WARNING! This is a rather long post so get yourself a beverage and enjoy.
This past weekend I attended my first Stampin’ Up! conference called On Stage.
What is OnStage?
together Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from all over the world; it allows
them to share the excitement surrounding catalog launches, be recognized
for their achievements, receive business training, and feel a part of
the global Stampin’ Up! community. OnStage is also a little bit like
attending a very big (and very fun!) party. You’ll meet new friends,
swap, create Make & Takes, take home free products, and much more!
Can
you attend events in other countries? Yes! You’re welcome to join us at
OnStage anywhere in the world, but we encourage you to attend an
OnStage event near you to save on travel costs.
OnStage Live is a global event held every April and November and
coincides with the launch of our annual and occasions catalogs. This
event rotates every six months in three of our international markets,
which means that OnStage Live will be held in your market every eighteen
months.
What does it include? OnStage Live is two-and-a-half
days of exciting Stampin’ Up! activities. Attendees will be the first to
get their hands on the new catalog, see, touch, and make projects with
new products, hear company announcements from the corporate team before
anyone else, and get a chance to network with other Stampin’ Up!
demonstrators. You’ll even be able to participate in a Product Purchase
Premiere–which means that you can order from a selection of new
products before anyone else!
Our local event was held at the Pan Pacific Conference Centre in Vancouver. I went over with a few local demonstrators and met up with a whole bunch more from Vancouver Island, Canada and the United States. There were just over 300 participants there. The live event was hosted in Brisbane, Australia, so during our local event, we watched live content from there.
Wow! We had so much fun and I have to tell you: Stampin’ Up! treats their demonstrators very well. In pictures I will show you what we received.
A few months before the event, Stampin’ Up! put out a call asking for Demonstrators to volunteer to help out in various areas of the conference and to make a presentation on stage, either a business strategy or to showcase a new upcoming product suite (which was not revealed).
I decided to go for the latter. Now, some of you may be thinking – why would do that, especially when it was the first time attending. Well, I did think about that but decided to set a personal challenge.
A few weeks later, I received delivery of a big box that contained a sampling of a product suite; one of the two stamp sets in the suite, a set of coordinating thinlits, a pack of 12 x 12 card stock in 3 colours, a pack of DSP (designer series paper), ribbon, and a container of embellishments. My task was to create a 15 minute presentation on the products and talk about how I would use these products in an event (class, workshop, open house). I was to make up to 12 project samples for a display board and show some of these items during my presentation.
I received coaching and support from my SU trainer, Andrea Withers. I’ve seen her in many SU YouTube videos so it felt like working with someone famous and, as a bonus, I would be meeting with her for one last rehearsal on stage in Vancouver.
As compensation, I not only got to keep the suite but also received a gift certificate for new products.
My presentation was just after lunch (I could hardly eat) and although I was experiencing the familiar symptoms of panic experienced many times throughout my career teaching and making presentations — churning stomach, sweaty underarms, a head full of ‘what-ifs’, and a slight tremor — I managed, without tripping, to enter stage left and did it.The experience paid off; It was a fabulous!
And now on to some pictures. This is the bag and contents that I received upon registering:

![]() |
Spiral bound book to use during event for note-taking, a passport wallet, pens, and stamp set from 2017 Occasions catalogue |
![]() |
Name tag lanyard, First Time and prize patrol buttons |
The Vancouver Island demonstrators decided to self-identify by tying a green and blue ribbon (newest in-colors) onto the lanyard. I’m a member of a small group of local demonstrators; we call ourselves “The Seashore Stampers” and one of the members made each of us the key chain. She gave them to us on the way to the ferry. How sweet was that! She also made us this ‘roomy gift’. She has been to a few conferences and ‘roomy gifts’ are often made for those you share your hotel room with. I didn’t know of this tradition so didn’t make anything but will next time (and there is a next time in April and November next year.
![]() |
a perpetual calendar for keeping track of birthdays |
![]() |
sample page |
![]() |
sample page |
During prize patrol, I received these new stamp sets:


And some enamel dots:

After each Product Suite presentation, all the attendees did a Make & Take and here they are:
![]() |
Made using the Party Animal Suite |
![]() |
These are 3 x 3 note cards made with Sending Love Suite |
![]() |
This is made using the Falling in Love Suite, the one I presented. |
![]() |
This card was made using a new colouring DSP, which we coloured using new watercolour pencils. |
All the presenters participated in a swap for a total of seven cards and I’ll share them here with you





![]() |
This was my contribution. |
Each presenter had their own product suite project board and here are the projects I made for my presentation.
















And at the end of it all, Stampin’ Up! didn’t want to take the box of Make & Take supplies from the tables and so by way of a timed game, we had to pass the box around the table for each of us to take an item from the box. The faster we went, the more items we could get and this is what I ended up with:

So that’s it. Again, so much fun. It’s time spent with fellow demonstrators, a chance to meet others, a great place to share ideas, a fabulous venue for swapping cards and 3-d projects. It’s a fabulous plus to becoming a demonstrator. And with Sale-a-Bration around the corner, that’s a great time to sign up with me. You could then come to the next On Stage event. So, think about it and any questions, I’m happy to take you out for coffee/tea to chat further.
Great post Erica!