About Amy
I’m Amy Muscoplat and I’m committed to cultivating happiness and joy in the world in a way that helps others grow and nurture their own joy-quotient. My background is as a workshop facilitator and presenter, children’s library director, literature expert and storyteller, a party and event planner, lifelong bookworm, lover of learning, public programming and event librarian, a former Peace Corps volunteer, Writing for Wellness instructor and an expert creative crafting presenter. For fun, I like to make handmade cards, run large scale family programs and organize and manage private soirees and gatherings for various happiness and wellness centered causes and organizations.
I lead creative crafting and writing workshops around Southern California and online for both adults and families in public and private settings and have been a frequent presenter at libraries and nonprofits, both in physical locations and online. Previous programs have been presented at Papyrus’s stores, Michael’s crafting stores and Michaels’ Community Classroom Online, city based organizations, the Spondylitis Association of America, the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Los Angeles group, and GetSetup. I have both an MFA in Creative Writing and an MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science), and hold a professional certification in the Science of Happiness at Work.
I enjoy spending time with loved ones and others with the goal of helping myself and others craft happiness and joy in our lives. This includes creating kits, tutorials, and consulting with individuals and groups who wish to do programming and joyful events that involve crafting, creative writing, connecting and creating with others. Through Joyfestival Industries, I teach a wide range of participatory crafting and writing workshops for various ages, that focus on helping people find a sense of calm and joy and exercise their creativity in positive ways. Raised and having gone to school in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, my family and I currently make our home near the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California. I recently completed an artist writing residency on the shores of Lake Superior to make progress on a book length project on the topic of choosing joy when it’s not your default.
About Joyfestivals
Joyfestival Industries works in multiple ways to spread more joy in the world through helping people create meaning-filled celebrations, gatherings and joyful events. The goal is to try to increase one’s own and others’ happiness through simple types of gatherings that can serve to facilitate raising one’s joy quotient! Elements of a Joyfestival include: engaging people in an active way; a meaningful, overarching goal, purpose or theme for the gathering; having something everyone can all learn; an interactive way to involve others; a family friendly or women’s event in the home or event space that makes people feel welcome and at ease. Common recipe ingredients are most often gratitude, joy, positivity, and connection. Helping people create more joy in their own world through creating a Joyfestival, a soiree, or a happy space to connect with others, in person or online, in their location of choice (their home, nonprofit or spiritual community, a public place, or city park), makes my heart sing.
This is a grass-roots way to reconnect with friends and loved ones in a way that brings color, light, and meaning into their lives while inspiring creativity and laughter. We consult on helping people create their own Joyfestival, Happiness Rooms, or other creative and interactive gatherings and programs. And we also produce do-it-yourself kits that help you have joy-filled themed parties and happiness inducing soirees (in person or virtual.)
We can also speak on topics related to choosing joy, can coach you to speak meaningfully on it as well, and we offer speech writing and ghostwriting services for individuals giving keynote speeches on topics relating to joy and positive thinking. As an experienced JOYFESTIVAL producer, promoter and speaker, at venues including libraries, municipal continuing education departments, self-help groups and healthcare institutions, there are many topics we can speak to and promote for a variety of types of gatherings on happiness and positivity, as well as the challenge in choosing a more calm and happier mindset in the midst of challenges.
The end result usually transforms you as the host, organizer and planner of your own meaningful gathering as well. Joyfestivals can be gatherings that include an extravaganza full of music, poetry, comedy, vision boarding, some interesting speech, meditation and other activities led by you, your friends or others. Or they can be subtle, like a quiet dinner and crafting hour with friends, or the creation of a mobile pop-up Happiness Room in the public sector. Go ahead and gather with others for something good!
About Cards
Joyfestival Industries handmade cards came about because I, Amy, love to papercraft and make handmade cards to reach out and touch someone. I see crafting as a powerful way to help people find wellbeing, purpose and recreation. And because I enjoyed cardmaking and was having so much fun with it, people started noticing the cards I made and commissioning me to make them for their various milestones and happenings that they wanted to send a card for! You can find my pre-made cards at our shop, or request a custom made card order. I also sell in brick and mortar shops in Southern California.
I often joke that I never met a pretty piece of paper I could turn down. I have always loved stationery and all things epistolary, letters, letter writing and handmade cards. As a kid going to the library, I’d check out all the crafting books and was constantly sending letters and cards. As children, we weren’t allowed to use the gift until we’d written the thank you note for it…and it trained me well. I was equally excited to receive cards and letters myself. Having taken years of classes and workshops, I started frequenting crafting retreats and learning more intensively, as well as working on a card making diploma course. One of my joys are making cards that other people are happy to receive or gift to others. Helping people find the most beautiful hand crafted cards for their personal needs is a treat. And we delight in giving classes, not only in cardmaking skills and designing handmade cards, but also in what to write inside cards, and all about the art of card and letter writing.
My background in cardmaking and paper crafting includes years of taking classes and teaching classes and workshops on the variety of different cardmaking and papercraft skills and styles I’ve learned. I’ve presented for (the former brick and mortar store) Papyrus stationery stores, Michael’s stores and online classroom, numerous public libraries, and exhibit spaces. The first half of 2022 has also led me to be a (virtual) guest crafter on a few Crafter’s TV Craft Along shows, Skyped in to their United Kingdom studios. Through creating Joyfestival Industries, I’ve led gratitude letter writing soirees and helped start card making campaigns to send large batches of handmade cards to organizations that collect and distribute handmade cards to eldercare institutions, nonprofits that collect cards for care packages for active duty first responders and military, and foster care agencies.
Whatever your occasion is, we can tailor make a card to fit so you have just the right visual message and sentiment for the person you’re trying to connect with, and so your message can hopefully reach their heart. In addition to our bespoke handmade greeting cards business, we offer card making classes and workshops. Join the mailing list to find out about upcoming program and card making specials!
Join The Mailing List
Find out about upcoming program and card making specials!
I’VE BEEN FEATURED
Amy was a guest a number of times during 2022 on Crafter’s TV’s “Craft Along” show.
 |  |
 |  |
 |