Before I forget, let me remind you that if you have been thinking about joining the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator, NOW is the time! In addition to choosing your own stamps & inks with your Starter Kit, you also receive the beautiful Greenhouse Gala Craft Tote (perfect for taking your stuff to workshops, your Papercutter will even lay down in it, it's that long!), AND if you sign up with me by Sunday, October 3rd, you will also receive the adorable not-yet-seen Occasions Mini 2011 stamp set, "Eat Chocolate"! Go check out my post of September 24th and September 27th to see samples made with this set! Go to my Demonstrator Business Website:

www.carolpayne.stampinup.net

Click on the "Start Your Own Business" icon on the upper right side of the page to get basic information on how to get started, then click on the "Join Now" icon on the lower left side to apply to become a demonstrator and to choose your Starter Kit products! It will ask for my recruiter password: "yesmam!"

Once you have completed the application process and have paid for your Starter Kit, Stampin' Up! will immediately issue you a Demonstrator ID# and will email you the information you need to get on your Demonstrator Webpage so you can get started!

When I receive notice that you have joined Stampin' Up! I will contact you as soon as I can to help you get started!

Ok, with the business out of the way, here's a few cards from the Founder's Circle Regional Sample boards!

This card combines "Jolly Old Saint Nick" with "Christmas Postcard", both from the Holiday Mini!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

This card uses the Holiday Mini Level 2 set, "Peaceful Season"!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

This card uses the technique, "Magic Window"!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

And this easy-peasy card uses the Idea Book & Catalog Set, "Holiday Happiness"!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

That's it for today, stampers! I have  Scallop Square Holiday Purse Classes tonight and tomorrow, and a workshop for Alicia on Sunday, so I will see you back here on Monday with some Halloween samples!

Until then, have a StampingRox! day!

I'm just going to post real quick this morning before my youngest daughter & I run down to Paducah to Hancock Fabrics and Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things we need for the Scallop Square Holiday Purse Class this weekend! Friday night and Saturday morning are filled, but there's still space left in the 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. classes, so contact me today to reserve your seat! We have 4 sewing machines so can have 4 pursemakers per class!

I know you are dying to see something stamped, so here's a few pics of some fabric projects I took while at Founder's! These quilt squares' appliques were all made using the Big Shot & dies:

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010  Using ovals and leaves.

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010  using scallop circles & squares

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010 using circles and the Tasteful Trim Die

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010 Using Scallop Circles and the Candy Cane Designer buttons!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010 Using Pennant Die, Ovals, Tasteful Trim & Candy Cane Buttons!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010 Using Pennant, Star, & Tasteful Trim

Well, that's all for today! I must fly, as Paducah is about an hour drive away! There's no where less than an hour away from me that has fabric, and I'm way too addicted right now !

Until tomorrow, have a Stampingrox! day!

After showing you a sneak peek at samples made with the 2011 Occasions mini stamp set,
"Eat Chocolate", last Friday, I thought you might want to see a few more examples. Remember, you only have until Sunday, October 3rd to take advantage of this special offer Stampin' Up! is adding to the Starter Kit Special and you will receive this set in addition to the Greenhouse Gala Tote when you purchase your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Business Starter Kit through my Stampin' Up! website:

(my recruiter password is: yesmam!)

www.carolpayne.stampinup.net

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

Day 3 started out with a Regional just for Founder's Circle attendees. The stamp set we received to do our M&T's was "Day of Gratitude", and here are some of the samples on display!

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

The Regional included lots of fun stamping time and a jam-packed morning of inspiration and workshop WOW's! After the Regional it was back to our hotel for a yummy pasta buffet! About the time we were wondering what was for dessert, out came the waitresses with these for each of us!

Hot fudge brownie Sundae! Wow! Stampin' Up! really knows how to treat a girl right!

The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping, so I won't bore you with that, but here's a few more of my favorite samples from the morning's display boards:

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1999-2010

I will be back tomorrow with pics from the Swap & Share night!

Until tomorrow, have a Stampingrox! Day!

Founder's Circle 2010! What a fabulous experience! I am SO grateful to all my loyal stampers and downline who helped me get there! Thank you, a  thousand times THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Since I now have caught up on my laundry (though not my house, just imagine one husband and two (almost) grown sons on their own most of a week!) Thought I would start showing you  a bit of what I experienced last week!

To start off, here's our first glimpse of the hotel where all the Founder's Circle achiever's were to stay. Stampin' Up! took over the ENTIRE hotel and each of us (all approximately 135 of the top U.S. & Canadian Demos) had our OWN ROOM ALL TO OURSELVES! (And yes, I DID jump on the bed! shhh, don't tell!!!! )

This was the first greeting they had for us when our bus came to a stop. My flight came into Las Vegas, then they bussed us two hours through gorgeous desert & canyon country to St. George, Utah! On the left is Kellie Sue, one of the tirelessly devoted Stampin' Up! employees who helped wait on us hand and foot all week!

The whole hotel was decorated just for us!

The cool record plaque on MY DOOR! (they had a 50's theme this year!)

We immediately went back downstairs to the hospitality room where they had hand-made chocolates and candy-covered apples ready for us, as well as a welcoming get-to-know-you game they had divided us into teams for. Here's my team, we were "The Baubles"!

We are front row l to r: Kari Metzger, Janet Wakeland, Connie Lacroix, and Ruth Bingle.

Back row l to r: Connie Heisey, April Roycroft, me, and Vicki Edwards.

Our Welcome Dinner table (for The Baubles): (so sorry this picture was left out of the original post!)

The Entree:

The first "Pillow Gift" (I can't show you the contents because this box contained a brand-new stamp set AND punch from the ;2011 Occasions Mini Catalog!) BUT  I will show you some samples made with this set & punch in a couple of days!

Now of course, I know you really want to see something stamped, so here's a cute little gift-cardholder made by my good friend, Meg Wheeler! If you attend one of my workshops or classes in the next couple of months you may just get to make one of these!

©Stampin' Up!™1999-2010

That's all for today, but I hope to be back tomorrow with Day 2 of Founder's Circle!

************************************************************************************************************************

QUICK NOTE: If you live in the Southern Illinois area, here's a little bit about an upcoming class:

Saturday, October 2nd, Scallop Square Holiday Purse Class!

Location: My home, Bonnie, IL

Three Class session times: 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m.

Class fee: $35 includes pre-cut fabric kit ready to crank through the Big Shot and instructions! You should have time to complete your purse by the end of the class!

Each session is limited to 4 people. I have 4 sewing machines and a limited amount of space, so a total of 4 per session is all I can take at this time.

If you are interested in a Friday night session, just let me know and I will offer a Friday, Oct. 1st, 6 p.m. class as well!

Please RSVP for this class no later than Wednesday, September 29th!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

Isn't this one of the most pitiful smiles you have ever seen? Yes, it really IS a smile, a smile of shock & joy, a smile of a dream-come-true! I just returned from the 2010 Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah where I was honored to receive the news that I had achieved the Founder's Circle trip! I earned this trip in 2008, but didn't earn it last year, so I thought it was just a fluke I earned it once, never dreaming I would earn it again. Imagine my complete shock & joy when during awards-booth check in on the first day of convention I was presented with this gorgeous Founder's Circle bag! Founder's Circle is awarded to the top 100 Demonstrators of the Year for the 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! year (which ended on June 30th), along with the U.S. & Canadian Rising Stars. A total of 130 Stampin' Up! demonstrators will be traveling to St. George, Utah in September for three days of rest, relaxation, and stamping fun! I still have to pinch myself to believe it! I have to say THANK YOU to you, my loyal and wonderful stamping friends, without you this would never, ever be possible!

Lots to do to get ready for Founder's Circle: swaps to prepare as there is a fun "Sock Hop Swap & Share" one evening, packing for relaxing, shopping, and visiting the Stampin' Up! Stamp Manufacturing Plant in Kanab, Utah! This trip is all-expenses-paid by Stampin' Up! (except for the shopping! lol!) and I can hardly wait for September 15th!

I arrived home late Sunday evening, and spent most of yesterday unpacking and sorting my swaps and Memento Mall purchases. (Keep an eye out for an adorable new grocery shopper bag I will be gifting to future hostesses!)

But it is also back-to-business with workshops this week and my "Christmas In July" Stamp-a-Stack this weekend! Here are three of the projects we will be making at this event:

"Perfect Punches":

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

"Contempo Christmas":

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010"

"Holiday Hoopla":

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

This event will be held at my home in Bonnie, Illinois. We will be making 10 cards, two each of 5 different designs with envelopes for the $20 fee or the class is free with a $50 order. Classes are set for Friday, July 30th, 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, July 31st, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. Class size is limited to 8 per session, so let me know ASAP if you can come! A phone call or email will be fine!

Gotta run and cut some paper!

Have a STAMPINGROX! DAY!

Carol

Our next port was St Maarten, which is the Dutch side of the island of St Maarten/St Martin (the French side) We booked a "Rhino Rider' excursion this day, and WOW! is all I can say! Rhino Riders are a cross between a jet ski and a speed boat! Almost impossible to tump over (or so our guide, Peter, told us, but fortunately we didn't find out he was wrong!), this vehicle can really buzz over the water!!!! Several of us caravan'd from the Dutch side to the French side on our Rhino Riders (I let Jessica drive while I held on with the straps provided on each side of the boat!) When we got to "Happy Beach" (which turned out to be a nude beach, but we kept our suits on! You never can tell exactly what an excursion will entail just from reading the cruise-line description, I've discovered!) we were given snorkel equipment again. Jessica went right for it, but I was still a little chicken, so I floated around in my life jacket a little bit, then decided the water was calmer than the day before and we were closer to the shore, so I tried snorkeling and actually got the hang of it! Jessica was quite surprised when she looked up and found me snorkeling close to her! I'm glad I overcame my fears and shared this experience with her!

Here Jessica is holding St. Maarten's (didn't know there really was such a guy!) peg-leg!

All the rest of our pics from this day are on a water camera that hasn't been developed yet, sorry! So, I guess I'll just have to show you a few more swaps:

Sweet Scoops by Cindy Ewertz:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

Sentimental Journey with Travel Journal DSP by Karen Titus:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

Elements of Style by Kathy Morgan:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

A "nameless swap" using Sentimental Journey and Travel Journal DSP!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

And lastly for today, Tropical Party by Susie Wood:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

I will be back tomorrow with our last port-of-call, St Croix! Until then, have a STAMPENDOUSLY GREAT DAY!

No matter how many times I cruise, I don't think I'll ever get over how gorgeous the turquoise water is around all these islands!

Sweet Scoops by Diane Sisneros:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

Elements of Style by Jane Wike:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

Elements of Style by Jennifer Wiede:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

A "Pop-up-Pull" card by Jo Ann Unrau:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

And now "popped up"!:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

That's all for today! Be back tomorrow with more! Until tomorrow, have a Stampendously Great Day!

Our 2nd port-of-call was St. Lucia, where we had booked a zip-line excursion. I don't have any PROOF that I zip-lined, however, because my camera battery died shortly after taking these few pictures. I should have some pics hopefully in the next couple of weeks from our friend, Meg, when she gets a chance to put the zip-line pics on a CD and mails it to me!

Like all of our ports this time, we were able to walk off the boat right onto the pier, where we met our tour.

(Self-portrait before the camera died!)

On the bus ride up into the rain forest we drove through a banana plantation. If you look closely you can see a blue plastic bag wrapped around ripening bananas!

All along our route there were schoolchildren walking along the sides of the road. As you can see in the right bottom corner, they did NOT get out of the way for our van! They seemed totally unconcerned about their safety!

That evening at dinner, we tried another self-portrait in the mirror behind our table!

More food pics, this time of another Tiramisu!

Every evening after dinner I can't hardly wait to get back to the room to see what my pillow gift is! This was a darling little basket/bag containing our new 2010-2011 New Catalog stamp set, "Printed Petals", along with some 3 inkpads, Bitty Buttons, and Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack! (I can't show you the actual stamp set, but I CAN show you samples SU! had on display in the hospitality room using this set:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

This set will be used at my New Catalog Open House on July 1st!

Until tomorrow, have a STAMPENDOUSLY Great Day!

Happy Thursday Stampers! I'm back with more cruise pics and MORE SWAPS!

Ok, I'm back on Tuesday of the cruise, in Barbados again, with a little bit more about that submarine ride!

We actually went down 138 feet below the surface, but I have no proof, because after we went deeper than this 120 ft shows I was so entranced by the view of the reef & the fish I forgot to take a picture at our deepest point!

This is a shipwreck we "submarined" (is that a word?) past! It was cool because while we were seeing all the schools of fish, sea turtles, and a sting-ray, Jessica kept saying "I want to see a ship-wreck!" and we did!

rid 

Going back to the boat Jessica & I had the "honor" of getting to ride in the front with the driver. It freaked me out a little bit because he was sitting on the right side!

And here's our "birds-eye-view" of all the traffic streaming by us on the "wrong" side!

Now, I know you are just sitting here thinking, "okay, okay, she really did have a fun time on that cruise, but WHERE ARE THE CARDS??????",  so here is today's installment:

Elements of Style by Deb Valder:

(yes, the "Beautiful Wings" embosslit for the Big Shot is STILL AVAILABLE, and will be in the new catalog on July 1st, as well as the Scalloped Border punch!)

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

July Fourth Easel Card by Debbie Moczek:

(if you look closely you can just see a hint of the "Red, White & Blue" jumbo wheel on the Kraft background, and Fine Galaxy red glitter was used on the "4th"!)

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

Watercolor Trio by Denise Jorgensen:

(notice the texture to the Very Vanilla layer on this card? The new Stampin' Up! Textured Impressions Embossing Folder "Square Lattice" was used with the Big Shot!)

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

An finally for today, Sentimental Journey with Travel Journal Designer Paper by Dianne O'Connor:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

See ya tomorrow, Stampers! Have a "Stampendously Great Day"!

Hello again Stampers! It's been a fun day today! Why has it been a fun day, you ask? Because I've been playing with my cruise swaps! "How can she play with swaps?" you ask now? Well, I've been sorting them, categorizing them, photographing them, editing them, and NOW STARTING TO BLOG THEM!!!

I'll start off with a few more pics from the cruise, then follow up with some of my favorite swaps:

I'm going to back up just a bit to the 2nd night of the cruise, which was our only full day at sea (no port-of-call). One of the restaurants on the ship offered a "Mystery Dinner Theater" for an additional fee, so Jessica & I, along with our friends Meg Wheeler & Wendy Sanders, purchased tickets. It was a very cheesy, slap-stick performance with the audience given the opportunity to participate at times and to try to guess "whodunnit", so it was a lot of fun!

This is our dessert, a chocolate tiramisu served in it's own edible chocolate bowl! (I know it seems crazy to take pictures of your food, but all the evening dining courses were served so elegantly, you just HAVE to have a picture to remember them!) Notice those "gazelle"-like horns sticking up from this dessert? They are not what they seem to be! Read on:

Those "sticks" were actually chocolate, and Meg & I couldn't resist "dueling" with them a little bit!(The cruise is so fun & relaxing, it really can bring out the kid in you!) Also:

Those same sticks make excellent moustaches! (and yes, we DID eat them!)

Ok, now that you are convinced that insanity reigns on the SU! cruise, here's the first installment of some of my favorite swaps!

Vintage Medallion by Kari Metzger:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2010

That's all for today! But don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow with MORE!!!