Who is Virginia Hodgins?

 Thank you for being interested in find out who is Virginia Hodgins!

I am a wife and mother, and both my husband Don and I are retired from our "regular" work. Don and I moved to Lac La Biche in 2007, where he took a job in the IT department of Portage College. I worked in the college's library for 5 years as an administrative assistant. After I retired in June of 2012, I went back part-time until Covid struck in 2020. We have a daughter, Sarah, and a son and daughter-in-law, Keith and Laura.

Our 40th Anniversary, at Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton.

Throughout my life I have owned a horse, and we have had several dogs. The horses and dogs have changed over the years of course, but my favourite horses were three Arabian horses, Whisper, Taffy, and Tristan who I owned one after the other. I did Competitive Trail Riding with Whisper, enjoyed riding the trails with Taffy, teaching her how to drive, practicing dressage with her (both driving and riding), and doing a bit of showing. Tristan and I auditioned for Pat Parelli's Level 1 in his training program and earned a score of ++ which thrilled me! Apart from that, Tristan and I rode the trails and roads.

Now our fur baby is a black and white cat named Oreo. Like all cats, she loves boxes!

In 1999, when we lived in Arizona,  I discovered scrapbooking, took some classes and made three scrapbooks of the family, one for Sarah, one for Keith and one for Don and me. They went up to the year 2000. I then went on and made about 12 more about our travels, but after awhile we ran out of storage space so I ended up taking some of them apart and scanning the best pages to keep. After all, how many scrapbooks do you need about crossing the country? We returned to Canada in 2002.

 How I Discovered Stampin' Up!.

My supervisor at the college told me about Stampin' Up! and told me about a crafting retreat to be held in a nearby town. Two ladies were holding it, one who sold Stampin' Up! products and one who sold Close to My Heart, and I bought from both. I was still doing paper scrapbooking, but when I retired, I found out about digital scrapbooking, so my scrapbooking went in that direction.  At a craft fair I met a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Shirley, who was offering classes, and I signed up for one. Then I found out she had a stamp club, so I joined. We met one evening a month to make cards. I learned so much from her - new techniques, saw the new stamps and papers up close and personal - I loved it. When it was stamp club night I got all excited! 

Why I Use Stampin' Up!'s Products.

When I started card making in earnest, I found that Stampin' Up!'s products were much better for cardmaking. Their paper is designed for cardmaking - when you fold it with the grain, it does not crack along the fold, and the colours of the cardstock, designer series paper (DSP), embellishments and ribbon all coordinate. I love that! Also, their stamps are of excellent quality, as all of their products are.

Why Sarah and I Joined Stampin' Up!®

My daughter, Sarah, joined Stampin' Up! first - she was all excited about the incentive trip to Greece! - then I joined under her, but mostly for the discount when I bought product. I held some classes, but due to space in our apartment, they were limited to 3 people. Then, Covid hit, and we moved from Lac La Biche to Edmonton. I gave up being a demonstrator, but this year, 2021, I rejoined, under Shirley. While visiting her one afternoon, and making cards with her, she introduced me to the Mini Stampin' Cut and Embossing machine. I fell in love with it! I also wanted a stamp set suite, and it cost me less to join again and put those two items into my Starter Kit since 5 packs of 6x6 DSP was included as well. I also get a 20% discount on all my purchases!

I love making cards and sharing what I love. I find giving classes is fun and it is very satisfying to see happy customers/friends at the end of the evening. I am planning on making videos, and hopefully these will help card making friends make their cards since we cannot be together in person. When we can finally have in-home gatherings again, I will be offering classes, in the meantime, and afterwards, I plan on offering online classes.

Why You Should Join Stampin' Up!

When you join Stampin' Up!, in Canada, you pay $135 and receive $165 worth of product, with no shipping or handling fees, or GST/HST. Sometimes there are other specials you can take advantage of as well. After that, you receive a 20% discount on any product you buy. If you elevate a level your discount becomes 25%. The fact that all the products co-ordinate takes the guesswork out of what to use with what, no matter whether it is cardstock, DSP (designer series paper), embellishments or ribbon. This makes crafting so much easier and fun!

The benefits of joining Stampin' Up! are, you are joining a community of people who love to stamp, there are incentive trips you can earn, and if you want to make Stampin' Up! a business, as you grow your own teams, you start making money. But, you don't have to sell anything, or recruit anyone. Stampin' Up! is happy if you join and become a hobby demonstrator.

When you join my team, I will be there for you to answer questions via Messenger, FaceBook, email, and hopefully in person. If I don't know the answer to your question, I'll find out for you. It is really worth it to sign up!