Stampin' Up Convention 2013 - Make and Takes!

Hello, Lovely make & take part 1

This July, I went to my very first Stampin' Up Convention!  Talk about an amazing Girlz Weekend Out.  I went by myself and made 5 new best friends.

One of the many fun things about convention, is that we get to test new product through Make & Takes, Mini Classes, and Product Playgrounds.   They give us the stamp sets and consumable materials for all the sessions on the first night (in a very swanky convention bag - this year's model was a custom Stampin' Up back-pack complete with padded laptop carrying pocket - ooh!  Loved it!).  On "Expo Day" tables are set up with tools and volunteer demonstrators guide participants through making the projects.  Participants get to choose when they want to complete those projects... or if they want to be like our crew and go to the mall instead...  we skipped doing the projects at convention.  Hey, there was an amazing mall just across the street from the convention center - we just couldn't resist the allure of retail therapy!

Now that I'm back, here's the first card that I made using the same ink, stamps, and products that were in the make and take package, with a few added twists of my own.

This is a scan of the instruction and idea sheet that came with the make & take.  Included was 4 of the new 5" x 3-1/4" Note Cards and envelopes.  It is interesting to note that even though the cards have the same great finish of the Whisper White card stock sold individually, the card stock of note cards is heavier weight.

Supplies:  (available from www.creativeflare.stampinup.net)
Hello, Lovely stamp set, set of 10  (Wood mounted blocks: item #130240, $32.95.  Cling mount stamps: item #130243, $24.95) Acrylic Blocks C and H recommended.
Note Cards  (item #131527 - $5.95 for 20 cards and envelopes.)
Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Ink Pad  (item #131176 - $5.95)
Old Olive Classic Ink Pad  (item #126953)
Bermuda Bay Classic Ink Pad  (item #131171)
Coastal Cabana Classic Ink Pad  (item #131175)
Old Olive card stock  (item #100702- $6.95 for 24 sheets)
Whisper White card stock  (item #101730 - $8.50 for 40 sheets)
In Color 2013-15 Designer Series Paper Pack  (item #130136 $21.95 for 40 sheets)
Rhinestone jewels  (item #119246 $4.95 for a sheet of 150 self-adhesive jewels)
Stamp-a-ma-jig (item #101049 - $11.95)

Here was my retouch of the card on the lower left hand corner of the instruction sheet.  The original sheet had just the 4 stamp pattern on the plain card front.  I stamped them separately on a 1-3/4" square of Whisper White card stock, mounted it on a 2 x 2" square of Old Olive card stock, and cut a little banner of Crisp Cantaloupe Designer Series Paper that was 1/2" x 3".  The Rhinestone jewels were part of the make and take package, just hard to see in the first picture.

Hints:  Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig was essential to getting these stamps positioned.  Also, because my new ink pads were super juicy, it worked well if I stamped off the ink lightly on a scratch sheet of paper before stamping on my card stock.  When using clear blocks and cling mount stamps with the Stamp-a-ma-jig, I find it helpful to mark the corner of block that fits into the jig, that way I know that I'm holding my stamp the same way each time. I use a "Sharpie" marker to mark the block, and it cleans off easily with the "Staz-On" ink cleaner when I'm done.

Enjoy!