Inspire.Create.Share. - Stampin' Up! Convention 2014 - Day 4

This morning we had opening session with stage walks for milestone achievements for sales and  anniversaries.  Susie and I both got to walk and so I grabbed her for a photo after she got off stage.

We went to lunch and the demo resource center afterwards to play with new tools and get photos of some of the projects shown on stage and in classes.

 

I made a last run to the recognition room before our last class to grab some Dove chocolates (they had bowls of them in there!).  I ran into Susie again after taking some silly photos with other demos grabbing chocolates.  We attended a class on Instagram.  I haven't gotten into that before, but it looks fun, so I'll try it out.

Then, we had our closing session.  Sara showed us some new kits, and Shelli showed off her projects.

 

We got another new stamp set at the end as an all attendee give away.  Yay!  After heading back to the hotel to get organized with packing all our free stuff and convention store purchases, we went out on the town.  Here's my free stuff (except one stamp set I forgot to put in the photo).

We took the train to Gateway Mall for dinner and back to City Creek.  Here's some photos from our traditional walk around the City Creek outdoor mall and visiting the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  The weather was so nice sitting by the fountains which dance to music on the hour.  The music and waterworks reminded me of Fantasia.

 

 

Another great convention is over, but I'm looking forward to the next event which is Leadership Conference in January in Orlando...Can you say, Disney World?

Stampin' Hugs,

Inspire.Create.Share. - Stampin' Up! Convention 2014 - Day 3

In General Session today, we got free a package of Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper.  I love this paper.  It's thinner and all black and vanilla with lots of antique designs.

I also won Prize Patrol!!!  My wrist band is Rose Red and they called that one for a stamp set and punch that are in the new holiday catalog...so I can't show you yet.  I love it though, lucky me!

They also announced the next Grand Vacation destination with a cute video from the home office.  They showed employees in a conference room talking about the destination, but some noise would always get in the way of revealing the destination.  Finally, they revealed that it is a Mediterranean Cruise to France, Spain, and Italy.  I've never been to Europe, so I am definitely setting a goal to earn this trip.  It will include demos from all countries similar to the Caribbean Cruise I went on in May.

We went to the convention store and shopped a selection of Holiday Catalog products which we could take home right from convention.  Also, we went to Make'n'Take classes including the 2nd regular workshop plus 3 mini classes.  I got some great photos of us having fun making stuff.

We had awards night tonight and an after party with a country fair theme including a live band, line dancing, bull riding, and face painting.  Great snacks too: popcorn, nachos, and raspberry lemonade.  They announced that the Getaway trip will be to Newport Beach (you can earn this one a little easier than the Grand Vacation).  Also, we found out that the Manager's Reception in Orlando in January will be at Disney World (Woo Hoo!).

Yes, I rode the bull.

We finally got our photo taken in front of the flower wall too right before the party ended.

Stampin' Hugs,

Inspire.Create.Share. - Stampin' Up! Convention 2014 - Day 2

This morning we had pyrotechnics at the opening of General Session.

Shelli was barely on stage, and they were already passing out a free stamp set to everyone.  They were a selection of single stamp sets like Watercolor Thank You which is the one I got...yay!

The big reveal this morning was the Holiday Catalog which starts August 28th.  Here's the cover...I can't show the inside, but I'll post projects made with the sets.

Becky Higgins from Project Life also visited with us to talk about Project Life by Stampin' Up!

After General Session, we attended some classes and then went to our 1st Make'n'Take Session where we made a couple of cards using the Kinda Eclectic stamp set.

Leslie and Beverly went on the home office tour while I roamed around the Demo Resource Center and participated in the service project making a card kit and bath kit for an organization that helps the homeless.

Then, I went across the hall to check out the special lounge area for demonstrators that achieved awards during the last year that ended June 30th.  They had set up a photo op with props.  Here's my photo.

I couldn't have been so successful this year without the support of all my wonderful stamping friends.  Teaching classes really brings me a lot of happiness.  And, another surprise...I found out last week that I can take my daughter that lives in Canada as my guest to Hawaii.  I wasn't sure if Stampin' Up! would do that, but they will!

In the evening, we had optional creative classes we could attend.  Leslie went to a Make'n'Take class, and Bev and I went to the MDS Unplugged class with Holly Linford.  She showed us how to do some cool decor items using MDS to decorate coasters, make customized pillows, etch glass, and make chalkboard art.  Now I need to buy an e-cutter!

I can't wait to have more fun tomorrow making projects, exploring more in the resource center, shopping in the Convention Store for new Holiday Catalog products, and going to the awards night celebration and after party.

Stampin' hugs!

Inspire.Create.Share. - Stampin' Up! Convention 2014 - Day 1

We had a wonderful first day at convention.  Unfortunately, Laura was sick the night before and couldn't make it with us...so, it's just me, Beverly, and Leslie.

We immediately checked in and then headed to the Blue Lemon, my favorite restaurant (and I think they are pretty convinced of it's awesomeness too!).

After we ate, we went across the street to Temple Square and took a tour.  They demonstrated the acoustics in the Tabernacle Choir room.  It was impressive.  With no microphones, you could loudly hear her ripping a newspaper and dropping a small nail.

After the tour, we came back to the room for a while, relaxed and chatted.  Then it was time to head over to the Salt Palace to check-in, pick up our bag with goodies in it, and attend the Paper Pumpkin Nite Out party in the Gathering Place.

Right away, there was Shelli (Co-Founder of Stampin' Up!).  We talked to her a while and got photos before a huge line formed.

 They had tons of cakes, cookies, and chocolates as well as cucumber water and another passion fruit/sprite drink for us.

There were some prizes and a Make'n'Take of a future Halloween themed Paper Pumpkin coming out in September.  Since the snacks didn't include dinner, we ran back to the hotel and shared a quesadilla appetizer for dinner, then we ran back to the party to check the green screen line.  The green screen video shoot had ended, but they were nice enough to squeeze us in as the last group.  We acted silly with rock star props for 7 seconds, and they produced it into a flip book keepsake (one for each of us).  So fun!

Shannon West and me.  Have to get my hug and photo with Shannon!  I'm sure I'll see her later too, but you never know.

The actual festivities start Thursday morning...this was just the warm up :)

Convention Here We Come!

Woo Hoo!!! It's here!!!  I'll be at convention (now called Inspire.Create.Share) with 3 of my downlines Wednesday through Sunday.

I'll post a few times from Salt Lake City so you can be in on the fun!

The photo above is the first ever Stampin' Up! catalog...last year, they had a display of all the covers over the 25 years.  It would be fun to look inside some of those older catalogs to see how far our crafting trends have come in 25 years.

Some of the things we get to do and see at Inspire.Create.Share:

• Paper Pumpkin Party
• Expo workshops and presentations
• Extra night time special workshops
• Classes on everything
• Make'n'Takes
• Awards Night and After Party
• Prize Patrol & 3 Free stamp sets just for attending
• Product Playground
• First to see and shop from the new Holiday Catalog (email me if you want one!)
• Wow projects booths
• Display Boards full of ideas
• Service Project making birthday kits for a children's hospital
• Lots of smiling and laughing with friends 
• Visit our favorite restaurant, The Blue Lemon
• Visit the outdoor mall behind our hotel and especially the Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory
• More free stuff from Stampin' Up!!!!  There's always more give aways...
• We can sleep when we get home...lol

Check back for photos from Salt Lake City!  You might want to like my facebook page too to see photos uploaded during the day since I won't get a chance to blog until late at night.

Faux Tile Technique - Flowering Flourishes

I showed the Faux Tile technique in my June Stamp Nights.

Stamp Set: Flowering Flourishes
Colors: Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry, Smokey Slate, Whisper White
Punches: Fun Flower, Petite Petals
Tools: Basic Jewels Pearls, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, dauber, thin cardboard for masks

Here's the Technique Journal page we made with score measurements.

The trick to the shading is to brush the dauber starting on the mask inward onto the "tile" softly so you don't cover up too much of the tile with shading.  Also, when brushing the outside edges with the dauber, skip over the "grout" score line to keep it white.

Happy Stampin'