Convention Day 3

Well...here I sit in my room with most of my things packed at the end of another Convention. This one was full of great times and memories that will last a lifetime. It's sad that we are leaving, but I am so ready to go home and be with my hubby again. I really missed him!

Today was another busy day. We started the day with a four hour Extravaganza session. During this time, we rotated through eight sessions in which fellow consultants shared information and artwork featuring our new paper packs and embellishments. I am sharing a few pictures from the event below. See if you can find some of the new products! If you check it out and leave a comment telling me at least three new products in the photos, there may be a prize for a lucky responder ;-) It's okay if you don't know the product names, just describe what you see.

After lunch, we had our closing session. It started with a question and answer session with our founder and CEO, Jeanette Lynton. Then a few consultants got to play a game of Deal or no Deal to win new products. We ended that session with a convention tradition, the left/right game. Debbie won a new WOTG pack for winning the game at our table.

Finally, the day ended with a create and take session and a live auction to benefit Operation Smile. We completed a couple of two-page layouts with my favorite paper pack, Clementine! I love the layouts and you can see them below. The live auction was a hoot. Three or four lucky winners paid $1000 each for a complete set of exclusive sticky boy stamps from this year with him wearing a cowboy hat. The set included all six sizes of stamps that were hidden around the event this week. Over $14,000 was raised during this week to benefit Operation Smile. That's a lot of children's lives that will be forever changed!

Well, gotta get to bed! We need to get up at 4am in order to catch our shuttle to the airport at 5:30am. If you know me at all, you know this is going to be tough! Hope you enjoyed all of my convention recaps. See you when I get back to PA!

Convention Day 2 Recap

Wow...what another whirlwind day we had today! It's almost midnight and we have been going since eight o'clock this morning. I am exhausted but I can't go to bed without another blog post!

We started the morning with an inspirational message from Stacy Julian. It was moving and emotional, and so worth it! After lunch, we had a business class about the amazing changes coming to Studio J. The best news is that there will be no more memberships and lower prices for everyone! There are also some great new additions making digital scrapping faster, simpler, and easier. More on that later...

After the business class, my roommate and I came back to our rooms and worked on some projects we didn't get to do yesterday and today because of the business classes. Check out all of the awesome new product we got to play with!

Tonight we had our awards dinner and we were entertained by The Texas Tenors! It was a phenomenal evening and we had an amazing time. We also received an exclusive stamp set only available to those attending this dinner. See the picture below.

Below are some pictures from the day, including two projects that we finished this afternoon.

Convention Day 1 Recap

What a day! Sorry I wasn't able to post sooner, but the wireless here is unreliable at best. Add to that the fact that the is not much time to breathe during the day, and that leaves you all waiting until now when we finally are back in our rooms!

Well...as always, CTMH did not disappoint with the opening session of convention this year. There are tons of amazing new products and beautiful new stamps and paper packs. I'm going to try to give you a recap of some of the highlights from today. Of course, there are so many wonderful things in the catalog, that there's no possible way I can tell you everything. If you want to see it all, you'll have to contact me for a catalog! Here's the big news...

- New alcohol markers! (similar to Copics)
- Six new colors and a revamped color palette
- All cardstock colors are available in bulk packs again
- New pigment ink stacks
- Home decor items in the My Creations line
- New storage containers
- 13 Workshops on the Go!
- Another exclusive Cricut cartridge!

Here are a few pictures of some new product. The last page is a layout we made in our create and take session this afternoon. Come back tomorrow for more amazing information!

Ahhh...so excited!

Only have a minute here but had to tell you that my album I shared was selected for the top ten! That means it is in the running for prizes to be awarded tomorrow night. I can hardly stand it....I'm still shaking!

Convention Roomie Gift

It's a convention tradition to exchange gifts with your roommate. Crystal made me this neat card organizer using my favorite paper pack! The calendars on each page are for listing birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Each page has a pocket for storing cards until they are ready to be mailed or delivered. So cute! Thanks, Crystal!

We are getting ready to head out to our first general session. Can't wait to hear about all of the amazing things CTMH has in store for us. Check back for updates!

Convention Album Submission

As some of you already know, I decided to enter a Scrapbook Album Contest at the CTMH Convention this year. There were two requirements: the album had to center around a star theme and it had to have five two-page layouts. As soon as I heard about the theme, I knew what I wanted to do...

During my first year teaching, I was given a poem called "The Star Polisher." I've always used it as inspiration throughout my teaching career, and the poem has always been displayed in the different classrooms in which I have taught. It represents my thoughts about the students I teach in a profound and eloquent way.

Below are the photos of my album. (Please forgive the sheer volume of pictures....but I want you to see it all at once.) The layouts in which there are multiple photos, show pull-out elements or additional photos on the page. You can click on the photos to get a better look. I won't know anything about the contest results until Friday night, but no matter what happens, this is something that I will treasure forever!

My Creations Collage Cube

A while back, I made this adorable project for my step-daughter, Jessica. It uses our Stella Paper Pack and Paradise Paper Flowers. It was a lot of fun to make, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I'm going to show pictures of all six sides, so be patient if the photos load slowly.

On another note, we are leaving for Convention in Dallas on Tuesday morning! I am so excited I can hardly wait. Check back often for lots of blog posts!