These are the Swaps I made for the April On Stage Event

Hi,
So, in this post about On Stage held in April this year in Telford, I'm back as promised to share a little more information about the custom of Swapping.

Whilst not in any way compulsory, we are encouraged by Stampin' Up!® to make Swaps prior to the On Stage event. The mandate is that it has to be made using current Stampin' Up!® products & they recommend that a standard size card is made as your Swap.

WHY IS SWAPPING A GOOD IDEA?

Well FIRSTLY, it makes you step outside of your comfort zone & mingle with fellow Demonstrators & speak to them. Not a long conversation, just an "are you Swapping"& an exchange of brief words as you swap. But, you've broken the ice & the more you do it the more you actually feel part of the whole event.
Stampin' Up!® have introduced the idea that if it is your first On Stage, you get a badge to highlight that fact at registration. It's a brilliant idea because as you wander around the room & stop to swap you a alerted to the fact it's someone's first experience of the Event & you are prompted to say something to encourage them to embrace the whole experience, even if they are at that point feeling a bit nervous. It can after all be a bit overwhelming finding yourself in a room of nearly 600 people, the majority of whom you do not know.

SECONDLY
By using current products, you get to receive not only some fabulous ideas, but, because the products are current, the swap may have been made using products that you don't actually have. This makes them great to share with potential Customers when you get home enabling you to showcase the products without actually having to buy them. Let's face it in the ideal world, we would love to just buy the whole Catalogue, BUT, in reality very few of us if any can afford that!!

We are encouraged to provide a list of all the products we have used & also to ensure that our swaps have our name on them. That way if anyone chooses to CASE (Copy & Share Everything) your Swap, then they have the details of the Demonstrator to ensure that if they CASE it they can give full credit where it's due.

As I mentioned Stampin' Up!® suggest we make cards as Swaps, & many do that, however a number of us tend to go off piste & make little gifts. Cards are amazing & sensible as they are easy to carry & easy to swap. You need to bear in mind that whatever number you start with, you will go home with the same number. But, I have to say I love the gifts, because not only do you appreciate the product & how it's been used, you get a lot of lovely gifts to discover once you get home!!

So these are the Swaps I came home with this time:-

Included in them was Pens, Pencils, Notebooks, Herbal Tea Bags, Post It Notes, Sweets, Chocolate,  Calendars, Bookmarks, Pocket Tissues, Cards & Wall Hangers.

I can't emphasise enough, that if you are going to go down the gift route, then, the gifts need to be manageable!! I learnt this the hard way at On Stage last November. Cue funny story I mentioned in my previous Blog!!

A few weeks prior to On Stage when I was starting to think about what I would make as Swaps I came across some glass candle holders that held a single T-Light at a Garden Centre. Looking at them I thought they would fit perfectly into a decorated Mini Pizza Box. So I took a chance & bought them. I'm pleased to say that they fitted perfectly. I decorated the boxes using the Tropical Chic Stamp Set & Coordinating Tropical Thinlits Dies. As a final touch I added a Vanilla scented T-light to each candle holder. Here is the finished result.

The inside of the Box was decorated using Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper & I added
"On Stage Nov 18" to the inside of the lid using the Make A Difference Stamp Set.

Then came the time to pack them up ready to take to On Stage & here is where I realised my BIG mistake!! Once they were all in the box, I couldn't actually lift it!!!

To add to the problem, On Stage back in November was held at the Vox Centre at the NEC Birmingham which is a lovely venue. But, unlike Telford where you can park outside the door, there was quite a walk to the centre from the Car Park!! Thankfully my long suffering husband Jim came to the rescue & not only drove me to the venue, but gallantly carried the oh so heavy box right to my table. I have to admit that until the first layer had gone I still couldn't lift the box, so basically people had to come to me to swap!!

Jim came to pick me up & I saw his face fall when he saw the box again full to the brim. This time though it was much lighter because people I swapped with had given me sensible light swaps, so his walk back to the Car Park was much less fraught. Although I have to say that given that we get a Bag of Goodies plus extra gifts during the day, you always go home with far more than you ever come with!!

Despite the weight I loved my swaps & got some really nice comments & carrying one home having swapped with me was not a problem. Before this On Stage I saw the same Candle Holders in the same Garden Centre & yes I was tempted, but common sense prevailed!!

I also like to make table gifts for On Stage & I'll make them the subject of an additional & final post about this April's On Stage.

However, before that I have some exciting news about a new Product that will be available to order from Wednesday 15th May on a WHILE STOCKS LAST BASIS.
So, I'll be back later on today to share that news with you.

Until then
Take care

Anne x
Rosie Duck Designs

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All artwork unless stated otherwise is created by Anne Rothwell.
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