Yesterday over 100 Stampin' Up! demonstrators congregated at the Melbourne Convention Centre for our regional training seminar. These days are invaluable as a way to learn new techniques and business information as well as mingle with other demonstrators (usually from our own state, but often from interstate as well).
At the seminar we listened to various speakers and watched demonstrations from both local and international guests. We also got to make some projects ourselves, using stamp sets and cardstock packets which were included in our admission price. I wish I could show you what we made, but until December 1 I can't reveal the stamp set we used, because it isn't available until that date through the Summer Mini Catalogue.
So watch this space for more information on that.
Another feature of these get togethers is something that the stamping world (not just Stampin' Up!) has been doing for some time - swaps. It's not mandatory, but many demonstrators make card fronts specially to swap with other demonstrators - it is a good way to see new and different techniques and styles and to build up our sample boards and boxes so customers can see more than just the things we personally create.
I was lucky enough to swap with some very talented ladies (and one gentleman - waves to Martyn!) and would like to share a picture of the results with you.
Many thanks to (in no particular order):
Felicity Gray,
Gail Kirby, Janine Rawlins, Sheila Chilingsworth,
Melanie Dunstan,
Caville Ogden,
Jo Eades,
Christine Healey, Jenny Myerscough, Bron Alleyn, Nikki Holmes, Danielle Scholz, Bec Guerra, Jacinta Ryan,
Bridget Larsen, Teresa Brown, Melissa Roos, Martyn Munro
There were of course many others swapping, sadly I wasn't quick enough and came home with a few of my own.
It was a great day, and a reminder about just why I do what I do - not only is it a lot of fun to create your own little works of art, it is even more fun to share it with other people who "get" the whole thing.
If you would like to join the fun, why not
email me to find out more about joining my little team? We'd love to have you along!
Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®
Are you stuck for gift ideas for your crafty friends and family? Stampin' Up! has put together some gift giving ideas to make the pre-Christmas crazy time a little less stressful. Simply take a look at the flyer (click the picture to the left for a close up) and contact me to place your order. What could be easier?
The Marker Promotion has been extended for an additional 14 days! Yes, apparently it has been so successful that Stampin' Up! have decided to extend it so everyone can get a chance to buy the individual markers they want. So check out that list again and send me your order today!
Okay, because Blogger refused to cooperate the other day, I couldn't upload a close up of one of the cards I made for work. Rather than scratch my head over it all, I have taken the easy way out and scanned a card for you to see. The colours have come out kind of odd, but that is an issue with the scanner and the expanse of white on the card - something else I am not going to fuss about just now *g*.
You can imagine how happy I was to get this lot finished! Yep, there are 100 cards in that pile.
But for now, let's take a look at an old favourite which I've been revisiting lately - Baroque Motifs. I saw a card somewhere made with these colours and thought I would give it a go - warm colours aren't something I'm usually comfortable with, but the sample was so pretty I had to try.
I used the Rock n Roll technique on the floral medallion stamp, and as a finishing touch I tarted up a brad with some Dazzling Diamonds glitter (this is so easy - attach a glue dot to the head of the brad - they're exactly the right size! - and dip in glitter!). Here's a closeup ...
I was blurfing (yes, of course you know what that means ... you're doing it now! Blog surfing, that is) earlier and decided to visit the very talented Marelle Taylor's blog over at thINKspot. Her stuff is simply gorgeous *sigh*. Anyway, I was taken by the card on this post and, because I am actually supposed to be doing something completely different, ended up making this instead.
Since we are in the middle of a fabulous marker promotion, I thought I would use my markers to create another Christmas card using my new favourite Christmas set, Season of Joy (and don't forget that this set is only available until the end of November!)
I found some shrink plastic that I bought a while back and decided to have a play - but the thing with this stuff is that ... well, it shrinks. You need to use an image that is a decent size to start off with as the finished product will be around a third of the original size. And that's where the heart from Always comes in - it measures about 6cm from top to bottom so makes a good sized charm when shrunk.
Rub On Some Happiness
I was lucky enough to swap with some very talented ladies (and one gentleman - waves to Martyn!) and would like to share a picture of the results with you.
Firstly is this little card ... I wanted to use colours which were a little left of centre from the traditional red and green, and thought that pink and olive (with vanilla) fit the bill nicely.
The other card we made is the basis for those 80 cards I have to make for work (which apparently are increasing to 100 ... *sigh* ...). Of course, the mass-produced one is a bit less fiddly in terms of cutting out, but still effective - trust me. You'll see what I mean when I finish them.
As you can see from the photo, the cake and stand are actually one stamp - of course you would normally prefer the stand to be a different colour, which is where the markers come in so handy. They are double ended, with one end being a fine point for writing, and the other a brush tip for colouring either a stamped image, or the stamp itself.
