Convention

I just got back from two wonderful days at Convention.  For those of you that don't know what that is, it's an annual event that Stampin' Up! puts on for demonstrators from Australia and New Zealand to come together for training sessions, inspiration & a lot of socialising and fun.  

The boss, Shelli Gardner comes out from the US along with a handful of her team from the home office, and we are treated to a jam packed agenda that includes all things stamping.   The classes we did were fabulous, the make n takes delightful.  There were free stamp sets (even one from the new catty coming in September) and some amazing sessions on the Big Shot (you need one of these!) and the Circle Scissor Plus (I'm sold on this tool now as well).    The event culminated in an Awards dinner on Saturday night with the high achievers receiving recognition and fabulous prizes.   I'm not on that list yet, but I will be!!

The theme this year was Inspire, Create & Share.   All of which SU does extremely well.    I can tell you, I'm totally inspired by what I learned & have spent the day creating a ton of stuff that I'm dying to share with you all!!   

Contrary to what you may think of an American direct selling company, it is not all Rah Rah phony stuff, just down to earth "how can we have as much fun with stamping & craft as possible? 

And this is largely due to our wonderful founder & CEO, Shelli, who is the most adorable, genuine & special woman you could ever hope to meet.  She showed real concern when I told her how homesick for San Diego I was feeling being surrounded by all those americans and wishing I could pop into a suitcase to go back with them for a visit!!

Anyway, I won't bore you with the rest of the details....the new friends I made

, the new techniques I learned and the new stuff that we are getting in September.....you'll have to come to a class or book a workshop to find out exactly what an invaluable resource I can be for all your paper crafting needs!!!!! 

This is not a great photo because we were watching Shelli demonstrate some of her favourite styles and the camera man films over her shoulder so the images are projected onto the big screen.  That way, we can watch a demonstation as if we were up close and at the table with her.    I had to show this scrapbook page of Shelli & her husband.  How gorgeous are they?   Such a cute couple.  Sterling is a real sweetie - he was often working in Memento Mall packing the shopping into our bags for us.  What a honey!

Anyway, that's all for now.  But watch this space as all the things I've learned come to light and you can learn them too.

Happy Stamping!

Karen