I love that it’s a day that celebrates love and appreciation, a day that reminds us to focus on those we care about, a day that encourages us to express heartfelt feelings to others. Valentine’s Day makes me happy and always makes me want to reach out to others.

For years, I’ve always made the rounds at our Stampin’ Up! home office and given our employees Hugs and Kisses (the Hershey’s kind, of course!). My schedule doesn’t always allow me to do it exactly on Valentine’s Day, but this year I did! And I loved it.

I look forward to the opportunity to tell those employees who are at their desks how much I appreciate them. I don’t always catch everyone, but I leave a Hug and a Kiss for those I miss as well. And this year, for the first time, several employees mentioned my visit, saying things like, “I was wondering when you were coming by,” and “Thanks for taking the time to do this every year,” and “I was hoping I wouldn’t miss you.” I always feel a little silly hauling the basket of candy around every year, but when I realized that  people were actually watching for me, it made me feel great!

I wish I could wiggle my nose and visit all our offices, but since I can’t, I send a package of Hugs and Kisses to our Kanab facility and our international offices as well. Those won’t arrive today (hopefully I’ll get them out early enough next year so they can be enjoyed on the actual day), but February is a great time to express love and appreciation all month long, so it works.

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and that you are surrounded by people who love you!

At one point during the regional we had a break, and I went outside. It was so warm, and I was having a delightful conversation with some demonstrators, and I got lost in the moment. . . Arizona is celebrating its centennial birthday this week, so there was a feeling of excitement in the air. We watched hundreds (a cab driver later told me there were thousands in the city) of motorcycles drive by the convention center, and most of them were Harleys. Be still, my heart!  (I love motorcycles.) I almost had to force myself to go back inside.

Of course, back inside was just as wonderful! This regional was one of our smaller ones; we had about 350 people in attendance. The energy was strong, positive, and happy, and I had a chance to interact with many of our Stampin’ Up! demonstrators, always an event highlight for me! We also had more guests than normal sign up to join our Stampin’ Up! family, and that’s exciting to see as well!

And I know I say this at every event, but it’s true—I always learn at least one thing, and usually at least a dozen things, at our events. And I see lots of inspiration with the swaps and contest.

Hopefully I provide a little inspiration too. I always share a project that I’m currently working on, and with the upcoming birth of our twin grandbabies only a couple of months away, we’re actually in the midst of planning for Shanna’s combination birthday/shower.

This glass jar will hold the drinks at the party and will have either a pink-and-white striped straw or a gray-and-white striped straw, along with a drink. During my onstage presentation I talked about different ways to “ornament” it (some of our staff teased me about teaching them a new word for embellish or accent, but “ornament” just slipped out. . . and seemed appropriate). There are several projects in the works for this party, so I’m sure I’ll be sharing those in the coming weeks as well.

Throughout the day, people kept thanking us for coming to Arizona, and I kept thinking, “No, thank you for letting us come here!” Happy 100^th birthday, Arizona!

Just wanted to share this with you. I’m off to our regional now. . . .

Those who know me well know I’m a vintage girl. . . I’ve always loved the vintage look and feel. And this set is, once again, exactly what it says—vintage with a fresh flair! Each of the five images is definitely vintage, but there’s a sense of something modern about them too, and I love that combination.

And once again, I’m inspired by the versatility this set offers. . . five different images, and each image can be used in so many different ways!

This set, like all the Sale-A-Bration sets, is available in all our markets. Woo hoo! However, not all of our products are available in all markets. While we’re working to make our product offering more universal across the board, the beauty of crafting is that, if you see a ribbon or paper on one these projects (or any of the Sale-A-Bration projects that I post in the coming weeks) that isn’t available to you, all you have to do is improvise! You can always find something that will look just as good. . . and maybe even better!

Most of us tweak projects we see anyway, don’t we? We’re inspired by something someone else has created, but when we sit down to make it ourselves, we always have to make it our own in one way or another. It’s just a natural part of creativity—and that’s one of the things that Stampin’ Up! is all about!

The most exciting part of it is we are already looking forward to our next party! Friends in our neighborhood have often asked me to have regular events, but I just haven’t made the commitment. This time, with Shalae on board, I’m ready to do it! And it was so easy! We asked people for their e-mail addresses so we could let them know about each month’s event, and they were eager to share. We already know what we’re doing next month . . . watch the blog for our ideas.

I know, I know, those of you who are demonstrators and have done monthly classes before are probably rolling your eyes and thinking,“Duh.” But it really was great to see how excited people are to get together on a regular basis and stamp and chat and just have a fun night out!

And yes, it is over! And Shalae would definitely be the Gardner who is the happiest about that! She shoulders the bulk of the responsibility. Once we come up with a basic color palette then we buy everyone a new top, and Shalae is the one who takes care of that.

In the past, she’s spent hours shopping at different stores trying to find just the right combination; I’ll spend a day shopping with her when I can. She usually ends up buying more than one top for all of us, so we have choices. That means that she also spends hours returning the clothes we end up not using. So you can see why our annual family photo is a pretty big deal to her.

This year she ended up doing most of it online. It still took tons of her time, but I was a lot less involved! She spent lots of time computer shopping and ordering, and then organizing when the boxes began to arrive. I stopped by one afternoon and looked over everything, and then she invited everyone over another afternoon to try on things, then she returned everything that didn’t work. Probably still took her just as much time, although hopefully it was more flexible and convenient. . . 

The actual shoot was Saturday morning. Through the years we’ve developed quite a smooth process, if I do say so myself. We arrive at the studio in shifts, with those who need the most make-up coming first, and those with younger children (and this year Shanna, who is still dealing with morning sickness) arriving last (that means a minimum of time for youngsters to get impatient or anxious).

I have to say that one of the things I was most impressed with this year is how wonderful the children were. Everybody is comfortable with the process and knows what to expect, even the little ones. Once the photographers started arranging us, the children sat patiently, remembering where their legs and arms were supposed to be, and even tilting their heads in the right direction. They were all fabulous, and not just my family! We couldn’t do this without the incredible talent—and patience—of the people behind the scene (make-up artist, art director, photographers, etc.).

The other thing that stands out is that, after the shoot was done, everyone seemed to hang around a little longer than normal. In fact, Sterling was the first to leave. (He had clinic that morning, and we’d actually had to schedule the shoot a half hour earlier than usual so he could make it.) Usually everyone is so glad that it’s over that the flash hasn’t even cooled off before people are heading out the door to go home. This year we gathered around the fruit and veggie trays and chatted for a little bit. . . a reflection, I think, of how well it had gone. Nerves weren’t frazzled, tempers weren’t flaring, we had enough energy left to enjoy each others’ company!

And yes, it is over for another year. I’m excited to see the final result—and hopefully you’ll be excited too!

So while I don’t necessarily think of myself as much of a public speaker, I recognize that I certainly do a lot of it—and I enjoy it most of the time—so I agreed to share my thoughts and experiences.

I began by asking how many of the girls (there were almost 40) had had the chance to speak in public. More than half of them raised their hands. I told them they’d all eventually have the chance, and hopefully my thoughts would prove helpful.

I put together a few public speaking tips and, of course, had to present those tips in a creative way! Here’s the little swatchbook handout I gave each girl, along with the five tips I came up with.

Be yourself. When you speak, be real and genuine; the audience can always tell when you aren’t!

Be your best self. When you’re self-conscious about your hair, make-up, or clothes, you aren’t able to focus on your subject, so always look your best. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to dress your Sunday best; when you overdress, you’re as uncomfortable as when you underdress! The key is to know your audience and dress for them. For example, I knew the young women I would be speaking to would be dressed casually, so I dressed “one step” up from that. And I also made sure I felt good about the way my hair and make-up looked too!

Speak from your heart. Be passionate and personal about what you’re speaking about. When you are, your natural excitement and enthusiasm will be obvious. Sharing personal stories and anecdotes is always an effective way to connect with your audience.

Love. When you have a love for what you’re doing, what you’re speaking about, and/or the people you’re speaking to (ideally all three, but at least one of the three), that will come through and your presentation will be effective.

Smile. When you smile, it helps both you and your audience relax. (Can’t believe I didn’t mention it, but eye-to-eye contact would be essential here as well.) Smiling and looking at your audience is so important!

Although it wasn’t a tip, I mentioned that both gum and “um” were no-nos. (And then I counted how many times I said “um” the rest of the evening! Four!)

I had mentioned several times throughout my remarks that none of us are perfect, and my tips were simply designed to help us do our best, but we all make mistakes. So my four “um”s just proved my point! And despite those mistakes, I enjoyed the chance to spend some time with these amazing young women!

Last year, throughout the Sale-A-Bration period, I featured projects on my blog made with Sale-A-Bration products. You all seemed to enjoy it, so I thought I’d do it again this year.

I have to be honest. . . I’ve always been able to find at least a set or two I like, but this year I’m falling in love with several of our Sale-A-Bration offerings!

I thought I’d start with projects featuring the Elementary Elegance set, which is available in all our markets and which is pretty much just what it says—simply elegant! What’s not to like about this set?! Crowns are big everywhere, and birds and butterflies are timeless! And I really liked that these beautiful images are teeny . . . I feel happy when I look at them, and even happier when I create with them!

I’ll point out that there is a coordinating punch (again available in all markets) that goes with the frame. . . and isn’t there a lot of energy in that image?! You can either punch out the frame so you can see something underneath it or you can punch out another image and layer it on top of the frame.

And the phrases—so much potential there. In fact, the whole set offers a lot of versatility; you can use each of the images in so many different ways.

So enjoy this first of several (maybe many?) Sale-A-Bration projects. . . .

I had to wait until after our leadership conference to share the video publicly, because we’d promised our demonstrators that they’d get the first look at it at leadership. So we showed it at leadership, and now here it is for everyone else to see. . .

We enjoyed doing it! It was a ton of work—and a ton of fun! Let me know what you think of the final result. . . .

We will be offering two cards (our guests can choose which one they want to make for their sweetheart) plus a coordinating stamped envelope, and then these cello bag toppers for gifts for children or grandchildren.

My favorite new product (at least for today!) is the Labels Collection Framelits, and this is the largest of those dies. It makes such a quick, easy, and great-looking cello topper—all you have to do is come up with fun accents. We added some waffle paper “lace” and a Rhinestone for our girl gift; the boy gift is minus the lace and features a Silver Brad.

You can tuck whatever surprises inside the cello bag, but I’ll be putting our fun A-Maze-ing game in mine, along with a few kisses (chocolate, of course). Even as an adult, I’m intrigued by this fun novelty, and I’m hoping my grandchildren will enjoy it too! You’ll notice that on the back, you can personalize a message to the recipient. (That makes it even more special, PLUS if you include a name on the game, they can’t argue about whose is whose game later!)

I know it’s kind of short notice, but feel free to join us in offering a Valentine Day prep event to your customers—this is the perfect time of year to share our love of stamping!