SNAP!

Oh, SNAP! – the conference.
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you may have seen some of my pics of the conference. At SNAP! I was with my peeps. Women (and a few guys) who are just like me. That my readers is a recipe for good times and little sleep!

I started off not being able to get on my flight Wednesday night. I was really disappointed to have to head back home and my kids were really confused, especially after all the drama and sobbing that occurred when I was leaving. You would think I was leaving them for a lifetime. On the plus side (I am trying to be a glass half full kinda girl) I had to get up so early on Thurs. morning that there wasn’t even a chance they would be awake to throw another dramatic cry fest in my honor. So I pecked them all on the cheek while they slept and headed out (see, then I got to remember them as little sleeping angels).

When I arrived at the hotel the Newbie Meet and Greet was in full swing so I dropped my bags and dove in. If you are lucky enough to attend SNAP! bring tons of business cards. I recommend putting your picture on them because there are so many bloggers it is nice to be able to put a face with a name when you get back home and finally sit down for a minute and take it all in. I met a lot of new friends and my mind was already swirling from all the activity.

After the meet and greet classes started. Something I wish I would have realized is that the classes are not in the hotel, they are down a private street and in different buildings. It was chilly in Utah last week and I should have dressed a little warmer for the walk. Hi, I was the one wearing skirts and dresses in 40 degree weather. On that note, people are dressed really cute and fashionable. That doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy new clothes, just wear what you feel comfortable in and what represents who you are. If you met me there you saw I wore shades of blue almost every day. I love that color, buy almost all my clothes in that color and it worked as a branding strategy for me! Wear what you like, not what you think everyone else will be wearing! I was also lucky enough to have Tippy Stockton Jewelry as my sponsor and she supplied me with a huge assortment of jewels that matched my outfits perfectly! (BTW, pop over to her store and check out her new Antiquities line, it is super fabulous!!!)

When classes were over for the day we were finally able to check into our room, it was a relief to be able to drop some stuff in the room before dinner. Want to meet my roomies? We met for the first time at SNAP!, so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and make some new friends. I traveled to SNAP! not knowing anyone and came away with a lot of new friends and a blogging support system. You can find my roomie Melissa at her shop FabDecor where she creates and sells vinyl signs and kits and my other roomie Cynthia at Conservation Garden Park where she works her magic with plants.

Every day of the conference we were fed amazing food by the sponsors of the event (read: Lowe’s, Minwax, Cricut, World Market, Mail Chimp and more) And we received so much swag and samples from the sponsors that I literally stuffed all my clothes in my carry-on and filled up my suitcase with all the swag, samples and my couple pairs of shoes. That is a crazy lot of stuff – to be honest I am still figuring out where to put everything! I also have to say that the big sponsors made themselves readily available to everyone. Some sponsor highlights included the break out lunch session with Bruce from Minwax (awesome) and the Ready, Set, CREATE competition by Lowes.

The first night of the conference included a Pajama Party. Say, what? I know, there were prizes for different types of pajamas. They supplied us with extraordinarily large cookies and some milk. Sponsors had booths for an assortment of make and takes. It was crafty fun. You can find two pictures of me at the Minwax make and take where we used the Minwax Express Color to color a plain wood frame – awesome. Yup, I was pretty beat by the time all the fun ended. I had been up for almost 22 hours!!! Yikes.

Day two began with breakfast and an interview with Lisa Leonard, who shared her story of how she started and built her jewelry business. Love her, so real and generous – you should follow her blog, it will uplift and inspire you! The day moved onto more classes, some covering blogging information I didn’t even know existed. Whoa, thank goodness I had my iPad and Bluetooth keyboard ’cause I was typing away furiously taking notes. Then lunch followed by more classes and later dinner. We were able to eat dinner in the wings of the Show Barn while the vendors for the Queen Bee Market were finishing the set up of their goods. When the market opened everyone was excited to see the goods up close and make purchases. There was some really cool stuff. Some of my favorites were the Cut it Out booth, Cinnamon Sticks rustic jewelry, and Say Hello – makers of unique and stylish products.

Next day we were on our own for breakfast, lucky for me the hotel offered breakfast anyway. I just have to say that is where I met my new friend who was telling how she fell asleep with gum in her mouth – it didn’t end good, soo funny! Hey there, aren’t you glad I didn’t share your name 😉

There were classes and more food and during the lunch break I went over to the Show Barn and watched the Ready, Set, CREATE competition sponsored by Lowes. The cameras were rolling, so I am wondering where that footage will be popping up! After more classes we of course had dinner and listened to another ah-ma-zing speaker – Julie Hanks, she was even kind enough to sing us a song.

The conference ended with a dance party that was really fun. I am not much of a dancer, but I thought “what the heck” and went for it. We had flashing rings, glow bracelets and water with glowing ice cubes. It was intense, hee, hee. There was also a photo booth there to capture all the silliness – I posted a couple of the photo booth pics to my Facebook page. Take a look you are sure to have a little chuckle. I promise you there was no alcohol involved, sometimes you just have to be silly!

And just like that it was over. A big shout out to all the new friends I made, I miss you already! Counting the days until we meet up again.