learning how to use and prioritize, there is a lot going on when it comes to 'trying to optimize' your presence on social media.

But you don't have to optimize who you are on social media in order to show up and connect with people who are going to be interested in who you are and what you do. Kristin and Brandi talk about how as long as you show up as your authentic self, you'll do just fine.

In this week's episode, Kristin invites one of her favorite people onto the show, Brandi Kincaid, for a special three episode series. This first episode centers around the amazing project, Extravagant Hope, that Brandi has been working on (and Kristin has been hearing about) for years now.

Important topics in the conversation:

Things that you care about can take so much longer than you think they will.

You can get pulled in so many different directions.

Things might look totally different or completely the same as you expected when you started out.

All of these things are totally normal and completely okay.

You can pick up Brandi's Extravagant Hope mailer in her The Shiny Bits shop.

After some introductions, Laura and Kristin talk about how they met, and discuss their history with scrapbooking and memory keeping.

Kristin introduces her longtime scrapbook friend and Awesome Ladies All Access Club member Laura Kaplan. Laura is a teacher from the Chicago suburbs with an amazing family that she's been scrapbooking for 20 years.

Kristin and Laura talk about

Crafty Ass Female is now produced by the Awesome Ladies Project, an amazing community that also is the best place to discuss new episodes and so much more. Visit theawesomeladiesproject.com/dailypages to find out more about Daily Pages and the upcoming Daily Pages Anniversary Celebration, kicking off on April 1st and continuing all month long. And check out theawesomeladiesproject.com/box for a sneak peek of the new Daily Pages kit!

One more vault episode before new Crafty Ass Female, and we're bringing you all the way back to episode 20. This was the first time we ran the 100 Day project, and we talk about the history of it, and why it is so popular and meaningful.

In this episode you'll hear Amanda + Kristin talking about selfies + Kristin's #Thursday3 weekly selfie challenge where she calls you to:

(1) take + post a photo of yourself,
(2) share three 'right now' things, and
(3) tag three of your friends to do the same

Kristin defends feeling awkward in photos, makes excellent points on why taking a photo of yourself is better than having others take a photo of you, & provides a tip for taking 'mirror' selfies!

"Selifes are - more than anything - a way to control your own image. In a world that really tries to control your own image especially women, especially women's bodies...take back control with photos of yourself." -- KRISTIN

Kristin starts off the episode with her plan to move into 2021 with Daily Pages, and lets you know about The Reset, a 30 day anti-racist visual reflection challenge, starting soon. Kristin also talks about her 100 Days of Daily Pages.

In the vault episode, Kristin talks to Amanda about how Daily Pages came to be. The show touches upon alignment and the feeling of landing on a project that’s aligned to your message and purpose.

They girls also discuss the difference between creating vs. creating under pressure, and how ACCESSIBLE Kristin’s Daily Pages are - whether you’re a seasoned scrapbooker or a beginner - with very little supplies needed to complete it.

In this episode, A + K wish everyone a Happy New Year and talk about what they’ve been experiencing and how they’ve been feeling at the start of 2021!

Kristin talk about her plans for this year including:
• The Reset w/ Dynasti Hunt
• The Book of Me
• Daily Pages !!!
• how she’ll be memory keeping

Amanda goes into her 2021 plans, and as part of it, she has decided it’s time to leave the show. YES, after showing up for the most gratifying 160+ episodes of Crafty Ass Female, now is the time. She has loved co-hosting with Kristin, loved every single guest interview, and is excited for Kristin to make the show her own.

find out more at craftyassfemale.com

According to Ali Edwards, the creator of the annual one little word® project, a single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting, or rich and soft and slow.

In this episode you'll hear Amanda + Kristin reflect on this past year with each of their words & how they showed up for them. The girls also talk about their experiences leading up to choosing their words for 2021.

find out more at craftyassfemale.com

Shannan Manton starts off by telling A + K how she got started scrapbooking, and how she inevitably came to the realization that she could “throw out the rule book” and be as silly and ‘real’ has she wants to be when documenting her life!

Shannan discusses how efficiency WINS when it comes to her scrapbooking, and how - even though a majority of what she creates lives on the computer - she shares her work with the world.

The girls talk to Shannan about her plans for making stuff in 2021 and how she doesn’t want to have time limits placed on her scrapbooking.

Brandi Kincaid starts off by telling us how “cute” 2019 Brandi was after living through 2020. She shares that she was in the hospital feeling lonely & scared at the same time as the world was going through the loneliest & scariest time as well.

Brandi discusses how she is making room for life as it is, how she speaks a language of grief in her life in a way that redefines it for herself, and how “showing up in the middle” is what this year is offering her.

Kelly Purkey has returned for the third (!!!) time to talk to A + K about her digital Election 2020 kit and questions that came up surrounding documenting politics and the election in general. The girls explore this topic and an interesting conversation unfolds.

find out more at theawesomeladiesproject.com

Em Randall is a painter, illustrator, and designer who works from a constantly messy desk in Northern Michigan.

Inspired by whimsical nostalgia and magical verity, her work often features strong women in a combination of both authentic and impossible realities.

When she’s not working on a new project, you can usually find Em in the kitchen trying out another biscuit recipe, or lounging on the couch with her husband and cat.

find out more at craftyassfemale.com

Tazhiana Gordon + Krystal Iduñate start off by talking about their creative backstories and how they “got into” the online scrapbooking community.

Tazhi + Krystal talk about The Scrappy Sisters - their new podcast - and how it came to be (SPOILER ALERT: from sliding into DMs). They share that JUST SHOWING UP is the key to amazing, wonderful opportunities opening up.

The girls discuss projects they work on together, some stories they’ve told, what this year’s brought them, and Tazhi’s participation in the NY Times article entitled Scrapbooking is an Act of “Radical Self-Care” . This conversation is amazing!

Ali Edwards has returned & we couldn't be happier! This episode begins with Ali talking about the “collective trauma” that we are all in the middle of and how we’re fine, but there’s an underlying trauma hum present. Also, how or even do we document it?

Ali talks about story telling, playing with product, December Daily® 2020, and including hard times from this year while looking for the magic.

The girls discuss Ali’s December Daily® Product Play 4 Workshop, Prep Party, and favorite products from this year’s 2020 collection.

find out more at theawesomeladiesproject.com/harvestfest

Andi Shepard starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about her early years of creativity, and how her mom encouraged her give advertising a try before diving into engineering.

In this episode, A + K talk about how fast September went and how they are celebrating the start of October with the BIG SWITCH over from Patreon to The Awesome Ladies Project!

Both A + K talk about how you have to be knee deep in something before you realize whether or not it works for you…and how that’s kind of how they felt about Patreon. It was working until it wasn’t, and now it’s on to the next!

…and the NEXT in this case is joining forces with Kristin’s Awesome Ladies community, and OMG you guys: t’s about to get a complete revamp!

find out more at craftyassfemale.com

A + K are starting Season 7: The Season of The Unexpected in full RESILIENCE mode having been #doingthedays since we’ve been dealing with a global pandemic these past few months.

The girls talk about how ‘the unexpected’ rest of this hard year might have an ‘OH NO’ negative type of vibe to it, but could also be viewed as kind of an exciting unknown adventure that takes a positive spin.

A + K started this season back in March QUARANTINED. We were all at home, things were rapidly changing, and we have all been doing our best. With over half a million downloads under our belt - RESILIENCE was the lens through which season 6 was viewed through…and IT. WAS. SPECIAL.

In this episode, Kristin talks to Amanda about how Daily Pages came to be. The show touches upon alignment and the feeling of landing on a project that’s aligned to your message and purpose.

They girls also discuss the difference between creating vs. creating under pressure, and how ACCESSIBLE Kristin’s Daily Pages are - whether you’re a seasoned scrapbooker or a beginner - with very little supplies needed to complete it.

In this episode, A + K talk about how September is the new January when it comes to setting goals and getting things done. Even historically, the autumn months were the time to work hard and harvest a.k.a. ‘get things done’ season.

Kristin is planning an upcoming program tied to her Book of Me and a rebrand of The Awesome Ladies Project, while Amanda has been prepping for all the extra stuff through her autumn Bucket List and thinking wayyyyy too much about 2020’s December Daily.

In this episode, A + K talk about how September is the new January when it comes to setting goals and getting things done. Even historically, the autumn months were the time to work hard and harvest a.k.a. ‘get things done’ season.

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In this episode, A + K talk about the ways you can tell stories through photography. The girls discuss Kristin’s upcoming week-long photo challenge starting on Monday, August 17th that will teach you the following:

How to use photography prompts to help you tell a specific story

How to use whatever camera you have to get great results

How to decide when a photo is good enough for your story

How to take photographs of yourself (selfies) to help tell your story

And how to see the story through the lens before you take the shot

In this episode, A + K check-in with each other about where they’re at via Kristin’s super fun, low-impact little currently list that has been out in the world since 2012. Check out craftyassfemale.com for the full show notes with links!

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In this episode, A + K talk about Kristin’s framework for telling scrapbook stories, and how almost every story can be broken up into one of the three categories (with some inevitable overlap as well):

Everyday scrapbooking sees the beauty in the stories of our routines.

Adventure scrapbooking is the highlight reel of our best, special, and most eventful, life-moments.

Introspective scrapbooking is about feelings and emotions over facts and figures.

The girls walk through each style, discuss what past personal projects of theirs have fit into which category, and how this framework can provide some clarity and combat decision fatigue.

In this episode, A + K talk through about the ways they are planning on documenting 2020.

Amanda is planning to continue blasting out her weekly memory keeping pages in her Passion Planner®, and has taken to her website for deep dives and detailed posts.

Kristin talks about her plan to jump back into pocket scrapbooking in a 3x8 album to have a chronological account of 2020. YES! She will also continue making art in Daily Pages - which if you are a member of The Awesome Ladies Project - can do so along with her everyday at 12pm!

The girls also talk about great resources for COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter from around the interweb to help get those stories into your memory keeping.

A + K conclude the episode discussing how to document the GREAT UNKNOWN that is the next six months of this year. As important as it is to document what has happened so far, it is equally as important to document how you feel about not knowing what is yet to come.

In this episode, A + K discuss what it means to find your voice and be the narrator of your story — both topics in her 6-week course FIND YOUR VOICE.

LESSONS INCLUDE:

What is Storytelling?

Telling Your Stories

Who Are You -- The Storyteller

What Do You Have to Say?

Expressing Your Voice

Building On Your Story

2020 is not only what year it is, but also a number synonymous with good vision. In a lot of ways, this year has helped us see more clearly, and we are only half way done! We want to know how you’re documenting it all.

In this episode, A + K start by talking a bit about the last 6 months of 2020 and how NOBODY thought it would look like this. They discuss where we are all at with the pandemic and how everything we’ve been through has affected how we’re framing our summer plans.

Amanda talks about how her INSPIRED SUMMER PLANS are revolving around the removal of accumulated clutter, both in her exterior (apartment) and interior (body) home.

Kristin talks about how she was INSPIRED to postpone this summer’s Awesome Ladies Live to next year, do an online Book of Me Bootcamp that same weekend instead, & a week-long summit the week of August 17th. (Stay tuned for details on that!)

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In this episode, A + K revisit the topic of COMPARISON-itis since ‘comparing ourselves to others’ is something we do A LOT of while scrolling, especially this past week with the Black Lives Matter movement and wanting ourselves to be better and do better now that awareness, learning, and UN-learning has increased.

Amanda + Kristin talk about new ways you can think of about hobbies, absorbing inspiration, and sizing up the gap from where you are to where you want to be.

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Cara Newhart starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about her early years of creativity, what her first creative business was, and how once she hosted her first art retreat, she was hooked!

Cara talks about the trying times we’re living in right now, and how her full-time travel based business was effected by it.

Cara answers the question WHY ART JOURNALLING? in the grand scheme of her business and creative practice. She also discusses her favorite mediums, and a bit about the process.

Cara talks to A + K about how she diversifies, The Flight of the Hummingbird, the Marco Polo app, and how RESILIENCE - this season’s theme - is a core life value of hers!

In this episode, A + K talk about Kristin’s upcoming six-week storytelling workshop entitled FIND YOUR VOICE starting next Monday, May 25th.

Amanda + Kristin talks about what was Kristin’s inspiration behind the workshop, the format and pacing, the six different modules the class is broken up into, and why NOW is the perfect time to spend time finding and reflecting on your voice.

Lauren Hooper starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about her early years of creativity, what her first creative business was, and how once she hosted her first art retreat, she was hooked!

Lauren talks about the trying times we’re living in right now, and how her full-time travel based business was effected by it.

Lauren answers the question WHY ART JOURNALLING? in the grand scheme of her business and creative practice. She also discusses her favorite mediums, and a bit about the process.

Lauren talks to A + K about how she diversifies, The Flight of the Hummingbird, the Marco Polo app, and how RESILIENCE - this season’s theme - is a core life value of hers!

Tina Aszmus starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about her early foray into design, her background with Studio Calico, and how she’s inspired by flowers, plants, and the illustrations & textures of vintage children’s books.

Tina & the girls then go into how much scrapbooking trends have changed, and how years ago it was all about adding more, more, more while now, it’s more of an attitude of LESS.

Tracey Clark starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about her early creativity, how she got into photography, and how the next stepping stone in her creative lifestyle always seemed to present itself. She explains explains how blogging was like journalling on steroids

Tracey then goes into how the current state of affairs didn’t disrupt her family’s routine all that much, but how it got her wondering how she could help get people through this. Using her superpower of simplicity, the idea of PICTURE HOME was born!

Heather Spooner starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about how a decision to try to sell a few handmade Halloween cards on Instagram sparked her creative career and embarked on the journey of how to make a hobby into a business.

Heather’s then goes into the heart of her story that centers around how she broke out of this box-checking lifestyle and ended up accepting a life of happiness for herself and nobody else.

Heather also talks to A + K about how and why she left her career as a teacher, how she ended her engagement to her college boyfriend, made a serendipitous ‘airplane friend’ who ended up becoming her wife, and flipped the table on the script others and society had written for her life.

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Joy Frame jumps right into telling Amanda + Kristin about her idea for a collective kid-friendly space for adults where women could come together: Cabin Fever Coffee and Play House. Joy is very much in the beginning stages of making this idea come to life, and it’s so intriguing to listen to her talk about it in the light of recent COVID outbreak.

Joy also explains her role as a social worker and dealing with complex emotions. The girls talk about how structure and routine can be a healthy way cope and combat anxiety, but it’s also important to sit without judgement if you need to be idle.

After 3 successful wedding seasons and the 2020 election on the horizon, MK was itching to chat about her political interests again. In a matter of months during the "off season" for weddings in Chicago, MK created First Hundred Days, a podcast inspired by the 'first 100 days of a presidency' ideology. She speaks with politicians and recent college grads alike and new episodes are out every Tuesday!

Picking up right where Season 5 left off, SEASON 6 is HERE and the theme for this season of Crafty Ass Female is RESILIENCE - something we could all use right now.

Adriana Picker starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about coming from a creative family of women who were always cooking, gardening, or making something. She then goes into how she pursued journalism & design in college before realizing that her illustrations were in high demand and that she could make a living from her artwork.

Adriana also explains how sticking to her niche of botanical illustration has allowed her to work with a variety of brands in numerous ways. She takes what she’s known for and broadens it in ways that work for her.

Adriana also talks to A + K about how she keeps her take on ‘botanical’ modern and relevant with COLOR and COMPOSITION, and the tools and techniques she used to create her new book, Petal.

Amber Kemp Gerstel starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about how she went from a child psychologist to starting up Damask Love and making it her full time gig.

Amber also explains the newest edition to the Damask Love family: YayDay Paper Company - a digital subscription service offering delightfully designed stationery, craft projects and planner goodies that you can print from home. She discusses how YayDay allows her to have flexibility and fun when it comes to creating diversity in paper products.

Amber also talks to A + K about how she keeps to her brand’s story, knows when to add people to her team, and how she spends the few minutes before she falls asleep every night to dream as hard as she can!

Heather Kell starts off talking to Amanda + Kristin about how she got into planning in 2015 and why she decided to start her @kellofplan account. She discusses how she was able to quit her day job and make planning and creating her full time gig!

Heather explains how not getting asked to return to The Happy Planner® Squad was a blow to her identity in a way - but absolutely kicked her business as Kell of a Plan into a new gear!

Heather gives us an idea of what a week in her life is like, talks to A + K about how YouTube works to bring in revenue, shares her view on what her role is in the planner community, and discusses how she handles negative feedback.

In this episode, Kristin talks about her Awesome Ladies Live creative retreat, how she makes it happen, why you should come, what to expect, and the logistics that goes into hosting a live event like this in case you want to too!

Creativity through Connection is this year’s theme of the retreat, and Amanda can’t gush enough about the emotional accessibility of Awesome Ladies Live.

Color is infused in most of the creative choices we make, whether for our crafty projects, our homes, or our clothes. Color effects our mood, is a form of self-expression, and can help convey the story we want to tell.

A +K discuss their plans and exactly how excited they are for Ali Edwards' Pieces of Us challenge (spoiler alert: it is very excited).

Sara McNally gives us her creative backstory from going to school for graphic design, designing greeting cards from home, working “terrible ad-agency jobs”, doing a letterpress printing internship, to ‘falling ass-backwards’ into owning her business. She talks about trying to figure out how to blend her love of making things, working with her hands, and writing.

Sara feels like her superpower is brevity + efficiency, and talks about the complexity of her designs is in their simplicity. Brilliant! She also talks about the abundance mindset vs. the scarcity mindset, ‘pruning back’ different aspects of her business, needing to learn how to delegate tasks to her team, + standing behind her business decisions.

In this episode, A + K talk about establishing and creating routines, both in their crafty and personal lives. Kristin talks about some of her challenges and how she adapts her days to them, and Amanda finds ways to make creative time work inside of an increasingly busy life.

Lisa Congdon starts off by telling A + K about her “early mid-life crisis” and what her really intense desire to be creative manifested into. Lisa then goes into the greatest lesson writing her first book Art, Inc. taught her.

Teaching is also a big part of Lisa Congdon’s creative life. She goes into what she loves about teaching and letting go of the preciousness of her work when teaching students how to “art” using her techniques. Lisa and the girls discuss copying vs. ‘being influenced by’, and how to embrace your own voice, ideas, and “wonkiness”.

Amanda + Kristin pick Lisa’s brain about being personal & political, and using her voice/platform to talk about topics she cares about. The girls discuss putting out messages of self-love, worthiness, self-care and being an influencer vs. being an impacter.

Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of three illustrated books: Steal Like An Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work! His next book is Keep Going, a guide to staying creative in good times and bad. His books have over a million copies in print and have been translated into over two dozen languages.

He speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. In previous lives, he worked as a librarian, a web designer, and an advertising copywriter. He grew up in the cornfields of Ohio, but now he lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and sons.

Elise Joy starts off by jumping right into her first book Big Dreams, Daily Joys and tells A + K how the idea for it came about. She also talks about a bit about her blog, and why Instagram is her main jam now.

Elise goes into how she prioritizes her multiple business and creative ventures, and how she defines HAVING SUCCESS WITH HOBBIES. We also hear Elise talk about goal-setting in such a pragmatic way!