Last updated on July 13th, 2018 at 01:06 pm
Amy Locurto is a DIY Lifestyle blogger, graphic designer and mom from Dallas, Texas.
Hi I’m Amy! I believe we all need a LOT more happiness in our world. My mission is to share fun and simple ideas to help you live a more creative life!
What started in July 2008 as a blog about creative things I did at home with my kids, Living Locurto has since turned into a popular lifestyle food, party and travel blog! Today, you will find delicious recipes, party ideas, crafts, home decor and travel tips.
New here? Click here to see 20 of my favorite party ideas and click here to join my email list to get free gifts!
I was born in Missouri, but grew up in the small town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. After college, I moved to Texas where I met my husband and started a family. We now have a teenage son, tween daughter and a very fat cat! My son actually shares a lot of content on my Facebook page. He’s known as Jack, the snarky teenage summer intern and nicknamed “Mr. Spinach” by one of my favorite readers. Ha!
More Recipes and Party Ideas
More about me though… With a Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design, I worked for various companies in Dallas as an art director and in 1999 took a huge leap to open my own graphic design firm. My new company grew quickly! It was exciting, but I was working very long hours while also trying to raise two small children. Deadlines were tough, clients demanding, life was hectic and sleep was scarce! I started a blog as a creative outlet to save my sanity.
Over the years since starting Living Locurto (finely named after my love of Ricky Martin’s song Livin’ La Vida Loca aka “Living La Vida Locurto“), I gave up ALL design clients but one and have never been happier! With only one design client, I can focus more on providing them great service and create amazing blog content as well! I enjoy traveling, creating products, speaking and doing freelance creative work for brands and publications.
My current and past products include:
The Living Locurto Fun Club ~ A private membership with access to creative printable designs.
The Elf Ideas Shop ~ Cute printable designs for your sneaky Christmas elf!
Printables By Amy ~ Stylish digital party designs.
Party with Amy Locurto ~ A line of papers and embellishments designed for American Crafts.
Travel Passion
A few years ago, I promised to take my kids to a new U.S. city each year. With my travel passion, that one city has turned into dozens! We travel all over the place now making life one fun adventure! I’m a HUGE Outlander fan, so one of our most recent family trips was to Scotland. What an amazing journey!
Find me on social media: Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Google+
Interested in working with me on a creative job or speaking event? Please visit the PR Inquiry page.
Get to know me by listening to my interview on the Blogger Genius Podcast.
Follow our travels on the Travel Fun Adventures Instagram Feed.
Beyond Living Locurto
Besides the traveling, managing this blog and my design firm, I also enjoy creating products! You can join the Living Locurto Fun Club to get access to an exclusive printable library of goodies.
Find my printable party collections in the shop, Printables by Amy, and a signature line of paper products, Party with Amy Locurto, through American Crafts.
You can also find me sharing all things about chickens over on my Chickens are Fun Facebook page!
Contact Us
Have a question? Please scroll down to see the FAQ’s before emailing.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
How do you do all that you do?
I don’t sleep much! Seriously… I only get about 5-6 hours of shut eye a night. My husband helps out a lot too:-) Now that my kids are older, I have them working for me as much as possible. But that is getting harder and harder to do with their busy schedules.
What is your favorite pastime besides arts and crafts?
I love to travel, photography, reading, yoga, and tennis (used to play, not anymore!). Hip Hop dance class is a blast too. Love to read too? Find me here on Goodreads.com.
How do you make your printables? Are they original drawings or stock? How can I do what you do myself?
All of my designs but a few 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.
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. I do love this personal planner though, it’s a life saver!!
