We are back from the Stampin’ Up! Alaskan Cruise incentive trip. And I can’t tell you how very grateful I am to all those who supported me in my business so I could achieve this! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I took my husband and our two kids, Nicholas and Luke. (They’ve only attended one other incentive trip to Disney World 6 years ago, so they were really looking forward to this.) We went a few days early (left on July 17th) so we could see a bit of Seattle, Washington. Highlights from those days were going up in the Space Needle to see the city from up high, buying lunch at Pike’s Fish Market, eating crab and smoked salmon on the pier, riding the Ferris Wheel, seeing the Gum Wall, giving money to street performers, trying new foods, and riding the Monorail and light rail to go exploring.
(Other business cards were there. I had to do it.)
Then on Friday, July 20th we boarded Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas Ship! It was fun to see the excitement in the boys eyes as this was their first cruise.
Our first full day was at sea. I attended General Session and got gifts of new products and the upcoming Holiday Catalog (which will debut on September 1st!! (eek) And I enjoyed relaxing in the hot tub in the afternoon.
Oh! Our room was amazing!! It was off the back of the ship and we had a lots of space with a huge balcony.
Those of you who have cruised before know that the days at sea are typically formal nights for dinner. So I made my family clean up before dinner and dress up fancy. They looked so handsome! Funny how quickly they changed back into normal clothes afterwards, though.
We enjoyed those days at sea because there was so much to do with our time on the ship. I personally loved going to Stampers’ Base Camp – the room set aside for us demonstrators to spin for prizes daily, see samples & products from the upcoming 2018 Holiday catalog, take photos of swaps, and meet up with friends. The boys loved the endless candy and the tent.
We stopped in Juneau on Sunday, our third day. What a fun day that was, too! We went on a whale watching excursion and got to see humpbacks and orcas!
Afterwards we rode the famous Tramway and explored at the top. It was fun to see our ship and look out on the town from that high up.
Day 4 brought us to Skagway where we went to a dog musher’s camp to ride a dog sled, learn about racing, and meet puppies. We also got to see some lovely countryside as we rode out and back to town.
Skagway has grown a bit since the last time Stampin’ Up! took us on this Alaskan cruise 7 years ago. But it is still very focused on replicating the gold rush era as that is a huge part of Skagway’s history.
We saw huge, blue icebergs and the Dawes Glacier as we traveled through the Tracy Arm Fjord on the morning of Day 5.
And amazingly we lucked out and saw another humpback going in and out of the water as we left. Fellow demonstrator, Tami White and I were chatting about this days later. It turns out she was the one that alerted all of us with balconies off the back of the ship. We heard the clatter and ran out with our cameras. She took similar photos AND she pointed out that there was an eagle on the iceberg near that whale. Sure enough!! It’s hard to see in my photos, but it’s sitting on the right of the darker iceberg. Do you see it!?So fun!
I believe Day 6 was a bit foggy. I think this was the day that the boys had LOTS of ice cream. Dad had taken them to Johnny Rockets for malts while I went to see great ideas from fellow demonstrators at the Stampers Showcase event. Then that evening after dinner, the boys got to have “build-your-own” sundaes in the Windjammers dining room.
Our last full day on the ship (Day 7) was in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We went to the Bug Museum, ate a late lunch at a restaurant on the wharf, and bought up a bunch of Canadian candy to taste back in the room.
The sunset was beautiful that night.
We caught a bit more of Seattle on the last day of the trip (Day 8) since we had to get off the ship in the morning and wait most of the day for our departing flight. So thankfully I got to see a couple dear friends of mine who live in the city. These are friends that were a big part of my life about 25 and 30 years ago, so my husband and boys met them for the first time. I’m so grateful my family allowed me to catch up and spend time with Pam and Philippe. It meant a lot to me!
OH! And we got to experience Amazon Go before heading to the airport. That was pretty cool!
There is SO MUCH MORE I could share about this awesome adventure. But I’ll end this blog post by sharing the product goodies, logo items and more (pillow gifts, prizes, and give-aways) that Stampin’ Up! spoiled us with day after day.
Look at all the fun new items from the Holiday catalog (in the lower left corner) that I get to play and create with now!!
July 11-August 10 new subscribers get 50% off the first month! What a great time to sign up! And the graphic has such pretty colors!!! Is that a hint at what’s in the kit? Usually SU does that. SO FUN!! Sign up using this link so you can become my personal subscriber and I can spoil you! https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-us/sign-up/?demoid=25553 Let your creativity bloom and subscribe today!
A FREE Assortment of Classic Stampin’ Pads with Starter Kit!
Get the Starter Kit during the month of July, and choose an assortment of ink pads for FREE! What a great time to join my Stampers With ART Stars community & get a discount on your future Stampin’ Up! products that just debuted in the 2018-19 annual catalog. The Starter Kit is always a great value. But with the free set of ink pads, you would now get $192.50 worth of product of your choice for just $99!! Click here to learn more.
BUY 3, GET ONE FREE Designer Series Paper Promo
During the month of July you’ll be able to reap the rewards when you stock up on select designer series paper packs. The sale runs July 1-31, 2018. Click here to learn more.
Join the Paper Crafters Club
Do you find that you order at least $25 worth of Stampin’ Up! product each month? Do you want to get perks for those monthly orders? I’m forming a new Paper Crafters club, and we are looking for new members. Click here to learn more. Then contact me with your questions &/or to sign up.
Our 2018 Seattle/Alaska family vacation begins today!! And we are super excited for this Stampin’ Up! earned incentive trip!
This is only the 2nd incentive trip for our boys. The first was to Disney World back when they were just 5 and 6 years old. (Oh, they were so little then!) And now they get to go on their first cruise ship and see the beauty of Alaska at the ages of 11 and 12!! It was fun to receive our travel documents in the mail a few weeks ago. That always makes things so “official.”
I’m going to have limited internet access, so my guess is that I’ll be sharing photos AFTER my trip rather than during. But I’ll see what I can do.
I’m participating in both the 3-D swap and the card swap that Stampin’ Up! organizes for the incentive trip. I already shared photos and directions for my 3-D one (the altered gable box) on June 25th. So today I’d like to share with you my card swap (which is also happens to be 3-Dish). It’s another freestanding pop-up card similar to the one I shared last week. In fact, I showed it off towards the end of my last Facebook Live broadcast that you can watch if you go to my July 12th post.
This is how it looks when flat. It fits into a medium envelope too, because it measures 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2.”
And this is how it looks when it’s popped up and standing.
Measurements:
Whisper White Thick Cardstock:
11” x 4-1/4” scored at 5-1/2” and then at 1” …2-3/4” …& 3-3/4” in both directions
Scrap for stamping one & die-cutting two rhinos (one is behind the stamped one)
Scrap for stamping & punching 1-1/4” Circle
Window Sheet:
2-3/4” x 5-1/2”
Call Me Clover Cardstock:
Scrap for punching 1-3/8” Scallop Circle
Call Me Clover Leaf Ribbon:
about 9″
Products: See below for a full list of supplies linked to where you can find them in my online store.
Directions:
Round the top two corners of the Window Sheet piece with the Trio Punch.
Emboss the already scored 11” x 4-1/4” Whisper White piece two times – on each side of the middle score line – with the Layered Leaves embossing folder. Your embossing folder will be coming in from the side of the cardstock if you are holding the cardstock vertically (not from the bottom). This way it will reach to the middle and avoid embossing the outer 1″ sections.
Watch the video on the July 12th post to see where to cut the slit in the 5-1/2″ score line, how to fold the Whisper White card base, where to add the Tear & Tape Adhesive, and how to put together the base with the inserted Window Sheet.
After watching the video and assembling the base, add the accents and sentiment…
Punch the Scallop Circle. Stamp and punch the sentiment. Stamp and die-cut one rhino. Die-cut a second rhino shape.
Use the Watercolor Pencils to add color to the stamped/die-cut rhino/bird. Then use the Blender Pen to smooth/blend the color.
Attach sections of Leaf Ribbon to the lower back side of the stamped/die-cut rhino using Glue Dots. Then “sandwich” the leaf ribbon by adhering the stamped rhino die-cut to the unstamped one.
Close the card flat and add a couple Dimensionals just above where the top of the folded white sits when the card is closed. Attach the rhino to these Dimensionals so the top of the rhinoceros does not go beyond the top of the Window Sheet. (On my card, I have the rhino in the upper right corner of the Window Sheet area.)
Attach the Whisper White punched sentiment to the Call Me Clover Scallop Circle using SNAIL Adhesive. Then attach sections of Leaf Ribbon with Glue Dots, and add this piece on the left side of the front 1″-wide section (when the card is open) using Dimensionals.
Isn’t it too pretty to use!?! But it’s time. I’m finally going to break in my pristine, overly protected, super cherished carryon luggage that I got as a recognition gift when I made the Global Top 100 for 2017. It needs to stop sitting in my closet.
Since I posted it, I’ve had several people ask me how she made my gift. Good news!… Susan just recently posted directions on her blog. You can click here to learn how she put this gift together.
July 11-August 10 new subscribers get 50% off the first month! What a great time to sign up! And the graphic has such pretty colors!!! Is that a hint at what’s in the kit? Usually SU does that. SO FUN!! Sign up using this link so you can become my personal subscriber and I can spoil you! https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-us/sign-up/?demoid=25553 Let your creativity bloom and subscribe today!
A FREE Assortment of Classic Stampin’ Pads with Starter Kit!
Get the Starter Kit during the month of July, and choose an assortment of ink pads for FREE! What a great time to join my Stampers With ART Stars community & get a discount on your future Stampin’ Up! products that just debuted in the 2018-19 annual catalog. The Starter Kit is always a great value. But with the free set of ink pads, you would now get $192.50 worth of product of your choice for just $99!! Click here to learn more.
BUY 3, GET ONE FREE Designer Series Paper Promo
During the month of July you’ll be able to reap the rewards when you stock up on select designer series paper packs. The sale runs July 1-31, 2018. Click here to learn more.
Join the Paper Crafters Club
Do you find that you order at least $25 worth of Stampin’ Up! product each month? Do you want to get perks for those monthly orders? I’m forming a new Paper Crafters club, and we are looking for new members. Click here to learn more. Then contact me with your questions &/or to sign up.
The 2018 Stampin’ Up! incentive trip is just a little over 3 weeks away now! Our family is getting super excited. Yep…this year our boys, Nick and Luke will be coming with us on an Alaskan cruise!!
This will only be their 2nd incentive trip. The first one they attended was about 6 years ago when Stampin’ Up! took us to Disney World. What a fabulous adventure that was! I know this will be another trip of a lifetime for all of us, too.
I’m participating in two swaps while on the trip. So today I’m sharing one of them – my 3-D swap.
I WAS going to make an adorable rhinoceros box, but I decided to do a fun-fold card version of that instead for my other incentive trip swap. (I just designed the card today and will share that soon.) My 3-D swap is going to be my OTHER altered gable box that I showed in the video that I shared on the 14th. Here are photos of it. Be sure to watch the video by CLICKING HERE (or viewing it my my June 14th post) to get tips on embossing and altering the box. Measurements for the extra supplies and additional directions/tips are below. The products I used to make the box are listed at the very bottom of this post and linked to my online store.
Measurements:
Shimmery White Cardstock: small scrap for stamping and punching 1-1/4″ circle
Poppy Parade Cardstock: small scrap for punching 1-3/8″ scallop circle
Silver Foil Sheet: small scrap for punching 1-1/2″ circle
Paper straw: 5-1/4″
Tips/Directions:
View my video for tips on embossing & altering the box and adding the paper straw handle (take apart box carefully at the seam, emboss entire box in sections, assemble box, trim off the two “handled” sections and tape down the 1/2″ excess with Tear & Tape, use a pencil to create holes for the straws.)
Stamp “Celebrate” and the stars images close together onto the Shimmery White scrap. Punch out with the 1-1/4″ Circle Punch. Layer this onto the 1-3/8″ Poppy Parade scallop circle with SNAIL and then onto the 1-1/4″ Silver Foil circle with Dimensionals.
Attach layered circle to the front of the box with Dimensionals.
Embellish box front with rhinestones.
Add shreddies and chocolates to the inside, and give as a gift to celebrate a special occasion or holiday.
I thought these would be fun for Independence Day celebrations. But red and white also works for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and more.
Now I’m inspired to do a masculine tool box version of this! Can you picture that, too?
Do you find that you order at least $25 worth of Stampin’ Up! product each month? Do you want to get perks for those monthly orders? I’m forming a new Paper Crafters club, and we are looking for new members. Click here to learn more. Then contact me with your questions &/or to sign up.
Are you interested in getting a 20%+ discount on your Stampin’ Up! goodies? Now is a great time to purchase the Starter kit because of all the fun new products that just debuted in the 2018-19 annual catalog – $125 worth of product (your choice!) for $99. With the free shipping on starter kits, you are getting a 30% discount on this first fun purchase. After that, you get the 20%+ discount for future purchases if you wish. AND you get to be part of my fun Stampers With ART Stars community!
I was scrolling through my photos and realized yesterday that I forgot to share the fabulous make-n-takes we got to make at OnStage. Here are the 4 cards I put together at OnStage Local in Hartford, CT on the April 7th.
We were able to play with so many wonderful products. But this one I saved to finish at home because I wanted to use extra Blends Markers to complete it. You are going to love all the new papers coming including this Graceful Glass Designer Vellum which coordinates with the Painted Glass Stamp Set (also used on the card).
This last one we made with the Nature’s Poem Designer Paper and what will probably be my very favorite stamp set, Rooted In Nature. I didn’t change the the make-n-take design at all for this card.
The kids are home today because Mother Nature dumped a couple feet of snow on us over the entire weekend, and the school district decided that there was just too much of it. The snow started falling Saturday morning and didn’t stop until early this morning…almost 48 hours of it. I took this photo of my husband in our driveway early Sunday morning when it was a foot high. This was only about half of what we got!
He had gone out for groceries (bless his heart) at the start of the storm on Saturday. We are pretty thankful to have food, shelter… and a snowblower! And the boys are loving that they have one less day of school this week.
CLICK HERE for more detailed information about retiring products from the 2017-18 Annual Catalog and the 2018 Occasions Catalog, to access the lists and links, for dates about transitioning into the new 2018-19 Annual Catalog, AND to find out how you can get your hands on your personal copy.
Be sure to take a good look at the retiring products list so that you don’t miss out on getting items that you have wanted. Favorites are already selling out!
New Paper Pumpkin Subscribers get 50% Off! NEW subscribers who join Paper Pumpkin between now and May 10 will get 50% off their first 2 months. Enter this promotion code to get in on the special: SAVEFIFTY0418 (Click here if you wish to see a sneak peek image showing the April kit AND a little peek of the May kit.)
The new 2018-19 Annual Catalog will be introducing us to new colors! That means that several colors are retiring though. CLICK HERE for more detailed information about retiring products.CLICK HERE for my post and a video regarding the Color Revamp. And CLICK HERE for a printable Color Revamp Summary.
Would you like to see the April 2018 OnStage gifts I got from fellow demonstrators?! Two demonstrators gave me gifts before I left – my upline, Susan Campfield and a gal in my Stampers With ART group (who also happens to be one of my assistants!), Vicki Spicer.
This gift is from Susan. She took one of our beautiful folders (a new supply item for demonstrators) and converted it into a mini accordion folder/booklet by trimming off the top and putting a couple extra creases in it. The retiringNight of Navy Crinkled Seam Binding is a beautiful touch for the closure. Then she made a mini apron box to hold Tic Tac mints with the Apron Builder framelits and floral stamp images from the retiringLovely Friends stamp set.
(July 4th update: Click here for her directions.)
Inside were all these goodies! (And check out the back side of the apron box. Adorable!)
When I was in Hartford, I was gifted a few other goodies from several demonstrator friends.
All three of these came from Rose Ward. Such a sweet gal!
This is a photo of the group I sat with at the CentreStage event, a special event for leader demonstrators. We are spoiled at this event! And this time was no exception. We received a tall pretty navy mug, a “coupon” for a free stamp set of our choice, the new In Color Markers, one of the new stamp pad, a sampler of ALL the cardstock (LOVE this!), the new catalog early (LOVE this, too!), a festive noise maker, and a fabulous dinner. My tablemates were wonderful company, too…pictured are Rose Ward, Deb Waterman, Kim Quigley, Gail Murray and me (dressed to the nines in my 80’s-themed party attire).
I got a few more photos with other “East coast” friends that evening. Janet Wakeland was surprised to see that I wasn’t in Milwaukee this time. Look at her fun outfit!
Tami White (who took the photo since she is much better than me at taking selfies!) was celebrated that evening for her 2 Million in career sales. What a SUPER incredible accomplishment!
The Convention Center room was beautiful. This is a photo I took the next day at the main event when Spencer Willis, Marketing Director of Stampin’ Up! was presenting.
The photos below are a few I took of some of the display boards. Each photo includes projects created with new products designed by demonstrators who were selected to be display stampers. (The names of each demonstrator are watermarked into the photo.)
The last set of projects shown above were created by my friend Debbie Henderson who along with Jason Loucks (sandwiched between Debbie and I in this photo below) help me to run the Paper Pumpkin Fan Club consisting currently of over 16,300 members. These two ROCK! It was so fun to all be at the same OnStage location!
So now that I’ve shared all my photos and news from OnStage (today, and Monday and Tuesday) I’m ready to share more of my stamping projects that I’ve been creating lately. Tomorrow I’ll be in a unique blog hop that makes me giddy. See you then?!
CLICK HERE for more detailed information about retiring products from the 2017-18 Annual Catalog and the 2018 Occasions Catalog, to access the lists and links, for dates about transitioning into the new 2018-19 Annual Catalog, AND to find out how you can get your hands on your personal copy.
Be sure to take a good look at the retiring products list so that you don’t miss out on getting items that you have wanted. Favorites are already selling out!
New Paper Pumpkin Subscribers get 50% Off! NEW subscribers who join Paper Pumpkin between now and May 10 will get 50% off their first 2 months. Enter this promotion code to get in on the special: SAVEFIFTY0418 (Click here if you wish to see a sneak peek image showing the April kit AND a little peek of the May kit.)
The new 2018-19 Annual Catalog will be introducing us to new colors! That means that several colors are retiring though. CLICK HERE for more detailed information about retiring products.CLICK HERE for my post and a video regarding the Color Revamp. And CLICK HERE for a printable Color Revamp Summary.
The new 2018-19 Annual Catalog was unveiled to demos this weekend at OnStage. As always it’s filled with SO many wonderful new products! But this year’s catalog announced an EXTRA exciting new change…a Color Revamp!
Since the Stampin’ Up! ink pads were being redesigned & improved upon, this was a great time to revamp our colors, bring out some fresh, trendy hues and reorganize our color collections. These fun shades are bound to inspire even MORE creativity!
DEPARTING COLORS
Because we brought in new colors, we had to get rid of a few. So if you have a close relationship with any of these, be sure to stock up on any coordinating retiring products you may need.
Many of you already knew of the retiring 2016-2018 In Colors:
There are 18 colors leaving with this Color Revamp. But there are 21 colors being added, because Stampin’ Up! is taking 3 hues (Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Whisper White) and pulling them aside from the Neutrals to put into their own “Basics” group. In addition there are some shifts to maintain balance and variety in our updated collections. Here are how the colors will now be organized.
And here are some quick color comparisons in case you are interested.
With photography the colors may be a little “off.” But these comparison photos at least give you an idea on how the colors compare even if certain ones aren’t as accurately shown in the photos.
I also shared these comparisons in my video below in a Facebook Live broadcast earlier this afternoon. I record it, and then uploaded it to my YouTube channel (since I know not everyone is ON Facebook). Be sure to watch the video, and then let me know if you have any questions. If you ARE on Facebook, I invite you to “like” then “follow” my page so you can get updates when I share and when I go live.
OH! Ands here’s what my desk looked like after the broadcast. LOL!
NEW INK PADS
Because the mold for the ink pad cases was about to expire, Stampin’ Up! took this opportunity to make improvements to the case design, the labels and the ink formula itself. So when you invest in the new colors, you are getting all the improvements at once.
Here are a few comparison photos.
What’s better about our new case?
It’s less confusing to open. Opening the new ink pad case is now more simple and intuitive—just insert your thumb in the lip at the front of the case and lift it to open.
It has a tighter fit between the lid and the base. With the new design, the lid doesn’t accidentally become disconnected, which was a common problem with the old case style. With use, the lid will be easier to slide open and close.
It is stackable. The ability to stack the cases makes them easier to store and transport. We designed a nub in each bottom corner that fits nicely into the dimple on the top of another case. Tip: Removing the label stickers from the bottom of the case (after applying the needed labels to the case) also makes the ink pads stack a little better.
It includes improved labels and stickers. Here are a few of the ways we’ve done that:
The top label now has a cleaner, bolder design and a larger color swatch, making it easier to see the ink’s color.
The stickers include a new In Color icon.
We’ve continued to provide color stickers that can be placed on the end of each case to easily identify the ink’s color at a glance.
We’re introducing a new color sticker you can place on the inside of the case, so you can easily distinguish the ink’s color when the case is open.
What’s better about the ink?
We noticed that the old ink would sometimes bubble, especially on new pads and with lighter colors. When this happened, the ink wasn’t as even and smooth when stamped as we’d like to see it. The improved ink formula includes a de-foaming agent and will reduce ink bubbles, help you get a smooth coating of ink on the stamp, and help lay down the ink better.
Beginning with the 2018–2019 Annual Catalog, all ink refills will have the improved ink formula. Also, if you recently received an ink refill and it has the new branding label, it contains the improved ink formula.
And guess what?! You can use an old ink refill on a new ink pad or a new ink refill on an old ink pad – with the exception of the Basic Gray Archival and Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ inks. Archival and Classic inks should not be mixed. All other Classic Stampin’ inks will work fine.
Archival ink will no longer be part of our ink offering. Basic Gray will now be part of the Classic Stampin’ ink family. Please note that you cannot use an archival ink refill on the new Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ Pad, as this will ruin the new ink pad. Only use Classic Stampin’ ink refills on Classic Stampin’ pads. Your best options for black ink pads are the Tuxedo Black Memento Pad, to use with Blends and general black stamping needs, and the Jet Black StāzOn Pad, to use for watercolor and nonporous surface stamping. Both will be part of our ink offering.
I hope you found this information helpful. Let me know if you have questions.
NEW subscribers who join Paper Pumpkin between now and May 10 will get 50% off their first 2 months. Enter this promotion code to get in on the special: SAVEFIFTY0418 Be sure to enter that code by the end of the day today if you want in on the April kit. (Click here if you wish to see a sneak peek image showing the April kit AND a little peek of the May kit.)
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an affiliate with Stamp-n-Storage which means I may get commissions if you click on links I provide and decide to purchase anything from this company. I love their products and recommend them because I own several myself and believe my readers will benefit from them.
https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-us/sign-up/?demoid=25553 Let your creativity bloom and subscribe today! 
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