I had so much fun at the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference held in Orlando, Florida in January. I just had to take a few minutes to share. The fun started on Tuesday as I arrived to WARM weather!! I checked into the Castle (to go along with the Disneyworld theme!), met friends (Maria Pane and Blaney Spinelli) and had a blast at the Outta This World Magic and Comedy Theater that evening.
On Wednesday, my roomies and I headed to Disney World AFTER going to the Convention Center and picking up our new and absolutely AWESOME Stampin' Up! Spring Summer 2009 catalog and filling our shopping bags with Logo merchandise at the Momento Mall. (I will be rewarding my team with these goodies at the next team meeting.)

We had a fun day at Disney World...the park was not crowded and there were no waiting lines...what could be better? Of course Disney isn't Disney without getting your picture taken with Mickey and Minnie and they were kind enough to accomodate us.

We also couldn't resist the photo opportunity in one of the stores to try on our Mickey ears!! (Can you keep a secret? I always wanted to be Muskateer!)
That night I met my third roommate, Jill Hilliard...hi Jill! While Blaney spent time making some cards to swap, Maria and I went to the jacuzzi and pool (with a beautiful fountain in the center) and enjoyed some down time getting to know each other better. One of the very best benefits of being a Stampin' Up demonstrator is the wonderful friends you make...every demonstrator will testify to that!!

Thursday morning I was up bright and early to attend Opening Session at the Convention Center. And right out of the gate, Shelli Gardner, Stampin' Up! Founder & CEO, announced quite a few BIG things to come...how about...drum roll please...My Digital Studio...digital scrapbooking software to be released sometime later this year!! And if that wasn't enough, they gave away about seven free ones AND yours truly was one of the very fortunate recipients!! I could not believe it. Another great benefit of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator...free product!

The FUN got really cranked up that night when everyone who was Manager level and above was invited to attend the Manager's Reception at Universal Studios. The park was closed to the public and opened just for us!! All the rides we wanted to ride, all the shops we wanted to browse, all the food we wanted to eat...and I'm not talking just park food, I'm talking Lobster!! That's right...and everything else you could imagine. The dessert bar included CHOCOLATE fondue...did I die and go to Heaven?
The Spiderman heros...and villians...were there for photos and I'm not sure who had more fun...them or us. There was dancing in the streets including two dancers on stilts dressed in lighted costumes. The street banners that usually had words on them like "Shazam!" and "POW!" had been changed to read "PUNCH", "CROP" and "STAMP". The free Frozen Ice was a big hit. (Notice the word "INK!" on the canopy in the photo above.) As we were leaving, we each received a Spiderman lunch box with a FREE stamp set inside to add to the one we received in our Conference tote bag! Did I mention FOOD, FUN and FREE...I love my job!! (Hey, if you want to get in on some of the fun...click HERE to learn how you can join me!)
Everything about Leadership was so exciting...exciting announcements, exciting events, exciting classes... hopefully I'll remember at least half of what I learned!
To celebrate the last night in style, a large group of us (I think something like 32!) gathered at a local restaurant, Café Tu Tu Tango to chat and laugh and of course, EAT!! Then we went back to the "Castle" and shared our card swaps so we could come home with pictures of all the latest creations to share with our great customers...like you! Here's one of my favorites...I'll post more in the next day or two.
Leave me a comment if you like reading about Stampin' Up! events on my blog. Or for information on how you can participate in them, email me at carolyn@oh2bstampin.com.