The Social Easel LIVE Painting Event

Sharing a behind the scenes look at The Social Easel LIVE, my first live painting event – but not my last!

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Earlier this month, I was blessed to host the first-ever Social Easel LIVE! I wanted to take you behind the scenes and share with you all the things that made this an unforgettable time. 

It’s hard to put into words what the Social Easel LIVE event meant to me and my family. It was beyond amazing to get to meet and paint and have fun with over 100 ladies from all over the United States at one of my favorite places on earth, Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri. I’ve dreamed about having a LIVE event for years and that dream always included Big Cedar! It was the perfect venue and everything happened just the way I envisioned it. 

God gave us the most beautiful sunsets and weather each day! The view from the conference center was amazing! 

Line dancing, fireworks, and an Oprah moment, Christie style.

We kicked the event off with a huge country party at Arnie’s Barn on Top of the Rock. I hired a live country band and we danced and ate and got to know each other. The night ended with a bang in the form of a surprise firework show out on the balcony overlooking the chapel and water. It was magical!  

One of my favorite moments happened during our first morning together on day two. I’ve always wanted to have a big “Oprah  moment.” You know… “You get a car and you get a car!” 😅 

No, everyone at the event did not get a car. But…we did give every single woman in that room an easel handmade by my husband Corey! The ladies were over the moon excited – some even shed tears. Corey was happy to honor requests to sign some of the easels. He was certainly one of the stars of the event! 

Corey put so many hours into building an easel for each woman and it was so fun to watch the surprise unfold. The ladies were truly appreciative and I’m thankful for my amazingly supportive husband who was willing to make this part of my dream a reality! 

More than painting together.

For the next two days we painted, created and worked on all kinds of fun projects!

This event was much more than just painting, though. My vision for a LIVE event was to create an experience for these special women they would never forget – a combination of art (of course) and fellowship. 

Members of my painting membership, Christie’s Inner Tribe, are called Tribe Sisters. And that’s what they truly are to each other. I wanted to bring some of those same feelings of encouragement, support, love and FUN to a LIVE event! The result was truly more than I even dared to hope for. The women I met and the stories they shared with me will stay with me for a lifetime. 

Click here to learn more about what makes a painting membership special.  

Sharing my dream with the ones I love most.

My friends and family were able to be with me for The Social Easel LIVE and witnessed the vision become reality. It was so special! My daughter Kiley even got to come home from college to be the photographer at my event. My youngest daughter Sophie was the best little helper and even jumped in and painted along for one of the projects. 

I was further blessed to have my best girls right by my side. My presenters and best friends Kasey, Tamara, Heidi, and Cindy all did an amazing job and the ladies loved their projects. Stacy handled the product booths and had so many great things for the ladies to choose from. Coach Kiah was the best emcee and made the whole event one big party. 

God’s plans are bigger (and better) than mine.

This event was a beautiful reminder that God‘s plan is so much bigger than mine. I love that He has been able to use art as a way for me to reach out to other ladies. Who would have thought that a paint night with 10 little girls for Kiley‘s 10th birthday would someday turn into this? My dream of being an artist has become a reality, but in a much different and more beautiful way than I ever imagined! 

During The Social Easel LIVE, we not only share our love for painting but our love for God! None of this would be possible without Him and ALL the glory goes to him. I’m in awe of his love and blessings every day! 

Friendships bloomed among paint and prayers.

So many of the ladies who attended my LIVE event shared stories with me about how painting has helped them overcome so many issues in their lives. Painting truly is healing for the soul and when it’s combined with a supportive, open-hearted community of women? Well, that’s when the magic happens. Most of the women came not knowing one other person and left with a group of new friends! 

My heart is overflowing with gratitude and love for all the ladies who took the time out of their lives and traveled all those miles for us to be together. We prayed together, laughed together, danced together, and of course painted together! We packed so much fun into those three days and made lots of memories. It was amazing to finally put faces to the names that I’ve seen on Facebook for many years and to be able to hug their necks in person!

Thank you to everyone who was a part of this experience. You made it truly special to me and my family!