Four "Generations" of stampers!

Okay, let me explain the title of this post... this is four generations in the sense of Stampin' Up's downline levels.  Kristina Koch, on the far left, is the one who created the card in my previous post.  She is the upline of Ann Driscoll, second from the left, who is the upline of Kari Metzger, second from the right, who is my upline!  I hope that's as clear as mud to you now:)  All of these women are truly amazing.  (Sandra and Heather, you know that we need to add the fifth generation here next year!)  Kristina is one of the top 10 demos in Canada!  Can you tell from this photo that my hair and Florida don't get along?????  I thought that it would be easier to wear my straight while I was here; the humidity didn't even cross my mind.  I had to straighten it three times yesterday in an attempt to get the frizz under control!

Day 2 Report!

I can't believe that I only have tomorrow left and then I'm on my way home... this has been more than amazing!  I wanted to start by sharing some of the amazing swaps with you that I've received, so here we go.

The adorable red card with the 2 hearts on it was created by Cherie Hunt from Ohio.  

The second card with the word "friend" across it was created by the one and only Patty Bennett.

The final card was created by my upline's, upline's,  upline  Kristina Koch.  I'll post this so that I can share a cool picture of this crazy "upline".

Single Layer Swap Card

This is the swap card that I made for my, "single layer swap" tomorrow.  I thought that it would be a breeze to pull off a single layer card.  What I didn't realize was that a single layer really meant a single layer; I thought that it meant you could add a single layer on top of the card base, but no, it really meant a single layer, nothing on the card base.  On top of that, we were allowed one embellishment.  Anyway, my eyes are drooping from all the excitement of the day so I'm going to hit the hay.  We start have the Main Stage Presentation at 8:30am tomorrow!

A Sneak Peek... at the cover at least!

I thought that I would at least share with you the cover of the new catty... and no I won't phot0graph each page individually for you!  When you receive a catalogue at Convention or Conferences, it comes coil bound which I happen to love.  There are so many fabulous things in it including new punches, sizzix dies, papers and gorgeous stampsets!  You are all in so much trouble:)

My Swap Card! (Finally)

This was my swap card that I was dying to share with you all, but I didn't want to until I was at Leadership!  I was terrified as this was the first swapping that I've ever participated in and I wasn't sure if my cards would make the cut.  This was the card that I made as a general swap for people that you pass by.  People just approach you and ask if you swapping.  Cool, but very intimidating.  I felt much better after hearing responses to my card.

Me and Patty Bennett!

This is me with... do I call her my idol?  I must admit that I stalk Patty's blog.  She is so talented and always has amazing new projects.  Anyway, my upline Kari, made me go over and introduce myself to her today!  This was truly a moment I'll never forget!

I Think I've Died and Gone to Heaven!

Well, this morning started off with a bang!  Kari and I went to pick up our bags that are given to you at SU Conventions.  They are adorable by the way!  Inside is all kinds of goodies, this particular one has a cute stampset from the upcoming catalogue called, Good Friend.  The highlight of bag pickup was that the new catalogue was in it... AMAZING is all that I can say!  There are so many new and cool things in it that I think I heard my Visa start crying:)  I'll give more details on this tonight when I get home from my Make-n-Take session.  Just know that it is even more than I ever expected!

It just kept getting better for me if you can believe it, I saw Patty Bennett, who in my world is a stamping goddess!  She was wonderful and even humoured me, taking a photo with me and even swapping with me.  I was finally going to post my swap photos, but for some reason I haven't been able to upload photos to my blog from this hotel connection:(  Don't worry, I won't give up until I figure it out.  I wasn't going to post until I did but I thought that Kristen and Mugs may kill me:)

As we were returning to our hotel from the convention center, I froze in my tracks and said,"oh my gosh!"  Kari looked at me and asked if I'd forgotten my purse.  That was not even close, standing only 15 feet from me Shelli Gardner, Cofounder and CEO of Stampin' Up.  She was so real and sweet and giggled at us as she ran past saying that she was late as usual!

I promise that I'll figure it when I get back!  Hang in there!

Retired Accessory List Posts in an Hour!

At 10am MT, SU will post its list of accessories that will be retiring!  The difference between this and the Retired Stamps list is that as these items sell out there will be no more stock coming in!  From my experiences with the summer accessory list, the most popular items sold out in a matter of days!  As I am leaving tomorrow morning for convention, I will be placing an order tonight to cover those of you who are dying to get your hands on some of these items before they're gone.  Please have your orders in to me by 10pm this evening!  I'll post the list as soon as it's available.

Too Beautiful to Put Away

I just wanted to share with you some of the beautiful homemade Christmas cards that I received this year.  I have such a difficult time putting cards like this away.  Some of these are from seasoned stampers and other are from newbies!  The best part is that it is very difficult to tell which is from who!

New Years Resolution

I've decided that one way to make the New Year more fun for both myself and for my customers is to do a monthly draw for a free stamp set!  Each month, every purchase of $25 will be entered into the draw.  If you purchase $50 worth of merchandise, you will be entered into the draw twice and so on.  Online orders as well as orders placed directly through me will be included.  The only exception will be club purchases.  Your $25 minimum monthly order will be exempt, but if you order $50 or more your name would be entered in the draw.  I think it is the whole holiday thing about giving presents, but it is so much fun that I decided to make it more regular.  I will post the winner for the month on the first day of the following month!  Punches Three will be the stamp set for the month of January!

I know my blogging seems to be few and far between right now but I'm sure you are also checking a lot less often with all the hub bub of the holidays.  I have been teaching myself how to use a Mac for the past week as my amazing hubby bought me a Mac Book for Christmas.  I'm not quite as quick as I was on my PC, but I"m definitely loving it.  It is so easy to use and never freezes up:)

As well, I am often to Orlando, Florida for a three day SU convention on January 6th.  I can't wait; I'll get the new catalogue there and hopefully some sneak peeks of what's to come!  I am participating in some swaps while there so I have been working on some cards for those this week.  For those of you who aren't familiar with swaps, they are just like a giant trading circle of cards.  You make 10 of the same card for example and then stand in a circle with 10 other women.  Everyone takes a card and then passes them on.  The benefit of this being that you go home with some fabulous new ideas.  I can't wait to share them with you when I get back.  My intention is to take my new computer with me and hopefully share some of the excitement with you!