Hi, this is Ali Edwards for Big Picture Scrapbooking.

I am beyond excited to be participating in the 4Experts Series for 2009 and I want to talk with you a little bit today about what my portion of the year will entail, what you can expect in this workshop, and why I really care about the topics we will be covering.

This class has two main focuses: yesterday and today. In this case of this class yesterday does not mean the present past (as in I went to the story yesterday), but farther back. During the first six weeks we will be exploring and compiling personal stories from our own history. The educational emphasis will be on journaling, how to tell stories from your past,
We will be starting a 3-ring 12x12 album with pages that are all about you and your story.
Now many times when I teach classes that are "all about you" I meet some reluctance and questions such as, "Isn't it too selfish to create something about myself?" or "I barely have time to scrapbook my kids why would I do something about me?" or "Who is really going to care about my story." Or "My childhood was horrible, why would I want to document it?" Or "I don't have any photos of myself as a child."

Each of these questions and concerns is valid and will be addressed in class.
Here's the deal: it is not selfish to tell your own story. Your story is important. You are important. No one else can tell your story in your own authentic voice but you. Telling some of the tales from your own personal experience has the potential to make a huge difference in the life of someone you love, as well as in your own life. It is worth the risk. Let me say that again, it is worth the risk. Our main goal is to create an ongoing, self-affirming life project that celebrates you as an individual.

The second six weeks will focus on today…and the life you are living right now. Scrapbooking our everyday lives is probably my most favorite sort of documentation. My life is different because of this emphasis on the everyday. I find that I am more aware, more open, and overall enjoy my life more through the process of taking a look at the lives we are living each and everyday.

One of the big questions we will be tackling during this portion of the class is, "What stories are really going to matter 10, 20, 30 years from now?" and how do we go about telling them creatively.
These two topics, yesterday + today, are really at the heart of my scrapbooking. I want to create pages that are meaningful and substantive and give a clear picture (both literally and figuratively) about who I am, how I became this person, and what sort of life my family leads today.

I so hope you can join me on this reflective and inspirational journey. In the end I sincerely believe that you will find that taking some time to focus on yesterday and today can have a really big impact on tomorrow.