About Living Locurto

Photo by Blue Lily Photo.

Living Locurto is published by Amy Locurto, a graphic designer and mom of two from Dallas, Texas.

Hi I’m Amy! What started in July 2008 as a blog about creative things I did at home with my children, Living Locurto has since turned into a popular craft and party blog with great resources for moms. Today, you will find my original ideas, designs, hundreds of free printables, recipes, party ideas and DIY crafts.

With a Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design, I also own a design firm Atomic Egg, specializing in corporate branding.

You can find fun designs and printable party collections in my shop, Printables by Amy and my signature line of products, Party with Amy Locurto, can be found through Pebbles, Inc.

In addition, I love photography and am co-founder of a popular photography website I Heart Faces, helping build a large photography community of women and a forum with over 17,000 members. We’re excited to be host The I Heart Faces Photography Conference for Women each October.

Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest,  Google+ & Facebook.

If you are interested in collaborating on a design project or booking Amy for an event, please visit the PR Inquiry page here.

Contact

Have a question? Please scroll down to see the FAQ’s before emailing.

FAQ’s

What printer do you use?

I love my Canon i9900. This is great for my design comps since it prints up to 13″x19″. I’ve had this for about 6 years and never had a problem. I also have 2 other printers… an HP Laserjet 5000 and a Canon MP 460.

What paper do you use?

My favorite paper is Red River Paper, they specialize in ink jet papers. The 60lb Polar Matte is awesome, it produces really bright images.

I also really like double sided matte paper for when I print on both sides. Epson and Staples brands are both good. You can always find several packages of sticker paper on my shelves as well.

What were you doing when you decided to create your own business?

I started my career as an Art Director for Fossil in the early ’90s. I was in charge of photography styling and design for the catalog, designed watches, belt buckles, key fobs, and packaging, and even worked on some design for the retail stores. Then the internet boom came, so I moved into a career focused mainly on internet design and marketing materials for large businesses.

Photo by Keli Hoskins.

How do you do all that you do?

I don’t sleep much! Seriously… I only get about 5 hours of shut eye a night. My husband helps out a lot too:-)

What is your favorite pastime besides arts and crafts?

I love photography, reading, tennis and traveling. Hip Hop dance class is a blast too.

How do you make your printables? Are they original drawings or stock? How can I do what you do myself?

All of my designs are original and usually hand drawn, then scanned and traced in Adobe Illustrator. I have gotten pretty good with drawing directly in Illustrator, so some designs I whip out pretty quickly.

Unless you’re a professional designer, you don’t need Illustrator. I’m on the hunt for affordable drawing programs because I get this question so much. Right now, I have been recommending Photoshop Elements. You can download free trials of Adobe programs at Adobe.com. You can also try these online programs… aviary.com and inkscape.org.

See my equipment and recommended products here.

How do you stay so organized?

I AM NOT an organized person! I have good intentions of staying organized, but never follow through:-) It’s the artist in me that works best in clutter I guess.

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