How it all began…..

Back in 1997 I was invited to my first stamping party. I had no idea what to expect but it was a night out so I figured why not try something new. Once I saw how much fun it was creating hand-stamped cards I was instantly hooked. The first set I bought was Button Bear, remember him? I wanted everything in the catalog and thought about becoming a demonstrator to support my “habit” but I wasn’t sure if it was something I could do.  It wasn’t until my mother-in-law and husband convinced me I should be teaching other people how to stamp that I decided to sign-up.

Read more on how I became a demonstrator.

At first I had no intention of selling, I just wanted the discount. But people would ask about the cards I was creating and they wanted to learn how they could do it too.

So I started out small and before long I realized I wasn’t selling product, I was teaching people how rubber stamps could be used to make cards, gifts and other items that would be personalized and from the heart.  It didn’t matter if you considered yourself artistic, anyone could do it and have fun in the process. I absolutely loved doing demonstrations in people’s homes and watching as they created something they could be proud of. I decided to branch out and teach classes in my home and at a few local high schools for their evening Continuing Education classes.

Not only was I having fun sharing my love of stamping with others I found so many friends in the Stampin’ Up! community. We would get together for stamping events and share ideas, coming up with projects we couldn’t wait to share with our customers.

During that time I was a stay at home mom but when my youngest started first grade I decided to go back to work full time. As my kids grew older they were involved in so many activities and my job required me to travel quite often. I found myself not having the time available for my Stampin’ Up! business so I made the very difficult decision to “retire”.

Fast forward twelve years, my children were all grown and were starting lives of their own. I came to realize how much I truly missed having Stampin’ Up! be a part of my life. From meeting new people and sharing ideas to all the laughs shared along the way. After a lot of thought I decided to begin again in June 2013 and I just celebrated my 10th Anniversary with Stampin’ Up!.

I am so happy to be a part of the Stampin’ Up! family and I can’t wait to share my love of stamping with you!!

Happy stamping!

~ Jo

Making the world a happier place, one card at a time