The Work Behind the Fun

It may come as a surprise, but the art of crafting necessitates a lot of research and hard work in the pursuit of perfecting one's "craft."  There is a constant search for perfection, at least on my part.  There is market research, learning how to use various types of social media, actively posting and expanding a social media following, learning how to troubleshoot creative issues, finding the most efficient and effective methods to achieve your results, and of course, making time to do the actual crafting and photographing of your latest creations. 

In this respect, the countless hours I have spent learning how to conduct and conducting legal research, as well as my background in Communication seem to pay off heavily.  There is a constant thirst for knowledge and the security of knowing that I can find the answer so long as it is out there.  I once spent a few months searching for a particular type of molding compound.  All I knew was the color of the compound, no more and no less.  I searched for the compound on and off again whenever I had some spare time, and I found it!  Not only did I find it, but I also located a supplier to sell it to me from overseas!

The result of fun time! One of the new hairstyles I created over the weekend.

In all honestly, that's the not the first time that I've gone on a seemingly wild goose chase for something that caught my interest.  In college, I researched and contacted the number one Japanese nail sticker company after buying a pack of nails stickers and delighting at all the crafting possibilities they opened up (Yes, I came up with ways to use them for decorating jewelry boxes, creating your own body tattoos, facial stickers, and much much more...).  Surprisingly, my passionate email reached the attention of the company's president, and for a long while, I was the authorized U.S. distributor of their products.

It's easy to get downtrodden by the sheer amount of work that is necessary to achieve the goal at hand, but rest assured, each bit of work that's done is a little less that needs to be done tomorrow, and a lot less that will need to be done later.  The work gets easier and easier, faster and faster, and the fun grows exponentially as well.

With a little hard work and a lot of practice, anything is possible!

If the endangered piping plover can do it, we can too!

XoXo,

Joyce