Creativity isn’t just a hobby—it can be a sobriety tool, a self-care practice, and a way back to the parts of ourselves we forgot. In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Kathleen explore how play, journaling, memory keeping, and hands-on creativity can help women rebuild identity and joy after alcohol. Sonia is joined by Amy Tangerine, a designer, author, creative director, memory keeper, and founder of a colorful creative brand that has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to reconnect with imagination, craft, and permission to play.

The conversation opens up the question of what happens when drinking used to be the “play hard” part of life—and what it means to redefine fun in sobriety. Sonia and Amy talk about childhood creativity, cozy hobbies, scrapbooking, junk journaling, reading, Legos, collecting, and why many adults dismiss the very activities that once made them feel alive. They also explore how high-achieving women can struggle to do something without measuring it, monetizing it, or turning it into another task.

Amy shares how creative flow can become a grounding practice, especially for people who feel anxious, overworked, disconnected, or unsure of who they are without alcohol. The episode covers memory keeping, analog journaling, vision boards, tactile creativity, pen-to-paper reflection, creative self-care, inner child work, and the difference between creating for an outcome versus creating for the process. Amy also talks about “taking your rage out on the page,” using journaling to process emotions, and building small systems that make creativity possible in 10- to 15-minute pockets.

In the personal story segment, Amy opens up about being raised by immigrant parents, her early love of stickers, crayons, journals, and magazines, her transition from fashion into scrapbooking, and the burnout that pushed her to rethink success. She also shares the deeply personal role vision boards played during her miscarriages, how creativity helped her imagine and accept a different version of family, and how manifesting, aligned action, and self-belief shaped her life.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Highlights

00:00 Welcome to Sisters in Sobriety with Amy Tangerine
01:00 Amy’s earliest creative sparks: crayons, stickers, journals, and crafts
02:00 From fashion design to scrapbooking and memory keeping
03:00 The Hello Kitty journal that started Amy’s diary practice
04:00 Why Amy blended memoir and guidance in Craft a Life You Love
05:00 Why hobbies matter more than people think
06:00 Taking 15 minutes for creativity without explaining it to anyone
07:00 Amy’s immigrant parents and the freedom to follow what made her happy
09:00 Creativity as a way to design a more intentional life
10:00 Creative flow, harmony, and coming back to yourself
11:00 Collage as comfort during family stress and grief
13:00 Redefining play when drinking used to be the recreational hobby
14:00 Returning to the activities that brought joy in childhood
15:00 Sonia on rediscovering reading in sobriety
16:00 Legos, collecting, and childhood hobbies as adult comfort
18:00 Junk journaling and the return to analog creativity
20:00 What happens emotionally when people enter a playful state
21:00 Giving yourself permission to create in small pockets of time
23:00 Letting go of metrics, productivity, and the pressure of an end product
25:00 Pen-to-paper journaling versus digital memory keeping
27:00 Balancing AI tools, metrics, and the need for handwriting
30:00 What memory keeping really means
31:00 “Take your rage out on the page” as emotional release
34:00 Pickleball, anger, and accessing different parts of the self
35:00 Simple ways to incorporate photos, planners, and everyday memories
37:00 Why memory keeping does not have to be chronological
39:00 Vision boards, self-belief, and “what I desire is what I deserve”
42:00 Manifesting, higher power, and aligned action
47:00 Amy’s products, printables, stickers, and ways to get started creatively

Amy's Links http://www.amytangerine.com/ https://www.instagram.com/amytangerine/

SIS Links

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen

📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email

📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast

📸 Kathleen’s Instagram