I know it's not Tuesday but that doesn't mean the link up is over. So of course, I'm going to participate. Let's all pretend it's Tuesday....actually, no that would set us back a day in the week. You know what I'm getting at :)

So it's all about what you want to be when you grow up. I actually really like this question. Most people aren't as lucky to do what they love to do. They do what they have to do. And I know that all too well in the past. Taking jobs just cause it paid the bills and not liking it or not wanting to spend the rest of your career there.

I have been lucky enough for the past five years to be doing what I love to do. Growing up, I have always wanted to be an artist. My mom knew at the age of two, it was my destiny.I have never wanted to be anything else other then an artist.

And luckily, I am one. I graduated art school with a degree in Illustration and now have a career as a graphic artist/digital cartographer. So not only do I get to design all day and get paid for it, but it doesn't even feel like a job {well, some days it does when the stress gets to me}. I have been doing a lot of custom maps lately and custom work can be extremely stressful.

So what is a cartographer you ask?
Yes, I make maps. All kinds of maps. Its very much a graphic design job which I still really enjoy doing. I'm working at the moment on a large set of custom atlas's that are around 350 pages long each. And there are tons of them. So I have been doing it for months and still have months to come til they are done.

My last big project was one for Cracker Barrel {yup, the restaurant}. I created a custom atals for them that included every store listing and spotting in the entire United States. It was a crazy project because they only gave me one week to do 700 listings. I almost pulled all my hair out. But it got done. And here is what the finished product looked like:
So you can see all the little brown barrels were each store listing with the store number and I had to make sure they went on every single exact intersection. Yea, it was a bit brutal in some states. Other states were a breeze to get through. But these are now on sale at all Cracker Barrel restaurants until Labor Day. My mom bought three of them :) She always goes to the different stores and buys my maps when she sees them on the shelves. It makes me blush LOL I love that my mommy is so proud of my work. Its funny actually. My co-workers make fun of me about it.

So anyway, that is my tale. If you have one you want to share, click the button below to go link up!