Well, I made it home and am still processing everything I learned, experienced, and was moved by over the last few days.  Founder’s Circle was an amazing experience that I can’t believe I was able to be a part of but I’m so grateful for the opportunity. 

For anyone reading my blog who is a demonstrator or has considered becoming a demonstrator, I wanted to take a minute to tell you that it is totally possible for you to make it here too!  I always thought you had to be hitting incredibly high sales or building a team of 50/100/200 demonstrators to be able earn an award like this, but I’m here to tell you that you don’t.  Have a passion for what you do, share it with others and help your business grow.  If you have questions about how you can have an experience like this, send me an email at jennifer@nwstamper.com (or chat with your upline if you are a demo) and I’d be happy to share with you how you can do it too!

Saturday was our last official day of activities.  Most of the day was on our own, and so after a few late nights, I got to sleep in and then headed downstairs to eat and spend some time chatting with the other talented and savvy ladies here.

I started working on our Make & Take projects but kept chatting too much and ended up only finishing 3/4 of one!

I also hung out with some of the fabulous Stampin’ Up! home office staff, like the super sweet Andrea Withers!

Finally, in the afternoon we all boarded the buses to head to the final event.  We had no idea where we were going or what we were doing.

Turns out we were headed to Staheli Farm.  The buses dropped us of and we got a hayride through the farm.

We broke back up into our teams from the first day and had the first couple hours to do a bunch of activities for fun and prizes!

We visited the petting zoo:

This rooster was fine when we were in groups, but he totally chased me when I came back on my own!  Who knew roosters were so territorial with people.  

We petted goats (well some of us did anyway):

Jumping on the “jumping pillow”.  (That is Julie Davison, me, and Mary Fish flying all over the place!)

We played Bingo, milked a pretend cow, played horseshoes, wandered a corn maze, and got to lasso a “cow”!

I caught mine!!

Then we headed into the barn for dinner.  At each place was a horseshoe with a note from Shelli Gardner thanking up for being there and wishing us luck for the coming year.

Awww… I know, isn’t that so sweet?

Then we hung out and listened to the cowboys play a concert as the sun set.  It was super cool and about that time I discovered my phone could do panorama photos and so I had to play with that.  

As a special gift while we were there… we were given a new product that is hopefully going to be released later this week.  It is the Everyday Occasions kit and it is aimed for someone who hasn’t stamped before.  It contains a thin clear block, a stamp set, 2 ink spots, and the paper, die cuts, and accessories to make 20 cute cards.  They may sell these in retail locations but I think they will be available online as well.  I’ll share pictures later this week with the cards you can make – and they are pretty cute!

So we got back to the hotel and I thought the Everyday Occasion was our final gift but to my surprise, there was one more pillow gift waiting for me. 

They started a tradition last year where when you attend Founder’s Circle for the first time you get a bracelet with a charm.  Each time you make it back you will receive a new charm for that year.  It is such a sweet touch and I hope with hard work I’ll be able to be back in the future and earn another charm for my bracelet.

And then instead of packing, a large group of us congregated at the hot tub and sat outside for hours chatting and sharing about our lives, our businesses, and our experience here.  It was awesome.

I tried to pack when I got back to my room around midnight but after an hour I realized that I wasn’t going to fit!  See, I came to Founder’s Circle with only a carry-on bag and a purse.  But look at how spoiled we were (not including the new product I can’t show in a picture)

The gifts were great, but honestly the conversation and the people were even better.  So, I encourage everyone to work at building your Stampin’ Up! business in a balanced way and hopefully you too can make it here soon! 

Sunday it was a crazy morning –

• heading to Target to buy an extra bag (),
• missing the bus to the airport (thankfully the hotel was kind enough to give me a ride so I could catch up with my suitcase that was on the bus)
• making sure my carryon bag wasn’t overweight (which it thankfully wasn’t)
• and spending a little more time with the girls I had gotten to know over the last 5 days.

I spent all of my time on the airplane taking notes, writing down the perspective I had gained on this trip, how I had become passionate about helping the girls in my Fun n’ Crafty stampers group feel empowered and recognized for all the little ways they work and make ground in their business – and helping other demonstrators feel that way too! 

Then, when we landed in Seattle and I was getting excited to see my husband and kids, I looked out the window and saw a rainbow coming through the clouds to greet me at the airport. 

It was the most perfect way to end an amazing weekend!

So, thanks for visiting and sharing my experience this week at Founder’s Circle!  I still have more ideas, projects, and inspiration to share over the coming weeks, but I’m glad you came by now to see a little of what this adventure was like.

If you have any questions or need a little encouragement, don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello!  You can find me on Facebook or shoot me an email at jennifer@nwstamper.com.