LNS events

This post is going to focus on my LNS experience.  LNS stands for Late Night Stampers, a wonderful group of paper-crafters. I came to know about LNS when I was preparing to attend the Stampin' Up Convention for the first time in 2012.  I had sent a message to my upline asking about finding some roommates in need of another person, as most people will share rooms with 3-4 people in each room to help with the cost of the hotels downtown SLC.  I was matched up with Angel and Marie, both from Dallas/Plano TX area, and we clicked so well, they are now my roomies every year.  While doing the initial contact messaging to make sure we were all compatible roomies, they clued me into the LNS events.  I became interested and signed up.  I had so much fun that I signed up for this year's event as soon as I got home from Convention.  This year I was signed up for next year by the end of the first day!

We arrive on Sunday, and even before Convention starts we make our name tags,

have a white elephant type gift exchange of handmade gifts, do 2 stamp camps, 3 shoebox project swaps, a WOW event, a Reunion Party, a Welcome Party, and an 80+1 card swap.  OODLES of crafting, creativity, and meeting awesome people!  And then Convention starts!

I am so happy to be a part of the LNS clan!  I am so looking forward to next year.  I met some really great people this year and am anxious to see them again.  I've already started the pre-planning for my swaps.  I can work out the basic framework for the swaps, and then when the new SU Catalog is released, I finalize the details and start production.  I really enjoy creating the tutorials for my shoebox swaps.  Here are the ones I did this year:

note paper holder

heart shadow box

chalkboard easel card

 

Here is my 80+1 swap card:

Another sweet element of the LNS Preconvention events is that we all stay in the Radisson downtown SLC, and all the LNS events are in the hotel ballroom which is so convenient.  The hotel is very nice, the employees are wonderful, and the rooms are great.  And bonus, this year they had mini fridges in all the rooms.  We even had our reservation in for 2014 halfway through the first day of events.  Because we have such a large group of people that stay at Radisson every year, we get a group rate that is even better than the room rates Stampin' Up offers.  And it is so nice to know where you are staying months (even a year) in advance.  No waiting for SU to open up their blocks rooms just a month in advance and hoping that you're quick enough to snag a room before they're all taken.  Our arrangement with the Radisson is simply awesome!

And when Stampin' Up Convention starts, we are merely steps from the back doors of the Salt Palace Convention Center.  So our walk to the meeting place and main stage area is in air conditioned comfort.  Being SU's 25th Anniversary they had nearly 6,000 demos attending Convention this year.  So long lines for activities was unavoidable.  One cool thing about that was you had a chance to talk to and get to know complete strangers, whomever you happen to be standing next to in line.  I told so many people about the LNS events, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of them joining the LNS crew next year. While we were seating and waiting for the final main stage session to begin, SU had the question "What was your favorite part of your Convention experience?" on the main screen encouraging everyone to text their answer.  I couldn't help myself, I wanted everyone one to know about LNS, so I texted in that my favorite part was the LNS events including the fun crafts and the wonderful people.  And it popped right up on the screen for all nearly 6,000 people to see!

The rest of the year, LNS holds online Treasure Hunts, Blog Hops, and shares projects daily in their Yahoo groups.  LNS includes SU Demos and non-Demos alike. 

If you are an SU demo, planning to go to Convention next year, and want to know more about LNS, feel free to contact me!  If you are not a Demo, you are welcome to join us online, and if you want to attend the LNS Preconvention events, I feel it is worthwhile even if you can't participate in the SU Convention stuff.

Getting back to it...

Question is... where to start when you've taken some time off from your blog posts?  I guess just start in somewhere....

Well, went to Stampin' Up Convention and had an awesome time!  This year I drove up to SLC.  It is about a 14-hour drive, and only 10% of it is Interstate highways, so it was mostly state highways which slows me down.  If it was mostly interstate highways, I could make it in 9 hours.  It was awesome having my vehicle there, so we could just hop in it whenever we wanted and drive to Target or Michaels, or out to eat someplace farther than walking distance from the hotel.  And it allowed me to bring as much stuff with me as I could stuff into my RAV4, which is a lot.  No worrying about my luggage weighing more the 50 lbs this year.  My little RAV took quite a beating though, as there are a lot of hills between here and SLC and its little 14 year old 4 cylinder engine wasn't very happy about that.  I really hope by next year I have a decent enough job that I feel comfortable taking on a car payment and I can upgrade to something with a 6 cylinder engine.  More on the trip later.  I have pictures and so much to talk about.

I am officially retired from the Air Force now, my first day as a civilian was 1 Aug.  I am now looking for the perfect anti-Obama bumper sticker for my vehicle, since now I am allowed to speak my mind on the matter. 

Alex started 1st grade on 12 Aug.  He is doing well.  Having a few issues with learning proper behavior, and just having a lot of energy, but we are making progress.  We took him to the public library today, and he was so excited to check out 4 Fly Guy books.

Stitching has slowed down, but not stopped.  Tree Frog is making progress, but still working on the same shade of green as stated in the last update.  I've also gotten a couple other project's grid work done. 

Well, that's a start...  and no more just not posting anything because I feel overwhelmed that I have too much to catch up on.  I hope to just pick something to blog about every few days, allowing myself to be as random as I need to be.

My SU up-line posted something on FB recently that I thought was great, it is a little e-poster that says "When people ask me 'How did you get to be so creative?' I tell them it's because I ate paste as a child." 8)

Starting my washi tape stash

Just want to show off my short term storage for my fledgling washi tape stash.  I've sort of resisted washi tape, although I knew it was only a matter of time.  Stampin' Up has finally produced their own, so the time has come.  I was bumming around online today and got looking at washi tape storage ideas.  I only have 6 rolls at this point, so I have time to find a more robust storage for when I have more.  But I came up with a short term storage that will house this start of the stash.  Here it is:

I used transparency film, made a small box to hold the 3 rolls from a group.  Then I created a small shelf from foam core and used zip-ties to secure it to the underside of the shelf above my crafting desk.  The little clear boxes slide right onto the shelf. This little system keeps them visible and within reach.  It was quick and easy to create with stuff I had on hand.