M-I-C-...

See ya' real soon!

K-E-Y....

Why? Because we like you!

M-O-U-S-E

Yes...we are officially in the Land of the Mouse. Funny thing is, we intended to do one day at Disney during this vacation. Just one. Because last time we were here, we did a full week at the parks. Seven complete days of all things Mickey, Minnie, and definitely a little Goofy. So this time, we decided to use some restraint, because anyone who has done 7 days at Disney knows that by day 5, you are looking at it like you are a hostage in a bad movie, and that doesn't bode very well for the small child in your life. Decision made! Just. One. Day.

Then we took Little Miss to dinner at Downtown Disney, specifically, at T-Rex.


Did I mention that they have "Build-a-Dino" there? Yes, it is Build-a-Bear, but with Dinosaurs.

This is Little Miss giving her pterodon a bath. I thought it was a pterodactyl, but I was misinformed. Little Miss said to me very matter-of-factly, "Mom, I have familiarized myself with the dinosaurs, and this is a pterodon, not a pterodactyl. You can tell because the top of her head is different." Yes. Of course I can. How could anyone not have known that? Guess I'll be doing a little remedial study on the different variety of flying dinosaurs when we get home.

I have always given it to Disney...they go all out on things like this. That is a full-sized T-Rex skeleton "buried" in the ice cave that leads to the restrooms, which were labeled...wait for it...wait for it...She-Rex and He-Rex. Notice the little pre-historic bow on She-Rex's head? Yes, that is a bow. Because, well, even meat-eating ginormously scary dinosaurs like to look pretty!

After dinner we did some shopping and sight-seeing. David decided to try on a Capt. Jack look, while Little Miss opted for the super cute route. Finally, a quick peek into the Bibbidi-Boppity-Boutique, where Fairy Godmothers turn little girls into princesses.

Yes, our intentions were great, but after this first night of fun we decided that we might ought to plan on at least 2 days at Disney, with a Blizzard Beach day thrown in for good measure! Tomorrow is a lazy day for us to just chill out, then it will be off to Mouse-land, where any little girl can be a princess and mommies and daddies get to see some pretty awesome smiles.

I hope that your life is filled with magic and love today! I promise we will return to our previously scheduled stamping program once I get home, but for the next week I am going to be relaxing and having all kinds of Florida fun with the family.

For those of you wondering about those cute little mutts that we left at home, well, they are safe with the house/pet sitter, who called today to let me know that Bella ate his cell phone. Nice. I wonder if a pair of mouse ears will make it up to him?

Have a great night, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim

Wow...

...is all I can say about this past week! We have had such a great time here, and I am sad to see it end (but I am so happy to get home and see my Little Miss again).

Here are a few random pictures from this past week for your enjoyment:


This is the Salt Palace Convention Center, where we spent the week learning more amazing things about stamping than I can begin to describe or share here. It is so pretty lit up at night, and we had a straight view of it from our gorgeous hotel room.

This is my group of friends that I call "SASS-y", which stands for "South Austin Sassy Stampers". At this convention it included Lydia (giving me bunny ears, myself, Cheryl, and Dana as well. This group is subject to change, and we really do accept anyone who is anywhere remotely near the South Austin area, drinks coffee, eats sushi, and is willing to play Twister. (Lydia abstained from Twister but she is the founding member of SASS-y so she can do things like that without endangering her position in the group.

Not sure if you can see it or not but some of us also have our faces painted in this picture. The entire party was amazingly fun, with hula hooping, twister, game show try-outs, and just general 60's and 70's frivolity.

Next up is one of my favorite pictures, myself and Meg on awards night. There are several reasons that it is my favorite, but one of the top ones is that I got to see Meg in several marches across the stage, one of which was the march for Founder's Circle. This means that Meg made the top 100 demonstrators in the country and is going on a special trip out to St. George, Utah in September. Way to go, Meg! We are all proud of you!

Now, I had a contest yesterday and really enjoyed reading everyone's comments on what your favorite Stampin' Up! products are. The winner yesterday was Susan Brown, who gets her choice of either a reusable grocery bag or a Stampin' Up! clear ruler that has a designer series paper design on it.

Once I get home there will be some more contests, and a lot more pictures. For now I am going to tuck in and get some sleep. I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow, and are ready for a fun week! I will be hitting the phones Monday to make a lot of phone calls because there is an August hostess special that you do not want to miss. In fact, the first four hostesses that book a workshop with me for the month of August will receive their order delivered in one of those ultra-cute new reusable bags. Imagine your free merchandise arriving packed in one of those bags. Yes, I said free merchandise, because for every workshop that closes at $350 in merchandise for the month of August, the hostess will get:

--any Level One or Level Two Hostess set out of the Idea Book & Catalog, the Summer Mini, or the Definitely Decorative catalog, plus

--$40 in free merchandise, plus

--an additional $25 in free merchadise.

That is a huge value in totally free merchandise, just for having a fun afternoon or evening with your friends. And with all the new techniques and designs I have just spent the week learning about, I promise it will be fun. If you need more fun and girl time in your life then get your calendar out because the calls will start on Monday morning. If I don't have your contact information but you would like to have a workshop, then please email me at baxter1@austin.rr.com and I will get in touch with you to get your date on the calendar.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

Breakfast with the Executive Team...

...will be happening in the morning! I sure hope that they look in a little better shape tomorrow morning than they did Wednesday night. Just take a little look-see:

No idea who the man with the beard is, but the blond, peace-loving guy next to him is Mark Jessen, who is THE trainer with Stampin' Up. Mark is the guy who helps put together all the amazing training, both online and in-person, that the demonstrators receive.

Let's move on to the groovy couple on the dance floor. Those are none other than Shelli and her husband, Sterling. Even in 70's clothes, Shelli is so cute you just want to put her in your convention bag and bring her home with you. Not that I would ever do that, I'm just saying. Maybe I've said too much. I'll just show a couple of pictures now instead.

This is how the main stage in Demonstrator Theater is decorated. I will do my best to get some more shots tomorrow, as my camera has been ill with me and not wanting to work the way I would like it too, but the set looks like big, huge stamp blocks, a tag with an eyelet and the new ribbon, and on the sides are borders that are done in the eyelet and new scalloped edge border. So cute!

One other cute thing is the perk of bringing your roommates little gifts to welcome them. Now, last year I did not bring any gifts, but I was told that when you are a first time Convention attendee that you aren't expected to. It wasn't until about a week before I flew out of Austin that I realized that this time I would not be a "first timer", and I had better be making some presents, so I created these:

I just love how well the Friends Never Fade set coordinates with the paper. The best part about it is, I don't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out if it will go together, because I know it will and that these colors look amazing together! The girls were very happy to get these little journals to take notes in for Convention.

So, before I head to bed, time for another contest. Just add a comment and tell me what your favorite new product in the Idea Book & Catalog is and why. I will take entries until 7 p.m. Friday night (Central Time) and will post a winner later that evening.

I hope everyone has a great night, and I will see you all very soon! Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

And the winner is...

...lucky comment number 4, which belongs to Kim M.! Kim, since I know where you live you will get your prize on Monday, which is this:


a designer reusable bag that features new Stampin' Up! colors and this super cute flower design! Congrats to Kim!

I am getting ready for Awards Night with the girls here. This is an amazing night because my upline, Meg, earned Founder's Circle this year! We are going to get all dressed up, and I promise there will be more pictures later and another contest tonight, so check back later to see what it is!

Until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim

I promised you....

...some pictures of all the wonderful goodies from Memento Mall, so here are a few:

The Christmas ornament that is so beautiful it made my eyes hurt! You can leave the sweet stamped image in it, or you can put in a favorite photo...whatever you want!

The tote that I will probably snuggle up with tonight! Loved it so much that I also got the matching laptop case to store my paperwork in, since my hubby (rock on, David!) got me a laptop that is too big for a normal case to handle.

Our fun, funky Convention bag this year! First of all, it is pink and orange, and who wouldn't be happy just to touch it, right?

Secondly, it is full of stamp sets, which we all know automatically increases its cool status to Defcon 4.

Finally, I got to experience one of my awesome downline girls get her first Convention bag! I hope that next year we have a slew of Stamp-a-Rama girls here together, having all kinds of fun! I can't wait to post more, and I am so excited to get home to share all the amazing things I am seeing with all of you. If you have ever, or never, thought about having a workshop before you are going to want one when I get back! I just can't wait!

OK, off to happy hour and then to the Flower Power party with the fun folks at Stampin' Up! Tomorrow we will be live from the Main Stage, where all the great classes and demonstrations will be held. I just can't wait! I hope y'all are excited and enjoying the little posts I am putting up here.

Contest for today: Who co-founded Stampin' Up! with Shelli, and what year did the company start? Answer in a comment on this post, and I will draw a winner from all the correct answers. Tell you friends to come check out the blog so that they have a chance to win, too! (Don't be the girl who doesn't tell anyone because you want a better chance for yourself...there will be plenty of love to go around!)

See y'all soon, and until next time...Happy Stamping!

Kim