I love going to convention and seeing my friends that I have made over the years. I went to my very first convention only having met one person – that was my upline and I just barely knew her at the time. My family thought I was crazy to stay in a hotel with a stranger someone I met on the internet – in a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator group – but still. And let’s say I was a little bit nervous about it when I went to that hotel room all those years ago. But I walked in and met Michele from Iowa and we are still friends now and while we didn’t room together these last couple of years we usually stay in the same hotel and spend time together during convention. This year one of Michele’s downline – Kelly – stayed in my room. A new friend! I’m sure she was a little unsure staying in a room with 3 people she hadn’t met but I think she had a great time – made lots of new friends and we will see each other for years to come.
Then there is the Stampin’ Up! part of convention – the opening general session, on stage presentations, stamping presentations and variety of classes and things we get to do. Convention always starts with an opening General Session – all the Stampin’ up! staff come to the convention center and line up for all the demonstrators to walk through – it’s such an energy charged happy time – music playing, people clapping, and high-fives, cheering, dancing and more! And this year we had fireworks!! Convention is now called Inspire, Create, Share – and this was the main stage. The side panels flashed photos that were taken throughout the event.
We started with all the various departments coming up on the stage and then Shelli came out and welcomed us. Then we got to hear Pam Morgan as she introduced us to the new Holiday Catalog. They will be mailing out this month and you can also pick one up at my classes starting around middle of August. Here is a peek at the cover!
We also heard from Becky Higgins as she and Shelli talked about the new partnership and our new product line Project Life by Stampin’ Up! – a simple, quick, easy, guilt-free way of memory keeping!
Then everyone dispersed and did various things throughout the afternoon. I went to a few quick little classes and then a group of friends and headed to the Stampin’ Up! corporate office in Riverton, Utah. One of the things we always do is get a photo out by the Stampin’ Up! rock – Oh – as our group finished up one of the Stampin’ Up! photographers came out and combined us with a few other demos and took pictures of us – one of those was on the Stampin’ Up! Facebook page – did you see it?
Inside we get to tour through the Legacy Room – which is like a display area and has some of the displays that you see photographed in the catalogs, through the Idea Room, the warehouse and Demonstrator Support areas.
It’s Michele – leaving a note on the wall for Stampin’ Up!
Once we finished up we got on the return bus and headed back to the convention center. But first a photo of the beautiful mountains behind the office.
I’ll share more about my evening adventures in a different post. Thanks for stopping by.
Are you ready for some convention posts? We arrived in Salt Lake City on Wednesday and while it wasn’t an official convention day Stampin’ Up! did have a few things going on. I also planned my own dinner with a bunch of friends at the Red Rock Brewery. It’s good and we seem to go there every year – I even went twice this year – we had lunch on Sunday before we left.
Dinner at Red Rock – table 1 Monika, Connie, Cindy, Fran, Linda, Lisa (photo bombing from the other table), Diane and Fran
Dinner at Red Rock – table 2 Diane, Lisa, Marla, Sue, Tammy, Chris, Michele, Kelly
There were close to 20 of us so we were at two tables. Missing were Diane and Jeanna who were at another event prior to dinner and it ran late. Plus we all swapped cards – I’ll have to get pictures of all of them to share on another day.
We left and headed over to the convention center to check in and get our bags and stamp sets and stuff – and I don’t even have a picture!
Next we dropped in at the Paper Pumpkin Party that was going on. And shortly after we got inside I noticed Shelli over to the side – so I grabbed my girls and we waited to talk to her and take photos. Sometimes the lines to meet Shelli are so long – but this one was short. This is my downline and I with Shelli.
Diane, Sue, Shelli, Monika at the Paper Pumpkin Night Out Party
Stampin’ Up! had a make & take project for us – a sneak peek of the September Paper Pumpkin kit!! A fun Halloween treat project. So this is a sneak peek for the September kit….
You can join Paper Pumpkin now for half off for 2 months! So the August and September kits would only be $10 each! I think that is worth trying out. Join by August 10 to start in August and by September 10 to start in September. use the code HALFOFF2 when you join. To join with me as your demonstrator go to this link – www.mypaperpumpkin.com
At the party I also found my friend Karen – we met in Houston at Leadership in January – she is from California –
The party also included snacks and prize drawings and lots of fun. I stayed a little longer than planned. So we were a bit late heading over the Sandy Hancock’s Udderly Awesome Team meeting. We did make it over there but I didn’t get any pictures there either. Once that was over we walked back to our hotel and got ready for the next day and the official start of convention.
The new Photopolymer Stamp set called Flower Patch makes some really pretty flowers. And since it has a coordinating set of framelits you don’t even have to fussy cut them – just shoot them through the Big Shot. Don’t have a Big Shot yet – then get ready to get one in August. There is a Big Shot special coming up and you won’t want to miss it. Plus when the Holiday Catalog comes out you are going to LOVE it and it is packed full of stamp sets with matching framelits! Are we getting spoiled?
This is a cute project taken pretty much from the Stampin’ Up! Catalog. I just used Black notebooks that I happened to have in my stash. I think the flowers really pop off the black!
For each flower and the leaves I used two different ink colors – a lighter and darker color that go together.
So Saffron & Crushed Curry
Pear Pizzazz & Old Olive
Coastal Cabana & Bermuda Bay
Crisp Cantaloupe & Calypso Coral
I also added the in-color sequins which are in the center of each flower – attached with a mini brad.
I want to start making more videos! So I sat down last night and filmed this and spent a little bit of time editing today and uploading it. It’s just a simple video showing the contents of the July Paper Pumpkin kit. I want you to see how much stuff is in it! And the picture of the cute projects. I still have to put mine together and work on some alternate ideas. I hope you’ll join Paper Pumpkin. I saw the August and September kits and both are awesome. New subscribers can join right now and get your first two months at 50% off – what a deal! And if you don’t love it there is no obligation to stay – but I think you will love it now!
This is a really fun technique that I found on the internet somewhere – probably pinterest or Facebook – isn’t that where most of our ideas come from these days….
Its another way to use textured embossing folders – add ink to one side of the folder – then spritz it with water – put your watercolor paper inside the folder – close it up and press all over with your hand – open and ta-da – the design from the folder is transferred to your paper with a watercolor look to it.
Each time you do it you get a different look and it also varies based on how much water you spritz on it. For this one I went a little bit lighter on the amount of water that I used so most of the hexagons have a lot of open space. More water would have carried the color a little further throughout the design.
To finish the card I used the new Flower Patch Photopolymer stamp set. for the center of my flower I added a star shaped sequin with a mini brad. And I tied a piece of the new thick Baker’s twine around the front piece – love that thick twine!
Here is a list of the supplies I used plus clear blocks:
Hi! I am a Stampin’ Up! independent demonstrator in Milton, Georgia. I love being creative and want to share it with you! On my blog I will share creative ideas using Stampin’ Up! products and you’ll also hear about my family and my dogs.
I look forward to helping you get your creative juices flowing!
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We also heard from Becky Higgins as she and Shelli talked about the new partnership and our new product line Project Life by Stampin’ Up! – a simple, quick, easy, guilt-free way of memory keeping!
Then everyone dispersed and did various things throughout the afternoon. I went to a few quick little classes and then a group of friends and headed to the Stampin’ Up! corporate office in Riverton, Utah. One of the things we always do is get a photo out by the Stampin’ Up! rock – Oh – as our group finished up one of the Stampin’ Up! photographers came out and combined us with a few other demos and took pictures of us – one of those was on the Stampin’ Up! Facebook page – did you see it?
