The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Remember that Staples commercial during back to school time where the parent is riding the cart through the aisles and singing "it's the most wonderful time, of the year...".  In my world, this time of year is the most wonderful time of the year!  Each January I get to go to a warm destination for a conference with my stampin' peeps.  I always learn so much at the Leadership Conference that applies to both my business and my life!  And, of course it's always fun to catch up with my stamping friends from across Canada and the US.

Last week I left bitterly cold temperatures in Canada and flew to sunny San Antonio with my good friend Rose and my new friend Christine.  Here we are at our hotel.  Stampin' Up! thinks of everything and there's always a welcome sign at the hotels with reserved rooms for us...a nice touch!

The conference started with us picking up our bags.  We always get a bag at Stampin' Up! events and there's always a lot of anticipation about what the bag will look like!  I {heart} my bag this year...and the matching portfolio!

There was a little tag on each portfolio personally signed by Shelli!  She signed all 1300 of them...another nice touch!  After we picked up our bags, we went to our make & take session.  This year we had 9 fantastic projects!  You will definitely be seeing some of them in upcoming classes.  Look at this pile of supplies...ribbons, buttons, papers, stamps...oh my!

This year they had a "relaxing" area in the make & take hall...I'm not sure why because most demonstrators used every single minute to make their projects!  The sofas had the cutest throw pillows on them and they were very inviting so I had a seat on my way out and it was so comfy I almost didn't want to leave!

Downtown San Antonio is beautiful.  We spent a lot of time at the River Walk exploring around.  We also spent some time soaking up the sun!

One of the hilights of any Stampin' Up! event is the free stamps!  This year, everyone in attendance was showered with 4 fantastic gifts in addition to prize patrol (which you won if you had the right color wrist band).

RED STARS....I win and I {heart} my prize!!!

You can find those large pearls in the new Occasions Mini...I can't show you my new stamp set because it's from the upcoming Annual Catalog which will be released on June 1 (yep, June!  They are changing catalog timing and release dates and I'm so excited about it!).  Psssst...the fabric that my new favorite bag and portfolio is made from is also a sneak peek!

Stampin' Up! feeds us really well at Leadership!  We get a served meal rather than a boxed lunch like at Convention.  This was my dessert the first day...the most yummy, creamy cheesecake!  The theme this year was "My Way" and in keeping with the theme I almost ate my lunch that day my way...dessert first!  But then I decided not to  when my plate was put in front of me!!!!

It was great to see and catch up with all my stamping friends and make some new ones!  I definitely think everyone should experience what I do when I go to Stampin' Up! events...I went home feeling the love and feeling appreciated!  Tomorrow I will share a special event called Manager's Reception with you and some stamping!

Have an inspired day!