Launching Aug. 24, Hallmark Stories combines your digital pictures with Hallmark storytelling and design expertise to create personalized albums and other memory-keeping products. The result is a timesaving way to organize, relive, and share the important moments in your life.

"Everyone has a story to tell. If I show you a picture of my vacation, you only see me standing in front of the Eiffel Tower," said C.J. Howe, group marketing manager. "With Hallmark Stories, I also can tell you about the reflecting pool my friend fell into right after this shot -- and I can create a keepsake that tells the entire story behind the photos."

How it works
Hallmark Stories is easily accessed via the Internet at www.HallmarkStories.com and via a link from www.hallmark.com. Finished products are produced and shipped within five days of being ordered, straight to your door -- or to friends and family.

Three different product formats are available at launch to capture and share memories:

For all formats, consumers may choose from many story themes, including baby (New Baby, Baby's First Year, etc.), family reunion, vacations, birthday, and general celebrations. Or you can create your own.

"There is a wide range of design styles and editorial themes to choose from," Howe said. "The site offers something for everyone, from cute to traditional. It even guides you through the creative process with suggestions and prompts."

There are several ways to place images on the site to build your memory product. You can upload scanned images saved on a hard drive, or transfer picture files from a digital camera or CD (available from your photo processing retailer). You don't need to be technologically savvy, but if you need help, the site contains a tutorial.

Why do photos pile up in shoeboxes?
During the last two years, Hallmark's consumer research division conducted extensive studies of attitudes toward and usage of memory-keeping products, including focus groups, one-on-one interviews and surveys. "We learned how important memory-keeping and sharing is to our target consumer, mothers of children ages newborn to 12," Howe said. "We also learned many mothers with young children don't formally record memories because they're time-starved and lacking in creative confidence."

Enter Hallmark Stories, which offers mothers and other consumers a new, simple, customized way to organize their memories. "No company is more uniquely qualified to engage consumers with their memories than Hallmark - with our editorial and design expertise and deep knowledge of emotions and relationships," Howe said.