Peggy’s Village

Posted on August 12, 2011 by mauistamper

Peggy came to visit one day last week and brought her version of the Village of Cuteness:

Can you stand it? She decided to interpret her Village as a Christmas Village, with wreaths on the front doors, a string of lights, a palm tree, and – be still my heart – two little blow-up Santa Village People!!!!

Look at her Christmas Hale:

Don’t you love that palm tree, and the bouganvilla spilling over the window box at top? I may have to do another village.

And in case you are wondering, that’s not “hale” (rhymes with whale), it’s “hah’ ley”, kinda rhymes with trolley (if you said it tra-ley!) It’s the Hawaiian word for house.

Something special for the hostesses

Posted on August 11, 2011 by mauistamper

I brought back Convention tote bags for the members of my hostess club:

I loved the prints and colors – which are now available as My Digital Studio downloads – but I knew I would need to find a way to tell them apart. The solution, of course, is a tag:

These tags are made with coordinating Designer Series Paper (On sale – do I need to say it again?? – buy 3 get one free!) with an initial and a paper flower. I love making these paper flowers because they involve smushing. Smushing is a very scientific term for beating-the-stuffing-out-of-a-wad-of-paper. Don’t you have days when a little smushing would do you a world of good?

My Workshop hostesses in August and September will also get one of these exclusive tote bags – call me if you’d like to put together a special event for a few of your friends.

Color you can learn to love

Posted on August 2, 2011 by mauistamper

Some things just need a little time to grow on you:

Best Friends Forever and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Whisper White, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo card stock
More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black Classic ink pads
Timeless Portrait fabric
Lace Ribbon Border punch
Linen thread
Regals Designer Buttons

I didn’t like the colors when I first saw this Make and Take card at convention – I’m not a real fan of More Mustard – and I wasn’t sure if I liked that fabric “flag”. I didn’t finish it in Salt Lake, but brought it home to put together in the relative sanity of my studio. As I looked at the separate pieces, and then started to put them together, I decided I not only liked the card but I loved the color combination.

Isn’t that life? I try very hard to be open-minded, but I often struggle with snap judgement. Mr Maui Stamper, on the other hand, seldom makes quick judgements. I think that’s why we’re so fabulously compatible. We’ll come home from an evening out together and have completely different perspectives on who we’ve seen and what we’ve heard. It’s not as though we were at two different events, but we have different insights.

Marriage is a lot of work, but it’s a wonderful thing. You can learn to love it, too.

The Village of Cuteness

Posted on July 29, 2011 by mauistamper

Stampin’ Up! offered us an optional +Fun class on Friday night at convention. There were 3 different classes to choose from, and I can’t really tell you why I signed up for the Village of Cuteness. I’ll confess it WASN’T the name – in my book, things like puppies and kittens are cute. Villages, well, not so much.

Anyway, sleep deprived as we were, we hustled through dinner on Friday night and lined up with a thousand or so of our very best friends to make these:

Oh yeah, I finished mine in the time allotted and brought them home and set them right up.

NOT!!!

We barely got them painted!! We decided that was really our plan all along, as trying to bring them home all embellished (more about that later) would be a challenge.

Stampin’ Up! did a great job with these projects. We had EVERY product we needed and more, clear instructions, even refreshments. What we were lacking was time (and sleep, which may have had an impact on our ability to make the best of our time. You be the judge.) We jumped right in and started painting and distressing with the awesome Distressing Essentials Kit (#118762, $19.95), also known as the Get Your Hands Inkier Than They Have Ever Been In Your Life Kit.

Cheryl is sitting next to Priscilla, who was the BEST EVER table-mate and fit in with our craziness absolutely perfectly. Priscilla was much neater at this than I was, as I seemed to have ink AND paint all over my hands. You have to feed the muse.

Speaking of feeding, Stampin’ Up! provided us with dessert – as if we needed more sugar in our systems. Peggy inspired us all with her cupcake-eating-technique…but some things are meant to be enjoyed in the moment. You’ll have to trust me when I say it was impressive.

This was serious business as we studied our instructions to figure out what we needed to get done in class and what we could do at home. Notice those looks of concentration!!

It seemed like we’d just started when the announcement was made that it was time to pack up. Priscilla kindly offered to take our picture with our Villages. I’m not quite sure what Cheryl is doing over Robbie’s head. We were among the last to leave, and we took a little time to check out some of the displays outside the Make and Take hall before we headed back to our rooms.

Robbie, the Plan Ahead Demonstrator, had brought USPS Flat Rate boxes with her, and the next morning at breakfast she announced to us all that she had already shipped her “Village People” home. I distinctly remember thinking “Ha, a lot of good that will do”, but I kept that snarky little remark to myself. Good thing. Sunday morning we were desperately trying to buy a suitcase for our excess luggage – and when we found one, we crammed that puppy full too.

Once I was home and unpacked, I sat down to finish the Village. My blocks were already painted and distressed, and my wood sheet doors were stained and attached to the houses. It was all the other stuff that needed to be done. I wish I could tell you how much time I spent, but I really didn’t keep track. I had the tunes going, it was late enough that the Captain was outside chasing mousies, and Mr. Maui Stamper was sound asleep. I can’t remember the last time I had such a good time with a project!

I’m looking forward to next year’s +Fun class!

Catching my breath

Posted on July 20, 2011 by mauistamper

I’m home, and as much as I loved Every Last Minute of convention, I am very glad to be home. I was so seriously sleep deprived in Salt Lake! Between the 4 hour time difference, our breakneck pace every day, and my inability to quiet the chaos in my head at bedtime I just didn’t get enough sleep. Sunday night I dropped gratefully into bed just after 10pm and slept blissfully through until 7am Monday.

But I would do it again in a heartbeat.

It’s the relationships. Yes, we saw loads of new products, fabulous displays, and great project ideas. Yes, the training was fantastic – I’m always so impressed at how Stampin’ Up! creates classes that provide insight to such a broad spectrum of demonstrators, from those just beginning to those who have been running a full-time business for years.

It’s the people that make Convention so spectacular. I loved meeting people face to face that I’d only corresponded with by email, connecting (after about 47 text messages across the Opening Party) with friends I’d made through blogging, running into friends from past conventions and sharing the experience with the Maui Girls that travelled together to Salt Lake. (Blue Frosting: Need I say more?) Stampin’ Up! is an exceptional company with a focus on personal values as well as quality in product, and when you assemble a group of people who are associated with Stampin’ Up! you have an exceptional group.

Would you like to see just a few photos from the Product Garden?

This was one of my favorite vignettes. Stampin’ Up! does a fabulous job of showcasing product, and our theme this year was Grow so the displays had a garden theme. I love the butterflies (Decor Elements, of course) on the chairs.

The Flirtatious product display was so beautiful and feminine. Take a close look at those big fanned flowers, because they were made with a FANTASTIC new product being introduced in the Holiday Mini catalog on September 1. Get ready to sell your old scoring tool, because Simply Scored is the Rolls Royce of tools and it is priced at only $29.95. We made flowers like this and it was a snap!

It’s hard to take in all of the detail here, but my favorite is the flower pots covered with Designer Series Paper. The creative team at Stampin’ Up! blew our socks off!

One final photo…a very proud moment for me. I walked across the stage with a group of women who have inspired and mentored me this past year. We were all recognized for our achievements in sharing the business opportunity with others, and it was one of my most memorable events of convention:

Would you like to join me at convention next year? I’d love to tell you more. Anyone can be a Maui Stamper, and right now there’s a fabulous $99 opportunity available through Stampin’ Up! Email me, leave a comment, or shine the secret symbol up in the sky and I’ll get in my Stampermobile and be there in a flash!

and you’re not here at Convention because…

Posted on July 15, 2011 by mauistamper

If you are a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator you NEED to be at Convention. The energy is incredible, the displays are eye-popping, the classes are very informative, the relationships are affirming, and we are raking in the FREE STUFF!! Plan on being here next year!

I’m just sayin’…

I won prize patrol yesterday (YES!!) and Cheryl won today:

Isn’t that a fabulous jacket? We convinced her to get it – the rest of us couldn’t wear that color EVER but she looks great!

We have seen some fabulous projects, including all the new Holiday Mini product available starting September 1. If you love Halloween, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or even all three, this mini will knock your socks off. I like Halloween well enough, but I could become a super-Halloween-fan like Robbie with enough projects like this:

If I tried to tell you about all of the wonderful experiences I had today with the most caring, funny, talented, creative, incredible Stampin’ Up! demonstrators you have ever met I would be here until tomorrow, and I’m much too tired tonight for that. Just trust me when I say these experiences have touched me in ways I couldn’t imagine. If you’re not here because you’re not a demonstrator, maybe it’s time you gave it serious thought. It’s only $99 this month – visit my Online Store for details.

One last photo – I got an award for recruiting this year – my first Stampin’ Up! award. I was so proud to be recognized on stage, and I was especially proud to be able to walk across with Janet Wakeland, who has mentored me this past year:

Postscript Salt Lake City

Posted on July 13, 2011 by mauistamper

Time for bed here in Salt Lake, though my body insists it is much too early. Such a full, fabulous day, beginning with Memento Mall (Stampin’ Up! shopping at the highest level) and ending with a fun, silly party and a photo with a half a zillion of my new best friends.

OK, the truth is, it ended with a glass of Pinot Noir with Robbie and Cheryl in the lounge at our hotel.

There’s nothing like a Stampin’ Up! convention. Heaps of energetic, friendly, generous people (primarily women) meeting one another, sharing ideas, laughing and telling stories and connecting over bits of paper. You can’t believe it unless you see it, and I highly recommend it if you’ve never tried it. (PS you can become a demonstrator for only $99 this month – go to my Online Store and click “Join Now” for more information).

Kellie, Peggy, Robbie, Cheryl and I shopped at Memento Mall, ooohed and aaahed fabulous displays in the Demonstrator Resource Center, and toured the offices and distribution center (when I said we had to leave for our Riverton Tour Kellie said she felt like a kid on Christmas morning having to leave her toys behind to go to Grandma’s house). Robbie won a prize patrol and came home with new stamps from the opening party, and we’re all trying to fall asleep before 1am so we can get up bright and early for opening session tomorrow.