Bears and Stamps
No, they don't go together, but those are some of the things on my mind tonight. So, I was getting online today and my client's intranet opened as the default homepage on Internet Explorer. The top news of the day? A bear sighting ON CAMPUS!!! Apparently it was just a cub. But, don't cubs typically travel with overly protective mothers??? The good news is that the bear is off of the campus now, but I haven't heard that it's been caught either. I think I missed the wild animal avoidance training course during orientation!!!

So, today was the REALLY big day. Yes, the catalog was exciting, but I received my first shipment of new stuff - if you don't count the preview stuff last month. Unfortunately, I had to wait through a team dinner until I could get back to my hotel, but I finally had the chance to RIP open the box around 9pm! I think the order included five or six stamp sets. So, it obviously took me a half hour or so to get them all assembled. No problem! Yes, I'm getting that good. And, believe it or not, I was on the cell phone the entire time. Try propping a Blackberry between your ear and shoulder while assembling stamp sets!!! Do you think that will be a contest at the Stampin' Up! Annual Convention???

It took me awhile to then get all of my stamping supplies out so that I could make some cards. I thought you'd enjoy my on-the-road "craft room". I wonder if I could convince them to give me a suite next week. This isn't going to work so well.

So, here's my initial review after making two (very similar) cards. I LOVE the scallop punch even more than I expected. I also LOVE punching little holes in each of the scallops. Speaking of scallops.....oh wait...they were mussels...anyway, more about that after the stamping.... The jury is still out on the wide grosgrain ribbon. You know how you go back in and add the bow after you've adhered the long flat part of the ribbon to the paper? Yup, that doesn't work so well, or maybe I need to practice more. It's also really hard to get the knot to stay tied. Oh, I also really like the new corner rounder - yes, I bought that too. It's smaller now. I think the "old" one was about a 1/2 inch. This one is 3/16 inch. Much more subtle. Great on smaller pieces. The Polka Dot background stamp is awesome too - I was using that small polka dot stamp from the Polka Dot and Paisley set and it was difficult to line up. Polka Dots are cool!!! So, I guess you want to see the samples. I'll put them at the end of the post.

So, yes, mussels. I had mussels tonight. It took me five minutes to get up enough courage to pick one up with their shells. The guys on the project team had to coach me on how it was done. It was okay. Not a huge fan. I did go back for a second, but they have a weird aftertaste. My Australian Cab didn't even cover the aftertaste.

Okay...time for me to get ready for bed. I have to pack up the room so housekeeping doesn't freak when they walk in in the morning to clean. Hopefully I can get a few good hours of stamping in tomorrow night. Oh, I did get a few more swaps finished. Mom and I ran out of white grosgrain, so I finished assembling the last five cards.

Oh, I almost forgot - I love the little labels that go on your stamp pad so you can tell which colors they are when they're in the Ink Pad Storage Thingy. There are even color family names so you can label boxes of Stampin' Spots. I'm going to use some of my color family labels to label each of my pencil boxes filled with Stampin' Write Markers. No, I didn't buy the whole set. I've considered buying a second set of the markers so that I could get the really cool box. Don't worry Claire and Julie, I won't do it!!!

Alrighty, this is the last thing, I promise. The new Stack and Store is REALLY REALLY awesome. I think it's a better construction that the Ink Pad thing. I'm not afraid that it's going to scratch my table. It definitely spins easier. I've put the eight containers I packed in it already. VERY easy to see what's in each container. I love it, I love it, I love it!!! I can't wait to get home and put the other 20 or so containers in it!!!