California Day 6 (Convention Day 3)

Today was the last day of Convention and although I am sad to see it end, I am definitely ready to go home. I miss my hubby :-( It's been a whirlwind week, and my mind is spinning with excitement about our new products. I can't wait to share what I've learned and saw this week with all of my friends and customers back home.

The sessions today were wonderful! In the first session, we learned a little bit more about the changes the company is making and the reasons behind those changes. There were also tons of new product give-aways, and I won one of our new paper packs! It's even better that it is one of my favorites too. Stephanie also won some of our new journaling pockets.

The second session was probably my favorite business class. During this class we made a memory game box. This is the first time that we have made something during a business class, and I must admit that it was a great idea! While we were working, the presenters discussed the new products and shared the benefits of each. Check out the picture below for the finished box.

At the closing session, we wrapped up the convention by reviewing the week, discussing the future, and watching a video from the past few days. My roommate and I were so excited to see that we made it into the closing video this year! We learned that next year, convention will be heading go Dallas, Texas. Hopefully I will be heading there this time next year.

Finally, Corp did something new this year, and held a crop session. We were able to work on our own projects or complete a mini album designed by the CTMH staff. The album is so cute, and it was so much fun to make. Again, the pictures of the final project can be seen below.

We took a few final pictures to remember our trip before retiring to our rooms for the night. Hope you've enjoyed these updates. Tomorrow is my last full day in California before heading out on Monday morning. One more day to do some last minute shopping and who knows what else. So long for now!

California Day 5 (Convention Day 2)

Well, today was another busy day filled with fun and excitement! We started the day with a guest speaker from the Disney Institute. She was interesting and funny and had a lot of great things to share with us. One of my favorite things she mentioned was a quote by Walt Disney. He once said, "People may not notice all of the details, but they will sense the perfection." What a profound statement that I would like to try to remember whenever I create. Although my work is far from perfect, it would be neat to strive for that "sense of perfection" with every project.

After the general session, we had lunch. Since lunch was on our own, my roommate and I grabbed a bagel and some fruit from the hotel coffee shop. Then we headed to business classes. In one we learned all about the new Corp newsletters that consultants will be able to use to keep customers informed of what is going on with CTMH. The other discussed the ABC's of business.

Then came my favorite part of convention. We had our first Create and Take session! We made a beautiful two page layout (see below). But...before that session started, I found Sticky Boy! For those of you who don't know, he was the first ever CTMH acrylic stamp. Every year at convention, staff hides these different sizes of these little guys all over the convention center. It's quite a site when consultants find one. One thing is for sure...you definitely don't want to get in the way of a consultant who has spied a Sticky Boy! You could be seriously hurt if you do!

After the create and take session, we had a bit of a break before heading off to the Awards Banquet. This is the time that we celebrate the achievements of our fellow consultants after sharing a fabulous meal together. The meal was amazing! Throughout the evening, we were treated to singing, dancing, and skits by the Disney Entertainment Group. It was a magical night for sure!

California Day 4 (Convention Day 1)

If I had to sum up today in one word, it would have to be WOW! I just have to say that love being part of this company. Their forward thinking ideas and philosophy have made them the front-runner in the industry and I am so thrilled to be one of their consultants.

The day started with our first general session. It was filled with magic and quite a few Disney characters too! We learned about all of the new products that are available in our new fall catalog. I'm going to try to list everything I can remember...my mind is still reeling!

First - All My Acrylic stamp packs are coming DOWN in price! Sets will range from $6.95-$17.95 with no change in the amount of product you will receive.

Next - Level 2 paper packs are also cheaper, but they will have a few less sheets of paper. The packs are now $9.95, but the background paper is now heavier weight. This is great because you can now use background paper as the base for a layout. There are six printed sheets in a level 2 pack, along with six sheets of solid cardstock. The top of each printed sheet has a bonus zip-strip. This strip can be removed and the one side is printed and can be used as an accent to your projects! No more wasted strip!

Corp has decided to update our mission statement to include more possibilities for the art of memory keeping!

Another big announcement was that the hostess program is being expanded to include more free product. You can now select Workshops on the Go, Studio J memberships, and Studio J 5 packs, in addition to all of the previous options when you are the hostess for a show grossing at least $150.

We have tons of new accessories in the new catalog! Check out some of them in the pictures below.

Now for the huge news!!! CTMH now has an exclusive Cricut cartridge. This cartridge cuts over 700 shapes and cards that coordinate with several of our stamp sets and dimensional elements! This is huge news and I can't wait to start using this new cartridge with our product and sharing it will all of my customers.

If any of you are not a customer of mine and you are interested in learning more about all of this fabulous product, please feel free to email me a jobarron@ptd.net and I will be happy to sit down and talk to you about how you can start using CTMH product!

After the general session, we got an awesome bag (see below) with our new catalog and supplies for our create and take projects. I'm still spending time drooling over the catalog. Every time I look at it, I find more awesome stuff!!!

I am heading to bed shortly, but wanted to share a few pictures from the day. Enjoy!!!

California - Day 3

Yet another fun day is happening here in sunny California today! We started the morning in Disneyland again. We spent a few hours there and got some great photos and rode some of the classic rides. We hit up Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion, and It's a Small World, to name a few. After a few hours, we headed to California Adventure. A few of the rides we were hoping to get on had super long waits, so we just took a leisurely walk around. We did manage to ride California Screaming, which was a super fun roller coaster! We also met Mickey!!!

Around noon, we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch. After lunch, it was time to register for Convention, so we headed to the convention center to wait for the doors to open. To our surprise, they started letting us register an hour early! We got all of our name tags and information for the convention. On our way back to the room we met Goofy!

All in all, it has been a fun day, and it's not over yet! In a few minutes, we are heading back to Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping. We need to be back to the hotel for a team meeting at 8:00. I may post more later. If not, be sure to check tomorrow for great news from convention!

California Day 2

Well, today was a little bit more low-key than yesterday (which is just fine with me)! Because my knee is still sore from the surgery, I decided to stay away from the parks today. My roommate and some other dear friends were set to arrive around noon, so I decided to hang around the hotel to wait for them to arrive.

I had my cereal breakfast in my room, watched a little TV, then showered and headed out for a little while. I took some time to walk around the hotel grounds to see what is all around us. I took a few pictures and then visited the hotel gift shops. When I came out of the gift shop, several of my PA friends were arriving at the hotel. We spent some time catching up, and before I knew it, my roommate and our friends arrived! I hung around with them while they checked-in and then we headed to our rooms.

Once they were settled, we exchanged roomie gifts! Roomie gifts are a CTMH tradition, and my friends never disappoint! This year, I got tons of great gifts! We also decided this year to include a few "virtual roomies." These are some friends who are not in our rooms with us, but are close friends that we wanted to share in this tradition. In all, there are six of us exchanging gifts.

The Mickey ears are from my upline, Nancy. I'm sure we will be wearing those a lot this week. (When I get home, they will be great for Crazy Hat day at school!) The ring was made by my roommate, Crystal. She used CTMH buttons to make this great accessory. She also made another ring with a CTMH mesh flower (not pictured). Jean made us all a gorgeous charm bracelet. Stacey made an adorable tag book filled with Disney quotes. The necklace with the cute little guy hanging from it was my gift to the others. That cute little guy is called Sticky Boy and he is well known in the CTMH community!

After we finished with our gift exchange, we headed to lunch. Since my friends were famished from their flights, we headed to Downtown Disney and I took them to the Rainforest Cafe, since in knew exactly how to get there from yesterday. We got a great table in the back of the restaurant, and it felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We had a blast and got some super fun souvenir pictures taken for the scrapbooks!

Right now, we are back in the room, deciding how we are going to attack the next day. Enjoy the pictures I'm sharing that recap what I've shared above. Hang in there for more updates!

California Day 1

What a day! I have been awake for over 23 hours and am surprised that I haven't fallen asleep sitting up. However, I did promise that I would blog daily to let you all know how our trip has been going.

Here is a recap of today's events:

We started our day by waking up at 3am to get ready to leave for our flights to California. (If you know me at all, you will realize that this was no easy feat!) We left the hotel at 4:15am for the airport. We were officially TSA screened, frisking included, and then waited for our flight. The first flight was from Philly to Denver and it was a pretty turbulent flight. We arrived in Denver 45 minutes early, which was nice because we originally only had a 35 minute layover. The early arrival gave us time to hit the restroom and get our bearings before loading the plane to Santa Ana. The second flight was much less turbulent, and in a little over two hours, we arrived at the John Wayne Airport.

Once we had our luggage, we caught a taxi-van and were at the Disneyland Hotel in about 20 minutes. We had a few issues at check-in but eventually got it all sorted out and found our way to our rooms. Although they are a little bit of a walk from the convention center, it is totally worth it! The rooms are newly renovated and the walk is worth being away from all of the existing construction noise.

Once we unpacked and relaxed for a little while, we headed off to dinner and Disneyland. Dinner was a nice relaxing meal at the Rainforest Cafe. Once we got to the park, we managed to catch the afternoon parade, although sitting on a park bench waiting for it to start resulted in a lovely sunburn on my forehead and my nose! The parade was a lot of fun and I got some great pictures. (see some below) We rode a few rides, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean, before my knee decided it had had enough. We came back to the room and I finished unpacking while my travel mates headed back to the park for the evening festivities.

Now I am in my PJ's, ready for bed! The last picture posted below is my favorite feature of our room. The headboard is a carved wooden image of Cinderella's Castle, and it is stunning on it's own, but there is a secret surprise. There is a switch on the light on the night stand. When it is flipped, the headboard plays music and the fireworks light up! They stay lit until you decide to turn them off. I may leave them in all night. It is simply magical :-)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day. As always, click on any picture for a closer look. Enjoy!