I heard those words 5 years back when I lost my ‘day’ job ~ I first heard ‘the sky is falling!!’ and then my whole-mind tuned out all the folks in the office that day, I felt a sense of calm and I then heard ‘you’re ready Amy, here are your wings to fly‘ ~ we serve an Awesome God.
You see, I was creating, learning and practicing Art for about 25 years at this point, all while working full time, also sharing Art thru magazine publications and teachings…..and was always dreaming of ‘doin’ this thing I do’ full time.
My faith was as small as a mustard seed ~ but our God tells us in Mathew verse 20:
“because you have so little faith. 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”
Nothing will be impossible for you
I did just that, I put wind beneath my wings and flapped and flapped and flapped ~ creating this small creative business, giving it everything I’ve got ~ building a Website and Blog and sharing it all thru Social Media.
But things started to change over the past few years with Social Media, my way of reaching friends and followers ~ which meant as a small creative business ~ I needed a new plan……yes, another mountain to move.
So what do we do with this ever changing ‘landscape’ of Social Media and staying connected as friends and as a small creative business?
Social Media is (well had been) where my people are. It was purely enjoyable when I began posting 10 years ago….every friend was seen, artwork was shared, friends were made, we followed each other, and friends made more friends, beautiful comments were left and my business grew. I loved scrolling thru my ‘feed’ enjoying all the art from my art-full friends, finding classes, seeing new patterns and more!
Then things changed.
Ads started rolling in, hackers are present, creepy comments began appearing daily, there are things called FB jail, and algorithms (really FaceBook?!?!), ‘please don’t get me started on algorithms’. My Artwork has been stolen, patterns copied, and ugly comments have even been left. Yes the ‘landscape’ has changed.
Does it even live up to the name ‘Social Media’ anymore?
So where do we go from here? How do we stay connected?
How do we keep all the good and the friendships and business rolling?
I’m not sure I have any answers ~ but I do know that my mind is full of artful ideas and creative endeavors to share and surely there must be a way as a small creative business to ‘get the word out’ and continue our friendships.
Our Cottage Home is filled with all things Cottage….our decor, our food, our gardens, our living …..and even the way our home is filled with cottage like scents.
When our visitors say ‘it smells goooooood in here!’ ….well, that just melts my heart.
Been Busy ~ Crazy Busy. So Busy that it was hard to settle on a Blog Post for this week, jumping from the new Candle Scents to Baking Noodle Pie to Inspired Creative Living….there is so much Creativity to Share!
But first, let’s share all the Creative Fun to be had thru Zoom Gatherings and In-Studio Fun too!
We’re scheduled thru 2023 and seems like we’re adding more by the moment!
….no kidding we just added a date to do Yoga with Alpacas with Classic Chalk Art on the side at Helana Farms ~ told ya this was going to be fun! stay tuned in!
As a Designer for ToleTown (found here~ a fun painting subscription) ~ for the month of May the creative theme for each project is ‘color outside the lines’ ~ mmmm, what fun could we come up with?
Don’t miss a single issue of our Monthly Newsletter with HeART-full news you can ARTfully use ~ by adding your email to our Newsletter list, you will receive our ‘Hang in there America‘ Classic Chalk Art Pattern absolutely Free!
No strings attached I promise ~ just allowing us to provide you with Creativity once a Month to your in-box ~ and be sure to check your spam folder ~ we wouldn’t want your newsletter to get lost!
Simply enter your email address into the pop-up box thru this website as you enter…..and ‘Hang in there America‘ will be provided instantly!
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The pattern includes a supply list, tips & techniques, instructions, photos and a line drawing to complete ‘Hang in there America‘ in Colored Pencil (onto any surface) ~ and……it just may interest you in joining us for a Gathering or two ~ you can find all the updated Gatherings thru our Newsletter! A win-win.
Don’t forget to also visit our Blog Tab (top of this page) for weekly content ~that’s 10 years of ‘free’ Creative Content……you may even find a free pattern or two, along with technique videos and more!
Click (here) for a sampling of our April Newsletter!
Find all our happenings here at Classic Amy Joanne thru ~ weekly Blogging, a monthly Newsletter, many Gatherings, and daily Facebook posts!
We’re planning some fun new happenings, be the first to know!
Thank you for your continued support of this small creative, big dreams business, you are sooooo much appreciated!
~*~
this little froggie would make a fun ‘Door Knob Gift’ ~ create him on a mini wood canvas, drop him into a fabric draw-string bag, wrap it up with ribbon and complete with a hand-waving flag! …to much fun!
My favorite Chicken Shredder from Pampered Chef; after many years of devoted service,….just wasn’t up to the task any longer ~ and as every home maker does ‘now-a days’ I searched Amazon for a quick solution until I can order a new Pampered Chef Chicken Shredder.
I was pleasantly surprised to find such a pretty pair of kitchen ‘chicken snips‘ thru all the Amazon suggestions….I mean really, ‘look at those handles’ and then it dropped into my cart for the purchase.
We’re Creating an Easter Table Celebration ~the first week found us dying eggs (read here), last week we enjoyed a pretty place setting gift (here) and today finds us with more Easter Creativity ~ we’ll be setting the table and enjoying a delicious brunch casserole.
Sharing ideas from our home to yours, Easter Traditions.
We’re Creating an Easter Table Celebration ~ last week found us dying eggs (read here), this week we’ll enjoy a pretty place setting gift with more Easter Creativity to follow from a table setting to a delicious brunch idea.
Sharing ideas from our home to yours, Easter Traditions.
~*~
This simple place setting gift was inspired by our dyed eggs and pretty egg cups (here).
Simply created with our ‘Little Maker Kits‘ (all LM found here) and then placed at each table setting for each guest.
