Leadership was awesome!

Hey there blogging buddies! Yes, Leadership Training in Phoenix was really wonderful and worth all the hassles at the airport to finally get there! Have you flown recently? Do the airlines always overbook and cancel flights on a daily basis? Wow! When it takes over 11 hours of sitting at the airport before you can actually get airborne, something is seriously wrong. My original flight was cancelled over 2 hours after it's original departure time. Then it takes another 1 1/2 hours to stand in line to get rebooked on another flight. Then you sit and wait and wait some more. Then the next flight is delayed for several different reasons and you finally lift off over 2 hours later than posted. Do they have any idea what they're doing, or is it just a case of 'whatever goes'? The only redeeming factor is running into other stampers also waiting and getting to know them! Ok, enough of my ranting on that particular subject.

Back to Leadership - how much fun and learning can you cram into 3 days? When you're Stampin' Up!, quite a bit actually! The demonstrations were very enlightening. I can't wait to try out some of the ideas I saw demonstrated. The presenters and classes were all helpfu and gave me ideas on how to work on some of my problem areas. Shelli's ideas were fabulous as you would expect. She never fails to inspire my creativity. And the Manager's Reception was really exceptional! The amount of detail that goes into the plannning of each aspect of your time there is really incredible. And now I'm all charged up and ready to go!

Coming back home, I had classes scheduled for this week. So that's what I'll be sharing with you until I can get some new samples stamped. I have some quilters in my classes and have been asked to make some samples of quilt blocks using DSP as fabric. Since I don't quilt yet, this was a little challenging, but fun to accomplish. One of the ladies stamping here last night is a quilter and she loved the card. They decided that the embossed background looked like stitching also. What do you think?

Stamps: You & Moi, and Always
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Whisper White cardstock with Real Red Designer Series Paper from Patterns Pack 3 (Hostess Level 1)
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Big Shot with Petals A Plenty Impressions Folder, Build-A-Brad, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch







As you can see, there was very little stamping, but a really cute card anyway! I love how the cardstock changes texture after using the impressions folder. It almost feels like fabric, so it was the perfect technique as a background for this card.

The ladies had fun choosing which side of the DSP 'fabric' to use to get the look they wanted. And the Build-A-Brad was a good focal point in the middle of the 'square'. We made this card as a Valentine, but I think with a little sentiment change, it could fit so many different occasions. All in all, this was lots of fun to make and I enjoyed the challenge immensely. Give it a try yourself and let me know what you've come up with.

Now I need to think up another quilt-square type card. (Along with all the other stuff I need to do!) Happy stamping, and I'll be back tomorrow with another class project.
Sharon