"I Am...........Convention Friends"

Going to Convention for the first time was a really scary thing for me.  Sure I was super excited about all the things I would see and do, such as visiting the Riverton Stampin' Up! campus, but I was still worried that I wasn't going with our big "Colourful Impressions" group. 

And I wondered if I'd wind up alone and missing out on the fun and companionship of a larger group.  Boy was I wrong!  Just look at this crowd of stampers on opening day...........no matter what I'd never be alone!

From the moment we headed out on our trip, there was no need to worry about being alone.  I was so fortunate to meet up with the nicest group of women I've been with in a long time and I'm sure these gals will be my pals for many years to come.

Adel on Opening Day

I'd previously met Adel Klassen and stamped with her, so it was a given that I'd enjoy her company, but I didn't know just how much I'd learn from her.  Adel taught me a lot.  She's patient, kind and funny.  And big drum roll she taught me how to "text".  I also really enjoyed her companions Ann and Connie who accompanied us to Salt Lake City and did touristy things while we were in convention.  We shared a nice dinner at the Blue Iguana on Thursday night. 

Sue Farrant, Liz Holloway, Linda Yamamoto, Nancy Kier and Diane Dyson in the Green top

The other stampers I met while in the departure lounge in Vancouver airport were Allison, Sue Farrant, Liz Holloway, Linda Yamamoto, Nancy Kier and Diane Dyson.  These were all super nice gals and a pleasure to be with. 

I had the pleasure of Liz's company on the flight to Salt Lake City, although didn't see her much at convention.  This is one savvy lady and stamper, and I'm hoping to keep in touch with her.  Make sure you check out Liz's blog Stamper's Plus, she's taking registrations for a "Creative Escape" event in October that's sure to be a blast!

 After settling into our respective hotels Adel, Diane and I ate a wonderful meal at the Olive Garden and then did a walkabout at the Convention Center and City Creek Shopping Mall before calling it a day.

Myself, Diane and Adel at the Olive Garden SLC

Adel and Diane at the SLC Salt Palace where the SU Convention is being held.

Adel trying to get a sneak peak but everything's locked up for the night.

The Shilo Hotel was a perfect location situated across the street from the SLC Salt Palace Convention Center where all the events were held.

View from my 8th story room.

Salt Place Convention Center

"I Am Convention 2012" is Over

The theme for Stampin' Up's Convention this week in Salt Lake City was "I am....." and our goal throughout the week was to try to focus on who we are as members of the Stampin' Up family.  To celebrate the "I am...." theme and get us off to a flying start on Thursday morning, we were welcomed with this video which set the tone of excitement for the entire three days!

I hope you'll watch it and like it as much as I did.  I'm still getting goose bumps evertime I hear it and I've got the tune doing one of those mind worm things in my head!   

I've had an amazing week everyone and I want to share some of the reasons for that:

• Registration on Wednesday was fun and a complete breeze! Exploring the Salt Palace Convention Center and checking out the Gathering Place and Product Display boards
• MDS 2 demonstrations and the ability to play around with this fabulous photo tool
• Tour of Riverton and meeting some of Stampin' Ups! incredibly friendly and "eager to please" staff. 
• Late Night Stamper's Pre-Convention Welcome Soup and Salad Supper followed by patty Hargrove's 10+1 Card Swap
• Thursday's Opening General Session was electrifying and full of excitement.  Shelley Gardner was a delight! And the warm and wonderful welcome by SU employees brought tears to my eyes. 
• An amazingly funny key note speaker, Jason Ryan Dorsey kicked off the week with an outstanding presentation on the differences between Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomers.  He had us rolling in our seats laughing at ourselves and members of the other groups  I can't wait to read his books.
•  Outstanding classes and make and takes.  I attended:
• I Am Reaching Out - Emily Montoya
• I am Making Money - Pam Morgan
• I Am Open for Business - Carrie Cudney
• I Am Savvy- Dawn Griffith, Meg Wheeler, Donna Griffith, Laura Mulligan
• I Am Doing Business My Way - Bonnie Thurber, Tami White, Ronda Wade
• I Am Earning an Incentive Trip - Karen Hauley and Jill Hilliard, Meg Holland and Cynthia Millan
• I'm a Pattern Mixing Pro - Carrie Cudney
• Incredible displays in the Product Showcase and Display areas
• Awards night and all the incredible achievers
• 10 Years in Recognition for Canadian Demonstrators
• Taking my five year pin walk across the stage
• Meeting "new" friends and old friends
• Having fun
• Prize Patrol
• Make and Takes and Free Stamp Sets
• Did I mention Shopping in Momento Mall
• Exciting Announcements regarding:
• Release of MDS 2 in August
• Changes to DBWS
• Fall Regional Event in Tacoma Washington - Sept 29, 2012
• Live Stream joining demonstrators around the world
• Incentive Trip to Western Caribbean and Getaway Trip to San Diego

Okay I could go on and on, but that's it for this post.  Because of technical glitches like "no card reader on this notebook" I'll begin posting convention pictures when aI return to Canada tomorrow.  Stay tuned.  

Convention Swaps Sneak Peak

The countdown is on! I leave for convention in just five more days! Before I go I thought I'd share a few more sneak peaks of my convention swaps.  I hope you enjoy them. Don't worry, I'm doing a full card reveal on Monday the 16th, so be sure to come back and see the finished cards.

Here's a peak at a card I've created for Patty Hargrove's 10+1 Full Card Swap Group 2 on Wed July 17, 2012. She's invited me to be captain for Group Two during the swap, and I'm so looking forward to this. What fun! 

Patty has worked really hard to pull this swap together and she's done a great job!  She's organized five groups of 10 swappers and a "No Show" group for this swap. 

This is a full card swap.  Each card must have at least 2-3 layers and one or more embellishments.  Only new stamp sets from the 2012/2013 Idea Book and Catalogue will be allowed and the list is fantastic.  I can't wait to post pictures of the swap and card samples. I know you're going to love them! 

Before I go on, I just wanted to say that for her "first time ever organizing a swap", Patty deserves a really big round of applause!  Being the Swap Organizer requires a lot of energy and organization and she's really worked on this one.  She's provided us with regular updates on who's participating the sets being used, as well as instructions we'll need once we're at Convention.  She's even collected all our phone numbers so we can be in touch before the session if anyone's late or whatever.  It's so exciting I just can't wait!. 

Click on this link to check out Patty's wonderful blog.  She's already posted pictures of some of her completed swaps she's and they look fabulous.  Great ideas here folks!

Okay here's a peak at my second swap: 



This is also for Patty Hargrove's 10+1 Full Card Swap - "No Show" List on Wed July 17, 2012.  This is an overflow group Patti set up just in case someone didn't show up for the swap. She calls us her "Angels in the Wings".  I guess it's appropriate I have wings on my card!  There are now seven of us in this group, and if none of the groups are shorted we'll be swapping amongst ourselves.  What fun!

 

And, last but not least, here's my third and final peak:  

These cards are for the Late Night Stampers 80+1 Swap on Friday July 20, 2012.  That's right 80+1.  This is a dinner event and will be one of the big highlights for the week.  I can't wait to see all the commotion as everyone gets together to swap!  

I had fun making these little birdies and you'll be surprised when you see them on the card.  One thing I can tell you is that after doing 80+ of these little suckers I was sure glad I own Stampin' Ups! Bird Builder punch!  LOL.  I simply couldn't imagine fussy cutting all these.

Fruit and Flowers Thank You Cards

They say all good things must come to an end, and for my husband and I one of our favourite weekly get together places has done just that. For several years now we've met with friends on Wednesday mornings for a wonderful and inexpensive breakfast get together at the Skillet Restaurant.  Unfortunately as of this week, the Skillet  which is located in Zellers in Langley is no more. This store is being taken over by "Target" in the coming months and the restaurant is not part of the renovations.  All of the restaurant staff will be looking for new work.

What a great little place this has been for us and for many other seniors in the Langley and surrounding district.  We had our regular table and each week as we were getting seated we'd see familiar faces. The breakfast special of two eggs (any style), 2 sausage links or 2 pieces of bacon, and two pieces of toast for $3.95 was always fabulous.  Our servers, Sandi, Dolly, Crystal, Janet and Krista were also fabulous.  For us, the Skillet was like Cheers.....everyone knew our names, and our orders. 

This past Wednesday we went for our last time and it was really sad. We met our friends and over our last breakfast we shared our memories and stories about our experiences at the Skillet.  Fortunately we were able to say good bye to all the great gals who served us so well over the years and to mark the occasion I made some thank you cards to let them know just how special they were to us.

Here's a picture of some of the cards I made for this occasion.  I used a retired Stampin' Up set called Tart and Tangy that was my "to go to" summer stamp set for a while.  I was very sad when it was retired and I've been reluctant to give it up, but like I said before "all good things must come to an end", and so it is with this set. 

I actually made five cards but had two of them sealed in the envelopes before I remembered to take a picture of them.  The missing cards had a similar layout but the had a green apple on one and cherries on the other. 

In this closeup you may be able to see that the orange has a high glossy finish on it.  To get this effect I used a Stampin' Up! product called "Crystal Effects". This is a very inexpensive and simple way to take a good card up a "notch" to a WOW card.  If you'd like to know more about Crystal Effects and its many uses please contact me.  I'd be happy to provide some information on this great product.

 
Although the Tart N' Tangy set is no longer available, another set called "Fruit and Flowers" on page 82 of the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalogue would have worked just as well. 

In fact, 3 of the stamps in the "Fruit and Flowers" stamp set are very similar to the Strawberry, Cherry and Apple featured above.  As a bonus you also get six additional stamps with this set so you could recreate the flower patterns from the DSP I used.  What great value, nine stamps in total for $19.95 for the Clear Mount(122607) and/or $25.95 for the Wood Mount (122605) versions.  Hope you check this set out. 

Okay well that's it for today and my old time ramblings.  Get stamping!

Convention Swaps

Ten days and counting down!  That's right!  My long awaited trip to convention is just around the corner and I've been busy, busy, busy preparing my swaps, getting my gear together and chatting with other convention goers. 

I'm officially entered in 3 swaps which include an 80+1 and two 10+1 swaps based on cards using stamp sets and products from the new Idea Book and Catalogue.  How exciting is that!  I'm also making some 3 x 3 card swaps and some 3-D swaps to trade on the convention floor. 

I'll be travelling to convention with Adel Klassen a member of the Colourful Impressions Stamping group I belong to.  Adel and I are both very excited about this adventure and we've managed to get together twice now to work on our swaps.  What fun we've had!  Working together really helped us stay focused and plan out our time in Salt Lake City.

Without giving away what I'm making, here's a sneak peak at my Convention Swaps.

 
Wish you could be there with us too!  2013 Convention will be even bigger, as Stampin' Up! will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary! Contact me to find out how you can become part of my team and eligible to attend the 2013 festivities!  And, stay tuned for more convention news as it happens!

Reason To Smile

I love promotions, especially ones like this.  During the month of July you can purchase the Reason to Smile Stamp set for just $5.00 when you spend just $60.00 on Stampin' Up! products.

The Reason to Smile stamp set is exclusive to this promotion and will not be available after July 31, 2012. 

Whether you order online, at a workshop or through me directly, you can take advantage of this special offer.  The only restriction is that there's a limit of one (1) set per customer.

Note:  When you're placing your order online, you won't be automatically prompted to enter the $5 Item Number for a qualifying purchase.  The best way to ensure you get this promotion is to enter one of the codes below when your order reaches $60.00 (before S&H and sales tax) to qualify.

Wood Mount 131274  $5.00

Clear Mount  131275  $5.00

If you're placing your order directly through me or at a workshop, no worries.  I'll ask you if you're interested in taking advantage of this offer, and if you are it'll be added to your order in the choice of setting (wood/clear mount) that you'd prefer.  

To see the stamps included in this great value just click on the July Promotion button on my sidebar or on the Reason to Smile link in the first paragraph of this note.  Happy Stamping!

Masculine Card Birthday Card

I don't know why, but summertime seems to be the time of  year when I need masculine cards the most, and I never seem to have enought on hand.

This year I'm trying to stay ahead of the demand and want to share some of the quick masculine cards I've created.

POCKET CARD:
This first card is a two-pocket birthday card but it would also make a wonderful graduation, retirement or congratulations card for a boy/man. 

An 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of designer series paper is used for the base.  To make the card you simply fold the DSP in half, then open and fold in half in the other direction. 

Now open up the paper and fold the top left corner of the paper over to the center fold and crease the outside edge.  Then turn the paper 90 degrees and repeat this procedure with the opposite corner.  Fold the DSP in half from the bottom then fold again at the center crease.  You will now have a front and an inside pocket.

Once the folds are completed then the front and inside of the card can be decorated with whatever embellishments you want to jazz up the card with to make it occasion appropriate. Nothing could be easier. 

To dress up the front pocket, I cut and adhered a 5 x 4 piece of Cherry Cobber cardstock to the DSP.  Before gluing it down I embossed it using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder.  Since I plan on tucking some scratch and win tickets in this pocket I've left it plain, but you could make a tag for this pocket too.  Before gluing the pocket down, I added a strip of Whisper White that I had punched out with the Scallop Border punch.  I stamped the globe from the Open Sea  stamp set in Midnight Muse on Whisper White card stock and punched out with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch and added a 2 3/4" Circle layer in Cherry Cobbler and a 3" Circle Originals Bigz Die cut layer in Midnight Muse.

For the inside pocket I made a simple pull-out tag for addingby layering Whisper White on Cherry Cobbler.  I stamped the beautiful sailing ship from the set The Open Sea with the new Midnight Muse In Colour and the Happy Birthday sentiment in Cherry Cobbler.  I also stamped the anchor from the On the Sea set on Whisper White and cut it out with the Oval Scallop Punch.  It was adhered on the left side of the card with dimensionals. 

TRI-FOLD CARD:

The second card I want to share with you is a simple tri-fold card.  Usually these are made with 12 x 12 card stock but I cut down the dimensions so I could use an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of cardstock for the base.  Here are the instructions:

 

·         Start with an 8.5 x 11 sheet of cardstock and cut to 8 .5 x 5.5”

·         Score at 1 ¾, 3 ½ , 7’, and 8 ¾”

·         Cut lines horizontally at 1 ½” and 3 ½” from 1^st and last score lines

·         Your finished card will measure 3 ½ x 5



I used "Comfort Cafe" DSP #126898 for the DSP and Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple and Summer Starfruit cardstock.  Images from the Open Sea stamp set are inked with Raspberry Ripple and Midnight Muse inks.



Additional Non-Stampin' Up Cards:

We recently celebrated our friend Steve's 60th birthday and I wanted to make a special card for him.  My husband asked me to use a non-Stampin' Up! stamp set because this particular set would appeal to Steve. 

So with that in mind I made the following cards for my husband to choose from.  What I want to emphasize here is that these cards are made with Stampin' Up cardstock and inks and could  very easily have been made with SU stamp sets too. 

Made with Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Real Red. Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock.  Basic Black ink and Versamark were used to emboss the images and sentiments

View of the inside of the cards