What Do You Do, When You Get THAT Invitation ? Hastypearl

What Do You Do When You Get THAT Invitation ? 

Hastypearl

That's a leading question, right?

I didn't specify, if it was a Bad invitation or a Good one, did I?

Well, I am happy to say that it was recently for me, a Good one.

A Very Good one!

I have happily and only recently met local San Antonio artists, 

Michelle Belto and Lyn Belisle

Michelle, because of an Encaustics class that I took from her, 

and Lyn, 

because she opened one of the encaustics mornings, for Michelle. 

We also had a Very Happy incident, 

where I was able to connect them,

 with a sudden opening to teach at a Texas Art Workshop.

That was one of those meant to be moments that made at least 4 of us smile, 

and I'm pretty certain that their students smiled, as well.

Anyway, back to my original question!

I happened to be looking through Lyn Belisle's 2015 Workshop schedule, 

where she has the dates linked back to pertinent info.

I found this one date...December 12, 

that didn't have a link.

I FB messaged her inquiring, 

and her response really surprised me....she replied...

I signed You UP !

The first thing that I thought was ....AWESOME !

Not, hmmm...I wonder if I have that date available?

Not, I wonder what she will be doing?

I just thought....AWESOME!

I figured if it was snake handling or something TOOOO risky, 

I could decline.

Otherwise, it didn't matter WHAT she was going to be doing, 

I knew I was in.

Further explanation arrived and I learned that it wasn't just going to be Lyn, 

it was also going to be Michelle!

WHAT???? :)

Turns out, 

they had scheduled some time together in Lyn's beautiful studio, 

to work on some ideas of things that they had been tossing around.

I and two other ladies, were invited to be guinea pigs of sorts, 

and I couldn't have been more thrilled!

So, I guess you have deduced by now, that to the invitation, I said,

YES!!!!!!

The following are a few pics of some of their Mixed Media Art pieces and 

some of the things that we played around doing.

It couldn't have been any MORE WONDER FULL !

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Someone once told me, 

that in any area of your life, 

you should find/seek out people that you admire, 

and simply, do what they do.

For me, its been fun to see how many times that its really been instead...

Laura, watch and see, how you are being GIFTED with connections, 

of people that you admire.

 Its easy to attribute it to Gods hand in my life.

Who else could I trust more? :) 

These two singly, have More Amazing Talent imaginable,

but together, they are a powerfully, compatible Force !

I'm Fine, with having two new people in my life, to Admire :)

Its at times like this that I always think of,

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you.

They will pour into your lap a good measure-

pressed down,

shaken together, 

and running over.

For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.

Boy Michelle and Lyn, 

was I given a Good Measure :)

I'm so glad that you stopped by to visit!

I hope that you are enjoying these Wonder-Full days....

Best,

Laura  

Where Women Cook Hastypearl

Where Women Cook 

Hastypearl

Can you read that letter below?

Can you imagine getting that letter?

I had no Idea, that a magazine sent such...until it happened :)

It all started sooo long ago, but it is a testimony to encourage you to 

Never give up on your Dreams.

I wont tell you the whole long tale of it, 

but the Dream would have to have Special and Necessary people in it,

 to fulfill it.

It had to have a photographer.

Not Any photographer.

THE Photographer.

It didn't hurt, that I had followed Anne Christian Lorys on her Fiona and Twig blog 

and it Sure didn't hurt that she lived only 45 minutes from my house in Texas.

But, would she make her way into my Dream?

Yes, she Would!

We spent ONE CRAZY day together, laughing and cooking and tasting.

Much of the time, I didn't even know that she was taking pictures, 

she made it so easy.

The Dream, would take additional wonderful ladies like Jo Packham, 

Amber Demien and Brandy Shay, 

who spend their days encouraging individuals to Cook and Create...

and then making them look beautiful for the Stampington & Company, 

Somerset Studios publications, 

that we Cant get enough of. 

My Dream, had to have Years and Years of eating Fantastic Mexican food, 

to make me think of No Other Topic, to write about.

Eating Mexican food for 40 years...Oh, such a burden!

So, because of a Dream coming true, 

I thought it a very fitting time, to Celebrate and Give Away 

a copy of Where Women Cook, 

to someone in my Hastypearl blog family.

Its over 150 blog postings and I hope 150 MORE to come !

The Giveaway time frame will be 10 days (from September 16, 2015) 

and Larry will do a scientific drawing, 

for a Free Copy of the Sept/Oct/Nov issue of 

Where Women Cook.

If you've never read it, you're going to Love it.

Leave a comment here, or on my Hasty Pearl FB page, 

so that I can find my way back to you for your address 

on announcement day...September 26, 2015 !

If you would like to sign up to receive a notice when I next post on my blog, 

you can do so in the blank on the right column.

I say that column is the Mothership for all things...Hasty!  

As always, I hope that you have days full of Wonder, 

and Thanks so much for stopping by!

Gotta go now...tonight is Mexican Food Night!

:) Best, Laura

One Thing Leads To The Other... Hastypearl

One Thing Leads To The Other...

Hastypearl

As you well know by now, 

half of my heart resides in the Hill Country, in Texas, 

and the other half belongs to the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado.

Right away, you can see that I have Great Taste, right? :)

A while back, one of my favorite Art and Business Mentors, 

(I have quite a few), 

told me to start submitting my art, 

and One Thing Would Lead To The Other.

 I took her advice.

After all, What Would I Have to Lose? 

While I always know that Providence is in control 

of everything 

that happens in my life, 

including the good AND the bad, 

I still love watching it play out.

For instance...

A Colorado Home Owners Association reply letter from me 

and sent to a neighbor Betty Bradley,

with my Hastypearl Etsy and Blog addresses in the signature, 

led her to explore my Etsy shop.

After that, 

she asked if I would submit a piece of my Mixed Media Art 

to a fund raiser for a ministry, that we have known about for years.

Of course I said, Yes!

I didn't know that she was the President of the Redstone Art Foundation, 

that holds an annual Art Show, to raise money for 

Art Scholarships for High School students 

headed to Art Schools.

She asked me to participate in that Art Show

....my very first Show Ever!

Again, I said, YES! 

See?

One Thing Leads To The Other...  

I'm sure that you have had similar things happen to you, both large and small.

This past 2015 Labor Day weekend, was when the Redstone Art Show took place.

It wasn't easy long distance preparing, shipping and setting up

...but I am So Glad that I did it.

It has given me a total new respect, 

for those of you who do this on a regular basis.

Now I can see what you guys go through :)

It was a wonderful learning curve and I feel so much better for it.

I am thrilled that I have been invited back,

 and even asked to make the name tags!

So, while I worked Many hours daily at the Art Show, 

I also found time,

 to practice shooting in Manual mode with my camera

...another wonderfully steep learning curve!

Lets face it, every where in America is beautiful, 

so all you have to do is look around, and snap!

Below, are various photos that my husband took of my space.

The weather was all over the charts, 

but the fantastic enclosure that it was held in, was not only charming, 

but also very safe for the Art.

At closing time, we enjoyed the great restaurants in the Redstone area, 

and as Always, found a few necessary minutes out in nature.

One day at the Art Show, was funny hat day.

I had a hat, but didn't have the Funny!

Larry suggested that I find and attach something that I had made, 

so I used my handmade leathery envelopes and lavender filled pouches.

The side benefit was that it smelled great :)

I'm not sure how people Actually took me serious, but I had to get in the game!

Larry took the following pictures of me with my customers.

I was actually Emotional when I downloaded them and saw them for the first time.

Whether they were buyers or not, it gave me such joy, 

to expose people, and some for the first time, 

to my idea of story telling with Vintage Items.

It was a brand new concept for many.

I told them, that I have a philosophy, that Art doesn't have to be Flat!

And, that there are more kinds of art than Oils and Watercolors

...both of which I love.

I want my Art to reach OUT AT you and beg you to touch it.

I want it to Move.

I want it to flutter in a breeze.

And most of all, I want it to do that Over and Over again.

I have had patrons tell me that they can see something new 

in my pieces, every time that they look at it.

High Compliments...the Best !

So, Look at their body language as I help them find their own stories.

If that is all that I came away with, it would have Been Enough.

Makes me soooooo happy!

These Mixed Media Angels, are a few of the pieces that found new homes.

I was Thrilled to learn that the angel above, named Beauty, was featured in 

Both the Aspen and Glenwood Springs newspapers.

With so much great art to choose from, 

I was Really Honored.

I was surprised when my friend Janette, still wearing her pajamas,

 appeared at my door with one of the newspapers one morning !

Beauty, was sold to a customer, that didn't know about the features!

I have another theory that can be Patience Testing.

Maybe you already know about it.

The piece above, was called, Thimble Heart and 

was far and away, my most "Favorited" Art item on Hastypearl Etsy.

Way over 1000 people gave me the thumbs up on this piece.

The cost was unbelievably Affordable.

(I have a friend on Etsy that tells me that I should raise my prices:)

So, why hadn't it sold?

Poor SEO? Too much Art on Etsy to choose from? Some other reason?

No.

Here's my theory... 

I think its because it was WAITING for its owner.

I've finally learned that Everything that I sell, 

has a special owner just waiting to find it 

and it makes me Crazy Happy 

when I can introduce them !

I had a wonderful time visiting with literally hundreds of people 

from the Aspen area and Much farther afield.

I made New friends, which was High on my trips Goals list, 

and I visited with others that I had already given my heart to.

Wonderful things happen to ALL of us.

Sometimes, we can believe the lie, that things like "That" just don't happen to me, 

but if we live long enough, Things like "That" happen to ALL of us.

For me, this past weekend will be one that I wont Ever Forget.

My Biggest THANKS to All of You that 

contributed to my Very Happy Weekend! xo 

Thanks as always for stopping by my blog...

I'm so glad that you did !

 Laura aka Hastypearl

...please check my shop as I will be listing many new pieces of Art and Vintage Parts.

It may seem early, but many pieces that I sold this weekend, 

will be gifts for the upcoming seasons!

It gave me great Joy, to hear my buyers say that they couldn't 

wait for their loved ones to see their one of a kind, finds!

Marbleizing on Paper Step By Step Hastypearl

Marbleizing on Paper

Step By Step

Hastypearl

I have always been fascinated by old books.

It seems like the details and care taken in illustrating them, are so exceptional.

The end pages are often marbleized and it mesmerizes me to see them.

I happened upon a video of the technique of marbleizing one day 

and thought that only someone with years of mastering could do it.

Then, this past year, Crystal Neubauer came to my home to teach a workshop, 

and as a part of her mark making, she taught us a very simple technique 

that made me think that even someone like novice me...and maybe you...

could enjoy marbleizing. 

Crystal taught us using ink, but while walking around the workshop room, 

I saw that one of the students had used a Pebeo product, 

and I knew that I would order some to try for myself.

It has its Advantages and its Disadvantages.

Disadvantage...its not water soluble, 

so what you use to drop it, is pretty much useless afterwards.

Advantages...it comes in a lot of amazing colors that to me, 

resemble those in the great vintage books that I love seeing.

So, you decide what you want to use.

I found these paint boxes on Amazon and they were each affordable.

I think it could take a lifetime to use all of the paint.

I opened all of the bottles and gathered a flat plastic tray, 

that would accommodate the size of paper that I used.

Choose something that is disposable.

I decided to try using toothpicks.

You will need to stir the paint with one, anyway.

Let a drop of paint fall to the water.

It will sit on the surface of the water.

Drop as many as you want, and as many colors as you want.

Gently stir the stick through the water, or, you can gently blow 

on the surface of the water 

so that the colors move around.

If you decide to use water soluble ink, you can purchase plastic 

transfer pipettes on Amazon.

They are also very affordable and useful to have for lots of other projects. 

The ink or paint, will make interesting shapes.

That is what you will capture with your paper.  

I gathered strips of leftover 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Crystal also used old book pages.

Thinner paper didn't work so great.

Just play with what you have and see what you like.

Gently, lay each strip on top of the water.

When you lift the paper, the paint will have transferred to the paper.

Lay them out to dry.

I used my heat gun, to speed the drying process some.

If you don't feel like you have enough paint on your paper, dip again!

Its fun to see the individuality of each piece.

No two could possibly be alike :)

These were some of my finished strips!

I had planned on making some new journal covers 

and was happy to have some new strips of marbleized papers 

to incorporate into the compositions!

Can you find them? :)

This technique is so easy.

Yes, there are people that have serious skills and you Should Google 

and watch some of the videos.

Most of us don't need to start with such complicated processes.

Its fun!

I think that you will be happy if you invest in either inks Or paints.

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We just returned from a trip to the cool Colorado mountains where we 

played as a family with polymer clay's.

I'm thinking, that we may give marbleizing a try, 

next time we get together :)  

Let me know how it goes for you, if you give it a try!

I'm so glad that you stopped by for a visit.

I hope that you are all enjoying your days.

It's the Dog Days of Summer in Texas.

Working in the garden, happens only in the earliest hours...then 

its back inside where its cool.

It really makes me thoughtful for those men and women 

whose jobs are outside, year around.

Best to all...Laura

A Promised Reward! Hastypearl

A Promised Reward!

Hastypearl

I posted yesterday, about how everyone seems to be so busy.

Sometimes...too busy!

To take a break, and honor myself, I spent the day today, 

in a kind of Promised Reward Day.

One, where I did things that sometimes you feel like you need to go Away to do.

Instead, I stayed Home, to do them.

A Staycation of sorts :)

One of the things that has been on my to do fun list for too long, 

was to crank up some eco-dye pots.

While its usually better to do this outside, today, I stayed inside.

I have a really great vent over my stove, and I wasn't in any danger, 

so with the rain, it was a great decision.

The amazing end results of eco dyeing is always a definite yes, 

but to me, 

the Process is Also, beautiful to photograph.

I took these pictures both for their beauty and for 

some ideas that you might benefit from.

First, I want to make it Very Clear, that I am a novice dyer.

There are MANY, that know much more than I do.

I think that it just proves, that there are paths for dyers that are very easy, 

and right now, that is great for me.

When Leslie Marsh taught me, we used a water bath in which we dropped, black walnuts, a piece of iron, some vinegar and the collected garden litter, 

rolled up in either paper, or silk, cotton or linen fabric.

Today, I used 140 lb. watercolor paper, and cotton and linen fabric.

While I did a pot with this recipe today, the one that is photographed here, is only using plants wrapped up in cotton or linen and a bath of Spanish Saffron.  

NOTHING in any cabinet or drawer, is safe from me.

I found this beautiful handmade lace round runner, 

to wrap around my leaves and petals from the garden.

I've never used the yarrow before, so it was an experiment.

There are wonderful books to read, I own two of India Flint's, 

that have lists of plants to use in the dye bath, 

but I like to use what I have in my garden, and experiment.

If its a "fail", no problem. I can always use the same fabrics in a different bath, next time. 

This is what the round runner looked like in the bath.

I think that it looks like a sausage!

I walked around the garden, with this mid century plastic pitcher, 

collecting plant clippings.

We have a lot of creatures...like ants and beetles, in Texas, that invariably piggy 

back into the house on the clippings.

So, I placed the pitcher on a water filled cookie sheet, 

so that when the bugs climb over the side, 

they will encounter the water,

 and they wont climb out on my counter top.

I remember seeing in a museum, that the pioneers had to put their table legs 

in little pots of water, to keep the ants from climbing up 

onto the table and spoiling their food.

I guess I could call myself a flower collecting, Pioneer!

I also leave my papers soaking in water, 

so that they better receive the colors from the plants.

I'm being disciplined, This Time, 

and leaving my rolls in the dye bath overnight, 

or maybe even longer, to make sure that 

they soak up as much dye as possible.

It was a wonderful day, relaxing and honoring myself with a few Promised Rewards...

Now, if I can just remember to do it more often :)

I Hope that you treated yourself to something wonderful, today, 

or have plans for it in the near future!

Dear Reader, I will begin listing a number of new items 

over at my hastypearl shop this week.

I hope that you will take a look and see whats going on over there.

There is always something new to see :)

Buying from Etsy is very easy.

All you need is a credit card, and you can do your Gift Buying, 

in the convenience of your own home..:)

Best to all and Ill see you next time...Laura  

The Making of a Mixed Media Blue Bird Hastypearl

The Making of a Mixed Media Blue Bird

A Letter to a Girl, Yet to be Born

by Hastypearl

Dear Sawyer Anne,

I thought that You might want to know, 

even though you haven't been born yet, 

how Hastypearl...I mean Cousin Laura...

made your Birthday gift!

Little Sawyer, There will be some Life Lessons 

along the way, in this letter :)

I know that your parents love animals and beautiful land 

and ranches and aren't afraid of things like rusty wire, 

so I made your little birds legs out of real rusty ranch wire.

The Trouble is, when you hammer it, 

it can get hot and brittle and break!

So, for every one leg that I was successful making, 

I broke five.

First Life Lesson...Some things can take a long time to do, 

but if you stick with it, you will be glad that you did!

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Sawyer, I also know that your parents aren't afraid 

to get their hands dirty.

Your Cousin Hastypearl...I mean Laura...often has dirty hands.

I am actually kind of proud of that.

Second Life Lesson...Don't miss out on some fun things in life, 

because you don't want to get your hands dirty.

Sawyer, I once went to an estate sale, three days in a row, 

in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

Each day, streams of people walked away with 

full bags of Vintage Finds.

Why?

Because the owner of the home, was a talented 

and eccentric Antiques collector and clock repairman.

I found a whole bag full, of Vintage Wood Clock Case Finials.

I used the prettiest one for the body of your little bird.

I didn't know how to build a bird.

I had Never built a bird like this before, but I figured it out!

Life Lesson Three...If you don't know how to do something, 

its OK. 

You can sit quietly and think about it and 

you will always be able to work it out.

Don't be Afraid.

Don't be Afraid of making a mistake.

Mistakes teach us.

Sawyer, I asked your Aunt Becky what your 

nursery colors were going to be. 

She sent me a picture of the bedding 

that your Mother and Father wanted for you.

The colors of the bedding were 

Teal and Aqua and Fuchsia.

That is what I used for your bird! 

Life Lesson Four...If you don't have the answer to your questions, 

you can ask for help.

Everyone Loves to Help!

Your little bird, needed wings, so I fashioned some, out of 

painted cardboard and some Very Old Keys.

The keys from long ago, used to be beautiful and

 were works of art.

You don't see that any more.

Sawyer, I know that you are already a Daughter of a King.

The King.

He knew you Before you were even in your mommies tummy.

I gave your bird a Crown.

YOU wear a Crown in the eyes of your King.

Don't ever take it off!

I don't think He would mind if you twirl in a fluffy tutu, 

so at the last minute, I gave your bird a tutu.

  

Life Lesson Five...Don't take your eyes off of the King.

Sawyer, it took a Joyously long time to make this little bird for you.

But the whole time that I was working on it, 

I thought about you and wondered what you would be like.

I prayed for you and your parents.

They don't understand yet, how hard and wonder-full,

 its going to be to meet you.

No one ever does, until it Finally happens.

That's because its a special secret that The King keeps for each of us.

They don't Know the extreme highs and lows that they will experience as you grow.

But I know, that they will love you and love you and love you some more.

They will do their very best to help you be who you will Be.

Then, when it is time, you will Fly!

They will wonder how it was possible that 

so many days passed...

but they will be so proud of you 

and thankful that you were a part of their lives.

We really can't wait to meet you...Sawyer Anne!

Really!

x's and o's...L