October Afternoon

Layout Idea from Carolyn!

This page by guest designer Carolyn King uses quite the mixture of OA collections... Campfire, Seaside, Farm Fresh, & Cherry Hill.

Designer We Love: Sasha Holloway!

Sasha wows us once again with this incredibly cute layout featuring our Campfire collection.  She used the latest Pencil lines sketch for it and cut the leaves out using her Cricut.

 
 

 

Right now...

Here are a few projects by our fabulous designer we love Lexi Bridges.

Lexi is the queen of adding just the right mix of bits of this and that to her layouts. She also knows just how much stitching to add to everything to make it darling!

This next layout is definitely not a "yawn" as it is titled. How much do you love the turquoise for a sweet baby layout? I love it! Again the little pieces here and there just make it perfect! The repeated circles spread out on the layout help to unify it and draw your attention back to her darling photo.

I also love the clusters of brads inside the buttons. So cute! Anyone else totally inspired? I just want to grab a red cup from Starbucks and roll up my sleeves and create!

Summer Memories Album

Carolyn King has sent over her beautiful album that nests inside of the memory box showcasing our Seaside line. So fun! She said "my kids look forward to heading to the beach in New Jersey every summer to spend time with thier cousins who all live in Pennsylvania. (We are in Texas right now on an army assignment.) I thought Seaside would be the PERFECT paper to capture some of the fun memories we had...so I created the album and then decided to make a keepsake box to house the album and a few other treasures we kept from the beach!"

Thanks Carolyn!

*edited to add Carolyn found the lunchbox at Hobby Lobby, removed the hinges and handle to paint it cream, then added the hardware back on and embellished. The mini-album was handmade from chipboard and the holes punched with her crop-a-dile. :)

A kitchen filled with love...

Hi everyone! Today Vivian Masket shares a layout with us all that has absolutely heart-warming journaling. Here's her story.

It reads, "When Grandma Frieda passed away, everyone thought I was nuts because all I wanted was her recipe box. No one could imagine why I wanted all those high-fat, outdated recipes. What they didn't know is that each time I take out a recipe card, I am transported back in time. I am in her kitchen on Upland Road with the aromas, sounds, and love that filled her kitchen and our time together."

This just makes me want to call my Grandma and tell her how much I love her! And I would love to have those high-fat recipes, because in my opinion, fat makes things taste better! LOL! :) I love that Vivian used a photo of the recipe cards with her Grandmother's handwriting showcased on them. Her Grandma's handwriting adds to the design and is preserved for generations to come!

My grandma is an outstanding cook, and it makes me wonder why I haven't thought to document this about her in my own scrapbooks? Her chicken and noodles cannot be beat! I have the recipe that she uses, and mine never turn out half as good as hers. Why is that? I'm sure it's her years and years of experience...and the fact that she she's probably never opened up a can of chicken broth in her life...everything is from scratch. Here's to a kitchen filled with love! Happy Tuesday!

Heidi

Summer Memories Box

Guest designer Carolyn King created this Summer Memories box to stash all of her family's 2010 summer memories and  keepsakes.  On Wednesday, we will show you the album she created to put inside it!

Card idea from Carolyn King!

We love Carolyn's fun cards... this one using our Campfire collection is no exception!  Super cute!!

Just a little deer...

Hi there! It's Heidi here checking in! Am I the only one who cannot believe that it is the month of November? I guess moving does that to you! Just before our big move here to Minnesota, my youngest celebrated her birthday and had specifically requested a "little deer" party. Now when faced with the facts that all of the other options seemed to be a Littlest Pet Shop party, a Barbi party, or a My Little Pony party, I jumped at the chance to have more of a homemade party instead of a birthday in a box theme. (I have found it's also cheaper!)

 
My Mom and I scoured the thrift store for some little deer that were fit for a centerpiece. We also used the thrifted branch as a "thicket" of sorts to tuck them into. I used the very fun Detours line by OA to decorate goodie bags and place cards. How perfect did that work out? The place cards were mounted on the Detours journaling cards. The kids really loved finding their names tucked in.

 
Here is the birthday girl decked out in her deer antlers. I thought this was a fun twist on party hats that went perfectly with the theme. The kids loved them and kept them on the whole day!

 

Here is her little deer cake. We thought those chocolate rocks were the perfect addition to our woodsy theme. If you try this at home, make sure you move the candles away from the deer. Our poor little guys’ ear caught on fire. Oops!

 
Here are the treat bags that I made using the Detours line. I used a sheet of the die cut shapes to point each arrow to a little deer on the sheet of patterned paper. Chloe wrote each guests name on their tag and we attached them to the bag. They turned out fun! These papers made this party come together so easily!

 

So the next time you need a party idea, look no further than your stash of October Afternoon products! Hope you all have a terrific Wednesday!

School Days, School Days...

School pictures were just ordered at our house and this chalkboard photo idea is a great one to be able to display them at the house!  What do you think? Don't you just want to create this for your house... or as grandparents' holiday gifts?

November Guest Designer: Carolyn King!

This month, we welcome the talented Carolyn King!  You may know her from her blog or maybe you are just meeting her today.. either way, please give her a warm OA welcome!!  She has created some fun projects that you will see throughout this month... we can't wait to show them to you!

Where do you live?
Sunny Texas---for a few more months, anyway

Kids?   
Yep---My amazingly supportive husband and I have three wonderful kiddos:   Cara is 14, Ben is almost 8 and Lauren is 5 and a half.  

How would you describe your style?  
I find it hard to figure out what style best describes my work.  I love whimsical designs and bright colors and tend to mix and match a lot.  Not sure of that style—maybe eclectic?

How long have you been scrapping?  
I started scrapping before I started stamping.  I guess it was about six years ago.  I started scrapping because it was what the other mothers did in the area I had just moved to.  Since, I was a new stay at home mom (previously worked outside of the home before the army moved our family across the country.)  So, I figured….what the heck.    I put scrapping aside for a few years when I began stamping…but now I am happily doing both 

What's your favorite OA paper line?
The reason I LOVE October Afternoon so much is that there hasn’t been a line yet that I haven’t loved.  However, if I have to choose one---it would be Thrift Shop, closely followed by Seaside, followed closely by Report Card…..

What size do you scrapbook?
12 by 12

1 page or 2?  
Mostly 1

Do you make cards?
YOU bet!

Is your scrap area messy or neat?
Total chaos! About once a month or so, I break down and clean it all up but it is amazing how quickly it gets messy again.

What camera do you use?
Canon EOS Rebel 500D (Had to go look on the box…as I have no idea what any of that refers to!)

What is your favorite OA stamp set?
Thrift Shop and Seaside

Your favorite ink?
Memento tuxedo black

Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere!

Hand journaling or computer?  Computer
(I always seem to like a layout until I add my handwriting…ew!)

What's your favorite scrapbooking color?
RED!

What's your most-used scrapbook tool
(aside from your trimmer)? Definitely my scissors---I have so many pairs because I LOVE to cut!

Are you a slow scrapper or a quick scrapper?  
Sometimes slow, sometimes quick.  If I have a preconceived idea of what I want to do….the pages come together fast.  Otherwise….I can stare at a blank page, pictures and paper forever without anything working out.

What's your favorite quote?  
Do not judge another person until you walk a mile in their moccasins. Indian Proverb.

Give us your favorite tip...
If you think your card or page needs a little something else….add a little machine stitching.  This tiny detail can make a huge difference without having to do much at all!  
Thank YOU, October Afternoon, for asking me to guest design this month.  It has been such a thrill!