Who is Clearly i Create?

Hello everyone!

Who am I?  I am Lori McCroskey, Jesus loving, family adoring, creative addict, trying to make a difference in this world through the gift of creativity that God has blessed me with!

I am a home school mom that has come to the end of my home school journey and have entered a new phase of my life!  While very sad on one hand, I am so excited to enter the exciting world of personalization and creative bliss!

I am self taught in many creative adventures including sewing, graphic design, and printing! I love to help my customers develop the perfect graphic for every tshirt, gift, or occasion!

The first question people ask me is: "How did you get started down this path?"  I have had an Essential Oil Bag business that I have been nurturing for the past couple of years on Etsy while homeschooling my girls.  I wanted to be able to customize my essential oil bags, so I bought an embroidery machine and taught myself to digitize designs and embroider!  After I got that skill under control, I wanted to be able to create more essential oil accessories for my line, including t-shirts and accessories.  With the blessing of my husband, I started investigating printing methods so I could do this!  Together, my husband and I, attended a trade show in January of 2018 and quickly fell in love with this industry and the possibilities it held for my business.  So we jumped in with both feet and are starting to write the next chapter of our life!

Currently, I have booth spaces in a beautiful store Little Bluebird Vintage Boutique in Ozark, Missouri.  I am proud to be a part of a collection of entrepreneurs in this little space and enjoy the creative journey with all of them!  I also have an Etsy store, Clearly i Create.  I enjoy teaching people to use their sewing and embroidery technology (because a sewing machine isn't just a sewing machine anymore!), and I have launched an online teaching academy called Clearly i Stitch Academy at www.ClearlyiStitch.teachable.com.  In this academy, we have continuing education for all the Brother/Babylock embroidery, sewing, digitizing and cutting technology!

I have both Marketing and Fashion Design degrees from Missouri State University. Before homeschooling my girls, I had another online business, Clear Dollar Stamps, where I, and a team of illustrators, designed clear acrylic stamps for cardmaking and scrapbooking. What a fun business that was! Other businesses I have enjoyed are custom clothing design and a leather purse business.

I feel very blessed to get to use the talents that God has given me to help provide for my family!