Week 4: Interview with a Demonstrator

Hi Crafters,

Well this is the last week of my "interview with a demonstrator" series, and I've been lucky to have 4 lovely ladies agree to answer my questions about them.

This week I've gone back to the South Island, Dunedin to be exact and managed to score the lovely Karen Lister for an interview...

Interview with Karen Lister

 

1.       How long have you been a Stampin Up Demonstrator?

I have signed up twice, since 2008 in total. First under Shelley Stewart and then when her and her up line Sharlene Torres left I was an orphan so resigned under Julia leece.

2.       What part of the South Island do you live?

I live in the mighty Dunedin.

3.       What was your main reasons for becoming a Stampin Up Demonstrator?

My wish list was over a page long.

4.       Who introduced you to Stampin Up?

I went to a card night with my Mum in Invercargill at her local shop. After that I came back and googled  stamping and card making and found Shelley Stewart who threw my first party. I signed up then.

5.       How do you like to best market your product?

I am not really a business demo, and my down line Karen Hobbs and I run regular classes.

6.       Want is your favourite all time Stampin Up Product?

The stamps, especially quirky ones like sparkly and bright.

7.       What is your favourite class technique?

Vintage style cards with lots of ripping and layering

8.       What is your top 10 Stampin Up Products and why?

Catalogue for inspiration, wood mounted stamps because they just feel nice, using strawberry slush ink sounds yummy and looks nice. Big Shot why wouldn't you knurgle something given the chance. Card stock because it all matches so well, tombow glue so quick for a demo, punches because my kids get just as much fun out of them as I do, linen thread so versatile dress up or down, chalkboard framelits how fabulous for quick tags, butterfly embosslits who knew you could make so many out of such little scraps of paper.

9.       What is the most amount of cards you've made in one day!

Not too many, probably around 20


10.   Lastly what was your funniest Stampin Up moment you can remember.

Having my dad suggest I should make a punch art baby head to fit on a particular stamp in the new catalogue.

If you want to know more about Karen and her business you can contact her at...
moggymarx.WordPress.com


Now onto this weeks pics...

 

Top Row L-R: Sally Williams, Lisa Bullock, Paula Dobson.

Middle Row L-R: Alison Hydes, Rhonda Fawcett, Judy Beetson.

Bottom Row L-R: Julia Leece, Janet Mills, Debbie Lamb.

 

Have a great week everyone...

 

 

 

Week 3: Interview with a Demonstrator

Hi Crafters,

Were up to week 3 of my interviews and this week I've come back to the North Island and found a great demonstrator in Wellington.

Some of you might know her as the administrator of the NZSU for 2011, but we know her as the lovely Keryn Campbell.

Below she took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for me, this is her interview...

Interview with Keryn Campbell

 

 

1. How long have you been a Stampin Up Demonstrator?

6 years on Tuesday (16th July)

 

2. What made you decided to become one?

I'd seen Stampin' Up!® in an American Stamping Magazine and knew they were coming to New Zealand but had forgotten about it until a friend (now my downline) showed me a catalogue.  It was the perfect time for a new business for me as my youngest son was at Kindy.

 

 

3. What is the biggest class number you have demonstrated for?

From Memory 22ish.

 

        4. What other craft based things do you enjoy.

         knitting, cross-stitch and other needlework.   I don't have  a lot of time for those anymore.

 

5. What Stampin Up Product new or past do you use the most, you can name up to 3?

 Big Shot, Desktop Trimmer, Stampin' Scrub

 

6. What was your favourite class and why? 

My favourite classes are always for my Stamp Club ladies. 

 

7. Name your top 5 Stampin Up products in order, and what makes them the top.

Stampin' Scrub - just love being able to change ink colours so quickly, snail adhesive - no need to remove tape, stamping sponges - fabulous finishing touch, Big Shot - so many different ways to cut, emboss & texture, MDS - Just the best thing ever for business flyers and marketing tools. 

 

8. What is the best Stampin Up tip you've been given and by whom.

Among others 'it's not only OK but almost necessary to make mistakes when you're demoing' - it was a long time ago but I think it was my Upline Sharlene.

 

9. What is your favourite technique? 

Sponging.

 

10. Lastly what was your funniest Stampin Up moment you can remember.

I'm sure there have been funny moments but right now my mind is blank.

 

If you want to know more about Keryn Campbell or would like to attend her classes please contact her at:

 

• For Stampin' Up!® product, classes and business opportunity information visit : http://keryn_campbell.stampinup.net
• Like My Facebook Page : http://www.facebook.com/KerynsCards
• Follow me on Twitter : http://twitter.com/Keryn_Campbell
• DBWS : http://keryn_campbell.stampinup.net

Now onto this weeks pics...

 

Top Row L-R: Paula Reid, Alison Hydes, Karen Lister.

Middle Row L-R: Judy Beetson, Jacquelyn Williams, Delys Cram.

Bottom Row L-R: Keryn Campbell, Karen Rogers, Lisa Bullock.

 

Have a great week everyone!!

 



Week 2 : Interview with a Demonstrator

Hi All Crafters,

Well it's week two of the Stampin Up Demonstrator interviews and this week I contacted one of our lovely ladies in the South Island, Lisa Bullock from Canterbury!

Lisa has passed on some of her skills with answering some questions for me, below is her interview...

Interview with Lisa Bullock

 

 

 

1. How long have you been a Stampin Up Demonstrator?

 Since May 2009

2. What made you decided to become one?

 I wanted to make my hobby work for me so I started selling the products I love so they could PAY for the ones I wanted

3. What makes Stampin Up product different from others?

Great quality stamps, you don't appreciate them fully until you use a non SU stamp and see the difference. I love the colour coordination of the products too, Cardstock, inkpads, markers plus ribbon, buttons and all the other lovelies.  

4. What is your Favourite, wouldn't be without Stampin Up Product new or past?

 Anyone who knows me knows I love my punches - ALL of them. They are such a versatile product and can be put together to make new pictures too

5. What was your favourite class and why?

 My favourite classes are kids ones. You can guarantee that even when you give the children all the same supplies that not one of them will come out with a card the same as yours. They don't seem to have the same need to follow the "rules" as adults do when creating. 

6. If you got asked to take 7 things along to a blind demonstration what would you take and why?

 Whisper White A5 folded into Cardbases (back to basics, you can show lots of different ways to do one layer cards), Coordinating ink pads, Post it notes (for sponging or creating a frame), Stampin' Sponges (lots of fun effects there), A stamp set like the new Wetlands one because it has useful sentiments and images, Stazon ink pad (waterproof!! great for line images and sentiments ), Aquapainter (another way to colour line images). These are all good basic products which you can do lots with.

7. What is your best Stampin Up tip?

 Play! Experiment, think outside the box. Not only will you become really familiar with your product but you will discover lots of different ways to use it and be able to share that with your friends and customers. People love to get more bang for their buck so show them how to get the most from their products.

8. What is your favourite technique?

 I'm not big on Techniques but I do like to learn new ones. The last one was Whitewash Effect where you use slightly watered down Whisper White Craft ink to "white wash" colour onto a White embossed line image. Allow to dry thoroughly then use watercolour pencils or markers to colour it in. I do love sponged effects too.

9. Lastly what was your funniest Stampin Up moment you can remember.

 Funniest Moment! No this is serious business. I always have a lot of fun with my ladies and I have met some fabulous people through Stampin' Up! which I would never have met otherwise but no "one" funny moment comes to mind

 

If you want to know more about Lisa, please contact her at:

 

Blog : http://daffyscrapper.wordpress.com/

DBSW: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/lisabullock/

 

Now onto this weeks pics...

 

 

 

Top Row L-R: Ann Wills, Sharlene Meyer, Julia Leece

Middle Row L-R: Jenny Humphreys, Sally Stuart, Sally Williams.

Bottom Row L-R: Rhonda Fawcett, Susan Wong, Anna Mangnall

 

Have a fantastic week everyone.

 

 

 



Week 1 Interview with a Demonstrator

Hi Crafters,

Seeing today is the official launch of the new 2013-2014 Annual Stampin' Up! Catalogue, I thought I'd take this time to interview a few of our fantastic Demonstrators. It's always nice to get to know our team.

Each week over the next 4 weeks I'll interview one demonstrator. This week I fired some questions to the lovely Ann Wills my fantastic up line. She lives in Auckland on the North Shore and below is her interview...

Interview with Ann Wills

"Firstly Thank you Ann for taking the time to answer my questions"...

 

 

1.       How long have you been aware of the Stampin Up products?

"5 years"

2.       Who introduced you to Stampin Up.

"I went to a workshop that Jacque Williams did for Julia Leece before she signed up"

3.       When did you become a Stampin Up Demonstrator.

"April 2009"

4.       What made you decide to be a demonstrator?

"I wanted EVERYTHING in the catalogue so I thought I had better sign up so I could at least get a discount"        

5.       If you had 5 minutes to collect as many Stampin Up supplies for a rush event to help support another demonstrator, what would you collect and why?

               "Big Shot, handbag die, & an embossing folder.

               Card Stock - Whisper White & a couple of coordinating colours.

               Matching ink pads or markers; Wheel with Versa Mark cartridge.

               Embossing Powder & Heat Gun.

               Stamp Set, Paper Trimmer, adhesives, Dazzling Diamonds"

              "With this selection I would use the BS to cut out a mini handbag which I would then use 

              the wheel on it & heat emboss for my workshop Wow. Then the customers would make a

              simple card using the other products" 

 

      6.     What current Stampin Up tool or stamp set would you never live without?

                "Big Shot & I suspect the magnetic platform when I get it"

7.       What is the best Stampin Up tip you have.

                "Always demonstrate the more expensive stamp sets as what you demonstrate is

                what sells, hence the reason I always demo the BS & heat embossing"

8.       What is your favourite technique.

                "That’s a hard one, I love them all!  Faux Embossing is great for a workshop as it is quick

                & easy, it does work better if you have 2 of the same stamp to save having to clean it

                when you go from Whisper White Craft to the other colour"

9.       Lastly, tell us what your favourite class was and why?

                "Polished Stone.  Everyone had fun & the results are always amazing plus no two cards

                are ever the same"

 If you'd like to know more about Ann and her business please visit her sites below. She is available on both DBWS and her very own blog, which is linked to NZSU.

 

 

Ann Wills DBWS address:

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/annwills

Ann Wills Blog address:
http://superstamper.blogspot.co.nz/

Now onto this weeks pics...

 

Top Row L-R: Alison Hydes, Sharon de Vos, Paula Reid

Middle Row L-R: Paula Dobson, Jacquelyn Williams, Angela Palmer.

Bottom Row L-R: Julia Leece, Katrina Criglington, Heather Stewart.

 Have a great week everyone!

 

 

Prepping tips week 3

Hi Crafters,

Sorry for the late post this week, I ended up spending two days in bed recovering from a cold. I'm now up and awake and ready to continue on from last week's tips...

Over the last few weeks I have discussed making sure your equipment is running well for taking pictures, making sure your monitor is looking good, and now I'll cover how to get those pictures looking great!.

Some factors may affect your image colour. These could be the lighting used, the overall image colour, or even the flash distance. If any of these factors have effected your image you will need to apply changes and the best way to explain this is to show you.

Using the sample image from last week, I have changed the contrast and brightness along with the colours. The picture will show how colour and contrast/brightness changes will effect your image. Using your selected programme i.e. Microsoft Paint / Photoshop apply the changes as explained below.

When adjusting colours remember this rule; The opposite to Cyan is Red, the opposite to Magenta is Green and the opposite to Yellow is Blue.

So if your image is too yellow, you'll need to add in some blue or if your image is too magenta add in some green and so on. I find the hardest colour to identify is Blue and Magenta, they look very similar, if your unsure hold a piece of white paper against your monitor or the print as per below, this will give you a better idea of the colour.

You image may need to be adjusted in more than one colour, for example you may need to add red and remove magenta, so you will need to add red and add green (green being the opposite to Magenta).

I'm not expecting you to understand this straight away, it took me 10 years of industry experience to have this knowledge, so hopefully with the basic information you can play with your images and see how it works in your own time. Ow but remember to "SAVE AS" and change the file name or you will wright over the original image.

   What adjustments can do to your image.

 

Hold  piece of white paper against it to see what colour it looks like.

 

 

Example of colour and contrast change

 

The Image on the right is to dark, flat and red. while the image on the left has been adjusted to look cleaner and the card looks white.

 

 

 

If you have any questions about these facts or you want to know more please feel free to contact me.

 

No onto the pics for this week...

 

 

Top Row L-R: Angela Palmer, Sharlene Meyer, Rhonda Fawcett.

Middle Row L-R: Roz Begbie, Vanesaa Baker, Lisa Bullock.

Bottom Row L-R: Paula Dobson, Judy Beetson, Ann Wills.

 

Prepping Tips Week 2

Hi All,

This week I'm following on from last weeks prepping tips so I'll now cover how to make sure your computer screen matches your prints.

As you may already know, there are more than one type of computer display monitor which means colours can vary between screens. The best way to make sure what your adjusting on the display matches the printed version is to calibrate. This can be achieved by using calibration software, however for day to day images this is not necessary. A method I use is to print out a calibration image as shown below and then match your screen to match the image.

NOTE: The most important colours to note are your blacks and whites. Make sure your printer is not running out of ink and producing a bad print. Place a piece of white card stock next to the whites on the image and check if they look good to go.

Once you are confident your printer is setup as you want it to, hold the printed image up against the monitor and play with the settings (on your monitor) to match the print. You may need to adjust your brightness and contrast along with your colours. Once this is done you're good to prep your images for your blog.

Next week I'll follow on by explaining how to get the best colours.

Now onto this weeks pics...

 

Top Row L-R: Susan Wong, Jacquelyn Williams, Janet Mills.

Middle Row L-R: Paula Reid, Karen Rogers, Debbie Lamb.

Bottom Row L-R: Lisa Bullock, Keryn Campbell, Julia Leece.

 

Until Next week...

 

 

Prepping photos Tips week one.

Hi Crafters,

Back in February I went through Photo Tips with you. I gave you a brief outline on what to do to capture the best picture for your blog, Now I thought I'd go over how to prep them.

What is Prepping? Well in the industry it is slang for the preparing of the image and getting something to a finished state. To get your images to a finished state you need to factor in a few things such as the image size produced for the file and the quality of equipment used in taking it.

I use Photoshop for prepping my images, but there are other useful applications, like Paint.net, Microsoft Paint, Paintbrush or Photoshop Elements or more professional applications like Lightroom or Photoshop CC.

Just remember these points;

1. Make sure you have a good quality camera.
2. Take your photos on a good file format and size.
3. Have an application the suits your skill level.

Next week I'll go over some more tips to increase your skills in getting the best image displayed on your blog.

Now onto this weeks pics...

 

Top Row L-R: Sharon de Vos, Sally Williams, Delys Cram.

Middle Row L-R: Jacquelyn Williams, Julia Leece, Paula Dobson.

Bottom Row L-R: Rhonda Fawcett, Lisa Bullock, Paula Reid.

 

Until next week...

 

Out with the old and in with the new...

Hi Crafters,

It's that time of year again when the retirement list comes out in anticipation for the exciting New Catalogue.

I for one are very excited about all the new and exciting things Stampin' Up! have planned for us this year. We've already had a taste of things to come with the release of the Single Stamps and the 25 years celebration stamp set, which I must say is gorgeous!

What are you planning to do with your retired stamp sets? I plan to keep most of mine because I buy what I love, and love to keep what a like!. I will however have a few I'll sell once the new catalogue arrives.

I would love to see some card examples of new products available now, post them on your blog and I'll chose the best to post.

Now onto the pictures for this week...

 

Top Row L-R: Judy Beetson, Sharon de Vos, Alison Hydes.

Middle Row L-R: Angela Palmer, Tee-Jay Horrell, Heather Stewart.

Bottom Row L-R: Roz Begbie, Paula Reid, Paula Dobson.

 

Have a great card making week everyone.

 

 

What a fantastic convention...

Hello crafters!!

Wow is all I can say... I attended my very first convention and what a fantastic experience it was. Not only did I meet some great new people but also learnt some great business ideas.

The one that I loved the most was "Creating a blueprint for success" taken by Louise Sharp and Brian Pilling. They gave me some great ideas on how I can build my business without effecting my family and lifestyle. Stampin' Up! give us the tools and the equipment to create a thriving business but we can make it what we want and however big we want it to be.

The other class I enjoyed was "Meet new people, find new faces" taken by Bonnie Thurber and she was a hoot! She made us laugh along while giving us great ideas about customers and what we can do to increase their numbers. One of the best parts was when she asked us to fill in the gap. "Customers are like....." with the best answer being "Customers are like chocolate, some are sweet and others may contain nuts" Lol

I have a special mention on this weeks Pics and it goes out to Emma Knight, she is Rachael Knights daughter and she created her first MDS card for Mothers Day, what a great job you did Emma...

 

Top Row L-R: Paula Dobson, Rachael Knight, Sharlene Meyer.

Middle Row L-R: Lisa Bullock, Rhonda Fawcett, Angela Palmer.

Bottom Row L-R: Sharon de Vos, Roz Begbie, Vanessa Baker.

 

 

Have a great week stampers.

 

Only 4 days to go until convention

Hi Crafters,

Excited yet! Only 4 days until convention and I've heard some of you have already started heading out towards lovely Brisbane - as for me only 3 more sleeps to go and I can't wait!

Next week there will be a delay in posting due to the fact I'm away, but no doubt I'll have some stories when I get back.

Now onto the pics...

 

 

Top Row L-R: Karen Rogers, Janet Mills, Alison Hydes.

Middle Row L-R: Lisa Bullock, Debbie Lamb, Delyc Cram.

Bottom Row L-R: Julie Calkin, Paula Dobson, Angela Palmer.

 

Better go and finish my swaps, have a safe and fun week everyone!

 

Hope you all had a fantastic Mothers Day!!

Hi Stampers,

Well I'm sitting here and it's almost 4am while doing this post the reason is I've been spending the last few weeks prepping photos from a photo shot I took, and while I'm a little late I did indulged myself with a day off on Sunday and did NOTHING! While enjoying my 8th Mothers Day.

I can now tick that job off and onto the next... convention swaps; all the items have been on our table for the last week half done I'm lucky I have such an understanding husband.

I hope you all had a fantastic Mothers Day; I made a fantastic card from Ann Wills stamp club which my Mother-in-law loved.

Enjoy this week’s pic...

 

Top Row L-R: Rhonda Fawcett, Vanessa Baker, Barbara Bicknell.

Middle Row L-R: Sally Williams, Alison Hyde, Rachael Knight.

Bottom Row L-R: Louisa TC, Judy Beetson, Karen Lister.

 

Have a fantastic week everyone... PS only 9 sleeps to go

 

 

18 days and counting

Hi Stampers,

Well it's only 18 days now until convention and I'm really getting excited. Remember registration closes tomorrow Monday 6th May, so be quick if you want to go!!.

I've had a fun week this week with the computer breaking down and my camera playing up,  that I almost wasn't able to post this week. However with a stroke of luck the computer is being nice today and I can put together the pics of the week.

Each week I have to select from all your great card making creations and some weeks are harder than others, this week being the hardest. I only get to select 9 pics (otherwise you can't really see the images) but I did end the week with 15 and after a long hard sort through,  I managed to get 9... phew

Enjoy this weeks pics...

 

Top Row L-R: Sharon de Vos, Sharlene Meyer, Narelle Hoggard

Middle Row L-R: Ann Wills, Delys Cram, Julia Leece

Bottom Row L-R: Karen Rogers, Debbie Lamb, Paula Reid

 

Have a fantastic week...