So Long Stampin' Up!

Good morning all!
As you may have noticed (for those who have been loyal to my lack of blogging abilities- and for that I thank you), I haven't posted solely Stampin' Up! items and materials, nor do I have the catalogue information any longer in the side bar of my blog.
This is because as of a few weeks ago I made the decision to no longer continue being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.
The reason is 2 fold and both simple:
The company has been wonderful to me for these past 7 years, and the products are still among some of my favorite paper crafting products out there, but I felt that it was simply time to let go.
I have, as you may or may not know, have a 2nd home based business. It's called The Paper Gift Boutique and you can find me both on Etsy and Facebook. The Paper Gift Boutique is my personal cardmaking company that I began before I was ever a SU! demo.
I have been making and selling cards for about a decade now (off and on). The past couple of years I have broken through the 'spot' where it would get really hard and previously, I'd given up. The result was a breakthrough and slow yet steady growing success. I have my cards in one local business already, and have become a staple in the Christmas tradeshow circut.
I was carrying on with this all the while trying to still give Stampin' Up! the same focus as before- which was difficult to do as there are only so many hours in a day. I had grown SU! for myself from a couple of people I knew to a base of loyal and supportive customers who quickly became friends. They were amazing and helped me become a success as a demonstrator. I had a few downlines that started and then stopped for their own reasons and I kept doing Stamper's Groups for the better part of those 7 years. But even though where I live is a pretty large small town (pop 60, 000) - it's still a small town. There are other demonstrators with loyal customers and I found it harder and harder to get fresh faces that would commit to my clubs.
It had just become obvious to me that I couldn't focus on both with the same intensity so I had to bow out of one to focus solely on the other- and it was just as obvious as to which one it was going to have to be.
So with all that being said, once my demonstratorship lapses, I will no longer be selling SU! But I will still be posting my work (hopefully more often) and highlighting some of the other amazing companies that I have used and enjoy to inspire you all.

Thanks for all your love and support!
~Brandie~