They’re Here!

April 17th, 2013

So thrilled to have our Spring Story Kits now available! With all kinds of Story Starter questions, instructions and tips, and even D.I.Y gift ideas for mom, dad, and grads, these kits are fantastic for sharing your stories.

And the best part? They’re only $9.99 each! You’ll get all the Story Starter questions, all the writing tools and tips, all the fun ideas, all of it, for just $9.99. Can’t decide which month to get?

That’s okay! You don’t have to choose. You can get all 3 months in one fantastic kit for just $24.99.

Visit the Online Store to select your Story Kit and you can download it instantly. Get yours today and start sharing your spring stories!

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Story@Home 2013: A Weekend of Heroes

April 1st, 2013

One of my favorite things to talk about, when teaching the power of story, is the hero.   I love the reluctant hero, the unsung hero, the unexpected hero, the every day hero -  the hero in all of us!

What I do for a living gives me a chance to rub shoulders with heroes every day.  When I step into a classroom or presentation, I always find people that are doubtful, yet hopeful, that together we will discover a story inside of them.  That point in the process where the hero emerges, ready to tell the story, is always a rewarding moment.  Sometimes the hero arrives with tender tears, or evidence of their appearance is seen in fast and furious typing and writing.  I know the hero has shown up when I recognize the far-away gaze that tells me someone is wandering a different time and place, or I hear stories flowing between new-found friends.    No matter how it happens, when it does, I know the homemaker, the retired banker, the school teacher, the CEO, the grandma, the son – are no longer doubtful, they have found their story, the hero inside, and discovered for themselves the truth of this statement:

This year’s Story@Home/RootsTech conference, March 21-23 in Salt Lake City, was a weekend filled with moments like that!  So many stories, so many heroes, and not a single ordinary person – here’s a few memories to share with YOU.  Because YOU are the most important part of the entire event.  In fact, over 27,000 of YOU attended on-site or on-line.  It’s such an honor to share this story with all of YOU!

Thank you to all of our fabulous Presenters & Sponsors:

Carol Rice with Karen Ashton of Timpanogos Storytelling Institute, Steve Anderson, Maurine Proctor of Meridian Magazine & Syd Lieberman

Clay Rice and Christopher Robin from Familius Publishers

Beautiful volunteers who made everyone feel welcome in our very busy booths:

Karina Hill helping customers prepare to share their stories in the recording booth, every session filled!

Never a dull moment in Market Place or the Story@Home Booth.

Janette Hammond, Designer and Instructor

The "Bring Your Stories to Life" booth, sponsored by Story@Home, was filled with lots of ideas for creating your own library of stories. We taught mini-classes and had a recording booth where participants created a legacy recording of their stories.

The booth was even a busy spot for tours and interviews, like this one with Kim Weitkamp.

Our friends at FamilySearch who put on RootsTech.  They couldn’t be more committed to the importance of story as a part of Family History!

Dennis Brimhall, FamilySearch CEO - His keynote message was all about the importance of stories.

Dennis was followed by master storyteller, Syd Lieberman. Story@Home was so proud to be a part of Syd's Power of Story message!

FamilySearch partnered with us to create a wonderful Evening of Storytelling. Over half of the audience had never attended a storytelling event before - its safe to say we have some new fans!

And even though the conference is an event, there are those who work hard all year long, to help you make family storytelling a part of your every day.  Thank you to a wonderful team!

Our programming and publishing team aren't in the photo - but they work just as hard! Thank you to the entire team!

At the conference we introduced a new product, 365 Days of Story Prompts – a simple, easy to use kit to download and use for your family, your story, your blog… whatever way you tell your story!   A question a day for an entire year!  (Doesn’t get easier, right?!) Also included in the kit is a poster from my welcome, key-note remarks.  I talked about the importance of finding balance in our media consumption and the face to face interaction we have with the ones we love.  I challenged everyone to join me in finding a way to Depart Daily, Withdraw Weekly, Quit Quarterly and Abandon Annually from using media and replacing it with family storytelling.  With the 365 Days of Story Prompts, a question a day, could make that challenge a breeze!  Join us in simply sharing your stories!

Family Storytelling: As Simple As One Question, One Story A Day

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Your Story, Your Way

February 26th, 2013


Now that you have started to share and gather stories, you can share and display your stories using the medium you are most comfortable with – this is where you, your family, your interests and your creative homemaking skills will really shine. In Episode Three of Story@Home’s video series, Founder Carol Rice, and Designer Janette Hammond, share ideas to get you thinking outside the “box” – watch here a few ideas to get you going.

As you view this episode, you will hear Carol and Janette mention several ideas like shadow boxes, wall art and creative blogs. Visit Story@Home’s pinterest page, specifically our “Bloggers/Storytellers/Family Historians We Love” to see some great uses of family and personal blogging. And on our “Heritage Decor” board you will find even more great ideas for displaying your stories in fun and unique ways.

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Fill Your Home With Story Props

February 11th, 2013

Like the cookbook, Deceptively Delicious teaches, we can fit what is good for us into our everyday. (Who knew pureed squash could be hidden so easily and taste so great in Macaroni and Cheese?) In this episode Story Props & Prompts of our video series with My Craft Channel, join Founder Carol Rice and Designer, Janette Hammond as we show you a bunch of fun ways to create “props” in your home to make storytelling part of your every day; and make it something that is simple, easy and not feel forced.

The video mentions some great ideas for creating Family Trees right on the walls of your home, what do you think of these ideas:

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Why Stories? Why Connect?

February 8th, 2013

Here at Cherish|Bound we know:

“Sharing stories is one of the keys to ensuring that a family isn’t just a bunch of people living in the same house…”

We are excited about a new series, hosted by our Founder, Carol Rice at My Craft Channel.  You can view the introductory episode with host, Kristine Mckay and the first episode, Why Connect, Why Stories by visiting here.

And you’ve likely heard about it, but just in case, consider this our personal invitation to join us at the Story@Home conference, March 21-23, 2013 as we partner with Family Search’s RootsTech conference and about 5,000 other attendees to explore the power of story and family history.

After you take a few minutes to enjoy the videos, the next step to getting started on your stories is to visit the Story@Home website and register to join us for the conference!  We’ll see you there (and we’ll keep you posted on upcoming episodes here on the blog.)

Keep Sharing Your Stories!

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Data, Atoms or Stories?

January 24th, 2013

I’ve read recently that there are about 295 exabytes of data floating around the world. I didn’t know how to make sense of that data until it was put into a context I could understand. That much data is like 315 times more than all the grains of sand on earth. Still, hard to comprehend, but sand and beaches have meaning for me – especially on a cold, winter day in Utah. (And searching for an image to insert here made me happy.) Hearing that data, and being reminded that I needed context for it, reminded me of the importance of story – and families.

With that much data floating around, its impossible for any of us to process it without context; that’s what stories help us do. Stories give meaning and context to data. In turn, our families then help us apply a sense of values, personal history, and sense of belonging within those stories. Stories are vital to helping us understand the world around us, and home is where our stories begin.

The Story@Home conference was created to bring out the storyteller in us all!

The best of the best have been gathered to present, teach, tell and instruct for three days March 21-23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The classes, workshops, presentations, performances and concerts will leave you inspired and ready to share your stories.

In addition to the amazing line-up you will find with Story@Home, we have been honored to partner with the country’s largest family history conference – RootsTech. All of RootsTech Getting Started classes, social events, Expo Hall and Keynote Addresses are FREE with your Story@Home all event pass. Will three days be enough? Let’s find out together – Register today, sign up here.

With all that data floating around out there, we’ll harness some of the best of it at Story@Home and put it to good use creating and sharing our stories.  After all, I quite agree with the poet, Muriel Rukeyser who said, “The universe is made of stories, not atoms.” (or plain, old data).

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Storytelling: A Perfect Combo

January 23rd, 2013

I will never forget the first time I attended a storytelling festival.

Curious, a friend and I attended on a “work assignment”.  Not sure what to expect, we had carefully selected events from the online schedule, that would mean the least amount of commitment for our time and money.  But from the moment I stepped on the grass in the evening air and approached that big, billowing tent, white lights glimmering from within, I was smitten.  And that’s before I ever heard a word from the stage.  The people so excited, the surroundings breathtaking, an energy in the air and I could feel it.  I took my seat, soaked in the atmosphere, and made a conscious decision to suspend my preconceived ideas about what was going to happen.

Over the next two hours a parade of storytellers weaved their tales and strung me along.  With the last word spoken, I sat there while they still hung in the air.  I looked at my friend wondering if he felt what I had. It was as though we were sitting in two feet of pixie dust that had been sprinkled over the crowd. The magic was not just that I had been entranced by the stories; the pictures they painted with my imagination.  More so, the magic of the memories of my own stories had been drawn from the corners of my mind. We bought another ticket and went back the next day, and the next.  And this is my invitation to you to come experience the magic for yourselves. The Timpanogos Storytelling Institute will host a weekend storytelling conference, StoryWorks filled with storytelling wonder. As a Story@Home attendee, you can attend the StoryWorks conference and Story@Home with one combination ticket. You can purchase your TimpComboTicket here.

Later, when telling my husband how I felt about that first night of storytelling, he teased, “Of course you love this, you found
your breed.”  He’s right, finding storytelling was like coming home.

I’ve come to learn since, that my “breed” is simply, human.

If you are the same breed, welcome home.

I imagine you will find that we tell stories to come home,

find ourselves, regain our footing, discover our roots

and ensure our legacies. -Carol Rice

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Your 2012 Time Capsule

January 6th, 2013

Create a simple time-capsule memory book,

with one hour

and less than twenty pages!


As we head into a new year, with the promise it brings, capture the memories of 2012 in a simple, time capsule memory book.  The following questions and story prompts will help you capture the year’s highlights.  (Download a pdf copy of the 2012TimeCapsule) When you’re done answering the questions, select a photo or two that helps tell the story for each prompt, then go to CherishBound’s publishing center and create a simple, freestyle book to showcase your memories.  You can choose from lots of different backgrounds that will showcase your memories and ensure your stories are saved for a lifetime!

“We all have our time machines.  Some take us back, they’re called memories.  Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.” -J.Irons


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Talking Over The Turkey

November 19th, 2012

With friends and family gathered around the table – what will the conversation be?

I was a little apprehensive thinking about the annual Thanksgiving feast this year. Last year’s Turkey Chat didn’t go so well for some around our table. Its been uplifting and enjoyable for the most part, but last year had some very strained moments at one end of the table. Unless everyone in your family agrees 100% on politics, religion and which movie was the best of the year, chances are you have experienced some “not so Norman Rockwell” moments at your table too.

We go to a lot of effort to prepare fabulous food and create a beautiful table. Here’s some ideas for setting the stage for great conversation as well.

1. Use your Chat Cards as name/place settings. Each card will have a question on the back that is bound to get the stories rolling as each take their turn answering their question.

2. Or, place your chat cards in a small dish in the center of the table, those that want to share can draw out a card and take turns answering different questions.

3. Have everyone answer the same question. Go around the table and let each person respond to a question like, “What is something that turned out better this year, than you expected?” (Make sure its a good question that elicits positive conversation.)

4. Download the Fall Story Starter and cut the questions into strips. Tuck a question strip into the napkin ring at each place setting and let each person take a turn sharing their memories.

5. Pay tribute. Honor the oldest member of the family (or someone else who could use the encouragement) by having each person go around the table and share memories. Start the conversation with questions like, “Tell about a time they made you laugh,” “What is a lesson you have learned from __________,” or “Describe something you think __________ is good at.” Download the Tribute, Discovering Me, or Best Friends Story Starters for more great questions.

These are just a few ideas. Using even one of them will have your family talking over the turkey long after the second helpings are gone.

Keep Sharing Your Stories!

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Story@Home: What its all about

October 31st, 2012

You and your family matter—and so do your stories. That’s the message of the Story@Home 2013 conference being held February 1-2 on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This event is sponsored by CherishBound and hosted by FamilySearch. The conference includes engaging presentations, hands-on workshops, and an “improv” event that focus on the power of stories in family history.

“No matter how you tell your stories—through your family history, at your child’s bedside, on your blog, or from a stage—your stories matter.”

The goal of the two-day conference is to provide engaging presentations and practical tools that will help attendees connect their families through stories.

The Story@Home conference aims to help you share stories. Whether you’re just starting on your family history or already know a lot of the leaves on your family tree, a compelling account of their life experiences and character traits will help you share their legacy.

Do you blog your family stories?  Come learn all the new techniques, network with other bloggers and find out the secrets of the ever-changing social media platforms.

The conference offers fun and informative activities:

• Enjoy popular presenters, award-winning storytellers, and recognized experts.

• Attend hands-on workshops.

• Record one of your own family history stories.

• Learn how to gather, record, share, and publish your personal and family history.

• Discover how to weave family history into your stories.

• Start a blog or get tips on other online social media.

Want to put your own storytelling skills to the test? Then the StorySlam concert is for you. The StorySlam gives attendees a chance to showcase their stories and new skills through an “improv” storytelling contest. Think of it as karaoke for stories. It’s fun, fast, and it’s audience participation to the max.

The evening will be capped by selected performances from conference presenters.

Find out more visit the Story@Home website for all the details.

Full event, two day pass for only $79, register here.

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