Who Is Susan Harwood?

10Sept2020

Thanks for being interested in who I am and what I'm all about!

I am a  wife and mother of two grown children. I live with my husband and our 4-legged fur kid, Brida, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. This is us in British Columbia, Canada on a road-trip we took in 2018. We had such fun!
  

     I love living in the desert foothills. It is so beautiful here! 🌵⛰☀


My husband, Brian, is also a business owner and he enjoys restoring classic cars in his spare time. He
is always so encouraging and supportive of my Stampin' Up!® business.

I have been a paper crafter since I was a little girl. Really!! One of the fondest memories I have from my childhood is making my own paper dolls and their clothes from the Sears & Roebuck catalog (remember paper catalogs?)  while listening to my mother's 78 records from the 50's on a portable record player. I also enjoy traveling, reading, music of all kinds, cooking, sewing, and Science Fiction (mostly Star Trek🖖) not necessarily in that order.

My friends & Me cos-playing at a Star Trek convention

I first learned about Stampin' Up!® back in the mid 90's when I saw Shelli Gardner on a paper crafting show I watched all the time  (imagine that! 👀😄). Shortly after that I bought my first set of stamps from Stampin' Up!®, but it wasn't until 2009 that I became an Independent Demonstrator.

I was working full time and loved the idea of getting my stamping and scrapbooking supplies at a discount. I am still my own best customer (LOL, one of the ways Brian is supportive). 

  I quit my full time job in January of 2018, but it wasn't until the pandemic hit that I decided to really "Go for it" and try to turn my passion for paper into a real business. It's challenging and I have a lot to learn because technology and I do not always play nicely together! 

 I have a team started, and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with the opportunities that Stampin' Up!® offers. I would love the chance to earn your business or to have you join me on my adventure as a member of my team, Miss Q's Crafting Continuum! I chose that name because some of my friends call me SuzQ or Miss Q for short. And if  you aren't sure what a continuum is, Vocabualry.com defines a it as: "something that keeps on going, changing slowly over time" - like creativity! 😉

Update 25 Jan 2023: In November of 2021 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My treatment began with a course of 6 chemo infusions to try to shrink the tumor, followed by surgery to remove the tumor (or the tissue where the tumor used to be), then a series of radiation treatments and more infusions after that. (thankfully not debilitating like the chemo)  I had another surgery 6 months after the first one to "match everything up." In all, from diagnosis to the end of treatment, it will have been 16 months.  (I will be finished at the end of March 2023) I don't think I have ever gone through anything more excruciating in my life. Needless to say, I had to pause in my pursuit of a thriving Stampin' Up business. I managed to keep up with the social media aspect, but it wasn't easy because chemo and radiation kill everything except the person in an attempt to eradicate the cancer. In the process I felt so sick and miserable that I wished at times I were dead. My faith, family and friends were my life lines and pulled me through! My hair is slowly coming back, I'm feeling pretty good and life is starting to approach normal again. I hope to start holding classes again soon (in person & online) and I also plan to start recording videos on YouTube & maybe Facebook too. (which I had planned on doing in January of 2022 before I got temporarily sidetracked by the big C) Life is a wonderful gift and I am very thankful mine isn't over yet!!

Me after a couple of chemo infusions

Thanks again for your interest in me. Live Long & Craft On!- Susan 🌄🖖
 





 As an independent Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, all content on this blog is my sole responsibility and the use of any content in my personal blog, classes, services, or products offered on the website, or other internet medium is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up!®

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