Atlanta Event – Day Two

“Incredible” cannot adequately describe the weekend I just experienced.  It would take 428 more adjectives to explain how amazing it was to spend so much quality time with so many awesome people.  I have come to know and love so many of these friends through our Stampin’ Up! online community – was excited to be reunited with so many and thrilled to meet so many for the first time.  We crafted, we played games, we learned, we socialized and we laughed – we laughed a lot.  While I have yet to process the entire weekend (still going through the “oh! remember when this happened?” phase), I am in disbelief that Pam Morris, Katy McGloin and I actually pulled off this event, and I am so grateful that so many people were able to share it with us.  Today I am going to share pictures from the event to give you an idea of what we did.  Sit back – we’ve got a lot to cover today.  🙂

Our morning started (as all good mornings do) with some Krispy Kreme donuts.  You have to have sugar to get those creative energies flowing!  Coffee was another option for boosting energy.  Tickling was another, less favorable option.  Pam was proud to serve the delicious, little dough-and-sugar bombs.

The morning started with some mix-and-mingle time.  Most of the attendees brought swap cards (I shared mine yesterday – you can see it here), so we spent an hour meeting and swapping cards with one another.  I usually feel rushed with swaps at Convention and don’t really get to examine the cards I’m receiving.  I enjoyed greeting these wonderful people and “taking in” their beautiful creations.

Once we were all settled in, we did some really great make-and-takes.  Each of the make-and-take sessions involved some of the new and really cool products from Stampin’ Up!  Pam made a gorgeous card and envelope set using Season of Style DSP and the Envelope Punch Board.

Katy McGloin led a make-and-take that featured the new Rotary Trimmer arm and blades.

That was the morning.  While we enjoyed sandwiches from Subway (“eat fresh”), I put these bags in the middle of the tables with the “no peeking” declaration.  It was fun to see and hear the anticipation and wonder.  It was exciting to know what was in store and to know that they had no idea.  🙂

Have you ever seen the TV show “Chopped” on The Food Network?  It’s a show where experienced chefs are given a basket of foods from which to create a meal.  The items may or may not be related to one another.  For example, you might have to make a dish with pork tenderloin, brown sugar, prunes and chocolate candies.  You’re getting the idea of what was coming next.  We gave the stampers 30 minutes to make a card.  We had various inks, papers and “pantry” supplies for them, but they were required to incorporate the items from the bag into their card (Hello Lovely stamp set, Island Indigo Chevron Ribbon, Epic Day This & That Designer Series Paper, Epic Day Washi Tape and Chevron Border punch).  The timer was set, and they went to work:   

“Time’s up!”  We lined up all the cards along the wall and assigned each card a number.  The participants voted on their favorite cards to select a winner.

The winner (much deserved) was Debbie Crowley.  I think most people rated her gorgeous card as their #1 choice.  It’s easy to see why.  Here’s a closeup of her card.  Definitely blog-worthy, so I suspect you’ll be seeing this beauty on Debbie’s blog at Expressively Deb soon.

After the excitement of our “Chopped” competition was over, we played a couple of rounds of Bingo.  We hired a Professional Bingo Master to run the show.  She flew in from Tucson, Arizona with a regulation Bingo Cage and a suitcase filled with fun product giveaways.  We didn’t ask Mary to do this, but she really wanted to.  We had “prize patrol giveaways” and big gifts throughout the day, but these were really special because they came from the Professionals Bingo Master.

After the Bingo prizes were distributed, Pam and I shared some tips and tricks for some more of our favorite products and project ideas.  Pam showed a really cool masking technique and made a gorgeous card with painter’s tape.  I shared my tips for a successful Build a Banner workshop, showcased the Flip Card Thinlits and shared my whitewashing technique on Natural Composition Paper (one of the techniques I shared during my Convention presentation.  Here’s the only picture I have of our product displays.   It’s a silly picture of me, but Pam loves this shot of her, so here you go.  Katy is standing behind her.

Then it was time for more games.  We played Win, Lose, Draw or Act.  I had clues (items from the catalogs – stamp sets, colors, DSPs, tools) on cards.  Participants could either choose to draw (one point) or act out charades-style (three points) the clues in limited times.  It was a blast!We had several big giveaways throughout the day: Circle Flip Card Thinlit, Envelope Punch Board, Rotary Trimmer and Blades and All Occasions Card kit.  We were just as happy to give them out as the recipients were to get them.  Yippee!

Once the room was cleaned and packed away, we all headed over to dinner at Maggiano’s, an amazing Italian restaurant just across from the hotel.  We ate family-style with huge plates of amazing food.  It was a great way to recap the events of the day.

Here’s a group shot of the folks who made it to the event early in the day.  Others showed up after lunch.  I can’t say enough about this talented and fun and wonderful group of people:

And this is four generations of stampers in my upline and downline.  I was so fortunate to have so many who were able to come to the day.

FRONT ROW:  Pam (my upline), Chris, Allie, September  BACK ROW:  Jeremiah, Brian, Mary, Katie  TEAM MEMBERS NOT PICTURED:  Sharon, Lynn, Ashley, Mary, Sheila, Kelly, Jennifer

JOIN MY GROUP.  Today is the first day of Stampin’ Up!’s two-week starter kit promotion.  For just $25, you get to order between $25 and $26.95 of product with free shipping and a bundle of catalogs and business supplies.  You don’t have to host workshops and parties to earn a 20% discount on your orders – AND 30% off your first $150+ order.  And don’t forget about the $25 extra hostess rewards in October for orders over $250.  You have ABSOLUTELY NO OBLIGATION to stay in if you don’t want.  The best part, though, is that you can be a part of my team.  Won’t you please come enjoy the ride with me?  SIGN UP HERE or contact me at [email protected] with questions about this no-strings-attached promotion.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

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