Stampin' Up! Convention - Day 2 Thursday, July 22, 2010

Day 2 of convention started out very early with the Running of the Stampers!! My friend Amanda had the great idea to have us dress like we were running with the bulls, so we played along and had a great time with it (even if I did feel like a crazy pizza delivery guy - guess that is my New Yorker showing through.) Dina fit right in with her Canadian lei/headband that she made using the Big Shot and the Island Floral die. It was so awesome. Maybe I'll make some for my girls for our trip to Hawaii in a few weeks.

Moving right along, we had an opening ceremony complete with our own Stampin' Up! theme song modeled after Miley Cyrus' song Party in the USA. Shelli Gardner came out and spoke to us about enjoying the FULL demonstrator experience (fun, creativity, flexibility and control, rewards and recognition and finally relationships). She is a very inspiring and motivational speaker.

We also had some Stampin' Up! staff as well as demonstrator presentations. Here are some things I learned:

This was called a 'circle' card. I know what you're thinking....its not a circle....and you're right. It is circular in its 'style' however. This card is meant for you to recycle by reusing. Inside the card they attached one of our mini square envelopes (3-1/8th x 3-1/8th) with the flap cut off. They put a few 3x3 pieces of cardstock and held them together with a piece from our Clips Assortment. This enables someone to write a note to thier friend and the friend can then save that note and reuse the card by writing a note on another piece of cardstock and passing the card along. What a 'green' idea.

For me, this next idea from Diana Gibbs, is one of my Ah-Haaaa moments. I love the idea of using one of our Clear Mount Blocks as a palate, for so many reasons. I love showing people how to use the Watercolor Crayons but passing them around to each person to use at a Make and Take can be time consuming. This way several people can use the crayons at once directly from the Clear Mount Block. Thanks for sharing that idea Diana!!

This next idea was shown to us by Stampin' Up! employee Bonnie Thurber. She is fantastically funny, very talented and is such a joy to watch. She taught us how to make this Party in a Box. It is a cardstock box that comes with a few invitations and envelopes, cupcake wrappers made with the Big Shot and Perfect Setting die, and handmade coordinating party toothpicks. Its held together with a bellyband and ribbon decoration. Another great thing about this box is that when you've used up all the party supplies, you can reuse the box for giving away cookies or some other delicious treat. Yummy!!!

I had to share this idea from Heather Summers as well because I LOVE thinking outside the box and figuring out other uses for our products. You might not see it at first, but the tulips on this card were made with our new two-step owl punch. The petals are the owl turned upside down. The green cardstock below the petals was made with the owl's vest and the leaves are trimmed from the owl's body. You might not be able to see it in this photo, but the flower vase is the ornament punch turned upside down and the letters 'ick' were spotlighted by using the jewelry tag punch. Very creative!!

I could show you photos of demonstrations all day but I'm sure you'd get bored.....Nah...I know you wouldn't get bored, but I've got to move on. If you'd like to come to Convention next July or the Leadership Conference with me, let me know and we can chat about how you can sign up to be a demonstrator with my team. Or if you want more information RSVP to attend one of my opportunity nights. A link to my calendar is located on the front page of my blog.

So, the evening event was the Awards Night. A few of my friends were told that they achieved the Founders Circle (which means you are one of the top 100 demonstrators in the company) but they aren't told where they rank in that top 100 until their names are announced at the award ceremony.

This is my wonderful friend Mandy Grant, who was in the top 100 for the first time. She was so nervous and I have to admit I was nervous right along with her. I'm so proud to say that she is demo #57 (out of something like 40,000+ demonstrators)!! Congrats Mandy!!

Another good friend, Stella MacKay, not only made it to Demo # 43, she was also asked to sit on the Advisory Board (a group of 8 demonstrators chosen to assist the company with decisions that affect demonstrators as a whole). Congrats to Stella!! I'm so so so happy for you.

Below is a new friend that just moved to this area about a month ago. She has moved several times over the course of her Stampin' Up! career and has to keep rebuilding her business. She does it very well and this year was awarded the #1 Demonstrator of the Year!! Congrats to Kimberly. Well Done!!

And last but certainly not least. I'm so happy for my friend Robin Merriman who was asked to return to the Advisory Board for a second term. They surely know her value to the company and to the demonstrators. I'm so happy for you Robin. Congratulations!!

I'm going to finish my daily posts with a few cards that stuck in my mind from today (in no particular order). Again, I don't know who made these cards so if they are yours please let me know and I will give you credit here.

This one uses Circle Circus and the reverse spotlighting technique. I love how the pumpkin cardstock pops out from behind.

This is a great card for any black tie event. The hearts cut with the Full Heart punch are such a nice way to represent love and its just fantastic the way they represent a tuxedo and wedding dress as well.

I really liked the way this stamping friend used the jewelry tag punch for the fence post and the Big Shot machine and Little Leaves Sizzlits die. But most of all I enjoyed the yellow ribbon tied 'round the old oak tree. This is a very thoughtful and creative way to tell our military members that we miss them and love them.

This cake was on the Stampin' Up! Artisan Awards display. Can you believe this delicious looking treat is made of paper? Check out those flowers!

I'll end with a nice, simple, stylish Thank You card made with our So Many Thanks stamp from the a la carte section of our Idea Book and Catalog. This stamper also used the Big Shot and the Finial Press Embossing Folder. If you didn't know by now, I can tell you that I'm a Big Shot junkie and this creation is just beautiful!!

Hope you have a fantastic day full of stamping mojo!

Rose-Ellen