Back Home Again from #VANCOUVERONSTAGE2019

I just returned yesterday from OnStage Vancouver and the first look at the 2019 - 2020 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue, and it was an amazing weekend!  We drove down to Vancouver, leaving on Friday morning and arriving about 3:30 pm after a smooth trip with no snow on the high mountain passes. I travelled with two of my downline, Dianne and Susan. We really only had time to check into the hotel and change before I had to leave for the Vancouver Convention Center for CenterStage, and they had to head out for dinner that Susanne Netz and I arranged for all our downline and sideline friends who were not eligible to attend CenterStage. Well, really, Susanne found the restaurant and I just added a reservation for my team and a few sidelines! Yay, Susanne!

I was excited to go to the CenterStage event which was a dinner and some leadership training. It's definitely a level that you want to reach for in your Stampin' Up! career, because there are some amazing perks! Here are some photos:

 The table centerpiece on the left and our event bag and notebook on the right.







Below: I finally meet in person my Facebook buddy Laura Buechler from Nanaimo: Inkyfingers Papercrafting!

Left, we get the amazing new 2019 - 2020 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue! And above, a small selection of the desserts they had for us at our amazing dinner!






The next day we were up mega early and over at the convention center by 7:15 am and we had breakfast at Oceans 999 restaurant where Terry H. and I had the worst pancakes of our lives for $18! And this was a very swanky restaurant in a 5 star hotel! Hmmm! Then those who hadn't been to Center Stage went to check in while Susanne and I tried to secure two tables for our large group.

After that it was session after magic session about this amazing new catalogue:

I know I tell you every year to save your pennies, but this year it's especially important to do so, because you're going to want it ALL! And I know this because I do, and I can't say that about most of the Annual Catalogues that we've had. Here are some of the amazing product boards that I was able to photo to show you:

        

           

       

            

            

And these are just a few! My faves so far are the Peacock and the Magnolia Suites, both of which will, I think, be huge sellers!

By 5 pm the OnStage Vancouver was over and our whole team went for dinner at the Tap and Barrel, near the convention center for a great dinner.

Here are two of my downline who were able to come. Two more were planning on coming but health issues forced them to cancel, so we missed them big time! Oh, well, there is always next year.

And here was our crafty table, which we named Peaches and Beaches (after the Okanagan Valley):

And take a look at the loot I brought home with me:

At the top you see some roomy gifts that I got from my hotel roommates. Below those are two stamp sets. One was in my bag at registration and the other was my Prize Patrol win. I scored on the very first Prize Patrol of the day! To the right of those is my ID badge and then some file folders that we got in our event bag. To the left of them is a roll of scalloped lace ribbon that is very pretty and then a special CenterStage Gift we got - a zipped pouch with a punch in it. You can see the punch beside it. Below the stamp sets you see the catalogue and a stamp pad and some Stampin' Blends that were part of the Make & Take supplies we used during the event and which we all got to divvy up to take home. In the foreground to the left is an all attendee Prize Patrol - a pack of DSP and in the center is my beautiful placemat from my CenterStage meal! There were also a couple of pens that I didn't show here.

So overall, a wonderful weekend, and you should definitely join my team and come with me to the next one, don't you think?!!