Wanna “Hangout” With Me?

I mentioned in my last post how I’m re-branding my online sites. No, nothing is different here . . . yet. But the wheels are moving, ok? A major component in building your brand is writing a Mission Statement. I’ve been painting for over 17 years, teaching for 10, blogging for nearly 3 and I’ve never written a Mission Statement.

Big mistake. Big, BIG mistake. (name that movie.)

Brittany, one of my blogging besties, prodded me to write one, like, months ago. Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it. But I never did. And then May happened. And then I had to reevaluate my life and what I wanted to do. Paint? Write? Teach? I needed to write a Mission Statement. It took some time, and a lot of thought, but I finally came up with this -

Encouraging and inspiring others to discover the joy of self-expression thru art and crafts

Ahhh. When I read that it feels . . . perfect. It just fits. Painting? Yeah, partly. Writing? Sure. Teaching? Uh-huh. Combine them all so others discover their own joy. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

For example, the other day I received a sweet comment from Debbie at Homemaking Dreams with a link to one of her posts.

When I clicked over and saw this pic I squealed out loud. That’s my sunflower tutorial on her laptop! Yaaaaay! Someone is actually trying this stuff.

Debbie didn’t just ‘try’ it, she painted this awesome sunflower! *happy dance, happy dance*

What I love most is that she made it HERS. ‘Self-expression’, my friends. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

So here’s another commitment I’m making. To you, ok? Starting this August I’ll hold weekly Hangouts on Google+. A ‘hangout’ is a live video chat. Live! But here’s the best part – 9 people can join the hangout and ask questions, tell me their issues, or just shoot the breeze. Nine!

But what if you don’t wanna shoot the breeze? No worries. You can just watch the Hangout on Google+. And if the scheduled time doesn’t jive with your schedule, I can record it and upload it to YouTube and you can watch it whenever. Cool beans, huh?

Yeah, I’m really excited about this. Even more so because it was one of Marlon’s dreams that I’d teach painting via webinars. Alright, so these aren’t exactly ‘webinars’. Yet. But one day, who knows?

So if you’d like to ‘hangout’ with me all you need to do is 1) join Google+ and 2) tell me what tutorials or tips you’d like to see.

I’m thinking Fall projects. I know, I know, it’s only July. But before you know it, the holidays will be here. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some decorations painted, or maybe even some gifts done?

You let me know what you think though. This is for YOU and what YOU want. Me? I’m on a mission, my friends. A mission to inspire and encourage you.

Just like how Debbie inspired and encouraged me. Yeah, I kinda see it as a win-win situation. What d’ya think?