Homespun E21 | Amy Latta

hi everyone welcome to Homespun where creativity and Community come together I am your host Misty Don and today I'm joined by Amy Lada of Amy L Creations she is a creative entrepreneur in every sense of the word she started her journey as a craft blogger and has since expanded into hand lettering quilting and surface design she also shares with us an incredible passion project inspired by her son to give back to the community [Music] Amy thank you so much for being here with me today of course it's my pleasure I wish I were in person in Hamilton it's my happy place but I know one of these days we'll get that to happen for sure so I know I know you've been able to come to town a few times right so yes and I never miss Birthday Bash I know I love that well awesome so I just would love if you could maybe share a little bit about yourself for people who are not familiar with you and what you do sure so my business is called Amy lad of creations and I started out actually many years ago when my 16-year-old son was two and I was I had stopped my full-time job I was a ballroom Latin and swing dance instructor which was way fun and I had stopped my job to stay gosh I know so fun um and so it was really hard for me to step away from that because I loved everything about it um but I really wanted to be at home with him and as I was raising him at home you know we were having a blast we were doing all kinds of crafty and creative things and one day I was looking for some St Patrick's Day projects to do with him for a play date we were having and I got online and it was the early days of craft blogging and so I got online and I found this website and it was an art teacher who was sharing all these archives of projects that she had done all these seasonal things that were perfect for Littles all the way up to high schoolers and I was like this is amazing what a resource for people like me and I thought you know I am doing all kinds of creative things with Noah every day I grew up with all kinds of crafting and sewing my mom is super crafty um and so we um we were doing all kinds of these fun things and I thought what if I started something like that where I could share with other moms and Inspire them and so my husband was like well you're smart figure it out best advice ever yeah so I went on blog spot started my own blog called one hearty mama and I was just sharing things that he and I were doing we did this whole alphabet month where every day we focused on a certain letter and it was amazing and we had um such a good time doing it but I never thought that it would turn into anything more than me just kind of throwing ideas out there and hoping someone somewhere saw it so a couple months into that I got contacted by Horizon Group USA which is the company that makes all of the craft supplies you find in Walmart so all the glitter glue and the pom poms and the wiggly eyes and they were like hey we found your blog and we really like what you're doing can we send you stuff and you guys create with it and you share it and I'm like um yes please that's a dream come true exactly so I was flipping out like Dan someone saw my blog yeah and they yeah so they sent the things and we were creating things and sharing and then around that time is when companies started to want to partner with blogs and so I got to form all these cool Partnerships um with um various folks you know the makers of mod podge and you know just all kinds of um different people and learn to um just create all kinds of things not just for kids as my son has grown up I kind of had to shift into making grown-up crafts too and then around I think it was like 2015 I really started to get interested in hand lettering which if you're not super familiar with that it's like the modern calligraphy and it's that style of brush script that you see everywhere where part of the letter is thicker than the other parts and I thought it was beautiful and I wanted to learn how to do it and so I went online and I was looking and looking for tutorials and there wasn't much out there but I kind of taught myself how to do it and as I learned I started sharing on my website and people were so excited about that particular skill and they just were eating it up and I couldn't put content out fast enough and it really just seemed like one of those right place right time things where I was sharing exactly what people wanted when they wanted it and there was nothing else out there that the average person could understand like if you were an artist you could find resources but if you're just you know someone sitting there with a pen like oh I wonder if I could do that there wasn't much and so my teaching background because I was a school teacher before I was a dance teacher I pulled on that yeah I used to teach English um middle and high school English yeah and so teaching is teaching and whatever the subject is you just break it down into the smallest parts and present it in a variety of ways so everyone can understand F so that's what I was doing with the lettering and as I was doing that I got the opportunity to write my first book which is handlettering for relaxation and that just started a whole snowball of other things that I never anticipated more books and it's just been a really exciting Journey since then and that is actually how I got connected with Missouri Star because your folks wanted to learn how to hand letter on quilts labels especially and also other quilt projects yep because I mean what a gift that is to be able to personalize the quilt and say you know to so and so from Grandma or just to say the year and the occasion it's so special um so I got introduced to you all and had the opportunity to come to Hamilton and film that series that really fun YouTube series we did about handlettered quilt labels and then I came back to do the block Magazine Special where we did the table runner with the hand lettering yes yep I loved that but so I made a deal with Liz who films with you all the time I adore Liz and I said listen if I'm teaching you how to letter you have to teach me how to quilt because that's the one crafty thing that I was so intimidated by because I don't math and I don't cut in straight lines I always felt like it was something I would not be very good at and so Liz like I think that's very common though for a lot of people a lot of people uh quilting I I don't know if it's I don't know why this started but for a long time and I had the same experience when I first was introduced to quilting it's like this big scary thing that people are they think that they can't do even if you are an incredible you know lettering artist or you do all these other crafts that are so amazing and require so much talent and effort there's something about the machine I think that is like this barri of entry for people that they're like oh I don't know I don't know if I can do that that's like heavy machinery you know but really when you yeah when you break it down you're you're you're so in straight lines for the most part curves come in later but for the most part to get going it's really not that hard and it's like anything else where you you have to learn so it is and you know I think for me it wasn't so much the machine because I knew how to sew like I'd made clothes I was in 4 as a kid so like I made all kinds of things for the fair but for me it was the the scope of the project because to me like a quilt is a quilt and like I don't know I don't know if I can do that and I thought in my little head that I had to take scissors and cut out all the pieces and Liz was like no no no we have these things called pre-cuts This is a charm pack this is a jelly roll and I'm like get out like what somebody did the work for me and they're straight and they're measured are you serious and so when realized how many resources there are and then she's like let me introduce you to the rotary cutter and I'm like yeah game changer for sure it is I got that beginner sewing kit that you guys have and it had the rotary cutter and the mat and it just had the quilt pins and the clips and everything I needed and I'm like oh I didn't know this stuff existed like I was making it way harder in my brain that it was and I also appreciate that the first project that Liz and I made was a pillow and I'm like oh quilt maybe not pillow yes and so started pillow and then we just did three of the pillow tops together to make the table runner and I'm like well I can do that and then I realized okay more of those same thing would make a quilt it's really not hard it was just like this mental block I had to get past well and that's like the perfect iteration of what you were talking about earlier where it's like anytime you're teaching anything you just have to break it down into those those small bite-sized pieces and so then once you saw how all the components work together you were able to take that and say oh I actually can do this I don't have to approach this whole big thing I just need to start with one square which is is is perfect it's the perfect example of how we all really begin in quilting yes and it was so doable and it was really fun for me because I got to come home then and I got to teach my mom what I learned about quilting and the fun thing was she's the one who taught me to sew when I was little and then as an adult I got to teach her how to quilt and now she comes over and weo and quilt together and you know it's just been so fun for us and I know of course you know what it's like quilting with your family yes it's so fun well any anytime you can share those Hobbies it's just it just is such a like bonding um wonderful time where you're creating memories both in your time together and in the projects that you're making that will you know outlive you for Generations Jenny says that all the time you know when you're quilting they outlive you for Generations which is wild to think about but it's true and so to be able to create these kind of family heirlooms through time that you're spending together with your family is really unique I think in the crafting space and something that we're able to do definitely and I also I've been teaching my son um because you know he's loved to craft ever since he was really small and so as I was teaching my mom we're making things he's like what about me I want to be included too and so I was teaching him and he's made um I think his biggest thing has been like a little um stuffed animal siiz blanket but it's really fun he did a little Patchwork thing and he was so proud of himself and I'm like yes you do that boys can quilt too it's not just for women exactly exactly I love that so much well and that's one of the beautiful things I think about this generation of Quilters and Crafters in general it's just opening it up for everyone where it feels approachable and doable and there's room for everybody's ideas and I I love that I think the industry as a whole just gets so much better and stronger when we just put our arms around people and bring them in and just say hey here's what I know do you have any ideas what what you know what are you thinking and it's just such an amazing opportunity for us all to learn and grow together absolutely and I know you guys just started selling the wubbles kits and my son loves to crochet the little amagar roomies I taught him to crochet and I never could do the little animals I can do like big rectangles and make an afan but he likes to do the figures and he saw the Chuck the duck and he screamed he was like I need Chuck so it's on the way right now from Hamilton but I just I love to see it because there was definitely a time when you know boys were not encouraged to do creative things like that and I love that he has the freedom to do that now and and he gifts them to his friends and he sold them to raise money and I just think it's fantastic I love that I love that so much well I think this I mean this is just an amazing example that like one you've been open to trying new crafts along the way like you you know your your journey has kind of wound its way through from those Early Childhood projects that you were doing with your son to the lettering to now incorporating quilting is there anything else on the horizon that you really want to learn or try gosh I I am so excited right now because along with the quilting um so my latest Endeavor is that I reached out and I formed a partnership with Andover and I actually got to design my first fabric collection oh my gosh I am so so so excited um the samples are supposed to be coming to me today actually in hand actual Fabric and I'm like about to lose my mind I bet because as you know it's a very long process from design to in hand and it of course isn't going to hit the stores until 2025 it's going to be in the summer um but it's coming out in the October catalog you'll be able to see the collection and all that good stuff and um see the sample patterns and projects on my website but it's just been so much fun because as I've been quilting and making things I kept thinking like oh I just wish I had a fabric that looked like this and what could I do with that and I thought you know it was such a fun marriage of my design the illustrations and things because in addition to the handling books I have doodle books as well and so it was such a fun way to put together what I do with the other hobby that I love the quilting and to create fabric not just for me to use but for other people to use as well and so I'm just beyond excited to see what comes of that and see what everyone creates with it because I know what I want to make but I don't know what you want to make and like I I love that so much that's so exciting so first of all congratulations to you because that is no small feat at all um so that is so exciting I cannot wait to see your collection Ah that's awesome um but the the thought came to mind I had the opportunity to speak to um a designer named Ashley L and she is primarily in the crochet space her uh she's awesome and one of the things that she shared that she's super passionate about is creating things that you want to see in the world and that's exactly what you're doing there with your fabric collection you saw this this piece that was missing and what you were wanting to make and being willing to accept that challenge and say I can do this you know I can take these other bits I've learned and to stretch yourself in that way is just so admirable and I'm so excited to see it I'm really excited too it's called Bloom and so so it's got lots of flowers and then some of the um the prints have little spools of thread or like looping threads and yeah so really fun and it's got It's kind of my trademark color palette with like the pale pinks and greens and I just I'm so excited and I can't wait to see what people make with it because when we're making the sample patterns um that we put out there for people to use they also asked other designers to help contribute too and so they asked a designer that I don't know and she created this amazing thing and I mean it's not even fabric it's just done like in um Photoshop or however and I'm looking at it like oh my gosh I would never have thought of that and to see what someone else is able to do with the same raw materials just blows me away yeah I think that's one of the the most like amazing things about the creative world is that we have these ideas and we we you know use these these basic things to make what's in our head or to follow another pattern and to see other people's ideas kind of take what was your original idea and just blow it up and just to turn it into something completely different is always like H amazing and I I love that part of the process so much and I have to be honest I'm hoping that our friends at Andover will be sending us some of your collection so I can see it and play with it oh that's so fun I'm sure they will and if you guys make something with it like I'm just GNA faint it's going to be amazing that's so sweet that is so kind oh I love that so much well I mean you have taken some really big leaps in your life I mean I had no idea that you were a dance instructor that's amazing I took years of dance I was never skilled enough to be an instructor but I love it um but how what would you say to people who are maybe afraid of taking that big leap or that big shift in their life that's the toughy because for me I have I just rely on my faith and I just remind myself that like I'm ultimately not in control of my own life and I can't screw it up that badly God's got me I love that and I feel like um time that I've stepped out because I stopped working in the public school system to do the dance instruction I stopped that to do you know to stay home with Noah and that's what led to everything else and you know just taking the risk and putting yourself out there for me it's always led to something better than what I've left behind and it just seems to have a way of working out that way and it's I always tell people which I know is similar to something that your mom says um but I always say practice makes progress and it's the idea that like you're G to try and you're not going to get everything perfect the first time but as you continue just to pour yourself into it and put in the effort to learn the new skill or try the new thing um the more that you practice it the better you're going to get and I used to tell my dance students that all the time you know you're not going to get that move the first time but the more that you do it the better you're going to be and the more confident you're going to feel and I feel like in my whole creative Journey that's what happened and the first time that I pitched my book to someone um it was I had actually won a contest for best Blog bestcraft blog or something and um I had the opportunity to pitch a really big publisher on the West Coast and I brought them the idea of the hand lettering book and it had to go through all these different hoops and it kept going through and going through I'm like hey this is great and it got all the way to their very top person to make a decision and they shut it down and they were like you know we think the market is saturated we don't think there's room for another handling book out there and this was way back this was 2016 say that was so early it was and I was devastated because you know you get to all this and then I'm like where do I even start like I had a foot in the door here because of the contest but where do I go and my husband again with the wisdom he says find um your craft books that you like to read you know the the ones that other people have produced for similar things and see who publishes those and that's who you need to reach out to is someone who specializes in the craftiness and in that realm and so I found Pig Street my publisher they are based out of Massachusetts and I reached out to them and they were immediately excited about it because they had a line of coloring books and that was super popular becoming super popular at the time the adult coloring and people were doing it for meditation relaxation and so they saw a very natural crossover of you know will you like to color here let's teach you how to hand letter these things and then you can color and doodle around them and it's all this very mindful relaxing thing and so actually brought a lot of ideas to my book because they decided that we should make it a workbook where there's like a at the beginning of each chapter there's an inspiration image where I lettered something and kind of doodled around it and then in the chapter you learn how to do that and you practice there's practice space and then at the end there's a blank page for you to do your project on but I've doodled around the border and so you can color it in so it's sort of a coloring book that you also left in and it just nailed it it hit the market at the right time again it was right place right time and it was there clearly was room in the market it sold over 125,000 copies and so you know it's still the bestselling of all my books and I just I think sometimes what would have happened if I would have just been defeated and said oh well I guess they're right there's no room for this and then you know I wouldn't have that and 125,000 people wouldn't have the book and I wouldn't have the subsequent nine books and you know it's just if you don't take the opportunity you'll never know yeah it's so true and it's such a great reminder that you have to trust your instincts at a certain level and so when you know that it's relevant to what you're doing um and people are responding via your was it still your blog at that time I assuming yeah so you're getting all this feedback that people are liking what you're sharing and so being able to to trust that and not take that one big no um as like a major deterrent to stop that progress is so admirable because it's so easy in those moments that feel so make or break to just like let that crush your spirit a little bit totally yes and it feels so personal too you're like oh you hate me and nobody likes I'm the worst yeah yeah I think that's so true and it's such a great reminder to all of us that rejection is part of the process right and um yeah and I think that's something that it's really easy to forget especially when you're like kind of head head down in your own little world working on whatever you are passionate about when you get those NOS it can really feel like the end of the world um and so you know maybe some words of encouragement for people who have faced that and let it stop them do you have anything you would tell them to get them going again yeah absolutely you know is always worth another try it's always worth a second opinion just like another publisher looking at it with different eyes had a different you know a completely different way of looking at it and saying oh we have room for this and you know honestly Missy the same thing happened with the fabric design um I had approached a different fabric company um several years ago because it's always been ever since I started with the whole quilting and coming out to Hamilton and seeing all the fabric I was like I want to do that I want to do that I want my doodles on fabric so I kind I guess prematurely reached out to a company and they were like your Doodles are cute but no and I realized yeah and but I didn't give up and I realized that I had something to offer but I wasn't necessarily ready to offer it in the way that they need it because fabric U for anybody that doesn't know is a different kind of design because it's a surface design it has to repeat and it has to be able to be you know in all directions because if you think about when you're sewing with that fabric you know it has to be able to work with your pattern and so I was making these adorable oneoff Doodles but it's not the same like you can't just take that and Pluff it on a piece of fabric and so what I had to do was I had to educate myself more I took a class on Surface design because I realized okay I do have something to offer but I'm not ready yet and so I need to get myself to the place where I can offer what a company is looking for and not just say take a chance on me I can draw you know there's so I decided to put in the work and the time to learn how to do it in a format that is appropriate for fabric and then as soon as I had surface designs because even with endover I had reached out and they were like we're interested but you know let's see you know let's see what you can do and I was like hold on so I took the class and I came back and I created like this entire collection I got so inspired and I created this thing and I sent it to them and they were like oh okay now let's talk because it was in the format that they needed to see it in I love that and it's it it it's just a good reminder too that that that first no is really we don't have to take it as that it's more like a not now not yet and so you being able to recognize that and say okay I'm missing these pieces but that doesn't mean it's impossible and and being able to identify those next steps for you to continue to grow in you know this goal of yours and to to then then meet those those demands that are necessary in order to achieve it is really really cool yeah because there's always more to learn and you know even if it hadn't worked out I would have learned how to do surface design so exactly there's still a win I still have a new skill and there's a million ways that you can apply surface design to things and you abolutely it's just it's never a bad idea to learn more no I agree and honestly that's one of the things that I've found the most fulfilling in my life is to constantly have a desire to learn more um I think that that element of curiosity and never feeling like you have it all figured out is such a powerful tool especially um in the instance like you and I share where that we teach what we do you know and and wanting to communicate that with others constantly thinking about well what what would my viewer be looking for what would they those questions maybe be that I need to answer and how do I research that so that I can better teach that and I think that takes a certain level of selfawareness and humility to just constantly remind yourself uhuh you don't have it all figured out just yet and to be able to go back to the drawing board and say how do I get better at this because the thought crossed my mind too like you have spent years now you know with your artwork drawing doodling perfecting your craft perfecting your style but like you said having to tweak that so that it applies correctly to the surface design is a whole new venue and the more time you spend doing that the better and better that's going to get um and so a lot of it just has to do with the time that you spend um because like you said practice make makes progress right yes the more you do it the better you're going to be and I I like to say progress because none of us will ever be perfect no and I think when we take the weight of that expectation off then it's like okay I'm never going to get it perfect but I can be better than I was yesterday and that much I can do yeah exactly and the other thing that I try to remind myself in any of these creative Hobbies is that it's really whether you're doing it for just a hobby or a business I should say I think it applies across the board is it's less about perfection and more about making sure you can enjoy the process because it should be fun right we're getting to create these beautiful amazing things that it's therapeutic and healing when you create something and so when you take that need for Perfection out of it it allows you to enjoy it and that's what it's all about oh absolutely and the creative process like you said it it is it's therapeutic it's relaxing you know and when I find myself getting too stressed out by a project I'm like I need to take a step back because this is not fun exactly Crea for fun so my favorite thing for relaxing actually is paint by numbers I like to do the the big canvas my numbers and I just sit there you know like my sons and my husband will be playing a video game and I'll just sit in the room so I'm I'm there but I'm just painting and I'm like this is great yeah absolutely I love that idea funny enough I I've just been cleaning my my sewing and crafting room which is a whole feet in and of itself and I found a couple paint by numbers canvases and I'm like I need to use those those would be so fun and I I like things like that too because it takes a lot of the thinking out it's just it's just pure fun you know in that regard which sometimes especially when as a creative when you're you are creating for your work all the time you need something to just kind of fill that bucket and so I love that do you have any other things that uh you like to go to well I love to Doodle obviously and so you know I'll just say and doodle and sketch and I like to do it on my iPad I have um procreate the app on my iPad and it's just so fun because it allows you to do things digitally that you couldn't necessarily do with a pen and paper and I love that like for example you know it's so easy just to erase something if you made a mistake you just double tap or you know you can put um like one thing I like to do is fill the whole canvas with different colors and things and then you put a white layer on top and then you actually draw with the Eraser and so what comes through is all those colors you know and that doesn't work in real I mean I guess the closest thing to that is like those little black pieces of paper that you scratch off and the rainbow stuff is behind it that's what I was thinking yeah but it's sort of a digital version of that and much much less messy yeah but things like that you where I just doodle on the iPad I love to do that and the other thing that um it's really really filling my tank right now is we're doing something called blessing bear and um I'm not sure if they told you about our blessing Bears yet or not but um so this was oh so this was my son Noah's idea um so like I said he's 16 and last year we had done a thing I have a group of crafty ladies that comes to my house once a month because they love my craft room and they they like to create but don't necessarily have um an idea of what they want to do and so once a month I would come up with a project and be like come over we're just going to craft a bunch of ladies from church and so they come over and we had made these little stuffed chickens because it was chicken month did you know September is chicken month and so we had made we had made stuffed chickens and we took them um to this local assisted living facility and we gave them out to the residents who were like oh my gosh this is the greatest and we visited with them and so it's about a year later you know and my son was like I really want to go back and see the people at Golden Crest again I want to take them another gift and I'm like first of all I love your heart and second go on Pinterest and find what you want to make and you can make anything we can do whatever you want to do and he's like well I wanted to be a stuffy because I feel like those people really like the chickens and it gives them something to hug and like you go you find it yeah so he found this pattern on Pinterest for the stuffed bear and I'm gonna if you excuse me one second I'm going to grab one um this is just one example of our little bear cute and they we make them in different colors this is Cuddle fabric you guys actually sent us cuddle Fabric and um we've got Bel and buttons and you know we just he's got a little tail um this is Harrison so cute and yeah and so we have different colors for them and then different um shapes of muzzles and noses so each one is unique um but basically we started making 15 of these um and we were going to take them to the residence there's 15 people there and so we took them and we delivered them and it was such a joy it was incredible just to see you know the visit as well as the bear just brought so much joy to them and in the meantime some of the ladies that had helped to make them we like you know what my dad just fell could I have a bear for him or you know my mom is going through radiation can I have a bear for her so of course you know yeah and so as people started hearing about it we started getting more and more and more requests and all of a sudden there's another assisted living that wants 20 bears and you know my neighbor manages an assisted living facility she's like I could really use 20 bears for the people in our dementia unit so we started having bear parties and people come over and we make them and it hasn't slowed down so we've ramped up so what we do now we have a website and we ship them so you can actually go online you can request a bear and you can tell us I want a boy or a girl you can pick a color you can you know tell us if I if you want a flower or a bow to ey or a heart and we shift them in this goodie box that has Teddy Gams and gummy bears and bear-shaped Lolli poops and we send a little note that says this is a bear hug we're encouraging you we're praying for you um and the people who request them will say like this is the situation you know and some of them like we do awareness ribbon ones if it's like breast cancer or sure we've had so many um kids with leukemia and it's just oh it's heartbreaking um but just to have something tangible that we can send them and we don't charge for them they're absolutely free we take donations and the really special thing is that we have broken even because we've got folks company Partners like you guys we have um Fairfield World sends us boxes of polyfill every time we need it um Shannon fabric sent us some cuddle Co and felt has given us um some gift cards for felt and so a lot of our supplies are paid for and then we just have to buy the packing supplies and pay for the shipping and it's about $8 to ship it most places in the US um and our donations have just covered and a little bit more the shipping total so far but we're up to 575 bears and it's been absolutely amazing go yep 30 different states plus Washington DC well hopefully as more people find out about it through this we'll get even more people involved and we can continue that effort that is amazing absolutely amazing Amy I love that and allur because your son wanted to uh continue that that good deed I love that give him my Kudos please I absolutely will he is a special kid and you know just the idea that it started with wanting to bless a small group of people and now it's been 575 people in 30 States across the US like it just blows my mind we started in April so you know the idea that in that short amount of time we've even been able to make that many bearers is amazing but we haveen team of about a dozen volunteers and my mom and Noah and I work on them often but um we have this team that comes together we'll have our bear party still and make a bunch but yeah we've sent them to hospitals we've sent them to assisted livings and then just to individuals as well ah I love that so much can you let everyone know if they want to find out more about that uh what the website is yes absolutely it's blessing bears ministry.com and when you get there it tells you all about us and there there's a a form on there you can click Send a bear and then you just fill out the form and you just have to give us the person's name and address and then if you know their favorite color or anything about what you want the bear to have on it you can tell us if you don't care that's fine we just need their name and address and um and that's really it and then you can choose if you want us to tell them that it's from you or if you want to be anonymous some people want to do their good deed in anony anonymity and then people yeah what we'll do is we'll say you know like if you requested one for a friend we would say like you know your friend Misty let us know that you're having a hard time you know or otherwise we'll just say a little birdie let us know that you need some encouragement and then they never know I love that that's so sweet so do you you send the completed Bears is that right yes okay awesome I was going to say I'm sure that we could get a lot of uh our amazing quilting ladies to help if you had kits that you wanted to send out and then they could they could share those with their communities as well so that's such a fun initiative I'm just so impressed absolutely amazing yeah I do have a link on my website um to the pattern in case anyone wanted to do something because I know you know there are people all over who need encouragement and rather than requesting one of ours like you might want to hand make it yourself um and so there's a pattern it's not my pattern we got it like I said off Pinterest so it's linking you to the original pattern um but all we do is we cut it out of the cuddle or you can also use fleece and um then you just put the accents on and you know do anything you like I like to do um the fusible interfacing on the back of fabric and do like a heart and that kind of thing as well and for the girl Bears we put a little hair bow on them and so cute that is so fun oh I'm so glad I got to learn about that Amy that is just really the coolest well we are about out of time and so I would love if you would just share any final words of encouragement for people especially about um maybe maybe what you just shared I think it's really impressive the ability to take you know you already have this thriving online community but not to forget your local community and being able to build something that's touching people close to you and and Beyond maybe talk a little bit about that and then remind everyone where they can follow along with what you're up to sure I just really feel like um I know that I and all of us were created to create like and that happens in different ways um my dad would tell you that he's not creative at all but he was a brick layer his entire career and he would make these Stone fireplaces and these sidewalks that were absolute works of art and even if you don't see it that way there's something that you create whether you um good in the kitchen you know people don't think about cooking as an art as someone who does not like to cook I promise you it is and baking you know all of those things that we are created to create and that's when we are living out our purpose and how much better does it get when we're doing that for other people and it's not just for our own benefit and I mean there's nothing wrong obviously with using your creativity to create a business and a life for yourself but letting that spill over and creating for other people's benefit is where you're going to find the most joy and the most fulfillment like I have found myself in the past week weeks and months since we started the Bears like I'll have a paid job that I'm supposed to be doing something I'm supposed to be making and I'm like I would just rather be sewing a bear because it's lifegiving and you know that like this is going to make a difference in somebody's day it's going to cheer them up it's going to change their perspective whereas some of the things that we do just for the money or just to do it like it is what it is and so not the same impact no not at all and so I think the key is just to remember that you know when it becomes just a job or just something I'm doing like stop and refocus like I'm created to create but why like how is this making the world a better place how is this making the world a more beautiful place and like you said the other designer was talking about creating what you want to see in the world you know what is missing is it you know joy and blessing make that and give it away yeah ah I love it thank you Amy that's amazing so again let everyone know where they can follow you on Instagram and your website I would love that oh yes of course so really easy because I'm just Amy L Creations everywhere so it's Amy creations.com is my website and Amy creations.com Bloom Ando is where you can find out about my fabric collection you can preview it see all the free patterns um that goes live October 1st um and then you also can find me on all the socials it's just Amat Creations I'm on Pinterest I'm on in Instagram Facebook I also have a Facebook group called Amy L and friends and you have to ask to join it and there's a question about what do you like to craft just so that I know you're not a bot um but everybody who answers the question gets in and then we have like weekly show int tell threads where you can post pictures of your latest projects and what you're creating and just kind of encourage and Inspire each other ah amazing I love it Amy thank you so much for spending the afternoon with me today I really appreciate you taking the time time and sharing a you know your heart with all of us and and it's really been inspiring so thank you so much and hopefully I'll get to see you very soon yes I would love that thank you so much you bet I'll see you later