Easter for the Grandchildren

 

Every year I give the grandchildren an Easter gift, and I thought I’d share! You may recognize this cute little Easter basket as my stamping project from the Montreal regional, only in a different color; this is a perfect example of how simply changing out the color palette of a project gives it a completely different look!

After I made the basket in Montreal, one of the girls suggested using the more subtle pastel colors because it would coordinate better with the Spring vignette that they each have. Turns out the baskets look adorable hanging from the tree or nestled among the other home décor items. So I think there will be some moms who “borrow” these baskets to add to their vignettes after the candy is gone.

Of course, the colors also coordinated perfectly with the Cadbury chocolate eggs (a favorite Easter treat of. . . well, everybody, right?), so that was a bonus. And I’m putting enough eggs in the basket that the parents can have a few nibbles of chocolate too!

Every year we also give each of the families a children’s book, and that’s always the part of the gift that means the most to me. I have a hard time with Easter eggs hunts and Easter bunnies because, just like Christmas, I wonder if the real meaning of the holiday sometimes gets overlooked or lost. So the books are always the main focus for me.

I love children’s books, especially when I find a book that has both a powerful story and beautiful illustrations; this book has both. And it’s especially meaningful because it tells the story of a grandpa who goes on a treasure hunt with his grandchildren to help them discover the real meaning of Easter.

And the real shocker? I’ll have these gifts done—and delivered—before Easter! I know, it’s hard to believe, but when you have a little help from your daughters, you can do almost anything! (smile)

Ronald McDonald House Charities Gala

Because Stampin’ Up! is a national sponsor of Ronald McDonald House Charities, we usually sponsor a table at our local (Salt Lake City) House’s annual fundraising gala. Last night, Sterling and I, along with my mom and several Stampin’ Up! employees, attended this year’s event.

It was a delightful evening—good food, great company, all for a wonderful cause! This year, we invited several employees who are involved in our partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities, and it was especially nice to spend the evening with the people who really make our partnership work. It was a little loud at times, so I didn’t get to visit as much as I’d like, but I was able to express my appreciation to these wonderful people for all they do! (My only regret is that I didn't have my camera with me so I could take a photo of them all to share with you!)

As always during the gala, I was reminded why we are involved with this amazing organization. Several parents and children shared stories of how much the House has meant to them as they struggled with significant health challenges, knowing that with everything else they had to worry about, at least they had a place to stay.

This year, those stories were particularly meaningful because we have two members of our Stampin’ Up! family who have stayed at the House as their son has received treatment for cancer. My heart was touched and I teared up a bit listening to the stories. It was good to be reminded about why we all do what we do and how truly beneficial the Houses are!

Happy Birthday, South Pacific

We’re celebrating our fifth anniversary in Australia and New Zealand this year, and we’re going to party it up at convention to mark this exciting milestone! We’re busy finalizing all the details . . . I can’t believe how close it is!

I’m especially excited for two reasons. First, this is really the only chance I get all year to spend time with our Australian and New Zealand demonstrators, so it’s a very special event for me! I do go on the incentive trip for those who earn that, but that’s a limited group. Convention is open to everyone, so I really look forward to seeing some of my favorite people . . .  it almost feels like a family reunion for me, to see familiar faces that I haven’t seen for a long time. I love it!

Second, I’ve started working on my stamping presentation, and I’m very excited about the projects that I’ll be sharing with you. I haven’t finalized everything yet, but I do know the stamp sets I’ll be using (at least one sneak peek one from the new Idea Book & Catalog!), as well as a few of the accessories. I’m definitely having fun—and I hope you will too!

I’d love to share what I’m working on, but you all know that we can’t do that! The only way you can see convention projects is to attend convention—it’s one of the many perks we  provide to make convention our most exciting event of the year!

If you’re an Australian or New Zealand demonstrator, I hope you’re planning on joining us in Melbourne—it’s definitely the PLACE TO BE on May 11! If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late. Registration closes next week! See you soon!

Not the Trip We Planned

You may have noticed that I haven't posted for a few days--I took a few days off to go on a ride with Sterling. Which, by the way, means that Sterling went on a ride, and I went along for the ride. (smile)

Sterling had planned to compete on an endurance ride down in southern Utah with several friends, and we were looking forward to a wonderful, long, WARM break. As it got closer to the day we were supposed to leave (last Wednesday), we realized the weather wasn't going to be as warm as we had hoped, but we still expected it to be beautiful (we both LOVE southern Utah), so off we headed with high expectations. 

Partway down, we realized that Sterling's truck had a problem. Long story short--the water pump went out. Although he was told he shouldn't drive it, we weren't anywhere close to anyplace that could replace the part or fix it, so we bought gallons and gallons of coolant and drove until we found someplace that could fix it--although not until Thursday! So we left the truck in Cedar City and called a friend, who towed us to the camping spot! (Thank heaven for good friends!)

 

Thursday dawned cloudy but beautiful, and actually did turn out as planned. Sterling and his friends went on a great endurance ride (there were a couple of newbies on the trip, and Sterling was hoping they'd enjoy their first ride--they did!), while I went into town to have lunch with my mom and sisters. I picked up the truck afterwards and headed back to camp, where we just sat around, chatting and relaxing. It was perfect!

Until it started raining. At some point during the night, the rain turned to snow. When we woke up Friday morning and looked around, we knew we needed to get out. We were camping on red clay, and we've had enough experience with that stuff to know that if it got too wet, we would be stuck there for days!

So we enjoyed another unplanned day! We spent all morning breaking camp and helping everyone get on their way. We called the same friend we'd called on Wednesday, who once again came to help. Some of the trucks weren't equipped to get out of that kind of mud, so we drove back and forth several times, towing people and horses onto paved roads. And then we headed home, arriving a whole day earlier than planned. 

That meant that today was wide open! Nothing on the agenda, nothing planned. We took advantage of that and had a wonderful date day, doing things we normally don't do. It was fun to be spontaneous, and I am so thankful that, after 31 years of marriage, I still love spending time with my sweetheart! 

Warmth in Montreal

Heading to Montreal the first week in April, I was expecting cold. I mean, I knew it wouldn’t be the dead of winter, but I also knew it wasn’t summer there yet either. So while I was VERY excited to spend time with our demonstrators who had gathered for our last regional of the season, I was not very excited about the chilly temps I expected. The weather ended up being warmer than I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised.

We didn’t get much sightseeing done; we never do—that’s just not what we’re there for. But from what I saw, Montreal is a beautiful city. The view from my hotel window was fabulous, and I did get to see a little of the city on a cab ride to yoga class (as part of my personal +One goal, I’m trying to do yoga at least three times a week, which means that when I travel I get to explore a little on my way to class). And as a warm weather girl, I didn’t spend the whole weekend huddled in a sweater for warmth; it ended up being warmer than I expected! Pleasant surprise!

A  highlight was breakfast on Saturday morning. Our general manager had set up breakfast meetings with small groups of demonstrators (including at least one bilingual demonstrator) for each of the home office representatives. We got to chat, gather information and suggestions, and share ideas; it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know demonstrators on a very intimate level. After finishing with my group, I also visited briefly with the other two groups as well, so that was an extra treat!

And the actual regional experiences were fantastic! I have to admit that I was nervous about the language being a problem; before I arrived in Montreal I knew three words in French (oui, merci, and bon jour). I learned two more at yoga (the words for “change” and “push,” which really aren’t useful at a Stampin’ Up! event), but I was definitely intimidated.

I should have known better! From the moment we opened the doors, I knew we all spoke the same language of enthusiasm, love, and creativity! I felt welcomed by everyone I talked to, even when we had to stumble a bit over actual words! What an amazing experience! We did have simultaneous translation during the actual regional itself, so our French demonstrators got to hear everything in their own language.

An added bonus was that our translator also translated the French portions of the regional (Workshops Wows, the sample workshop, etc.,) into English, so the English speakers got to experience a bit of the wonders of translation headsets as well!

 

My stamping project was this little Petal Cone die Easter basket. I was inspired by several baskets I’ve seen created from this die, and this one is just a variation. Maybe it will spark a little creativity for you. . .

So all in all, Montreal was amazing! Even if it had been the dead of winter, the genuine love and enthusiasm generated by our demonstrators would have warmed everything right up! I can’t wait to go back!