Where Women Cook Giveaway....And The Winner Is! Hastypearl

Where Women Cook Giveaway

...And The Winner Is!

Hastypearl

Thanks everyone for supporting me with my Second Hastypearl Giveaway!

In celebration of being featured in the Sept/Oct/Nov 2015 issue, 

I hosted a Giveaway, 

and I extended the fun to Hastypearl's Face Book, 

Instagram and 

You...my Hastypearl Blogger friends.

I left the time frame open, to like or comment on all venues, for 10ten10 days!

It was fun watching the names roll in and thinking...

oh, I'd Love it if SHE won :)

I literally thought that with Every name! 

But, because I promised to be Honest, and because its super fun to 

let the random process do the selecting, 

I wrote your names on paper.

Cut them out.  

Put them in one of my prettiest glasses...

actually, a gift from Tiffany's ;)

...so I took EXCELLENT care of you.....

I put my little fingers, with my fingernails still packing heavenly 

Bees Wax from an amazing over the weekend

 Michelle Belto Encaustics Workshop...

and.....

...........drummmmmmm roll please......

The Winner is....Jean Thompson!

Not her actual New name, as she is a newly wed...

but she will Always be Jean Thompson to me!

Congrats, Jean!

I'll message you for your address and soon you will 

receive a copy of 

Where Women Cook.

I know that you will love reading it.

So, thanks everyone that signed up, 

and those that just enjoyed me celebrating 

a really wonderful event in my life!

I'm still pinching myself and 

pretty sure that I will, for a Long Time!!!

I've said thanks a million times already 

to Anne Christian Lorys photographer Extraordinaire

 and Jo Packham, Amber Demian and Brandy Shay

 of Stampington & Company, Somerset Studios.

I'm almost embarrassed to do it again, 

but I wouldn't have been in the magazine Without them :)

Dreams Do come true!

Hope one of Yours comes true for YOU today !

...thanks again, guys...

and as always

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

Laura aka hastypearl  

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!