October Afternoon

This Week’s Sketch: One Large Design Element

Hi everyone, Vivian here with this week’s sketch. I’m normally drawn to very linear designs, but decided to switch things up a bit with some overlapping elements and one larger element.

 

My interpretation of the sketch is pretty literal, and allowed me to showcase one of the pages from the Rocket Age rocket-shaped mini album. I’m not generally a mini album maker, but I do love using mini album pages on my layouts as design elements, journaling blocks, or photo mats.

 

Jaime Warren interpreted the sketch a little more loosely, with gorgeous results! Check out how she used a cluster of butterflies as the large element. I also love her layered border with bits of patterned papers peeking out.

 

We’d love to see your interpretation of this sketch! What will you do with that larger element? If you give it a go, please share your work by posting to our Flickr album.

Have a wonderful day!

Fourth of July Inspiration

Before we get started, let's announce our winner from last week's Flickr Feature giveaway:

 

Congratulations IzzyB!  E-mail me at [email protected] and I will get your Rocket Age prize pack out to you!

Now, how many of you are ready for the holiday weekend?  Are you planning on making anything fun to liven up your celebration? 

How about these fun paper rockets from Lexi Bridges:
 
 
They look awesome hanging from the fireplace mantle.  You could also hang them from a patio or the trees if you will be spending the weekend outside.

Amy Heller put together this festive Happy 4th card:

I love how she used the Tin Pins to embellish the prize ribbon!  Such a cool idea.

Danni Reid has put together these beautiful centerpieces:
 
How fun would these be on your picnic table surrounded by all that delicious summer BBQ and fresh watermelon?  Danni has put together a tutorial to show you how to make these cuties.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

And just for fun, Jill Sprott has found some cool Fourth of July inspiration from around the web to help get your creative juices flowing! 

{Heh86}

 
{A Field Journal} Check out this blog to see more adorable ways to customize your Fourth of July Celebration.  So cute! 

{Tanya*K}

 
{Yulia Brodskaya}

Thanks for stopping by today.  Check back tomorrow for a fresh, new sketch post!

Tutorial: Ribbon Misting

Hello everyone!  Roree here.  I love to use ribbon on my projects, but I don’t always have the right colors on hand to match my paper and embellishments.  So for today’s tutorial, I am going to show you how to create your own coordinating ribbons using October Afternoon’s Sprinklers.   

First off, you will need some ribbon.  I used some white twill tape that I got from my local fabric store.  I was inspired by a photo I took on a recent trip I took.  So I went in that direction.      

The colors in the door are just so beautiful together.  I knew the Sprinklers mists would work well to get colors similar to these. 

 
Start out with a length of ribbon tossed into a pile.  Spray the ribbon here and there, moving the pile around, flipping it over, and spraying some more until it was covered pretty well.  (Don’t worry about getting every single spot covered.)  Next, add another color of mist and repeated the previous steps.  Then, when the ribbon was pretty well covered, wad the ribbon into a ball to help blend the colors into the spots that did not get misted directly.  From this point, you can decide if that amount of color is enough.  If not, go back and start spraying more.  The great thing about coloring your own ribbon is that you get to decide just how light or dark, or how saturated the colors should be.  It’s all up to you!

Here are the mists I blended together to create my colored ribbon:

 
And here is my layout using these ribbons:

 
I think I achieved my goal and got the colors I was after.  They are not the exact colors in the photo, but they work well with it, and they are closer to the colors than any of the ribbon I had in my ribbon stash.

 

I also covered a chipboard star with the extra scraps of leftover ribbon.

 

October Afternoon supplies used:

• Sprinklers:  Lemon Drop, Red Wagon, Comet Tail, Robot Blue, Night Sky
• Papers and embellishments from 5 & Dime, Rocket Age, and Thrift Shop 

I hope this inspires you to get out your Sprinklers and use them on more than just your paper.  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Challenge: Enhance Your Journaling!

Remember the first books you read as a child, in which the words were replaced by pictures at times?  Or perhaps you can recall the fun challenge of solving a rebus puzzle (like this one by Mark Twain), where words and images come together to reveal a message.  A little wordplay can go a long way toward making your journaling engaging and fun to read. 

This week’s challenge is to integrate letters, words, and images from OA products into your journaling. Some letters might be replaced by letter stickers, some words might be replaced by words cut from patterned paper, ephemera, or label stickers, and some images might be substituted for words (like adding a chipboard star instead of actually writing "star").  Have fun with it, like Becky and I did! 
 

For the journaling on this page, I incorporated words, phrases, and pictures from a bunch of October Afternoon products, including stamps, ephemera, patterned paper, and even a Chip ‘N Stick shape.  Each little piece brings its own kind of charm to the page, while also blending seamlessly with the journaling itself.  
 

And because I’m not a believer in keeping recipes secret...
 

Becky also took on this challenge in her bright and whimsical layout. 


Her mix of letter stickers, shape stickers, and ephemera add to the playful tone of the page, complementing those adorable photos perfectly.

Now it’s your turn!  We would love to see your take on this challenge in our Flickr gallery.  This way, you’ll have a chance to be included in one of our Flickr Features on the October Afternoon blog!

-- Jill

First Fourth by Megan Klauer

It's my last week here as a guest designer and I can't even begin to tell you what an honor it has been. So thank you!

Since it's only a little over a week away from the 4th of July, I thought I'd share a layout about my little giry in her first Fourth of July outfit last year.

I used a mix of several of the little Rocket Ships that are included in the collection to create my design.
 
Including the stamp, the super fun rubber charms, and the chipboard piece that is included in the miscellany pack.

I used the Robot Blue Sprinkler and misted the entire chipboard rocket to get it the color I wanted.
 

My little Ella on her {First Fourth}
 

Didn't Megan do such an awesome job this month?  Thank-you Megan for hanging out with us and for sharing your talent and inspiration!

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to enter the giveaway here, it ends on Sunday. 

Thursday Sketch with Stacey

Hi everyone! Stacey here, with a sketch for your scrappy Thursday. It’s no secret that I like to line things up...squares, frames, and grids are pretty much it for me! This week’s sketch is one that I have used over and over because I tend to take way too many pictures, and this grid sketch allows me to use many photos at once.

You’ll notice that I didn’t put the title on my layout in the same place that I put it on the sketch. That’s okay! The sketch is just a guide. Here’s my layout:

And here’s a little close-up of my journaling block:

I think I used four different October Afternoon collections on this layout: The Thrift Shop, 5 and Dime, Fly a Kite, and Seaside...I love mixing them up!

I sent my sketch to Kinsey Wilson to see what she would come up with, and she sent me this amazing card! I really love what she did with the sketch:

Kinsey also used several October Afternoon collections. How many do you see?

Here’s a closer look:

So, there you go...a layout and a card using the same sketch. Does this inspire you to create? If so, don’t forget to post your creation in our Flickr pool!

Flickr Feature Vol. 3 & Giveaway!

Happy Wednesday! :)  It looks like many of you are still making time this summer in between the BBQs and trips to the pool to make some CUTE stuff.  The OA Flickr gallery is busier than ever and we are continually blown away by all of your talent!

Let's check out a few recent submissions:

"Call Me" card by Michelle Burry

Rocket Age Mini-Album by GinieW.  Check out her blog for more pictures of this incredible album. 

"Lucky Me" by Piradee Talvanna 

Funny & Cute by Yukie Sasaki 

"No Fanks" by Georgia Keays

"Exploration" by Kyoko Kobayashi

 
"First Day" by Diana Waite - using Becky's sketch from June 16th's post 

"Do I have to?" by Kerryn Lawson

"So Happy Together" by Sarah Bargo - also from Becky's June 16th Sketch

"Dad" card by jo kill

Thank-you all so much for posting your projects to the Flickr gallery. For playing along with the challenges and sketches.  For reading this blog and for supporting October Afternoon.  We appreciate YOU.  To show our gratitude, we want to do a giveaway today!  Leave a comment telling us what your favorite OA product is and we will pick a winner on Sunday night to win a Rocket Age prize package.

Have a fabulous day! :)

Firework Flowers Tutorial

Hi everyone! It's Amy here today with a fun tutorial on a new paper flower embellishment idea.

I love folding paper and playing with shapes. I was recently playing with a new punch that I purchased, a heart, and in the process of folding and experimenting, I discovered a fun new flower shape that has a three dimensional "explosion" in the center. It also creates a five point pentagon shape in the middle, perfect for inserting stars, so I thought I would call it a Firework Flower! This may not be a new idea, I don't know, but I've never seen it, so it is new to me! :) These flowers are ideal for upcoming Fourth of July party pages, birthdays, picnics, or even maybe some outerspace -themed layouts with our latest collection, Rocket Age. And let's not forget cards! They would be perfect for those as well. Here's what I created with them:

Everyone Loves A Parade
**(OA Papers - Rocket Age, Modern Homemaker, Seaside)**

Do you want to learn how to make these festive firework flowers? Well, let's get started!

First you need:

1) A Circle hole punch (mine is 1.5")
2) Heart Punch (Mine is approximately 1.25" wide)
3) 1 sheet of double-sided patterned paper (I used OA: Rocket Age:All Systems Go)
4) 1sheet of patterned paper (does not need to be double sided - I used OA: Rocket Age:Black Hole)
5) Adhesive pen
6) (OPTIONAL) Sewing Machine

For one basic flower all you need it one punched circle and 5 punched, double-sided hearts. For extra dimension, punch 5 or 10 extra hearts out of the paper you punched the circle from. (I'll get to those hearts last - set those aside)

1) Take your 5 hearts and fold the bottom point up to the center point at the top of the heart. Set aside.

2) Take your adhesive pen and draw a line of adhesive around the perimeter of the circle, as close to the edge as possible, so it won't be visible.

3) Begin laying down your folded hearts around the perimeter, making sure that the flat folded edge meets the flat folded point on the next flower you lay down. Continue around the circle.

4) Nudge the hearts until they are evenly spaced around the circle, creating an even pentagon in the center.

Now, you can leave your flower as is, and simply embellish the center how you wish, or you can take it a step further and include some machine or hand stitching.

5) When you go to do your machine stitching, make sure you fold the points of your hearts back down so as not to bend them while sewing.

6) Stitch around the perimeter a couple times.

7) Open up your hearts again and you will end up with a fully secured and whimsical firework flower!

However, if you are anything like me, you might be wondering, how do I make it even MORE impactful? Well, you remember those extra hearts we punched out at the beginning? Well this is where they will come in.

8) Turn your flower upside down.

9) Apply glue adhesive to the bottom of your flower.

10) With your hearts paper upside down begin applying them, again upside down (points out) in between each of your hearts. This will create a five pointed star behind your flower, mirroring your pentagon in the center.

11) To add even further contrast, apply 5 more hearts in between those that you already did in step 10.


Now you are ready to embellish the center to your heart's content! I layered mine up in a variety of ways, even making one of my flowers the center of a large star itself!

What do you think? You going to try out some of these fun exploding flowers out yourself? I would love to see your versions! If you do, make sure you submit them to our Flickr gallery! We LOVE seeing what you've been creating!

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful day!! :D

Challenge: Make it 3D!

It seems the trend in movies and television now is to make everything 3D, so let's carry it over into the scrapbooking world!

I will be honest, I have no problem making my pages bulky. I know some people aren't fans, but it just have never bothered me. My thought is, if I like it and it makes me happy when designing a page—go for it!

Of course the easiest way to make something dimensional is using foam adhesive. Sometimes I forget just a small bit of this will, quite literally, bring a whole new dimension to my page. On the layout below though I chose to create my own embellishment...

I punched the same size star about 4-5 times, sewed through the middle and raised up the sides. Some of the stars have a smaller star in the center. Pretty easy, huh?

Almost like falling stars. Falling dimensional stars that is ;) Of course so many other shapes would look fun with this effect...a great way to give your punches a workout and use up bits of scrap paper. And of course it HAD to be combined with Sprinklers! I combined Lemon Drop and Robot Blue on this particular layout.

Wina was kind enough to join me in the challenge:

Could this page be any more beautiful? Here's what she had to say...

I love Lexi's Challenge. Working with 3D elements on my pages has always been one of my secret delights. For this page I used my slice and cut out about 10 pieces of foliage. I used foam adhesive to adhere the leaves as well as some hot glue. The song "Love story" (where do i begin) inspired this page. I listened to it over and over. I took this picture at a photography workshop and loved it so much. It was a joy to scrapbook.

So what do you say? Shall we try to scrap in 3D? Give it a go and then link us up in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery! We love to see what you have creating and are always on the lookout for layouts and projects to showcase.

Have a beautiful day!

Baby Drake by Megan Klauer

Happy Friday!  It's Megan here today and I am so excited to share another project today!

Did anyone else see Rocket Age as a baby theme?

When I received the line, and saw that adorable teddy bear, I knew it just called for a baby page! Recently, I had the honor of doing a photoshoot of a friends adorable little boy and his plaid outfit went perfect with the {Blast Off} sheet!
 
The plaid got me started and with a few pieces from the Shape Stickers & the Printed Chip Shape, it all came together really quickly.
 
I will be back next week to share my final project.  I can't believe June is already half over.  CRAZY!

Have a wonderful weekend!