Inspire, Create, Share 2014 highlights part 2

First day of Inspire, Create, Share

Having been to the Managers' Reception the night before we were lucky enough to have got our convention bags already, and didn't have to get to the Convention Centre to queue up early. It was packed of course, and everyone was madly swapping so I joined in too! I forgot to keep one to show you that was silly of me... I queued up at the doors to the hall, with my box of swaps ready to go, and smiled sweetly at the other people lining up. Lots of men I thought. Then someone tapped me on the shoulder and said that if i was here for the card swapping (!) then I was at the wrong door! How embarrassing! I did ask what they were waiting to see and it was a nursing event - I told them that ours was much more fun and that they should join me! So I found the right door and joined the throng.
As you can see, there were a lot of women (and a handful of men!) ready for the opening session to begin. I think one of the first things that happened was a prize patrol! This is where those people with a certain coloured wrist band (or in this case everyone!) gets a prize, it was a new hostess stamp set (they're all really gorgeous this year don't you think? Oh I forgot, you might not have seen them yet, just wait until July 1st and you'll see them in the new Idea Book and Catalogue).

After the opening session we all felt like a coffee and someone gave us a tip off that a new place had recently opened up not far from the convention centre. It was called 'Gasoleine' and was serving coffees for a dollar - yes, just a dollar. This was an opening special so pretty soon there was a big crowd of Stampin' Up! women as word spread. It happens to also be a motorbike garage, making custom bikes, and it was the cleanest garage I'd ever seen. Thanks boys for those great caffeine boosts, they were great.

Here is a photo of Nicholle and Ursula waiting in the queue with their wings on (I decided that we all ought to wear wings seeing as we are the Paper Angels! Check out the little red bags too, these are our convention bags) Also you can see Paula looking angelic while reading the programme of events for convention.

We were treated to a workshop demonstration by Jacqui Williams, who showed us how to make this beautiful card with our new stamp set "Kinda Eclectic" that I absolutely love. It has a sweet greeting and also some graphic images that work well together but can also be used with other stamp sets. I like 'double duty' from things!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for the awards night photos!

Inspire, Create, Share 2014 highlights

I think I've been in a bit of a dream since I came back from Melbourne where I attended Stampin' Up!'s convention! It was great in so many ways; a trip away from the hum drum of life, a get together with the girls, lots of creativity etc. I've put together some photos of my personal highlights...

This was the first time I was able to attend the manager's reception on the Wednesday evening before convention started, having been promoted to Manager back in October. We spent the afternoon listening to how we can support our customers and team members, and had fun in a role playing scenario where we were split into different 'cultures'. In the evening we were taken to the Myer Mural Hall in the city centre for a celebratory dinner. To begin, we mingled in the outer hall, and were offered delicious hors d'oeuvres including the most amazing steak and chips on a stick! After a while we went into the Myer Mural Hall itself and found ourselves a table for our meal, as you can see from the menu it was quite a treat! On the tables were gifts for us from Stampin' Up!, presented in a stylish black box with gold lettering on top. Wrapped around the box was a cute tag made using among other things the stamp set contained within the box. We were also spoilt with a beautiful scarf that you can see we wore on the art deco staircases in the hall. (The girls get progressively more crazy the further up the steps they go!) After a group photo (spot me in the front!) we ate our fantastic meal and listened to some great music. What a fabulous night it was, I really hope to be able to go again next year!