Day 1 at Stampin' Up! Convention 2012: Check-in and Riverton tour

What a great day this has been! Kim, Barb and I had a leisurely (free) breakfast with great service, then went over to the Salt Palace Convention Center to check in and pick up our bag and convention sets. Here's a photo of the bag:

Today, we saw all but one of the rest of our group that's here. Lorraine is coming in later and then going on a tour to the Riverton campus.

I sat next to a charming demonstrator on the bus named Cecilia from the high desert of Apple Valley, CA. She and her youngest daughter do SU! classes together. It was fun meeting somebody new.

We were warmly greeted at the campus by SU! employees, who gave us a map. We started with the Idea Rooms. Look at these photos:

All set up for a party!

How would you like this to be your craft area?

Love the wall art and flowers!

Decorated rooms at Riverton with ticket punch garland

Something Borrowed for Monkey105, and my newly organized stampin' area

This isn't a Stampin' Up! image. It's rare that that happens on my blog. And the reason why is this week's A La Card Monkey Challenge #105: Something Borrowed + Sketch.

I used Paisley Petals dsp on a Whisper White card base. I borrowed the stamps from a friend of mine. I wasn't sure of the color for the mice, but I ended up using an aqua painter and watercolor crayons. The mice are More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie with Pretty in Pink cheeks. I used a stamp-a-ma-jig for the words, punching them out with the 1-3/4" circle punch and added an Itty Bitty flower with a rhinestone. Have a wonderful weekend!



I almost forgot! I pulled the retiring Stampin' Up! stamps from my shelves and took a photo of what's left. It looks pretty organized right now.

This is where I create. It's the landing at the top of the stairs in my house. I'm a very visual person, so I need to see what I have in order to remember it's there and to use it. I love using punches, which is why they're all within arm's reach. I had my hubby pull out some of the shelves on the wall so I could fit the stamps on them with the cases. Previously, I had to store the cases in a cabinet and line up the stamps because the shelves were so close together. This works better for me, and it's freed up room in a cabinet! All of the words are near the middle where they're easy to see. Scissors and ribbons are behind the fan and Ott Light (a must-have since I stamp at night). A caddy with my brads and buttons is out of the photo on the right.

I love having all of the Stampin' Up! ink pads - including two years' worth of In Colors, StazOn and VersaMark pads - at my side. I keep card stock in a filing cabinet just below the countertop, which is only 2 feet deep.

This built-in bookshelf is on my left, and it looks so much neater now. It holds mini catalog sets, more punches, all of my clear blocks (in the tin on the bottom shelf), and the rest of my clear stamp sets. The top shelf holds extra markers for my kids to use, sponge daubers, hobby blades, adhesives, glitter, shimmer paints and empty brad containers I use for punched pieces when I have classes.

What's on your desk?

Where I stamp at home

I thought I'd show you my stamp area, along with others at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/. My area is at the top of the stairs in a loft area that gets really warm (the fan is the most important thing on my desk!). I have wood-mounted stamps to my left and in front of me on the wall, and clear-mounted stamps - and the blocks - in the built-in bookcase to my left.

I really do have my area this clean when preparing projects. And I like having everything within reach. I keep the rolls of ribbon in front of me with several pairs of scissors, the flat punches stacked in the bookshelf and the lever punches stacked three deep on my ink pad holder. All of my 8-1/2" x 11" card stock is in the top drawer of the black filing cabinet.

I'm getting ready for a Christmas card stamp-a-stack tonight, so the green striped tote is holding three prepped card totes, and there are bags of things to take out to my studio tonight. The other plastic totes with lids on them are from other events I've done. I keep telling myself I'll make up the rest of those cards. And one of these days, I will! As for what's on top of the right side of my desk - it's a mess. There's a big shoe box with tons of scraps, packets from old make & takes, and random punched pieces that I didn't end up using. I like to clear out my scrap box a couple of times a year by "gifting" it to a favorite customer. They're thrilled and so am I.

Have a great day!

Kept uncluttered so I can use the paper cutter easily, and so my 9-year-old daughter can stamp with me. We just finished stamping and coloring her birthday invitations.

Where the clutter accumulates! This is the right side of my built-in desk. It gets cleared out once in awhile (not as often as it should!)

Flat punches, clear-mount stamps, markers, sponge daubers, glitter, and clear blocks