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Don't miss these holiday savings!

You won't want to miss out on these holiday savings from Stampin' Up!  Great products are available for up to 60% off!  Check out my on-line store for details!

Opening Session and the midnight oil

It's tough to blog daily when you go to bed at 2 am and are back up at 5 am.  Why was I burning the midnight oil?  I'll show you at the bottom of this post . . .  But I wanted to fill you in on all of the convention activities, so I'll post them over the next couple of days along with my swaps. 

Thursday's Opening Session was an incredible experience.  For the first time ever, Stampin' Up! closed their corporate offices so that all employees from Riverton - plus many from the manufacturing facility in Kanab - could attend convention for the day.  When they opened the doors, every one of those employees (hundreds of them) were standing in line cheering loudly and applauding us.  Honestly, it felt like we were on the red carpet.  It was amazing and heart warming. 

We heard motivational words from our fearless leader, Shelli Gardner, who began with a tear jerker right off the bat.  It's a standing joke about Shelli's crying.  She's just like me:  play a sad song or read a love story and the tears are right there.  We love Shelli. 

One of the things that Shelli announced was a hostess special for August:  if you have a $350 workshop then you will receive an ADDITIONAL $25 in free product!  Woo hoo!  My August hostesses will be so excited - and I still have room on my calendar for another workshop or two if you want to get in on this deal!

 We enjoyed some great stamping demonstrations including some terrific ideas from Jill Kocherhans and Bonnie Thurber.  And then they wrapped it up with a song, of course!  (I love that those Stampin' Up! folks are always bursting into song.  Makes me wonder if working there is just like one big musical!)

And then there's the Prize Patrol.  Oh how we love the Prize Patrol!  Of course Bobbie, Rhonda, and I won a wonderful prize last year (see this post).  And I was thrilled when Michaelynn won a Word Play stamp set.  This is one of my absolute favorites out of the new catalog!  (This was Michaelynn before we totally exhausted her.  Stay tuned for that story!)

In the afternoon we did our make-and-take projects.  Doing make-and-takes at convention always makes me wonder if I am making my customers feel as frantic and rushed.  This year we had 6 projects - some of them a bit involved - and 2 hours to do them.  Needless to say I didn't quite get all of them done.  I'll finish them this week and get them posted.

The day didn't end there.  In the evening we had an Awards Night which celebrated the top achievers with Stampin' Up!  Very impressive!  That was followed by entertainment from Charley Jenkins.  He's been an opener for top country music headliners - and if you like country music then you will need to check him out - he was outstanding!  He and his band entered in their tour bus and then put on a great show.

 So, why the midnight oil?  In addition to the "general" swapping Idid at convention, I signed up for a couple of organized swaps.  One of them I didn't have complete before I left home.  It seemed simple enough . . . they were virtually all assembled, except for one minor but time-consuming detail.

See the birds nest?  I cut out every one of those - about 60 - and popped them up with Stampin' Dimensionals - and they took a LONG time.  I hope the swappers that got this card can appreciate the details and enjoy it!

Stamps:  Nature's Nest; Matchbox Messages; Occasional Quotes (Level 3 hostess)

Inks:  Marina Mist; Soft Suede

Cardstock:  Naturals White; Marina Mist; Soft Suede; Presto Patterns DSP

Other:  Crystal Effects; Stampin' Dimensionals; Stampin' Sponge; Piercing Tool and Mat Pack; callous on my fingers from cutting out all of those stinkin' nests!

Color Me Happy!

Exciting news from Stampin' Up!  Beginning with the release of the next Idea Book & Catalog on July 1st, Stampin' Up! will have a renovated color palette.  This new color collection combines current colors with previous In Colors (some favorites are coming back to stay!) and five NEW COLORS!  Woo hoo!  This color collection is refreshing and updated!  Just imagine the creative possibilities!

 

(click on image to enlarge)

WHAT'S NEW? 

• Reorganization into 40 Stampin' Up! Core Colors in the four color collections (10 colors in each, and they are no longer called color "families").
• In Colors (some old and some current) make the team of Core Colors: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, River Rock, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, and Wild Wasabi
• Introducing FIVE NEW CORE COLORS! Daffodil Delight (oh-so-lovely yellow), Early Espresso (like a perfect cuppa joe), Cajun Craze (rich and rusty), Cherry Cobbler (yummy dark red), and Marine Mist (a perfect shade of blue)

SO, HERE'S THE NEW LINE-UP:

• Brights Collection: Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Real Red
• Neutrals Collection: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft), Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black
• Regals Collection: Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Always Artichoke, Garden Green, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Bravo Burgundy
• Subtles Collection: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Perfect Plum, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, So Saffron

2010/2011 IN COLORS:

In addition to this Core Collection, there will be FIVE new In Colors introduced with the next Idea Book & Catalog on July 1st.  These new In Colors will now be available for TWO years!!  There will be five more introduced the following July (giving us 10).  After that, each year there will be five new In Colors along with five rotating out.

HOT NEW ITEMS!

Watch for details in the weeks to come on new color kits, Stampin' Write markers for all new colors and returning In Colors, expansion of colors for Stampin' Pastels and Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and an awesome new Color Coach tool that will make color selection better than ever!

STAMPIN' UP! COLORS HEADED FOR RETIREMENT ON JUNE 30TH

It's always sad to see some old friends retire!  I plan to stock up on a few of my favorites, and suggest you do the same right away (past experience would indicate that you will NOT want to wait until the last minute or some items may no longer be in stock!).  If you purchase an extra ink refill and pack of cardstock, you'll be able to use your favorite colors for years to come!  (And of course we will have new favorites before long, won't we! (smile) )  Retiring are:  Almost Amethyst, Apricot Appeal, Ballet Blue, Barely Banana, Blush Blossom, Bordering Blue, Brilliant Blue, Brocade Blue, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Gable Green, Glorious Green, Going Gray, Green Galore, Handsome Hunter, Lavender Lace, Lovely Lilac, Mellow Moss, Only Orange, Orchid Opulence, Pale Plum, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Sage Shadow, Summer Sun, Taken with Teal, and YoYo Yellow

Stay tuned for more information on new products - plus some sample projects from the Summer Mini Catalog which will be released on May 1st!