Something Purty...

Before I went off to convention and I was posting here about going. I did a Google search looking for convention photos from prior years. I know they are out there but I found myself distracted when I found this:

Isn't it adorable!? Well this stamper couldn't resist and armed with my PayPal account I just had to ask Elisha from Silver Sentiments to make me one. Once I talked to her via email, I realized she can put just about anything you want on one of these sweet little silver discs. Yeah, she can!!! So as much as I love the one that simply says "stamp" I decided to go for something special...I love it Elisha!!!

Can you read it? it says IMAGINE & INSPIRE, and the charm make a soft little jingle sound!

A Little Perk

I feel so blessed to have so many good friends IRL (in real life) as well as online!!! My sweet friend Erika awarded this to me and she is not only sweet, she is an inspiring scrapper! She has been doing a lot with digital papers and embellishments lately and she is FABULOUS!
Check out her blog: Inkin' Creations

I'm also passing this little goody on to two very inspiring and deserving ladies.

Melissa, our little gourmet chef wannabe! When we chat online and she mentions dinner, it is NEVER something hum drum. She has a natural knack with food and I really do LOVE her blog!
Give it a visit: From Laptop to Stovetop


Betsy, is an amazingly talented scrapper! She should be in publications on a regular basis. Her blog is shared with her Husband Matt, and you'll find an eclectic mix of daily life with two kids, scrapping and photography, and plenty of witty commentary to amuse you! Love ya girl...miss chatting!!!
Check out One Million Reasons

Stamping School Supplies

Last week I went to Walmart armed with the 1st grade school supply list and bought nearly everything. One of the things I couldn't get though, I picked up at Kroger a few days ago, and they've been eyeballing me ever since - the colored folders!

As soon as she knew what I was planing, my little demo in training "Sydney Stamper" wanted to help. She is always ready to stamp. In all honesty her main contribution was the decision to stamp hearts all over the red folder...and she did them herself! She was also in charge of ink color selection (with a few suggestions), a very important job! We had fun together, that's for sure!!!

The orange folder has her name on it too, we stamped it up the side you just can't see.

Stamp sets used:
Green folder - Pick a Petal
Yellow folder - Inspired by Nature & Lovely Letters Alphabet
Orange folder - Window Dressing (hostess reward)
Red folder - Have a Heart
Blue folder - Brocade Basics

Convention Make & Takes

I still haven't completed all the projects from convention, but I only have 2 left...actually there was a card I really didn't like, so I used the supplies for something else. All of the following projects use stamp sets from the new catalog, so that alone makes them a little bit exciting! :) Brief descriptions below each project... Inspired By Nature stamp set
LOVE this 7/8" Polly Twill ribbon in So Saffron

Eastern Blooms stamp set
Hidden Garden rub on, chunky glitter, & 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette ribbon
make this little note box special

Eastern Blooms stamp set
1/4" grosgrain & orange beads

Eastern Blooms stamp set
An On Board Something Seasonal scalloped frame
5/8" Striped grosgrain, and
a few designer brads from the Filigree Assortment

Inspired by Nature stamp set
a little clip from the Clips Assortment, and a vanilla open end envelope

A Sketch for FRIDAY! ;)

Mornin' It's been a while since I posted a Friday sketch here, but I hope you know I do one every week for Splitcoast.

This one includes a few measurements, but I can also share the background paper sizes. The smallest one is 6x6 layered over an 8x8 piece. All but one of the photos are 3x4 just in different arrangements. That doesn't mean you have to stick with those sizes...but I've found that can sometimes be helpful!

I actually have pictures pulled for this layout, so look for a finished version coming soon!

Convention...the LAST Day

The final day of convention was fantastic for so many different reasons. The first one was simply because we got to sleep in an extra 30 minutes or so...and believe me, we needed it!!! The day started with Demonstrator Theater. Several demonstrators were introduced on stage and they each did a unique demonstration for us, a few that had a real WOW factor; I was taking notes!

Next we had lunch, the last two business classes, and then back to the main stage for the entertainment. Shelli showed us some adorable commercials made by fellow demos and announced the winners, and then they set up the stage for a game show. It was pretty cute. They called it Stamp-tionary. There were two teams each with a large dry erase board, and the game was played just like pictionary.


In between rounds they called out more wrist band colors and the prize patrol handed out prizes. They also showed a few more commercials made by the SU! creative team. The last was a "Convention Barbie" commercial. That one really made us all laugh so hard, we didn't hear it all. So Shelli rolled it again..."UPS Ken sold separately" LOL!!!

Suddenly we heard a doorbell and a real UPS man came on stage with Shelli. He said he was confused about who to deliver the box he was carrying to, and then said it was for all of us ~ WOOHOOO!!!!
The crowd cheered and confetti came pouring down as the prize patrol ran around in UPS t-shirts. They passed out approximately 6,000 "Say It With Scallops" stamp sets. The best part, is that this is the new Ronald McDonald set, and UPS bought them for us...The Ronald McDonald House will receive about $12,000 from this purchase since $2 from every set sold is donated by Stampin' Up! Here's a pic of Debbie and Barbara with their sets:


We spent our last evening together touring the Copper Canyon, and had a nice dinner on the way back. Chinese buffet, YUM! I've been back in Texas since Monday afternoon, and have just barely settled back into my normal routine. I'm so glad I had this opportunity and I'm hopeful to attend again next year, but it's good to be home!

Convention Day 2 & 3

Yesterday started with a general session where Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up! CEO) announced what to expect with the Decor Elements line. There will be several new things and MORE COLORS!!!

When we grabbed our lunches my sis noticed the line to meet Shelli wasn't very long (yet) so we jumped in. She is such a genuinely sweet and down to earth person. I am really proud to be a part of all of this.

It was also the first day we got to do make and takes. The only downside was lugging all three stamp sets with us since we didn't know what we'd be doing first. The projects were all cute, and we were scrambling to finish what we could before we had to pack up and zoom down the hall for our two motivational classes. We also had to hustle back to the hotel for a quick bite. It's crazy how much rushing around we've been doing.

It was Award Night, so we got ourselves dressed up and headed back for the festivities. The ceremony took about 2 hours and we were wiped, but after all the awards Shelli introduced the most fun and unusual entertainment! A band called Tonic Sol Fa. They were so funny and really awesome too!!! It was a fantastic day...actually the first "real" day.

Today we again had a general session first thing in the AM. My upline Debbie won a pack of Designer Series Paper, and package of rub ons, ribbon and a new In Color stamp pad!!! There was also a new product announcement...

Stampin' Up! is partnering with Sizzix to bring us the Big Shot. We will have some exclusive dies and embossing folders. Check out this brochure. They will become available on Sept 1, 2008. It was so exciting and I can't wait to pre-order mine!!!

We had the final make & takes after lunch again, and then our classes. I really laughed when I saw these...

I tried so hard to take a "self portrait" of the three of us, between the classes. Barbara tried too, fortunately, sensing our frustration at the outtakes, another demo came to our rescue! :)

I would say the highlight of this day (other than Debbie's good fortune) was our tour of the Stampin' Up! home office. It was incredible!!!



The warehouse is AMAZING. We were all three amazed by all the boxes traveling on the conveyor belts. It was really cool, and the facility is beautiful!