Stampin’Up! European Convention-Paris 2011

Hello there well good plans and all that. Two days after flying back home and I have managed to acquire a cold .
So the first morning of the Convention came and I was getting ready to walk across to the Conference centre when I came across this lovely individual…

Before I left for Paris, Alison my downline requested that I said hello to him for her. I did so Alison but I couldn’t get him to wave back as he had a rather long queue of little ones to see so I snuck this photo of him for you.
We picked up our convention bags, we swapped, exchanged gifts and shopped. That’s right you get to do some much needed retail therapy at Convention as well, the Memento Mall was full with cute Stampin’Up! branded merchandise(photos of it later).
I have some more gifts to share with you, I made 26 of these for all members in the lower levels of my team attending Convention. I used the candy cane fabric and some 100%wool felt, the flowers were cut with the Fun Flowers Bigz Die.

I added some chocolates and a hand made topper to the packaging.

I also made 8 of these lovely corsages for a few special friends. Made with the same die and 100% wool felt, I've cut the flowers first then wet them and scrunched them up quite a lot to get the felt to full some more and get those edges smooth and the petals curly and shaped. I have used 2 layers of the bigger size, one middle size and one small size, all held together with a vintage brad. A small circle of fabric was added to the centre as well.

I was running out of time so I packaged them very simply.

The first day of Convention was amazing, inspirational classes ( one of my shiny stars Lindsay presented on stage and she did a fabulous job) gorgeous make n takes and of course in the evening we had the Awards night.
Awards night is always exciting as everyone gets dressed up, we all enjoy  a really nice dinner and is always a very happy and relaxed atmosphere coupled with a bit of excitement as the top achievers get announced, everyone wants to know where they have ranked.
2011 was a good year for the Passionettes , five of us made the top 25,  four members  got to walk the stage for the first time and three members achieved the Incentive Trip to Vienna next June.
Here’s the lovely Lindsay taking to the stage for the first time, how cute did she look?  and I just love Shelli’s reaction.

Stevie’s first walk was very emotional, she had a great year and so deserved to be there. 

To say I was proud it was an understatement. I also witnessed two of my leaders Julie and Bekka walk the stage and collect awards for their incredible achievements and I cheered as loud as I could for those at home who couldn’t make it but had their names called out.  I was lucky to be up on stage myself a few times.  I came 3rd in recruiting and 3rd in leadership. Here I am on stage collecting the award for leadership which required no work from me really, I was collecting this award on the back of my team’s hard work and their promotions so thank you to each and every one of you, you are amazing and I am grateful for all you do.
Shelli, myself, Jules, Michelle and Paula our Country Manager

I was very happy to have ranked at number 4, now this really came as a surprise to me as this year was a little challenging  for me and and I really expected to rank lower than that.  And so I have to thank all of you that supported me  and my business this year, my loyal customers, close friends and fellow demonstrators  and of course my fabulous team, you all rock!!! I know I am gushing now sorry..
However the star of our team was this lovely girl, Jules. She ranked at number 3 in the whole of the UK , herself and her team worked very hard and I am truly delighted and so very happy for them all. I treasure our little chats on stage if we happen to be there at the same time, she is so funny. On the night as well as collecting many awards Julie captivated everyone in that room with a stunning live performance of a song from the famous production Wicked and she was A-MA-ZING!!!

I shed a tear as the words were so meaningful, she looked lovely as well in her green frock.
And here’s the top 3 demonstrators of the year.
Shelli , Michelle Last no 1, Amanda Fowler no. 2, and the lovely Jules at no.3, and Paula Gorry
A big well done to them

As if walking the stage is not enough you get flowers and lovely gifts, here’s my loot.

Beautiful, beautiful  gifts that make you feel spoilt and appreciated!! I love this company for what it stands for and for allowing me to follow a dream I didn’t know I had nearly 4 years ago.
And even the tags on these precious gifts were amazing,

LOVE THEM!!!
And after a bit more cheering we were done and the location for the next Incentive Trip was announced well let me say it loudly  OH EM GEEE !!!

How amazing does this look? I am working like mad to earn this trip of a lifetime and if you want to join me and my team and have a bash at earning it please get in touch I would love to go on a free holiday with you.
After the awards ended  we had a quick group photo on the stage, not all of our attending team members were present and we adopted a few sweet friends. I loved spending time with this great bunch of girls, we laughed, sang,  danced and had the most fabulous time. I cannot wait till our next Convention in Germany, you to could come and experience it!!  All you need to do is join my team, email me for a no pressure chat.

Oh and in case you don’t know already we are all about the shoes in this team, I love those heels!!!
They belong to Linz and Jo can you say hot?

We ended the night with a few glasses of champagne and I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
If you are still with me well done and sorry for the long post, see you again soon till then hugs xxx.

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