Grow!- Stampin' Up Convention 2011

One reason that we went to Utah was so that I could attend the Stampin' Up convention at the Salt Palace. The theme this year was "GROW"

It was AWESOME!!!

I have been a demonstrator for 12 years, and this was my 9th convention. I was blown away by my first convention. BLOWN AWAY! It was just so amazing and beautiful and fun. Just the decorations everywhere - the SU logos on banners and billboards and vinyls on every windows.

And then there are all the FREE stuff, and more free stuff on top of that, and for some lucky winners (like ME!!!) even more free stuff. I won this stamp set, ribbon, and brads because the color of my wrist band was picked! They have the "Prize Patrol" system down to a science. I remember years ago when Pam would demonstrate the new products and then THROW them out from the stage into the audience afterwards. It was chaos as thousands of frantic stampers dove for the free products and stamps. I'm surprised no one was trampled to death! Once I remember she threw a set of glitters out into the crowd. That was pretty - literally. I ended up with a lid! Happily, they have since improved the distribution of free prizes!

But of all the conventions that I have been to, this one surpassed them ALL!

I was every bit as blown away this year as I was the very first year I went, and that is saying something, because I am a seasoned veteran. BLOWN AWAY!

Just the main stage was so beautiful! They kept changing the colors. How pretty is that? (Yes, we even had a visit from Santa Claus who brought what else, more free stuff!)

There were over 3000 crazy stamping ladies there. And when I say crazy, I mean it! You should have seen some of the crazy ladies and the funky hand decorated hats and such that they were wearing. Not me. Maybe next year.

One of the best parts of Convention was being there with my dear friend Diana Crowshaw! We actually met 4 years ago at convention, standing in line for the Make-and-Takes. She is a mother of boys too, though somewhat younger, and we love to share war stories! I love her to death and am so grateful for her friendship!

Here we are with, what else, more free stamps!

Another absolutely fabulous thing about convention are all of the samples - walls and walls and walls of amazing cards and projects made by other demonstrators. We spent hours gawking at them and trying to take pictures of all of them. So many very clever ideas by some very talented and creative folks.

In the old days, before digital cameras, I remember allowing myself a limited number of rolls of film to take pictures of the samples I loved, and when the film ran out, I had to resort to a notepad and pencil to try to sketch the ideas in my notes. We've come a long way, baby! Man, I love living in the digital age!

There was also a place where all the products and samples created by the creative team - many of the projects that are featured in SU's 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog. They were displayed so beautifully and we could get right up close and even pick them up if we wanted to.

Another highlight of convention is the Make and Takes. MAKE & TAKES!!!!!!! This is where they give you a huge envelope full of papers and supplies for several projects, and you have several hours to do what every stamper loves to do most - STAMP! Usually we do about 5 cards, but this year they went OVER THE TOP with the Make&Takes. We didn't finish them, but I wasn't complaining because they were great!

Then as we were leaving the Make&Takes there was something new, they gave us each a "Workshop in a Bag" as we were leaving, which is basically all the supplies, already cut and measured to do an entire, hands-on workshop with enough papers, ribbons, etc to make 3 different card, 8 of each! How easy is that? More free stuff!

Of course it wasn't all "business" at the convention. We had a bit of fun too. They had a free photo booth at the welcome party. Any time you get to wear a pink feather boa you know you are not all business.

We also got to sneak away from all the stamping madness to see a quilt exhibit at the Church History Museum just down the street.

And later dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square.

And even later the after-awards-night party at the convention where we indulged ourselves with these teeny-tiny little mini desserts served with teeny tiny little spoons. I loved those spoons! Why does everything taste better when you eat it with a tiny spoon?

Even though Diana lives in Utah, and my family was just in Park City, we decided it just made sense to get a hotel room downtown for two nights! It was brilliant, though chatting with a friend you have not seen in a long time is not too conducive to sleep. Who needs sleep, anyway? There were 3000+ women in SLC that did not get a lot of sleep that week.

And finally, after a LOT of walking all around downtown Salt Lake, we finally found a little nail salon and we got ourselves some pedis!!!! A girl trip is not a girl trip without pretty toes peeking up at you from your sandals, right! (And pedis are great because they last! Its been nearly 2 weeks and my piggies still look great!)

Last day of convention, and yes, more free stamps! You get free stamps when you walk in the first day, and when you leave at the end of the convention, and here and there throughout the whole 3 1/2 days of convention! Woo Hoo! I was sorry that it was over so soon, but when the end came, I had to quickly say my goodbyes to me dear Diana and slip out before everyone started to leave because my family was waiting out in front ready to hit the long road home. Convention ended at 4:30pm Sat, and we had to be home by 9:00am Sunday when the boys left for Scout Camp, so we really had to hustle! Still, I'm so glad I stuck it out to the end so I could get my free stamps!

OK, just to show you what I am talking about - ALL this stuff I got for FREE at convention this year! It didn't all even fit in the convention bag!

The convention bag is awesome by the way! Embroidered with SU flowers, pretty green floral lining, and the perfect size with movable dividers. Above are all the stamps that everyone got for free! Also, we were given a CD of SU art and images for use with SU's digital studio software, a cool pen, and this year they gave us our catalogs in these great ring binders complete with pocket tabs. Pretty nice.

The awesome card box was a Make&Take! Yep, I made that! I told you the Make&Takes were over the top! And we also made three cards that were hung on this darling matching banner that we also made. This also shows all the stuff that came in our take home "Workshop in a bag" including full packages of bakers twine and the very blingy rhinestone jewels!

This is the additional stamp set, ribbon, and mini-brads that I won, as if I didn't already get enough free stuff.

Oh, yea, and one last thing that is really fun about convention is swapping. I made over 100 cards before I came, and then traded my cards with other stampers so that I came home with over 100 different awesome samples! People just drop everything - in lines, in hallways, anywhere and start swapping. It is crazy but fun. These are all the cards I came home with. You should come over and dig through them with me.

So I couldn't help myself. I added up how much everything was worth that they gave us and it came out to over $200 worth of merchandise, and that didn't count the stuff I didn't know like the stuff in the Workshop in a Bag, the convention bag, binder, etc. And throw in the 3 very generous lunches and everything else, and you realize that the $250 registration fee was a heck of a deal! It was like they were paying me to be there!

This year convention was amazing! Truly over-the-top! And they promise to out-do themselves again next year! I sure want to see them try!

And I know I kept emphasizing the free stuff, but I walked away with so much more than that! I was filled with new great ideas, techniques, and tons of inspiration! It was also a great chance to get some girl-time with my dear friend Diana including the the requisite pedicure, of course.

I told Diana never to let me miss a SU convention again.