Tag: Convention

Stampin’ Up! Leadership 2014

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When asked what they loved best about Stampin’ Up!, what did demonstrators respond was at the top of their list?

  1. Free Stamps
  2. Friendships
  3. Flexible Hours
  4. Creativity
Here’s a hint:
While we love being creative and would never turn down free stamps (or chocolate), the thing we love most is the relationships we forge! I met Jan (right) at Leadership in San Antonio, TX in 2012 where we became roommates by finding each other in an online board. Within minutes, we were as close as sisters and then found Carolyn (front) who was attending alone from Canada. She couldn’t resist us 😉 and this year we were blessed to be roommates all together in Houston!
It was Jan’s idea to wear matching scarves each day:
What fun we had together! Our favorite activity was Managers Reception at the Houston Aquarium where they served “Light Refreshments” of sushi, shrimp, roast beef, mashed potatoes, dessert, hot cocoa bar, etc… This was Nirvana for me because I plan every successful trip around where I’m eating next (LOL). Oh yeah, there were also scuba divers, sharks, sting-ray feedings, and white tigers at the aquarium as well as a few rides like a Merry-Go-Round where we may or may not have let our hair down. 
Of course there was plenty of stamping, swapping, education, motivation and celebration (which is what we do best)! 
We also roamed the scariest parts of downtown Houston on foot searching for pizza, introduced Jan & Carolyn to Pizzookies (aka “Never On Sundae” at Utah Pizza Factory), survived Carolyn leaving her wallet in Canada (she had a little cash and her passport), and laughed at Jan the day she wore her shirt backward for the first 4 hours! In turn, they teased me about “sleeping around” because I took turns in Jan’s bed, then Carolyn’s (we had two beds in the hotel room, so I gave them each a chance to sleep alone). We made precious memories together.

Loved the service project we participated in:

One of the best Leadership announcements was this one: 
Join my stampin’ family and gain 5,000 new friends at Inspire. Create. Share. in Salt Lake City this summer! You don’t want to miss any of the fun!

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Making a Difference…for 25 Years & Counting!

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It’s an honor to be a part of something that brings joy into so many lives in so many different ways. At Stampin’ Up!, making a difference is part of who we are and what we do. While I can’t completely describe the way salt tastes to someone who has never tasted it, I doubt I’ll be able to convey the feeling that surrounds me when I am enjoying convention…but I’ll try to share a little in this post.

We started out on July 18th (my birthday!) with a visit to the SU! Home Office in Riverton, UT. While I’ve been there many times, it was fun to be with friends who were seeing it for the first time. As we were waiting in line, we looked down and discovered that we all had toenails painted in Stampin’ Up! colors 🙂 Can you name them?

Next we held our annual Stitched Stampers Awards Luncheon & Shoebox Swap at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. This was one of the funnest stamping events we’ve had together and we look forward to re-connecting with our sister Stitched Stampers each year. The swaps were AMAZING and the company was delightful! 
The next few days was filled to overflowing with classes, demonstrations, awards, product announcements, Anniversary parties and prizes galore! 

If you had a chance to step back from the display boards (and IF you were lucky enough to view them without a thousand people crowded around), you could see the samples spelled out the SU! tag line:

At the party after the awards night, we played games, ate cupcakes, took pictures and really rocked out with the Spazmatics who were a hilariously entertaining and surprisingly talented 80’s cover band, so I could sing and dance along, as that is my era! My friend Kelly even won $100 shopping spree at the party, so it was a huge success 🙂 
If this wasn’t enough for you, you can actually watch the opening and closing sessions of convention as well as the highlights video on YouTube! Here are the links to the sessions, and the highlights below. You see that Ryan Innes from The Voice sang our theme song during opening session!
Opening Session (1 hr 41 min)
Closing Session (1 hr 34 min)
I am inexpressibly grateful for the difference Stampin’ Up! has made in my life and would love to share the joy with you. When you are ready to join me in this amazing company, please come join my Stampin’ Family and come to convention in July 2014 with us!

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Everyone needs a little magic…

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During convention my Stampin’ Family always has a little reunion and our awards dinner. While we wish more of our family could be there, it is such a fun night together! This July we ate at Tucano’s in Salt Lake City and I made “Magic Wands” for each of the guests (because everyone needs a little *magic* when they are creating…)
 I used the Razzleberry Splash Simply Scrappin’ Kit (Item #126930) which isn’t just for scrappin’, as you can see! Using the Big Shot (Item #113439) and the Designer Rosette Bigz Die (Item #125594), I made the rosettes. Add a little ribbon and some fairy dust (a.k.a. Iridescent Ice embossing powder) and you can make all your crafting dreams come true, with just a swish of your wand!

Here’s hoping you’ll spread a little magic today by sharing something you’ve created with others!

I AM…Excited! (Stampin’ Up! Convention Report)

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Come along with me for a Stampin’ Up! Convention report!


For 20 summers I have reserved “Me Time” at convention, and with the exception of one year when my baby was just too small to travel with me, I haven’t missed it! There is nothing better than being surrounded by 3500 close friends, stamps, ink, paper and tons of creativity 🙂

It was fun to share updates from convention on my Facebook page, but here are a few more highlights:
We started the week at the Late Night Stampers Stamp Camp and Reunion Party:
Back: Kristi, Pam, Sally & Sherrill, my stampin’ “mom”
Front: Anne, Me, Sue
On check-in day, we toured the Stampin’ Up! home office in Riverton, including a visit to the Legacy Museum, where the decor changes every year and is open most business days for the public to visit:
  
 I took a LOT of photos of the amazing and creative ideas at the convention displays:
 
 This demonstrator’s shirt says it all:

We look forward to getting a new bag at each event, this year a chevron pattern in Summer Starfruit!
It was roomy enough to carry a lot of stuff we bought in the Memento Mall 🙂
I got to walk across the stage for an award:
Make & Take Projects are always a highlight:
And FREE stamps make us smile!
Finally, after convention was over, we got to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Pioneer Day Concert with Katherine Jenkins, guest artist. Here we are on our way to the concert in front of the Salt Lake Temple! What a wonderful week! I’d love to have you join my stampin’ family and come with me to convention next year…

Wish I could share more, but we are moving to a new home, so I may be M.I.A. for a week…check back after August 1st for more creativity or RSVP for my Card Buffet this Saturday in Spanish Fork!

 

The Stage is Set…

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…for a fabulous Stampin’ Up! Convention! I am posting up-to-the-minute updates live from convention on my Facebook page: Creative Juice by Loni. A more detailed “Journal” entry will be posted here next week too 🙂

Loni’s Convention Report

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Sitting in the park at the library today (something good that has come from no internet at the house for the summer) enjoying music from a live band and the beautiful weather! Happily, I can also upload a few pictures from Convention and give you my report (finally!)

The theme at Stampin’ Up! this year is “Come GROW with Us” and it was carried through our convention, too. This was the stage and the colors changed each day:

We started with High-Hat Fashion at the Kick-Off Party: 
This stamper was a little bit country:
 
AND a little bit city:
We loved the “Product Park” where our products were beautifully showcased like this: 
 and where we learned from some talented demonstrators fun ways to use them, too:
The next morning, the fun begins with swapping! Here is Sue trading the cards we helped her finish at midnight the night before:
 
Opening theme song performers:

Then it was 3 days full of non-stop fun:

The good news for you is that YOU can be there with us next year when you join my Stampin’ Family this month for only $99…and here is what you get:

Just go to my website and click “Join the Fun”…and my recruit password is stampwithme 🙂 I’d love to have you come to convention 2012 in Salt Lake City with me!

Convention Highlights!

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It was another fabulous Stampin’ Up! Convention in Salt Lake City last week! Here are a few of my favorite things from Convention! Let’s start with the Late Night Stampers pre-convention events (stamp camps, shoebox swaps and reunion party):

Sherrill Graff is my SU! “Mom” (top right, at left)~ a wonderfully warm and generous person who spends months planning these incredible pre-convention events, letting us extend the party:) 
I am privileged to be an instructor at the Late Night Stampers Reunion Party, so if you come back on tomorrow, I’ll share the instructions and pictures of my project: a cupcake box!
On check-in day, Sue, Murlynn and I drove to the Stampin’ Up! Riverton office to check out the Legacy room’s makeover:
And if you think that is cute, you should have seen the “Sweet Shop” they had set up at convention…who knew your mouth could water at paper confections?
 
Of course, there were Make-n-Takes using the free stamps we got at check-in:
Entertainment on Awards Night by country music singer Charlie Jenkins 
(check out his guitar decorated in Designer Series Paper from SU!):
A “Flower Power Party” with everything from hula-hoops to Twister (all in new Stampin’ Up! colors):
Thousands of stamped samples and demonstrations:
And best of all, friends/fun/laughter/wonderful times sharing what we love together:
You can join the fun next year in Salt Lake City when you join my Stampin’ Family!
(Click on “Join Now” and my password is “stampwithme”)

Flutterby, Butterfly

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At a family reunion a few weeks ago, we made these beautiful butterflies using the Big Shot and Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper and old magazines. It makes me feel like a true lepidopterist (Word of the day: The scientific name for someone who studies and collects moths and butterflies).

It was such a hit with the family–as well as a fun way to use up those scraps creative people save–that I took it to Convention and invited my friends to make one, too: Sue, Penny, Kristi and Murlynn show off their personalized creations below.

I found Ghostline Grid paper in 11″x17″ (also available in postersize that you can cut to whichever size you want) at Walmart. It’s the perfect background as it looks scientific and popped the butterflies up with Stampin’ Dimensionals (or your excess rubber as pop dots to be “green”). Some of our favorite magazines to find amazing pictures to make into insects were Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and Country Living. Try this at home, or we could make it a workshop at your house!

Crafty Creativity (more from Convention…)

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Shelli Gardner, Co-founder and CEO of Stampin’ Up! shared a tower of gift ideas with us at convention, including some beautiful hand-made jewelry (a peek at what’s coming in the Holiday Mini Catalog beginning in September!) I enjoyed this article from the Deseret News about convention and a blog report from Paper Crafts Jennifer Schaerer who also shares a look at just a few of the display boards we as demonstrators flock to during convention to fill our creative cups!

Stamping Brings Us Together…

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Here are 10 great reasons I LOVE Stampin’ Up!
{cue music} We are family! I got all my girlfriends and me! {dancing follows}

These ladies are part of the reason I do what I do: reuniting with some of them year after year, meeting new friends, laughing/crying/stamping/creating/sharing/sleeping/eating/celebrating/mourning/working/playing together. In 17 years, we’ve done it all!

It would be great to have YOU with us next year at Convention (and all the fun in between now and then!). E-mail me (loni@sfcn.org) for a no-obligation packet to see if Stampin’ Up! is for you!