Bonus Sketch & Layout =)

I know there is a Sketch Of The Month coming up in just 2 days but I am getting so exited with it getting to be so close in time until my 12x12 sketches book will be released (Beginning of April) that I just HAVE to share an extra sketch with you all! Be sure to tell all of your scrapbooking buddies about the sketches and the book coming out, I will be doing a Sketch Contest around the end of February/early March for a chance to win a free copy of the book Designs By Ashley Rock 12x12 Scrapbook Sketches!

Here is the Bonus Sketch!



And this is a layout I made using the sketch:



Be sure to spread the word and check back frequently for the contest to be posted!

Yay!

I just got back from croppin' with a lot of great friends, had a wonderful time and I have a few new things to show you all next week ;) Yay!

In the mean time--- I must let you all know that my website is officially up and running and not only that but my twitter and blog are now equally as b-e-a-utiful as my website thanks to a certain somebody..... ahem.... Tiffany Henderson (<--- Pssst...Click her name to check out her website)! So just a shout out and HUGE THANK YOU to Tiffany.

Also, I announced on my Facebook Page but I think I forgot to announce here that I now have a Pinterest account! Yay! Click Here to follow me on Pinterest. Now-- if you don't know what Pinterest is-- it is a really really awesome craft site that gives you amazing ideas on scrapbooking, card making, DIY, home decor, cooking, photography..... you name it, its on there and amazing, you will be addicted! You will have to be invited, if you need an invite feel free to message me your e-mail address and I will invite you ;)

See Ya Lata!

DIY Friday #11: Make a flower out of hearts

I am really excited about today's DIY Friday, I have been so busy the last 3+ weeks and this week I decided I needed to take the time no matter what to do my own DIY Project and scrapbook, and today I did just that!

So today I am going to show you how to make a flower out of paper hearts <3

Step 1: Cut out 6 hearts, mine are 1.5" -- Any size will work so long as all 6 are the same size {I used my slice machine & with Tag Maker font cut out hears}

Step 2: Take 2 hearts, fold 1 heart in half & ink both hearts

Step 3: Adhere folded heart on top of other heart (do this with other 4 hearts)

Step 4: Adhere all 3 so the bottom of the hearts meet, then adhere a button in the middle


And as I said earlier I made the time to scrapbook! Here is the page layout I came up with inspired by this DIY Friday project ;)

See You next Friday for a new project!

My White Canvas

One of my friends, Rebecca Krutsch, that used to teach at Pizazz It! Scrapbooks when it was opened has now started her own company called "My White Canvas" (cute huh?). She paints these amazing canvas', uses wire and has the best hand writing!

I have been looking off and on for about a year for a piece that will look good in my living room and means something to me, when she announced that this is what she is starting to do I knew I had to have her make me a canvas!

I knew exactly what I wanted, my favorite quote "People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world's diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others." -Youssou N'Dour. I wanted a globe with 2 hearts on it, 1 over where Ohio would be representing me, my family and where I come from and one over where The Gambia would be representing Baz, his family and where he comes from. Rebecca did an amazing job portraying everything I asked and it looks even more amazing than what I imagined. I highly recommend her and her work!


Here is my canvas!: 48"x48"


To check out more of her work visit her facebook page here. She also has an Etsy shop =)

Kit Of The Month Club: February Sneak Peek

It's that time again, are you ready for February's Sneak Peek???? ;) This kit includes papers and embellishments from Pebbles Inc. "With Love" line, it's an adorable Valentine's line that can be used for so much more than just those V-day moments, and there are lots of Kraft papers in there! I personally LOVE Kraft sheets so I had a lot of fun working with this kit!

And here is the Sneak Peek for February 2012:

If you are interested in a kit and are not yet signed up contact an employee at Scrap Happy asap! January's kit sold out in just 3 days.... WOW! For more information on how to join the Kit Of The Month Club and what all it includes just click here.

I have a website

You may remember my announcement that I will be coming out with a book for 12x12 Scrapbook Sketches soon, well now my website is up and running!! We will be adding more details on it as the time grows closer, click here to check it out!

Animal Kingdom Page Layout

It has been far too long since I have posted actual page layouts that I have made! Sorry for that, hopefully you will forgive me, I have been so busy lately working on getting my 12x12 scrapbook sketches published (see tab at top of page for more info). ;)

I made this layout using the Moxxie Zoofari line. You can find the product for this page at Scrap Happy in Tiffin, Ohio where it is being displayed.

DIY Friday #10: Create your own banner

Good Friday Morning All! Today's DIY Friday comes to you from Elsie Larson. (Click name for her original post) Elsie shows you how to make these banners more so for decorating for a party but when I first saw them I immediately thought these would make AMAZING banners for on your scrapbook pages/cards!

All you need to complete these banners is ribbon and paper and then it is as simple as making the different banner shapes then adhering it onto your page, very simple but makes a great difference for your page! For different banner ideas see photo below.

See You next Friday for another DIY idea ;)

Blitsy. I've been Blitzed!

Well, I've received my very first Blitsy order! My first order was more practical than a splurge but I was in NEED of some adhesive refills and Blitsy just so happened to be offering a deal on the type of refill I needed, how lucky =)

I had some credits on my account so I decided to do a decent stock up, I purchased 10 MyStik refills and paid a whopping total of $7.95 out of pocket. WOW! These refills retail for $4.99 each so I would say I got a pretty good deal, I am so excited--- now off to scrapbook!

If you want to sign up to check out these deals just go here.

Tropical Digital Scrapbook Page, free digital downloads

I must officially admit, now that I have the time to start dabbling around in the digital scrapbook world I am really, really enjoying it! Like my other pages I have not bothered to put pictures on them yet..... I am really bad about that, next project-- organize photo's! But really-- I like the mix of using both digital and actual paper scrapbook items, it is fun to incorporate both into my projects.

Well here is the most recent page I made! The patterns were FREE for personal use, I highly suggest downloading some to play around with & see if it is something you are into. I found the downloads here. There are quite a few at that site, more than enough to play around with ;)

DIY Friday #9: Cabbage Rose

Today's DIY: Friday comes to you from Natasha Naranjo Aguirre, to view the original post click here. I LOVE this weeks DIY project, as you can tell with previous DIY Friday projects I love flowers and learning how to make them, this cabbage flower is beautiful and I am excited to share with you how to make it!





Here is the flower you will be learning how to make today:








Step 1: Use 4 different sizes, 3 layers for each size







Step 2: Use stylus and rub each petal in a circular motion to form a cut shape. Do this for every petal in the first layer







Step 3: Then rub the center of the flower in the same manner

Step 4: Repeat steps 1 & 2 on layers 2-8 (as seen in photo below)

Step 5: On the remaining layers use needle nose pliers or tweezers, gently pinch & twist the center of each petal to create a ripple

This is what all of your layers should look like:

Step 6: Take layer 1 and apply a little adhesive to the top of the layer, pinch the layer shut to create bud

Step 7: Take layer 2 and add glue in the center of the flower, adhere the bud inside layer 2

Step 8: Continue this process with all of the cupped layers off-setting the petals

Step 9: Then adhere the remaining flowers in the same manner, off-setting the petals

And here is the finished product!

<3 this flower! Be sure to stop back next week for another DIY Project =)

CHA Winter 2012: Sneak Peek, Part 3

We are getting down to the last couple of weeks before the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) Winter Show 2012 starts and there are SO MANY releases being shown to us by the vendors, this is the 3rd post I have done on whats to come and it's the biggest yet..... with a couple weeks left til the show starts I imagine there will be PLENTY more to be released as well. Part 3 includes new product from SEI, Moxxie, My Minds Eye, Prima, Jillibean Soup, Copic and Graphic 45 so take a look and be sure to check back next week for Part 4!

SEI: Vanilla Sunshine


SEI: Desert Springs

Prima: Meadow Lark

Prima: En Francias

Prima: Almanac

Copic:

Moxxie: Spring Has Sprung

Moxxie: At The Beach

My Minds Eye: On The Bright Side

My Minds Eye: Miss Caroline Howdy Doody

My Minds Eye: Miss Caroline Fiddlesticks

My Minds Eye: Miss Caroline Dolled Up

My Minds Eye: Miss Carloine Dilly Dally

My Minds Eye: Follow Your Heart

Jillibean: Southern Chicken Dumpling

Graphic 45: Little Darlings

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my facebook page here and see my very own sneak peek for the 12x12 scrapbook sketches book I have coming out!

A Special Request

Scrap 'N Friends is a scrapbook store in Brookville, Ohio owned by 4 amazing ladies. Recently I learned that Belinda {one of the owners}'s oldest son Dan, who is now 26 was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer & they recently found another spot on his tail bone {not in the bone, but on it}. He will begin chemo this Monday, 6 days of chemo, 6 weeks of radiation. Please keep Dan, Belinda and their family in your prayer!

Also, to help raise money for Dan's medical expenses Scrap 'N Friends is hosting a Card Benefit. They will be selling 8 homemade cards for just $10, and 100% will be going towards the medical expenses. If you have any extra home made cards or would like to make some to donate to this Card Benefit I know they would LOVE to receive it. Or if you are not the card maker but love to give cards purchase the bundle of 8 for $10 {Scrap 'N Friends will ship to you if your not in the area!}

If you have cards to send, ship to:
Scrap 'N Friends
112 Market Street
Brookville, OH 45309

If you would like to purchase cards, call here: 937-833-2600

Please keep the prayers going and if you are able to help in any way it is GREATLY appreciated!

DIY Friday #8: Turn paper clips into hearts

Today's DIY Friday comes to you from a project I found on Pinterest! Jessica Jones is the brain behind this cute little paper clip turned heart idea. You can view her original post here.

See you next Friday for another DIY Project.

CHA 2012 Winter: Sneak Peeks-- Part 2

The holidays have come and gone but the excitement is just about to begin in the crafters world! CHA is quickly approaching at the end of this month and the vendors are dropping more and more sneak peeks every day! You may remember I did a post a couple of weeks ago on some sneak peeks (if you missed it click here to view it) but there are sooo many more popping up now that I HAD to do a part 2----- don't be surprised to see a part 3 maybe even 4 coming up soon......but, on to Part 2's Sneak Peeks----

First we have Prima: Nature Garden:

I am alllllllll about the colors in this nature garden line, prima always does such an amazing job with their product lines and this one is no exception!!! As soon as I see this in a store it will most definitely be mine--- I can't wait for this! Visit Prima's post on this product here for more product and samples.


Next up is another lovely line by Prima: Songbird


View Prima's post on this product here for more product and samples.


Third, Moxxie: Child's Play

I love this line, it's always a challenge to find boy patterns, but even more challenging to find beyond toddler boy patterns--- this one is perfect! To view their original announcement click here.



Fourth, Authentique: Miracle:

I have no children myself but I will still be purchasing this line! I love all the pastel-like colors, and the fact that even though this is a "baby" line as far as the papers are concerned they are mainly basic patterns making it useful for just about any scrappin' theme! {I LOVE AUTHENTIQUE!!} To view their post click here.



And last, but certainly not least Hero Arts:

These stamps actually are available to be purchased at local retailers already, Hero Arts has amazing quality stamps. To browse their catalog filled with new product click here.

I hope you enjoyed round 2 of CHA Winter: Sneak Peeks--- Be sure to check back for round 3!

Sketch Of The Month: January 2012

Happy New Years everybody!! It's the first day of 2012 so let's get this year started right with an awesome sketch! My main focus for this months sketch was to have TONS of photos. It's just after several holidays and if you're anything like me you have so many photo's and don't know how to scale down, they are all so important!

Here is Jan's Sketch of the Month: 12x12 Double Page Spread

Lots of photo's riiiiight?? My goal while working on this was to fit lots and lots of pictures on there, but being a scrapbooker we need room to journal AND have all those pretty pattern papers and embellishments on there too! Enjoy and be sure to share with me any layouts you have made from my sketches, I would LOVE to see them ;)

Also, quick side note, you may have heard that I am coming out with a sketches book, and YES, the rumor is TRUE =) I announced it last Thursday on my facebook page--- click here and "like" it (at the top of the page) if you want to be a fan and to get the most up to date information. I will be posting more detailed information very soon so be on the look out!

***To print out this sketch in a bigger size visit my facebook page (you are able to visit even if you don't have an account with them) and click download.... I working on making the photo larger and printable on here but blogger is not working with me at the moment to make that happen. Thank You ;)