Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise Part 2

I'm a little behind in my blogging. Getting caught up on classes, workshops and team meetings. So, I'm ready now to catch you all up on part two of our Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise incentive trip. I left off in beautiful Junea, where we had such a great time. Next stop was Skagway, Alaska. This was my most favorite of all days. We started off early in the morning-7:00 am to catch the White Pass Railway train that would take us all the way up to the Yukon. The Yukon is actually in Canada, so we had to have our passports with us.

Ready for our 3 hour tour.

This railroad began construction in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush. The railroad linked Skagway to Whitehorse, the Capitol of the Yukon.

The railroad is 107 miles in length and was completed in 1900 as a means of reaching the gold fields.

The scenery was absolutely stunning. We were literally driving on the edge of the mountain. Kind of scary when we looked up at the mountain, after the fact.

So very close to the edge... oh my, thats a long drop.

I think I found Big Foot... can you see the shadow in the middle of this photo? Hmmm...

Gorgeous views at every turn.

We were able to stand outside between the railroad cars whenever we wanted. Loved the view from here.

This was an old part of the track, no longer in use... thank goodness. ;)

This is how close we were to the edge. This shot was looking straight down from where we were sitting on the train.

We took the coach on the way back. It was kind of scary- we had a 22 year old, driving and talking with her hands, while driving down the super winding cliff side road back to Skagway. But we did make it back safe and sound. We stopped to take a photo when we crossed back into Alaska from the Yukon.

US port of entry back into Skagway, Alaska.

Beautiful Scenery on the bus trip back down.

Little houses and a 120 year old log cabin in Skagway. Its a very expensive place to live, with only about 1500 residents. Average price of homes are $350,00 to $500,000, just like the ones seen here.

The little Log Cabin in town, 120 years old.

Waterfalls are everywhere. Here's a random one on a hillside going into town.

Main Street, Skagway where we ate and did a little shopping.

Alaska is known for its many totem poles carved by Native Americans and Alaskans.

The most photographed building in Skagway. Arctic Brotherhood Hall was built in 1899 from 8,800 pieces of driftwood.

Thats all for our first half of the day in Skagway. We then hopped on a helicopter and flew to Denver Glacier to dog sled.

That is Part 3 of our trip, which I will blog about next. So be sure to come back to read all about it!

Until then, here's a little sneak peek of products in the New Holiday Catalog, coming in September!

These are some of the items, our co-founder, Shelli Gardner demonstrator on the ship.

How cool is the new corrigated emboss folder? Looks like a log cabin, doesn't it?

That's all for now, folks.

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!
 

 

Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise Incentive Trip

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, most likely you've seen and heard most everything about the Stampin Up Alaskan Incentive trip that I'd earned. I first want to give a huge "shout out" to all my wonderful, supportive and amazing customers that helped me earn this cruise! You are truly the best of the best!

I'll share several photos over the next few posts as well as some sneak peeks of new products coming in September!

We flew into Seattle, where we boarded the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. This has been a dream vacation destination for my son for as long as I can remember. So, he was my guest as well as my daughter, who loves to travel as much as I do. My youngest son was working an internship for school and did not want to miss work, so he made the tough decision not to go. My husband also did not go because he had missed so much work with his shoulder surgery and couldn't miss any more. He had gone on the last SU Alaskan Cruise, so all was good.

Our cabin

The Promenade

The first night we got aquainted with the ship, had dinner and attended the Stampin' Up Welcome Reception. Lots of great appetizers, slushy drinks and a warm welcome from our co-founder, Shelli Gardner.

Back at the room, we received our first pillow gifts from Stampin' Up... A logo bag and some new Holiday designer paper! (sneak peek alert)

Oh wait, that was the second nights pillow gift.... this was the first nights gifts... Stampin Up logo jackets. These are so awesome and so soft!

The next day was a sea day and Stampin Up's General Session. We heard about upcoming promotions, saw new products and won prizes and give aways! Maci and I also visited the spa- as it was her birthday!

One of our gifts- The Take Your Pick Tool- coming in September!

Happy Birthday Maci! The dining staff had a cake, music and a song prepared just for her big day.

Stampin Up always has a "hospitality" room for us on the trips. They have snacks, candy, new product displays, card and scrapbook samples, as well as prizes and an opportunity to chat with the SU Executive Team.

Lots and lots of Candy...

Photo Opportunities- the room was all rustic with an Alaskan camping theme.

The next day, we docked in Juneau. It is said to be the most beautiful State Capitol in the US. I can totally see why. Its actually and island and can only be accessed by boat or plane.

Chase had a fishing excursion planned and Maci and I hiked to Mendenhall Glacier, rode the Mt. Roberts tramway, had a Salmon Bake picnic and shopped. 

Mendenhall Glacier is the largest glacier accessable by land. It is amazingly gorgeous!

The Mendenhall Glacier is 13.6 miles long and is part of the Tongass National Forest, which is the largest National Forest in the United States at 16.7 million acres. Its also a rain forest!

Nugget Falls at the Glacier. This waterfall drops 377 feet and we walked right up to it and put our hands in the water. Its breathtakingly beautiful!

Maci and I then enjoyed a quiet mountain picnic where we were served a delicious meal of grilled salmon, chicken and Alaskan blueberry cobbler, while a musician strummed his guitar and sang to us.

Next we went back into Juneau and rode the Mt Roberts Tramway. It took us up 1800 feet for a spectacular view of Juneau.

This is a view of the tramway car from the ship. If you look real close, you can see the tiny car floating in the trees.

We didn't know it at the time, but our friends Cindy and Lynsay were in the car, on their way back down.

View on the way up..

It only took us a few minutes to get to the top. However, we had to wait in line 45 minutes to get back down. Good thing we didn't wait until the end of the day to ride, or we would have missed the boat!

We shopped and then decided to have Alaskan King Crab legs for dinner. Oh my, they were delicious. I won't even tell you how much they cost us... in Alaska, no less. We each had one leg and that was just enough to satisfy us.

Meanwhile, Chase was heading back from his fishing trip. He caught Halibut and Flounder. I asked him to take lots of pictures. He took 4. We didn't get to see photos of the whales, seals, bald eagles and all the fish that he saw, but we did at least get to see him with his Halibut. Nice catch, don't you agree?

He had the best time. This fishing trip was a big highlight for him and I'm so happy he was able to enjoy it!

What a beautiful view he had from the fishing boat.

Maci and I wanted to squeeze in one last thing before meeting Chase back at the ship. My friend, Heather was born in Juneau and she tipped me off to the new whale sculpture that had just been completed in Juneau. We jumped in an Uber (there was only one in Junuea) and took a ride to the park where the whale sculpture was displayed.

The whale is life size, complete with spouting water and colored lights at night. It seriously looks so real!

Well, that's Juneau in a quick post-there is more to come. I'll sign off with a couple display boards from the Stampin Up Hospitality room, which was dubbed, Stampers Base Camp.

Enjoy these swaps from top demonstrators around the world!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!

Stampin Up Varied Vases bundle

I'm loving the colors of this Varied Vases thank you card. These colors were showcased on our Stampin Up demonstrator website, and I just fell in love.

I used highland heather and whisper white cardstock as well as grapefruit grove designer paper. The card is a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inch card. The whisper white is cut to 3 3/4 x 3 inches and the "in color" designer paper is cut at 5 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches. I stamped the flowers images in memento black ink first, starting with the middle one and spaced them about 1 1/4 inches apart. I then punched out the vases and layed them on scratch paper and stamped the flower stems in them - then simply lined them up with the flowers on the card.

I added several "Share What You Love artisan pearls" and some grapefruit grove ribbon to add some interest and dimension.

For the water in the vases: I masked off the top of the vases with a post it note and then sponged some balmy blue ink on the bottom of the vases. Works great for the look of "water".

I colored the flowers with grapefruit grove, mango melody and highland heather Stampin Write Markers. I also used tear n tape to attach the ribbon onto the card. The vases were so easy- because there is a coordinating Vases Builder Punch to punch them out, quickly and easily. I love punches!

A few of the vases were "popped up" with mini Stampin Dimensionals and the others were simply taped in place with snail adhesive.

Such a darling little stamp set with so many fun possibilities!

Thanks for dropping by!

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin and Come back again soon!

Product List

Varied Vases Photopolymer Bundle [148381] $39.50	Varied Vases Photopolymer Stamp Set [146644] $26.00	Vases Builder Punch [147040] $18.00	In Color 2018–2020 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [146963] $11.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.75
Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146986] $8.50	Gorgeous Grape 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146987] $8.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [147105] $7.50	Many Marvelous Markers [147154] $123.00
Grapefruit Grove 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon [146954] $6.00	Share What You Love Artisan Pearls [146927] $6.00	Stamping Sponges [141337] $3.50	Tear & Tape Adhesive [138995] $7.00	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $4.00
SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] $7.00	Grid Paper [130148] $11.00

 

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