A Leftover Gift Idea

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that my stamping presentation for convention this year focused on gift giving ideas. I absolutely loved it!

I spent hours, along with Mom Pat and Sara and Shalae, creating in my stamp studio, and we fed on each other’s enthusiasm. By the time convention rolled around, I had way more projects than I could ever show on stage, so we ended up picking and choosing.

I can’t bear to not share some of these projects, though, so I thought I’d share one with you while I'm in Australia. (I’m afraid I’d bore you if I showed them all!)

I actually arranged for this to be posted while I was gone, so there would be at least a little activity on the blog while I was Down Under rewarding and recognizing our high-achievers in Australia and New Zealand. I'll be back on Monday and be excited to share a little about how that event went.

But for now, here's a fun little treat box for a friend. We packed it with some of our favorite chocolates--Ghiradelli! But you can load it with any treat at all!

Thoughts from You

One of my favorite rooms at our Stampin’ Up! facility is the Ideas Room—a large room that is divided into two parts. The front part of the room has a couple of couches, some huge bean-bag chairs, a corner with stamping supplies, a piano, a ping pong table, an air hockey table, and a foosball game. The back half of the room is a meeting place with white-board walls from floor to ceiling.

For the last couple of years, demonstrators who have toured our Stampin’ Up! facility during convention have covered the walls in the Ideas Room with comments, many directed to me. I enjoy reading these comments, and this year was no exception.

Many of the comments this year included requests for new products, including dozens of ideas for stamp images. I won’t even start naming them—the list is long! You can rest assured, however, that every suggestion is being passed on to the appropriate departments.

There were also several requests for different programs, services, etc. Those too will be passed on to the appropriate departments. We appreciate these suggestions; we love to hear from you!

The rest of the comments are the ones that make my heart smile—they are words of encouragement, support, and thanks from so many of our demonstrators. Several of you mentioned the great working environment (a couple of you volunteered to become full-time employees!), our wonderful DS agents, and your gratitude for Stampin’ Up! One man wrote that he was at convention with his wife and that he’d rather be riding his motorcycle, but he did like our working environment. (smile)

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, ideas, and gratitude with me. I don’t know if you realize how even small expressions of your gratitude encourage and sustain me when I sometimes feel overwhelmed and overbusy! I hope you know that the feeling is mutual, and that I am so thankful for each of you and all that you do for Stampin’ Up!

Happy Birthday to Me

Now, it’s not really my birthday, but I am celebrating a birthday—kind of. One year ago this month, I started writing my blog!

While I must admit it’s added another to-do item on my list, I have thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ve always wanted to keep a journal, and this is the closest I’ve come to it in years. I love having a brief record of fun family gatherings, major events, and other daily activities.

I’ve also enjoyed the interaction with you. Ideally, of course, I could chat on the phone with each of you a few times a week (smile), but since that’s not possible, this is a great alternative. I love reading your comments, answering your questions (when I can), and just feeling like we have a dialogue of sorts.

It’s been fun to think about what I’m doing each week and what type of things you’d be interested in. I also enjoy anticipating sharing a project with you as I’m creating in my stamp studio. Even my family has good-naturedly accepted the fact that many of the happenings in their lives are out there for everyone to read about. (They’re good sports!)

So thanks for a great first year! I’m looking forward to continuing this fun new adventure!

Slowing Down for Build-A-Bear

I should have learned this lesson by now, but I haven’t. I keep thinking that things will eventually slow down—just a little—and I’ll be able to sneak in a few “not burning hot” things into my schedule. (sigh)

The last few weeks have been enjoyably hectic. Getting ready for convention, then attending convention, then spending a couple days with Leslie, then heading down to Kanab. Plus I need to pack for the Australia incentive trip! I’m thrilled—incentive trips are some of my favorite events because it feels wonderful to reward our top-achieving demonstrators for all their hard work—but it feels like it’s been one thing after another.

When I got home from convention earlier this week, I had managed to grab a few Build-A-Bear bears for my grandchildren. My grandson Sam, while grateful for the gift, did mention that the Stampin’ Up! apron wouldn’t be his first choice for clothing for his new BOY bear. Without thinking, I said, “Oh, Sam, I’ll take you to the store and you can buy a boy outfit for your bear.”

As soon as the words popped out, I thought, “Great, Shelli! When are you going to fit that in?” But when I saw his eyes light up and his big smile, I knew I’d make the time.  

  And, it couldn’t be just Sam! So most of the grandchildren and I (along with dads and moms, because I knew I’d need help!) headed for Build-A-Bear and a crazy hour picking out clothes. And I thought shopping for human clothes was an adventure!

Now the bears (which are incredibly soft!) are also incredibly adorable, and we all have a great memory of a beary good time!

A Quick Trip to Kanab

I just got back from a quick overnight trip to Kanab. We had a company summer lunch down there, and so Sterling and I drove down to spend a few minutes with some wonderful people. We chatted, enjoyed a tasty lunch, and thanked our hard workers at our manufacturing facility who do so much to make sure Stampin’ Up! succeeds.

As an added bonus, a Canadian demonstrator who attended convention happened to be in Kanab today as well. She’d made arrangements for a tour of the Kanab facility. We invited her and her father to have lunch with us, and it was a delight to visit with them.

The highlight of the trip, however, was that we got to take Leslie home! It will be a short stay—she has to be back at the hospital on Tuesday. But her numbers were good enough they let her go home; she was so happy!

She has only a few goals—to sleep in her own bed (if you’ve ever slept in a hospital bed, you understand that one!); to sit on her back porch and enjoy the beauty of Kanab; and to make birthday invitations and a birthday cake for her grandson’s upcoming first birthday.

I stopped by to see her as we headed home today, and she looked great! She expects her hair to fall out within a few days, so this is probably the last picture you’ll see of her for awhile. (She won’t let us take pictures when she’s bald.)

She was just finishing the birthday invitations. She based them on one of the winners of the SoShelli.com Birthday Challenge, the Sesame Street card. She helped me judge the submissions earlier this week, and as soon as she saw that one, she knew she wanted to use it. She’s also planning on making a Elmo cake, which she’ll freeze for the party, since she probably won’t be able to come down for that.

Once she heads back up to Salt Lake next week, she’ll likely have another round of chemotherapy and then a bone marrow transplant, so she doesn’t expect to come home again for weeks, maybe months. That makes this weekend even more special; I hope she enjoys every minute!