Ponderings of a mother.... and Valentines!

Right now, it is 11:45 PM, and my 4th grader, Jake, is finishing up his book report.  I don't know if I'm being a good mom for making him do a good job, or if I'm being a bad mom for not letting him get a taste of failure for the lousy paragraph he wanted to turn in...  So I've just finished the book he had to read, while he finishes the last paragraph, and I decided to blog a few of my favorite Valentine's day cards from Leadership. 
***I realized when I read this later, that it might have sounded like I read the book for Jake.  I did not, but I usually do read the books they have to so I can help when they have questions.  Kids have a hard time deciding what's most important to put in a report, and so they either want to put everything in, or next to nothing.  If I've read the book, I can ask more questions, like, "Does that part affect the story's ending?"  I hope you aren't thinking I read the book so I could do the report for him.  He did a fair job; no A+, but I hope he learns to not procrastinate (even though I still do!)

 Look at this cutie!  I love how the hearts are stacked, and the green heart is cut in half for the leaves....so clever, how people see punches in a whole new way!

 The You're My Type stamp set is so cute!  I loved all the ways this set was featured.....It was one of those in the mini that really didn't call my name when I did my pre-order, but I may just have to order it before the mini catalog goes away...

 The above card is interesting, the little LOVE tag belongs clipped to the mini clothespin, but I think I am going to have to steal this idea somewhere down the road... 

And below, how cute is that Hershey's kiss?  Now that we live near Hershey, I may have to send out some belated Hershey kiss Valentine's, or save the idea for next year before we move away!  If you are wondering how to get that shape, it is done with the Build a Blossom punch.

 I have a few more samples that I got as swaps, but I didn't photograph them yet, so I may save them for next year! I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing, and the holidays keep sneaking up on me! Luckily, I only have about 7 wonderful people that regularly check on my humble attempts, so for now I'm okay with my slow progress.... I'll get better; I promise.

Change Anything!

Okay, this is a little funny, because way back when I signed up for Leadership, I thought this book class would be good for me.  But at the time, we were in the middle of moving, and then settling in (and peeling wallpaper) and I just forgot about this class.  I remembered when I got to San Antonio!!!  So I bought the book as a download for my phone, and started reading between classes, in the evening, and here and there...  I got through all but the last few pages of the book before my class, but am now going through the book again, taking more notes and trying to implement some of the suggestions.

Much of the book deals with things like getting finances back on track, or losing weight, and those parts had great information, but I was most interested in how to be more productive in making my business grow, since I've just recently moved, and haven't made many friends yet.  I may try to touch on this topic again down the road, but if you are looking for a book to help you to see the reasons you have been unsuccessful in the past, so that you can make positive changes, this one has some great tips.  Ellen Richardson led the class, sharing her Change Anything moment with us, and challenging us to find our own thing to Change!  Thanks, Ellen!

Leadership Classes - Why Women Buy

Before I go into some of the class information that I learned, I wanted to share another wonderful sample that showcases Sale-a-Bration!  Lookie at this adorable card.  I love all of the bright colors used here, and how Celebrate is colored in (you could use Stampin' Write Markers, or if you don't have those, a blender pen and ink pads would work well too).  If you place a $50 order, you can choose the Outlined Occasions Stamp set as your FREE item, a set of 6 stamps.  Click HERE to place your order!

While Leadership is a ton of fun, and we get spoiled with great food, prizes, and swaps, it is also loaded with training to help us grow our business.  Leadership has been a great motivator for me to go out and try to make a few friends, and to get a workshop or two onto my calendar.  Moving always causes my business to just about come to a stand-still, and I have been stuck in my shell longer than usual this particular move, so now it's time to get myself out there!

One of the classes I attended was called Why Women Buy....  Carrie Cudney did a great job of showcasing some of the key points of why women may choose to buy from a demonstrator, instead of a chain retailer.  The main thing is RELATIONSHIPS.  We women need each other....I remember when I had 4 very young children, (ages 5, 3, 1, and newborn), we made a major move to Memphis.  I actively sought out ways to build relationships.  I joined 2 MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) groups, which is probably against the rules, and a Bible Study so that I was guaranteed to be out of my house, and with other women at least 7 times a month!

 
 I look back on that time, and can smile, because even though it was challenging, I made some wonderful friendships that have lasted through 3 more moves...in fact, last year I was able to have a mini-reunion with Jennifer, a mom in Memphis with 4 kids the same ages as mine, because she was willing to come to Nashville for a night so we could visit while I was at Leadership!  Jennifer still orders from me at times, even though I've encouraged her to find another demonstrator near to her.  I think it is because she hasn't had as close a relationship with the demonstrators she has come in contact with .
  The next point Carrie pointed out, was that we tend to look for that "perfect solution" or that "terrific time saver." I do that in more than my crafting; I do that in my daily chores....cooking, cleaning, laundry, and more. That's why we love our Big Shot, and the Punches, and Stampin' Up!'s coordinating colors, stamp sets, and accessories. By taking out the guesswork (will this red ribbon match my red paper?), Stampin' Up! has made this part easy for us, by offering lots of coordinating products.

 If you are a customer of mine, you might want to skip all this and go to the stamping samples, but if you are a demonstrator that didn't attend Leadership, or that couldn't take Why Women Buy, then I hope you find Carrie Cudney's points, and my examples helpful.  Be yourself, be encouraging, and be available to your customers, and they will be supportive of you as well.

Let's finish this off with one more example showcasing Sale-a-Bration products!  One of my roommates received this card as a swap, and the creator of this card mentioned that this is a great way to use up your scraps!  I do not know the name of this technique, but I'll revisit this one sometime, and give you the details...but you could probably try your hand at playing with your scraps to create this look yourself...you can do it!!! This card features the Hearts Collection Framelits, and Sale-a-Bration DSP. Have a blessed day, bec

Leadership 2012 Highlights

This was my second time attending Leadership.  I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to go train and discuss ideas with women that love paper crafting, and all things Stampin' Up! like I do!  This is the crew that I hang out with for the week.  Starting at the left, we are, Michele, Diane, Monika, Me, Fran, and Linda.  These ladies were fun to be around, and very easy going, which is important in a roommate!

 Here are just a few of the beautiful project ideas that Stampin' Up! had set up for display.  It was a beautiful area, full of ideas...I took many many pictures, but will try to pull out my favorites... I will be blogging about Leadership for the next week or two, but could easily talk about it for a month or so!

 I'm sad that this picture is a little blurry, but I wanted to share this one anyway.  Those flowers are made with our new Fashionable Hearts Embosslits Die.  The die embosses and cuts at the same time, so the hearts have some texture to them.  I will likely create a card or project with this idea in the near future, but if you have this die already, you don't have to wait to make one of your own!

We arrived in San Antonio on Tuesday, the 17th, and our first day of Leadership was Wednesday.  We had Make-and-Takes in the morning, and then had most of the remainder of the day to roam around the city.  So we went to see the Alamo.  It was a beautiful day!

Here we all are at a cannon in the courtyard around the Alamo.  It was very sunny, but it was our coldest day while we were there.  I had left my winter coat (a very thin light one that I had bought for the trip) behind, because the coldest day was only 62.  But it was chilly being outside all day, so Linda loaned me her sweatshirt for the day.  That was just what I needed to take the edge off the cold!  Thanks, Linda!