Christmasy Convention Swaps...and a cute kitty!

Here are some more of the swaps I took to convention. The first was for a new catalog preview swap. The "new" is in the color and the sentiment stamp. This is 3 layers of cardstock...2 pacific point with a whisper white sandwiched between. The base PP is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, the WW layer is 4 x 5 1/4, and the stamped PP layer is 3 7/8 x 5 1/8. I stamped the vine from Baroque Motifs in Pacific Point on PP, ran my embossing buddy over it and then stamped the vine again (intentionally offset), the burst "flowers" and the sentiment in versamark and embossed with white EP. (It think next time I'll stamp in whisper white craft and white EP to give a more solid image.) After embossing I used my 2-way glue pen to add dazzling diamonds to the flowers and sponged whisper white craft around the edges to soften it. I added the white taffeta ribbon (yum...simply LOVE the taffeta ribbon), mounted the stamped PP on the WW and then mounted that on the base PP. Voila! Ok, it really is much less complicated than it sounds. So much so that I'm hoping to include this in the Christmas stack in October (see my events calendar for details)

I also participated in a pin swap and made this domino pin to share. You can view a great tutorial for domino pins here. I embossed the snowflakes and, although you can't see it in the pic, added dazzling diamonds to them with my 2-way glue pen. I attached the black gingham ribbon with sticky strip and the pin to the back with crystal effects. Punched two holes in the card with my crop-a-dile to make the pin more "giftable."

And now for the cute kitty!

This is our newest addition. His name is Pippin (Peregrin Took from the Lord of the Rings trilogy). About 10 days ago he wandered into our lives. There was never a real question about IF we would keep him. Hubby and I never really discussed it..it was just understood that he was ours. He's adapting well to his new home, which includes 2 other cats (7 year-old Moe and 1 year-old Finnegan (Finn)) and a 3 year-old chocolate lab "puppy" named Bettis (yes, as in Jerome Bettis of the Steelers...no, we don't watch football. We adopted him when he was 1yo...name and all.) Isn't he adorable???

Christmas Card: Baroque Motifs and Heard from the Heart stamp sets; Pacific Point and Whisper White cardstock; Pacific Point Classic, Whisper White Craft and Versamark ink pads; stampin' sponge, white taffeta ribbon, white embossing powder, heat gun, 2-way glue pen and dazzling diamonds glitter

Very Merry Pin: Short and Sweet stamp set; Pacific Point classic, Jet Black Stazon and Versamark ink pads; sanding block; sticky strip; black gingham ribbon; pin back; crystal effects; matte acrylic spray sealer

Three pics and off to bed

Although I'm posting this now, I wrote it last night but blogger didn't like my camera.
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So, imagine how tired you'd be if you stayed up from 6AM Sunday till 10:30PM Monday? Now, imagine that in that time you helped a friend search all her luggage for her ID, went through airport security twice, changed time zones 3 times, almost missed a connecting flight because you believed your ticket and then drove 3 hours home?? Welcome to my day(s).

Three pics to share before I crash...fortunately without a plane. :)

On Friday I met and got not one, but two, pics with Kristina Werner. She was on prize patrol and handed my roommate her prize. I went crazy screaming "THAT'S KRISTINA!!!" You see, I'd just been telling said roommate about Kristina the night before. So, roomie took our pic. Well, b/c general session is not the best lit place, we looked like we had no hair...so, when I ran into her in the hall, I got a second pic. This is the second one...she's the cute one on the right...please ignore the one on the left.
Here's my stack of free stamping stuff...top to bottom Cupcakes wheel, 1" double-stitched chocolat grosgrain ribbon, Say it with Scallops, Eastern Blooms, Crazy for Cupcakes, Flight of the Butterfly and Inspired by Nature (double mounted).
And here's me receiving my Say it with Scallops set from UPS!! Oh, yeah, we were SO excited!!! I can't wait to share more!! But for now, good night

FREE STAMPS!!! ...and now it's over...

I GOT FREE STAMPS!!!!!! Today was a big day for me. I had make & takes and classes in the morning (both absolutely wonderful!) and then at general session in the afternoon (well...from 2:30-5:30) I won stamps!! I got a cute new birthday set with cupcakes, a matching wheel and a spool of new wide chocolate chip stitched grosgrain ribbon!!! And...as if that weren't enough...UPS gave all of us a new stamp set...it's the new Ronald MacDonald House Charities set so $2 from each of the 5,700 sets given away goes to the charity...how awesome is that?!? I'm so jazzed, and while it's officially over, I still have a party with my hotel friends tonight, so I'm off to swap and party with them.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to post much. I didn't realize how busy they'd keep us! I'm so glad my flight doesn't leave until evening, so I can have some free time to breath (and possibly, stamp...or at least mount my new sets...and there's always time ON the plane ;). When I packed to come I left some extra space, so hopefully I'll have enough room for all my new loot.

I can barely wait until the 12th so you can all see what I've got...it's going to be AWESOME!!!!!!

Convention Day 1

Today was check-in day. We picked up our bags when we arrived at the convention center, inside which were our 3 free new stamp sets, convention schedule, meal tickets, pen, pins...oh, AND THE NEW CATALOG!! There were ladies everywhere sitting, standing and walking into others while they perused the new catalog. It's beautiful. We've got new stamp sets like Eastern Blooms (one of my free convention sets and my favorite of the 3) which has a modern, asian feel...sort of eclectic. There are also some vintage style sets, and tons of beautiful paper, simply scrappin' kits and...a new item...card element kits. They're kind of like a scrappin' kit for cards so you can create rubber-free, if you so desire.

When my roommates and I had settled in for the evening and gotten acquainted, we broke out our new sets and did some creating. The only thing better than playing with new stamps is doing it with someone else. We shared ideas and bounced designs off each other...just wonderful!!

Here are some pictures from today:
The Gathering Place...this is where we picked up our bags and will be eating lunch this week. It is also where the display boards are...just boards and boards of cards and other projects to spark our creativity. My camera was full before I got a chance to take any pictures of the boards...but it's empty now and I'll be spending a lot of time taking pictures of the samples tomorrow.








After we picked up our bags we stood in line to get into Memento Mall...2 1/2 hours later, we were inside. I restrained myself and only got a project tote (decorated with fabric that matches a new designer paper), a 20th anniversary charm and a key chain. There were also aprons, shirts, posters and much more. Here we are in line....and shopping at Memento Mall.

And now it's almost midnight (2AM according to my internal clock...stinkin' time zones!) so I'm off to dream of beautiful stamped projects.

Tomorrow I'll try to post pics of some of the swaps I brought with me. In the meantime, here's a color combo from the sunsets last night...bashful blue, apricot appeal and basic gray. The gray was the clouds on the horizon with the blue above and the apricot below...just beautiful. Now, if you'll take the challenge, I'd like to see what you create with these colors. Just take upload an image of your project (to http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ or another online photo gallery such as snapfish or photobucket) and post a comment with the link to your card. I hope you'll share your projects with us!!!

Chasing a sunset

Well, I'm currently sitting in the Las Vegas Airport waiting to depart for Salt Lake City and Stampin' Up! convention 08!!! I can't tell you how excited (and tired...it's 2AM eastern and I still have at least 2 1/2 hours of travel left) I am. My swaps are finished, labeled and packed with the utmost care. And in just under 10 hours I'll have the Fall Winter 08 Idea Book and Catalog in my eager little hands!! I'll be (trying to) post each day to update you on what's happening at convention, what I'm learning and all the goods....maybe even a sneak peek or two. :)

So, allow me to explain my title. I left Pittsburgh just before sunset and, by traveling west, got to experience the longest sunset of my life...3 hours!! It was wonderful! I even jotted down a couple color combinations inspired by the sunset. In addition, there were several thunder storms to the north of use, which made for an amazing light show. I'd love to share the pictures, but, alas, there are none. You see, I inadvertently left my camera in my bag which went in the overhead, rather than putting it in my bag at my seat. I'd also love to share pictures of the Las Vegas strip from the air, but...see my reason above. Argh...I'll definitely be putting that camera in my personal bag for the ride home.

Well, enough babbling. We'll be boarding in about 10 minutes.

Stay tuned for all the fun of Stampin' Up! convention...and don't forget to join us Tuesday, August 12 and "Get the Scoop" on the new catalog and see all the goodies I bring back from convention.