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| About AshleyHow it All Started
Although I have been a crafty person since I was a child, I ignored it as a whole and only engaged in projects as the interest arrived. It all started with a paint set my parents gave me one Christmas. At the time, I was about 7 or 8 years old. I had big inspirations to be like Bob Ross who was a great painter I used to watch on TV. Well, my painted version of "pretty little trees" was not too pretty and I never painted with oils again. A few years later, I started designing barrettes and headbands. My most popular designs were balloon-filled barrettes and jewel-encrusted headbands. In middle school, I dove into the fashion world and began altering my clothes. My designs included jeans with appliques and ribbon. Ties used to be a preppy school-girl trend and I, of course, designed a few ties. Once I started high school, I made my own school spirit sweatshirts embroidered with "WHS" and the school mascot. Although I was not the best seamstress, I did have an eye for design. My 8th grade spring formal and prom dresses were made from my designs. In high school, I was heavily involved in fashion and marketing. I was the State Historian for DECA, an association for marketing students, and began archiving the year's events, along with my personal high school years; my first scrapbook was born. I used everything from magazine clippings to colorful pipe cleaners and other mementos to embellish my album. To create titles, I started using the computer for catchy layout themes. After high school, I went to college, majored in marketing and management, and totally forgot about scrapbooking. I continued my education to earn a master's in business administration and shelved my scrapbooking talent. Once I started law school, I needed an outlet. This was too much school. I found a local scrapbook store, the first I had ever seen of its kind. This store re-ignited my passion for paper art and I started my first 'official' scrapbook of a trip to London. I completed a few other books until my engagement and of course came to another stopping point. After life took over for a couple of years, I found Recollections, a scrapbook store that used to be owned by Michaels. They offered classes and introduced me to a world of endless paper art. Here, is where I discovered the idea of creating cards and altering any and everything with paper. Since their closing, I have been on my own and started my blog to connect with the rest of the paper artists in the world. Upon receipt of my items, recipients encouraged me to sell my creations. "A New Design" was created in the Fall of 2007, but officially in February 2008. The name, "A New Design" which is derived from my name, creates "Something Bold...Something New." My creations can be found in numerous craft magazines, including CARDS and Paper Crafts. I have won many challenges, design for many organizations and vendors, and have recently started my own online paper craft publication, Embellish Magazine, which focuses on challenge inspiration for other paper artists. Products The products are made of the highest quality and are intended to be memoirs for a lifetime. As a reminder, most items are fragile and made out of paper, so proper handling and care must be taken at all times. Mission My mission is to provide a unique and lasting memory in the form of paper to enjoy for a lifetime. |
