Stampin' Up! Convention High!

Well helloooooooooooooooooooo there!  First I'd like to thank you SO MUCH for popping in to see if I'm back in the world of blogging!  I'm embarrassed that I've only posted projects ONCE this month!  On the up side, I'm back from the Stampin' Up! Convention, I'm recharged, on a high and raring to go!  To be honest, I have been meaning to post for 2 days now but I have SO many ideas and things to share that I have been overwhelmed and kept putting it off.  Well ... as they say ... the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time ... so here is my first bite. 

Don't get mad at me but I don't have a project to share with you today ... well, not YET, anyway!  I plan to hit the craft room this afternoon so stay tuned!  What I DO want to share with you are some of the highlights with you!  Honestly it was just an AWESOME experience!  Here is the video produced by Stampin' Up! - the focus for demonstrators this stamping year is "My Way" and the theme for Convention 2012 is/was "I Am ...".  Warning:  the theme song is very contagious!

Wow.  Over 3,500 stampin' crazed women in one place!  You can see the energy and excitement a General Sessions produce!  What happens at General Sessions?  This is the time that all demonstrators come together in the Main Hall to hear from our Mighty Leader, Shelli.  This is when/where she welcomes us, thanks us, encourages us and inspires us.  She is the most amazing lady! 

During the Opening Session (on Day 1) we heard from guest speaker Jason Dorsey.  OMG was he funny!  He spoke on "Gen Y" ... or "Generation Y" to those of us who are "Gen X or Gen B (boomers).  It was VERY interesting!

During the Closing Session Shelli announced that the Grand Vacation Trip for this year will be a Western Carribean Cruise for 2.  Oh ya ... I plan to be on that boat!  Craig's 50th birthday is right around the time they set sail and I can't think of a better birthday present to give him!

Aside from General Sessions there were a number of "Break Out Sessions" for us to attend.  We signed up in advance for which classes we wanted to go to.  I attended:

• "I am a Pattern-Mixing Pro" with the fabulous Carrie Cudney.  I learned how to mix patterns of different intensity and size for a successful project.  We than made a great painted canvas with paper flowers.  It was really relaxing and fun (and they had a candy buffet to boot!)
• "I am a Leader" with Brian Pilling.  Here I got tips on how to take a "Baby Bear" approach to leadership rather than a "Papa Bear" or "Mama Bear" approach.  Bottom line - aim for the middle ground, not one of the extremes.  Again - quite educational.
• "I am Savvy" with Donna Griffith.  This was an awesome session with fellow demonstrators Meg Wheeler, Dawn Griffith and Laura Milligan showing us some GREAT projects and tips on how to be savvy in our business and boost sales.  We saw projects made with fabric and how to use kits and supplies in other-than-intended ways!
• "I am Open for Business" with Carrie Cudney.  Carrie ptaught us ways to attract customers and how to find new customers in innovative ways.
• "I am Earning an Incentive Trip" with Karen Hauley.  She interviewed 3 very successful demonstrators who have earned Incentive Trips as they shared their top tips and strategies.  Very inspiring!
• "I am Having Fun" with Shannon West.  Shannon is fun ANY time but she had me in tears laughing at one point in her presentation!  We learned how to incorporate more fun into our parties.
• "I am Doing Business "My Way"" with Bonnie Thurber.  Bonnie is one of my favorite Home Office personalities - she is so real ... and funny!  She's just a party waiting to happen!  She turned the stage over to top demonstrators Tami White and Ronda Wade who shared some of "their ways" of running their extremely successful businesses.  It really did drive home the message that there is no ONE way to succeed in this business.  People are different ... and their business styles reflect that!
• "I am Reaching Out" with Emily Montoya.  This was my favorite session.  Emily focused on the "Gen Y" topic, as did Jason Dorsey, but in more detail.  It was very engaging and inspiring!

So ... did I enjoy Convention 2012?  You BET I did!  It really gave me time to sit back and take a good look at my successes and what I want to do moving forward.  I spent time with a great friend, Joan Jeffery (hi Joan!) and made some new friends (hi Caron, Patti, Ann, Cheryl and Daleen!)  I came home with almost 100 swapped cards and hundreds of photos of great cards and projects.  I brainstormed with some FABULOUS fellow demonstrators and got some great new ideas for clubs and classes.  I spent time with Stampin' Up Head Office coaches to develop a game plan for the coming year.  I ate out every day ... and I got LOTS of free stuff:

Yes ... I think it's safe to say I had a great time!  Maybe next year you can join me!!!

Thanks again for popping in - one of my resolutions for the coming year is to be more consistent with my blogging so I promise to post a project at LEAST every Monday.  Of course I may do so more often but I'm going to start with that.  So ... see you Monday (but hipefully sooner!)

Have a stampy day :)

Tam