Episode 197: Scrapbook Roundtable: Storytelling in Ali Edwards' December Daily

Crafty Ass Female

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