Thud!

That’s me coming back to reality after an incredible week on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It was a wonderful all expenses paid holiday courtesy of Stampin’ Up!. What an honour to earn another Incentive Trip (aka Grand Vacation) with this amazing company. Great products, great people, and bonuses like overseas trips too. Just… wow.

You may have been following our Hawaiian adventures over on my Facebook page.

But I’m back today for a quick ‘highlights package’ and some photos I didn’t get around to sharing.

Before The Trip

Stampin’ Up! sent us this cute lined travel pack with all our documents, tags and a travel guide. Love those bag tags.

The Journey Begins

This year Jason couldn’t make it so I asked my two sisters to join me. It turned into a fun girls week and I loved every minute of it.

On the plane this was our first sight of the Hawaiian islands.

We spent the first couple of days on the western side of Waikiki. We enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere of Hawaii, the sun and the music. And we did a lot of shopping!

I also discovered the joy of Hawaiian ‘Shave Ice’. My life just may never be the same again.

Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip @ Sheraton Waikiki

Right from the moment we arrived, Stampin’ Up! did an amazing job of making this a memorable event. There were Stampin’ Up! signs and banners around the entrance to the hotel, and all of us were given ocean view rooms. The colours of the sky and ocean were something truly amazing. I don’t know how to explain it… except that everything looked more vivid.

Each day we could visit the Hospitality Room which was a gathering place to meet and chat with other demonstrators. We could spin the wheel to win cool prizes, enjoy some yummy treats or just chill out on the balcony and enjoy the view.

After a ‘busy’ day of swimming, shopping or hanging out with friends, we would come back to our room to find pillow gifts! Oh my goodness, what a treat. The packaging was cute enough, but the gifts were so sweet! Jewellery, Maui Jim sunglasses, a quilted bag, beach bag, Stampin’ Up! products and more.

Group Activities

Most of our time was free to spend at our leisure, but we had a few group activities to which everyone was invited.

On the first night we had a casual BBQ dinner down near the pool area.

Later in the week we enjoyed a private tour of the Polynesian Cultural Centre – it opened early, just for us!

And on the final evening we had a very special visit to the Battleship Missouri Memorial, Pearl Harbour. An amazing evening in which we could explore the battleship and enjoy an all-American BBQ on board.  Yes, a very special evening. 

Of course, one of the best things about these trips is that we get to spend time with friends. This year we had just over 20 Australians attend, with a total combined number of demonstrators (from Australia, NZ, Canada and the US) totalling just under 200. Many brought their partners and some also brought their children, so it was lovely to meet the extended families too!

One of my personal highlights was snorkelling at Hanauma Bay. I posted these photos over on my Facebook page, but they are so beautiful I just had to share them again. I’ve done a lot of snorkelling over the years but this was my first time using a dry snorkel (water can’t get in). Highly recommend it – a fabulous experience.

We had a creative morning called a Share Fare, where we swapped handmade cards and some of our fellow demo’s taught us new tricks. It was a great morning. I’ll share some of those photos in a separate post.

Thank You

Coming home was both a sad and happy occasion. I really had a fabulous time, but couldn’t wait to see my hub and bubs again. Trying to fit all that shopping into our suitcases was fun for the three of us! We had to buy more bags 😉

Thanks again for coming along on this journey. It’s been a great ride, and I’m so grateful.

We have a new annual catalogue and lots to look forward to… If you are a customer of mine (as in, you’ve bought Stampin’ Up! products through me in the past catalogue year) and you haven’t got your new catalogue yet, please let me know. I’ll get one on its way to you ASAP. And if you’re in Australia and new to Stampin’ Up! feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll help you get started.

Cheers,

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