Take Me Home To The Place I Belong

John Denver definitely had it right: West Virginia feels like home (thanks to Consultant Christine Adams and her amazing Hearts in the Hills Team)! Traveler Kristine here, checking in again after a terrific weekend in wonderful, wild West Virginia. Christine was another winner of our "Win A Workshop" contest and I just about squealed with glee when I pulled her name from the stetson onstage at Convention.

Christine is not only an incredibly talented artist, she is an energetic leader, a pretty amazing marketing strategist, and a class act through and through. She has a sanctuary of a craft room I got to visit and it is no wonder her team members and customers alike love working with her. (Hall of fame-level artwork! Here a a few shots from her studio)

I couldn't wait to spend a weekend in Christine's home town of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and share a great daylong workshop with her team members—many of whom had traveled long and sacrificed much to join us. Thank you to each and every one of you!

Friday afternoon, we set up and decorated the venue and got the projects ready. Here's a photo of Tina posing with all the great products each guest received for creating—more than $100 in stamp sets, ribbons and trim, and beautiful new embellishments and accessories. After setup, we strolled an outdoor marketplace bursting with a perfect country harvest: pumpkins, apples, tomatoes and more. Christine led me to a stand where we harvested a box of handcrafted chocolates. A very yummy crop indeed!

Friday night held a fun meet-and-greet session with team members where we talked product suggestions, who's caught up with scrapbooking, and Jeanette's vision for the future of this great company. Everyone made me feel so welcome, we just chatted and laughed until bedtime.

Then on Saturday—the big day—we converged on a great church activities center where we had music, food, darling décor, wonderful projects, and of course, lots of new friendships. I felt so humbled and appreciative to meet these wonderful ladies. I dare not try to name them all for fear of missing someone, but you made me LAUGH all day. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. (I especially loved it when a few of you broke out in the chicken dance!)

We had giveaways galore and they treated me just like I was at home. I even have the West Virginia Moutaineers t-shirt to prove it (thank you, Nicole!). Honestly, the generosity of spirit just blew me away and once again reminded me why Close To My Heart Consultants are the finest folks on earth.

Christine also organized an Operation Smile fundraiser, with beautiful artwork donated by several different top artists around the country. She held bidding at her blog before the event, and attendees got a last chance at getting a winning bid. Thanks to everyone's generosity we raised over the amount needed for one child to receive life-changing facial surgery. Woo-hoo!

And for those of you curious about the projects each person received and completed at our workshops thus far, I snapped a few pics: we finished four two-page layouts, 6 darling cards with lots of Cricut Artiste cartridge extras, and 2 Cricut gift boxes.

Although Christine was always busy making sure everyone else was having a great time, she did manage to heed my commands occasionally to "Sit! Create!" and I think she even finished a few goodies.

I was there to provide her the royal treatment, but as usual, she made me feel like a queen—right down to the thank you card with the bling on it. The crowning point of a wonderful day. Hugs to the great ladies of West Virginia…country roads, take me home!