I’m writing this morning from a old (renovated) school house near Rexburg, Idaho where my extended Hall family has convened for a reunion. We arrived yesterday evening—just in time for a dinner of hamburgers (or hot dogs), salad, chips and watermelon. Earlier this week I was with Addie at our church girl’s camp. I served with other women on the kitchen committee where we prepared food for 270 girls and their volunteer leaders—guess what we had for dinner the night before I left? Pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad and watermelon. Watermelon is one of those foods that is SUMMER to me. I love it. I do wish it was easier to find watermelon with black seeds, because I grew up spitting out those seeds and that was part of the experience, but I digress. Right now on the Close To My Heart blog, I’m sharing what I call a connected story—one about (you guessed it) watermelon and it’s history in my family.

There are so many simple things in life that create connections across time and space and we can easily use these things to help us tell fun, personal stories. This is the kind of scrapbooking I am most interested in doing and pursuing in my life right now and my newest products in the Story by Stacy line are designed to help!

The Storytelling Pack comes features super-cool journaling cards designed to help you include detailed information that will be interesting and unique to your stories.

The Storyteller how-to book reviews all of the storytelling skills that I have introduced in each of the Story by Stacy kits to show how these concepts and skills build on each other—it also introduces the extended and connected story concepts.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to go watch the video on the CTMH blog—you’ll get to see how I build these stories in layers using a variety of memory protectors, which you can now purchase in a sweet combo pack! AND, there is also (of course) a brand new stamp set, called Story FYI that includes phrases that I have used for years (I call them documenting connections) to help me tell richer, more compelling stories.

I have one of these stamp sets that I want to GIVE AWAY. Here’s what you need to do to make yourself eligible to WIN. Leave me a comment and tell me a topic you’d like to explore in a connected story. When I am home next week and settled I’ll announce a winner.

In the meantime, how adorable is my missionary boy, who on July 23rd—my grandfather, James McDougal’s birthday—was eating watermelon with his companion in Mexico!

I’m telling you it is the little things (like watermelon) that create the memories you will cherish the most. YOU have the power to perpetuate these things in your life and family and use them in your storytelling.

YOU can do this.
I will help!

Now, go have some SUMMER fun, before it’s over!