So Suzy Podcast

We're BACK! Well, sort of, I actually have my snarkleganger filling in for me as I am STILL not 100%. I can certainly tell you that I miss laughing A LOT. On today's podcast, I have Chris O'Hearn from the Strong Within Daily Affirmation podcast helping out with a special episode for you.

Today, Chris talks about how to be Strong Within Your Creativity.

• Being confident In your creativity
• Moving past comparing ourselves to others
• You are meant to change your world
• Share your artistic beauty

• www.strongwithin.com/sosuzy
• Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast
• Chris O'Hearn Instagram
• Chris O'Hearn Facebook

We are just a few days away from the Creative Event of the Year!!! AFCI's Creativation starts this coming week, where thousands of creative geniuses will descend upon the Phoenix Civic Center in my home town of sunny Arizona for a week long creative fun fest. Full of learning, new products, friends, laughter and Javi Hours.

Plus, yours truly will be speaking at 3 of their education workshops on Thursday and Friday, which I am quite excited about. If you are going to Creativation this year, you definitely need to let me know so we can plan a fun meet up! I am already working on Lesley's Junior Mint Stash and Miss Laura from Crafty Not Shifty is totally hooking me up with Galaxy Hot Chocolate! I just love my crafty British friends.

My favorite part of Creativation is being able to actually hug the incredible people I have interacted with on social media over the years. It always surprises me that I actually have never MET them, because it feels like we have been friends for ages. It truly is a surreal experience that I cherish.

If you are planning on going to Creativation this year or in the future, there a few things to take into account before going. Regardless of whether or not you have been before.

First things first, WHY are you attending? Are you going to purchase items for your shop? Are you hoping to make connections with manufacturers? Do you want to learn more about the industry and how you can grow your business? Is this an excuse to hang out with friends? Are you trying to expand your business by getting your products in front of buyers? Do you have plans to increase your social media reach and become an influencer within the creative industry?

What is your purpose? What do you hope to get out of the event? Have you set goals for yourself? Maybe you are going just so you can experience a Stamp Junkie Javi Hour. Or you are using Creativation as a hard deadline for your special So Suzy Peacock Tote from Simply Charming Bags.

Whatever your reason, know your WHY!

The reason your why is so important is to help direct you during the craze of the event. If you are just there for the sake of going, there is a good chance you will be disappointed and disillusioned. Which is never fun. You could also inadvertently cause mayhem to someone else's trip and that is just not cool.

For example, Lesley Oman from Heffy Doodle is flying in from the UK for her very first Heffy Doodle Creativation booth in the hopes that she gets her stamp line in retail shops around the world. She has spent money on the trip, her booth and her goal is to sell her product. BUT let's say that those people who are going just for the socializing, descend upon her booth and spend the entire weekend chit chatting with her. Lesley's time is spent socializing with fans, instead of selling her stamps to buyers. The buyers are frustrated because they can't purchase items for their shop, Lesley is disappointed because she didn't make the sales she needed to justify her trip and Heffy Doodle customers do not benefit from their favorite stamps being in local shops.

This scenario is a very real one and I have heard the frustration first hand from vendors as well as buyers. Not to say that the influencers, bloggers, fans and new followers aren't important, because they are! They are what helps to drive demand, but there is a time and a place for everyone. And it's up to you influencers, to be conscientious and courteous to the vendors and buyers. If you see someone with a buyer's badge come up to the booth you are at, be polite and allow them to interact and talk with the people at the vendor booth you are in.

With that being said, there is a time and place for everything and success is there for all. Which is why knowing your WHY is essential. I highly recommend taking the next few days and think about your WHY, write it down and think about how you can achieve the goals that come from your why. This will help you keep your focus and ensure that Creativation is a success for you and your purpose.

If you have never been to Creativation, Thursday and Fridays are education days. It's going to be a lot of learning, giddiness when you see your favorite crafting celebrity from afar and excitement when you meet your friends for the first time. This is also the perfect time to set up times to meet, have lunch, coffee, happy hours and dinners. Just be aware that some people are going to be so busy and absorbing all that Creativation has to offer that it may be hard to nail down a specific time. So, don't become frustrated.

Saturday, the doors open to the showroom floor and it is INSANE! Booths are packed, people are everywhere, everyone is trying to spy the latest "hot" item, phones are recording, pictures are being snapped and selfie sticks are out.

A lot of vendors will have an opening day show special for buyers. If you are a buyer, use your Creativation app, plot out the booths you want to hit FIRST. Keep in mind they are going to be jam packed and busy, so plan your most important vendor first. Go directly to the booth, do not dawdle, just go.

If you are there to mingle, socialize and make connections, I suggest you walk the whole floor, look at the booths, see what is going on and stay in background. Let the vendors and buyers have their moment. Check out the smaller booths, maybe the lesser known companies, who don't have people in their spaces. See what they have to offer, take the pictures, post them on social media. Help get their message and products out there.

By midday, things will start to settle down and this is your time to check out the new products, introduce yourself to your favorite companies, just a quick into. Keep it short, make your own personal notes of the products, people and companies that interest you for later on in the weekend.

Sunday the showroom floor starts to die down a bit, especially in the afternoon. If you are there to make the connections and see your favorite companies, this is the best time to scoot in their booths, to get the selfies, to say hello. Check out all of the cool new toys, post pictures on social media, share what you are excited about.

Monday, oh my! This is HEAVEN! The showroom floor is typically super chill and regardless of your reason for going, THIS is the day your magic will happen.

Buyers, take advantage of the quietness to really talk to the vendors, to place your order, to go over marketing ideas with the designers and see what else they may have to help out your shop.

Influencers, go back and reconnect to those companies you are interested in. Take pictures, post them on social media, tag the company, talk to them about guest designer spots or becoming an ambassador for them.

Create a special photo album on your phone for your sample work so you can show them without having to zip past kid and pet photos. Make sure you take one of their business cards and send them an email to thank them for their time. If you took a selfie with them, include the photo in the email so they can put a face to the name. Things are crazy and everyone's brains go to mush after the event. Don't expect them to remember EXACTLY who you are. Help them out by sending the photo and a recap of what you spoke about.

For the social butterflies, you can help everyone out by communicating your excitement. If you are talking to random people and new-found friends, tell them which companies are your favorite, the booths that are super cool and nifty new products that you saw. Post those on social media, tag the people and companies. The more exposure you give the event, vendors and people you meet, the more successful it becomes. Be the excitement! Build the enthusiasm! Share the epic coolness you find!

Creativation has so much to offer to so many and it is a wonderful excuse for companies to come together and meet the people who have been on their design teams over the years. This was definitely my favorite part of going, being able to give Martha Lucia a huge hug, seeing Stephanie Ackerman, being surprised meeting Jenny Johnson, scaring the living daylights out of Kymona Tracey, shopping with Jennifer Loftfield, plotting with Justine Hovey and laughing uncontrollably with Josefine Fourage. Meeting in person the women who helped build So Suzy Stamps.

If you are a stamp company and you are meeting your design team for the first time, make the time to say hi. Even if it is just for a moment, hug them and tell them how important they are to you and your company. It may not always be possible, but if you can see about getting together for a group photo. This may be nearly impossible with everyone's schedule, but I really wish I had done this in the past. Let's face it, this may be one of the rare opportunities a lot of you are in the same room together.

Justine Hovey put together a special Facebook Group for people who are attending Creativation this year as a way to find out who all was going and schedule times for people to meet up. If you are going and would like to join the group, we will have a link in the show notes or you can search for it under Stampers going to AFCI/Creativation. It's a great way to find out who is going in your craft circle before the event instead of after! Plus, it will be the easiest and fastest way to find out where and when Javi hour will be!

I was so excited to learn that Miss Dayna is flying in from Hawaii for Creativation and she was asking what to do on her long flight to the mainland and I am going to recommend that all of you take some time this weekend or on your flight to Phoenix, to think about your Why, write down the reason you are going to Creativation, what your goals are for the event, make a list of people who you would like to meet and try to schedule some time with those on your priority list.

It's going to be a fun filled time and for those of you going, I can't wait to see you!!

Until next time, this is Suzanne, and you have been listening to the So Suzy Podcast.

Happy Stamping!

Hey everyone! It's Suzanne and I want to thank you for joining us for the So Suzy Podcast where we help you build a business out of the hobby you love. You will also be able to get the show notes and the links we reference by visiting us at SoSuzyPodcast.com

Over the past 6 months or so, I have been listening to the Strong Within Podcast from Chris O'Hearn. It's a quick 7 to 11-minute podcast that focuses on, essentially, the power of YOU. Every day Chris has a Daily Affirmation podcast that 9 out of 10 times totally hits home and leaves me asking a ton of questions and gets my mind going a million miles a minute.

One of his podcasts, number 338, I Bring Joy to Whatever I Do, left me thinking about my craft life; making cards, painting galaxies, coloring the latest Kit and Clowder monthly class and the joy it brings…until I think about the picture and posting process. Getting the right light, posting it in my favorite Facebook Groups or Instagram.

Do I blog about it or just post it?

So many times, I make cards at night and the lighting is terrible, so I fret about the lighting and staging. So many of these thoughts race through my head until I am frustrated, disillusioned and depressed about the whole process.

If I blog about it, I should write instructions, leave a list of the items I used and include all of the correct SEO words. It takes time and we all know how poorly I take photos, so let's not even broach that touchy subject. Bottom-line, everything that should be done, sucks the joy out of something I used to do to relax.

Making cards has turned into a chore.

I see others post their creations and it never fails, just as they get the courage to post, the evil troll comes out of its dark, dank, hate infused hole to spread its hatred for all to read.

Confession? There are times when I post in the hopes of one such soul sucker will leave a nasty comment on my project, just so I can have the pure pleasure of blasting them into the darkest depths of hell for the pain and suffering they have caused to other crafters. And yes, I probably have watched John Wick one too many times. But I digress.

After listening to Chris's podcast, I realized that I stopped making cards out of JOY. Instead, I was making them out of necessity. Whether they were for business, blog hops, holiday cards, or for my own ego, it wasn't always because I WANTED to.

I would make a card and then throw it into a drawer. Not send them out. There was no purpose, other than to make a card, post it and get a reaction. A heart, like or comment. What I wasn't focused on, was the JOY. The joy of making it, spending time in my craft room, playing with my stamps and supplies, thinking of the person I would send the latest creation to. Those thoughts were not at the forefront of my mind and it caused me to lose the happiness I once had. Which depressed me, here I am surrounded by tens of thousands of dollars in killer stamps and supplies and I was SAD, burnt out and did not have the joy I once had. And frankly, that was unacceptable.

That month's Kit and Clowder class, I colored the Penguin Christmas scene for Shannon, who absolutely LOVES penguins.

I painted so many galaxies, it was INSANE! And turned them into bookmarks for friends, family and my mom to give out at Christmas.

I started playing with my Art Impressions stamps and made cute little watercolor projects.

I painted more galaxies because they put a smile on my face and I created something special for my friend Anne in England.

I started to find MY JOY again. Sometimes I would post something on Instagram and I didn't worry about the staging, lighting or anything else for that matter. I posted them because I thought they were cool and I needed to make sure that my mom had proof of life.

I found my memory of why I enjoyed making cards.

Chris said in his podcast, "We believe that joy is brought to us in the new things we receive, instead of understanding what we already have is joyful. So, we wait for that new thing to come, in hopes that it will make us feel better. We are bored with what we already have, and we get impatient thinking that our lives aren't what they should be because of the idea that newness brings joy."

Which got me to thinking about all of the stamps and supplies I have and have not even used. Let's face it, retail therapy is AMAZING, but how many of you are like me and have stamp sets that you have NEVER used? We buy them and have grand ideas of using the stamps and making gorgeous cards, but then they arrive and already we are looking at the next PERFECT stamp set, and we must have it.

This reality smacked me full on in the face while I was cleaning my craft room and I found two bags full of unopened and unused supplies. One bag was from 2 years ago, the other bag was from 6 years ago!!! I bought stamps and never even pulled them out of the bag! As I went through my purchases and after I got over my initial disgust with myself, I started to remember why I bought them. How cool they were and what I could make with them.

A part of me was tempted to put them back in the bag and put them away later, but let's face it, creator first, adult second, right? So, I pulled out one of the stamps and started playing with it. Just because. For no real purpose, except that I wanted to use it. Which led to going through my other drawers and checking out some of the other stamps in my collection and do you know what? It was like shopping all over again, except I was doing it in my own house without spending any more money and it was so much fun! A messy fun, but the smiles just kept coming.

My stamps were like a mini photo album of my life. What I was attracted to, the styles I have had over the years, the memories of why I purchased them and for whom. I also discovered that I truly love snarky stamps and always have. I sat for hours laughing at all of the silliness.

I had found of my joy. There were no pictures. No posts to social media. It was just me, surrounded by a humongous mess of stamps and a whole lot of happiness.

If you have lost your mojo or your joy for creating, take some time for you and find your joy. Make a card because YOU want to. Don't worry about posting it. Don't fret about how it measures up to the latest and greatest crafting diva. Just make it for the joy of creating. Go through your stamps and supplies, what does your stamping life album look like? Remember the emotions you had when you made the purchases. The people you had in mind.

Make a card for someone just for the joy of giving. Don't worry about what they do with it after they receive it, just know that in that instant when they open their mailbox and see an envelope that is not a bill and open up your card, you gave them the gift of happiness. A bright spot in their day and life.

Your thoughtfulness and creativity is the joy in their life.

Until next time, this is Suzanne, and you have been listening to the So Suzy Podcast.

Happy Stamping!

Welcome to Made It Happen Monday with Lesley Oman from Heffy Doodle Stamps! I am so excited to have Lesley on today's show and talk to her about Heffy Doodle AND how she launched her stamp company via a Kickstarter. Find out more about Heffy Doodle AND the amazing prizes she is giving away this week on today's show!

Today we have the incredible Justine Hovey on the podcast talking about her annual 12 Days of Christmas celebration, where she provides us with holiday inspiration! Hear how the 12 Days of Christmas got started, how it evolved and the incredible prizes and cards she is featuring starting TODAY!

12 Day of Christmas

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If you are new to card making or are on a tight budget, making your crafting dollar go as far as possible is essential! Today, I am going to give you some crafty buying secrets on how you can save money and get started building your card making stash.

Special Coupon Code and Link for 15% off all items on Gina K Designs for today (10/20/17) only!

Use coupon code SOSUZY15

Perfect Starter Kit from Gina K Designs - Sentimental Bouquet Mini Kit

Pick up a MISTI using the 15% off coupon from Gina K Designs

• Garage Sales
• Craiglist in your area
• Purchase individual stamps versus sets
• Consider ordering Digital Stamps from your favorite companies or on Etsy
• Buy AMAZING paper - Heavy Weight Card Stock from Gina K
• Focus on inks that match your style and buy the mini ink pads versus larger ones
• • Gina K Mini Inks - Don't forget to use coupon code! SOSUZY15
  • The Ton Mini Inks
• Pick up Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Paper Cutter
• Foam Vinyl Placemat
• Scotch 3M Double-Sided Sticky Tape
• Dimensionals from Stampin' Up
• Become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

• Join in on blog hops with contests
• Participate in blog challenges
• Join in on contests on Facebook, Blogs, Instagram and YouTube
• Apply to be on a Design Team
• Check out Destash Facebook Groups
• Join your favorite stamp companies Facebook Groups
• Sign up for your favorite stamp companies newsletters
• Keep a calendar for sales, free shipping and coupon codes
• Take advantage of End of Year Clearance Sales
• Use the 40% off coupons at the big box stores
• Shop from companies that have free shipping
• • Gina K Designs
  • Blitsy
  • So Suzy Stamps
  • Amazon

• Justine Hovey
• Kymona Tracey
• Pinterest
• Stamp Junkies Facebook Group
• Stamp TV
• Instagram

This week, we have the amazing Bonnie Krebs on the podcast from Art Impressions. We talk about how she got her start in the crafting industry, her over 8000 images she has designed, the evolution of Art Impressions and how she finds her inspiration!

• TryFolds
• Watercolor
• Wobbles
• Front and Backs
• Windows to the World
• Golden Oldies
• Girlfriends

• Marvy Markers
• #4 Watercolor Brush
• Staz-On Ink
• Palette
• Strathmore Cold Press 140lb
• Canson Cold Press 140lb

Whether you are a business or a consumer, it's time to get your game face on and prepare for the holiday shopping frenzy! On today's podcast, we not only give you 5 incredible tips on how you can score your favorite items during the releases and sales, but we also have Amit Mathradas from PayPal on the show. Amit gives us some incredible ideas for not only boosting sales during the holiday season, but how you can maximize the global market as well!

1. Join the company's FB Group and mailing list to get a heads up on sales, specials, coupons, sneak peek's and pre-launches
2. Set your alarm for release times
3. Get on your computer or sign up for PayPal One Touch to ensure speedy check out
4. Make sure you have an account with the company AND you are logged in
5. Have a PAYPAL ACCOUNT!

1. For businesses, make sure your site is optimized for mobile shopping
2. Have a simply purchase path for your consumers
3. Both businesses AND consumers can take advantage of PayPal's One Touch for speedy check out and higher conversions
4. Make sure, as a business, you have capital set aside for marketing initiatives and inventory
5. Go after international markets during THEIR major holidays, check out PayPal's Global Sellers Program

• PLAN! Have a plan for the holiday season to increase sales
• Try something new!

Welcome to Day 3 of Snarktoberfest! Today's guest is Suha Hazboun from Swedish House Crafts. Not only is Suha the owner of Swedish House Crafts, she is also one of our incredible sponsors for the Snarktoberfest blog hop!

Hear all about Swedish House Crafts, Suha's love for snark AND how she has the lowest shipping rates in the UK! That's right, my UK friends, Swedish House Crafts is on YOUR side of the world!

Welcome to Day 2 of Snarktoberfest and our interview with Donna Whiteman from The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers. Today, we continue with Snarktoberfest and interviewing one of the amazing lovers of snark, a snarky place to share your creations without fear of someone standing on their precious pansy soap boxes on how your card offends their delicate natures. I also threw down the gauntlet and issued a challenge to de-throne Miss Josefine Fouarge and her Snarky Queen Reign! It's time to overthrow her snarky reign!