Lakeshore Stamping

Friendships

I was able to talk to two great long distance friends today on the phone.  I met both of these ladies thanks to Stampin' Up!.  These two are both just great honest friends and it really made me think about friendships today and how much it means to have great friends!

I've been wanting to play with the new Petite Pockets Die and today I finally got a chance to do just that...PLAY!  I really had no reason to make this and I just wanted to play.  I just love this kind of stamping!

Isn't this just the cutest little envelope!  I even played with the new Well Worn DSP again and the new stamp set Occasions Alphabet.  It isn't very big, it measures 2 1/4" wide by 4 1/4" long when put together.  It fits easily in a Medium Envelope and I think this is where this one is headed...in the mail to those two great long distant friends!  And this is the poem that will go inside!

 

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

 

 — Unknown

 

Don't forget to send a little something to those lifetime friends!

A Favorite

After we returned from the Alaskan Cruise from Stampin' Up!, we received this beautiful card in the mail from the Events Staff.  They work many, many months getting ready for this great incentive trip to make it special for us.  This is a Thank You card from them.  Isn't it beautiful!?!  This card uses the new stamp "Hello, Doily" and this card gets SO much attention at my events.  It is a sure favorite!

NOW for more news to share with you!  I haven't announced here on my blog yet but in June I earned the next Incentive Trip through Stampin' Up! to Disney in Orlando!!!!  I am SO excited to have earned this trip!  I worked very hard as I thought I would be a great time to take the kids again as we will be celebrating Lauren's 9th birthday while we are on this wonderful trip!  Yes, I have told the kids and they are very excited!  It will be all about them except for an event or two where just I get to attend a Stampin' Up! event while we are there ;)

I want to thank ALL of my customers and team members along with my family and friends for all their support with my business this past year!  I wouldn't be able to do it without all of you standing by me and your friendship.  It means SO much to me to share stamping with you!  I've met SO many wonderful people through this business and I am grateful for this business because of it!

I hope you have a great week.  Lauren get her tonsils out on Wednesday so I don't know how much stamping I will get in the next few days.  Please keep us in your thoughts that everything goes well and the recovery is quick.  Alec had his out in June and everything went really good...better than expected so I am praying the same will be for Lauren!

Thank you all for listening and for stopping by to see my creations I love to share with you!

Convention Gifts

I really enjoyed rooming with Dawn and Sue this year!  It is always nice to have some company and these ladies were great. 

Sue and I roomed together 2 years ago at Convention when her friend Joyce couldn't be there and my sister wasn't able to come with me.  We had a great time and our friendship has really grown throughout the 4 years we've known each other. Sue loves close up pictures so this one is for her!

Dawn and I met 3 years ago at a Stampin' Up! workshop she attended of mine.  I don't think we've gone a month since then without seeing each other and stamping together.  This past November I was finally able to talk her into signing up.  She is one talented and creative gal and I am glad to have her on my team and call her a friend.  This was her FIRST Convention and I loved watching her enjoy every minute. 

This is the roommates gifts I gave each of them our first night.  I had a great time creating these and they really are easy to make with our Clear Mount Stamp Cases that we sell.  You could also use these as a card holder which I believe I posted in January.  I made it for Max, my Leadership friend and roommate.

This uses some great new products which just came out in our NEW Idea Book & Catalog.  The stamp sets are Creative Elements and Established Elegance.  We have a pair of new embossing folders for the Big Shot and this one is the oval of the Designer Frames pack.  Just LOVE LOVE LOVE this folder!  The Designer Series Paper is Well Worn and I just love these earth tone colors in this pack.  The patterns are just my style too! 

Inside is a pad of paper and one of our Crumb Cake Envelopes with the flap cut off and a piece of the Well Worn Designer Series Paper adhered inside to make it pretty.  They both really enjoyed these and I hope they get a lot of use out of them.

I gave this to my hostess, Jamie, tonight as her hostess gift.  These are her colors and style as well so she is super easy to please!  I had a great workshop tonight with Jamie and her wonderful friends.  I also get to see these ladies again as two of them booked workshops with me!  Can't wait!

Have a good week!

Presentation Day

I was nervous for this day to come!  Even though I felt I was prepared and ready my stomach kept spinning!  My AMAZING husband decided to fly out to see me present.  This is a VERY busy time for him at work but it was something he felt he couldn't miss, seeing me present in front of hundreds of people!  It meant SO much to me and he was amazed on everything Stampin' Up! did to make this Convention special for us demonstrators!

I was SO thankful for him to share with me in this excitement!  He sat in the front row for both of my Friday morning presentations and I just LOVED having him there!  Here is the room before the presentation!  Aaron counted 896 seats!  Wow!

My friends, Sue and Dawn, were also there with Aaron to support me at the first presentation as I knew they wouldn't miss it and I was grateful for them to change their class schedules around to be there.

Ellen Richardson, from Stampin' Up!, was WONDERFUL to work with in this presentation.  She was so organized and appreciated everything we did and shared with her and the other demonstrators.  I was also honored to present with Meg McAlister and Laurie Krauss.  They have become great friends of mine and it was a fun experience to share with them.  Here is us on stage the first class.  Left to right, Meg, Ellen, Me, and Laurie.  It was relaxing to sit on the couches and act as though we were right in someone's living room.

I will NEVER forget these ladies and this time we shared and grew together!  Too bad we were limited to only 40 minutes because I felt as though we could go on forever about this topic.  Our class was called "For the New Gardener".  It was for new demonstrators and those demonstrators who want to jump start their business. 

Here's a close up of me anxiously waiting for the next question!  Not nervous at all!  It was fun!

Aaron caught me talking while the camera had me on the big screen.

Asking me to be a presenter at Convention was the best reward Stampin' Up! could have ever give me!  I was honored to be asked and to share helpful information with other demonstrators.  All day Thursday and Friday I had other demonstrators who attended the class come up to me and thank me for helping them with their business.  They had learned so much from our presentation they were eager to get home and start applying it!  This is what meant the most to me!  Helping others in their business.  What a wonderful way to share my love of stamping!

Last year I meant Mandy Grant at Founder's Circle and we have stayed friends ever since.  In fact our husbands were even able to meet during the Alaskan Cruise this spring.  I loved spending time with her this year at Convention and was grateful for her to rearrange her schedule to watch my presentation!  I can't wait to make monthly calls with her as we share ideas to help us grow!  Too bad she lives so far away in Atlanta but a trip to visit her is in my future! Thanks for everything Mandy! (Aaron won't be behind the camera anymore...sorry for the blurry picture but it was the best I could find.)

If you've stayed with me during my ramblings about Convention I should reward you with pictures of my swaps I did for Convention. 

 

I only make about 30 swaps to swap with friends.  This year I did two different designs and 15 of each.  I always enjoy creating!  These used some new product and so much fun to make!

Thanks for stopping by!  I have a little more to share with you in the next few days!  Have a great weekend!

A "Growing" Experience!

I have just returned from the most fabulous Stampin' Up! Convention yet!  I learned SO much from this Convention, in my own life and in my business, I can't wait to share it with those who share the love of stamping with me!

Every year SU! amazes us with a beautiful decorated Main Stage, and they didn't let us down this time.  In fact I thought this was the most beautiful yet!  This is also the wonderful Pam Morgan giving us a sneak peek of the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog!!!  It is amazing!

Our theme at Convention this year was "GROW" and I sure learned a lot about growing this year!  On a personal level and business level.

The first day was rehearsal for me which was VERY nerve racking and a wonderful tour of Stampin' Up!'s home office and Salt Lake a couple amazing friends!

This is a famous rock for us SU Demonstrators in front of the home office in Riverton, Utah. 

On the left is my dear friend, Sue Lammers.  Sue and I met 4 years ago in Minneapolis on my way to my FIRST SU! Convention.  She is from South Dakota and we have remained friends ever since.  I just love the way Stampin' Up! brings complete strangers to lifetime friends!  Her long time convention partner, Joyce, was not able to make it this year so Sue roomed with Dawn and I and we really enjoyed her company!  Thanks Sue for everything!

Next to me is my friend and downline member, Dawn Bourgette.  This is her FIRST Convention and I am so grateful I was able to experience this event with her.  We went everywhere and saw everything, I didn't want her to miss a thing!  I met Dawn 2 1/2 years ago through Stampin' Up! and she isn't just a downline member of my team she is a dear close friend of mine.  We enjoy the love of stamping and just this past November I finally talked her into signing up as a demonstrator.  I can't wait to see her GROW in her Stampin' Up! business! Thanks Dawn for letting me be part of your life!

Here is Dawn getting a tour of the warehouse of Stampin' Up!  Look at that smile on her face! Love it!

Wednesday was also the first day we could shop at Memento Mall.  Since I was a presenter I was able to get in early to shop before our rehearsal and I was the first to checkout at Memento Mall too!  It was exciting to have some personal shopping time here as it is usually a crazy place.  Another great thing, SU! loves to spoil us and I enjoyed it!  Here is just one of the many displays at Memento Mall with some goodies for us demonstrators!

This was also a great day to look around the Gathering Place where we can get inspired and see new product.  There are THOUSANDS of ideas in this area and Stampin' Up! always does a great job in displaying the area.  This year the area was set up as a garden and oh was it just beautiful!  This is also my favorite picture of the three of us.  Those were some well rested big smiles :)



This Convention was just an amazing experience for me!  I will never forget this Convention and all of my amazing friends there to support me in my excitement.  I am SO grateful for friends like this!

In the next day or so, I will share more about my experience presenting and a surprise that just made my heart melt!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience with me!  What wonderful warm memories!

My News and Swap

Back in May, I received a call from Ellen Richardson who works at the Home Office of Stampin' Up! in Riverton, Utah.  My heart stopped when I heard her voice.  She was calling to ask me if I would like to be a presenter at Stampin' Up!'s 2011 Convention in July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I know I was smiling from ear to ear and SO SO excited!  I was also very nervous at this time too! 

Well, after talking about all the details...I agreed!  I am still on Cloud 9!  I am SO honored Stampin' Up! asked me to be a presenter!  I have been to three Conventions and I always wondered what it was like backstage and now I get to have the chance to see! 

I will be on stage with two other great demonstrators chatting with Ellen about the "New Gardener".  Our theme at Convention this year is "GROW".  Most of our class attendees will be NEW demonstrators OR someone who wants to jump start their business.  Ellen will ask us specific questions about when we were new or what made us move on to being a business demonstrator.  This is a VERY comfortable topic for me to talk about and I am very excited, and yes nervous, to be sharing this with other demonstrators.

I will tell you all about it when I get back as it is only 2 weeks from yesterday when I will be presenting.  I will have lots of Convention pictures and news to tell you about!

The Stampers by the Sea Team held a swap last week for the Sneak Peek of the new catalog.  I participated in this swap and I want to share with you the card I made for my swap.

 

This card uses a few new products from the NEW catalog which goes live today!  Yes, you can order from this great new catalog TODAY!  Go to my online store to see the catalog and order your new supplies!

This new cute birdie is from the stamp set Best of Everything.  We actually received it FREE on the Alaska Cruise as a pillow gift.  I knew this was one we couldn't so I thought it would be perfect to make a swap for others with.  The scallop circle is from a new die which fits the 2 1/2" Circle Punch perfectly and is called Perfect Pennants.  The bird is stamped in a new In Color called Island Indigo and his wing is stamped with Baja Breeze and cut out.  The branch is stamped with yet another In Color called Lucky Limeade.  I couldn't go without Crumb Cake and Early Espresso...hehehe!  The strip of DSP is from the new Pocketful of Posies Collection!

I just LOVE images that I can plump and pop up!  See this bird!?!  I cut out the Island Indigo birdie and then cut him out.  After I cut him out I laid him face down on my foam mat from the mat pack.  Then I took the round end of my paper piercing tool and pressed down on the bird and plumped him.  I added a Stampin' Dimensional to keep him plumped.  I then did the same to the Baja Breeze wing. 

I had SO much fun creating this card and I even sent a few out to some great people.  I love surprising others with a handmade card!!!  I hope they like it too!

Thanks for letting me share my news with you and my swap card!  I still have more cards to share with you!

Have a great July 4th weekend!