Saturday, July 27, 2013

Convention 3-D Swap, Wine Bottle Cork Flower Tutorial

What an AMAZING trip!! Convention was as expected.... a BLAST!! Had a little bit of delay leaving Dulles...we boarded the plane...then got off the plane. We boarded the plane...then waited about an hour until we took off. Sitting next to my girlfriend and I sat the most well behaved baby ever!!! I feared that we would hear her cry the whole way...nope!! She and new mommy slept almost through the entire flight!!

We checked into our room at the Hotel Monaco and were greeted by our pet for the week. We named him/her 'Stamper'. (I know original huh?)


Almost too excited to sleep...we finally slept after giggling for about two hours!!

Our first day in SLC started off right!!! We had massages, got pedicures and our hair done.
If you are ever in the area of Salt Lake City...I recommend going to Sanctuary Day Spa. A few years ago we attended Convention with another member in my downline and we treated ourselves the same way. It has become a ritual...can't wait to go back!!
Of course we hit the town and shopped at both the Gateway...and new City Creek shopping malls. The weather was perfect~ 'hot' but you know that 'dry' heat?? It was horrible hearing that back home Virginia's heat index hit 113 degrees!!! Yikes!! Thank goodness that it has cooled off back home...not sure if I would have come back!!

Then the real fun began...

 We went to Riverton (Stampin' Up!'s Home Office). Toured the facility, but my camera died (Ahhhhh!) Thankful we had a nice maintenance man back at the hotel who gave me 4 fresh batteries!! (Yay!!)

Not sure what day this photo was taken, but we had to get a quick pic of main stage and the 25!!
Maybe we can pretend that this picture is for a big birthday celebration...and I'm turning 25??


Prize Patrol was handed out to more people than at any other Convention~


I was very happy that I won...but Stampin' Up! saved the best for last. The last 25 demonstrators who had not won anything yet received all of the stamps in the Holiday Catalog!! Can you imagine??

This is Anne and I all dressed up for Awards Night...


You know...after seeing all these pictures I am feeling really tall!! (LOL) I do have more pictures to share...if you are sick of seeing my silly face..and want some inspiration, you can join the room I created on Snapfish. Click here to join. 

Funny story~ I would love to share with you one more photo (but it's really bad!)
I walked the stage for the first time...to celebrate my 10th year as a demonstrator!! (Yay!!)
I was nervous...excited and proud!! I handed Anne my camera (showed her how to use it) and my cell phone. She too had both her camera and phone. However...trying to figure out my camera she missed it!! The two pictures she captured are blurry...and I look silly. Ahhhhhh!!! Seriously??
She felt terrible... don't worry I still love her!! What makes the story funny is when Bonnie Thurber was demonstrating some scrapbook/hybrid pages. She commented how important it is to preserve memories..to 'capture' the moment. She stated that it doesn't matter if you have the perfect picture...it's that you 'captured' the moment!! Anne and I both looked at each other and smiled!! Now those 'bad' photos are posted on Snapfish...go ahead check them out~ if you want a good laugh!


Okay... in a previous post I shared with you the swaps I made for Convention. Here is my 3-D swap.

The Wine Bottle Flower was a big hit and what else are you going to do with all those corks laying around?? I have received a few e-mails inquiring how it was made, so I decided to make a quick video to show how~



Let me know if you have any questions, or leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

In closing...thanks Stampin' Up! for an incredible 'memorable' 10 years...looking forward to many more!!
BIG hugs,
Erin


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Going to Convention~ Be the Difference!!

Today has arrived!! I'm 'Over the Moon' excited as I am heading to Salt Lake City, Utah. (Scream!!!!)
Over the next several days I will be attending Convention for Stampin' Up! along with 6000 other demonstrators!! Excited to see new things, creations and familiar faces!!
Reconnect with old friends and make some new ones!!
They as you already know are celebrating their 25th!!

I am also celebrating too... 10 years ago I decided to become a demonstrator!! Where has the time gone?? It's crazy!! I remember attending my first Stamp Camp...hooked ever since!

I am blessed to be able to go, along with my downline  Anne Butterfield. We are going to have a blast!!

I think for me the thing I love most about Stampin' Up! are the lasting friendships made...and our statement of the heart. It's so true!!

This years Convention theme is 'Be the Difference'. Say it to yourself...in your head or aloud. Doesn't it make you feel proud? Stand taller?? It does for me~ I can't wait till it begins. Tomorrow in S.L.C is a play day...heading to the spa, sightseeing and shopping before the real fun begins! I will be taking TONS of pictures and will post/share when I can.

Just wanted to quickly share with you the swaps I made. (Swaps are creations that make such as 3-D items, cards, card fronts..etc and you 'swap' with other demonstrators). I seriously waited until the last minute...wondering if I was going to make any. I didn't sign up for any organized swaps this year, then soon regretted it. I started thinking about all the cute things that Anne would be bringing home (she did decide WAY earlier to make swaps) and I would be jealous!!

So...she came over a few nights and over some laughs we created these beauties.


Here is the story...I knew I wanted to use cork (actually stamped cork inside mason jar lids) and use them for coasters...we'll save that for another post and time because since I waited too long, I could not find the lids I wanted in time. I know...shame on me!!

So I started searching the internet and came across this post where I saw a picture of these cute wine bottle cork flowers and my jaw hit the floor~ if you know me...then you know I like wine....and I have TONS of corks!!

The hardest part was after making 40 of them...yes 40~ my fingertips felt like they were going to bleed!! The end result was worth it. Hope whoever gets one will appreciate them!!
Here are close-ups:
This one is the 'white' wine flower (hee hee)

And the 'red'

You can imagine that I had a few more corks to use for future flowers when these were finished!!

These are the cards I made to swap...I only made 12 each. I can't make more than 10 normally of the same card because I go CRAZY!!

This first one I ran out of the Vintage Faceted Designer buttons (127555), so I replaced it with the largest Naturals Designer Buttons (127554). Which one do you like better??
I like them both and being originally from Rhode Island...I LOVE this stamp set By the Tide (129120 C).

This next card was a surprise...for me (sound strange??)
I have owned a sewing machine for a few years now...use it occasionally. I had never tried stitching paper though and always wanted to try~ here I gave it a go and LOVED the result!! It was easy and think it might be my next addiction...have you tried it??

Tip: I punched out the vellum butterflies using both the Bitty Butterfly punch (129406), Elegant Butterfly (127526). Then just added a small dab of 2-Way Glue (100425) to hold them in place while I stitched. 

I think I have also said this before...Summer Starfruit is my FAVORITE color!!

On to the next one~ I mentioned earlier that I wanted to use cork (like that was stamped??)
I found these cork sheets (8 1/2"x11") and stamped them with Staz-On (101406) and punched it with the new Artisan Label punch (130920) it cut like butter!! I love how we have so many sets that coordinate with punches and dies. Here I used the stamp set called Label Love (130622 C).

Lastly...and by this time my brain was fried, fingers bleeding and stress was taking over my body as I have been camping out in my studio (aka basement). I made this card~
Pretty simple...(it had to be!) LOL
I can't remember what this 'technique' is called at the moment...I told you my brain is fried!! But you use markers and color directly onto the clear block..spritz with water and flip it over and stamp onto your card stock..here I used Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, and Gumball Green. Over that I stamped the tree image from Serene Silhouettes (127324 C) with Staz-On. Then I added a piece of Vellum CS over that stamped with a sentiment from Lacy & Lovely (122887 C) embossed with black embossing powder.

Tip: I used just a dab of SNAIL (104332) in the top corners to hold the vellum. Very pleased that it didn't show through...no need for vellum tape!! I also cheated with the linen thread (104199)...wrapped it around the card a couple of times and secured it with tape on the back. Then added the button tied with a bow using a glue dot (103683).


That's it for me today~ see you in Salt Lake City!!

Stampin' hugs,
Erin



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