Do what you Love, and Love what you Do….

I thought it would be a fun little tid bit to give you a look into my world… and how I grew to where I am today (I am nothing amazing, but surely a wonderful ride!)

Who am I?  I am Tracy Joy… and I am an average 34 yr old woman.  I worked corporate for 12 years, until I had my first child in 2006… when I quit my 9-5 to be a stay at home mom.  I love to work, I love to be busy, I cant sit still… so after my son was born, I found myself pondering the thought that I “missed” work. How could that be… work isn’t fun, not something we look forward to on a regular basis… right?   So, I decided to do something I enjoyed… I loved to sew, I loved photography, and I LOVED to write!  In fact, creative writing was the major “factor” in my high scho0l years, graduated with honors in creative writing.

So how could I do what I LOVED… and make it an every day “job” for myself?

I’m a self described DORK… and Artsy Fartsy dweeb… yep, that’s me!  Here is a peek at part of my 52w project, from 2008…..

I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY…

I LOVE PROPS….

and I LOVE TO WRITE!!!!

In the beginning of my SAHM’ship, I had no money, not one cent.  I grabbed some things around my house that were “collectible”, or at least someone else might think so, and I put them up on Ebay… with the little money I gained through that, I bought some clearance fabric at my local store… and started to sew!  I made bags, every kind of bag I could think of… all my own patterns, just cutting and sewing… people started to comment on them, so I opened up a free shop on www.Etsy.com and to my excitement… they started to sell!   With each sale, I bought more fabric and created more bags… started taking on custom orders for clients.  Through my etsy shop, I was contacted to do a custom bag… a camera bag, for a professional photographer.  She loved the bags I created already, but just wanted padding them for camera protection.  So I did just that…. and she told all her friends… and their friends… and so on. Before I knew it… I was waist deep into the photography world… a place I was always fond of.  PHOTOGRAPHY….

Saving those “sewing” dollars… I bought my first dslr… my happy little Canon Rebel Xti!

Here is one of my first, and still favorite, shots… my daughter at 6 mos
It has so many “errors & flaws” when I look at it now (lol)… but this is why I knew I loved photography… these little faces peering back at me…
and I LOVE this tiny hat (it was my first prop buy, and still in my collection*from PDX Beanies!)

Figuring out what it IS that you love… and turning it into what you DO.

When I was a little girl, and my teachers asked  me “Tracy, what do you want to be when you grow up“, I would say.. AN ARTIST!!!!
I loved art, all forms… I knew when I was “big” that I wanted to do something creative, artistic… making things that people would love, and give them a smile on their faces.  However, we all know…. growing up, being an “artist” isn’t one of the easiest careers to make it in and be successful… so it went on the back burner, and I did a small “stint” in college for Fashion Design.  However, when things came to full circle in my life, back in 2008 after my daughter was born… it was perfect timing.

I knew what I wanted to do… I wanted to be a photographer… and I wanted it BAD!

I started shooting my kids, friends kids… friends of friends kids… every time realizing more and more how much I LOVE LOVE LOVED photography.   As they say, practice makes perfect… and I am still far from perfect, but each shoot I take I learn something new… never fearing to ask my fellow photographer friends for their cc (that’s constructive criticism peeps), and learning from my own mistakes.

From my sewing obsession…. led me into my photography obsession…. which unintentionally led me to my unknown PROP OBSESSION!!!
I loved props… the more I had, the happier I was to shoot!

Here is a shot of my kids from “now a days”!
I’m still using props (for sure!)

I joke with my buddy Susanne… and we laugh together when shopping in home goods departments now a days…. we dont think “Oh, that would be cute on my table“… we think “OH, can a baby fit in that?“  lol
A true prop junkie sees everything as a prop…E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

So, with my new prop intoxication…
I remembered how much I LOVED to write… and how much fun it would be to share all of my prop finds (since I was always on the hunt), with other mom’togs and photographers alike…

There was born PROP INSANITY!
I talked to my friend and fellow photographer, Gina Neary, and told her my idea and asked if she’d be interested in joining me…
We literally took the idea, and launched it within a few weeks!

We knew we had something fun and fresh… and wanted to jump on it  and share it with the WORLD!
We started small, with just a simple blogger site with flickr group… sharing with our friends and colleagues…. and here we are today, with over 4,000 regular daily readers and approx 12,000 hits!

I am living proof that you can LOVE WHAT YOU DO, AND DO WHAT YOU LOVE… every day of your life!

So dont sit back in 2011… JUMP ON IT and make a change for YOU!
Here are a few simple steps to help you get motivated…  keep them in mind throughout each day…

1) Figure it out what it is that you LOVE, and make an effort to incorporate it into your every day
If you love photography… make a point to visit a great site (like clickinmoms) and learn a new tool, or idea each and every day…
If you love to craft… set aside a little bit of time every day, or every other, to stitch or knit away and enjoy your hobby… it will make you SMILE!

2) JUMP IN FEET FIRST, not head first….
If you have a great idea, jump on it!  Dont wait for anyone else to grab it from you… it’s your idea, run with it!
However small you start, it IS a start and that is a wonderful thing.
Sitting around waiting for something to “happen” wont get you far…
it will only prolong your goal…
However, dont jump in over your head… leave time for YOU… and especially your family.
So many of us can forget those important daily bits of “goodness”, dont let them slip by you.

3) Don’t be afraid to make mistakes… they are great learning tools.
Put yourself out there… make friends and network with other like you.
Ask your peers for constructive criticism and dont be afraid to ask them how did “this or that”,
it’s not only a great learning tool for you… but for them as well.

Lastly… always remember…
4) Don’t be hard on yourself, remember why you are doing it all…
because you LOVE IT!
Not every story will end in fame or fortunes….
You might not be the #1 photographer in your area…
Or the most sought after knitter on Etsy…
but you WILL end each day with the most important goal dream…

the happiness and satisfaction of doing what you LOVE!

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Filed under: Props & Stuff, Uncategorized, Us by Tracy Joy