October Afternoon

  Hi there!  Mandie here for my first guest post.  I am so excited to be here this month!  (& a little nervous too! lol!)  I've made a couple of layouts to share with you all this week.

 The first one uses several lines from my stash.  If you are like me, you have a TON of lovely October Afternoon product lurking in your stash.  Waiting to be used, but you just love it so much you haven't cut into it!  

I used product from Schoolhouse, Report Card, Holiday Style, Campfire, Sidewalks & a smidge of Farmhouse.  I love how all of the lines coordinated nicely with one another.  Bust those papers out and use them!

 

My second layout uses Sasparilla (oh my heart, this line is ADORABLE!  can't wait to use it some more!) and a bit of Farmhouse.  Again, the patterns in these 2 lines mix so well!  I encourage you to mix them up a bit!  They yellows, blues and greys just mesh together so well!

This is a very simple and quick layout.  But, the photos just steal my heart.  I found them the other day when going through some boxes of photos that had not been scrapped yet.  (Seems like I've been doing that a lot lately.  And there are a ton in those boxes!)  My little guy in those photos is 7.5 now!  Yikes!  (and how funny is that second photo?  I mean, that is classic Noah!) 

I am totally loving the blues and greys in Sasparilla!  They are such a pretty shade!

That concludes my post for this week!  Until next time... Have a great weekend!
Mandie 

Monday Challenge: Mix and Match

Happy Monday! Vivian here with this week’s Monday challenge. Today we’re keeping it simple with a challenge that asks you to create something using three or more October Afternoon product lines. If you haven’t already noticed, one of the great features of October Afternoon products is that the colors coordinate across lines, making it easy to mix and match products with success.

Becky played along with the challenge this week and came up with a fantastic and fun layout that combines products from several different lines, including Sidewalks, 5 & Dime, Modern Homemaker, Fly a Kite, and Thrift Shop. Note how the yellows, pinks, and aquas combine across the paper lines.

After declaring this a simple challenge I went in a more challenging direction, as I decided to see whether I could use something from every October Afternoon line ever created, from County Fair (the first October Afternoon line ever) through to Sidewalks (in stores now). It was hard, but I did it! Note how the greens, reds, yellows, oranges, and aquas combine across lines and how the alphas coordinate.

I started with a strip of paper from County Fair (the aqua at the bottom) and then cut ¾” wide strips of patterned paper, choosing one paper from each line and gluing the strips to a 12” wide scrap of cardstock to form my own striped paper. I cut the striped paper in half once I was done and used a strip both above and below my photos. Product lines not represented in patterned paper include Schoolhouse (scalloped border sticker), Modern Homemaker (apple punched from patterned paper), Boarding Pass (taller letter stickers), 5 & Dime (Red Wagon sprINKler), Rocket Age (Comet Tail sprINKler), and Sidewalks (label sticker).

If you are an October Afternoon blog reader but don’t visit the website, I encourage you to check out the products section. You can click on each line to look at thumbnails of each product and can click on those thumbnails to get a closer look at products, including the A and B sides of the patterned papers. I’ll let you in on a little secret – I use this section of the website often to help plan my projects. It’s quicker and easier (and less messy!) than pulling out all my papers and embellishments, especially when I’m looking for certain colors, patterns, types of stickers, etc.

Hope you’ll participate in this simple (or not so simple, depending upon how you interpret it!) challenge that’s also a good stash-buster. If you do participate, please link up your work in our October Afternoon Flickr gallery so we can see your creations!

Happy mixing and matching!

It's back to school time

Our designers were insipred by the kids going back to school. I asked them to use some  favorites, such as Report Card and Shoolhouse along with the new Sidewalks.

From Marcy Penner

I made my daughter a little journal for keeping track of her homework using the Schoolhouse line (a favorite of mine).
Now... whether or not she'll use it is a totally different question.

From Jill Sprott

For the upcoming "Back to School" feature, I used papers from the Schoolhouse and Sidewalks lines to create these clips.  As a teacher, I constantly travel to and from school with stacks of papers, and it's important to keep them organized.  These clips not only serve a utilitarian function, but they also look cute doing their thing!  They are also very simple to create.  I painted the clips, and when they were dry, I adhered strips of patterned paper to them.

And From Vivian Masket

"First and Fourth," uses Schoolhouse, Sidewalks, and Report Card as well as Boarding Pass letter stickers and 5& Dime and Boarding Pass sprINKlers (Lemon Drop on top, All Aboard and Lemon Drop layered on the bottom). To create the white "frames" for the embellishments at the top, I used a punch one size larger than the punch used for each embellishment and punched shapes out of scrap cardstock (or, in the case of the flashcard, I cut a larger sized piece of cardstock and rounded the corners), and sprayed Lemon Drop over them while they were temporarily adhered. I removed the cardstock circles, stars, and rectangle, and then popped the embellishments in the center of each frame.

Challenge brought to you by Kinsey and Jill

Hey OA Friends! Kinsey and Jill here today with this week’s challenge and it’s a fun one so let’s jump right into it! This one is all about the number one…literally. It’s a one of each challenge, and I’ll admit, when I chose this challenge, I was aiming for simplicity- back to school time is hectic so the easier the better for now, ha! I was totally surprised though by how much thought went into every choice because let’s face it, choosing 1 of anything October Afternoon- related is next to impossible…I tend to use multiples of EVERYTHING on my projects and now, I’m proud to say that this challenge pulled me out of my comfort zone and made me really edit my choices more.

So here’s my take on the challenge and for this layout, I used the new Sidewalks line (LOVE!)…

My ‘ones’ are as follows: 1 large font, 1 small font, 1 sheet of pp, 1 pin, 1 photo strip, and 1 tin pin (from Modern Homemaker- couldn’t resist the cat, it was perfect).

My partner in crime today is my sweet friend Jill and she knocked this challenge out of the park! I’m so excited to show you guys what she came up with…

Here’s what Jill said about the challenge:

Given my penchant for layering and repetition on a layout, I found this to be a REAL challenge.  Only ONE of each item?  I was a little worried that it would be like scrapping in a straitjacket.  However, it ended up working for me and really stretching me creatively.  This challenge made me think about my supply choices, and along the way, I realized that there was still repetition inherent in this challenge -- it just happened to be the repetition of ones.  Most of the items that I incorporated on the layout have something to do with my daughter's schedule.  For instance, the numbers relate to the Math Team, the singing bird relates to choir, the text paper relates to the Speech Team, and so on.  I used the new Sidewalks line here, along with some Boarding Pass and a Report Card pencil stamp.  Since I could only choose one sheet of patterned paper, I went with a sheet of Sidewalks "Jump Rope" paper, since it is full of variety and has two distinct A and B sides.

Thanks so much for hanging out with us today! We hope you play along because we LOVE seeing your projects in the flickr gallery and as always, there’s a chance you might find your beautiful work posted right here for all to admire :)

Take care and have a wonderful week!

Kinsey and Jill

July Guest Designer: Lisa Truesdell

It is that time again to introduce you to our guest designer for July, Lisa Truesdell!  We just love Lisa's fun, eclectic style and if anybody knows how to rock the OA Sprinklers, it's her! 

 
1} Tell us about yourself.
I live in Omaha, NE, in a midtown neighborhood filled with big trees and old houses. I’ve been married to Matthew for 13 years and don’t know if I’d manage life without his left brained computer programmer self balancing out my right brained craziness. I am a stay at home mom to our three boys – Alex is 10, Ben is 8, and Sam turns 4 at the end of July. I’m addicted to Mcd’s Diet Coke, Words with Friends, magazines and my iPad. I love to read, but I find that I’m useless from when I start a book till I finish it – I wish I had more time to indulge that! Life is often complete chaos here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. ;) You can get a glimpse into my everyday and my work at www.gluestickgirl.com.

2} Tell us about your scrapbook style and how long you have been scrapbooking?
I’ve been scrapping for almost 7 years, and in that time, I’ve been published in BHG Scrapbooks Ets, Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbook Trends and Cards Magazine. I was a CK Hall of Fame Honorable Mention in 2006 and am currently designing for Studio Calico and am a Two Peas Garden Girl. 

My style is detailed and whimsical – I like to use a lot of little bits and layers, and I tie everything together with lots of sewing. I tend to scrap more everyday moments than events – I want to capture the little things that would otherwise be forgotten.
 
3} Are you a layout person or a card person...or both?
I do mostly layouts – but I do like using cards as a way to play with new color combos or techniques. Plus, they’re a good way for me to use some girly product.
 
4} What is on your scrap desk right now?
A mess. ;) Lots of OA Rocket Age, the remains of my last Studio Calico kit, and bits and pieces of STUFF waiting to go into my project life album.
 
5} What is your favorite October Afternoon line of paper?
Rocket Age! No doubt about it. But I’m dying to see the new releases at CHA – it’s always one of my favorite booths to hit.
 
6} What can you NOT scrapbook without?
My sewing machine – I can’t finish a layout without a little (or rather, most of the time, a LOT) or stitching.
 
7} What is your favorite source for inspiration?
I’ve been sucked into Pinterest – and I can’t imagine life without it! Anytime I’m feeling low on inspiration I go through my own pins and those of my friends – it never fails to get the ideas flowing.

8} Favorite TV show?
My husband and I have a weekly ritual of watching Big Bang Theory and 30Rock. I don’t want much else on a regular basis, but if I’m home alone and needing noise, I’ll watch anything on HGTV.

9}Favorite 7th grade memory?
Oy. Junior high! What a time. My favorite memory is that a piece of my art was selected for a special show at the state capitol – definitely a cool experience!

10} If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead who would it be & why?
Oliver Jeffers. We are HUGE fans of his children’s books and his illustrations are just amazing. I’d love to get a little glimpse into how his brain works.

Let's say hello to Lisa :)

Hi everyone! I'm excited to be guesting here at October Afternoon this month - and THRILLED to be working with their Rocket Age line! I'm a mama to three boys, and this line was my favorite of the last release. I love the colors and images - such a fun, bright, vintage feel.

 

As soon as I saw this robot on the sticker sheet, I thought of these photos of my oldest at a science camp he attended last summer. It was a week of Lego Robotics - totally perfect for a Lego obsessed 9 year old!  I popped the robot sticker with foam adhesive and added a few other embellishments from the line around him.

 

I started my page using the B side of Captain's Log as a background - I'm in love with the teeny tiny polka dots in this line. Once I had the main elements on page arranged, I used temporary adhesive to attach some punched stars to the background and then sprayed over them with the Night Sky Sprinklers. This is one of my favorite techniques for the background of my pages - it adds a little interest and depth without being overwhelming.

 
I finished off the layout with Alex's name tag from the class. I always seem to keep this sort of thing, and am trying to be better about getting them ONTO my pages.

Lisa will be back next Friday, can't wait to see what else she has put together!  We hope you have a fabulous holiday weekend and we will see you on Tuesday!

Father's Day Inspiration

This Sunday is Father's Day...what are you giving to the special dad in your life?  The design team has been busy whipping up some fun card ideas that we are excited to share.  Masculine designs can be challenging, but don't worry, OA has plenty of fun products to make them an easy task!

First, we have a card by Lexi Bridges "I Heart My Dad".

Lexi says "This one is simple and little kid-ish :) The Campfire line can definitely have a "manly" vibe so combine it with the bear from Rocket Age and the fun quote and it makes the perfect card to come from a kiddo.  I also used the Comet Tail sprinkler against the blue background to make it pop."

Next is "You're the Man" card by Jill Sprott
Jill says "Every father deserves a "man card" for Father's Day, am I right? I brought together some manly-man odds and ends from the Rocket Age line as well as some Thrift Shop and Report Card wild cards."

"You're Out of This World" card by Marcy Penner.

Marcy embossed the little robot onto a tag.  Then she unscrewed the Tin Type sprinkler bottle, dipped her paintbrush in and painted the robot.  What a cool way to use the sprinklers!

"I Love You Dad" card by Roree Rumph.
She used 5 and Dime, Thrift Shop and Report Card to put this adorable card together.

Amy Heller's Father's Day Pillow Box "4 U Dad"

 
Amy created the main image with the B side of paper from Report Card. She used Campfire for the other papers and alpha letters. The buttons are from Schoolhouse, too.

"I Love You Man" card by Kinsey Wilson



Don't you love how Kinsey used the sticker background from the mini-markets to create a mask?  This card is full of cool techniques you gotta try!

And Danni has even created a tutorial for us today to create this ADORABLE card:









And another variation using the same technique:

If you have already finished your Father's Day creations we would love to see them!  If not, we hope we have inspired you today to break out your supplies and get busy! :)

Color Splash! Challenge

Hi Everyone! It's Amy here today and I have a bright, and fun inspiration challenge for you. One of my favorite things about October Afternoon has always been the COLOR. Bright, bold, fun and incredibly cohesive between collections. Today I thought I would bring you a post FULL of color, bright and vibrant, showcasing how all the different collections work together brilliantly when you want to put together a card, layout or mini album that focuses all of it's "umpf" on COLOR, glorious color!!
 
*Spring by Amy Heller*

OA Collections used: Rocket Age, 5&Dime, Campfire, Seaside, Modern Homemaker, Fly A Kite, Thrift Shop, Farm Fresh, Roadmap, Cherry Hill, Ducks in A Row

SprINKlers: Paper Doily, Buttermilk
 
*First Grass Stain Season by Amy Heller*

OA Collections used:  5&Dime, Campfire, Modern Homemaker, Fly A Kite, Farm Fresh,  School House, Report Card, Cherry Hill, Roadmap, Good Cheer
 
*Nothing But Blue Skies by Amy Heller*

OA Collections used:  5&Dime, Campfire, Thrift Shop, Fly A Kite, Weathervane, Thrift Shop

Mini Markets:  Mini Markets (Rocket Age) Light Blue, Sticky Keys (Playtime)

As you can see, I think I've used most of every collection in the OA line up to create these cohesively color-themed projects. Now let's take a look at Roree's incredible favorite pictures mini album!
 
When I presented the challenge to Roree, I told her we were doing a monochromatic challenge. When she finished her project and presented me with this beautiful tag album, I decided to mix up the focus of the challenge a tad to feature exactly what her project shows, that is that every collection you posses in your October Afternoon stash can work beautifully together! And her mini encapsulates that message in such a fun, creative way!

Lets take a closer look:
 
This is what Roree had to say about her album:

It is a little 'Fave Photos' pocket tag mini. There is a tag for each person in my family. We all got to pick our own favorite photos from the past year to put in our pocket, so it is personalized for each person. I am not crazy about doing monochromatic projects, so I got around it by doing each individual pocket tag as a monochromatic but putting them together to be a rainbow of color.
 
 
 
*Fave Photos Mini Album by Roree Rumph*

OA Collections used: Rocket Age, 5&Dime, Campfire, Farm Fresh, Modern Homemaker, Fly A Kite, Thrift Shop

Mini Markets:  Sticky Keys (Playtime)

So what do you think!? Are you up to digging through your OA stash of goodies and creating a super COLORFUL project? We would love to see your takes using all of your creative takes on OA Color!! Simply upload them to our Flickr gallery and let us all see your wonderful creations! I hope you are inspired to use a BIG splash of color in your next projects!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a WONDERFULLY colorful Monday! ;D

GlueArts Rocks!

As you have heard by now, we have teamed up with GlueArts this week and we couldn't be more excited!  The GlueArts Glue Girls have been showing off some amazing projects featuring Modern Homemaker on their blog.  Be sure to check those out here.

Our design team has been busy as well, and the decision is unanimous, we love GlueArts products!

Kinsey made this expandable file to wrangle all of her old report cards, school papers and memorabilia using manilla file folders and October Afternoon Schoolhouse and Report Card papers and embellies. 
 
She used the Glue Glider Pro to construct it by glueing the file folders together, cover to cover, and then the edges to create pockets. She also used the dimensional glue squares to 'pop' some of the stickers out on the front of the file.
 
What an awesome project to keep all your school-related memorabilia all together!

Danni used her GlueArts adhesive to make some adorable graduation cards.  
 
 
 
 
 
 

Stacey Kingman put this sweet card together with the Glue Glider Pro as well.
 
 

How would you like to win some GlueArts adhesive for your stash?  We have 2 ways to win!  The first way is to leave a comment on this blog post letting us know what projects you are working on right now.  The second way is to "like" the GlueArts Facebook page here and tell them that OA sent you.  You have until Sunday to leave a comment in both places and we will post the winners on Monday!
 
 

October Afternoon Warehouse Sale

Imagine being able to shop straight off the shelves of the October Afternoon warehouse...at even-better-than-wholesale prices!

We had a great day yesterday, and there are plenty of great items remaining for today through Sunday. 

 

The details:

October Afternoon Warehouse

5708 Upper 147th ST W # 103
Apple Valley, MN  55124

Warehouse entrance: South side of building (in the back), # 103

Hours:

Friday: 10am-6pm
Saturday: 10am-6pm
Sunday: Noon-5pm

Reminders and guidelines:

* Please bring cash or a photo ID and credit card. We're sorry, but we're not able to accept checks.

* We apologize, but young children will not be able to attend. This is a real working warehouse; the items are stacked high on wooden pallets, and although we've done our best, the aisles can be narrow when it's busy. (We're sorry for the inconvenience; several of us are parents of young ones ourselves, and we've been swapping childcare for our "alone time" in the warehouse.)

The goods:

We have patterned paper (available in wrapped packs of 25 sheets--most lines for $4/pack!), stickers, wild cards, rub-ons and more from almost every line prior to the launch of our newest lines at CHA 2011, including Ducks in a Row, Farm Fresh, Very Merry, Good Cheer, Night Light, Report Card, Road Map, and Weathervane (we even have a few mini-albums and Mini Market alphas).

We can't wait to see you there!

Schoolhouse Inspiration

I thought it would be fun to show you some of the Schoolhouse/Report Card projects that were in our booth at CHA.  I know I mentioned it before, but we really had some fabulous projects made by some pretty fabulous designers!

First up is this darling little mini-album and card from Sasha Holloway.

 
 
 
Stacey Kingman provided us with LOTS of beautiful card inspiration:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Some gorgeous layouts by Roree Rumph:

 
 
Look at those cute fish she made with the Report Card argyle paper?  Love it.

 
 
And a layout by Stephanie Howell: 
Is anybody else ready to run to their scrap desk and get busy with some Schoolhouse?