As a mother, you get that feeling of pride when your children reach goals and milestones in their lives. The same feeling is true of my Stampin Up demonstrator group, it is as exciting and even more exciting when one of my "kids" reaches their goals. Today is one of those days, my friend and downline Vera Milne has achieved the Stampin Up's Rising Star!!! Vera is an inspiration to so many. The Rising Star is an award program for new demonstrators in their first year, and the very first goal that Vera set when joined Stampin Up. She worked hard, and had lots of fun making this goal a reality. She will earn a cash bonus, recognition at convention AND a trip to the Stampin Up Home Office in Riverton, Utah!!! WAY TO GO VERA!!! Her reaction when she made it: "I'm just at lost of words right now. It's truly unbelievable." Vera's Stampin Up Journey to Rising Star: I went to my first Stmapin Up party about 8 yrs ago. I fell in love with it. I only went a few times due to where I lived. Then we moved to a bigger city and I wanted to get more involved but I couldn’t seem to make that happen. Then, we decided to build a retirement home on a little resort from Village Mills, Texas named “Wildwood”. I asked my “soon to be” new neighbors, if they had ever heard of Stampin Up, and only one person had. I could hardly wait to tell them all about it. That person agreed to hold my first Stampin Up party in Wildwood (WW). I felt that I had finally met a group of people that shared the same interest. We began having SU parties every two weeks. We started out with about 5 and today (about 2 years later) we have about 14. When we had our first $1000.00 party everyone was so excited that they all wanted one so everyone supported each other to reach their goal. We had SEVEN $1000.00 plus parties in a roll. God truly blessed us all. I believe the key to all of our success is “Getting MORE Involved” with our customers and staying CONNECTED. To me, it’s more than just a party with a kit to make, snacks to eat and filling out an order form. It truly is about making life time friends. I want to thank ALL my friends, my Upline Tami White for making my dream come true in helping me accomplish my goal, “Rising Star”. ~ Vera Milne 2014 Stampin Up Rising Star Achiever  

Last week I was blessed to be able to cruise on the Allure of the Seas with my boys thanks to Stampin Up! We sailed on the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas. WOW! What an amazing ship this was, never a dull moment on board or off. We sailed to Labadee/Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico - where we took an excursion to the Mayan Ruins. What a highlight! Speaking of highlights, this was Stampin Up's first ever "Global" Grand Vacation incentive trip . This meant that demonstrators from all over the world all joined together on this trip for the first time. It was one big party! I so enjoyed visiting with old friends, and making so many new friends. And so did my kids. It was such a special time for us. THANK YOU!!! To all over my customers, for your support and for helping make this dream trip a reality. MAKING A DIFFERENCE WALK A THON: One of the things I love most about Stampin Up is it's outreach and commitment to helping communities in need. This year on the cruise we did a Walk-a-thon to raise money for Mission of Hope (click here to learn more) The Walk-A-Thon on the cruise was a HUGE success, our goal was to raise enough money to build three homes at $6,000 each, and we exceeded it! Mission of Hope will be breaking ground on the three homes we have sponsored, and will be providing us with updates and time-lapse photos of the homes as they are being built. YOU CAN HELP: In addition to the cruise service project, Stampin’ Up! put together a global initiative to raise funds for three more homes through demonstrator and customer donations. We’ve been fundraising for three weeks and so far have raised $1,650. We appreciate everything we’ve received and would like to raise even more money for this worthy cause. And you can help! The deadline to donate is Monday, May 18, and we’d love your support! For more information about Mission of Hope, to donate and for updates on the homes being built, please click here.