The Story Basket | Special Guest Susan Brochu

Today, March 20, is World Storytelling Day. Today we celebrate the art of storytelling. While the tradition of this day focuses on oral storytelling, we're honoring the spirit of the day: sharing our stories, no matter what form that takes. We're excited to have our special guest, community member Susan Brochu, sharing her fun and inspirational method for tracking her stories. 

Hello everyone!  I’m happy to be here today to share how I keep track of the important stories I want to tell. I see stories all the time: in photos, in nature, in music, in quotes, in my daily life. So many things can spark a story idea for me. When inspiration strikes, I tend to jot down notes on whatever is handy and so I end up with scraps of paper all over the place.

A couple of years ago I started a Story Basket to help me keep track of all those little bits of paper, and I recently updated it to make it even more organized.  I use an extra basket that I happened to have but any container, like a storage box or shoebox, would work just as well.

I use the story sparks cards from Ali’s Story Kits to hold the ideas I have for using those kits. If I have any photos or Story Kit components that I know I want to include with those stories, I’ll add them behind the cards so that everything is together when I’m ready to work.

I file the story sparks cards alphabetically in the basket, attaching a little post-it with the story theme written on it to make searching for a particular theme a little easier.

If there’s a little piece of chipboard or a small item I want to save for a story, I slip it into a small plastic bag and staple it to an index card so it doesn’t get lost. 

If I have a story that doesn’t correspond to any kit, I just write the notes onto an index card, add a post-it with a brief description, and file it in the front of the basket.

The end result is a basket filled with lots of stories ready to be told!

We hope you enjoyed Susan's post and found something to inspire your own storytelling. Make sure to find Susan on Instagram here

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34 thoughts

  1. 419bosse says…
    03/20/2021

    Love it!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thank you!

  2. Jeannew says…
    03/20/2021

    Love this, Susan!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thank you, Jeanne!

  3. prettyplease says…
    03/20/2021

    Such great ideas! Thank you, Susan.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thanks!

  4. aasta says…
    03/21/2021

    This is amazing! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thank you!

  5. Mel_12 says…
    03/21/2021

    This is a great idea. I've been keeping ideas in a note book but this alphabetical box would be so much better. Thanks Susan.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thanks! I tried a notebook, too, but the basket lets me add photos and dimensional things as well which helps.

  6. birdnscrap says…
    03/21/2021

    I love this, but I am afraid I would never get to these cards and tell the stories. I need to get them into my scrapbook right away. That’s why a Project Life type of story-telling works better for me. I can keep it up every week.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thank you. I also do Project Life spreads but use the basket when I have stories that won't fit in those pockets.

  7. fortlady says…
    03/21/2021

    Great idea! Love it. Took me a while, but I finally found the sparks card. Now to print some out and get started! I love putting things in baskets!!

    Reply 6 Replies
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Thanks! Everything looks more fun in a basket, doesn't it?!

    2. tnscrappn says…
      03/22/2021

      Where can we find the story sparks cards to print out?

    3. erikamobley says…
      03/23/2021

      I would love to know where to find the spark card as well. Thanks!

    4. SusanB says…
      03/26/2021

      For tnscrappn and erikamobley: The story sparks cards are included in the Story Kits.

    5. erikamobley says…
      03/27/2021

      SusanB - I’ve only been a story class subscriber for the last and current kit. Is this card part of the story class or digital story kit included in the story class? Or is it part of the physical story kit? I’ve looked through the Bloom class and the digital kit download and I’m not finding it? Can you be more specific about where the story sparks card can be found? Thanks!

    6. SusanB says…
      03/31/2021

      Erika - I know that the story sparks card is included in the physical kit and is on the back of one of the 4x6 cards. I am not familiar with the digital kit though so I don't know if it's included there.

  8. justlisa says…
    03/22/2021

    I absolutely love this idea! Thank you so much for sharing! I will be starting this right away!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/22/2021

      Happy to hear that - and thanks!

  9. MartiG says…
    03/22/2021

    I’m going to do this. Thank you for the great ideas!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/26/2021

      Thanks - I'm happy to hear you're giving it a try!

  10. tnscrappn says…
    03/22/2021

    I love the way you think Susan! I wish I had an ounce of your creativity :)

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/26/2021

      Aw...thanks so much!

  11. ElisabethC says…
    03/23/2021

    I saw your picture on Instagram and loved the idea! Of course when I went thrifting I found the perfect sized little white wicker basket with a handle 🥰 I have been separating my kits and have my chipboard organized so this was perfect timing and have all the story sparks cards together. Thank for sharing.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/26/2021

      I'm glad to hear that you found a basket and have started working on filling it - I hope this helps you tell more stories!

  12. Amandainuk says…
    03/23/2021

    My OLW practice is each day to take one of the many hoarded Story kits I have and plan (#storykitcrush inspired) stories. I had a secondary goal of 100 stories planned at the end of the month, and going well towards that.
    At the start of the month I got a basket, ordered some Avery Elle stamp envelopes and got started. So by default I have a story basket similar to this. Its such a great idea.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/26/2021

      What a great idea to make storytelling part of your OLW practice!

  13. daslebenistbunt says…
    03/26/2021

    Love that idea!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/26/2021

      Thank you!

  14. amorton63 says…
    03/26/2021

    I love this idea! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. SusanB says…
      03/31/2021

      Thank you!

  15. Bellaa75 says…
    04/17/2021

    Can I ask where that card about creativity is from - the black and white one with the quote on it?

    Reply 0 Replies

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