Finally Got to Meet Jamie!!!

To kick off this summer, I got a chance to go to Hawaii and attend the Silhouette Summit in May.

I know...twist my arm...right?

Lush green mountains...huge hibiscus flowers, tropical fruit and the sounds sights and smells of the ocean...

It doesn't get better than that...or does it?

Silhouette chose Hawaii as the place to introduce a huge line-up of new products which are releasing right now... including their new Curio machine (crafty versatility galore) and Mint stamp maker (so cute!) You can read more about the Curio in this review I wrote here.

Of course it was exciting to go to Hawaii and see the new product line-up, but surprisingly...it wasn't the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most. 

What had me bouncing like crazy...was the fact that my long-time assistant, Jamie Cripps, was invited too! I was thrilled that I would finally have the opportunity to meet her, as we had been "virtually" working together for more than 3 years, and never had actually met face to face. 

If you'd told me that we'd meet someday in Hawaii, for the first time, I probably wouldn't have believed you!

You have to understand that Jamie is like an extension of my own brain some days. Sometimes she is the brain who helps me stay on track for deadlines and keeps me on schedule. She's been a god-send to me and my ability to do more creative "stuff." She's been wonderful at directing my creative team, answering e-mails, and Facebook questions.

Jamie is one amazing lady who has been blessed with organization (it's no wonder...she was a former hospital administrator) and she bleeds creativity (obviously it was naturally born within her) and bubbly personality who is never a downer.

I have never regretted taking a leap of faith and hiring someone whom I had never met face to face. I had good vibes from her then...and I still have them now, because it has worked out beautifully.

I knew Jamie by her avatar mostly...I'm sure that's how many of you know her too...she's very sneaky in not posting many pictures of herself on her FB page...I've seen a ton of picts of her kiddos, and feel like I've virtually gotten to know them too.

Love that avatar! Cute, friendly, perky...looks like someone who could be a friend...right?

Well, we hadn't officially arranged where we would meet at the summit, but we knew we'd be bumping into each other at some point. We both arrived a day early, and stayed in a different hotel than the summit that first night. Her family happened to choose the same hotel...without us knowing. My husband and I went down to breakfast...and low and behold... a few tables over, I saw this cute family of 4 blondes sitting there all smiles and enjoying a nice breakfast. I wondered..."Could that be Jamie and her family?" When I was positive that it was...I snuck up on them--I think it took Jamie a little bit off guard. If it could even be possible...Jamie was even more bubbly in person, than the many phone conversations and 1000's of e-mails we had exchanged over the years. Meeting for the first time was like a sweet reunion!

Silhouette treated us so well. We stayed at the Sheraton on Waikiki beach.

We had ocean-view rooms overlooking Waikiki.

The picture above is a view from Jamie's balcony down to the infinity pool below. It's kind of a warped perspective.

You could literally see turtles and sting-rays in the water from our balcony! These were a few that Jamie's family captured on camera.

I didn't bring a camera. I know...the irony is huge. Scrapbooker without a camera...oh my!

I had my phone camera...not quite the same.

Silhouette demoed all of their new products at the conference.

We got to see the Curio in action!

It can cut, emboss, stipple, sketch, etch, and more! It has two tool holders--allowing you to use more than one tool at a time. Cool, huh!

Silhouette has several new media types for that new machine including metal stippling sheets, metal etching sheets, and score/emboss paper. You can check them out here.

We got to see the cute little Mint in action too!

It's an adorable little stamp making machine that's the perfect size for a stocking stuffer. You can make stamps with it, then add ink to the stamp that makes it self-inking.

Above is a picture of the Silhouette Curio in action. It's a promo photo from their website...I was excited to see that their photo featured one of my designs: Bird in a Maple Tree Spring Scene, it's available from the Silhouette store in .STUDIO format here: http://www.silhouettedesignstore.com/?page=view-shape&id=78524

Anyway...Hawaii was a blast. I got to hang with Jamie's family a good portion of the time...but it still seemed too short. Perhaps we'll get the chance to do it again someday.