The Stampin' Grounds

Pics from Leadership

Thoughts you guys might be interested in some of the highlights from Leadership this year! 

First off, we had a TON of fun - truly amazing time that I recommend to anyone who qualifies to go! 

Ok - first off, one of the really cool things is that we had our 'Four Generations Picture' taken at Convention. 

On the very left is Kristina Koch - she's also one of the Top 10 Demonstrators in Canada for 2007/2008! 

To her right is her downline, Ann Driscoll, who is my upline - Ann is in Red Deer Alberta, so I rarely get to see her, but it was a real treat to see her here!  She's an AMAZING crafter whose work I admire greatly.

Next is me (giant as always!), and then on my right is Angela who is my downline.  Four generations!  SO fun - we all went to dinner at a steakhouse (ironic, as I'm vegetarian - LOL!)  Good times. :)
 
Ok, moving on, all Counselors and above were invited to the Managers' Reception one night - that's a night where SU! spoils us by doing something fun and wacky.  Last year they took everyone to a polo tournoument (spelling?), and this year they closed down Adventure Island for an evening, and had it catered for us!  No lines for the rides, and we had a BLAST!

 
This is me with Spiderman - you can imagine how cool my two boys (2 and 5) thought this way - Mommy knows SPIDERMAN!  :)  I enjoyed the brief hero status!

They replaced all the signs in the park for us, so instead of 'smack' it would be 'swap' or 'stamp' - SO clever!!  This is me and Kristina posing in front of another tribute to SU! - so FUN!

Ok, last but not least, on the Friday evening, we had an evening free, and as you might remember, Ange and I were literally absorbing the Stephenie Meyer Twilight Series on the plane rides, and it turns out one of my idols (Glenda Travelstead) is highly addicted to the series as well, and since the movie was playing down the street, we got a group of us to go out to the movies for the evening!  This is Glenda and me there in fact!

Here's the group of us at the movies - Ange is in the long tan coat in the front row, I'm behind her on the right, and to the right of me is my Service Account Manager at SU!, named Sam!  (how funny is that?!  Sam, the SAM!  I know I know, she thinks it's kind of dorky too.  :)  She's amazing though - I love her!!! :)

OOps - totally forgot one here - this is me on the roller coaster with Shelli,  Sterling, Dale and others - not the best pic of me by far, but a great memory!

Final Thoughts on Leadership

I wrote this earlier to Stampin' Up! for an article they asked me to write for them (about my reactions to Leadership), but after writing it, I realized that you might be curious as well, so I'm sharing!! :)

Wow.  After a fast-paced, exciting Leadership Conference, I have come away with lots of emotions - sadness that it is finished, inspiration for my own next steps in my business, ideas for improvement, and more.  But, on thinking back over the past few days, there is one thing that I think a lot of people would be surprised to find is on the top of my mind - Love. 

Now, I'm not just talkin' about the love we all have for our stamps and craft, although certainly you can 'feel the love' for that at any SU! event (or even in your own home)!  And no, I'm not just talkin' about the love for all my friends and downline with whom I attended this event, although there was a whole lotta that kind of lovin' goin' on too!  No, the love I'm talking about here is the amazing love that this company has for *us*, the Demonstrators. 

It isn't remarkable that a corporation would tell us how much they love us, or that a company might make that their message.  What IS unusual is that SU! means it and shows us.  And, by SU!, I am referring to not only Shelli, who is careful to always tell us about how much she cares for us as Demonstrators, but also Sterling, her amazing partner, Dale Fillmore, the president and COO who gives us the 'straight goods' business point of view, Pam Morgan, Bonnie Thurber, and all the other staff up there. 

I'm big on 'going with your gut'.  I think that we can tell inside when something is true and authentic, and when we trust that feeling, it tells us everything that we need to know.  When I sat through all the presentations at Leadership, and listened to the staff who dictate the direction of Stampin' Up!, I found that even more than usual, when I closed my eyes, the love that these individuals carry for each of us demonstrators is just amazing.  When you truly feel the intentions of these folks, you can feel that they truly and authentically are team players with us, they believe in each one of us,. and validate how each one of us approaches our own business.  Even saying that doesn't really fit though, because it sounds so 'us and them'.  When you come to an event like this, you not only realize what a generous, incredible company you have chosen to associate with, but you also realize that they care about us as *team mates* - we are one of the pieces to this amazing puzzle which makes up Stampin' Up!, and they communicate that to us every time they speak.   Not only that, but every leader up there is highly approachable - they are happy to talk to you at any time, and you need NO status to feel comfortable in doing so!

You're going to hear how fabulous Leadership is.  You're going to hear all the reasons why the *things that happened there* and the *products/catalogs* that we saw and 'loot' we took home are so exciting and 'worth the price of admission'.  Can I just say that I honestly, Honestly believe that the greatest joy out of attending Leadership is to experience the realization for yourself that this is a company with strong ethics, great ideas, and a whole lotta love for *everyone* associated with them?  That I can TRUST this company in the decisions it makes, and that I know I am in good hands.  Yep, the classes, product announcements, general sessions, gifts and all the other awesome parts that make up Leadership are wonderful, it's knowing that these people see me as a critical part of this company which really makes me think I'm part of something special.  And I am - I feel so fortunate to be a part of this!

Leadership Day 2

Wow, this is the best convention yet!  I am having such a blast, and meeting so many awesome new friends here!  Ange and I have been taking notes rapidly, but also took a break to go to the movies last night to see Twilight (oh yes, we are certainly addicted!)  As I write this, I'm sitting in the lounge at the airport getting ready to take our flight home to cold Vancouver, and while I am sorry to see Leadership come to an end, I'm very ready to see my two boys again - hi Ry and Ty!

I know I haven't blogged to you what some of the amazing announcements were at Convention, because I wanted to make sure it was ok first - I hope that's ok!  I'm not allowed to post any pics until the 19th of new product, but let me just say that WOW - this is going to be good!!!  The accessories and bigshot sections alone are going to make you drool - I know I am TOTALLY excited! 

But the biggest news is that there is a new product coming out this fall - a Digital Scrapbooking Program, and OMG - it's the best one I've seen!  You are going to FLIP over it!!  I can't give you too many details yet, but let's just say that you are going to HAVE to save up for this one - everything coordinates exactly with our products, and is BEAUTIFUL!  We're talking buttons, ribbons, colours, and BEAUTIFUL digital papers, and so easy to use that my mother could pick it up and run with it.  I'm SO excited - I'll be all 'caught up' in no time.  I'm SO EXCITED!!!!

Oh, and have I mentioned the upcoming CUSTOMIZABLE Decor Elements??  YES!  You can tailor it to whatever quote/text you want, and make it totally your own!  Coming soon as well! 

Ok, want some catalog sneak peeks?  If you don't want any spoilers, don't read on, but here are some of the new things that are ultra exciting in the new catalog - make sure you come out to my Open House on the 24th to see them in action!!!:

• New Decor Elements (catalog is already out!)
• New Sizzix Stuff, including Bigz dies, new clear dies, new sizzlits, decorative strips and MORE, all with SU!'s artwork too!!
• AWESOME new card elements kits for newbies and quick cards
• a new lace border punch
• flower and new jumbo brads and imaged eyelets
• AWESOME new circle cutter - you WANT THIS!!
• Texture plates for the bigshot and more! 

I'd tell you more, but I have to go - I have only a minute of battery left - you'll have to wait until tonight to see it!!

Day 1 - Official First Day

What a whirlwind day!  We're having the most fantastic time ever!  This morning, after waking up bright and early at 7:15 (wow - I'm trying not to do the math, as that shows we woke up at 4:15PST?!), we grabbed our Starbucks Coffee, and headed straight over to MainStage for Shelli's Opening Speech.  She's SO fabulous - looking fresh and lovely as always, she told us about several new releases on their way.   One thing I think everyone will agree with on the topic of Shelli is that she's all class - you can't help but love her to death!

My personal favourite today though is a tie.  One of the classes I took today was with the absolutely hysterical Linda Hansen and Glenda Travelstead.  If you haven't seen these two ladies in action before, you are missing out!  It's like watching a re-run of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon in the glory days of the Tonight Show.  I seriously thought I would split a side, and I learned a ton to boot!  But this is definately a tie with the Managers Reception held in Adventure Island at Universal Studios.  WOW!  SU! has rented out the entire island from 6:30pm onwards, put on an amazing catered spread of YUMMY food (lobster pasta and more!), and then we got to ride all the rides with NO lines!  Of course, the highlite HAD to be riding the Hulk Rollercoaster with Kristina, Shelli and Stirling, and Dale from SU! - I have never screamed so loud or consistently in my life - as Brent Steele said on stage today about his parasailing in Hawaii, 'this was a Depends moment'! ;) we were gifted with a stampset and ultra-cute Spidey-lunch box as well - you can imagine how thrilled the boys will be when I come homoe bearing THESE gifst!  Seriously - how lucky am I to be in a company who rewards their Managers and above with this amazing evening out? 

I'm crawling into bed now, but hope to report one more time tomorrow night!

Memoirs of Leadership - Check in Day part 2

Check In Day Report follows:

What a day today!  We have had SUCH a fun time - I mean seriously, how often do you get to leave a snowy place, head into a warm climate with stampers, swapping, new catalogs, exciting new announcements, and MORE?!  I'm here with Angela, one of my downline, and it's her first time to ANY convention of any type!  Watching her walk around giddy as we meet the 'famous players' actually almost had me on my knees several times...  don't believe me?  let me share...

First, you have to know that Ange is a total 'blog-stalker' (ok, so am I, but this story is about HER, not me!) ;)  - that means she has about 15 blogs that she visits every day - people whose work she respects and admires - ok, not just admires, but idolizes, adores, and, let's just get down to it - she worships the stamping ground that they walk on... ahem.  Her favourite of favourites is Patty Bennett, who has a pretty darn fine blog, if I do say so myself.  The first day, she just about split her pants in the Momento Mall as she hid behind my back and hissed to me, "it's PATTY.. PATTY BENNETT!  oh my gosh - she's right there in real life!  What do I do????"  I calmly told her that I had met Patty at Founders Circle, and she was really nice - just go up and talk to her - swap with her, you know!  "WHAT?!  SWAP with her??  What if she says no?!" she said to me, shocked at the suggestion.

Well, of course now the gauntlet was down - off I shoved her, with instructions to tell Patty that she stalked her blog, and she was her number one adoring fan.  Sure enough, Patty was awesome, Angela was happy, and came back to report that "she really IS nice - she's just lovely!" (although she still forced me to execute the swap on her behalf afterwards!)  LOL

The story doesn't end there though - after getting our Lovely Loot Bags while we made our way back to the hotel, Angela stops in her tracks, in the middle of the *street* (she's always paranoid that I take too long to cross them!), and says 'Oh NO!' while standing like a deer in the headlights.  Worried, I stopped and asked her if she forgot her purse or something!  But no - she is staring ahead of me, at a figure hurrying along towards us on her way to the Conference.  "That's, that's, SHELLI GARDNER!  IT'S HER!'  She half crumpled to her knees, and starting giggling like a little girl, catching Shelli's attention.  In typical, graceful Shelli fashion, Shelli gave her a smile, as though people always break down into fits when they see her, and as Ange said to her 'I'm sorry, I just went into shock a bit when I saw YOU out here on the street!', Shelli responded with 'I KNOW, and I'm late again!' - with an apologetic smile, she rushed off. 

That's one of the cool parts of convention - YES it's cool to get the bags, the gifts, the freebies, the CATALOG, the sneak peeks and more, but in some ways what's cooler is meeting these people who you only read about in real person, and find out that they are people too.  It's about seeing someone as successful and as Shelli and it being a reminder of the potential each one of us carries within.  For a moment I think we all get humbled by the magnitude of these 'celebrities'' personalities, but also by their own 'realness' and humanity.  If that's not inspiring, what is?!

Ok - in other notes - today was awesome - we got the new catalogs, and dare I even BREATHE any of it to you?!  OMG - we're talking AMAZING accessories pages - as in, the best I've ever seen!  SO MANY OPTIONS!  And so many new products!!!  WOW!  AND, there are some DSP surprises in store for you as well, as well as amazing new stampsets.  I don't want to wreck the surprise for you, but rest assured - THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD!   Make sure you sign up for one of my Open Houses on January 24th (I'm holding two now, so everyone can be more comfortable) - morning OR afternoon, and you can now RSVP online!  Just go to my blog to sign up.

We also went to this AMAZING tapas restaurant - me, Ange, and my SAM, Sam. :)  Fantastic food, good people, and lots of great conversation that went all over the map!  So much fun.  What a great day!

More soon!  I can't wait to show you more samples - the samples I am getting are just awesome!!  Off to bed now - it's already 1:30am!!! 

Leadership Memoirs - Check-in Day

So, are you curious what card I decided to swap for Leadership?  Well, it's kind of a funny story... if you remember, this card I had originally designed for Founders Circle.  I had 100 started (the first layer done), and was well on my way, when I realized that I had THE WRONG THEME for the swap!  LOL - that is SO like me!  So, I shelved them, and put together a different card instead. 

But, I kept these to the side, and finished them off for Leadership instead - I hope they like them!!    I brought about 95. :)

So....... you want to know about the new catalog don't you!  Yep, I got it today - and an ULTRA cute bag, and new stampset, and a cute little business card holder from my SAM, and a ton of ultra-cute swaps, andd........ ok, you'll have to wait until all of my pics are downloaded from my camera, which is currently recharging.  Rest assured, I'll give you an update tonight when I get home, along with a lovely story to go with it!

In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with some of the swaps I got back already - enjoy!!

Mimi's Card:

Betty Kincannon's card

My upline, Ann Driscoll's swap (she's from Red Deer, AB!) :)

More soon!!!

Leadership Memoirs - the Travel Day...

 

Whew!  We're here - now THAT is a long flight!

Yesterday Ange and I took off at about 8:30am from snowy Vancouver, BC to head to warm (if a bit wet) Orlando, Florida!  Now, for those of you who haven't heard, the weather in Vancouver has been NASTY for the last few weeks, and we have been under 2 feet of snow since Christmas.  As in, the roads have NOT been cleared on the residential streets, making them virtually impassable!  Ange's hubby is a firefighter and a darn good SUV driver as well, so he managed to pick me up, but just getting the one block from my house to the main street took us 10 minutes - it's that bad!

Ok, so we got to the airport, and I was lucky enough to fly first class - niiiiicceee.... :)  Poor Ange was stuck in baggage class, UH, I mean, economy. ;)  The first flight was about 5 hours to Chicago, and Ange had brought me the second book in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers.  WOW - now THAT'S the way to spend a long flight!  Actually, there was a really awesome guy who sat next to me who was some sort of sales exec from the UK, and we talked politics for about half the flight too - very enjoyable actually! (I know it sounds dull, but he was really cool). 

Ok, then we had a quick bite at Chilli's at the Chicago airport (um, that was a little tough as a vegetarian - almost nothing was vege except burgers!).  On we went for another 2 or 3 hours to Orlando.  You guessed it - we were sitting side by side, absorbed in book 2 (me) and 3 (her).  We finished each book as the plane descended and sighed - it's going to be tough competition between this book series and stamping!  LOL!!!  We are saving the 3rd and 4th book (respectively) for the trip home though. :)

We landed just fine at about 11pm in Orlando (yep - you read it right - that's about a 13 hour day of travelling!!!)  and enjoyed a white-knuckle, adrenaline cabride to the hotel we are staying at (I think the cabbie thought we wanted a preview of Universal Studios/Disney rides?/?!)  We checked in, and then giggled for the next hour while we got ready for bed.  Can you say excited????!  After a while, we finally drifted off (like 1am?) and tucked in for a night of sleep.. stay tuned for check in day stuff!!

I thought I would leave you with a couple of projects which I had intended to post over the month of December, but <sigh> life got a bit in the way!  Here you go, so you can file them away for next year!!!

This is my light in my office - the snowflakes in the mini catalog made such a cute addition on the windows (I used the santa's sleigh decor elements for the window, with the snowflakes behind it, like the sleigh was kicking up snow as it passed), and I thought I would decorate the light to match - it turned out super cute!

Then Donna Woo made her Christmas appearance - let me tell you, this woman knows how to CRAFT!  I wish she would become a demonstrator and teach us all her ways, but she resists - maybe if you all comment on the cuteness of her stuff, she'll jump?? ;)

these are her 'Christmsa Mice' - peanut butter cookies with peanut ears and licorice tails.  SO cute - and all gone in about 30 minutes that evening! (she brought them over for a club night)

And then, this is the famous Donna Woo Snowman Soup - cute eh???  I think if you click on it, you can get a bigger pic and read the poem - ultra cute!!  THANKS DONNA!!

The Trek to Orlando...

I'm off tomorrow to Leadership Convention in Orlando, Florida, with my downline Angela McKay!  I am SO excited, and I thought that I would regale you with a daily diary of my preparations and also what I'm doing while I'm there! 

This year is exciting because I've been asked to be one of the 4 roving 'reporters' at the event, and my stories will be published in the Stampin' Up! Stampin' Success magazine!  Also, I have been invited to be a part of a new product focus group that is exploring new directions for the future product lines in Stampin' Up!  Now, don't go thinkin' I can tell you anything when I come back though - I'll be sworn under life or death (ok, or just a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement - but it's much fancier sounding the other way) to not breath a WORD of it to you afterwards.  I will LOVE to watch you squirm while you wonder what I know that you don't. :)

Leadership Convention is a convention for folks with a title of Senior Consultant or above.  This generally means you are a business builder, and you learn lots of business 'stuff' while you are down there (ok, it's  not all business though - there are make n takes too!!) :)  I can't wait to learn, and to GET THE NEW CATALOG TOO!!  Oh yes - I will be getting it when I sign in!  WOO HOO!!!

Ok, without Further Ado.....

Memoirs of a Leadership First Timer, by Kari Metzger

The Trek to Orlando
Day One - the Preparations Begin...

Ok, so the preparations have begun for Leadership Convention.. I should say that I am brand new to the Leadership Experience, and although I've been to Convention before, Leadership appears to be a whole new ball of wax.  I'm so excited to go somewhere warm, (Florida!), especially as we have had 2 feet of snow in our coastal city of Vancouver.  With three boys (ok, one's a husband) in the house all cooped up and stir crazy, Leadership means one thing to me... ESCAPE! :)

So, as I go through the normal routine of packing suitcases, getting my passport in order, and all the normal travel stuff, I realize that from the outside, the OTHER activities that precede this event might appear a bit senile to anyone on the outside... Oh yes, I have been working on the one thing which we all dread and love before events like these... SWAPS!  For the last two nights, you would find me up until 2am, fingers dark with ink, blearily stamping and brayering card after card after.... <yawn....> card... .Now, I know that come convention, I will be glad for every single one of those blessed cards, which will be worth more than money then!  For now though, as I've hit the final, traditional hurdle of enlisting my husband to help finish them (I'm sure down deep he loves it, and besides, I know he needs to work on his creative side... right?).  So, as I scramble, I make yet another resolution that NEXT time, I'll have my swaps done 3 weeks in advance <laugh>!

stay tuned for tomorrow's installation of the 'Trek to Orlando' when I regail you with the excitement, nervousness, and events of the actual day of travel.. If the weather over the past 3 weeks is any indication, it could be a highly interesting day tomorrow! Signing off for now....