My Stampin' Up! Story and update

I was totally busy last week and frustrated because I couldn't find the PC cord for the camera to download new pictures to post. I found it under the recliner of all places after I ordered a replacement of course :0) That's how life works. Since I just found it, pictures will have to wait another day or so, but I do have something to share.

I am participating in the Stampin' Up! recruit crew. Part of our assignment is sharing our story as it relates to being a demo. So here is my story:

My Stampin’ Up! Story

I could not tell you exactly when I attended my first SU event. It was kind of hit and miss for several years. Always a onetime event here and there, rarely a round of workshops. Stampin’ Up! was OK but because I have been stamping for around 25 years didn’t seem that significant with such a wide variety available from several companies, which I still enjoy greatly in my personal creating. However a few years ago a friend got really interested in Stampin’ Up! and we started attending Stamp a Stacks together. I was doing quite a few swaps and was getting frustrated trying to find affordable matching elements. At the Stamp a Stacks I was seeing a classic elegant design I liked, excellent quality materials, fell in love with how everything coordinated so nicely and the variety offered to appeal to many different styles and tastes. The price point was good especially on packages of cardstock to make my many swaps, offering consistency to my designs. My friend signed up as a demo and started a club. She had a club for the social aspect and friendships and I was her designer. She was unable to continue being a demo and a few months after she lost her demonstrator status, asked me to sign on to continue our club. It didn’t exactly work out as planned but I have had 2 successful clubs in the nearly 2 years I have been a demo. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others and teaching them techniques, tips and tricks and to inspire their creativity and confidence. I enjoy being a hobby demo with a small customer base with the occasional larger event.

My demonstrator outlook changed dramatically when I began the Cards for the Troops events for From Our Hearts. I have been blessed with the gift of encouragement and the talent to create. Using those gifts in service is important to me so my focus is more as a card ministry than as a business builder. I still gain customers at a small rate but using my Stampin’ Up! products to bless other lives is my priority and I am fortunate enough to be able to budget to support that ministry at this time. I am my own best customer and my gift and blessing is touching others lives with love, support and encouragement. The blessing is multifold. I create designs and inspire so I am blessed, those who assemble the cards are blessed by sharing in the creating for a worthy cause, the service members are blessed with our gift of thoughtfulness to them and their families are blessed to receive a connection with their loved one. These blessings will grow and abound and come back to me in ways I never expected. There is joy in the giving of one’s time, talent and energy to improve and brighten up our world, one life at a time.