Ali Edwards // January OLW

January is a time for big plans, renewed focus, endless energy. Or at the very least, a fresh start. There’s something about a new calendar, new planner, and new projects. This year, I’ve had some issues getting into the “right” mindset. So, for now, I’m going through the motions and hoping somewhere along the way something will click.

For the past two years, I’ve enrolled in the Ali Edwards Design Inc. One Little Word Workshop and purchased the coordinating kit. One Little Word is an awesome 12-month project and to learn more about it head over to Ali’s site. I have yet to successfully complete all twelve prompts for the year…but I refuse to give up . Maybe the third time’s the charm.

Live less out of habit, and more our of intent.

This year I’ve chosen the word “intentional.” Ali recently used this quote in one of her Story Kits and it really resonated: “Live less out of habit, and more out of intent.” I’ve started to feel like a lot of what I do is habit, and not in a positive way. I’m very reactionary, almost never proactive. Always procrastinating. Always in survival mode. Things feel disorganized, chaotic, and often emotionally charged. I’m always wishing away the phase we are in for the next, hopefully easier, one. I know I will look back and regret it. All of that being said, perhaps if I take a step back, adjust my perspective, and spend some time enjoying little things, I can be happier. But I need to do the work. I don’t want to confuse “easy,” with “happy.” So, with the best of intentions, I completed the January prompt for this year.

I don’t want to confuse “easy,” with “happy.”

The project is completed in a 6x8 pocket page album, and I’ll be using a mix of 6x8 page protector designs, as well as a few different 3x8 page protector designs. To get started, I scanned the cover of an extremely old Jcrew catalog cover that I love, printed it on vellum, and adhered it to the inside cover of the album. I’ve never decorated the inside cover of an album before, but I loved some of the ideas I saw on Instagram during the December Daily project. I love words. And I loved this particular grouping and thought it was a good fit for this project. Not sure how durable something like this is, but it’s not the end of the world if I need to remove it.

To start the album, I used a 3x8 page divider with a cork 2019 and a chipboard from the 2019 OLW kit. I paired it with a 6x8 photo of myself that my daughter took a month ago.

Next, I painted the wood veneer piece that also came with the main kit. I used three acrylic colors (blue, yellow, green) to get an ombre-ish effect. Ali designated a theme for this year’s workshop, “Do the work.” Considering my history with this project, I decided to put that front and center. I printed her word art and adhered the wood veneer piece to the page.

Do the work.

The rest of the January prompt is fairly straight forward. I hole-punched a 4x6 January card and stapled a pink asterisk for a little color. For my word, I formatted the card in 3x8 and stamped on the bottom with “just breathe.” I decided on 3x8 so that I could use the quotation card on the reverse side in order to fit a collection of inspirational quotes.

The following page is a four-up 3x4 page with the definition, my reason why, letting go, and invitation. This is really the meat of the prompt. These cards are the foundation we’re building on for the rest of the class (and the year.) This part took longer than it should have. I had trouble staying focused and struggled with some of the answers. I have no idea why. I finished this part over the course of a few days. I’m not 100% happy with my answers. Was I thoughtful enough? Did I really dig deep? Sigh. Classic problems of the over-thinker. I figured done is better than perfect, and I moved on.

I figured done is better than perfect, and I moved on.

I used a really old 3x4 transparency card for a little more color and interest. And to finish off the month, I hand-wrote the “year ahead” and “intentions” pages. Below is a gallery with all of the pages in one place. Let me know if you have any questions. I’m cautiously optimistic that this will be my year to complete ALL the prompts. Have any of you participated and finished all 12 months? How do you stay focused and motivated? Asking for a friend ;)