Coffee Date with Tribe Sister Mentors
In this live YouTube session, Christie Renee Hawkins, owner of The Social Easel, hosts a “coffee date” with three Inner Tribe mentors—Helen Rumbles, Toni Landis, and Linda—to showcase the Inner Tribe membership, a supportive online community where women learn acrylic painting. Christie explains the limited‑time enrollment window (open twice a year, closing Thursday midnight), outlines the live painting schedule (multiple owl/Halloween sessions, three new paintings per month, guest artists), and demonstrates how members can access templates via the word “info” bot. Each mentor shares personal stories of rediscovering art after long gaps, how painting helped them overcome anxiety, depression, and fear, and how the community fostered friendships, business opportunities (Etsy shops, paint‑party services), and spiritual encouragement. Christie emphasizes the group’s positive‑only culture, strict anti‑negativity policy, and the practical steps for joining (email confirmation, Facebook group request, getting the Getting Started checklist). She answers live questions about pricing, yearly vs. monthly plans, supply lists, and usage rights for the designs. The session ends with a call to action for fence‑sitters, offering a month‑trial, and details for future live sessions and text alerts.
Chapters
Connecting. Here we go. Okay, I think we are live. We had a few technical difficulties this morning, so I am going to pull you guys up and make sure I can see me and I can see you. Um, so for those of you, uh, just joining for the first time, my name is Christie Hawkins. I'm the owner of The Social Easel, and I teach women how to paint mostly with acrylics. And today I am meeting with some of my Tribe Sister mentors, and these are the ladies in our Inner Tribe membership that are in there to help newcomers out, help the members that are in there, um, and they are just part of what makes this community so amazing. So we're going to interview some of them, we're just going to have some coffee and talk a little bit, and if you guys have any questions while we are talking, you can put them in the comments. And I am getting ready to set up my bot for you too. And as soon as I do this, if you have any questions about anything, you can type in the word info and you will get a message from me on Messenger. Hey, Anne! Hey Lynn, hey Pam. Yeah, if you guys want to comment #TribeSister if, um, if you're already one of our members. If you are not, we only open Tribe 2 times a year and this is one of those times. So I open in the fall and then I won't open again until spring 2021. Um, and so there's, um, only a few days left. We close the doors Thursday night at midnight. Um, so you'll see me live a lot over the next 2 days, and you probably have over the previous 2 days. I did have to take a break last night, had an awful migraine yesterday after, um, the girls' volleyball game, and I just couldn't function. So I'm feeling better, I slept a whole bunch, and today I was going to paint a different version of the owl with you guys last night, um, so that's added to the schedule today. So I don't have it I'm not that organized this morning yet, but I will be back on, um, probably like mid-afternoon to do what I was gonna do last night and paint a new version of our owl with you. I'm gonna do a fun kind of Halloween spooky, um, themed, uh, Halloween owl and show you guys some shading and how to add a background to it. If you missed the first one we did, um, what day is it, we did Monday night, um, you can go back 2 videos on my Facebook page, and you can find that first one. So we're going to do a different owl each night. Again, we were supposed to do it last night, so we're doing 2 versions today. So I'll be live later this afternoon and then tonight at 8:30 PM, and these are all Central Standard Time. So you get to paint with me a few more times today, and then, um, tomorrow we'll have our last paint session and we will close the doors. So if you have any questions at all about becoming a TRIBE sister or what it includes, we will talk about that. But I really wanted today to be kind of like a little coffee date with me and some of these ladies. They're near and dear to my heart and I love them to pieces. And they really helped me kind of keep an eye on everything in TRIBE and keep this the close-knit community. Um, that I want it to be for all of you. Um, if you comment the word info, you will get the owl template. Thank you guys. Yes, I am feeling— I'm feeling much better. I think it was just an overload. I think I was on the computer too much on Monday, compiled into Tuesday, plus volleyball games, and it got the best of me. So I am going to go ahead, um Like I said, we're having a little bit of technical difficulty. Linda's— I'm trying to get her set up. I'm gonna go ahead and pull, um, Helen up on the screen. And hi, ladies.
Hey.
And Linda, do you want me to give you a second longer? I think she can hear me. I'm gonna give her a minute. So, um, Helen, I'll let you go ahead and introduce yourself, and then, um, when you're done, Toni, I will let you introduce yourself.
Okay, that sounds great. Thank you, Christie Renee Hawkins. Good morning, ladies. My name is Helen Rumbles. I have been a Tribe sister for about a year now. I joined last fall, the same time, and I did join up just monthly to start with. And I knew really quickly that it's a place I wanted to stay. So, you know, I put some pennies aside for a few months and then come— I think it was February, I went ahead and I did upgrade for a year. You can do, you know, you can join for a month, see how you like it. And then if you, like most of us, if you feel it's, you know, your special place you want to stay, then you can at any time you can go ahead and you can upgrade to a year membership. It's so much more. You know, sitting here we can say, you know, Christie's amazing. She teaches us so much on our brush techniques and building paintings and being— getting our own creativity to come out in us, but it's so much more than that. It's a community. It's a lot of wonderful ladies. For myself, just a quick little bit of backstory. You don't need the whole long one. You'll just get the short one today. I had painted from the time I was a little girl right up all through school. Loved it. Then, you know, life got in the way and I put my brushes down for 40 years. And say about a year ago in the summertime, you know, I've always been thinking I wanted to start painting again. And I was poking around on YouTube like a lot of us do, and I came on one of Christie's free videos that she had on the Social Easel page here, and I was mesmerized. You know, I knew, I thought, I like this lady. She's positive, she's fun, and she's teaching, like I say, brush techniques, you know, little things that you may not think that means a lot, but it so does. You know, it's just, it was all those little things that I was going along with. So did a little bit of research, and say, long story short, Last January, then, because we're busy over the holidays. Last January, I picked my brushes back up for the first time in 40 years. Absolutely love it. Wish I'd never put them down. And like I say, just growing all the time, learning, learning from all the ladies. You know, you'll be nervous. You know, everybody's nervous in the beginning. You think, well, can I do this? You can. You know, if you follow along with Christie, and we're all here to help you. The minute you— I'll tell you this— the minute you post your first painting, you're going to be amazed. Likes and loves and way to go and great start and I can't wait to see more. It's all that positive stuff. And we're not— this isn't— we're not just saying this right now. This is really true. I mean, it's an amazing, amazing group of ladies. We've gotten to be, you know, really good friends, even though a lot of us are across the country. You know, so I just— I can't say enough positive about it. And with everything that's been going on in the world today too, I think we all, we all need a positive place, a safe place, fun place. And so even if you've never picked up a brush, you can paint, believe me. And, and it— everyone's is different too, so you don't, don't compare yourself to others or look and say, wow, look what Christie did, I can't ever do that. Yes, you can, and it'll be you, it'll be your creativity coming out. That's one of the things that she does and all the ladies do best is just inspire us to keep trying and trying new things. And like I say, it's, it's just a wonderful group. I think, you know, if anyone— if you've been watching us this week, if you're even just kind of on the fence about it, if you can, if you can take the plunge, you, you'll never look back. It's just a wonderful— could be a wonderful start to a new creative journey for you.
Yes, I think so. And just like she said, I love how supportive everyone is in here and how we have that community in a time like this where we can't all be together in person, we still feel connected. We still feel like we have, you know, sisters that we can turn to, that we can talk to. It can be about painting and it can be about life. It doesn't just have to be, you know, about just the painting technique. It's so much, so much more than that. And that's why I wanted, um, to bring these ladies on this morning just so you guys could get a glimpse inside. And we had some other, uh, newer Monday. You know, I like, um, having women come in who— these ladies have been with me a long time versus newbies. And I want you to know there's a mix of people in there, um, of all levels. And, um, Helen, where— well, take turns telling me where you're from.
Okay, yeah, I am from the Woodlands, Texas. I was actually born in Houston. But raised in Canada and then back down here. My parents were back down here, so I came back down here at, gosh, 30— I've been down here 35 years, so the family's all gone now, but I stayed. So I'm just, just north of Houston in The Woodlands.
Toni, where are you?
I'm—
I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, raised in Saginaw, Texas, and lived just about 20 minutes in Decatur, Texas now.
Okay.
Linda, where are you from?
I am from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, Southwest Virginia. I'm in that state that's half northern and half southern, and I definitely live in the southern part.
That's funny. Well, um, thank you, Helen, for sharing yours, and I am going to come back to you in just a second. Um, I want to— and I'm going to try to mute in between just so we don't get any, um, feedback. We were having some issues this morning. Everything was fine and then we just started getting this tickety-tack that we have no idea why. So, Toni, I'm going to go to you next and let you introduce yourself and tell a little bit about you and your journey in TRIBE so far.
Okay. My name is Toni Landis and I found Christie on March 2019. It was the Spring Truck Challenge. And I thought it was $10. So I thought, I've always wanted to paint and draw. That has been a desire of mine. But I was under the idea that you were either born to paint and draw or you didn't. So it was one of those things. I was kind of sad that God didn't give me that gift. And sometimes I think gifts are given to us, but he expects us to search those out and find those. Christie soon turned my belief all the way around. She can teach anyone. I could not draw a stick figure. I could not paint a straight line. And I'm going to not get emotional today, but when I joined her, when I joined her tribe, I had been working for 2 jobs, single household, or just doing everything and not anything creative or anything for me. It was always for everyone else. And so in March of 2019, I had just gotten married. I'm 56 years young and I just got married and it was time that I wanted to search out something for me. And when she posted about the challenge, I thought, what's $10? I can see if I can do it. Well, from that point forward, I'm her biggest fan. I love her so much for so many other reasons. But she is a great teacher. She takes it— she will make you a believer that anyone can paint if they have that desire and want to just sit down with a paintbrush. And, um, I just— I started painting and I painted every second I could get. And I'm somebody that can't sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time usually, but I can sit for 7 hours and paint and look up and go, oh my gosh, I've been here for 7 hours. I mean, I can just paint and paint and paint until interrupts me or calls or something. But I just want to encourage anybody that's out there. I just— what I love in life more than anything is people and encouraging other people. And we're on here because we love and believe in this group. It's way more than painting. It's way more than drawing. But I will tell you now, it's given me a confidence. I can now sit down and draw. And my mom said, I didn't know you could draw. I said, I didn't know I could draw. But I have been given a confidence. And then last November, I started a paint party business. I've done lives on Facebook. I never— I'm one that can talk to you one-on-one, but in front of other people, I let fear talk to me for a year telling me I couldn't do a Facebook Live. I finally realized if an 11-year-old could do a Facebook Live, I could do a Facebook Live. So I'm just saying all of that to say that God has big plans for everyone. And if we don't search those things out and jump past fear— fear has dictated a lot of my journey along the way. But Christie shows me every day in her teaching and her life and her witness that fear does not have to be in charge, that we have ability to overcome fear and not let it rob us. And I'm so glad that it didn't let me— rob me in March 2019, because I'm having people now. I thought a paint party business was how it was supposed to go. I have 14 custom orders right now, and I can't even do paint parties because I have so many people ordering special things. So So I just want to encourage any lady, you can go month to month, see if it's for you. Just try it. A mixed media pad doesn't cost very much. I still am using my cheap brushes from Walmart even though I have ordered really good ones, and I use those too. I mean, paint's $50— I mean, 50 cents a bottle. Um, I just want to reflect Christ's love and light in this group, and I want to encourage each one We are here for questions. We, if Christie doesn't see every one, or we'll answer anything we can, encourage you any way we know how. I just want you to step out. You won't ever know until you try.
Yes, absolutely. And I mean, it's just been so fun to see the journey with Tony and I had a few tears yesterday. Good ones. But we were, we were talking about that. Um, and talking about fear. And Toni is actually going to, um— we don't have all the details figured out yet— Toni is, um, actually going to be a new member of the, the team with me. And, um, we had that conversation yesterday, and, you know, I just, um, she, she messaged me, and I just— I wrote back, I said, God is so funny. Um, because He knew what was on both of our hearts and just made that conversation happen for us to where she wanted to step up more and be a bigger part of Tribe and work with me. And I needed her. And it was just this amazing conversation of seeing how God can intervene and And before she sent me that message, she said, I almost didn't send it out of fear. And then God nudged you to do it, right?
Yes. And I will tell you guys that that was such a God moment, and it overwhelmed me to the point that we don't have because we don't ask. And, um, that's a verse in the Bible that says you, you have to come and you have to ask, and then you have to— there's another side of that— you have to believe. And I let the voice tell me, no, you better not send that message. You better not send that message. And then the bigger voice said, quit letting fear be the reason you don't do things. And so I did. And within seconds she's messaging, then I'm messaging. And I couldn't even tell her everything that I'd been praying and devotional about. And it was word for word things that she was saying. And I just love how God works that way. He will. I am not preaching. You don't even have to have the same belief system, but this group is so positive and good things just come out of it. Yesterday, He showed me once again that He is bigger than everything else and He provides. He always does. I have been struggling with some other things and this just— God answers prayer in a mighty way. And so I'm thankful for this group and just thankful that Christi leads the way God would have her lead and in her heart, because He will send the people that need to be in her group and He will, He will grow that group. And if you get to be taught by her, you will be blessed beyond what you can imagine.
Well, thank you so much. I love you to pieces.
I promised I wasn't going to cry. I promise that all the time.
Time. So if you know how that works. Um, Linda, I'm gonna, um, unmute you and, uh, let you share a little bit. Um, Annette, I see your comments and I can't respond to them right now because we're doing an interview. If you have reached out to customer service, then Jen will finish taking care of you there. Um, but commenting in the thread right now, I can't do anything about that. We will absolutely get you day 5. I'm not sure what the glitch is with you getting kicked out of the Facebook group. I'm not ignoring your comments though. I see them. I can't handle that while on a Facebook Live with the sisters. So we will 100% get you taken care of. So just be patient with Jen. She'll get back to you and all the videos are there. You're not going to lose access to them. You have lifetime access to them. So she will make sure that we get you connected back into the group. Um, welcome Becky, said she just joined. Jennifer said I'm sitting here with you crying. Sorry. No, I think good tears. I think, um, Linda, I would love for you to share a little bit as well.
Well, since I'm the last, my sisters there said a lot of, of, and I can just I can, uh, back that up some. Um, this is probably one of the most positive places, groups. I've been doing online stuff for years and years. I've dabbled in everything creative, and painting is something I didn't think I would ever be able to do. I'm kind of like Tony. I thought you were born with it. And if you weren't, then you couldn't do it. But I was always fascinated by it for several years now. And just like Toni said, I came across her fall challenge last year, and I thought, well, like she said, for $10, let's, let's try it, you know. I still have that picture hanging on my wall. I never take it down, and I cannot believe that I painted that picture. Just, that came from me. Never have painted anything ever in my life. And from there, things just grew into so much more. You get on and you post something and you're loved on to pieces. I mean, these are people that you've never met, you've never talked to, and they jump right on and they call you sister and they love on your post. If you ask for something, if you're not happy where you're at with something and you ask for advice, trust me, you're gonna get loads of it and it's all gonna be so positive. You will not get anything negative in this group ever. Ever. And I would dare say that if you did, Christie would boot them right out because that's how she feels. She said many times that she loves and protects us, and that's exactly what she does. And that's how I feel. It's— I'm not an extremely social person. I never have been. So Coronavirus has not been as hard on me as a lot of people, but I do love being social online. I, and I have made some beautiful friends on here. One of the girls in particular, she's quite a bit younger than me, but it's like we have so much in common and we, we talk almost daily. And we, we have coffee online together. We just chat, you know, FaceTime or something, and, and we air out some of our problems. We might, you know, who knows what we might do. We might paint together. Who, you know, it just, it's fun and it's, it's awesome to have somebody. Um, she doesn't live super far away from me, but it, you can have friends like that. I do from my from what, from my older days, I have a friend that I've had from online for 13 years now in Australia, and we still talk at least weekly. So you can't imagine what you can get from this, and I would never trade this in for anything, ever. It's been so much therapy for me. I have been Most of my life I've had a lot of depression. And my husband or anybody else will tell you, for the last year I've been happier than I've ever been. And that's worth more than any of the rest of it. Because when you're depressed and you feel so lonely and so out of control in your head, Um, it's like you have nowhere to escape. Well, when I paint, that's where I escape. Sometimes it gets on the family's nerves. They're like, you stay in there too long. But oh well, you like me happier, so right, that's my happy place. Um, and yes, that the fact that Christie brings in her faith That's wonderful for me too, because sometimes you feel like you've lost your way, and when you can get with like-minded people and be able to revel in God's presence, that is so uplifting. I was in tears yesterday, Christie Renee Hawkins, when you were talking, and it just, it made my day. I had shared with y'all yesterday morning what I was having a really, really bad day, but you have no idea what your live did for me yesterday. And you never know what you're going to get from this group, and it's always good, always. And like I said, I wouldn't trade anything. I did— I want to bring—
I brought props.
Okay, I heard, and I've said this so many times, I could never paint a stick figure before I met Christie Renee Hawkins. Well, here's an idea. Let me see if I can get it in my camera.
Can y'all see that? Oh, that's cute!
Get it right.
That's funny.
That's so cute.
I was using them—
I think, uh, that was a few weeks ago.
I don't know, maybe it was a month ago. I can't keep up with time anymore. But we were joking about that because, um, a lot of you, a lot of you guys say it. These ladies said it before, uh, you know, they joined, some of them. And people always say, well, I can't draw a stick figure. And I said, I am going to do a Facebook Live and I'm going to teach everyone to draw a stick figure so they can no longer say I can't draw a stick figure.
We're gonna have, uh, to do that. I said I have to do this when we go live a day. So that's awesome.
But I just—
yeah, that way I can, I can take—
no one can say that anymore. Yes, you can, and you can do so much more. I mean, I think about, um, you know, the mason jar that I did live, and this is free, you guys can find this on my YouTube channel. But where it's one of my most popular Pinterest, uh, pins and, uh, YouTube videos, but it was where I taught you guys how to do that, um, mason jar for Mother's Day. And you know, just like Tony was saying, it's not— well, I say it's like drawing with paint because I'm still teaching you to make a structure that I guarantee you most people thought there's no way I could ever paint a mason jar. And now, I mean, I see them everywhere, you know, in the free group, posted on Pinterest and everything else. So you definitely can. I, you know, I'll say it a million times, but I feel like we all have creativity inside of us. I feel like God instilled it in us because he created us in his image. And I feel like most of us just haven't tapped into it yet. And that maybe you just need a little nudge, maybe you need a little guidance. And that is, that is my purpose. And my purpose is to help you find that creativity inside of yourself. And find the joy that it can give you. And, you know, I don't know if anyone ever does this, but like when we were— I am a part of a business group called TRIBE also, and we did TRIBE Live in Canada last year, and we had to pick a word that was going to be our word for 2020, and my word was joy. And see, now I'm gonna start crying again. But God put that on my heart, and it became my intention and my passion for this year, was to bring joy and to spread joy. And that is how I lead with everything inside of this group, and that is my purpose of this group, is to, yes, teach you how to paint, but I want it to go further than that. I don't just want I don't just want, you know what I mean, to see the happiness and the joy that art can give you and also what it can give those around you. And, you know, Linda and I had talked before about the depression and anxiety, and it's something that I have struggled with my entire life as well. And there is just something so healing about art. And I mean, you can look up the research on how positive it is. And Linda, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but we had talked about this at one point, how, you know, I, I have no qualms about saying that I've seen a therapist, and I think therapy is hugely important. If you need to see a therapist to help you through things, then you definitely need to do that, but how art for you has been that additional therapy to help you get through some things as well.
Absolutely.
And Christie, I also would like to interject that I have struggled with anxiety and depression off and on. I lost my brother when he was 24, and I've struggled with that as well. And I have found the same thing what Linda said. This has brought me such a peace and a joy and a kind of a different kind of confidence that, that just an escape, a healthy escape to just be doing something that brings such happiness. And it's by far been the best therapy I've ever had. And so this tribe is priceless for me because I had considered suicide 2 times in my life. And so I just want to say that. I don't know why I was led to say that, but God told me I'm His and it wasn't my time to go. So somebody out there may be dealing with depression and all kinds of stuff. So I would just ask that, you know, just give something a try that may speak to your spirit in a different way than therapists are good, medicine is good, anything. And then there's also things we can do as a, as a hobby and a creative outlet. A lot of creatives struggle with anxiety and depression. It's just painters, songwriters. So find what speaks to your spirit. I just, I don't know, I was just led to say that. I've never— there's not very many people that know that about me. Now all the world knows. But But God, God has brought me out of each of those times. And, um, such a time as this.
Well, I mean, and, um, I think it's important to share. And I think if, uh, and I know this is kind of taking a segue, but we're gonna go where God leads us, right? Because I think a lot more people struggle with it than we talk about. And, you know, especially now, especially now with the isolation and separation. Sorry. You know, we, we all struggle with those feelings. And, you know, I have, you know, a past too of really, really struggling with it. But Um, I think it's important for you to pour into yourself and remember, um, that you matter, um, and that he loves you and he does have a purpose for you even if, uh, you haven't found it yet. I struggled for years, years to find my purpose. Um, just to continue to trust in him and pour into yourself. Um, I just want to say that like a lot of us as moms, grandmas, just women in general, we put everybody else first. We put everybody else's needs first. And at the end of the day, you can't pour more love into people if you don't pour love into yourself. And it's so important for you to take care of yourself. So, um, just remember that. And also know that inside this group, I talk about this a lot. I'm very protective of it, um, This is a private and safe group. Inside this group, if you feel like you need to share with your tribe sisters and you need prayer, that is a place that it is okay to ask for it and okay to share it. And you are going to get so many prayers and so many support back to you when you do do that. And I tease about it, I try to make lighthearted of it 'cause I don't wanna be mean, but we are a good vibes only. Group. And, and I'm serious about that. You know, I have been in a lot of groups, um, in a lot of communities, and I have seen what negativity can do to a group of people. And a few bad seeds can ruin it for the entire group, and it changes the entire dynamic of the group. Um, so it's not okay in our group, and I, I will put that out there first and foremost. If that tends to be your personality and you like drama and you like to stir things up, this group ain't for you. Um, it won't, it won't be allowed, and any negativity that is posted or put in the group will be deleted. Um, it's not a place for that. And it's a place to share art. It's a place to grow as an artist. It's a place to be in a community of women that you love and trust. And any customer service issues, not for the group. If you need help, definitely your tribe sisters will help you. If you have a customer service issue, that is what our email is for. Okay, that is not for the group. That is not to post. That's not to stir things up. So I am very, very clear about that. And I will continue to be very clear about that because I have been in enough groups to know what negativity can do. And again, it won't happen in this group, not on my watch. And the more women we come in, the bigger I want this love to spread, the more I want the joy to spread. And we want to welcome as many of you as we can. Into this, you know, inner tribe with us. But, um, I do want it to be filled with love and positivity because what we pour into each other is going to be what we pour out into the world. Um, so I don't know, ladies, what do you have to say? So let me ask you guys this, um, And we can just go around and we'll just go Helen, Linda, and Toni in that order. What would you say for ladies on the fence? You know, they have a few days left to decide whether they want to be a part of this and if this is the right fit for them. We talked about this in the tribe a few months ago, and it probably wasn't even that long ago, but I had asked in the group and so many amazing comments from you guys of what would be the one thing you would tell someone right now who's scared, who is scared they can't paint, who is scared like they're going to be the ones that it doesn't work for and they're scared to even take the first step. What would, what would be your advice to someone on the fence who's scared and worrying whether this is going to be the right fit for them or not? And Helen, I will start with you.
Okay, I think I kind of mentioned that this earlier on. Don't be afraid. And it's natural. I mean, all of us, we are our own worst critics. It's just human nature. Don't be afraid. If you, like I say, do like what a lot of folks have done, if you can do it for the first month, just sign up and you'll be amazed within those first few, you know, just the first few days even. Pick up, pick up some inexpensive supplies. It doesn't have to cost you a lot. Lot, like Christie said. You get you a mixed media pad, just paper. It doesn't have to be anything. Typing paper would be fine, you know, a computer, computer paper. I just showed my age there. You know, some paintbrushes, some 50-cent Walmart Apple Barrel paints. That's all, that's all you need. And just go along with— you follow along, follow along with the videos. You can pause it and go back and just keep, keep practicing. You will amaze yourself. And say, if you can Just, just do it for even just for a month, you know, because you're not under any commitment then, you know, you can cancel at any time if in fact, you know, you don't feel it's for you. But trust me, you, you will love it. You know, they say don't, don't be afraid to take that first step and just know you've got lots of love and support and help here at any time with any questions or, you know, things you're not sure about. So just take that first step through that door and you will not regret it.
Awesome. Linda?
Uh, yeah, just like Helen said, don't be afraid. Don't— I was afraid, I will admit that. Um, it took me a couple of weeks before I actually would take that paintbrush and put it on a canvas, but once you realize that it's just a canvas, you can paint right over it. Um, if you don't like it. Um, but, and, and if you realize that everybody started in one, in the beginning, and you will be surprised that at in the beginning what you can do, and then a year later you're looking at it and you're thinking, wow, now I'm— yes, you should always be happy with where you're at in your process. Because every time you paint, you're going to be a little better each time. And I have people that want to buy my paintings from me now. I post something and I immediately get people saying, oh, is that one for sale? Can I buy that one? Who, whoever thought that somebody would ask me to buy something that I painted? When one year ago I'd never put a paintbrush on a canvas, a piece of paper, or anything. It's just— and the feeling, oh my. And you have the option to try and then cancel. That's all I can say. Try it. Try it.
You won't—
you won't be sorry. You won't be sorry. I know that probably not every single person in, in the world it would be for. But for us ladies, if you're in here, you're— if you're watching, then you have a creative mind because you wouldn't be here if you didn't, right? You wouldn't be wanting to try. So do it. Just do it. Let's be Nike and just—
right? I love that. Okay, Tony, I'm gonna unmute you now.
I guess I just have pretty much said I just jumped in. I didn't even buy a mixed media pad. I just jumped in and did the canvas and just started painting on canvas. And I just thought, I'm a Type A, and so I didn't even— I promised myself with the challenge that I would just go forth and learn and not, not be so wound up in having to be perfect. This is probably the first time in my 56 years of life that I let the Type A go away because I kept hearing Christie's voice. And I will tell you now, if you join her and you're with her very long, you'll be painting on your own and I can hear her voice say, let go, let loose. Because every time I think I can't be challenged more, the Funky Fall Flowers totally challenged me. I felt the Type A coming out and I was like, I heard Christie say, Just let go, just let loose, be messy. And I was like, okay. And I have to say, each time I do what she says, I enjoy it even more than I thought possible. And so you don't just learn. I mean, it's been a year and a half, over a year and a half, and I still just— it amazes me when I get all excited. I tell her every time she paints something, oh, I love that one. I love that one. It's a joke because I love them all. And when I think I can't love one more, I love it again. So if you are sitting on the fence, I just would say, what is a month? Helen said it. What is, what is a month just to see if it really does do for you what we are saying? Because we are on here because we love it. We are on here because we love each other. I have gotten some of the best friends I hadn't even gotten to lay eyes on in person. But I love them, I pray for them, I care for them. Um, their hurts are my hurts. I mean, I just feel like we've known each other longer than just online or in a group. So if you're on the fence, I just would encourage you just to try it if you've ever wanted to paint. And I will just do this one little plug: my goal this year was to learn how to draw and not use the templates. I just want y'all I did the owl and I drew it. I did not even trace the template. I'm so excited. And that's a big thing for me because I am one of those people that said I couldn't draw a stick figure for my whole life. And for me to be able to sit and draw and just do it without a template, I just know that there's other people out there that can do it too. I just know you're, you're in the same boat as a lot of us. And you think you can't do it, but I know you can, because if I can, anyone can. Give it a try. What do you have to lose? What you have to gain, I will just say this, what you have to gain is a lot more. Please don't let fear, please don't let fear keep you from something that could help you out of it. Maybe you are struggling. I am a hugger, so I am going to tell you, the struggle has been real for me this year. The struggle has been, I am an extrovert. My mother is an extrovert. I mean, we are huggers. We're like, you know, we love people. And I'm telling you, the struggle is real. But if you're out there and you need something to, to help you along the way, I know it's not medicine in a bottle, but it is paint in a paint bottle and a brush. And it will do things for you you can't even imagine. It will. It will do. So just give it a whirl. What do you have to lose?
I'm going to open it up to questions from those of you watching. If you have any questions for me or for the tribe sisters, if you want to post those, I would— we would love to answer those questions for you. And I just want to say welcome. I'm trying to, you know, keep up with the comments over here and listen to the ladies, but so many of you you've joined and just want to welcome you and we're so excited to have you as a new tribe sister. One question I did see, well, Cheryl said, how on tribe? Megan is our community manager and she did put that up in our units in the tribe Facebook group, but they're being taught on this page, like on the Social Easel page. We're doing that open to the public. This whole week. I'll be doing another one this afternoon. Um, I've got to plug my computer back in, hang on before it dies. I, uh, I gotta see what my schedule is. Corey needs my help today. We have a— we're working on our backyard and trying to get it ready before Kylie's birthday party, and he's got about 3 tons of gravel in the front that he needs help shoveling. So I gotta do that and paint with you guys today, so I don't have my exact schedule yet. But someone was asking also about if you can make money at this, and the answer is absolutely. So there are so many, so many success stories inside this tribe of women who came in much like Linda said, you know, she couldn't even paint and now she's selling paintings. Another Linda who couldn't be here with us this morning Same thing, never painted before. Now she's teaching kids paint parties in her town, and she's like known for being the paint lady. She never even painted before. Um, Helen has, has an Etsy store up now where she's selling her original art pieces she's done in Tribe. She's putting them on product. Like, you guys, it's like limitless. Um, if you want to teach paint parties, you have the rights to use my designs for in-person paint parties. So if you don't want to come up with your own ideas, you can use the Inner Tribe paintings to teach at local paint nights. The only stipulation I have is you cannot teach them online. So none of my designs can be taught online in any, you know, way, shape, or form. But yes, there are multiple, multiple ways to make money by, by learning and growing in this group. And we have, we have trainings inside the group on Etsy. From Damon Oates, who's my business coach. We have training from Heidi Easley on how to do paint parties. She's one of my best friends. We have— I don't know, there's so much information in there, and that is part of what you get in TRIBE. So everything— and I haven't seen any questions yet, I'm gonna, I'm gonna come back to those. But just to give you an overview of what you do get in TRIBE, you get 3 paintings per month with me. These are taught live in our Facebook group. We may get a pre-recorded one every now and then if I'm traveling, um, but you get 3 brand new paintings each month with me, and then you get a guest artist or guest speaker. That is all monthly content that goes into our private Facebook group. In addition to that, the Painting of the Month Club, um, is a separate membership I have for $20 a month. That is included as a Tribe Sister. So whatever painting I have in Painting of the Month Club This month, it's a fall chapel, which was Linda's first painting. I don't know if you have that there, Linda. You can hold it up if you do. But, um, that fall chapel is included as a Tribe Sister as well. And then we have an entire membership website with over 75 tutorials. Look at it! This is her fall chapel. That was the very first painting, right?
Yes, I did it in my mixed media pad too first. Yeah, and I still haven't bought a frame for it. I should, but I do have it hanging on my wall.
I just took it down. But you get, um, you get the Painting of the Month Club included. You get our entire membership website, um, where you log in on our website and you have access to all the tutorials I've ever done in Tribe for the past 2 and a half years. Technique videos, live Q&As, all that stuff. So we have our— we have— TRIBE is hosted in two different places. We have our website where the vault and everything is, and then we have our Facebook group where the community and where I teach live is. And if you missed the live yesterday, I did an entire behind the scenes with that where I walked you guys through, um, what that all looks like. So if you don't know what I'm talking about right now, go back to videos on my page and you will see, see that there. Um, let me— I'm gonna unmute you guys really quick and see if there's any other questions for you. Welcome, just joined this morning. Hey, Miss Marlis. Um, someone— where did it go? Just lost your comment. Um, um, yes, that is correct. I don't know your name, it's just saying Facebook user, but she said, so does that mean we cannot use your art in virtual paint parties? That is correct, you cannot. Um, and I understand that given where you are, a lot of places are opening back up, people are able to do paint parties again, some are not. What you learn inside of my tribe is to teach you to become a better artist. It's not just for you to come in just solely for the designs. My goal is to help you become a better artist so you can create your own work that you can then use for your virtual paint parties. So we have a new series that we've done, what, 3 or 4 so far, called Learn the Process, where you get to go behind the scenes with me. I teach you how to make your own still life so you can turn that into your own painting, and then you can teach that virtually online. So my again, is to help you find your own voice, your own art, your own style, so that you can turn around and teach that to others. Awesome. Sharla said she joined for a month, but she's joining for a year.
Well, welcome!
That's so exciting. Um, is there a page of the month club? Yes, Dawn, just socialeasel.com and see that option there. Um, let's see if there's any— welcome, Kate, this is awesome, I'm signing up right now!
Yay!
Um, sorry, you're looking at anything, you can answer them too. Okay, yes, I did not get to do the second owl painting last night because I had a migraine, so I'm gonna be doing that this afternoon. I'm guessing around 2 or 3. I've just got to check with Corey and see what our schedule's like, and then I'll be teaching again tonight at 8:30 PM. Um, Sharon said, I love the process. Awesome, I'm glad.
Hey, uh, Connie, uh, Readers asked if she joined this morning, she's a Tribe Sister. Yes, if you joined this morning, you're a Tribe Sister. They've got to manually put you in. So she asked if her question could be answered, so I just wanted to let her know.
Yes. So yeah, once you sign up, you'll see a thank you page and you will get a welcome email. If you're not seeing that welcome email, make sure you're checking your spam and promotions folder because it's sent to whatever email address you put in. So if you typed your email in correctly, it is sent automatically. That's, that's just an automatic thing the system does for us. And that welcome letter sends you the login to the website, it sends you a link to the Facebook group, it explains things to you so you know where to go from there. Um, the first thing you will want to do is request to join the Facebook group. And like Tony was saying, that's a manual process because we have lots of people request to join who are not paying members. So we have to manually go in, you know, you have to answer the questions. Make sure if you, if you request to join and you don't answer the questions, you'll get denied immediately because we have to pull up your email and your name and check our systems and make sure you're a paying member, and then you get added to the group. So we do that throughout the day. So yeah, just be patient. That's not an immediate thing. You do get, as soon as you sign up, you can log straight into the website. You don't have to wait for for anything on that. You create your password when you sign up. So when you're typing in your email address and it asks you to create a password, that's what you're using to log into the website, and you get immediate access to that. I do a walkthrough video that shows you how to do all those things. Um, so we're trying to get everyone to go— when you are in the Facebook group, the first place I want you to go is the Getting Started units, and it's going to answer all your questions. We've got a checklist, we've got videos to show you where everything is and all that good stuff. Um, Ella said, if you join for a month, can you change to a year? Yes. So all you would have to do is just email customer service and Jen will end your monthly and then you will start your yearly from there. Um, Sharla, we have a list of like paint colors are specific to each painting. Um, if— oh, Linda said her iPad died. Yeah, as far as like what you need to get started, um, I'll just go over the basics really quick. Um, you can go to my Amazon store and I have a list of my favorite supplies. Um, comment the word info. I'm making this more complicated than it is. Comment the word info if you want more information and you're gonna get a message from me in Messenger. And it's, uh, and then when you reply yes to that message, you're going to get all these links that I'm talking about. Um, but your basics are just a set of brushes, synthetic brushes made for acrylic painting, whatever craft paints you want to get started with, any brand. Um, you need a mixed media pad or canvases. You do not need to buy any expensive canvases. I'm talking the value packs. So you go to Hobby Lobby or Michaels or online, wherever you order from, um, just get the value packs. These shouldn't cost you more than, what, $2, $2.50 apiece, something like that, when you buy them in those packs. Um, and then what am I forgetting? There's not much that you need really to, to get started. Um, uh, Christie said, how should we go about asking for suggestions for our own original artwork? Do you mean, um, suggestions from your audience? Or, I mean, you— if that's what you mean, I mean, I would just put feelers out there. Like, I do that in the tribe and kind of ask you guys what you want to paint next, um, and kind of get some ideas. But, um, Christie, if you haven't gone, um, through some of the Learn the Process videos yet inside, um, The Inner Tribe, that's in the Facebook group. They haven't been put on the website yet because they're just the most recent videos. That will hopefully help you, where I talk to you about how to, how to create your own art based off— we used an owl for an example when I taught this, and how you can take from ideas you see in the store, ideas you see on Pinterest, other paintings. You don't ever want to copy another artist's painting. You don't want to copy one off Pinterest, just so you guys know. That's not okay. That's somebody else's artwork.
Work.
You're not allowed to do that for paint parties. You will— you can get sued, and those people will contact you if they find out that you've taken their art and are selling it for your art classes. So FYI, you can't do that. But you want to take all those ideas and then take what you like. We have, like Heidi says it, Tamara says it, it's called Frankensteining your artwork together and taking pieces and ideas from a lot of different places and making them your own. Um, Pam said, I just buy a variety of sizes and shapes. Yeah, so a lot of people ask, like, do I paint— the ladies are probably like, no, Christie paints on everything. Um, all the time. I don't ever stick, you guys. I'm like, uh, you know, my brain is all over the place. This day I might want to paint on a square, tomorrow it's going to be a rectangle, the next day it may be a palette board. So, um, you can, you can start with a mixing pad. Again, you don't have to have all these things, but I don't have a set specific, um, list of supplies that I use because it changes all the time depending on what I'm doing. And start small. Do not feel like you need to like go to the store and like just load your cart up with a million things. Uh, comment the word info if you need, if you need more information. Did I miss any other? Did you guys see any, Toni?
I haven't seen any.
Yes, Candy said we do have an app. I know there's been some confusion about this, but we have an app where you can access the website. It's called Kajabi, and you can just download that on your iPhone or your iPad, and it just makes viewing a little bit easier through the app, but you don't have to have that to to get going. Um, Beatty said, as a teacher, this class has helped me see our future in this while distance— while in the new distance learning. I'm going to pull your thing up. Thank you so much. Awesome. Thank you.
Thank you.
Um, Christie said, can I post my original works Yes, you can post, um, your original works inside the Inner Tribe. And I'm actually glad you brought that up because— and we'll talk about this inside Tribe. Um, what you can do inside Tribe is if you're taking lessons from another artist— um, sorry, I don't know why that comment's up there— um, if you're taking lessons from another artist online, you don't want to post those inside Tribe because it gets super confusing. And then people are like, where's that from? Oh, well, that's from someone else. And then it just We had this happen and it just was a hot mess. So your original work, um, or you can post from the teachings that I do inside Tribe. Paula said— I don't know, Paula, um, I thought I saw the questions. Let me scroll back up and see if I can find yours. You can type it again. It's true, me scrolling, I'm not seeing Paula, I am not seeing a question from you, so if you post it again. Um, Glenda said no more early. Early bird ended on Monday night, but I did decide there is a bonus that I've decided to do this time, um, that I normally don't do. So anyone that sign up for Tribe and you didn't get to paint this with us. Everyone who becomes a Tribe Sister is going to get this lesson. This is a 5-day, uh, painting challenge I just did before we opened the doors. All new Tribe Sisters are going to get access to that. So if you missed it, you're gonna have it. We're getting it uploaded into the library, and you're going to get that as your bonus for becoming a Tribe Sister. Connie said to join. So that, uh, Connie, it sounds like you were not on the right place. You're asking to join a group, so it's Christie's Inner Tribe. It's a Facebook group that you're asking to join, and you had a link in an email, but, um, I don't have that address right now, but you can email customer service Just comment the word info. You don't know our customer service email, and it will, it will send it back to you and tell you who to email. Paula said, is it possible to set my future monthly payments for the 3rd of every month? Um, what day are we on?
The 30th today.
Um, your first payment, if you did that, um, it would just— you would be paying 2 pretty close together. So like That would be your, um, we're in September, right?
And we're almost through October.
I know, I'm like, I can't keep up. And then you would just be paying October earlier to reset that on the 3rd. And that is something Jen can do for you. We have to manually go in and change that, but it would just make 2 of your payments closer together, and then it would be the 3rd ever after that. Welcome, Tony, said she's joining now. Ella said, what do I need to do to sign up? Just comment the word, um, info, Ella, and you're going to get a link. You're going to get a message with the link, and then you just click that link to join Christie's Inner Tribe, and it will have all the details there for you. It tells you everything that you get. If I missed anything today, uh, you know, that page is going to give you all the information. Okay, Connie said, thank you, I paid and ran right here. Yeah, it's it. Check your emails, always check spam. Um, man, I wish we could control that and there was a way to make email go exactly where we wanted it to go. That's the biggest struggle. That's the biggest struggle is people not getting their emails. Um, Karen said, can you still get 2 months, uh, off when you say— yes, Karen. I'm not sure if you already joined and you're switching or if you're asking. If you join for a year, a 1-year contract is $470 for the year and you get 2 months for free. So you have the option to start in the front. This is non-refundable, so you are committing. That's a 1-year contract. If you decide 4 months later you don't want to do it, you, you are not going to get a partial refund for that. So that is a 1-year commitment. Um, if you did sign up monthly and you want to switch to yearly, you just email customer service and Jen will switch you over. And then from— you pay— like, you won't get a refund for your monthly that you already paid, but then that Next payment will switch to yearly, and then you're good for the next 12 months after that, but you're only paying for 10 of them. Um, Wanda, type in— like, you have a search bar in your email— type in The Social Easel, or type in Welcome Tribe Sister. Um, sometimes even when people search and they can't find them, if they use their search bar and type that in, they'll pop right up. Brandy said, love how organized all your stuff is. You could come up with a word for us to type for us to get our magic. That'd be awesome, wouldn't it? We were talking about— and this total side note— we were talking about adding some extra hashtags into the group though to make it easier, um, for you guys and for the team to answer questions regarding a certain subject matter. Um, right now we have a hashtag #ask And whenever you hashtag ask or go to that post inside of our group, team members like these ladies, Helen and Toni, are both mentors in the group. They get a notification that there was a question so that they, they can see that quicker. So just FYI. All right, I think if there are no other questions, we're gonna jump off. Thank you guys so much for joining me. It was fun to get to hang out and talk.
And thank you for having us.
Yes, I'm glad you were able to do it. Shelley, just comment the word info, and when that message comes back, it will send you a reply. Yes, it will send you our customer service email. It's my name, it's Christie@thesocialeasel.com, but sometimes people misspell Christie. So easier for you to just type the word info and then you can just copy and paste it from that message. Um, yes, thank you, Maureen. Love— I love hearing these stories. So tomorrow, um, morning at 11, we're gonna have another group of Tribe Sisters come on, and these women are— we're kind of talking about the different, um, success levels of, um, inside the group. And what I mean by that is we just have different stages of people. You may be an excited newbie, a budding artist, a polished painter, creative genius. We've got 4 different categories, and depending on how much you've done in painting kind of categorizes where you're at. Tomorrow we are going to be interviewing ladies who have either turned this into a business and how they've been able to take what they've learned in TRIBE and turn it into a profitable business, or ladies— you don't have to turn— I want to make that— a lot of people say, well, do I have do this as a business? No, no, no, no, not at all. This is— you can just do this for painting and enjoyment and therapy and all the good things that art does. Um, but we have women who, like Helen— um, you guys know who I'm talking about, Helen Holtz in our group. Um, she is a phenomenal artist. Now she has been painting for like 35 years, so again, realize that some of the people's stuff you're looking at in the tribe, they have had previous painting experience because we're from all levels. But she's going to come in and share, and some of the— excuse me— some of the other ladies who have turned this into multiple businesses in totally different facets, how they've taken that. So that interview is going to be tomorrow at 11, and, uh, and then we will do our very last paint night live on this page tomorrow at 8:30 PM, and then we will be closing doors at midnight tomorrow. Um, Cheryl said to use an easel should the chair I actually paint flat most of the time. What do you guys do?
Paint flat? Well, yeah, most of the time. Well, yeah, paint flat.
I think most of the time I paint flat most of the time because I want to turn it around.
Yeah, you can definitely use it. I mean, I have a standing easel that you guys have seen me paint on. Um, do a tabletop easel also. Um, but it's really whatever you're comfortable with. Um, and try it both ways and see which way you like painting. I mean, when I used to use an easel just at my kitchen table, um, which is all I had when I started out painting at home, I sat at the countertop or the kitchen table. I just propped up my tabletop easel and pulled up a chair. So, um, and that was the way I taught when I did paint parties as well. All right, all right, ladies. Thank you again. Um, just comment the word info if you missed anything and you'll get a message from me, and hopefully it will answer all your questions. I, um, will notify you if you want a text alert when I go live, since I don't have my exact schedule yet. I'm gonna see what my day holds, and then I'm gonna make my schedule and tell you guys when I'm gonna paint that owl that I didn't do last night. You can text, um, 417— I'm going to type it in 417-217-7044. And this is a direct text to me. Um, it is not for customer service, that's what email is for. This is for text alerts, or if you want to share your, you know, most recent painting with me, if you did the fall challenge, like fun stuff. Um, so, but if you text that number um, and then you will get text alerts next time I go live so you don't miss them. All right, ladies, that's it, and I'll talk to you soon. We'll paint this afternoon and this evening. Bye, girls!
