Stamp Maven

Can You Imagine.....

yourself at our Stampin' Up! Convention next year? I hope you've enjoyed reading about the excitement and fun we all had in Salt Lake City last week. There was lots of stamping time in the make and takes and other events, "sneak peeks" of upcoming products, special moments with friends who live far away but gather for this big party, recognition for achievements, food, prizes and much more!

I would love to chat with you and find out how SU might just fit a need you have....send me an email or give me a shout and let's talk!

Anne Brown, anne@stampmaven.com, 972-234-9118

Tuesday Tip - Recycling Isn't Just For Bottles And Cans!

Chances are you've seen all the Convention posts done by my sweet "Stamp Slave" husband, Dave. While fun was certainly in the mix, Convention also is full of great teaching and tips. Here are a couple of my favorites:

1. If you have any cassette tapes that you don't mind "ruining", unscrew the little screws on each end, take out the tape and use what's left to make a little mini album all about you (or your kids/grandkids)!

2. When you send out a card for any occasion, stick a few little Post-It notes in the middle and write your message on one of them. That way, the recipient can "recycle" the card and your creativity and talent will be shared multiple times!

Anne Brown, anne@stampmaven.com, 972-234-9118

Home Again, Home Again...

Well Ma just made it home from convention.  Really nice to have her back!  (Not that a tough-guy like the Stamp Slave misses her...   No, no, that wouldn't fit the tough-guy image...)

It turned out that Anne's business was #91 last year out of all of Stampin' Up! businesses in the US!  We don't know the exact number of total demos, but it's a bunch!  Somewhere north of 20,000, so #91 is pretty darned good!  You heard it here first, now that we're working together, next year we'll be in the top 50!

 

I got a wild hair this afternoon... HAD TO decorate the garage door so she'd see it when they drove up. I uploaded a few pictures to the Stampmaven Facebook page.  If you'd like to see what I did, check out the album. (Link below) 

When you get to the page, click on "Photos", at the top of the page and then click on the "Stamp-dom" album.

If you don't yet follow Anne on Facebook, please click on the "Like" button on the top of her Stampmaven page.  I try to keep a lot of additional info there that I think you might like.

Click Here to go to the Facebook page.

Retro??

This is the last day of the convention and Anne is still in Salt Lake.  I was snooping around looking for something to write about and I ran across this item on the SU web site.  Thought you might be interested.

Color Retrofit
Pretty catchy name, I thought.

What a great idea!  They've come up with several new color kits, with different sizes and different price points, whereby you can get all of Stampin’ Up!’s new colors (and just the colors you need) without the expense of replacing products you already have.

They have markers, ink pads, papers, whatever you need.  There is a flyer that shows you all of the choices and you can download the flyer here.  As always, you can order at our online store.

Love to know what you think or answer any questions.  Just send us a note or give us a call.

Demo Of The Year Awards

 

I woke up bright and early today. I'm in Salt Lake City for our annual Demonstrator Convention. It is beautiful here!  I just LOVE the mountains...  It's pretty neat to be able to travel to places like this or Alaska as a part of my business!

They had the big awards ceremony last night.  Pretty exciting! One of the categories is Demonstrator of the Year. Awards go to the top 100 demos and awards are based on business done the year before. It's the profit-sharing part of the SU business plan. The Demonstrator of the Year received a check for $25,000 and there was another person from the DFW area who got one for $9000!

This is the first year that I've been in the Top 100.  My check wasn't quite as large as those two, but still very nice.  You really can make money while doing what you love.  As much or as little as you like.  Ask me for more information or check out my "Join My Team" page for more info.

I will be gone through Sunday but, Dave The Stamp Slave, will be posting updates often so be sure to visit while I'm gone!

Convention Tidbit - Congratulations!

Anne is still off at convention and I'm holding down the fort in beautiful, SUNNY (hot, hot, hot...), DFW.  I wonder where she is...

Why there she is now!  What's that bag she's holding up??

A funny thing happened when she went to get registered and pick up her stamp sets and other goodies.  She got a really nice surprise.  Along with her other stuff, they handed her this bag and told her that she has been invited to be a part of the Founders' Circle!  (I didn't even know what it was! Some partner I am, huh?)

Apparently it is awarded based on a person's business in the year before.  Anne has worked extremely hard during the year and the business is growing, so this is nice.  Way to go, Anne!

Hmm... Between Founders' Circle and the Alaska cruise next May, when's she going to have time to work on the business this year???  (grin...)

Tuesday Tip - Scoring Perfection With Your Big Shot!

If you have our Sizzix Big Shot and have trouble with dies that have a fold or "score" line, this tip is especially for you!

I recommend the Premium Crease Pads and Extended Premium Crease Pads when using rule-based dies with score lines. The crease pads provide a flexible cutting surface that produces clean cuts and well-defined score lines. When using the crease pads, you should layer your sandwich to pass through the Big Shot in the following way (starting from the bottom):

1. Standard or Extended Cutting Pad
2. Shim (optional)
3. Die, blade up
4. Material to be cut
5. Premium or Extended Premium Crease Pad*

Shims are used to add thickness to the sandwich passing through the Big Shot machine, applying more pressure to the die and resulting in deeper score lines and embossed images. Plastic shims are included with each crease pad, but you can also use text-weight paper or card stock as a shim.

The necessity of shims will vary among users. Due to the tolerable variances in the measurements of all products associated with cutting, results can slightly differ depending on the material being cut, the die being used, or even from one Big Shot machine to another. You should experiment to identify what works best (shim, no shim, extra shim, etc.) for the material you are cutting and the die you are using.

*Use the Premium Crease Pad with Originals or Bigz dies. Use the Extended Premium Crease Pad with Bigz XL dies.

Carryover Products!

Several great stamp sets not featured in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog are still available for you to order. Take a look below... Naturally, they are available 24/7 at my online store.  Just CLICK HERE to visit my SU store and look around.

 

I'm off to convention in the morning, but Dave will be here and can take care of anything you need.  Can't wait to see all the new stuff and ideas that they will have for us! See y'all next week...

August Stamp Clubs Are Coming!

Wanted to share one of the projects I will be featuring at my August hostess clubs. I'm forming new clubs all the time and there is room for you! Please shoot me an email if you would like more info!

This project features several of our new products including our Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper! This double sided paper is so versatile and just a small piece will make your project pop!

Paper: Card Stock Whisper White 8 1/2X11 GREENHOUSE GALA DESIGNER SERIES PAPER CARD STOCK 12 X 12 IN COLOR ASST CARD STOCK 8-1/2 X 11 CRUMB CAKE	Ink Classic Stampin Pad Baja Breeze CLASSIC STAMPIN PAD PEACH PARFAIT
Accessories: Thread Linen Snail Adhesive Permanent Stampin Dimensionals Hodgepodge Hardware Styled Silver PUNCH PACK ITTY BITTY SHAPES Sizzix® TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS SQUARE LATTICE
Instructions Friends Card (5-1/4" x 4-1/4") 1. Fold Peach Parfait textured card stock in half to form card. 2. Emboss Crumb Cake card stock (2-1/4" x 4-1/4") using Big Shot and Square Lattice Textured Impressions embossing folder, and adhere to card. 3. Adhere 2-1/4" x 1" piece of Greenhouse Gala Designer Series paper to embossed Crumb Cake card stock. 4. Stamp image twice in Baja Breeze ink and once in Peach Parfait ink on Whisper White card stock (5" x 2-1/2"). 5. Cut out stamped rectangle and set aside. Cut out Baja Breeze flower and Peach Parfait “Friends” from other stamped image and adhere to stamped rectangle using Stampin’ Dimensionals. 6. Thread linen thread through hardware and adhere to card. Adhere rectangle to card directly over hardware using Stampin’ Dimensionals. 7. Punch flowers from scrap of Peach Parfait card stock using Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and fold up petals. Adhere to flowers to card.

Love This Die!

Our Bigz Two Tags Die makes creating little gifts such a breeze! At one of my recent clubs, we had "Christmas in July" and the hostess made this adorable favor for everyone! At one of my upcoming card classes, we ill be using this die for one of the "bonus projects".  If you'd like to find out more, click on the "classes" link above for all the info.