Topics for our show today include:

Amazing! Look for a full blog post over on the Awesome Ladies Project later this week, and make sure to check out awesomeladieslive.com before it's too late to join us here in East Lansing next month!!!

Our Guests:

Christine is a memory keeper and crafter of all types and has been scrapbooking for well over 20 years. She lives in Northern NJ with her husband, daughter and Havanese, Lulu, in the town she grew up in. Professionally Christine is in commercial real estate, primarily investment and asset & property management. She is an art journaler, an avid book lover, a music, theater, movie and tv fan and a hardcore foodie. Christine has been a member of the Awesome Ladies Project since 2018 and a member of the ALP FSS since 2020. She can be found on IG as cp_scraps and on the ALP as Christine_P.

Megan Kiekel Anderson (she/her) has been a memory keeper for over two decades. A dark fiction writer, she lives in Kansas City with her chaotic family including too many cats, chickens, and foster kittens. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram under the handle @megan_nerdnest or at her website at [www.megankiekelanderson.com](www.megankiekelanderson.com)

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.

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!

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:

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.   

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.