An introduction to who I am and how I got here.
Hey everyone. I’m Amanda, aka Littleone (my Daddy’s nickname for me). I’m an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin’ Up! in the UK and I live in Belfast/Bangor, Northern Ireland. I should probably confess upfront that I’m also a stationary addict (I love a cute notebook, nice pen or sticky note) and I’m like an excited puppy when it comes to talking about all things papercrafty.
So now that’s the confessions out of the way let me share a little about myself…
I live with my other half Gary and I work full time at my “day job”. Papercraft is my hobby and escape. It helps clear my mind and relax as I go into my “zone” when I’m creating. It really is a form of relaxation and stress relief for me. I started out making cards for my nearest and dearest about 25 years ago after I made a cross stitch I completed into a card and that was me hooked on card making.
Stampin' Up! and me
I stumbled across Stampin’ Up! in 2015 when I found YouTube videos from demonstrators in America. I admired the co-ordination of their products from afar as I could not find them in shops in the UK and therefore assumed they were only in the US. Well… you can imagine my surprise when I bumped into my now Team Leader at a craft fair in Belfast in April 2018. I caught the Stampin’ Up! logo out of the corner of my eye on my third lap around the event. We got talking and her passion for just wanting to share the joy of paper crafting just gave me an instant connection to her. She explained I could order their products from her (turned out she lives 5 minutes up the road from me!). Whilst chatting she invited me to her Facebook page and explained she held one day events at a local hotel and that I’d be very welcome.
Now is probably a good time to explain that I’m an only child and not a great “mixer” with strangers so the thought of attending the event filled me with dread but I did ask her to let me know when she was having her next event.
That invite came for an event just 2 months later. On the day of the event I got to the carpark of the hotel and froze. None of my friends were crafty so I was about to go into a room full of people I did not know based on a ten minute conversation with a woman I had just met. I can’t tell you how out of my comfort zone I was. A 15 minute phone call to my mum for a pep talk and a reminder how much I had gone on about the products since my chance meeting and I got myself into the room of the event. A huge welcome from everyone and a random seat at a table of eight meant a chance meeting with someone I now class as one of my dearest friends. I LOVED the event, the people, the products and there was no going back.
Amanda the demonstrator
In March 2019 I took the plunge to become a demonstrator. Now I’ll be honest that like so many of the people that “sign up” I had no intention of doing anything beyond making the most of the value of the demonstrator starter kit (who doesn’t love free stuff!!??) Bag myself the starting 3 months of 20% discount and getting to have a sneak peek at the Christmas Catalogue before customers got to see it. BUT…. I’m still a demonstrator now!
Why? I hear you ask… that’s because I discovered that Stampin’ Up! is more than ink/paper/stamps/tools, it is a community. I have had the chance to connect with people from other parts of the UK, Australia, America and Canada during training events. I have got a little sparkle in my eye and some fire in my belly from learning new skills (and not just crafting skills) like using technology. A feeling I haven’t had since starting my “day job” 24 years ago.
I have since created a Facebook page, YouTube channel and now this website all from encouragement to stretch and challenge myself as others saw potential in me. I’m not done yet. I hope to someday have my own expanding customer base, my own demo team and maybe even a class sometime in the future but one day at a time for now. I’m so grateful to everyone that has supported me to get to this point – just 5 years ago none of this was even on the horizon!
So that’s how I got here. Thanks for being here in this moment in time and I hope you enjoy my projects and leave feeling inspired. I’d love to help share some of the joy that this wonderful hobby has given me. I’d be delighted if you chose me to provide you with the products to create projects yourself either shopping on my online shop 24/7 or I can place the order on your behalf. I’d love to support you to become part of the Stampin’ Up! Community or teach you how to make some of the creations I’ll be sharing on here through tutorials.
Please do reach out via any of my social media or email (I promise I have got better at meeting new people!!) I look forward to hearing from you. Amanda xx
Disclaimer: All content on this blog is the the property of Amanda Moore, Stampin’ Up!® Independent Demonstrator. Classes, services and products offered here are not endorsed by Stampin’ Up! Projects, videos, photos, ideas and articles are shared for personal use only and may not be removed, duplicated, or copied without permission.
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