As memory keepers, we love telling our favorite stories and expressing all the feeling behind the happy smiles in our most beloved photos. When it comes to storytelling through scrapbooking, it’s important to be able to capture all the layers of your story, delving deeper than the basic “where,” “when,” and “what” descriptions of your photos.
With the Story by Stacy™ program, memory keepers of all experience levels can practice the art of storytelling. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Stacy’s Stories I Love program, showing just how easy it can be to record a meaningful and in-depth account of your favorite memories!
The workshop kit built around this program comes with its very own album, story and photo pages, title and closing pages, stickers, and a Stories I Love workbook. The Stories I Love workshop is available in two different kit options, the original Story by Stacy™ Stories I Love kit, and the Story by Stacy™ Holiday Stories I Love kit! (You can even get these kits at a 15% discount when you purchase them together in the Holiday Stories Bundle, available only through August 31!)
With a Stories I Love workshop kit, you start out by gathering between 5 and 10 of your favorite photos (preferably 4″ x 6″) to work with. These photos do not have to follow a specific theme; one of the key points of this storytelling exercise is to learn how to tell individual, stand-alone stories and get into the meaningful details of those memories. The closing page of your finished Stories I Love album spells it out beautifully,“These pictures belong together only because I love them.”
Your next step is to select or take a current photo of yourself. Identifying yourself as the storyteller can be very empowering, especially if you find that you don’t always make an appearance in the photos and memories you choose to scrapbook. This photo will be added to the closing page of your finished album.
As you continue on with the Stories I Love process, you’ll turn to your workbook to help you identify and uncover the various layers of the stories you want to capture. Select one photo to start your album, and then turn to your Stories I Love workbook to see an example of how you can delve deeply into your story and tell it in a way that really brings it to life.
Once you’ve had a chance to look at the provided example and familiarize yourself with the process, you’ll be able to follow it with your own photos and stories. We recommend writing out the entire story at least once before recording it on your Stories I Love story pages, although you may want to do this multiple times as you progress through the editing process. If you’re crafting with other people, consider reading your story aloud to them, or just to yourself if you’re creating your album alone. Good writing is also good reading, so reading your story aloud can be an invaluable step as you continue to craft your story!
After you’ve finished drafting your first story, it’s time to assemble your first story and photo pages! For the story pages, you’ll want to select either a grid-lined or blank side of the provided story pages. While using your personal penmanship to record your stories can add a nice touch to your album, there’s nothing wrong with typing and printing it out, especially for longer recollections.
Each of your photo pages should feature as single photo and can be embellished with the selection of stickers included in the Stories I Love workshop kit. Your kit also includes nine 5½” x 6″ White Daisy cardstock pieces to provide a layered background for your photos. Your Stories I Love workshop gives examples of various patterns you can follow as you assemble your photo pages, although you’re free to come up with your own patterns as well! If you find that your stories require more than a single photo, one fun idea is to incorporate Flip Flaps™ Memory Protectors™ to add more pictures and additional context to your story.
The last step of a Stories I Love workshop is to assemble your entire album, putting together your story and photo pages in the provided Memory Protectors and assembling your closing page. Once you’ve completed your album, it’s time to share your stories!
A Stories I Love album is a great start for new memory keepers who are just starting to discover scrapbooking, or for more experienced veterans who want a storytelling refresher. No matter what your experience with scrapbooking and memory keeping is, the Stories I Love workshop kit as an excellent exercise to help you find your inner storyteller!
As a special treat, we will be hosting a virtual Story by Stacy™ Stories I Love crafting event on August 17 at 2:00 pm (MDT)! The event will be taught by none other than the renowned storyteller who developed this wonderful program, Stacy Julian, herself!
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