A Banner Project

I love banners of all kinds. . .they’re a fun, quick way to add a little customized home décor to any room. You can use them for parties, seasonal decorations, special occasions. . .whatever. I thought I’d share one of my recent banner projects with you. I wanted this banner to have neutral colors, so it would coordinate with any colors. And, of course, it had to have layers and dimensions.

Hope you enjoy. . .

I’m heading to Fiji for our North America incentive trip, so I won’t be posting much over the next week and a half, but I’ll definitely tell you all about it when I come back!

Bula!

 

A Home Office Regional (with catalog release date correction!)

NOTE:  I am so sorry! I put the wrong date on this post earlier today and have created some confusion. The catalog will be online on April 24. . . this Wednesday. I'm so sorry! I've changed it now. . . please spread the word that I made a mistake!

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We wrapped up a regional unlike any other regional this weekend—our first-ever home office regional. What a fun and different environment!

The Main Stage was set up in the Distribution Center, with pallet racking in the background and conveyor belts overhead. Make & Takes and tables were set up in the atrium, and displays were in our two Training Rooms. The store (yes, I said store—more on that later) was also in the Distribution Center.

The excitement at the regional was awesome! When Sara and I arrived at the home office at about 7:30 a.m., demonstrators were already lined up waiting to get inside, and the regional didn’t start until 9! And that enthusiasm only increased once everyone got inside and the morning session started!

Besides being in the home office, a couple of other things that set this regional apart was the chance to be the first to see—and BUY—new product. (Hence, the store.) The new catalog is unveiled to our demonstrators online on WEDNESDAY, so we felt like this weekend was the perfect opportunity to have a regional that focused almost exclusively on new products.

We had a full house—I think about 375 demonstrators. . . as many as our fire code would allow! Demonstrators came from all over North America (I think I heard we had demonstrators from more than 20 states and provinces)  to enjoy presentations that featured new product and inspiring project ideas, as well as receive a new catalog, and at the end of the day, actually buy some of the new products. No wonder the energy was so high, right?

Usually I show the regional project that I demonstrated, but because the projects featured new product and we aren’t allowed to show any new products OR projects featuring new products until after the catalog is released, I’ll have to wait to share my project until later. All the demonstrators at the regional were sworn to secrecy as well, promising they’d follow the same guidelines, so you shouldn’t be seeing any project or products or the catalog itself. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait very long!

Several demonstrators asked if this home office regional was going to become an annual event. I don’t know the answer to that yet, but I know if it was, I’d definitely be there! It was fabulous, and I loved every minute of it!

Our Annual Breakfast---Kanab Style

This morning Sterling and I woke up early and were on the road before 5 a.m., heading down to Kanab for part 2 of our annual employee appreciation breakfast; several other corporate team members also went down as well.

Our Kanab group is smaller than the home office, so we could still cook for everyone and eat all together. By the time we arrived, the other CT members had already begun cooking and had the serving under control as well, so I got my favorite assignment—mingling and hugging.

The food was delicious. . . we had pretty much the same thing as yesterday: French toast, ham, eggs, and fruit. Everyone seemed to enjoy the chance to relax and visit and be appreciated!

One thing they didn’t enjoy, however, is me taking pictures! I love our Kanab employees; they are humble, down-to-earth people. . . and getting them to pose for a picture is like pulling teeth! They’re usually good sports and let me snap a few even though it makes them uncomfortable, but since today was about thanking and appreciating them, I decided to show my appreciation by not making them smile for the camera. I snapped a couple of our Heart of Stampin’ Up! recipients and one of our corporate team cooking, and then I called it good.

Because our Kanab office is smaller, our breakfast is a little more casual. . .we joke around and are more playful. I don’t use a mic when I’m talking to the group. We also typically only have one Heart of Stampin’ Up! receipient, but this year had more nominees in Kanab than we’ve had before (woo hoo!), and we honored two employees with the recognition: Arlene Lundberg and Brent Alvey.

Congratulations to these outstanding employees. And just like our home office, there are so many employees who could receive this award. . . so many hardworking people who devote themselves to Stampin’ Up! and our demonstrators.

Sterling and I headed back home afterwards (it was a quick trip down and back in one day—beautiful weather both ways!), and I felt deeply grateful again for the incredible people I work with!

Our Annual Breakfast

Today we celebrated our annual employee appreciation breakfast, a day I look forward to every year. This tradition goes back years. . . I’m not sure when we started it. We did things a little differently this year. Typically, the corporate team members cook breakfast for all the employees, with different teams assigned to different shifts throughout the morning. This year, since we’d also scheduled our monthly Innovation Day for today, we needed to have everyone eat together in about an hour, so we could move on to our innovation projects.

That meant that we couldn’t spend all morning cooking, so we ended up catering the breakfast. So instead of cooking breakfast, the corporate team members mingled and chatted with everyone, trying to make sure we thanked everyone there for everything they do. It was nice to have everyone together in one room—and the food was fabulous! So I’m pretty sure no one minded the change.

Our theme for the event was “You make a difference,” and I loved the way our HR team used that theme in the decoration. There was a framed mirror at the first table, so employees would see themselves as they picked up plates, napkins, and silverware, and in the frame were the words, “You make a difference.” And that same theme played out throughout the atrium. . . . wonderful message!

I also present our Heart of Stampin’ Up! recipients at this activity, and I did that this morning as well. There were five all together (three at the home office and two at Kanab—I’ll present those awards tomorrow at our breakfast there), more than we’ve had before!

These employees are nominated by their colleagues and coworkers, who share why they think certain employees exemplify our Statement of the Heart. Of course, we have so many Stampin’ Up! employees who deserve this award . . . so many amazing people who give and serve and care. I always look forward to the opportunity, however, to officially recognize a few of our finest.

This year, our home office recipients of the Heart of Stampin’ Up! award were Mary Ramirez, Brian Pilling, and Claudia Dall. Congratulations! (Brian is out of town, so I didn't get a picture with him. . . )

After announcing these winners, I gave the mic to Rich, who had said he wanted to kick off Innovation Day with a few remarks. I was totally taken by surprise, when instead of talking about Innovation Day, he said that dozens of our employees had actually submitted my name as a Heart of Stampin’ Up! nominee, even though they knew I would never choose myself. He read some excerpts from some of the letters (which they had taken out of the pile of letters that were given to me) and had me come up, crying like a baby, while everyone stood and clapped. I was overwhelmed and so touched!

I work with wonderful people, and I was grateful that today I was able to express my appreciation for them—and it felt nice to be appreciated as well!

Back East in Baltimore

I just got back from Baltimore—the last regional of the year that I’ll need to travel to. (We have one more this Saturday, but it’s here at the home office, so I get to just hop in the car!) Loved it for so many reasons. . . .

First, it was good to be back East. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there (as more than one demonstrator reminded me!), and I always enjoy touching base with our East Coast demonstrators! (I love touching base with ALL of our demonstrators for that matter.) I got to talk with so many demonstrators one on one and give hugs and thanks. . . one of my favorite parts of regionals!

It was one of our largest regionals of the year—850 demonstrators! And the energy was fabulous! It’s always easier and more fun to present when the crowd is energetic, and that was definitely the case. Looking out at smiling faces and feeling everyone’s enthusiasm was awesome!

The weather was great, which I especially appreciated when I woke up to SNOW this morning here in Utah. Can you believe it? It was warm and sunny in Baltimore; we even walked down to the harbor for dinner.

And when I say “we,” I mean Sterling and me. Yep, that’s another reason this regional was so good—my sweetheart came with me. It’s the only regional he’s been able to go to this year, and so it was nice to end the year on that note, and it made it extra special for me.

Because it was so close to the release of the new catalog, our demonstrations were focused on “sneak peek” products that will be available in the new catalog (our demonstrators will be able to check out the online catalog on April 24.) I showed these two birthday cards—a male and female version of the same basic design. These are the cards I’ll be using for our employee birthdays next month, and they feature tons of new stuff—a new stamp set, new folder, new DSP, new punch, new envelopes. . . .lots of fun things to get excited about!