Day One--Monica and Kristine!!! OK, Brian too, lol...

Time for FUN!!!  Alright, so I have been stringing you all along to build up to this fabulous moment.  Day one of classes at my very first Regional!!!

It all kicked off with our Keynote Speaker....

Monica Wihongi!!!!

Monica is the Vice President of Training, Events, and Consultant Services at Close to My Heart.  If you think she looks a bit familiar, that is because she appears in the video series that has recently been released from CTMH like this one:

It was SO COOL to see her in person!!!  She spoke about how she came to be a part of this amazing company.  Her story is truly special, and I hope you all have the chance to hear about it from her sometime!  All I can say is that she is MEANT to be a part of CTMH.  I really feel that I am too!

She shared these words with us that are truly inspiring...

This is so very true, no matter how things might seem "in the now."  It is far easier to look backward and see where you have come, to realize that it all happens for a reason--in God's timing and not ours.

After lunch I believe Brian Holman VP and COO came out to talk about Studio J.  I did not take a picture!  Oooops!  I did snatch a shot of the main peeps at the back of the room at one point in the presentations.  That is Brian on the laptop--of course, lol!

Did you know that Studio J has 99 kits to use???  WOW!!!  This spring they will top 100 kits!  Splash Zone is the #1 kit used in all of Studio J's layouts ordered.  I realized after Brian spoke that I really should have taken more pictures of the power point--I was soaking in so much info that I forgot to write much down!  I got way more pics after that.  ;)  I also realized that although I have only dabbled in it, Studio J is going to help me GET MY GROOVE on and get these pics on my hard drive printed!  October is buy 9 layouts, get one layout free month, so I am going to give it my all to get a lot done!  :)

Here are a few main points I came away with from Studio J:
1.  Studio J layouts can now be added to any EZ invite gathering at checkout when you order your layouts!
2.  Layouts can now be redeemed with hostess rewards!!!
3.  You can order up to 50 layouts per box for just $5.95 shipping!
4.  All your layouts will disappear 90 days after creation if you do nothing with them.  And would you believe I just now thought to go look at mine and check!  UGH!!!  This is not meant to be a deterrent, but to encourage you to NOT PROCRASTINATE!  It actually just might work with me!  ;)

Moving on...next up--Kristine!!!

Kristine Whidtfeldt is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Close to My Heart.  She is fast...and hilarious.

She addressed many things with us, one of them being an ongoing theme at Regionals, "Consume It, Don't Collect It."  Ummmmm, hmmmm, that sounds like someone I know!  Yeah--the collecting part!  I sure wish there were more hours in a day to consume all my fabulous products!  ;)  I just need to remember that it all starts with just one photo.  That is all it takes.  To use another famous catch-phrase, Just Do It!  Don't sit on all those memories piling up on your hard drive or in your photo boxes.  Get them in an album for your family to reminisce and enjoy.  Use paper and embellishments or use Studio J, but whatever you do--start now!

She gave us lots of facts about our products.  Our My Acrylix stamps are made entirely on site at CTMH and contain no chemicals--they are clean and green and made to last forever out of the highest quality commercial grade photopolymer.  (Whew!  That was a mouthful!)

She gave us a nice tutorial on our different inks.  Here is the handy chart she shared that shows the properties of our three inks:

I am exhausted after reliving all of that first-day excitement and jitters and FUN!!!  Here is one last look at day one--the highlight for me this day--meeting Monica and Kristine!!!!

 You can't even see my eyes because I am smiling with all my heart.  :)

Soooooo up next is Day Two: Artiste and Clubs!  Stay tuned!