World Card Making Day 2017 – a Recap of an Incredible Weekend

This weekend was a blast in Atlanta, Georgia!  Pam Morris (my Stampin’ Up! upline) and I hosted the FIFTH year of our World Card Making Day event.  Along with 70+ Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from all over the United States, we enjoyed engaging presentations, inspirational presentations and lots of fun stamping.  The event is no small task to pull together, but we enjoy every single minute we get to share it with our awesome attendees.

Today I am sharing some fun pictures to give you a wrap-up of our weekend event.

Maggiano’s

Friday Night, before the stamping event, we invited attendees to join us for dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy.  We scored a banquet room and an amazing dinner for the add-on event.  Here are some pictures from our delicious kick-off dinner:

The Crew

Here’s a peek at the group who joined us for this year’s event:

Presentations

Our day was filled with some really great presentations and discussions.  Here’s a look at our fun group of inspiring presenters:

Front Row: Julie DiMatteo, Debbie Crowley, Pam Morris   Back Row: Brian King, Jennifer Hill, Donna Griffith

Julie shared some incredible 3-D projects.  Debbie gave great pointers for creating a balanced card layout.  Pam shared some great ideas for holiday gift-giving.  I presented some great ways to use and be inspired by Designer Series Papers.  Jennifer shared great tips for demonstrators to differentiate themselves from others.  Donna inspired us with great Smitten Mittens bundle projects.  We are so fortunate that these ladies shared their talents with us!

Games & Giveaways

Between presentations and swaps, we were happy to host some fun games and giveaways during the day.  We played to fun games – a Stampin’ Sponge toss (one player tossed a sponge, and the other had to catch the sponge in a bin on their head) and a “know your colors” game (I gave clues to a color, and players had to find that color in a bag of balled-up cardstock).  Both were super-fun.  Here are some (kinda blurry) pictures of the games in action:

We had 12 bags of goodies – a mix of bundles and products we love.  Winners were drawn at random and picked a bag to open in front of everyone (they didn’t know what was in each bag, which made it more fun). Laurel has one of the best reactions when her name was called!See that cute, little cup on the desk in front of her?  That was one of the table gifts we left for attendees at our event.  The day started with little chocolates in a popper (made with Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series Paper), and the afternoon kicked off with peppermints in a tiny coffee cup (wrapped in Be Merry Designer Series Paper and adorned with a tiny bow).  A special thanks to Julie DiMatteo and Jackie Beers for helping to pull these together.  Here’s a look at those projects:

Swap Fun

We hosted two swaps during the event – a one-for-one 3-D swap and a traditional card swap.  The cards were amazing (as always), but we had a lot of fun with the one-for-one 3-D swaps.  Participants walked around the room, meeting one another and showing off their creations until we sounded the alarm for them to pick a partner and swap.  What fun!  Swaps were everything from tiny treat holders to home decor.  Look at the gorgeous project Karen and Deb made:

Selfie Frame

Who doesn’t love a good selfie frame?  Pam decorated this frame with burlap ribbon and some festive Fall leaves.  You can’t help but smile when standing behind a selfie frame.  Here are some great shots!

with Michelle Brownstein

with Patti Hunt

with Debora Wiles

with Pam Morris

Giving Back

We asked attendees to bring cards that can be donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (our team member, Sharon Walker, is a nurse there).  The cards will be for the children and their families so that they can (they will be the recipients of some and will be able to give others).  We spent time after dinner creating cards – this is the supply that was simply brought to give.  What a joy!

The entire day was filled with joy.  I’m so glad I was able to spend it with this special group of awesome people!

Brian

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https://i0.wp.com/my.stampinup.com/portal/images/default-source/happening-now/promotions/wcmd/wcmd_demo-header_na.jpg?resize=548%2C178&ssl=1Save While You Celebrate World Card Making Day.  World Card Making Day is October 7.  To celebrate World Card Making Day, Stampin’ Up! is kicking off a 10-day sale.   Until October 10, you can:

  • earn a 15% discount on Whisper White and Very Vanilla Note Cards & Envelopes
  • earn a 15% discount on select stamp sets from the Annual & Holiday Catalogs
  • To see all of the items in the World Card Making Day sale, CLICK HERE.

Coffee Break Designer Series Paper is one of the papers that’s on sale in October (buy 3, get 1 free) – you don’t want to miss this deal!  What fun!  Click this banner to see all the papers that are a part of this special:


One-for-One Card Swap.  I’m hosting a 2017 Holiday One-for-One Swap.  For information about the swap and how you can participate, please click here or on the picture below:

2017 Holiday One-for-One Swap

 

 

58 Comments

  1. Brian – thanks to you, Pam, all presenters and participants for a fantastic event.

  2. It was a fantastic day!! Thanks again for all the hard work!!! ?

  3. It sure was fun! Thank you for an awesome recap Brian. It is hard to convey just how special this event really is but you captured it beautifully

  4. Looks like a great day, hope to join you some year!!!

  5. Looks like y’all had a great time and learned a lot as well!

  6. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, how fun, you all like so GREAT ,
    I MISSED YOU ALL ,
    AND I LOVED the projects, wow ,
    Thanks pals for sharing, I love u ALL,
    Hugs Frenchie ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

  7. What fun. I love the card giving idea for the hospital. I look forward to reading about this event each year.

    • It was very rewarding to roll out those boxes of cards at the end of the night. So grateful to all who brought cards and who helped make cards that night. <3

  8. I really hope to be a part of this event some time. It looks like such fun.

  9. Thanks Brian for such a great time. The day was full of inspiration and we made some awesome new friends! looking forward to being invited back for next years event.

  10. Amazing event and I was honored to be a part of it! Thank you!!

  11. This was so much fun! I love spending time with everyone. An awesome event with awesome people! Thanks to you and Pam!

    • Oh, Jackie! I adore you and am grateful for all of your help with prepping for this event. You are a trooper – we need to find more reasons to get together and stamp. <3

  12. The event was amazing and inspiring and I was honored to be part of it also. Thank you for working to make it possible for all of us.

  13. Sigh!! I really missed attending this year – it looks like you had a WONDERFUL time!

  14. It was a fantastic day, Brian! But if I’d known that picture was going to go world-wide, I would have at gussied up a bit! Loved everything about the day! Many thanks to you and Pam!

  15. It was a wonderful day! I always love my Atlanta weekend! Many thanks to you and Pam for making it happen! And I ordered Smitten Mitten thanks to that Donna! ?

    • Oh, Linda – our 5-star WCMD guest. 5 years in a row – you rock! So glad you joined us again this year. Such fun! Gotta love it when you realize you need something you didn’t know you needed.

  16. I look forward to this event every year! Thank you for an always FUN time and a chance to meet new Stampin’ Friends! ♡♡♡

  17. Oh Brian! I am speechless and that is almost an impossibility! 70 attendees – how fabulous. You and Pam are phenomenal and must work for a year to put this gathering together! I am simply amazed at how you are able to pull this off every year and every year it gets better and better! TFS

    • It’s a lot of work, Grace, but it’s worth every minute of it. So glad you like the pictures – they don’t even begin to share the amount of joy in that room. 🙂

  18. Everything a WCMD is meant to be. Fabulous friends, fun and lots of card making. I missed this but enjoying vicariously thru the pix.

  19. Y’all rocked it, for sure! This is my favorite event to attend and looking forward to the one next year! Thank you so much for having it. I know it’s a lot of work and your passion for paper and ink shows. Love all the pictures and hope to see you soon!

  20. Thanks for sharing the pictures ! It looks like it was FUN ..FUN…FUN !!

  21. Brian, you always seem to be enjoying everything you do – do you bottle that enthusiasm?? Your blogs are always wonderful, great color combinations and ideas. Wish we lived closer.

    • Wow! Thanks so much, Roxanne! I’m not always that happy – but I’m always having a good time when I’m crafting or hanging with my crafty friends. Thanks for your comment. <3

  22. Brian my heartfelt thanks for this awesome event. I always have such an inspiring time and I can’t wait to do it again.

    • Robbye – so glad I could spend Friday night and Saturday with you (and a bunch of our friends). I’m happy you were able to experience all that we prepared for this event.

  23. This event is better than Cats! I would attend again and again. I do think it’s a little mean that Brian and Pam only do this once a year. To spoil us so much and then say, “nope, you gotta wait til next year to enjoy our wizardry again.” Rude. That’s okay, all is forgiven because that room was full of love and chocolate and stamping and laughter. Good times. Good times.

  24. Brian, you and Pam really outdid yourselves! I had such a great time reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, seeing all the amazing 3D items and swaps and learning ALL THE THINGS!! I’m so glad I got to come again this year!!

    • ALL THE THINGS…that’s what it’s all about. I was so happy to hang out with you, Sharon. You were a big hit at your table – and I know why. So glad you could be there with us. <3

  25. What fun! I just love these photos! I swear, I AM going to make this one day! And Maggiano’s?? YUM! 🙂

  26. Always a great time at the WCMD event! Well worth the trip from south Texas to Atlanta every year!! Thanks for surprising me with the awesome prize of Julie DiMatteo’s 3D projects! I know it’s hard to tell from the photo but I was SO surprised to hear my name called! ?
    Hugs and high fives to you and Pam for a job well done!

    • Your face is so expressionless, Laurel, that we would have never known you were excited… Such a great gift to win – and I was (don’t tell anyone else) happy your name was selected. 🙂

  27. A little travel weary from my most recent trip having just arrived home from Amsterdam at 10 pm Thursday night but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Always look forward to this fun event with friends old and new. Great job again this year!!

  28. Great pics Brian, those smiling faces says it all. Michelle even posted the adorable pic of you standing tall next to her. She was thrilled to be there.

  29. What a wonderful day! I love the cards for kids❤️

    • There were so many. I know how much this will mean to the families of these children to have beautiful cards to give and to the children to receive fun cards. <3

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