Craft The Story: Ali Edwards - Details

Hey everyone! I've got another layout to share, and it seems fitting that I'm sharing it this week. Seeing as how the story behind the photos started almost a full year ago. The week after Thanksgiving 2016 to be exact. That is when I started a journey to become a healthier version of myself. 

I've never been one to talk about my weight, or even to acknowledge that I had gained weight over the last 6-7 years. It's been in the back of my head for years that I needed to do something about it, but I never got motivated enough to even try. Until a year ago, when one of my closest friends started her own weight loss journey. And in hearing a bit about the program she was doing, I knew that it would be the perfect fit for me. 

I never took actual before photos. But I had taken photos with the girls on Mother's Day this year, and I noticed that in the photo of Sarah and I, we were posed exactly the same as we were in the photo we took on Thanksgiving last year. So I made her take another photo with me in October, after I reached my goal weight. 

I started on this program the week after Thanksgiving, and started working towards my first goal. Which I met back in April. I then took a two month break, doing my best on my own to make healthy choices and maintain my weight. But I also knew deep down that I still had some more weight that I wanted to lose. You see, I ended up having to replace pretty much my entire wardrobe. I had some clothes saved from years ago, when I was smaller. But I'm also smaller now than I've been in forever and ever. So my choices were limited as I lost more weight. So since I was replacing almost everything, I knew that I wanted to get down to where I really, really wanted to be - so that I could make the most of my purchases with that end goal/size in mind. 

So I went back on the program towards the end of June, and met my final goal at the beginning of October. And while start to finish, it took me 10 months to reach my final goal, with the intentional breaks that I took along the way (including the two month break), I actually only spend 6 of those 10 months actively trying to lose weight. I ended with a 55 pound weight lose, and I'm very proud of it. 

So, on to the actual layout. I was looking thru the Details Story Kit from Ali Edwards, and realized it would be a great way to document my story. There's a lot more that I could share/document about this weigh lose journey, but I wanted to at least get some facts down. Some quick details. 

I have the actual Story Kit, and was planning on creating a traditional layout. But I've also gotten used to doing a lot of my planning either in Photoshop or in my Silhouette software (that's usually if I'm planning on die cutting something). Since I also have the digital version of the Story Kit, I was playing around in Photoshop, mapping out my plan. Kind of the same thing as sketching out the plan for the page. 

And at some point, I decided to just make this a fully digital layout. I love playing with paper, but sometimes, I just want to veg out on the couch and do nothing. And part of my version of doing "nothing" is playing around on the computer. So sometimes, digital just appeals to the couch potato in me ;)

I knew that I wanted to use the "details" 4x6" card, with a 4x6" photo underneath, and another 4x6" card from the kit below the photo. 

Since I had three photos that I collaged together onto one 4x6" photo, I knew that this 4x6" card from the kit would work perfectly paired up with it. The 01, 02, and 03 divided sections allowed me to document some details to go along with each of the photos. 

I recently read a comment from someone that had lost a lot of weight, and they said it should be socially acceptable to wear the size label that comes on new clothes out in public. Wear it proudly. And I guess that's why I wanted to document my starting weight/sizes, and where I'm at now. I'm not one to pat myself on the back often, but I am so freaking proud of myself for accomplishing this goal and getting to where I am. I may not be proud of where I started, but I'm proud of where I ended up. 

In every Story Kit, there is a marketing card that includes a photographic image with a quote on one side, and some info about the theme of the kit on the other side. The card in this kit had a floral image along with a quote, and I thought the colors in the flowers went well with my photos. 

So I selected the top part of the card, and used it to create a border along the top and bottom of the page. Since the card was six inches wide, I just pasted it twice along the top and twice along the bottom. I added in a scalloped border along the top and bottom as well, and picked out a digital patterned paper for the base of my page. 

The nice thing about using digital elements is that you can size them however you'd like. The physical chipboard circle pieces are a good size, but I was able to use them larger digitally. The same goes for the "why", "what", and "when" cards. I sized them to fit onto the page to my liking, and once I was happy with them, I then typed up my journaling on each card. 

I know that, if you're like me, when you hear about someone losing a lot of weight, and doing it successfully, you kind of want to know how they did it. Like I said, I wish I could say that I did it all on my own, but I didn't. I did use a food program, and that program was something that I choose to invest in. I believe in this program 100%, and I know it works. If you work it and commit to it. And I was fully committed, 110%, when I was on the plan. I never cheated. Not even once. Which is why it worked. 

If any of you are sincerely interested in more info about the program that I used, feel free to email me and I can share a bit more about it with you. 

 

Comments

[Dolly (scrapthat)]

WOW girl! Congratulations!!! That is one awesome accomplishment :D Now did you ditch all the size 14 stuff??? if not free your closet or space for more size 02 stuff!! :D

[Deneen]

You know how proud I am of you!!!! I love that Sarah is wearing the same boots in each photo and you are wearing your flip flops in each photo as well LOL it's the little things.

[Kim M]

congrats on achieving your goal! I know it was a lot of dedication and hard work and kuddos for sticking to your plan, you look awesome!!!!

[John Vonhof]

I am so proud of what you have accomplished. I love seeing the new you. This layout is a great way to share your story.

[Heather Crawford]

Dang! What an awesome accomplishment! You look great! Congrats on your success! I am stuck in the middle of thinking about getting my act together again..lol.

[Korey]

Congratulations on achieving your goal!

[CarrieH]

Love these kind of real-life stories. Congrats and thanks for sharing. Real stories are the best stories.

[Karen]

Congratulations! I would love to hear more of your story...what program you followed...but I'm not sure of your email address. Could you email me?

Karen

[Yvonne]

YOU GO GIRL!! :) I'm totally catching up! You look fantastic!!!