Hello again stamping chums! Did you miss me? I missed you but oh, what a fantastic holiday we've had! Wall to wall sunshine, mountains of ice cream and so much laughter my sides ache! The best bit though was that instead of the usual wistful feeling at the end of the holiday, I felt really excited because I knew there was a very special something waiting for me at home:
A beautiful gift to welcome me to the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team 2014-2015! Would you like a peek inside?
I gasped when I lifted the lid - I didn't know what to look at first!
Aw, thanks SU - you really have made me feel very welcome! Inside this card I learned about a nice boost to my bank account AND a huge Stampin' Up shopping spree AND a boxful of products to be delivered to me each month! In fact, you know that feeling of wanting EVERYTHING in the catalogues? Well that isn't just a dream anymore!
Just look at these gorgeous flowers! So beautifully put together - I love them!
And what's this elegant-looking package?
From Tiffany's? Oh stop it now!
I will treasure this for ever! But wait - there's something else!
What's in this intriguing little sack?
It's a personalised stamp celebrating my place on the team!
DREAMS REALLY CAN COME TRUE
Are you wondering how all this happened? Well, it was like this:
When I first saw that Stampin' Up was inviting applications for its Artisan Design Team, I allowed myself a brief, fabulous vision of being awarded a place on the team before putting it firmly aside. Honestly, who did I think I was?!
But later, when discussing it with a Stampin' Up friend, I blurted out that I wanted a place on the team "so badly it hurts". I realised then that I had to at least try for it, so I sent in an application.
Fast forward three months... An email pings into my inbox from the lovely Paula Gorry, Stampin' Up's UK Business Development Manager asking if I'd be available for a phone call later that day as she has "something exciting to share." I'd forgotten all about the Artisan Design Team and spent the day coming up with increasingly unlikely reasons for her call.
I'm afraid Paula must have thought I was being very stupid on the phone! I didn't do any whooping or anything because I was too busy being utterly stunned! It was only when I'd put the phone down that it actually hit me: I had been chosen by Stampin' Up to showcase its products as part of an elite design team!
And that, I have to tell you, means the world to me!
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU
Hang on a minute! You didn't think I'd go off without showing you a little stamping did you?
This simple one layer card was made from the heart - both to Stampin' Up for honouring me with the place on the team and to all the people who have left me messages of congratulations. I'm very touched.
I used Flower Patch, one of Stampin' Up's new photopolymer sets, which is the most brilliant two step stamping set ever - and no stamp positioner required! Of course you don't have to layer the stamps - you can go totally simple as this card demonstrates.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
COME AND HOP WITH US EVERY WEEK!
The Artisan Design Team will be posting fabulous new projects for you in a blog hop each Thursday. I was away on holiday when the first blog hop happened but you can catch up with all my new friends in the team here:
Becky Cowley
Krista Frattin
Inge Groot
Lisa Harlow
Kerstin Kreis
Helene Legrand
Barbara Meyer
Allison Okamitsu
Keith Rueda
Sarah Sagert
Cindy Schuster
Mercedes Weber
Teneale Williams
Susan Wong
Kaitlyn Zumbach
What a marathon post this has been! You definitely deserve a nice cup of tea if you've made it this far (and I'm feeling a tad parched myself!) Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back on Monday with more inspiration.
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