At 7.30pm it was time to gather downstairs for the Stampin' Up Grand Vacation Welcome Dinner.  Just look at the beautiful setting. 

Did you see how the flower on the chocolates matches the tablecloths?  The attention to detail is just wonderful.  We feel so very spoilt. 

A welcome message from Shelli, then Dave Baugh said grace and it was time for a delicious meal.  (After a whole swag of cameras came out of course!)

The sun set and the moon came up.  A fire in the fire pit.  Wow - just a lovely lovely evening. 

The St Regis Resort looks beautiful at night too.  

There's a turn down service as well.  I wondered what that was - turns out that someone comes into your room, turns down the bed, puts little slippers beside the bed and robes out, pops your bedlamp on and puts a glass and water out, ice in the ice bucket ......

I feel like I've been parachuted into another life - the life of the rich and famous.  Ha ha.

When we got back to our room there was even a gift from Stampin' Up. 

Inside was a windcheater for John and a hoodie for me. 

Wow - and this is just day one. 

My sister and parents have been sending updates on the kids (as well as our phone calls.)  They're looking very happy too. I loved these pics Melissa sent through.

They both liked the sound of all those lollie jars in the hospitality area/gathering place. 

Well, almost time for breakfast.  Back with another update another day.  Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers, Sue

OK convention is all done now and time for the Stampin' Up! Grand Vacation to start. 

A nice leisurely morning this morning then it was time to take our bags and meet the bus for our transfers to St Regis Resort, Deer Valley, Utah.

A one hour drive up towards the mountains.

And before we knew it we'd arrived at St Regis.

Oh my goodness - this place is gorgeous.

First stop was the Stampin' Up area where we collected our name badges and little baskets. What are the little baskets for I bet you're wondering.

For these .....

Our rooms weren't quite ready so time for a relax and a bite to eat.  Look at the delicious food .....

3 types of popcorn - yum!

Time for a relaxing catch up with friends. 

I even snuck my camera into the restrooms - check this out.  So grand and gorgeous.

The agenda for today .....

Each day we can visit the Stampin' Up room and drop a token into the prize whatsit.  It lands in one of the slots below and tells us what prize we've won.  I won a gorgeous little container of a new embellishment coming in the Holiday Catalogue in September.  Very sparkly.  Here's Kathryn about to have her turn.

Soon our rooms were ready and it was time to go and get settled in.  I took a ton of photos - want a peek?

We got a little present - a  basket of nibblies. 

Here's the view out our window.  My energetic husband is currently out up that mountain for a walk.   I'm slightly altitude affected - touch of the dizzies - so am taking it easy in the room for today and drinking lots of water.  Feels a bit like I've gotten off a boat, so every now and then the room does a little swing or sway.  Not too bad though and I'm sure it'll pass soon. 

Here's the view if we look to the right (and zoom a bit with the camera.)  Can't wait to have a dip in the pool.

Aah this is the life.  Now for a spot of relaxing. 

They're setting up the tables for our welcome dinner tonight and I can see that it is going to be awesome.  I'll be back another day with the next instalment of Stampin' Up Grand Vacation Utah. 

Cheers,

Sue

Hello from very sunny Utah! 

After a very long couple of flights we arrived in Salt Lake City to find flags all over the place welcoming almost 6000 people to the Stampin' Up convention.

I still can't believe I'm here!

Check out the crowd at general session.

They had giant screens so we all got great views.

So much to see here ......

This was a big display celebrating Stampin' Up's 25 year history.  Each stand had a photo of a catalogue cover and several stamps from that year plus a photo of Shelli and her family.

The make and take area was huge!

Tons of gorgeous displays ...

There were TONS of cards on display plus some simply stunning 3d items.  Here's just a couple ...

If all the hustle and bustle got too much there was a recognition room where award achievers could go.  Isn't it pretty.  Had free chocolates and soft drink too.

Plus you could have your photo taken and write a message ...

Here is one just for you. 

It was fun sharing the experience with some team mates. Here's my friends Kathryn and Genna.

The stage presentations were wonderful.  Here's a card I liked from our founder Shelli Gardner.  (Sorry about the head in the pic.)

The front was nice then you open it up and .....

If you were feeling inclined you could even get your nails done in this year's in colours.  

I'll share some more convention pics another day when I get them a little more organised.  That's just a little taste of Stampin' Up US Convention.  What an experience.

We're having a ball here in Salt Lake City.  Here's the view from our hotel...

Tonight we found an outdoor free folk festival. 

Plus the shopping is quite good.  40% off sales all over the place. I'm not usually much of a shopper but did quite enjoy an afternoon of exploring.

Signing off for today.  I hope you enjoyed a little snippet of Convention Salt Lake City 2013.

Back another day with some news from our Grand Vacation to St Regis Resort, Deer Valley, Utah.  That kicks off tomorrow and should be heaps of fun with lots of demonstrators from Australia, New Zealand and Europe and their guests. 

Take care and happy stamping,

Sue

I love the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set on page 109.  It is one of those sets you can easily skip over in the catalogue but once you have a play with it - love.  Really versatile. 

Here's one of the make and takes we did at our Stampin' Up convention featuring this set.

This card also features the stamp set Hello Lovely (pg 22.)  Some lovely elements in that set. 

And the matching envelope ...

And in non stamping news - here's the latest pic from our big yard makeover project.  A big day of concrete today. We got some plans put together about 6 years ago for the yard.  It is lovely to finally see it taking shape outside. 

I hope your week is going well. 

Cheers, Sue

The Stampin' Up Catalogue 2013 / 14 officially kicks off from today.  View it online here and enjoy a browse through all our new products and samples. 

You can browse and shop from the comfort of your home at my online store here. 

Twenty four ladies came to my new catalogue launch on Sunday and joined in all the fun of launch day.

New Catalogue Launch Wrap Up ....... And Prize Winners

Here's a bit of a peek at Sunday's activities.  Entry table for people to grab their name stickers with one of 5 pictures on it for Prize Patrol.  Some MDS projects to have a look at as well.

A bit of time to browse the displays and look through my retired stock sale items.  I loved putting these colour charts together to show our revamped colour families. 

Thanks to my stamping friends for joining me in a new catalogue swap - some extra samples for the display board.

Next up it was time to gather in the lounge room for a bit of a closer look at some new catalogue items.  I showed some of the buttons I'd been making with the clay and moulds.  You can colour them by adding some reinker to the clay and playing with it til the colour mixes through. (I didn't have gloves so did this in a ziplock bag.)  Or make the button and colour it once it is dry with a mix of crystal effects and reinker - applied with a brush.  This gives a lovely glossy finish. 

Then it was time for our first Prize Patrol draw.  We had lots of prize draws over the launch and everyone went home with a prize - my sort of odds!    Speaking of prize winners - scroll down for the winners of my hostess rewards prize draw.

Next up it was time to do some stamping and play with some products.

Over to the bookmark making table - it doubles as a new In Colour chart.

Along the bench stations to play with a few other new things and to have a sample of some of the other new colours and punches.

At the end of the bench we had a Product Playground area - a chance to give the trimmer and score board a test drive.

And some time at the make and take table to make a couple of cards.  (This pic is from after the launch and one card had a bit of a run in with an ink pad and lost - ha ha.)

Note: Card on left inspired by a card from my stamping team mate Kristine Giampietro.

Now for the part some of my ladies have been waiting for.  I placed our launch orders today (and Sunday for the old catalogue ones) and have drawn out the names for the Hostess Rewards Prize Draw.  Here we go.

Hostess Rewards Prize Draw Winners

Prizes valued at $25 or $10 - we've got a mix of the two.

Here are our winners and what they selected

Nanette and Carmen chose the Simply Sketched stamp set

Michelle and Ann each chose a pack of rhinestones

Val chose the Little Leaves Sizzlit

Cecile chose the Simply Scored Borders Scoring Plate

Cheryl and Gail chose the Postcard stamp set

Lina chose the Morning Meadow stamp set

Denise chose Clear Block A and C and a pack of those always handy Dimensionals

Carol C chose a Coastal Cabana Ink Pad

Sandra chose a Gumball Green Ink Pad

Kay chose a Summer Starfruit Ink Pad

and Lesley chose a Piercing Mat

Congratulations to all our prize winners.  I'll let you know when the launch orders arrive.

 And happy new catalogue day everyone.

Cheers,
Sue

In non stamping news - been busy busy here since launch day in our yard.  Some major landscaping taking place.  Here's a pic of how it is looking today.  Kids and I have been enjoying watching it all out the window. 

I can't wait to share some after pics with you in a few weeks.