Stars Shine Bright at this Convention!

Our very cool new carrying bag! Full of scrapbook treasures!

Yesterday I had every intention of updating this blog, but alas, my brain was full to overflowing and my body was done. I was asleep well before 10:00 p.m. This makes it an early morning for me, so I came down to the lobby to give my room mates a little rest, from me. No one appreciated me singing the rise and shine monkey song so early in the morn. Go figure. LOL

In the opening session yesterday, Thursday, Jeanette announced that all the new product in this season's catalog would be as exciting as Christmas and boy, what an understatement. We are ALL so excited by everything that is in this amazing new issue of the Idea Book.

The Executive Corporate team put on a show, while they announced our new products and it was adorable . . . all the characters were dressed up like stars from Texas TV shows like Dallas, Beverly Hillbillies, Real Crafters of Dallas, Darlings of Hazard, and many more.

Among all the new products we now have; 53 new accessories, mostly Level 2 accessories coordinating with the Level 2 papers, 5 new house decorating products including a Bracket Frame you can hang on the wall, a large star, blocks to spell out words, and a display tray. I want to order them all and fill my house with my art.

My VERY favorite new product!? A new Cricut Cartridge exclusive to CTMH!!! It's called Artiste and includes 700 images, including projects, shapes, a font, and special card designs. But don't despair, the Art Philosophy cartridge is still available. Yeah! 

It was also announced that Workshops on the Go are no longer all about scrapbooks. Two of the kits are cardmaking based, 5 are home decor based . . . etc. I can't wait to order all those puppies. I love kits . . . all the thinking is done for you and if you can follow directions, presto wow, you have a beautiful finished product.

One thing that is a HUGE shift is our color palette. We now have 40 colors to choose from, not 60. At first I was horrified, until I looked at the list of colors and realized it really is a shift in dynamics from some colors that were not being utilized to colors that will be more in tune with the kits and projects and papers that we have available. Not only that, we have 6 NEW colors; Champagne, Cashmere, Saddle, Whisper, Slate, and my favorite -- Ruby! AND, you can now order the cardstock in packs of 24 again. YEAH!

And that's not all on the color front. We now have alcohol based pens. They are very similar to the copic markers. Our pens come in sets of two, one lighter or darker version of the pen name. I played with the pink ones yesterday and I have to say, I'm hooked. Coloring will be even MORE fun than ever!

There were Studio J changes also planned and I think you will be pleased. First of all, no more memberships . . . all the patterns will be available to everyone at one low price of $6.95. If you have a membership there are bonus things planned for us as our memberships phase out, so don't worry, Corporate will still take care of us!

15 Year Pin

Joyce and I . . . 15 years we've been friends! Congrats to us!

One important thing happened yesterday, Joyce and I received our 15th anniversary pin. Joyce was my very first downline all those years ago and I'm so pleased she's still part of this amazing team we have. Go California Dreamin' Team!!!

Other exciting news? Oh yeah baby, are you tired of reading yet? We're actually expanding our territory. Currently we sell in the U.S. and Canada. Well, that's not all, soon we will be expanding our to Australia. Oh baby, we're growing in leaps and bounds.

Okay, that's all for now. I'm going to grab some breakfast and get ready for some more fun. Be sure to comment on my blog if you have any questions or want more details. I'll be checking it regularly and getting ready for another post later in the morning. One thing to look forward to? Pictures from the Art Gallery. My new camera is getting a workout, that's for sure.

I hope you are enjoying your updates. :-)
More later!!!!

Rootin' Tootin' Team Meeting

Tonight was the best team meeting ever . . . only it wasn't really a meeting at all. We're talking big country western themed party full of fun games, like blackjack, bingo, horse shoes, and a coin toss.

Then there was the Sheriff. I was thrown in jail for not wearing my bandanna, but that's not what my room mate's charge was. The Sheriff thought she looked hung over so into the slammer she went.

I say, I had no idea I had such crooked room mates. LOL

Joyce went panning for gold, only she was blind folded. At least she didn't end up in jail like somebody else we know.

And this is my very fun upline, Naomi, who hosted the fun party with a couple of other Directors. Doesn't she look cool all duded up in her country attire? Thanks, Naomi!!!

Now it's time to call it a night because I need rest for all that excitement that will rock this hotel tomorrow. I can't wait to get my hands on that brand new catalog.

Good night, partner!
See you in the morning.

Big Changes Coming!

At this morning's session, Kristine Widtfelt spoke about changes to the Studio J program. Starting tomorrow, all content will be free regardless of membership or not. Membership to Studio J will be phased out, but don't worry if you still have months left on your membership, there's a plan for that which Kristine didn't go over in any great detail. I'm sure we'll learn more in tomorrow's session.

Our next incentive trip was announced and it's exciting. Earn the incentive trip in 2014 and you get to enjoy an all inclusive resort in Costa Rica, ohhhh la la! That would be so much fun! I'm going to have to get this business going again to earn that. I can imagine myself chillaxin on the beach!

And speaking of imagining, we had an excellent guest speaker who taught us how to Train Your Brain to become more productive and successful by positive self talk and instead of negative thoughts, to come up with a mantra. If you say it enough, you will achieve or become what you what. My mantra is "I'm healthy and happy and my confidence is back. I will start actively sharing this wonderful company with my friends, family and current customers."

Janelle, my room mate, has the material for the seminar out and is trying to train her brain, mine unfortunately is in Costa Rica, without me. Darn it.

Purchase this beginning kit for just $49 and presto, you're a Consultant!.

The next exciting thing we found out about . . . two new recruiting kits. The essential kit is only $49.00 and includes the bare necessities. The master kit is $99 and includes more catalogs and forms and more non-consumable goods. This is going to make it much more affordable to join this awesome company. Yeehaw!

I'll leave you with this interesting factoid, the number one selling product this last year was the CTMH Cricut Cartridge, Art Philosophy. The second selling product was Studio J. Interesting, eh? I really hope there's another cartridge coming, wouldn't that be fun!

We'll find out this and so much more tomorrow. I can't wait, can you tell?

Let the fun begin!!!

So, here I am . . . FINALLY at Convention. Excited? Oh yeah. Opening session starts in exactly one hour and 10 minutes. I can wait, right?

The Hotel Anatole is unlike any hotel I've ever stayed at. There is artwork everywhere. Even our room has a statue of a Chinese style horse, like the kind outside of P.F. Changs. My favorite statue is this elephant . . . and I really think he could stand  in for my 6 foot chicken on the front porch. I'm sure my HOA wouldn't care if I placed an 8 foot marble elephant instead.

I also like the three women statue and their hair all going sideways.

And of course, I saw a Buddha statue somewhere last night on the way to the pool and he had his hands up in the air. It made me smile, but alas, I can't find him now. This place is so big, he could be anywhere. It's like a museum.

These statues have a windblown look.

So, let the fun begin. Stay tuned for my next post which will be a sneak peek of the products that are coming our way. I. Can't. Wait.

Instead of a 6 ft chicken for my front porch, how about an 8 foot elephant?

Janelle and I are having a great time . . . stay tuned for more details.

What a day!! But I'm in DALLAS!! Yeehaw!

Traveling, the hurry up and wait game frustrates me, to say the least. The long lines and grumpy people at 5:30 in the morning make me want to not make eye contact. I was one of them . . . no time for coffee yet as I waited, first to check my bag and then the TSA Security line. Yes, I did in fact have a naked scan, perhaps they can forward it to my doctor for my next xray. ha ha

One trick I have when that stressed out, annoying line gets to me is to smile at those standing near me and make nice comments. Not, “these lines are awful!” or “why aren’t there more employees checking us in?” No, instead I find it helpful to ask where others are flying or just simply, what about those Giants? I met several nice people that way this morning. I love to hear about where others are going and their adventures they are embarking upon.

Necessary!

 

My adventure, in case you didn’t know . . . awaits me in Dallas, Texas. What am I doing there? Oh yeah, baby! Stamping and scrapbooking and perusing that brand new catalog await my arrival. Oh my! Thursday cannot come fast enough. What new things will there be? New albums for my finished scrapbook pages? New colors to expand my color palette? Or maybe, and this is my favorite, more doo dads. I wouldn’t even mind a new Cricut cartridge. It’s a BIG surprise similar to waiting for Santa Claus. Maybe I’ll find Jeanette, the owner of the company, and she’ll share a catalog before anyone else.

Okay, I can dream, right?

My flight was uneventful, the most exciting thing that happened? I was horrified when the woman in front of me told her two toddler aged children that the mean flight attendants were making them throw out their juice. Oh, and the two people who attempted to fly on to Dallas so the count was off and the flight attendants had to check everyone's address and be sure we were on the manifest. I bet those 2 people were embarrassed to have been singled out like that. Seriously though, this plan is destined for Dallas! If you aren't going to Dallas, get off the plane. LOL

I'm now at the hotel Hilton Anatole which is a 4 or 5 star, truly beautiful. My next blog will be pictures of the hotel. You want to know, right? LOL

Stay tuned!

Is it time to leave? Is it time? Huh, huh, huh.

My suitcase includes all the normal things you'd expect from someone going to a convention:

Camera
Sweater for those cold conference halls
Casual Business Attire that's comfy to stamp in
P.J.s for getting relaxed while I'm perusing the new catalog
Snacks to get me through those long nights of dreaming about all the new products I must have. Must.

Ready to go!!!

Then there's the paper cutter and the adhesives, the blocks, inks, and hole punches. A corner rounder to make a pretty scallop or round the square edges of a photo . . . it's all in there too, right there with my toothbrush.

Makes me wonder what the TSA authorities will think when they inevitably scan, screen, and search my luggage. It also makes me wonder when across the nation thousands of women have packed exactly the same thing. <hee hee> Wish I could be there to see them talking in the break room about all the weird travelers. :-)

Did I mention I'm excited. I board my plane in just a few short hours. I hope I sleep tonight because . . . you know, I'm excited!

Get your boots on, girls, we're hitting the town in stamping style!

Dallas here we come!!!

It's almost here . . . Convention 2012 and I'm SO excited! My bag is packed and ready by the door and my flight, at an early 6:15 a.m., will not bother me in the least, because I'm on my way to the event of the year!


Every summer, Close To My Heart sponsors a Corporate event in a new venue, aimed at exciting, enticing, and driving their Consultants wild with excitement. This year we are descending upon an unsuspecting Dallas hotel. There's nothing like a few thousand stampers and scrapbookers, all sporting matching Close To My Heart attire and wheeling in every imaginable scrapbooking and stamping tool known to the current market, to frighten the local populace. It's like an invasion and remember if it doesn't move it's gonna get stamped and if it does move, you hold it and I'll stamp it!


Convention is the place to be to get a jump start on the new stamps soon to be released to our market, including new lines of fun paper, doo dads, and gadgets galore. Thursday morning every Conventioneer will receive a hot new catalog and lots of time to browse, dream, play, and create with the new things. Ohhhhhh, did I mention I'm pretty excited?


This is my 16th Convention and it just gets better and better. Stay tuned to this blog and find out what's new and exciting. I will also be positing my adventures and fun times, so don't miss out.


Yeehaw! Dallas, here I come!!!!