Marilyn has been a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator for 9 years. She initially started out scrapbooking the lives of her kids when her daughter was born 15 years ago, using it as a stress reliever, and working on her scrapbooks until late into the night after the kids were in bed. She wanted to stay home with her kids (besides a daughter, Emily, who is 15, Marilyn is married, and also has a son, John, who is 19), so her husband encouraged her to find a way to pay for her “hobby”. She attended a Stampin’ Up! party, but didn’t know how to use the stamps or other products. Her friend, Michele, helped Marilyn to get started by teaching her different techniques. Ironically, after Michele and her husband adopted a little girl and she wanted to be an at-home mother as well, Michele quit her job and signed on as Marilyn’s first down-line!
Marilyn loves all of Stampin’ Up!’s colors, cardstocks, and the fact that everything matches and coordinates. She especially loves all of the designer papers. She is always sad to see a favorite color or pattern go, but then realizes that there is always another one that she absolutely loves which replaces it!
Because Marilyn worked in a stationary store for a few years, she feels that her strength in stamping is in helping a Stampin’ Up! customer to design a card. She used to help those customers in the store design a wedding invitation that was not “off the shelf”, so now Marilyn enjoys the challenge of using a particular stamp set with a specific color theme, and creating from there. She says that she finds inspiration everywhere – in color combinations and the shapes and layouts of magazine pages, but also from a few favorite blogs that she regularly visits to get her mojo going. She also relies on her down-line and sideline to inspire her, noting that she is always very pumped up after leaving her monthly group meeting. Marilyn hosts spring and fall stamping retreats for her Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator group at her house on Cape Cod, which leaves everyone motivated and inspired!
Marilyn doesn’t have any stamping secrets except to tell us that there are so many new techniques and products that come out, so she’s always learning something new after 9 years! She says we also shouldn’t stop looking for the new challenge or experience!
We can’t wait to see what Marilyn has to share with us on the Royal Blog Tour! It’s sure to teach and inspire us as well!
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