This week I attended Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference in San Antonio and I returned last night full of excitement. It was a great relaxing time with beautiful weather and great company!
I flew in on Wednesday afternoon and met up with my amazing friend and roommate, Mandy Grant. We checked in, visited with friends, took pictures of displays and soaked it all in. In evening we both attended the Manager's Reception...

and it started out with a BANG from Shelli...


The entertainment was chinese acrobats and this was when I stopped breathing...

He only put the rope on just before doing this last step so I was at the edge of my seat during this part. What a wonderful group of VERY flexible entertainers! It was a fun experience.
At the end of the night we all received a NEW stamp set from the upcoming catalog. You can see the edge of it in this picture but we are unable to post a picture of it now. The fan was our invitation and we also received SU! personalized chop sticks with the stamp set.

Thursday morning started out at Main Stage with a Welcome Session. The theme this year was "My Way". The stage is one of my favorite parts of a Stampin' Up! event. Always looks great!

This was my swap for Leadership. I don't technically swap...I make about 30 cards to give to friends I've met over the years. I also entered this into the first organized Stampin' Up! card competition. I didn't win but I had a few friends who did and it was fun! We had to use stamp sets from the Occasions Mini Catalog. This stamp set is Apothecary Art...one of my favorite!


I also made another version of my swap card I did back in December. I changed it to use Designer Series Paper from the Occasions Mini, Attic Boutique and the stamp set, Rue Des Fleurs.

The highlight of any Stampin' Up! event is Shelli Gardner on stage stamping. I love her techniques and style and I just had to take this picture of her. She's such a great person!

Our hotel was directly on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. It is such a beautiful place and I hope to come back and visit so I can spend more time being a tourist. We did walk part of it one night for dinner and I took this picture. You probably are wondering why the Christmas lights are still up? Well, Ty Pennington and his Extreme Makeover Home Edition was there filming for their Christmas special which will air in December. They built 10 homes for 10 injured soldiers. We did get to see them from a distance and they had a Christmas parade of boats go through the Riverwalk. My friends, Sue and Joyce, were in the crowd while they were taping so I'll be excited to see this episode!

We drove by the Alamo so I did get to see it and snap this picture. Next time I will plan more time for sightseeing!

I also wanted to share with you the free items we received for attending Leadership. We always get a bag but the matching portfolio from Shelli was an extra special surprise. They are beautiful! We were surprised with FOUR ALL ATTENDEE GIVE-A-WAYS! Yes, four different times during Main Stage presentations we were surprised with free items! It was exciting. Some of the other items are from our make-n-takes and we even received another free stamp set from the upcoming catalog in June! Yes, you heard me right...our new catalog will be unveiling on June 1st instead of July 1st! The announcement was made at Leadership and I am SO excited!

All Stampin' Up! events are filled with excitement and great information! I never regret attending a SU! event, especially when it is located in warm weather in January!!!!
Now I'll be busy working my business this week and going through hundreds of pictures I took! I can't wait to use my new items!
Remember Sale-A-Bration starts on Tuesday!! You too can attend these fun events when you become a demonstrator and during Sale-A-Bration is a great time as you can receive the full Starter Kit for $125!!!! Contact me or your Stampin' Up! demonstrator for all the details!
Happy Stamping! Enjoy your week!
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