An Interview & A Tools of the Trade Wrap-up

Stampin’ Success

People have been leaving me kind comments and emails all week, so I guess I should fill-in-the-blanks for those of you who are not demonstrators or who haven’t read the latest issue.  Stampin’ Up! publishes a magazine for demonstrators called Stampin’ Success.  The magazine focuses on great projects with new products, some sneak peek items, inspiration for our stamping businesses and usually an interview with a demonstrator.  I was super-excited when Stampin’ Up! reached out to me late last year to schedule an interview with me.  I love to talk about stamping, and I am always happy to share my story.  What an honor!

I reached out to Stampin’ Up! for permission to share the article with you, but (as I expected) I am not allowed to share the article in full.  Because the magazine is for demonstrators only, I am only able to share the following picture of the article (with illegible words).  While I would love to share the whole article, I understand and respect the reasoning behind this decision.  Because you read my blog frequently, you know me better than an interview could convey, anyway – although this article writer provides a great synopsis of what I’m all about.

Journey to the stars

How exciting is that?  I was so thrilled to be asked and so thrilled to be interviewed.  I’ll likely pop out of my skin when the magazine actually arrives at my door.  I am humbled and appreciative.

A Wrap-up of my Tools of the Trade Workshop

I’ve been sharing about my Tools of the Trade event for the past couple of weeks.  Well, the event has come and gone, and I couldn’t be happier with how it went.  The idea was born from a team meeting – I have several new demonstrators who aren’t familiar with many of Stampin’ Up!’s wonderful tools.  I thought it would be great fun to offer a Tools of the Trade workshop where I give a quick “how to” for a huge variety of tools – Magnetic Platform, Blender Pens, Embossing Buddy…Here’s the flyer that advertised the event:

Tools of the Trade Workshop

I brought one of my crafting tables and a whole bunch of chairs upstairs.  Here’s the basket of tools I threw together to share with my guests – it pretty much includes everything in the Stampin’ Up! arsenal:

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian King Pam, my wonderful friend and direct upline, offered to help out but was originally scheduled to work.  At last-minute, she was able to come, so I had a fun sidekick with whom I could share the spotlight.  The crowd that came was a mixed bag of awesome – a lot of demonstrators, a couple of customers, some incredible friends, customers of other demonstrators and Pam’s mom.

We all introduced ourselves to the group and told a little bit about ourselves.  What fun!  Quick summary:  we were all trapped into loving stamping simply because someone showed it to us.  Bandit was away for a kitty spa day, so there were no signs of him until the event was wrapping up:

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian King Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingI wrote all the tools and techniques on little pieces of paper – all in all, there were between 25 and 30 things I could talk about.  I take that back – nothing can limit how much I talk.  I guess I should say there were between 25 and 30 suggested topics.  I put them out on the table and allowed each person to come up and pick one thing they wanted to see demonstrated or talked about.  Photopolymer stamps.  Fringe scissors.  Craft scissors.  Stampin’ Trimmer Rotary Arm.  AquaPainters.  Blender Pens.  Core’dinations Card Stock.  Embossing.  Stamp-a-ma-Jig.  Clay Flower and Button Molds.  Personalized Stamps.  Stampin’ Write Markers.  These are just a few of the topics we covered.  Because there was so much experience in the room, the event quickly turned into a discussion with tips and tricks.

Jane chose “Envelope Punch Board” which allowed for a wonderful instructional from Pam.  We moved around a lot during the event to make sure everyone saw what they wanted to see.

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian King I am always amazed and shocked by the tips and tricks Pam offers.

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian King I only included one item in my basket that I have never used – Clay Flower and Button Molds.  When the topic was announced, I winced.  I offered it to the group, and Anne almost jumped out of her seat with excitement to showcase.  Anne, by the way, is the non-demonstrator-customer-of-another-demonstrator in the group.  She did an amazing job of showcasing this little-showcased product.  We all left excited to make buttons and flowers.

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingMy favorite product to showcase was the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig – probably because it’s a product and technique combined.  I was surprised at the number of attendees who had never used it.  They all had it (I think), but many didn’t know how to use it.  That was exciting for me.  In the action shot below, I was about to Stamp-a-Ma-Jig a pattern on a piece of paper we’d been using throughout the workshop, so prepare for a beautiful project.

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingIf you’ll notice in the picture above, there’s a box of goodies at Pam’s feet.  Each attendee left with a door prize that they got to choose from the box of goodies – drawings took place intermittently throughout the workshop.  Woo hoo!  There were several retired papers and ribbons and a couple of current items, too.  I imagine it was just as fun to see what people selected as it was for them to select.

And here’s the finished product of my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig demonstration.  I warned you that the page was filled with other demonstrations.  Anyway I lined up three chevrons from Geometrical to create a Cherry Cobbler pattern.  It looks like I was questioning my pride in the final design.

Tools of the Trade Workshop, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingI am so happy I decided to host this event.  It was such a joy to meet some of the demonstrators in the Atlanta area and to share our passion for stamping with each other.  I’m so glad I had Pam with me – she’s the perfect sidekick, and we work well as a team.

I hope you enjoyed this recap of our fun time.  I want to host more of these events in the future – and maybe they can just get bigger and bigger.  Although I don’t host a lot of events and workshops (and that’s partly by design), I feel like I am at my best when I’m in front of a group.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

Clearance Rack.  Going, going, gone.  The Clearance Rack was restocked with a handful of awesome products last night – some great kits, accessories, ribbons and Designer Series Paper!  Now’s a really great time to check it out – and earn Sale-a-Bration credits while you’re at it.  Items are only good while supplies last.  (I noticed that some items are not marked down in the store yet – based on previous experience, I suggest you go ahead and buy it and then contact Stampin’ Up! after-the-fact for the discount so that the product doesn’t sell out first).  Check them out here.

Today is the day that Stampin’ Up! announces its Weekly Deal items – a variety of products that are discounted this week only.  To see which items are discounted this week or to purchase any of these items in my online store, click here.

31 Comments

  1. Laurie Burns Gachewicz

    You are amazingly AWESOME Brian!!! Thank you SO much for sharing all the great pictures and walking us through your event like only YOU can, so we feel like we were there too!! I’m so excited to hear you had such great people with you so you all could share tips & tricks with each other. That is really the best way to learn- experiencially!!! And of course, I am also glad to know Bandit had a well-deserved spa day!!! 🙂

  2. I’m so excited for you! The article was great and such a surprise to see in my Stampon Success! Great pix from your event too. I’ve done one before but thanks to your post, I have some new ideas to implement. Love the blog!

  3. WOW! Well done Brian – I’m so happy for you. You truely deserve it with all the effort that I can see went into the above and everything else you do. So wish I could visit you.
    Vicki x

  4. Congratulations on your published interview with the Home Office! Your gathering for tools of the trade looks well attended and I see smiles of appreciation! It’s always nice to get together, we truly learn something from each other! Clay molds for instance, not for me, but I’m sure I would have been dazzled by Ann’s introduction and would have them on my list soon!

  5. Sure looks like a very successful event you had, Brian! Such happy faces and, I’m sure, there were so many great techniques and tips shared! And how fun to see your sming face on the SU! article even if the actual story had to be redacted! (Never thought I’d actually get to use that term!)
    Thanks for sharing all the pictures, too!

  6. Sounds like so much fun! Wish I had been there! TFS!

  7. Oh how much fun and information all together . What is so odd is I have had my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig forever and because you and Maria use it with success I decided to try it again yesterday after having it forever….love it . There are seasoned stampers that could learn a new trick or two with these products . I know everyone there enjoyed your workshop . Thank you for the pictures ….they are great ! And once again congrats on achieving magazine article achievement . Super !

  8. What fun!! Happy, smiling faces all around, sharing tips and tricks of the trade. Wish I could have attended. And congratulations are in order for your published interview with SU, you deserve this recognition Brian, for all the effort and hard work you put into your blog and presentations. Thank you for sharing the great pictures and the great news.

  9. Looks like everyone was having a great time, Wish I could have been there. You are awesome.

  10. Brian Thank you for sharing all you beautiful designs. I wish I could have come to your workshop it looks like it was awesome. I look forward to see what new trips and designs you post everyday. Thank you for all that you do.
    Kitty

  11. awesome blog today as usual, congtulations on the interview. the photos of your workshop was fun to look at. wish i was there. maybe soon when my brother moves to atlanta i will be able to come and visit him and maybe you too. !!! hope so. keep up all your great things with stampin up they inspire me. thanks

  12. Have you ever made a video showing how to use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig? I would love to see how to use it. Thank you;)

    • Maureen, Please don’t tell anyone, but that’s my next video. I know there are others out there, but there’s nothing wrong with a good refresher course, right? 🙂

      • Awesome! My images are always crooked and I wondered how to use this tool.

      • Oh I can’t wait for this (secret) video! For the life of me I can’t quite figure out how to use that tool!
        TFS all your wonderful photos. Seems like so much fun! Wish I was closer too and not stuck in snow in S-W Ontario. It made me miss Leadership and now (still snowing) it just won’t go away.
        BTW: thank you for your nice comment on my own blog. It really means the World to me that you took the time to leave such a lovely one. Thank you.

  13. It’s wonderful to see your talent being recognized Brian! Kudos to you and thanks for all that you so graciously share.

  14. Your workshop looked like a lot of fun. I was surprised to see you in Stampin Success, but not sure why…. You totally deserve it! Your blog is so inspiring. Congratulations! Love your Brain… haha!

  15. Your event looked like fun! I’ll bet it was a shot in the arm to the demos who attended. And your write up was quite nice and well deserved. We are rooting for you, Brian, to rock SU’s socks like no man before!

  16. You Rock, Brian! Congratulations on the write-up in Stampin’ Success! I haven’t received my copy yet, and look forward to reading it. And what a great idea to have a Tools of the Trade workshop. There is always something to learn, and it looked like so much fun!

  17. You’re getting a lot of good press Brian (including on my blog today) : ) So happy for your “Stampin’ Success!” : )

  18. Congratulations on the published interview! I’m sure it is a great article, you are so talented and inspiring in all that you create and with your blog. I continue to get so much inspiration and knowledge from you! I look forward to your posts! I think your workshop was a great idea-I so wish I lived closer I would have loved to attend!

  19. Congratulations, Brian!!! Can’t wait to read your interview when I get the magazine. Read your blog every day and have learned a lot of tips and tricks. Also like to browse Pinterest to see what other stampers have pinned from your blog.
    Keep warm, remember Spring is just around the corner.

    Stamping hugs.

  20. This past Saturday my husband and I went on a road trip but stopped by the Post Office first. My Stampin’ Success had arrived and I already knew you were being spotlighted in the magazine. I squealed as I saw your photo and exclaimed to my hubby, “There’s Brian!!! My Stampin’ Up! celebrity!!” That’s how I think of you. I hope you don’t mind! Of course he already knew who you were as I’ve talked about you more than several times over the past year! LOL! You totally deserve some recognition Brian! I’m so proud of you for who you are and sharing what you love to do! I look forward to visiting your site each and every morning. 🙂

    BTW, I’m so happy your Tools of the Trade event was a success! Thanks for sharing it with us out here in Cyber Land!

  21. Brian – your get together looks like it was just so much fun and how very generous of you to offer door prizes for all your guests. I bet every single one of them had a fantastic time.

    Sorry that SU won’t allow non demonstrators to get to read your interview. I bet it was absolutely awesome and having it published in their monthly magazine is indeed a great honor. We all know if anyone deserves that honor it’s you.

  22. Oh how I wish that I could ‘twitch’ my nose like Bewitch! That I way I could pop in and out of Atlanta and attend all of your functions. What a way to save on air fare! Pictures tell it all. You had a blast! Thanks for sharing.

  23. Thanks for including me in the fun. The picture of me could have been omitted (one more reason to get this boot off and back in the gym!) It was a great event. You are such fun to watch and listen to as is Pam. Second though to Carol (Pam’s Mom) and demo Anne..oh my goodness. Is it wrong to want to relocate to Tucker just to live on their street and make cards?
    Also, congrats on the article. Too cool. Again, is it wrong to wanna re-sign up to demo just to get the issue of Stampin Success for you to autograph?

  24. Can’t wait to receive my Stampin’Success and read the article IRL (my old eyes don’t do so well on the online version). I too wish I could have a “beam me up Scotty” or a nose like Bewitch and pop in to your events. (Forget about taking a plane and trying to get there, like for Leadership…. not spending another 4 days snowed-in Buffalo LOL)

  25. Congratulation on the article Brian. You’re an inspiration to many, I hope you know that and the article will help you to inspire even more people. It was great meeting you, I had a super fun time.

  26. dang! sure wish I lived in the Atlanta, GA area cuz I’d have been there for sure! great idea.

  27. Wish I could have been there. That Stamp-a-Ma-Jig sometimes Stamp-a-Ma-Jogs when I use it!

  28. Brian, I’m still grinning thinking about the fabulous, fun afternoon with you and Pam and all of the wonderful ladies at your house! I am loving reading this post and looking at these pictures – which I do every day now! It was a great time, wasn’t it?

Leave a Reply to Robin Myren Cancel reply