First let me apologize for the length of the post, but there was so much good stuff going on at OnStage. Every year when we go to Stampin Up’s Annual Convention, now called OnStage, we have some traditions that we continue to do. We like to fly in the day before to allow time for some shopping and to do a Shoebox Swap. We eat at mostly the same restaurants every year: Kneaders, Toasters, Cafe Molise, Naked Fish, Red Rock, and Red Iguana. Sometimes we add in a new restaurant and this year it was The Melting Pot, which was so good. I suspect we will be going back to The Melting Pot again. Yes, we spoil ourselves on these trips! And we certainly don’t go hungry.
In the past Convention was held in July, and Salt Lake City is very hot in July. Going to SLC in April is very different. April is still cold, wet, and rainy. On Friday the weather dropped to the 30’s and we even had a little snow that morning.
Since the dates had changed from July to April, attendance was way down from previous conventions that we’d attended. We even managed to get the front row several times for the Main Stage presentations, which has never happened before. Here’s the three of us: Lyndi, me, and Annette. Because we were in the front row several times, we made an appearance in the Highlights video several times. I tried to get a screen shot of us, but it was really grainy.
Stampin Up loves to recognize our accomplishments for sales and longevity. Last November, I hit 10 years with Stampin Up. This is me walking across the stage. It sure looks like I’m the only one up there, but I can assure you I am not. There were quite a few people that hit 10 years in the past year. Annette walked across the stage for her 5 years, but I took that picture on her phone, not mine.
This is the backdrop they set up to take pictures with Shelli Gardner (Stampin Up’s founder) and Sara Douglass (our CEO). The lines to take pictures with them were so long, we waited until they were done and the crowd had moved on.
This year, I entered Stampin Up’s contest to be a Display Stamper. I really waffled on whether or not I should try because there wasn’t a lot of time between when they announced it and the deadline. But the girls in my Demonstrator group said I should give it a shot. I decided to apply and I was one of the lucky artists to be selected! I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited and nauseous all at the same time.
So what is a Display Stamper? I was one of the artists that made projects that was up on display at OnStage. Here’s how the process works. Stampin Up says you’ve been selected and asks if you still want to participate. If so, they have you sign a Confidentiality Agreement and they ship you a box of products that haven’t been released to the public yet. They send you a list of what they’d like you to make. You make it and bring it with you to OnStage. Then you meet up before the doors open to everyone else and hang your projects on the display boards. Here we are trying to cram everything onto those boards.
Here is a screen shot from the OnStage Highlights video. I’m in the navy blue shirt smack dab in the center right below the “2016-18 In Color” sign (sorry it’s a little grainy). All of these ladies are the Display Stampers for OnStage 2016 in SLC. There were other Display Stampers for other venues around the world.
One of the perks of being a Display Stamper was getting a quick peek at the other boards that were already up. Usually, it’s just about impossible to get a shot like this because there’s always so many people crowded around the boards.
This time, Stampin Up didn’t list us by name as they have in past years. I heard they did do that in other venue locations, but not in SLC. It was an incredible experience and I would totally do it again. I was so nervous about my projects, but I saw a number of people taking close up shots so I know they were liked. If you want to see the 20 items that I had on display, click on the page at the top called “OnStage, April 2016-My Display Projects”.
If you haven’t been to Convention/OnStage, you might wonder if it’s worth the expense. I do find that the non-monetary compensation is more beneficial to me than all the goodies. I love the ideas, business tips, and the encouragement. The goodies are pretty good too though. This is most of the goodies that I brought home with me. I forgot to include the pens, pencil pouch, and canvas tote in this picture. The set of ink pads are the brand new In Colors coming soon. I just noticed that one of the make & take cards fell over in this picture. Oh well. If you subscribe to Paper Pumpkin, you’ll be getting this card in your May kit. If you don’t subscribe to Paper Pumpkin and you’re dying to know what it is, it’s not too late to sign up to get the May kit! Click on the Paper Pumpkin link in the sidebar and it will take you to the subscription page. We spent our last afternoon at Thanksgiving Point at the Tulip Festival. We did rent a car to get there and it was totally worth the trip. Seriously, amazingly beautiful. I took a ton of pictures, but I’ll spare you and just share the best one of the three of us.
So now I’m back home to reality. And my Product Preorder has arrived! Yay!
And now my desk looks like this. Boo! At least it will be a fun mess to clean up.
Well, you sure missed out on a good time by not going to OnStage with us. It’s not too late to sign up to go in November. The next Live event will be in Brisbane, which is a little much for our budgets. We’re looking at attending the Local event in Phoenix, which is the closest location to us. You can attend any location that you like though. We are no longer limited by geography.
Only active Demonstrators can attend the OnStage events. I’d love to have you join our Demonstrator Group. We always have the best time together! We do meet every month. Contact me to try out a Demonstrator meeting with us.
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