I know this is long so if you don't have time to read just scroll down to the bottom to see a couple of samples with a brand new stamp set.
Stampin’ Up is an innovative company and always comes up
with creative ways to do things. I’m
always amazed when I go to their conventions at all the little fun things they
include to make it extra special. They
tried something new last month to show the demonstrators the new 2014/2015
catalogs. They had a catalog premier
show. The live show was filmed somewhere
in California but there were dozens of movie theaters all over the US that the
live show streamed to. We were invited
to get a ticket to our nearest theater and attend and watch along with the ones
able to attend the live event. Pretty
cool!
The event was on April 28th. I thought one would be in Nashville which is
only about 50 miles away but there wasn’t one in Nashville. The nearest ones were all right around 4
hours away, Knoxville, TN; Louisville, KY and Birmingham, AL. I was thinking about going to Knoxville but a
friend emailed me and asked if I wanted to go to the one in Birmingham with
her. I had been wanting to get to know
her better so I went to the one in Birmingham.
We left about noon to give us plenty of time in case of traffic
or getting lost, etc. We found the
theater with no trouble at 4PM. We couldn’t
get in till 5 and the premier didn’t start till 6 so we went across the street
to a Moe’s we saw there. Yum! We don’t have one here so we enjoyed a nice
fresh supper and went back to the theater.
We got back a few minutes after 5 so went on in. There were 2 employees at the counter so we
went to them to ask where to go for the premier. They told us that because of the weather Stampin’
Up had cancelled it.
I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped open. I was having a lot of thoughts going through
my head. We had just driven for 4 hours,
had a hotel room and most of all we wanted to see the new catalog! I also had some very confused thoughts about
how the tornado warnings that Birmingham were under would affect California and
wondered if Knoxville was cancelled too.
Then they told us the feed would probably be interrupted at their
theater so we wouldn’t be able to see it anyway and Stampin’ Up was concerned
about our safety so wanted us to find a safe place during the storm.
We went back out to the car, terribly disappointed and
thinking that if we just headed back home we could get here by 9:00 so we might
as well cancel the hotel and go home.
There were some other demonstrators getting back in their cars and
leaving so they had already gotten the news.
Then another car drove up so we decided to go talk to them. As we were visiting and all feeling bad about
the cancellation more people arrived.
Then we started calling Stampin’ Up asking about it. The person I talked to told me that someone
was on their way with the catalogs so we decided to wait for her before
leaving. At least we would get to see the
new catalog and all the wonderful new stamps and other supplies it contained!
Then one of the people we had talked to in the theater came
out. She said that the feed was working
so we were welcomed to come in and watch as much as the storms would let come
through. Yay! We were hoping that we would at least get to
see an hour or so of the premier show.
At this point I wasn’t even considering tornadoes. So we all went in and got our seats. The person with the catalogs showed up and
since nobody knew how the evening would go she handed them out first. I guess all the other demonstrators in
theaters across the country without storm warnings had to wait until after the
show to get their catalogs. We also got
a free stamp set. It was a very
versatile looking background set. I
liked it but didn’t have a clear vision of it’s many uses yet.
That is the set they were using for the projects they
demonstrated. Every project they did
with it made me love it even more! It is
such a versatile set, you will see lots and lots of samples made with it I’m
sure. The feed continued uninterrupted
except for a flicker when lightning struck nearby. We could also hear the thunder rumbling any
time there was a few seconds of silence on the show. We were able to see the video till the end so
we were happy about that. Once it was
over we drove to the hotel and managed to get into the room just as it started
to rain.
It wasn’t long until a storm siren went off nearby. It sounded like it was very close. We decided we should turn on the local news
and see what was going on. A tornado had
hit Tuscaloosa which is about 50 miles SW of Birmingham. There were tornado warnings for Birmingham
and all around the area. The storm
coverage on the news showed them getting closer and closer to our hotel. And the siren kept going off every 10 minutes
or so. I live way out in the country so
I don’t usually hear the sirens so this one so close and so often was a bit
unnerving for me. I don’t usually stress
out over tornado warnings. I just keep
an eye on the news and listen for the “freight train” so I can head to the
basement if needed. We have a nice safe
place down there.
Juanita and I put our suitcases in the bathroom along with a
couple of pillows to cover our heads with if we had to hop in the bathtub. Each bed had 3 pillows so we had plenty of
extras. We slept in our clothes and sat
listening to the news and looking at our new Stampin’ Up catalogs. Thank goodness we had that little distraction
to keep us from freaking out too bad. I
didn’t feel nearly as safe in that hotel room as I do when I’m home. I tried to call my husband but his new cell
phone had some kind of problem and wasn’t working. We often have that kind of wonderful timing .
. .
One of the roving reporters was at a gas station not far
from us. He kept putting his microphone
in people’s faces asking them if they were worried. Duh!
After they had returned to him several times during the filming the
whole place started shaking and pieces of the roof tiles started falling. I had to laugh at the news reporter because
he was so scared but didn’t want to show it on camera. It wasn’t funny at all and It was headed
straight at me but sometimes reporters can be a bit obnoxious so I couldn’t
help laughing at him. I’m sure he was relieved when they turned off the camera
and he could get in the back storage room where the customers had gone! When they came back to him a bit later he was
showing things that had blown down off the shelves and went outside and one of the
gas pumps had been blown over onto a car that was parked beside it. I guess they thought that would be a safe
place to park while they sought shelter inside.
That was about 10:45. The storms were so close to us. And that infernal siren kept going off! Our area of Birmingham was told to get in our
safe place. The tornadoes were less than
10 miles away from us. My daughter who
lives in Colorado texted me about that time to ask if I was spending the night
in the basement. I told her I wasn’t
home, I was in Birmingham. She had seen the news and knew that wasn’t a good
thing. I asked her to pray for us. - Then we prayed for us. About 10 minutes later they said the tornado
warning had been cancelled! Whew! I could breathe again! We were so thankful
for that news.
We took off our shoes but slept in our clothes with cell
phones and flashlights beside us just in case another storm came along after we
turned off the weatherman. Once I fell
asleep that was it. I didn’t wake up at
all until it was light outside the next morning. This is a trip I won’t soon forget! If you are still reading, thanks for sticking with my long story. Now for what you come to my blog for, stamping! Here are more samples with the Work of Art stamp set.
First is a card with a simple background, inked up the swoop stamp once and stamped it 3 times so it is lighter with each stamp. I think it makes a great background for butterflies to fly over!
Second is another card with the swoop, this time it is turned like an arch and is rainbow-like. The sentiment and the hearts are also in the Work of Art set. This one was a quick and easy card too.
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Last is a card I used the technique to ink up the embossing folder before embossing the paper. I used the circle stamp from Work of Art to stamp the white on the Blushing Bride background cardstock. The Thank You sentiment is also in the Work of Art set. I'm glad the Natural Chevron Ribbon is in the new catalog, I love that stuff!
