A little more about me: My Scrapbooking / Stamping History ~

I’ve been stamping and scrapbooking now for over 10 years and I’m still SO behind! I get so tickled every time I look back at the first scrapbooks I made!! I was a ‘hot mess’, with no creativity and seemingly no sense of color coordination!! I cropped the heck out of some very cherished pictures (some that I only had 1 copy of – this was before I invested in Digital Cameras and the computer!) I can’t believe I did all that cropping of my precious pictures!

I was introduced to Close to My Heart (which was at the time still “D.O.T.S. ” - Dozens of Terrific Stamps) in 1999 or 2000, I believe it was. A good friend/co-worker, who was in a 10 for $10 club with a D.O.T.S. demonstrator decided it was high-time I learn to scrapbook with stamps. She felt I didn’t seem interested enough so she whipped out a wooden stamp, some embossing ink and powder, and a heat tool and boy was I amazed!!! That sold me right then and there!! I thought that was the neatest thing I had seen ~ so with all that enthusiasm, she then proceeded to whip out the big beautiful D.O.T.S. Idea Book/Catalog. To say the least, I was hooked from that moment on!! To this day - and I’m being absolutely honest – you can ask my husband – I don’t go ANYWHERE that I don’t have one of our Idea Books with me since that moment almost 10 years ago!!! I look at them EVERY DAY!!

So then I joined the 10 for $10 club and began collecting my own wooden stamps, inks and papers. Once my 10-month commitment to the club was over, I signed 'on the D.O.T.T.E.D line' and became a consultant myself!! But I was only a ‘hobbyist’ at the time. I had quite a few friends and family that ordered from me and I kept my minimums up. My upline lived about 2 hrs from me and we never got together after that. I went inactive after a couple of years.

But then I signed back up 5 years ago, in 2004, under Bren Yule, my wonderful upline and friend who lives in California!! And though we live so far apart, she mentors me via telephone, e-mails and snail mail. She’s an awesome and very talented leader who has encouraged me to ‘make it happen’ – turn this hobby of mine into the business it can be!!

I was so blessed to be able to attend my very first event as a consultant – the Close to My Heart Convention, last summer in Orlando, Florida and boy oh boy was it an awesome experience!! I also met Bren for the first time and knew I had just made a life-long, though long-distance, friend. At Convention, I saw and learned that I COULD make this a business for myself and my family and I could enrich other people’s lives by teaching them the art of scrapbooking with our wonderful line of exclusive products, as well as sharing the opportunity with others whose lives would also be blessed in this business. I vowed when I left Convention last year that I would never miss another CTMH event (Lord willing!)

Due to the demands of my DAY-JOB, I didn’t jump right in once I came home from Convention last August. But over the past few months, I’ve begun opening my mouth, sharing my excitement, formed a couple of Workshop Clubs AND just this month signed my first Downline!! Her name is Jessica Dickerson and she’s my beautiful daughter – AND mother to 3 of my precious grandchildren!! She has LOTS of scrapbooking to do!!!

One of my clubs met today at my home and we had a great time. Everyone got at least 2 layouts completed, but they all scooted out of here before I could take any pictures! I’ll do better next time. They were so excited about the new Summer Idea Book 2009 that I handed them before we even got started today!! I saw lists being made for orders to be placed on May 1st!!!

Well my goodness, I ran on longer than I planned to!! But you’ll learn (if you stick with me!) that I type just like I talk – a lot!!! I think I’m really going to enjoy this blogging thing!! And I WILL be posting some pics very soon -some of my precious family and some of my artwork.
So, I hope you’ll stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jenn