Preparing For OnStage 2018!!

For those of you who dont know, Stampin' Up! organise various events for demonstrators to attend. This weekend, April 8th April, saw 600 of mostly Australian demos gathering at Sydney's incredible Luna Park for OnStage 2018.

The lead up to this is full of excitement, especially because we knew that a new catalogue was being released!! During these events, lots of the demonstrators make swaps to show off their skills when making cards, 3D items or even scrapbooking ideas. It is a fantastic way to show off the products and in turn, the recipient gains many, many ideas of new ways to use possibly that same product.

This year, right up until 2 weeks before OnStage, I wasnt going to make any swaps - I had no idea of what to make or even an idea of what to do....

And then I found a small stash of metal rings that I had purchased about 5 years ago...
So then, 'it was on, like Donkey Kong!!'

I had made this type of ring before, so I wasnt learning anything new - I could get straight into making them quickly...

Initially I cut a heap of scrap cardstock up, 1 cm in width & for as long as the length of cardstock.

I began by burnishing the complete peices, then gluing the two ends together, just to stop it from rolling around and not actually attaching to anything. It needed the glue to hold it together.

Once it began to roll over itself, I just continued the process. If I got to the end of the cardstock peice & wanted to either continue with that colour or begin another one, I glue the next peice from where the other finishes & so on...

Those trusty pegs come in handy when needing to hold the rolls together, but move onto the next one... I keep about 20 pegs on my turntable of tools, for this type of job exactly!!

I tried a little experiment on this design & added a couple of smaller peices of Real Red & Whisper White cardstock to give the feathered effect... What do you think of it?

When the metal base of the ring was adhered to the cardstock, I would leave them to dry overnight. This ensured the glue was completely dry & finger print free!!

Then it was just a case of ensuring good coverage for the top of the rings. I applied the glue liberally & made sure it dripped into any crevaces within the rolled cardstock so that the finish was as good as it could be. Of course, the pegs came into their own again, along with a big sign telling my teens to stay away from the wet items!!

 Here are a couple of the rings, with the acetate box that Id made to hand them out in. I had wanted to make a box that was similar to a jewellery box from a nice jewellery shop, I guess it kinda looked like that, right?

 These are fun to make & you can experiment with colours or even folding techniques... Just ensure you leave them to dry long enought, otherwise you may be handing out your fingerprints, by mistake!!

This gorgous mess if the first 35 or so of my swaps... I thought I was finished until I found another 16 or so rings & began the process again... Alas, I got to make another 7 on top of my original 35 & chose to stop there, or I may have missed my plane to Sydney!!

Ive loved sharing how to make these, with you...

Be sure to show me what you have made using this technique AND return to see more items frm the amazing event that was OnStage 2018... :)

OnStage 2017 - Melbourne, Australia

Today I am revelling in the aftermath of what was Stampin' Up! yearly event OnStage for this year...

This is a SU! worldwide event, organised in many countries around the world, using videos & live presentations for current SU! demonstrators. It is a wonderful day where we are spoilt with seeing new product releases, new catalogues & the odd Prize Patrol give away - a definite time to get excited!!

During the leadup to this amazing day, many of us prepare swaps. As the name suggests, we make cards, 3D items or Off The Page (OTP) items using current products. We then swap our items with other, (who have slaved away until stupid o'clock during the week!!). This gives us fantastic inspiration to make more cards, work out how to make 'that' 3D item and even push our boundaries by trying products that we wouldn't usually or are too unsure too.

I always like to make something other than a traditional card, simple so that I am using the products in a different way. I feel this makes the product more versatile, if it can be used on a variety of mediums, therefore being more cost effective, obviously.

So this year I have made earrings, using the Half Full stamp set.

 I used the SU! Window Sheets, Black Archival, Cherry Cobbler & So Saffron Inks, Cherry .Cobbler & Whisper White cardstock.

The 'wine' was made using the glue from the Fine Tip Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds & Cherry Cobbler re-inker, (this is the small bottle of ink, added like food colouring). The hardest part was making sure the 'wine' didn't go past the glass boundaries when I placed the top of another glass on top, making it a double wedged in between the two images...

Email me if you want more information about the particular instructions to make these...

 Of course, it would never be as incredible as it could be if Mel, my up-line, wasn't there... She has taught me so much about using various products, colour co-ordinating and all things Stampin' Up!

 I had the wonderful opportunity to dance to some groovy music with Bonnie, the American representative from the SU! office! She is such an electrifying woman, we so need more women in our world just like her!!

 This is what greeted us when we sat at our table, I just love the humour of those who prepare everything for an event like this!!
This is all that I can share with you today, after Tuesday I will share more - one of the perks of being a demonstrator is seeing the (almost) released products before everyone else!!

(If this excites you, talk to me about becoming a demonstrator - you wont be disappointed!!)

Come by later in the week - I will share some of the amazing swaps Ive received & maybe even some of the catalogue information!!

Thanks for stopping by!!