Blake Lively thanks Preserve supporters after announcing she's shutting down lifestyle website

A day after announcing she was closing her 14-month-old lifestyle brand, Preserve, on Oct. 9, actress Blake Lively expressed appreciation to its customers and fans.

"Thank you guys for your support every step of the way in the Preserve adventure. I couldn't be more grateful!!" the former "Gossip Girl" star, 28, wrote on Instagram Thursday. "One day I'll stop wearing so many hats," she added, accompanied by a photo of her in multiple headwear, "but . . . I'll probably be dead by then, so . . . I'm just doin' what mama taught me ;) She's my idol. Who's yours?"

Lively had launched the website in July 2014 as part of a trend of actresses' brand extensions, such as Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop and Jessica Alba's The Honest Company. Lively described the project then as a collection of "people, stories, essays, videos and goods which hopefully inspire your home, your style and your tongue."

She told Vogue on Wednesday, "We have an incredible team of people who do beautiful work, but we launched the site before it was ready, and it never caught up to its original mission: It's not making a difference in people's lives, whether superficially or in a meaningful way."