Best decision EVER !!!

When I first joined Stampin' Up! all I wanted was the petite petals bundle ! ... honestly I wanted that stamp and the matching punch, and that was all. I took advantage of the amazing starter kit and got my £130.00 of goodies for £99 same as thousands of other crafters every year, and thats all I was interested in. And then.........

Then began a passion and a joy which was to become my Stampin' Up! journey. With the support of fantastic friends, customers and a great team leader I slowly began to develop a small business.

To cut the waffle short my Stampin' Up! journey has taken me to many events all over the Uk and to Amsterdam too. The latest trip was to Frankfurt. As a reward for reaching Silver Elite within a specialised focused training group, ran my Sam Hammond Donald and Michelle Last, two other demos and myself got to visit the European Stampin' Up! warehouse AND the head office.. just pinch me because I think I'm dreaming !

So here we are left to right ..ME !! Katy Freeman fellow demo, Sam Hammond Donald my amazing team leader, Michelle Last head of the Pinkies team and finally the lovely Sophie Pestrelle leading French demonstrator. Here we all are putting the world to rights after Sam and Michelle had just treat us to a beautiful evening meal in the fantastic Hilton Gardens in Frankfurt where they also paid for us to stay ... spoilt or what ! However, I am not quite sure what Katy and I are doing with those arms ? A spot of synchronised swimming maybe ?

We might have stayed up a little late ...and we may have had a few little drinkies to celebrate all our achievements... cheers to us all !

Here we all are next morning outside the warehouse where we were given a full tour which was amazing. We got to see exactly how the products we demonstrate and sell are stored, picked and packed. A fantastic experience to say the least. And totally surrounded by row after row and box after box of fantastic product ...any stampers dream.

Here we can see Sophie having a .. real good old nosey.... I think we were all hoping to see some top secret brand new products not yet released, but no such luck they kept it out of our sights.

We then got to spend the afternoon at head office. We had a guided tour and met the whole team who run the European office. Such an amazing place ...and so tidy and clean.... not like my craft room I can tell you. So from left to right we have Charlotte and Chris (I may have spelt their names wrong so huge appologies) who are both members of the home office team and helped ensure we had a fantastic day. We were lucky enough to have a crafting session with the super talented Charlotte too which was amazing. Then next in line we have Michelle Last, Katy Freeman, myself, Sophie Pestrelle, Sam Hammond Donald and country manager Paula Gorry. Paula is amazing and works hard to ensure everything runs smoothly and her dedication to Stampin' Up! and to us European demonstrators really is second to none. We were given the red carpet treatment for sure... we had a lovely lunch and then we left for the airport full of chatter and excitement about your amazing experience. I could go on and on sharing photos with you like an annoying old uncle with a slide show... but I will leave it there with a smile on my face and a case to still unpack !

So you see you just never know where Stampin' Up! can take you .... I wouldn't mind but I only wanted a flower stamp !!!

memories to last a lifetime ...... thanks for sharing this special moment with you .. Happy stamping xx Amanda