Progress is a Process
Whoa, has it really been over a year since my last post??? Gosh, time really flies. Within the past six months, my life has gone through many big changes. I quit my day job in March and went on a much needed vacation in Thailand. I’m now going through a divorce, but as much as it has been difficult, it has helped me grow as an individual and I am more in tuned with who I am than ever before.
My plan after quitting my job was to pursue more creative endeavors. The 9-5 grind was just not for me. I wanted to open up shop on Etsy.com and sell whatever creative projects I felt like making that people would want to buy. I started to learn how to crochet with the help of my friend Kim, and grew to really like it. So far I’ve made a baby blanket and a purse, but because I’m still getting used to keeping the each stitch consistent, these items won’t be going on Etsy but served as good practice projects. For now I crochet at my leisure to continue improving my skill and right now I’m currently working on a big throw blanket.
In the meantime, I am working part-time once a week to help my mom with administrative tasks for my family’s real estate business. We decided to make Mondays our work days, and on Tuesdays we would do arts and crafts together. For the past month we worked diligently to turn half of her family room into a craft space, complete with a large crafting table, sewing table and shelving organized with arts and craft supplies.
I also rearranged the furniture in my apartment to create more space to work on paintings. In the past week, I finally completed a painting for my friends Taryn and Zac’s baby nursery.
Giraffe – 2013, Acrylic on Canvas, Triptych 72″x30″
And I helped my friend work on his painting project and completed two small paintings. That’s 3 paintings in one week!
Although I haven’t opened my Etsy shop yet, I’ve been trying to focus more on how to get there and what to do to make it happen. I started to get discouraged thinking about all the what-if’s and worried about failing before I even started making an effort toward my goals. Going to therapy and attempting to keep myself more grounded has helped me realize it’s the little steps along the way that will lead me to success. I can’t expect to accomplish everything overnight, so I have to make sure I have the tools, space, and skills to create quality work to sell. I am tired of just talking about my ideas and dreams, and I am finally ready to do whatever it takes to make them real!
Once my mom and I are finished setting up our craft station, we plan to have a big arts and crafts party to celebrate. I read in a magazine recently that it easy to be overcome by our fears, but if you celebrate the little accomplishments throughout your day in addition to the big ones, it will help you feel more productive and motivate you to keep taking steps forward. So I’m taking things one step at a time with a clear focus on my ultimate goal to open my Etsy shop and share my creativity with the world. Wish me luck!
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Wishing you the best of luck and that you will continue to receive all the love and support needed to keep reaching your goals.