What is your name?
Tracee Larson
Where do you work?
Creatively Seeded – www.creativelyseeded.com
What is your job?
I am a graphic and website designer of my own company, Creatively Seeded. I design anything that can be printed or used digitally. There are a lot of options, too many to explain. My projects include anything from business cards, postcards, flyers, brochures, and more, to social media marketing as well as website design and hosting.
I’m very passionate about using the gifts and talents God has given me to help and be a blessing to my clients. I truly enjoy meeting people and connecting with them. My kids give me a hard time about always running into people and talking too long! I’m always trying to learn new things and am excited to be on the journey I am, I thank the Lord for the incredible blessings He has given me.
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters and one angel son. My daughters are now 15 and 11.
What do you love about living in Norfolk?
I love living in Norfolk because most of my family is here and also because I have a lot of friends here as well. Family and friends are important to me.
What’s your favorite restaurant and/or place to shop in Norfolk?
My favorite restaurant would probably have to be El Mezcal, their cheese dip is a-ma-zing! My favorite shop would probably be Meds & More – have you seen the gifts and décor they have in there!?
Tell us about your career.
I founded Creatively Seeded in the fall of 2004. I designed my own wedding invitation and other items used in the wedding. After the wedding, I designed my own custom, flush mount wedding album. That is what truly started the development of what is now known as Creatively Seeded.
In the spring of 2005, I began designing custom flush mount wedding albums for a well-known photographer on the east coast. As this venture began, she branded her business as “tl design” {graphic & web design}. Throughout the years, I worked with a few other photographers designing custom, high quality story book albums for weddings, maternity, newborns and babies, children, seniors, families, engagement sessions and guestbooks. I also designed for clients across the US creating birth announcements, greeting cards, invitations, bookmarks, business cards, letterhead, postcards, brochures, logos and more!
In the fall of 2015, while working part time in the corporate world, God spoke to me and gave me the opportunity to work full time from home again. I decided to take a leap of faith (a mustard seed of faith) and followed the Lord’s prompting. With this, I began to re-develop “tl design” into “Creatively Seeded.”
Why, you might ask? I wanted to give God more credit so “Creatively” came from my God-given talent of design and creativity, and “Seeded” came from the bible verse, Matthew 17:20, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
My faith is a big part of my life and my Creatively Seeded (CS) business. It is truly because of the Lord that I am blessed with the ability to work from home and provide for my family by using the gifts and talents given to me by my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. Over the years I have learned a great deal about “seed faith.” Richard Roberts has been an inspiration and a blessing that has helped me to learn more about what the Word tells us.
So what does seed faith mean to me? To me, seed faith refers to our giving to God as a seed we sow, and not as a debt we owe. I believe that God has a plan for our lives and He has a plan for how our needs will be met. My belief is that when you sow your seed (give of your resources such as money, time, love, pray for others, etc.), you can expect that God sees what you have given and He will multiply it back to you, just as He promises in His Word (Luke 6:38 and Mark 11:24). To read more about the principles of seed-faith, click here.
Therefore, with every purchase and payment made to Creatively Seeded, a 10% tithe is donated directly to a Christian church or foundation that has a mission to share God’s Word.
Why did you decide to become a graphic designer?
I’ve had a passion for design since about age 13 or 14 I think. One of my favorite country music artists was Shania Twain. I put a book together back then of all her songs and lyrics and designed a few things around the lyrics – this is the first thing I remember that really sparked my creativity.
One of the biggest reasons as to why I wanted to make this business work was because I had an entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to be my own boss, I wanted to have flexibility for my kids and I wanted to pursue the talents I feel God has given me and bless others with those gifts.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Best thing would be a couple things. One, flexibility. This is a huge deal to me. The second-best thing would be having the opportunity to meet and get to know people, clients, from all over the country. I have clients from coast to coast. One of my clients I have worked with for 15 years, has become one of my very best friends!
How do you juggle work with mommy-hood?
Difficult question, sometimes I wonder how I do, lol. But having faith in God and trusting in Him, gives me a great sense of peace. I am truly grateful daily, for having the flexibility over all the years with my career. I thank God for that and give Him all the credit, truly. With God, all things are possible.
