Congratulations, Connie!

One of our Stampin’ Up! demonstrators—Connie Heisey—reached an incredible milestone this month; she is now a senior advisor! Only one other demonstrator has reached this rank in the history of Stampin’ Up!, so you can see it’s a terrific accomplishment!

I wanted to share the card I sent Connie to celebrate her achievement—lots of bling and sparkle! I thought it was pretty eye-catching. . .

The card is only the beginning, of course! Connie will be enjoying lots of fun rewards and recognition to commemorate her rank advancement. Congratulations, Connie!

A Home Office Halloween

Note: I couldn’t make it into the office today, but Sara and Shalae did—and I asked them to guest blog about our annual Halloween festivities.

Sara: Today was Stampin’ Up’s annual Halloween celebration—through the years, we’ve created quite a tradition. Many of the employees dress up—sometimes individually, while others get together and plan group costumes, even decorating their work areas. We even announce prizes for the best costumes. We also have a chili and soup lunch, along with delicious Halloween sugar cookies!

Many employees have treats at their desks, and employees bring their younger children in to trick or treat from desk to desk. I took Stella and Shelby in last year, but we didn’t stay long. All I can say is I really missed out! Being there just about the whole day today gave me a whole new perspective on how creative our employees can really be!

Shalae: I hate to admit it, but I’m kind of a Halloween Scrooge; it’s just not my favorite holiday. That said, I admit I was also impressed by how creative everyone was. Entire departments decorated their cubicles and went all-out on their costumes. There was an incredible masquerade, a couple of versions of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and an impressive Lord of the Rings ensemble, complete with movie trailer! And that was just a few of the group costumes. I can’t even begin to mention all the individual costumes. I was definitely amazed at the ideas people came up with!

Sara: We certainly saw some things today we never imagined we’d ever see! (We won’t name any names. . . .  your secret is safe with us!) And there was definitely a feeling of fun throughout the home office! I know where I can go next time I need a creative costume idea!

Shalae: I also really enjoyed the decorations around the office. We’ve had colorful banners hanging in the atrium area and vinyl decorations on several walls and doors for the past couple of weeks, to add to the festive feeling and kind of set the stage for today’s grand finale.

Sara and Shalae: Happy Halloween, everyone!

Costumed Corporate Team

I’ve mentioned before that I love Halloween (mostly the decorations), and one of my favorite things to do during the Halloween season is to have a costume party. We don’t have one every year (sometimes schedules simply don’t allow it), but when we can, I plan one!

This year we invited the Stampin’ Up! corporate team to our party. The group was small—our corporate team only has seven members, counting me and Rich Jutkins, our president, and one CT member (Dave Baugh) couldn’t make it because his mother-in-law passed away. (We missed Dave and Jennifer, but our hearts go out to their family.)

Spouses were invited, of course, and Sara, Shalae, and Shanna and their husbands came too. (Sage wasn’t feeling well, so she and Jason didn't come, and neither did Megan and Nate--missed them too.) Shanna was the chef, and as always, the food was one of the highlights! Tasty soups and salads, artisan bread to die for, and several delicious desserts. Mmmmmmmm—a party can’t fail when the food is fabulous!

And of course, we had favors (a decorated sack with a gift inside) and some handmade charms/nametags on the goblets.

I’m not a lover of games, so we didn’t play many. As they arrived, the guests guessed how many jelly beans were in a jar, and then we played one get-to-know-you-better game. We had slips of paper with different questions (If you won $1 million, what would you do? What’s your dream job? etc.), and each guest picked a question and answered it. It was interesting—and insightful—to hear everyone’s answers. 

 

 

 

The fun of any Halloween party for me is the costumes, and everyone was a great sport and came wearing one. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

The party was short and sweet—from beginning to end, it was only two hours long. I had told everyone I knew their plates were full and we wouldn’t keep them long, but it was fun to get together in a relaxed environment. I feel blessed—and grateful—to work alongside such talented, dedicated people!

A Very Special Regional

Just wrapped up our last regional of the fall regional season here in Portland, Oregon—and it was a great way to end the season. The demonstrators were fabulous (they always are!), and meeting with them is always the highlight of every regional!

I continue to LOVE what we’re doing to “surprise and delight” those who attend the regionals. The afternoon snack (which was added this year) has become a favorite; the contest is a great way to share creative ideas (this contest was the hardest one to judge yet—I saw some incredible ideas!); plenty of Workshop Wows; and a pace that keeps things moving. In fact, I heard several demonstrators say they couldn’t believe the day was over, and that’s not always been the case.

I forgot to mention on earlier regional blogs that we’ve been handing out regional buttons with little statements and Stampin’ Up! art tied into the locale of each regional. I can’t remember any of them right now (I’ve got them all at home. . . ), but the one for Portland was “I’M A STAMP HUGGER” (a play off of Tree Hugger, of course). I’ve enjoyed seeing each new button, and I think our  attendees have enjoyed receiving them.

We also had a bunch of guests this weekend—more than normal—and were pleased to have more than a dozen of them join us! Inviting guests to attend a Stampin’ Up! event is always a great way for someone to get a taste of what Stampin’ Up! is all about.

Everyone seemed to like my project, although every once in awhile I ask myself how I could tell if they didn’t? Everyone is so gracious; I can’t imagine people actually saying, “Hey, Shelli, I’m a little disappointed in this project. Can you do a little better next time?”

This particular project actually came out of a project a friend of mine did last month; I asked her to make the ring boxes for the rings that I give the Advisory Board members. I fell in love with the box and decided to make one for me and for each of the girls as part of our fall holiday vignette.

 

Here’s the box, along with some patterns.

If you want to try and make it, I think the only measurements you need to know is that the top measures 4 inches by about 8 inches.

I told the regional attendees that I have an idea about how to use it and/or fill it, but I’m not sure how it will turn out. If it turns out OK, I’ll post that on my blog in the coming weeks. If you don’t see it, you’ll know that it looked a lot better in my mind than it did in real life—certainly not the first time that would have ever happened!

Finally, one of the things that really made this regional special is the fact that it isn’t just the final regional of the season, it’s the final regional for one of our beloved employees. Darlene Davie has been with Stampin’ Up! for more than 16 years, and she’s been traveling to our regionals much of that time, quietly hustling and bustling behind the scenes, taking care of us, making sure we all had everything we needed to do our thing, and always with a smile on her face. We’ve all grown to love and depend on her; in fact, several of the staff members call her “Momma.”

I cried when she told me she was retiring—but I was also excited for her. Hopefully she can fit some things into her life now that she hasn’t been able to do before (like water aerobics, something she mentioned she was looking forward to!).

At the end of the regional, we called her up on stage to honor and recognize her. Last night a few of us had gone shopping for the perfect gift—and we found it. The traditional uniform for our backstage crew is black pants, white shirt, and black apron, and Darlene usually adds a black sweater, because she’s always cold. Well, we gave her a couple of colorful sweaters and a scarf, because she no longer has to blend into the background!

After the regional ended, “the boys” (two of her closest coworkers) presented Darlene with flowers. Then the Stampin’ Up! crew, including Tom (our camera man) and Carol (our telepromptress—is that a word?), who aren’t full-time employees but are certainly part of our family, posed for a photo with Darlene! It was a bittersweet moment—Darlene, you will be missed!

Heavenly Hamilton

I can’t believe how fast the last week has flown by—a lot of it spent on a plane flying across the ocean! But the time not spent in the air was wonderful!

This year’s Australian incentive trip was held on Hamilton Island, a gorgeous resort destination located in the Whitsunday Islands, part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. From the first moment to the last, the island was the perfect place to spend a few amazing days with some of our top Australian and New Zealand achievers!

We started with a welcome dinner on Wednesday. Food was tasty, setting was great (oceanside venue), companionship was fantastic! The weather was wet, but we were inside, so it didn’t matter until we had to make a mad dash to the hotel, a short walk away. We all got pretty soaked!

But that was the last day that the weather didn’t cooperate. Thursday—our day spent on the Great Barrier Reef—was simply stunning. The reef is amazing! We didn’t go snorkeling, but most everyone else did—and couldn’t stop talking about it! Even those who got seasick on the boat ride over felt that was a small price to pay for such an incredible experience.

Thursday evening, Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning were free  (Friday morning was Make & Takes, swaps, and group photo shoot)—and what a fabulous place to have free time! The weather was PERFECT (I love being warm, and I even had to shed some layers on Friday—that’s a treat for me!). Demonstrators took boat excursions, went kayaking, rented buggies (we call them golf carts in the states), checked out the shopping, and just explored the island.

Sterling and I stuck pretty close to the resort, visiting with demonstrators and enjoying the downtime. And we all agreed that we could have just stayed in bed all day and enjoyed the view from our hotel rooms and been completely happy!

We had a great little hospitality suite where we could all gather during certain times during the day. The demonstrators and their guests (some brought spouses, others brought demonstrators and friends, a few even brought other family members) dropped by to pick up “lollies” (chocolates and candies from the US) and just visit. That was my favorite part of the whole trip—and really what these events are all about. I so enjoy the relationships I have been able to create with our demonstrators; I loved catching up with demonstrators who had achieved the trip in the past and getting to know first-timers! No other event (except for Founder’s Circle) offers this wonderful opportunity!

We ended the event on Saturday with a buggy rally—teams of four people drove all around the island hunting for clues. Then we had a delicious dinner at an incredible yacht club, which was shaped like a boat. What fun—and the perfect way to end a perfect incentive trip.

Sterling and I enjoyed an added bonus: we had an overnight layover in Sydney on our way home, so we got to visit the new Sydney office (we just moved in last week!) and spend a few minutes with our Australian staff members! That was a treat as well!

Now we’re home, and Hamilton Island is a wonderful memory—one I’ll treasure always!