Okay, so I know it’s been a few weeks now since Convention, but it’s taken me this long to get back on track – and thanks to this long weekend I’ve had a bit of time to upload and resize some photos! So, here are a few of my Convention Swaps….

This one’s using the new French Foliage stamp set, and is stamped with Stazon Black onto Metallic Gold, Copper, Cajun Craze and Always Artichoke squares of card. The background is stamped with Sanded stamp set in Versa Mark ink. The greeting stamp I realised after I made this sample card is retired, so on my swap cards I used the “wishes” stamp from Heard from the Heart stamp set!

This is my Vintage Collage card, using several different vintage style stamp sets and sponging. The cardstock and inks used are Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy, and I used Soft Suede ink for the En Francais background (stamped off a few times before stamping onto the card for a subtle background) and sponging the edges of the Very Vanilla card. The other stamp sets used are Noteably Ornate (for the bird), Artistic Etchings and Friends 24/7. The flower is subtly watercoloured using an Aqua Painter and inks.

I also made up about 15 pairs of earrings, some embossed and some using Play Date rub-ons. I forgot to take decent photos until breakfast time on the first moring of Convention, so this is my 3D swap done up in cellaphane all ready to go!

…and here are the many beautiful swaps I received in return…… so many different ideas and inspiration – gotta love Convention time!

We’re off shortly to have a look at the Albany Classic Event - it’s the one time of the year the classic cars get to race around the main streets of town on a special circuit. The sun’s shining after some morning showers, so it looks like being a great day for the event! Enjoy the long weekend!

I’ve finally managed to get this post together ready to upload! I’ve had endless trouble re-sizing the photos, but I’ve managed, so finally…. here’s my news of Convention and some photos of my fabulous time in Sydney to share with you…

The Stampin’ Up! Convention is over for another year…….. and what fun it was! My friend Wendy attended Convention in Sydney with me this year, and we arrived to a very wet Sydney on the Wednesday morning. It fined up later that day, and we managed a trip on the monorail, stopping off at the Queen Victoria Building where we discovered the Pandora shop! The QVB is such a picturesque building, with mosaic tiled floors, stained glass windows and domes in the roof. I put my new digital SLR camera to good use, and I’m delighted with the results of the photos!

Shopping in the Queen Victoria Building

The next day saw us heading over to The Rocks to start our adventure on the Bridge Climb. Yes, I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge! I was a little nervous at first, and tried not to look down too often, but once we got going and reached the top it was amazing to be able to look down and see the traffic passing below! We had the Army training overhead in helicopters too, and got friendly waves in return! It was an awesome experience, and unknown to me Ngaire’s team “The Stamparoos” from Perth were also booked in on the same climb, so that made it extra special that I was climbing with fellow demonstrators and friends I have known for 4 years! After the climb, some of us set off together to catch a bus back to Paddy’s Markets to have a very late lunch/afternoon tea and a browse around the market stalls.

View of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Paddy's Market building

That night I attended a special Manager’s Reception at the Convention Centre, for those demonstrators who have reached Manager or above level. We were greeted by Shelli Gardner, the CEO and Co-founder of Stampin’ Up!, and her husband Sterling. After a friendly welcome and updates by Shelli, we were ushered into another room for a scrumptious supper! Real melted chocolate was being drizzled down and around the sides of specially designed SU! mugs displaying the SU! logo and the image from Share a Cup stamp! The mugs were then topped up with frothy hot milk, and we were given one each and a spoon to stir and slurp to our heart’s content! So yummy and devine! It was a lovely occasion to catch up with everyone before the actual start of Convention, and when we departed we were each given one of the mugs (large enough for several shots of coffee or hot chocolate!) beautifully presented with a Share a Cup stamp set! 

Share a Cup mug & stamp set

Convention was well underway with everyone meeting in the Convention centre foyer at 7am to busily swap cards! I managed to make about 80 swaps this year, and received some fabulous swaps in return! Not forgetting to mention a visit to Memento Mall where I purchased this gorgeous card tree! I’ve clipped up some of my swaps to show off…..

My decorated SU! card tree with some of the swaps I received

Then we had a creative morning of making 4 projects for the Make & Takes, with demonstrations and workshop training over the remainder of Friday and Saturday. We also had a special demonstration from Shelli on “vintage” style.

My swaps ready to go!

Tulips for the table centres

Saturday night was topped off with the awards night anddinner. As we entered the room, we were greeted by the paparazzi and the staff of Stampin’ Up! – and we actually got to walk the red carpet! The dinner was sumptuous! I love this time of Convention, where we get to recognise fellow demonstrators and their achievements over the last 12 months. My achievements this year landed me in the $20K Sales Award bracket, and I was also recognised for the Milestone Award which is $100K in career sales!

$100K Career Sales Achievers

And then came that extra exciting part of Convention where the next Incentive Trip is announced – 2011 Incentive Trip Achievers are going to FIJI! It was announced with a little help this year – Fijian dancers and music added to the excitement! Convention 2011 will be in Melbourne from 12-14 May – that’s right – 3 days!

2011 Incentive Trip Announcement - Fiji

Stampin’ Up! make their demonstrators feeI very special, and I feel privileged to be a part of the Stampin’ Up! family!

Well, it seems ages since I posted anything on here – I’ve been super busy the last few weeks! I’m off to Sydney in 2 days ( 2 sleeps to go! ) for our annual Stampin’ Up! Convention and I’m frantically trying to get swaps made to take with me. Last week I joked I’d be putting them together in the airport lounge – and guess what – I might just have to! We actaully have 2 days in Sydney before Convention starts, so I’m sure I’ll have some quiet time in the hotel room to finish them!

I made this card recently for a tutorial I wrote for our demonstrator group ESAD. The technique is called Chalkboard and it’s made using White Craft ink and applying Stampin’ Pastels with a sponge dauber. The ribbon is the new Polka Dot Grosgrain in Melon Mambo and matches the Melon Mambo cardstock. The THANKS tag is made using the new Embosslits Stampin’ Up! Thanks die, and trimmed. Nice and bright and eye catching, don’t you think? Would like a demo with this technique? Why not get some friends together for a workshop, and I’ll be happy to show you this fun and creative stamping technique!

I’m back from Convention, and what a fantastic time we had! We had two full days of demonstrations, talks, training and Make & Takes, and were again this year honoured with a demonstration from Shelli!

Here’s my pile of swaps I received! So many beautiful cards…….!

Here’s one of the cards I made for my swaps using the heart stamp from Always and the All Scallops stamp sets, and Sweet Always DSP. The cardstock is Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette, and the heart is gold embossed and watercoloured.

I also literally threw this one together the night before I left for Perth (yep, I did my usual and left things till the last minute – there’s nothing like working under pressure to get things done!!) Hence Lorinda (my downline and travelling companion) and I were sitting at Perth Airport assembling our swaps while passing time waiting for our flight to Adelaide! The colours are Not Quite Navy and Pink Pirouette (just love that pink!) and of course Dreams Du Jour stamp set. The motif is stamped in Stazon and watercoloured using the inks. If you are interested in learning this technique, then take a look at my Dreams Du Jour project kit available this month!

I just had to share this photo. Canberra is so pretty in the autumn with the trees changing colour. Inspiration for another colour challenge……..?

Just a really quick post before I go! I’ve been busy making swaps this last week and getting ready to go to Canberra, as well as my morning work, and all the usual things a busy mum does! I’ve managed to make 60 swaps, not bad considering I really only started them on Sunday (nothing like leaving things till the last minute and giving myself more pressure!) The only thing left to do is pack, and it looks like being cold in Canberra, so I’ve had to go shopping for some warm clothes (what a shame!)

My May newsletter will be sent out as soon as I get home next week – there are some great Stampin’ Up! promotions for May!

Back soon!