Founder’s Circle Recap: Wednesday and Thursday

I just returned from my incredible trip to St. George, Utah – and I have a lot to share with you.  Founder’s Circle is an amazing getaway arranged by Stampin’ Up! for the top 100 demonstrators in the U.S. and the top 30 demonstrators in Canada.  The annual retreat is filled with lots of surprise activities and tons of downtime for chatting and getting to know each another (which also means time for me to cause a little trouble).  I loved every minute of this experience and am happy to share some pictures with you today.

Despite the fact that it was 90 degrees and above while we were there, the theme of this year’s Founder’s Circle was “Holiday Lodge,” so everything was Christmas themed – decorations, snacks, swaps, pajamas and more.  It was truly the most wonderful time of the year (when we were inside).  A Christmas theme is always a brilliant one.

Selfies of My Journey to St. George.  Even the trip to Founder’s Circle was a fun one.  I hung out with Phyllis Shepherd in the Atlanta airport and flew into St. George with Kelly Acheson and Pam Morgan (pictured below).  My seatmate on the bus ride from the St. George airport was Becky Roberts.  Wouldn’t you agree that I’m a lucky guy?

Along with 100+ other demonstrators, I arrived in St. George Wednesday.  I barely tossed my suitcase in the room before I was mixing and mingling with other demonstrators in the lobby of the hotel.  After a brief welcome, we were split into groups to assemble gingerbread houses with some traditional (and non-traditional) supplies.  My team, The Hot Cocoas, made a very shiny house: Team Hot Cocoas is made amazing by (back row) Laura Milligan and Joyce Feraco, (middle row) Phyllis Shepherd and Karen Duke and (front row) Stella MacKay, Jill Olsen and me.

Do you see the roof of this house?  It’s frosting covered in Silver Stampin’ Glitter – COVERED!  And guess who got to pour the glitter all over the project?  I faced my fears and had a little fun with it – although my suitcase is FILLED with these little bits of shiny sand.  🙂

Gathering in the Gathering Place.  For the retreat, Stampin’ Up! set up a big room (filled with lots of sweet treats, daily giveaways, make-and-takes and plenty of couches for us to sit and chat with one another.  We felt festive in the room with beautiful decorations and music.  Patty Bennett and I posed for a quick selfie while Dawn Olchefske, Tami White and Jen Campbell photo-bombed us (I’m a big fan of the photo-bomb).

If I had to name a “partner in crime” during this trip, I’d definitely say it was Tami White.  ‘Ole what’s-her-face was trying to get us in trouble at every turn – totally against my wishes.  🙂  Tami and I pulled Holiday items from The Gathering Place to create this beautiful Christmas memory:

We either look like a sweet couple in front of their beautifully lit tree on a cold winter morn – or hobo panhandlers.  What do you think?

Pajama Party and Swaps.  An annual tradition of the Founder’s Circle event – a pajama party share and card swap.  As the first male to attend the much-loved pajama party, I felt pressure to find the right outfit – not too flashy but flashy enough.  I found a great t-shirt with one of my favorite quotes from Elf, a wonderful Christmas movie.  Here’s a quick shot of my outfit, along with shots with friends Sharon Armstrong (prom picture?)and Lorri Heiling: I had so much fun in my PJ’s and slippers while Stampin’ Up! held a “general session” and several top demonstrators shared some really great business tips.  After this session, we lined up through the lobby of the hotel and swapped the cards we brought with us.  What fun! If you missed my swap card, you can CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.

There’s more to come – tomorrow I’m going to share our events and pampering from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  On Wednesday, I’ll be ready to share some more new projects.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian