Why is it that returning home is just as exciting as the trip destination??? We enjoyed beautiful weather while in California, the excitement of OnStage, the connecting with friends and meeting new ones, BUT still it is SO GOOD to be home! There were some definite ups and downs on the trip – such as spending 1/2 day trying – and luckily getting – meds for a medical issue that arose, missing out on a wonderful steak dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House due to said medical issue, missing some of the best sessions at OnStage again, due to said medical issue, yada yada, but life happens.
Luckily for Pam and I, we had no flight issues and simply cruised through the long travel days with no blips on the life radar. Many others had flights canceled, rerouted and rescheduled, and some even had to stay longer because of the winter weather issues. Our friend Joey didn’t leave until early Monday night and hopefully got home early hours today. Pool Boy and I have a week of medical appointments scheduled, so yesterday was spent getting caught up from being gone – that’s the price of getting away!!!
Stampin’ Up! is all about the connections – the people we gather with at home, but also the demonstrator friends we hang with at these large events. This group of gals are such an easy and fun group to gather with! And there are many takeaways from this OnStage I’m excited about:
- The Catalog! The loss of the annual catalog to a yearly three smaller catalog rotation makes sense to me after hearing from Home Office. AND I LIKE THE NEW CATALOG FOR MAY THRU AUGUST!!!!
- The catalog layout – much improved and easy to view!!! It’s clean, product is front and center on the pages, NEW items are easy to find, and I think you will all agree we can live with this printed copy!!! Can’t wait for you to see it!
- The New Ink Pad Cases! You WILL LOVE THEM!!! So much easier than trying to open, trying to close, trying to not BREAK and damage cases – these are great and are a needed addition to our product line. And they open with ONE HAND!
- The New In-Colors! They are all beautiful and work well with our color collections. Everyone’s favorite is Hydrangea Hue, but they are stunning, and you will enjoy creating with them.
- The New Products – the In Color shimmer brushes are beautiful, the new Impression Dies are exciting, and I love the new DSP’s heading our way! We have 19 NEW bundles coming, and several more exciting things coming in the months ahead.
- NO MORE having to remember which black ink to use with watercolor, which to use with blends! We’ve a new Hybrid black ink that will work for every medium we have!!
These are some of my favorite takeaways, but I have some disappointments as well:
- No New In Color products in our Product Premier purchase opportunity – this is probably one of the most popular parts of registering for OnStage – the early access to a portion of new products. Our list was smaller than past years, but totally understand why, and next week we have access to everything in the new catalog.
- No OnStage in person for 2027 – we will be virtual for 2027 and will miss the chance of connecting in person, but we will be celebrating big in 2028 in Salt Lake City with EVERYONE all over the world. Our group is already planning an in person meet up in 2027 – you simply can’t go a full year without gathering with your tribe!.
- No BackStage in person for 2026 – BUT it’s being moved to March of 2027 in Oklahoma City – it simply was moved back 4 months.
- Prices changes are coming – I’ll try to post a list of products with prices. It’s easy to blame the company for these changes but there is no blame game here, and it’s happening everywhere – production and manufacturing, raw materials, shipping just to name a few. From now thru April it will be a good time to stock up on those favorites with price changes.
I’ll be back tomorrow to announce two upcoming classes, and to share our swag of new products, but until then take it easy and stay safe in this weather!!! Find time to create, to craft, and God Bless!!!
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