Just last night I finished cutting up some ribbons for a recent ribbon share that I ran, and with them all bundled up and looking pretty, a photo opportunity presented itself that I found difficult to pass up…

How YOU doin’….?!

Ooooooh, pretty…

That’s what I’m talkin’ about….

Ribbon shares are a fabulous way to get yourself an array of styles and colours to play with, without the need to shell out for entire rolls of each.

This last share was just for the three varieties pictured, but I’m happy to run shares for any/all of the ribbons in the current catalogue, simply visit my Ribbon Share Page to check out the details on the various share opportunities available and soon you too could be taking staged and gratuitous ribbon photos…

It’s T-minus three and a bit hours until the launch of the happiest time of the stampin’ year, and boy is there some fun stuff in store until March 31!

If you’re familiar with Sale-a-brations past, you will be aware that by simply spending $100 during the promotion period, you get to choose a gorgeous, exclusive and limited edition stamp set for F.R.E.E.

You may also be aware that by spending multiples of $100, you get to choose multiples of freebies and in addition to any of those freebies that you earn as a customer, by simply hosting your own workshop, your freebies can also be added to should your workshop total hit $600 or more (and that’s in addition to all the awesomeness that is the standard hostess plan…)

Perhaps you are also aware that in addition to the freebie fest on offer as a customer or hostess, it is also the single best time to join as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, due to the fact that on top of the amazing value of your kit, you get an extra free stamp from the Idea Book and Catalogue or current Mini Catalogue, plus all the usual benefits of joining the fun as a demonstrator.

In case that’s not enough to get your stampin’ juices flowing, here are a couple of peeks of the absolutely *stunning* Designer Series Paper that is one of the freebies available for your Sale-a-brating pleasure this year.  It’s called Everyday Enchantment, and it is nothing short of enchanting.  If you’re super eagle-eyed, you might even notice that the brads are not part of the usual catalogue range… *yet another new freebie alert*…

These were the two designs that I made as thank you cards for the Kindy teacher and teacher’s aides in my small girl’s class last year.

Yes, I have had the DSP since December, that’s one of the many perks of being a demonstrator – new product pre-orders an entire month before everybody else   If you’re interested in any of the other perks, be sure to let me know!

Stamps: For Everything
Paper: Everyday Enchantent DSP, First Edition Specialty DSP, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Lucky Limeade & Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Beautiful Butterflies die, Everyday Enchantment brads

If you know me at all, you’d be well aware that I am a big fan of handmade gifts – for teachers in particular – and this last year was no different, other than the fact that I now have two girls at school and more than double the number of gifts to make.

This year for the girls’ class teachers, I struck upon an idea quite early – which, while it didn’t translate into my actually completing the gifts any sooner than they were absolutely required (some things will never change), it allowed me to ruminate over how best to execute my plan…

The plan started with this little seed of an idea from a back issue of Creating Keepsakes (Nov/Dec 2010 for those of you playing along at home)…

Happily, the plan also required a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth (“start the CAR!!”) to pick up the frames that feature in the project

Here’s what I did with mine…

With the addition of a good many grinds of my Timeless Type Junior Alphabet and Simple Numbers dies through the Bigshot, plus my trusty laminator, I put together a perpetual calendar and was rather chuffed with the result

The one pictured above uses the very sweet and pretty Cheerful Treat Designer Series Paper, which is one of many options you have to choose from in the way of exclusive Hostess Products should you opt to host a workshop of your own.

Next up, I put one together using some very lovely paper that you may not yet be familiar with depending on whether or not you’ve clapped eyes on the upcoming Sale-a-bration brochure (can anybody say FREE STUFF?!!)

One tip that I will give you should you decide to embark upon a similar project, is that it’s a good idea to mark a little notch for the rings to sit in so that they don’t slide over the edges of the frame.

Like this…

I just used a little metal file that I have and after measuring the correct spot for the rings to hang, ground it back and forth to create the little divot

The gifts I made for the Teacher’s Aides in the kindy class were of a sewing persuasion and didn’t involve Stampin’ Up! fabrics, plus they were finished off at such a cracking last minute-ish pace that I’m not even sure I have photographic evidence that they exist…  If I dig some up, I will post them on my other blog for your viewing pleasure

So there you have it, my 2011 teacher gifts.

Should you be liking the idea of getting your hands on either set of the Designer Series Papers that you’ve seen glimpses of here, be sure to contact me to book yourself a workshop.  Sale-a-bration starts on the 24th of this month and is shaping up to be the best ever!  Contact me to book your date…

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the blog,
at the sight of a new post, the crowd were agog.
Though “crowd” is most likely too hopeful a noun,
since new posts around here are considerably down
from five posts in one day, believe it or not,
(on 6 August, ’07 for you disbelieving lot!)
to a single post (if you’re lucky) every month or two,
which I resolve to improve, I can assure you.

Next year, you see, the littler of my girls,
(the one with the brown eyes and gentle dark curls)
is heading to ‘big school’ – she’ll go every day,
which leaves mummy here with some more time to play.
And of course I will miss her – of that there’s no doubt,
but I figure it’s time to sort this ‘business’ out.

This ‘business’ that I started almost six years ago,
not realising back then quite how fast it would grow.
And therefore not doing it as ‘properly’ as I might,
had I foreseen the potential for it to take flight.
But soon with more time and opportunity to,
I look forward to starting it somewhat anew.

And I hope you will join me, both here and for real,
as I stamp and create with revitalised zeal.
For ‘to love what I do and share what I love”
is something I know that I’ll never tire of.
Huge thanks for your support of me, whether it be,
as someone already related to me,
or a person I’ve met on this stampin’ adventure,
so many of whom since became friends, I would venture.

So on this Boxing Day, I hope that it’s been
even better a Christmas than you had foreseen.
And here, from my family, best wishes to you,
and all our very best for a great New Year too!

Last month, I was honoured and excited to be asked to present a workshop “wow” at the Stampin’ Up! Perth Regional Seminar – an experience that included being hooked up to a microphone, presenting on stage to an audience of over 200 of my stampin’ peers, all while having a dude with a camera hovering over my shoulder and projecting my stampin’ hands onto two big screens at the front of the room.

Five years ago, such an experience would have filled me with dread (and when I was asked to present for the very first time about three Regionals ago I truly was filled with dread and considered a polite “no thank you” response) but having had the opportunity to present at three Regional Seminars now, as well as once at the yearly national convention, I’m pleased to be able to say that I think I have conquered my long held and deeply ingrained fear of public speaking and can cross that one off my bucket list.

The projects that I presented this time around focused on the new Sticky Sheets and our range of fine Stampin’ Glitters.

The other star of the show – the one that allowed me to obtain the lacy, glittery look – was actually a length of doily, plastic-y, tablecloth-y type stuff that I got from my local haberdashery store.  That’s the only way I can think to describe it, and when I did so at the shop, the assistant knew exactly what I was talking about and took me right to it

The beauty of this stuff is that it’s reusable (the plastic-y nature of it peels right off the Sticky Sheet), it’s inexpensive and comes by the metre, so you can get as much or as little as you need, and because you’re effectively using it as a stencil, it doesn’t matter if it’s ugly gold trimmed like the one in the middle as it doesn’t actually feature in your end result.  Bonus!

The process of actually achieving this result is very simple.  Firstly you peel the backing sheet off the Sticky Sheet and adhere it to a piece of cardstock, the peel the top (red) layer off the Sticky Sheet and lay the tablecloth piece over it.  You don’t want to press it too hard, as the Sticky Sheet is super sticky and you want to be able to remove the tablecloth easily.  Pour your first colour of Stampin’ Glitter over the top and rub it gently with your finger to ensure it gets into all the tiny holes and sticks to the Sticky Sheet beneath.  Pour off the excess glitter, then peel off the tablecloth.  Now take your second (ideally, highly contrasting) colour of Stampin’ Glitter and pour it over the previous colour so that it sticks onto the exposed Sticky Sheet.  Pour off the excess again, then dust-bust your desk and fend off comments for the rest of the day about how you are covered in glitter (I did a couple of afternoon school runs after preparing my samples, so I can vouch for that from experience)

That’s all there really is to it, and the options as far as cutting shape with the Bigshot as in the butterfly example above are pretty much endless.

I had a second card sample that I handed in to Stampin’ Up! as an example of the technique that I showed and also a 12 x 12 scrapbooking layout that I created about/for my niece, so I will try and grab that back off her one of these days and snap a picture.

The fourth sample is my favourite and was created as a bit of an artwork feature for my girls’ bedroom…

This one was created using a 3D frame from the Happiest Place on Earth (Ikea for those of you unfamiliar with my Swedish furniture obsession) and this time I placed the tablecloth stencil right over the mat board and glittered directly onto it.

To keep the glitter as the star of the show and not make the whole effect too busy, I kept the centre very simple, with a chipboard butterfly from the new On Board Merry Medley set embossed with the new Melon Mambo Stampin’ Emboss Powder (let’s hear a big “YAY” for coloured embossing!!) and embossed the tiny stamped heart from the Create a Cupcake set over the top in Cherry Cobbler.

I hope you have enjoyed my samples as much as I enjoyed creating them, and that you can forgive the past two and a half months of deathly blog silence from me.  I will redeem myself, I promise

If you would like any further information on the technique I have described here, or to purchase any of the products required to achieve it, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

“Glitter Butterfly Card”
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso,  Cherry Cobbler, 2010-11 In Color DSP Stack
Ink: Cherry Cobbler & Early Espresso (Stampin’ Write Markers)
Accessories: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Early Espresso 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon, Jewelry Tag Punch, Antique Brads, Sticky Sheet, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Finer Supernova Glitter (Chocolate)

“Glitter Frame with Embossed Butterfly”
Stamps: Create a Cupcake (small heart)
Paper: none
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: On Board Merry Medley, Melon Mambo and Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Sticky Sheet, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Fine Supernova Glitter (Olive)

There are several stamp sets that really made my stomach drop when I saw them show up on the retiring list, one in particular being Petal Pizzazz.

The beautiful, big, bold flowers lend themselves to beautiful, big, bold projects and I have used them SO very much these past couple of years!

Today I have another pizzazz-y project to share – one that I created recently as a gift for one of the mums from my small girl’s kindy class at school.  She is currently going through chemotherapy treatment and one of the other lovely mums organised a meal roster for the family, so for the past several weeks, the vast majority of the family’s weekday evening meals have been delivered to their doorstep.

I took a turn to take them my Grandma’s meat pie a couple of weeks ago (recipe below for those of you after a fabulously simple but hearty family meal!) and took the opportunity to include an extra little something to hopefully bring a smile to her face in the midst of such a turbulent and scary time for a mum with young children.

I wanted the front to be bright and cheery, so Petal Pizzazz combined with some gorgeous colours and lashings of stripey Old Olive ribbon did the trick perfectly   I also added some embossed Perfect Polka Dots onto the largest flower for some added whimsical texture, and some pearls and a button, well, because I like them

Inside I tucked a beautiful teal coloured scarf that I hoped would add some colour to some less than colourful days, and also a voucher for a massage that I hoped might provide some relaxing time too.

As I promised earlier in the post, here is the recipe for the at-least-three-generations-old recipe for my Grandma’s famous (at least in my family!) meat pie:

Ingredients:
500g beef mince
1 onion
1 potato
1 carrot
1 turnip
salt and pepper to taste
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry (I used to use the ready made frozen stuff, but now I returned to making my own as Grandma would have done – only she didn’t have a Thermomix, bless her )

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C

2. Line the base of a slice tin with two thirds of your rolled out shortcrust pastry, making sure that it extends beyond the top edges of the tin a bit (it will fold over the top layer at the end)

2. Chop the onion finely and grate the other vegetables. Or if you happen to own a Thermomix, whack all the vegies in and whiz them for three seconds at speed 5

3. Mix in the mince and combine well with the vegetables, adding salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place the mince/vegetable mixture on the pastry layer and spread out to all edges of the tin, pressing with a fork to flatten and smooth.

5. Take the remaining pastry and roll it out so that it covers the mince/vegetable mixture, place it on the top, then fold the underneath layer of pastry up and over the top layer, pressing lightly to seal the pie.

6. Bake for approximately one hour.

7. Serve with lashings of tomato sauce and additional vegies if you like!  It also makes a great picnic food, served cold (but complete with the lashings of sauce!)

If there is anything on the retiring list that has caught your eye, make sure to contact me to order it asap so you don’t miss out!

Oh, and if you make Grandma’s pie, be sure to let me know how it turned out, and if it becomes a staple in your house as it has in mine

REMINDER: My 2011-12 catalogue launch is coming in a couple of short weeks from now, so make sure to book your spot asap by contacting me!  It promises to be a fabulous event, with loads of new product inspiration..!

” Petal Pizzazz Gift Box”
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz
Paper: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Autumn Spice Specialty DSP (retired with Autumn/Winter Mini)
Ink: Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder, Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/4″ and 1″ Circle Punch, Small Star Punch (retired), Icecream Parlor Buttons (July Promotion), Basic Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals

So August has snuck on up, bringing with it the retiring list from Stampin’ Up! – the list of items that will no longer be available when the new Idea Book & Catalogue hits in a few short weeks from now.

Many of the stamp sets on the list have been my long time go-to stamp sets (Petal Pizzazz anyone…?!) and some have only been around for a relatively short time.  Some items on the list have been discounted by up to 40% but ALL of them are only available while stocks last!

To view the list and check out any must haves that you need to pounce on, click –>HERE<– and to order any of those must haves, be sure to contact me asap!

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Of course the retiring list having been released, means that the all new IB&C is only just around the corner, and having had the sneaky peek that being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator allows me to do, let me tell you, you’re in for the treat of all treats!

This year, to give the new catalogue all the fanfare that it oh so richly deserves, I have teamed up with a group of the demonstrators in my stampin’ team to bring you a launch extravaganza…

The nitty gritty details again, in a less decorative fashion:

Date: Sunday 28 August
Time: 1pm – 4pm
Venue: St Mary’s Anglican Church Hall, 9 Ridge Street, South Perth
Cost: $15 per person (includes your catalogue to take home!)

Places must be pre-booked and paid for, which needs to be done by August 21 to confirm your place.  With all the fun stuff we have in store, you’re not going to want to miss out, so hop to it!

Don’t forget to let any friends know who might be interested in coming along with you – every friend that you bring along who is new to Stampin’ Up! with me will earn you an extra ticket in the super duper prize draw on the day!

Too book your spot(s), be sure to contact me asap.

Righto, I hope to be back in the not too distant future with some reminders of how lovely some of the retiring list products are, as well as some sneak peeks of projects made with some fabulous new stuff, but right now my presence is required on the floor of the toy room, as I’m hanging out with my nine month old nephew this morning and he’s just now woken up

Way back when I was in primary school, one of the games that was favoured at the time (although probably very un-PC these days and likely going by a different name) was Chinese Whispers.  The game where one person started by whispering a sentence to the person next to them, who in turn whispered to the next person and so on around the circle until it got back to the beginning, sometimes as a very different sentence to what it started out as.

“I went to the beach last week” could easily have become “I ate a peach with my beak” depending on the size of the circle and the listening skills (or not) of the small folk involved.

A more fun and current version of this game (at least as far as I’m concerned) is the one that transpired last week in my own circle of stampin’ friends and family involving a single card as the first inspiration that through the wonders of the internet and text messaging became a “same but different version” of the card once it has passed through several people a mere few days later.

The starting point was this lovely card…

…that my friend and A Klass Act team member Tracey used as inspiration for this card that she made as a swap for a stamping evening we had at her place last Friday night…

Not having seen the original inspiration card at the time, I used Tracey’s card as my starting point for this one that I set as the make and take in my workshop the following day…

…which I attached to a text message to send to my lovely Aunty Mair, who in turn used it (not having seen the original or Tracey’s card) as inspiration for this delightful creation that she posted to her friend that she had enjoyed lunch with the previous day…

Isn’t this FUN?!

It’s truly one of my favourite things about stamping and creating – the process of being inspired by fellow stampers in a large or small way, and thereby never having to reinvent the stampin’ wheel as it were.

Have you played any games of Stampin’ Chinese Whispers lately…?

“My Stampin’ Chinese Whispers card – Thinking of You”
Stamps: Silhouette Sentiments (L1 hostess)
Paper: Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade & Peach Parfait markers, Basic Pearls, Pear Pizzazz Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

These past few days, I have watched more daytime TV than could usually be considered healthy, thanks to a dose of shingles that started out in my right eyebrow and has made its was onto my eyelid as well as spreading its painful feelers across my forehead, temple and cheek.

Not to mention that its allowing me to do a very passable impression of the Elephant Man thanks to the swelling around my eye.

Yep, I’m smokin’ HOT right about now, let me tell you…

So I have been spending quite a bit of time inside, partly because I have been feeling so wretched and partly so as not to give nightmares to any small children that I might cross paths with on the street.

I thought it might be an ideal time to get on  here with some stamped creations that I made some time ago and have photographed, edited and all, just not managed to share.

This card was one that I made for a very special wedding back in January – one of the five weddings we went to between September last year and February this year (never have I been so very aware of a “wedding season” in my life..)

The gal getting married was someone I have known since she was about four years old and her dad used to coach my brother’s junior cricket team.  Her parents and mine are still the best of friends all these years later – wonderful people, all of them

With so many weddings to go to, I found myself with a go-to card design that I made for a couple of them, but for this one, I wanted to do something a bit different and special.

I started out (as I very often do) at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog and used this sketch as my starting point…

After changing the orientation, I set about deciding what to decorate my four squares with and hunted through  my stamp and embellishment collection for anything ‘”wedding-y”.

Here’s a closer look at the combination of elements I ended up with…

It was one of those times that I was happy to have a variety of embellishments on hand, as it was the little touches that finished if off I think.  Things like the Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the champagne glasses and the tiny heart-shaped clear button with a punched out Cherry Cobbler heart stuck on the top.

If you’d like more details on any of the products or techniques I’ve employed on this card, please don’t hestitate to get in touch.

And who knows, depending on what Brooke is up to these days on the Bold and the Beautiful, I may even be back later with more…  (Assuming that Brooke is still around that is – surely she’s not finished marrying every bloke on the show yet…?)

“Congrats Nat & Dave – Wedding card
Stamps: Cheers to You, Always, Simply Said, Occasional Greetings, Playful Pieces (L3 hostess), Basic Phrases
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White, In-Color Patterns DSP (Blushing Bride)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: 1-1/4 and 1-3/8 Square Punches, 1-1/4 Circle Punch, Two Step Owl Punch (heart), Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Early Espresso Marker, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin Dimensionals

Before I start regaling you with tales from the wild ride that was Stampin’ Up! convention this year, I would love to take a moment to thank those of you who left a comment or got in touch with me after my previous blog post.  It’s so gratifying to be among friends when you’re feeling less than dandy, so thank you friends xo

~~~

Right, so with the weather over in the West this week being a tad on the chilly side and the wind chill factor and rain this week being much more reminiscent of Melbourne than Perth, I figured it was a perfect time to properly relive the events of this year’s convention.

See, I just needed to get myself into the zone.  Or something…

This year was my fifth Stampin’ Up! convention and after attending the first one waaaay back in Sydney in 2007, I was determined never to miss one and so far have managed to keep up that determination.

I’ve said it many times before, but there truly is nothing like being surrounded by 450 fellow stamp crazed, ink affected chicks (and the very occasional bloke – yes really) for three days in a convention centre.  Not to mention meeting up with those same folk sporting the exact same orange and pink polka dot convention bag as you on the streets around the convention centre and sharing a knowing smile or a friendly wave.

Yep, Stampin’ Up! demonstrators are certainly a breed unto themselves and I’m grateful every day to be one of them!

Here I am with two of them now, just as we were checking in at the airport- the gorgeous gals that I shared row 18 with on the plane over to Melbourne and back again…

Sarah Jane Kalé on the left (affectionately known as SJ) is such a lovely friend and I’m so glad that I got to cross paths with her as a result of this stampin’ thing!  Lee Pelosi (aka Lulla) on the right is another gorgeous gal that I was so happy to get to know better during our time in Melbourne.

Having left behind the balmy Perth weather to arrive in Melbourne on their coldest day in a millionty squillion or so years (which was compounded by waiting for over an hour for the transfer to our hotel), we arrived just in time to drop our bags and head off at a cracking pace to the Crown Casino complex for dinner with our team mates Lou and Jan who had arrived earlier.

Who should I meet on the way there but the gorgeous Teresa Dabrowksi – my hug-buddy for every convention that we’ve ever been to.  Our squeals of excitement and disbelief at our chance meeting on the street had some nearby bar patrons on a pavement cigarette break likely wondering if they needed to intervene for the safety of all in the immediate surrounds, but we assured them that it was a friendly meeting and after a brief chat and promise to catch up in the coming days, we continued on our separate ways.

Here’s Teresa on the occasion of one of our many hug intervals throughout the weekend.  Gosh I love this chick!  We were at Manager’s Reception at the time, a special event for demonstrators titled Manager and above to meet as a smaller group, eat yummy food and get extra special gifts from Stampin’ Up!

An event worth going to for sure

Also at Manager’s Reception were one of my SU! besties and all-round gorgeous person Marelle…

…the effervescent and ever so slightly deranged but delightful Madonna (at one point during the weekend, Mads took it upon herself to come up beside me and blow into my ear, hence the slightly deranged reference, but I do love her )…

Then there was the lovely Claire, who I just love to catch up with each year…

Manager’s Reception followed the first day of convention proceedings, which had begun with with frantic swapping, old friendships re-kindled, new friendships started and of course, the first appearance of the lady herself, Shelli Gardner…

As always, there were no details left out in the setting up of the stage, with giant sized stamps and enormous “papercrafted” bits and pieces adorning the set.  Shelli herself was divine as usual, with her amazing style, ever-present smile and calm grace.

Oh, aside from her reference to tweezers and forests, but that’s a story for another time (and perhaps another blog…!)

The first day saw us taking in some fabulous demonstrations, checking out the new and upcoming In-colors for 2012/13 (YUM!) and trying out for a Minute to Win It style game show that was to be held on stage in the following days.   I was terrible at the try outs, but was happy to cheer on the fabulous Meges as she took to the stage for the various challenges and ended up taking out the whole thing! Woo hoo!

One of the most exciting things about convention (other than catching up with new and old friends, watching amazing demonstrations, stamping with new and never seen before stamp sets, swapping, laughing, shopping and general merriment), is the opportunity to win additional new and never seen before stamp sets and prizes.

This year, Prize Patrol was bigger than ever, with products being given out as bundles, and as luck would have it, the second day of convention saw my wrist band design being flashed up on the screen announcing that I was one of several winners.

I can’t show you what I got (it’s coming in September!), but I can show you how delighted I was to GET it, and let you know that it was a stamp set and matching Designer Series Paper that is nothing short of STUNNING!

It ended up being one of six new stamp sets that came home with me – two from our convention check in bags, two from awards night, one from Manager’s Reception and another one that was handed out on the last day to every single person at convention, along with a new Simply Sent Card Kit.  Amazing!!

Here is another familiar face (and name!) that I was delighted to rub shoulders with on the very first morning at check in.  The super talented and  just plain lovely Kirsty Brown.  She did a fabulous demonstration up on stage on the last day, which we whooped and hollered for – mostly because her demo was amazing but also partly because it can be slightly terrifying to be on stage in front of so many of your peers, so we wanted her to know she was among friends

One of the fabulous things about being in Melbourne was the food factor.  We had some amazing breakfasts and some fabulous dinners, but almost all were overshadowed by the fact that there was a Krispy Kreme outlet just around the corner from our hotel.  There is no such thing as Krispy Kreme in Perth, so on the evening after convention day 2, we headed there to procure ourselves a couple of donuts and a hot drink each.

Can you see how excited I was to have one in my possession…?!

Not quite as excited as Lulla, who posed delightedly in front of the entire display

After making our selections, we all hopped into our jammies and gathered in mine and Tracey’s room to devour our donuts and watch The Notebook – a perfectly timed chick flick.

I updated my Facebook status to this effect:

Sarah Klass…is wearing jammies in a Melbourne hotel room, drinking hot chocolate and eating Krispy Kremes with my best stampin’ buddies and watching The Notebook. Hello perfect Friday evening…!

I am eating a steak and watching the Ultimate Fighter …..we are so in sync my darling.

Indeed…

I am suddenly aware that there’s not an awful lot more I can actually show you about convention, being that so very much of it was sneaky peeks of products from our upcoming September Idea Book & Catalogue.  So if it’s ok with you, I’m going to continue in the vein of friends and food…

The final evening of convention was set aside for the Awards Dinner, which is always a highlight and a fabulous opportunity to frock up.

SJ looked a treat in her enormous flower head-piece, which was also practical in that it made her easy to spot across the crowded room when I first arrived

I absolutely adore this photo of Lou and I, almost as much as I adore that girl herself.  She is an absolute treasure and I love her to bits and pieces.

Speaking of treasures, here are a couple more of the gals from my team – Michelle (aka Ministamper) and Jan (of Stamping Elegance) looking stunning at dinner.

I don’t have a photo of our team as a whole from my own camera, but we were advised during convention that the professional photo’s that were taken would be available for us to download for free after the event, so knowing that he had one of us that would be far superior to anything from my camera, I’m patiently awaiting that, plus any others that I can get my hands on!

After dinner we headed back to the theatre where that fabulous stage was all set up and got ready to cheer on our fellow stampers that received awards for the stampin’ year.  Having found a Demonstrator of the Year pin in my check in bag indicating that I had earned a place in the Top 25 demonstrators, I was surprised and so very happy to be called out at number 16.

I have such an amazing team of stampers and wonderful customers (who have also become friends), plus my beautiful and supportive family, without all of whom, such an exciting award would never come in my direction, so thank you to all of you for making this “job” so fun and rewarding

One of the announcements that is always keenly anticipated is where the Incentive Trip for the following year would take the demonstrators who were lucky and hardworking enough to achieve it.  The announcement itself is always more of a sideshow than a plain old statement and this year was no exception…

Aaron and Emma, the Australian and New Zealand country managers appeared aboard camels to advise us that next year’s trip would be to Broome!  Being that Broome itself is in my home state and only a few hours flight in a northerly direction from home, it might be assumed that us Perthites would find it not such an exotic location for an Incentive Trip.

Personally, I would camp in my own backyard if it meant I got to spend time with Shelli and the amazing bunch of stampers that achieve the trip each year, so I will certainly be trying my hardest to get there.  I’ll have to see how I go

Once the festivities were over, a few of us had an extra day to play tourists, which was great since the preceding days had been so completely scheduled with activities.

On Sunday morning, SJ, Lulla, Lou and I jumped on a tram and headed to St Kilda, where Lou knew of a whole street of cake shops “just like Birthday Bakery“!  We started out with breakfast, with plans to hit the cake shops later on.

Quite ridiculously, my camera came home with more than a handful of food photo’s on it, one of them being this particularly pretty coffee from breakfast that morning…

After breakfast, we hit the St Kilda markets and froze our bits and pieces off in the windy seaside location.  Lulla looked particularly fetching in this hat and we all thought she should buy it, but she didn’t, so the photo will have to suffice…

My absolute favourite stall was one called two green pears, were I could happily have purchased one of everything…

In contrast, my least favourite stall was one that was run by a lady who asked me not to take pictures of her stall, when in fact I was lining up a similar shot to this one of a lovely clock tower…

I don’t have any recollection of what she even had at her stall, but I can tell you I didn’t like it

After perusing the stalls and managing not to buy a cute fabric owl in every available colour, we headed to Acland Street, where the cake shops awaited…

The entire street was lined with windows like this, so it was particularly difficult to decide which one to grace with our custom.  Which was also decided by which one we could actually get a table at.  We stalked a group of four until they left (no, not really, I’m pretty sure they were leaving anyway.  I think…) and ordered ourselves more coffee and some sugary delicacies.  Amazingly enough, none of which I have pictures of, possibly as they didn’t last long enough to be photographed..

Lou’s flight was later that afternoon, so post coffee and cake, we headed back on the tram to see her off, after which SJ, Lee and I continued to play tourists…

We walked around all afternoon and evening, finishing up at Chinatown for a delicious dinner, followed by Max Brenner’s for an amazing chocolatey experience.

Our flight was the following day, so we settled back into row 18 for our early afternoon flight, arriving home to excited small folk fresh out of school and wondering quietly what delights might be contained in my bulging suitcase for them (a tiny treat each!)

So here ends my Melbourne convention adventure, a good long time after the adventure itself, but hopefully mildly entertaining anyway.

I hope to be back in a much shorter time span with things to show you that I have been creating in recent (and not so recent!) times…