Back from convention and so much to share...and show!

Okay disclosure time...I took over 350 pictures at Stampin' Up! Convention!  This post will be long but I have done my best to narrow down the pictures and only post the most informative ones.  First things first.  I went to Salt Lake City with my downline (the Nicole's).  We left on tuesday evening and got back sunday afternoon.  By the time we came home our heads were full of ideas and fun techniques we can't wait to try and share.  I don't know about the Nicole's but I had to take a break and didn't touch my stamps yet!  But I am planning on it this weekend before I forget everything.

 

 

If you have never been to a huge event like this, there is a tradition to make card fronts to swap.  I met so many women while I was swapping my 100 or so cards.  In future posts I will feature some of the swaps I got.  Some card makers did an awesome job and they did it over and over and over again.   Here is one of my swaps.  I used one of the triple punches to make the flower and then used Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White and Basic Black Cardstock.  I also stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry ink.  It is a fun phrase from the huge birthday set, Bring on the Cake.  Don't forget the bling in the middle of the flower!

 

The Kick Off Party was themed "Picnic in the Park" or something like that!  There was a make your own hat contest.  I made some hair flowers for Nicole and I, but as you can see Nicki went all out.  Her hat was ALL STAMPIN' UP!  This sign was in the lobby of our hotel.  We were still full of energy at this point.  The pictures got less fun and eventually turned into documenting ideas versus ourselves!

 

 

This is a woman we met from the midwest.  Her hat had every color of cardstock and all hand made embellishments.  We all agreed it was a first place finisher!  She hand carried it the entire way to Salt Lake City!

 

Here is Nicole with our very first Convention friend, Pam.  We met her in the airport and then saw her several times a day as she we were all in the same hotel.  She also gave us the cutest "I love stamps" pins.  We have to make her something really fun and mail to her...all the way in Missouri!

 

The main stage was quite a spectacle.  The colors changed with every presentation and event.  The flowers even grew in the back ground as convention went on.   One of my absolute favorite things was when they presented products from the upcoming holiday mini catalog.  In the picture above you can see that they hid the products under large boxes with fabulous paper flowers on top.  It was just like the Oprah show!  They would "unveil" the products one by one by removing the boxes.  All of us attendees would scream and squeal.  Even more so if they gave something away as a prize.  A women by us won a prize and she jumped up and down like it was a new car!  

 

After awards night there was an after party.  Don't you all love the "pocket sillhouettes" stamp images projected on the walls?  We had so much fun dancing the night away.  Too bad we had to get up sooo early for the First timers breakfast the next day!

Another place where I spent a lot of time was at the super creative vignettes that were set up in "Product Park".  Look on and drool.  There were also rows and rows of card and scrapbook samples.  This is where my camera really went to work.  I will post several of these card ideas at a later time.

The make-n-take session was like nothing I have ever seen before.  With 5,000+ attendees and only four make-n-take sessions you can imagine how many people were in each section!  We got lucky and sat by some lovely ladies that seemed to work at our same pace.  I had a great time but finished none of the projects! 

 

After the make-n-take session we went to lunch to meet our Idaho sisters!  Originally I joined Stampin' Up! through a friend of mine in Idaho.  However, I moved right after and never got to meet any of my upper upline.  We had fun making two cards and doing a swap of 20+.  The swap went fast, sorry for the blurry picture!  The little snowman card was one of our projects. 

Over all I had a great time and would go back to another convention tomorrow!  Okay maybe not tomorrow  but seriously considering next year!

Scrapbook In a Day Class!

Hi all.  To kick off summer my friends and I are having a scrapbook in a day class.  The class will use the Playful polkadots scrappin' kit from the Summer mini catalog.  For further details check out my site wendyhalverson.stampinup.net  The scrapbook will be 6x6, the perfect size for a fun gift or to keep for scrappin' a summer trip!  Let me know if you would like to come by June 3rd!
Happy stampin' scrappin' and craftin'!
Wendy

Clearance Rack Love!

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Happy Friday Everyone.  I am unfortunately home sick today but I have never been too sick to surf the net and look for deals.  Some of you who have been to my apartment around the holidays know I am obsessed with Christmas decor!  Last year I used these large felt snowflakes, that come in three colors, to make garland.  GUESS WHAT...THEY ARE ON THE CLEARANCE RACK for only $4.99 and you get more than 25 of them!  I made the garland with small silver cording and simply tying each snowflake to the other.  I hung my garland over the big doorway in our dinning room but it would be great on the tree too.  To look at all of the Clearance Rack check out my site here and then click on the "shop now" logo.  Have a great weekend!

Spring is Blossoming at Stampin' Up!

Anyone who has known me for more than a year knows that my most FAVORITE time of year is when Stampin' Up! comes out with their new catalog. It happens every JULY! This year Stampin' Up! is letting us have a sneak peek of two new products before the new catalog is out. There is a new stamp set that is called Four Frames and of course, awesome new designer series paper. The best part of this sneak peek is that you can get them now! We don't have to wait until July!
Check out my site at wendyhalverson.stampinup.net to find the particulars including all of the items necessary to make these beautiful Stampin' Up! samples. Just click on the promotion section or shop section of my site.



Another exciting thing that I must tell you all is that I am going to CONVENTION this year!!! It is in July in Salt Lake city. Talk to me right away if you would like to sign up to get all of the perks of being a demonstrator and the chance to attend convention with me and thousands of other awesome stampers!

Hiya! To shop the Sale-A-Bration event click here and go to "SHOP NOW"

Stampin' Up! Catalog update!

Hey all you Stampin' Up! lovers! I got the announcement that stampin' up is going back to an annual catalog, instead of the bi-annual. I am so excited because it means all of the seasons...and well all of our stamping needs will be back in one book! Hooray! Here is the listing from the demonstrator website to give a layout of their publication plans starting July 2009:

• Beginning in July 2009, we will go back to an annual catalog.
• The US Hispanic supplement will also become an annual catalog.
• The Décor Elements catalog will continue to be separate from the Idea Book & Catalog, and will come out twice a year.
• The mini catalog program will change to include three mini catalogs a year, each lasting for four months.

Have a great weekend everyone!