I just returned from the Stampin' Up! April 2017 OnStage Local event here in Minneapolis, MN. And what a great time it was!! We stamped, swapped, saw display boards, watched demonstrations and presentations, enjoyed trainings, got the latest SU news, celebrated, visited with old friends, made new friends,… and had a TON OF FUN! OH! And this event was pretty much focused on the new upcoming 2017-18 Annual Catalog which means we have it in our hands!! BUT…we can't share pics from this event that might expose any of the new stuff until Monday at 1:00 PM Mountain Time. So today I am sharing just our elevator experience and the gifts I gave to those in my team (which I made with some great new products and new colors!!).
Most of those that attended from our group live right here near Minneapolis, MN including myself. But a handful of us decided to stay in a hotel near the Convention Center anyways.
My roommates and I arrived later than planned because rush hour and road construction got in the way. Then after getting checked in, we hopped in the elevator to meet up with our luggage that was taken up separately to our room on the 23rd floor. But oops! We got on the wrong elevator at the wrong time! We picked the one that broke down and ended up being stranded for about 40 minutes. He we are: Susan Campfield, Terri Phelps (my roommates) and me. But I do have to say that despite being stressed that we might not make it to our evening event in time, the people on the elevator were all pleasant and fun. So I think the situation could've been a lot worse.
We ended up making it to our Friday evening event, CentreStage with about 1 minute to spare! Phew. 🙂
I'll share more about the OnStage event (along with lots of great photos!) on April 10th at 1:00 PM Mountain Time, so be sure to visit back. But today I want to show off the fun gifts I gave to the stampers in my group who attended.
My gifts were all made with a bundle of new products from the Eastern Palace Suite which was just made available to us demonstrators and will be available to all starting May 1st. It's so beautiful! Check out the new colors too – Lemon Lime Twist, Fresh Fig and Tranquil Tide!
These first gifts were ones I made for my roommates. (I made 3 though so I could keep one. hehehe)
I decorated the front of a Petite Café Gift Bag using the Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies with Daffodil Delight cardstock and the Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers to look like a big sun.
The middle of the sun is connected to the top flap of the bag with a strip of Window Sheet.
I connected the Window Sheet strip to the top flap with a few Glue Dots.
And the word image is from the stamps in a past Paper Pumpkin kit, What a Gem.
These bags are meant to be free-standing bags, but I taped the bottom flap shut with Tear & Tape Adhesive.
Then I made several of these decorated and belly-banded gold-tasseled envelopes for those attending an OnStage from my Stampers With ART team and a Tranquil Tide-tasseled one for my upline, Susan Campfield.
The Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers are clear in the non-printed areas, so the three colors of cardstock underneath this one show through nicely.
To help this Tranquil Tide tassel stand out more, I decided to leave off the extra strip of Dapper Denim blue cardstock on the belly band.
Inside the envelopes for the stampers in my team were these pocketed cards.
And inside the pocket were a couple pieces of new 2017-19 In Colors and some Demo Dollars.
I hate to admit it, but I was creating and putting these together at the last minute – Friday, the day we left!
I was even assembling them in the car on the way to the hotel!
This last one is a the special gift I made for Cheryl Lee, my team member who attended the Friday evening CentreStage event with me. (CentreStage is a special leadership event for those who are titled at Silver Elite or higher.)
We didn't get any Lemon Lime Twist cardstock in this bundle, so I made my own by sponging the ink color onto some Very Vanilla cardstock. That's what you see in these semi circles underneath the Dapper Denim Ruched Ribbon and in the middle layer of the medallion on the top cover of the box.
Do you recognize the box I covered to make this? It's an empty Hello Lovely Project Life Card Collection box…
…with the corner marker holder area pushed inward which allowed me to fill the box a set of the new 2017-19 In Color ink pads that Cheryl had told me she hadn't order yet. I think she was pleasantly surprised.
You are going to LOVE the Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies and Eastern Beauty Stamp Set (which you will be able to get bundled with lots of this other fabulous product during the pre-order period (May 1-31).
Did you see the samples in the Artisan Blog Hop? Click here to see that hop and even more great ideas!
A few had asked if we got any compensation from the hotel for being stranded in their elevator. Well, we came back to the room after our CentreStage event to find this waiting for us. It was a nice gesture, but we had been gone for hours and didn't dare eat it. Hahaha! Susan took the wine home though.
I'm excited to share more with you in just a little over 24 hours!!!
Looking for information on the upcoming 2017-18 Annual Catalog and my new Product Share offerings?
Click here for the newest news! 😉
Take note that the Retiring Products List will post April 10th. And when it does certain products tend to sell out quickly (sometimes even BEFORE the list posts) like the outgoing 2015-17 In Color re-inkers and cardstock packs: Mint Macaron, Cucumber Crush, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe and Delightful Dijon. So take inventory now and start making those needed purchases earlier than later.
Want to be one of the first to see and get your hands on new products?
Become a Stampers With ART Star! Join my community, have fun and reap the rewards of being a demonstrator. Click here to learn more.
