At last....

.....a moment to post! What a life. Gotta love it! The last 2 and a half weeks have been a whirlwind! It all started with the Stampin' Up! Convention in Brisbane on the 11th and 12th April. I had an absolutely FABULOUS time away with some of the girls from my own team, plus meeting other demonstrators from around Australia and New Zealand, and catching up with friends I met at last year's convention. Some highlights: The Brisbane backpackers resort, with its foam mattress on the double bunk (I was on top - my choice), and backpackers from all over the world that made me feel quite old.... LOL!!! Breakfast every morning at a GORGEOUS cafe just down the road from the backpackers, called the Lily Bean. It was a beautiful gift shop and florist as well. If ever you are in Brisbane, you have to drop in to the Lily Bean and say high to Belinda and the gang. Belinda creates the most amazing floral designs, and the array of gifts is fabulous too - and very affordable. The Lily Bean is at 8/92 Vulture St, West End, and has only been up and running for a few weeks. The food was fabulous, the service fantastic, and the atmosphere kept us returning each morning for more.

And so to Convention itself! What a buzz! Just amazing, with all the sessions to help us with new ideas on products, creativity and business building. Brilliant! My head is swimming with all the new ideas I could use, and I will definitely be implementing some of them. But the coolest fun was the Awards Dinner on the Saturday night. We were treated to an elegant meal, and a band during dinner with some funky music, and most of all free rubber...... For achieving certain levels in sales and recruiting, stamp sets are awarded, and I managed to achieve one award in each of these categories. Yay me! You'll get to play with these sets at your own workshops over the next 12 months.... There were 3 major highlights for me on this night, 2 of which I could not have enjoyed without my wonderful team members, and all my fabulous friends and customers (and some of you are both!) Every year Stampin' Up! provides several ways for demonstrators to earn an Incentive Trip - an all expenses paid trip for 2, this year to Palm Cove!!!!! I am pleased to say that I will be going in August with my husband, which many of you already know. That was highlight number 1. Also, Stampin' Up! awards its top 25 demonstrators of the year- and I came in at number 21 in Australia!!!!! That was highlight number 2. Highlight number 3 was watching from the stage whilst I waited for them to call my upline Linda's name - because I knew she had gotten into the top 25 as well - and as they worked their way up through the numbers, getting more and more excited for her, I could hardly contain myself as they called her name at number 6 in Australia!!!! How cool is she! That actually put her at number 1 in NSW!!! I'll get her autograph for you if you like.... ;-)

Here are some pics.....

Here is my face when they called Linda's name for number 6 demonstrator of the year.... They called us in order up from 25, so I was already on the stage with my rose and certificate. My wonderful downline Kelly commandeered my camera.....

Here is Linda hugging Shelli, the co-founder of Stampin' Up! 20 years ago this year in the USA, so overwhelmed to be named number 6 in Australia....

This is a picture of the 2 of us with Shelli, who is amazingly humble, real and down to earth - and beautiful! Hard to believe she is a grandmother!

If you want to join me and my team at convention next year, then now is a great time to get the best bargain in the Idea Book and Catalogue - the Starter Kit. Not only do you get nearly $600 worth of product for $324, but being the beginning of the Stampin' Up! year means you can have a better chance to earn these cool awards too! Next year, convention is in Canberra, and I will be there with bells on..... Join us, either as a business venture for yourself, or to support your own stampin' hobby.... either way, we have loads of fun!!!