Stampin' Up! Convention 2011

 Wow what I honour...... Back in June I was invited by the UK Business Manager for Stampin' Up! if I would take part, as a presenter, at the Stampin' Up! 2011 European Convention.  Of course I said yes and was very excited to have this opportunity.  Down side I wasn't allowed to shout it from the roof tops!  Stampin' Up! love their secrets and it was even another month before I was told who my partner in crime would be, and that was Hayley from Wiltshire.  We then spent the following months preparing for our presentation on model workshops.  The idea was to share our experiences to help new demonstrators and also refresh experienced demos. 

We ran the presentation like a workshop, dropping in and out of the scenario to share our tips.  One part of my section included projects to generate bookings and hostess gifts and so I was thrilled to share this project with my fellow demos and now you.  I've called it Maggie's Box as the idea was given to me by my fellow Miss Big Shot winner Maggie from Germany.  She used this box to show her customers the versatility of the Big Shot and isn't it cute.  It uses the milk carton die and is so obvious it's not obvious if that makes sense.  Sometimes we need to think outside the box or alter the die!!! That's what Maggie did.  You only use the part of the die you need to make the box and then just cut your own lid.  It makes boxes for wedding favours or Christmas table gifts so easy and you can see from these few examples how you can change the identity of the box to suit your needs. 

Convention was a blast.  It was so much fun seeing Mickey Mouse on your way into 'work' and then having dinner in the Rainforest Cafe or a German Castle.  Yes it was based in Disneyland Paris and was tremendous fun with so many other demos all out for a good time. 
The awards dinner took place on Friday evening and I had set myself a target to try and get a little higher in the demo of the year top 25 list.  Last year I was 11th and would have been happy with 10th, but was over the moon to reach 6th Place.  However the highlight for me was to watch the joy, and delight on the face of my dear friend Emma when she discovered that she too was in the top 25.  Over the past year Emma has faced some tough personal challenges and so to maitain her business at the same time is a fantastic achievement.  Both of us also cheered for our other lovely team mate Bridgette when her name was called for a sales award. Bridgette has worked really hard to grow her part of Stampin' Up! and has also achieved much in the last 12 months.  Onwards and upwards my friends as we put The Tantalizing Stampers on the map. 

I have more pics to share and will be back, but am still catching up on life having driven to and from Paris.  Until next time.
Zx

Let us not forget............

Oh my I've just been so busy preparing for Convention next week. Yes I can't believe it's almost here. This time next week I shall be in Disneyland Paris having spent a wonderful day with lots of demos having fun. At this moment in time we shall be rushing to our rooms to get dressed up for the annual awards dinner and I'm really excited as I shall get to walk the stage and receive an award or two. I'm also really pleased as two of my team will also be eligible for walking the stage although only one, Emma can actually be there to do it. Bridgette has a very busy schedule and can't make it this year, but I'm sure she'll be able to join the fun another year.

As a consequence I don't have projects I can share just right now, but this one is from a training event I attended with Stampin' Up! It uses the scallop envelope die to make the carriage and the cute new big top suite of products for the decoration. It's a really fun project that could be adapted to any occasion and I'm sure you'll love it. Let me know what you come up with.

Meanwhile the rest of life is busy too! Charlie asked us a couple of days ago why he didn't have a social worker. We explained that he's a lucky boy who has lots of love and doesn't need such support. A day later he was cheeky to me whilst I was driving him to cubs. I told him that if he was cheeky like that that I'd spank his bottom. His reply was instant "Then I'll need a social worker!" How scary that kids work it all out and know life and circumstances almost better than we do. They certainly know them sooner than we ever did!

On that note I'll head off to finish my prep for assisting one of my team with her first workshop tonight.

 

Remember that for our tomorrow, some gave their today!

Zx