Inspiration from convention

Good morning! Yes - even Monday mornings are good when you're a Stampin' Up demonstrator!

If you are a regular reader of this blog you'll know that I've been away at the Stampin' Up European convention. This event brings demonstrators from the UK, France and Germany together and was held at the beautiful Addington Palace in Surrey.

My goodness did I learn a lot there! I can't wait to show you some of the tricks and techniques I've learned - so now is a great time to get your stamping parties booked!

When demonstrators get together, we like to swap the things we've been making - a wonderful idea as we then have a huge library of styles and ideas to inspire us and our customers. Here are some of the things I made.

This is a tag made from Notably Ornate with a touch of Vintage Vogue, and personalised using my Schoolbook Serif and Just Perfect alphabet sets. I used More Mustard to stamp that fabulous frame and I love the contrast with the Rich Razzleberry of the flowers and the touches of Old Olive. You can't see very well in the photo but I decorated the centres of the flowers with basic rhinestones for a touch of sparkle.

And here's my swap:

There's more than a touch of the US about this card isn't there? I must have been thinking of my American crafting friends when I came up with this design and wishing they could join us at Addington Palace! I used Seeing Stars and Solid Stripes for this card along with the incredibly useful Thank You Kindly sentiment set of four.

I have had the most wonderful few days, sharing what I love doing with so many other ladies who are as passionate about crafting as I am. It was lovely to meet up with friends from around the UK and Europe and I've made new friends too. When I joined Stampin' Up as a demonstrator earlier in the year I had no idea that it would become such a special and fulfilling part of my life - I really cannot recommend it highly enough.

If you've been wondering about joining Stampin' Up, whether to enjoy your hobby at a discount or to turn your hobby into a business, I would love you to join my team. I'm not interested in pressurising you but I can give lots of information, share my own experiences with you and give you the time and space you need to make an informed decision. It only costs £119 to buy the starter kit and you get an astonishing £230 worth of products! Click here to email me.

I'm closing this post with a picture of me (on the right) with my very special upline and friend Michelle Last who walked away from convention with the top prize - UK demonstrator of the year. I am so thrilled for her and she truly deserves her title - she is the loveliest person and it's a pleasure to work with her.

Thank you for dropping in today.

I'll be back tomorrow for a little Christmas gift inspiration.

Hope to see you then.