A Stamping Husband?!?!?? (First Post EVER!!!!!)

Hello!  I'm not sure who will be reading this, but I think it will probably just be my wife and a few of her friends. Well, I got bit by the stamping bug and I think I know how you feel. As you may know, I've been dabbling with stamping for over a decade and I'm constantly surrounded by SU! product and projects thanks to the large craft room that Mercedes maintains (aka our house). Just last week she took me along on a trip to the SU! Leadership convention in Orlando. Now I had heard about these conventions for the last 5+ years; about how the ladies would make as many swaps as their little bags could carry and about how excited they would get when Shelli would walk by.  I would listen when my wife would call me in the morning and tell me about how tired she was because her and her friends would stay up stamping and talking until 2 or 3 am.   She would come home and show me the boxes of swaps, and the free stamp set that everyone got, and share how cool it was that the Prize Patrol called her color.  But I never really understood. Until now....

 

I'm not sure what I expected to happen in Orlando. I knew that the pinnacle of the trip was supposed to be the Manager's Reception at Disney's Hollywood Studios (which was AWESOME!!), but other than that I figured that the days would be as fun as watching Craft Ink dry, and at night I might be able to get some romance in when the supplies for the swap cards ran out. It ended up being nothing like that. 

 

I really wanted to embrace the whole experience.  I had taken time off work, we were together away from the kids and the hustle and bustle of "normal life", and I finally got to see my wife immersed in her element, so I figured, "Why not?" (YOLO!) -- And it was actually pretty cool. There was an energy in the air from the moment that I saw the neon lights on the convention center billboard that read "STAMPIN UP!" with arrows leading the way to what would become my home for the next 3 days. I was excited to receive a lanyard with a printed name tag and lunch selection. It was like Stampin Up knew who I was and what I wanted to eat!  It all became real when we finally arrived at the main theatre of the convention center and level upon level and seat after seat were all packed with ladies (and the two other guys) that were just like us. And there on the stage was Shelli. Yes, I actually saw her. In person. Yep. Me. 

After that, the convention became a blur. There were a few things that stood out; mostly just to see the friendships that have developed from such a simple common thread of crafting was absolutely amazing. My wife introduced me to a group of her friends from around the country (and Canada) that she knows through SU and has only met at the past few conventions.  I witnessed those ladies share personal stories of triumph and tragedy which would inevitably lead to laughter and tears.  Women from literally all over the world would come up to my wife and her posse and share countless handmade gifts and hugs, take selfies together, and just chat. It was such a warm feeling of connection and I have never experienced anything like it. But anyways, enough of the sappiness....

So I have a confession. I really wanted to get the Prize Patrol. Curse You, Crumb Cake!!  If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you need to go to an SU! Convention. That's all I have to say about that. 

You may ask yourself why I am suddenly writing a blog post about stamping, and what did I mean when I said that I got bit by the stamping bug? Especially those of you who know me. Well, here's what happened:  

1. I got excited about the product. Stampin' Up! gave me my own stuff. A stamp set, a card kit, a pack of DSP...  It was actually mine and I could do what I wanted with it. I got to see the designers on the stage making things out of the supplies that I now owned and I got to see the display boards full of so many projects. I also realized that I am blessed to live with one of the most creative and talented paper crafters in the world. And I have a plethora of crafting supplies at my fingertips thanks to the creative (and compulsive (but not in a bad way)) genius that I call Hunny. So I decided to tap into my own creative potential, which brings me to....

2. Remember how I said that I wanted to embrace the complete experience of convention?  Well one of the things that I had always heard about was the stamping into the wee hours. I didn't understand how my wife could stamp so much at home in preparation for Convention, then go there and regardless of all of the excitement and activity continue to stamp in her hotel room until 2am. So I wanted to do it. And I did. And it was fun. In fact, every night it was I that was saying "wait, just let me finish coloring this" or "it's only 1:30, we don't need to go to bed yet."  And I made cards. On my own. And I think I did a good job. So I want to make more. I am planning on posting the cards that I made at Convention soon for those of you who haven't gotten to see them. 

So that's my story. Hopefully just the beginning of it. Please come back to see what the projects that I create, and hopefully I can provide some creative inspiration with a different perspective on what many of you do on a daily basis. I guess we'll all have to see what I can come up with in the next few weeks...

Thanks for stopping by!

Luv ya Hunny!!  XOXO