Convention Day # 3........

Sorry it has taken a while to get to another update - I have been fighting a mega cold since last week - I even spent the day in bed yesterday, and that's so not me! So to the lovely person/people who shared their diseases on the plane back from Brissie, I thank you - NOT lol!!  I never get sick, so this has knocked me about a bit, but I am on the mend finally :)

So, Day # 3, the last day of Convention 2013. We'd had a late night the night before, with Awards Night and the After Party, then a very late dinner before heading back to bed, so it was a struggle to get up, but we were really looking forward to Demonstrator Theatre at 9am. We got to the Convention Centre early enough to get a coffee to take in, so while my friends lined up, I went ahead to get seats, and was able to get closer than usual for some really good close-ups!

I was absolutely blown away by the extreme talent displayed by several wonderful demonstrators that shared with us in the theatre. If Convention was only made up of General Sessions and Demonstrator Theatre, I would've been one happy girl!! I was so inspired by the wonderful ideas and samples these lovely ladies shared with us! Here are just a couple of shots of what they showed, without giving too much away!

 

After Demonstrator Theatre, everyone headed for different classes, our first class was ideas on how to meet new people by the wonderful Bonnie Thurber! She is just a treat!!

 

 I heard a few things I can't wait to put into practice!
We had one more class after Bonnie's, not much to tell there, then we quickly ducked up to our last Memento Mall visit before hitting the Gathering Place for lunch.

 

Lunch was de-lish!! I think I am now a risoni convert - if I can find a recipe like that one! mmm!

 

After last photos of samples and last minute chatting, we made our way up to the last General Session of Convention 2013 and managed to get our usual seats. We were treated to a fabulous presentation by Shannon West:

 

This is a cute little album she made using Stampin' Up! envelopes - such a clever lady!! Here's a pic of me with that clever lady!

 

We also had a fantastic, if not teary, address from the company President, Rich Jutkins. He spoke about getting back to basics, how some have forgotten why we got into stamping in the first place, and to remember your 'pearls' in life - I have never forgotten mine - the way I feel about my friends and family, why I stamp, why I love to share what I do. It was an enlightening address, and we all felt closer to him because of it! This is why I stamp:

 

I love to see a face light up when they 'get it'! I love to see a face once they have stamped and completed a project - it is amazing!

Our last Prize Patrol for convention was won by a few ladies, plus my friend Tanya! I would love to show you the picture, but it contains NEW product, and we can't show that until the new catalogue is available!! Sorry about that!

 

Then Shelli announced our next Convention dates - in Melbourne!! Should be a great time!

 

 

We were lucky enough to get one more all-attendee giveaway: I had pics up until I realized that we can't share them as they are coming out in the new catalogue - dont' want to spoil the surpise!!

 

And the closing picture of Convention 2013 - all the wonderful people who made it such a fantastic few days:

 

 

So after we had photos with a few people and saw all we needed to see, we decided that we just had to have a cocktail to celebrate! First we went to the Mantra....

 

 

Then headed back to the Rydges for a bite to eat......







 

What a wonderful end to the day! Great food, great drinks, and great company (except for the drunk man that kept asking us for chips.....)!!

 

So that's the end of Convention 2013! Not the end to our time in Brissie tho, so stop back soon for another post about our time away...

 

Until then,

Kylie xxx









Convention Day # 2

Day 2 started early!

We had another General Session at 8.30am, which meant we left for the Convention Centre before 8am to make sure we got a coffee and good seats for close-up photos...my camera got a workout, that's for sure!!

We had some wonderful demonstrator presenters, learnt about some new product available from the upcoming Annual Catalogue, and Prize Patrol made some demos very happy!
After General Session, we had a short break, then we had a couple of classes hosted by several of our top demonstrators - my favourite one was Delys Cram!
Another class was hosted by Carrie Cudney - if you follow the Stampin' Up! youtube videos, you will be very familiar with her, she is just lovely!

 

After that class, we had lunch in the Gathering Place. This is in one of the giant rooms in the Convention Centre, where you can not only sit and relax with your lunch,you can do your make & takes, play with new product in the Product Playground and take photos of all of the samples made for Convention and those shared by all of those talented demos.

 

 

Lunch was yum!! Can you see the silver Glimmer Paper in the background? We won an all-attendee giveaway for Stampin' Up!'s 25th Anniversary!!

 

 

I did have a photo taken with Shelli in this exact spot, but I can't find it now - I can't tell you how upset I am over it :( These are my gorgeous friends that went with me - they are also demonstrators! Can't tell you how much I love them!
Here are a couple of samples that were on display in the Gathering Place - such talented demos!! There were so many I could choose - I will do another post in a week or so with more!

 

 

After lunch we had another class - this one was on how to use MDS - a class I wasn't really interested in, but I am really glad that we went along! We were the only group in there without a laptop (that I saw), but no one minded, and Shannon West (the class host) was very patient and went through everything twice, I must've remembered well because I made a card yesterday for my roomies that I couldn't have done previously! So cheers for that, Shannon!

We took a taxi into Brisbane after the last class as it was starting to rain - we had to go get another suitcase for all of the freebies we were getting! Then a taxi home for a freshen up and a quick snack before we headed back to the Convention Centre for the Awards Evening and After Party.

 

Here we are all ready to go - my poor swollen feet didn't like the shoes!

 



 

How gorgeous does the room look? This was our Gathering Place during the day, they did such a lovely job of swapping it out to this stunning area! We had dessert canapes, tea/coffee and soft drinks, there were a couple of photo booths, the band was really fantastic and it was a great night!! We left around 9.30 as we were starving (for more than sweets) and found a cute little chinese place just across the road, where we gorged ourselves on fried rice and miso soup. We grabbed a taxi home and sat up late chatting about the day.

It was a great day!!

 

I will be back soon with all the goss from Day # 3!!

 

Until then,

Kylie xxx

 







Convention Day #1......

So I have made it to Convention Day #1!!
As part of qualifying for Leadership and Managers, we were also allowed to go shopping in Memento Mall for an hour from 8 - 9 am on the first day on Convention - what a lovely perk! When you walk to the room, this is the first thing you see

So exciting! Then you go through the doors into Memento Mall -

these are just some of the gorgeous handmade displays decorating the MM product tables. Someone spent a lot of time on these, aren't they great?
This year we were able to buy tote bags, cheap and cheerful watches in 3 different colours, phone covers, ipad covers, keyrings, card trees, MDS samplers, pens and notebook (which I missed out on) and some cute little tools. I was a very good girl and only got a few things :)

After MM I met up with my team and grabbed a cold drink (It's thirsty stuff shopping so early in the day lol) before heading to our first General Session of the day.

It was so wonderful to be in the same room as Shelli, and to hear how excited she was to see us all. She announced that Stampin' Up! is now globally sponsoring Ronald MacDonald House Charities, which is really exciting! We had some fantastic all-attendee giveaways, some fantastic presentations and demonstrations and learnt some new things - we even had a worldwide exclusive announcement -sorry, can't share that yet!!
Once GS was over, we headed up to Memento Mall so my team could shop as well - the lineup was amazing!! Took a while to get through, but how lovely it was to see Stirling and Rich and all of the girls from Demonstrator Support on the checkouts and packaging our purchases - what other company does that?? Fantastic!
Lunch was on our own, so we ventured out to Southbank, found our favourite little cafe "Steam" and had lunch facing the river and fighting off those large white stork/crane birds that are everywhere in Brisbane, they were hilarious!

After lunch we went back to the Gathering Place, where they had new product available for us to play with, lots of displays for photos, and our Service Project - this year was making cards for the RMHC to be donated to the families that are staying at the houses. Loved it!
Afterwards, we headed back up for another General Session where we all received even more giveaways and had such a great time!

After that GS, we ran straight back up to Memento Mall as they had lifted purchasing limits, and I wanted to get a little something for the rest of my team. What a whirlwind that was! Ladies everywhere - I grabbed a couple of things, then spent the next hour in line - my poor aching feet! Once we finally got through, I came across one of my favourite demos just outside the doors and couldn't resist introducing myself - Tanya Bell! What a warm, friendly lady - definitely a highlight of my day! She is very inspirational to me - cheers Tanya!

We decided that we deserved a cocktail after such a busy day, so we took ourselves next door to the Rydges and found ourselves some yummy drinks and snacks -



We sat looking out onto the street, and so many Stampin' Up! Demos with their Convention Bags walked past us, it was like an extension of Convention!! It was a lovely end to the day. Afterwards we slowly made our way back to our apartment where we sat up reliving the day and giggling into the night - such a great time!!



Check back soon for info on Day #2! Even better than Day #1!!

Until then,
Kylie xxx

Stampin' Up! Convention Arrival, Leadership and Managers Reception....

So I have made it back from Convention safe and sound - if not completely exhausted! What a ride!!

Two of my friends/team members - Tanya and Sandra - and I, left Perth on the Tuesday morning flight - hello 3am wake up! We had a fantastic flight across to Brisbane with Qantas. We took the Airtrain to Southbank and pulled our already heavy suitcases up Melbourne Street to the Central West End Apartments and settled in, before heading out for snack supplies.

 We headed to Southbank for dinner and found this little cafe/restaurant called "Steam" that had a great selection, so with the view of the river and the Brisbane skyline in front of us, we dug in!

The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit. We went for a walk around Southbank and found ourselves at  San Churros - omg! They were divine! We all had a different drink but we ALL had churros!!

The girls walked me up to the convention centre to attend my very first Leadership - in fact it was a first for everyone as Leadership Training is new to Australia. It was very interesting and gave me lots of ideas to put into practice as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. I was lucky enough to sit near the lovely Jacinta Ryan!

She kindly invited me to sit with her as I didn't really know anyone, and that night at the Managers Reception, she once again invited me onto her table for dinner, which was so nice - I wouldn't have enjoyed myself half as much if she hadn't!

 I met some gorgeous ladies, had a really lovely meal, all of our names were up in lights on the big screen, and as we left for the evening, we were greeted by some of the staff at the home office who gave out gorgeous little gifts!! PLUS we got our fantastic silver and white convention bag - this year it is a backpack! So handy to carry around all of our Make and Take supplies and all of the other little gifts we received during convention. (sure did get heavy lol!).

So what was in the tin? An exclusive stamp set - which I can't show you as it is from the upcoming Annual Catalogue, due out July 2nd! You will love it tho!

The 25th Anniversary backpack is quite large, with lots of zips and pockets. Inside were 2 stamp sets, all of the product needed for the make and takes, a silver pen, an lanyard for our nametag, a 25th Anniversary pin for our collection, and the current catalogues. I was hoping for a copy of the new catalogue, but not to be....not that I am complaining!!

I look terrible in this shot, but I had to show me meeting Shelli! I got caught in the rain on the way to the Managers Reception, and this was before I got to freshen up, but who could turn down a photo op with Shelli?? Not me, that's for sure! I have a better pic to share in later posts. How gorgeous is she? What a lovely couple she makes with her sweetheart Stirling - he is the nicest man, he even put my purchases in bags for me at Memento Mall (more on MM later). Such a great company leader :)

It was a lovely end to a busy day, and best of all, I got to go back to my apartment and have some laughs with my roomies as we looked forward to Convention 2013 - our very first- starting in the morning!

Check back for more convention updates soon!

Kylie xxx