Back in the saddle...

..again! I think it is a sure sign that I am getting older because it takes me much longer to recover from a trip away now than it did 10 years ago. However, that being said the loss of sleep was well worth it when you consider all the amazing things we got to see and do at Leadership.

For instance, here is a view of one of the 4 different atrium areas that was inside the Gaylord:

That is a 30 foot waterfall inside the Cascades area. I ate a cafe style restaurant near that waterfall twice while I was there. The sushi was great, but the crab bisque was absolutely wonderful! I enjoyed walking through the area late at night when it was not hustling with people and all the little twinkle lights were on. Simply gorgeous!


The first night we were there those of us who were at the title of Manager or above got to go have a night out at the Wildhorse Saloon. There was plenty of fun to be had, starting with all of us receiving our cowboy hat, decked out with an Early Espresso ribbon hat band and antique brads to embellish it. Then we loaded up the buses and went off for an evening of great barbecue and line dancing with Dave Robbins and then Brother Trouble entertaining us.



When we arrived back at the Gaylord, we were greeted by Stampin' Up staff who gave us our Leadership bags that look just like all those cute Vera Bradley purses you see everywhere! The trim on them is the striped ribbon, and inside the tag is red rubber and has the Stampin' Up! logo on it!




The next day was filled with classes. I am just going to post some of the pictures that I took so that you can enjoy them!

This is a project from one of the Mainstage presentations. I have a strong feeling those of you who attend my classes will be seeing this one again in the future!





A great sample from the display area. I love how they used the new Springtime Vintage fabric around the main stamped image...beautiful!

And speaking of display boards, see the top left corner of this board? Yes, that is my swap card that got picked out of the Stampin' Up drop basket to go up on display, along with around a hundred and fifty or so other cards. That was a fun new experience for me!

The Delta courtyard area at night. This is in another area of the resort from the first picture I posted. It was a lot of fun to just walk around and enjoy the beauty of this grand resort. It is hard to imagine that on May 2, 2010, the Gaylord flooded and had water 12 feet deep in it, causing over $200 million in damages. They were able to clean up and reconstruct it in just 6 months.

The best part of the entire time is the people! I got to have fun with friends, both new and ones that I have known for years. The picture on the left is me, Mel (who works in the Concept Art department for SU!), and Lydia during Make and Takes. The one on the right is my upline, Megan, and one of my sidelines, Celia, on Thursday night. We were all making cards for the Ronald McDonald House. Always a fun time!

Finally, one last Mainstage project, this super-cute album that is made from products featured in the new Occasions Mini Catalog. What a nice gift for mom on Mother's Day!

I hope you all have enjoyed the photos, and I would love to be able to take a large group of demonstrators with me to Leadership in 2012, especially since it is going to be in San Antonio, Texas! If you would love to get to go do what I do, let me know. I still have one FREE starter kit that I can give to a new demo this week only, so drop me a line at baxter1@austin.rr.com or leave a comment on my blog if you are interested. You will never get a better deal on the starter kit, and what a way to start a new business that can be anything you want it to be for you and your family!

Thanks for spending some time with me, and until next time, Happy Stamping!

Kim