October Afternoon

Tuesday Tutorial--creating confetti pockets with journal tags

Good morning, Danni here with you with today's Tuesday tutorial.  I love creating confetti pockets for my projects as you may have seen in my recent projects.  Today, I would like to answer some of your questions and share with you how to create these pockets with your journaling tags and some clear bags.

 

 

Here are some recent projects with the pockets

 

 

 

 

 

and some pockets from my recent Woodlank Park mini album

 

 

 

The pockets are really fun and you can fill them with anything you'd like, so let's get started

(click pics to enlarge if need be)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We'd love to see what kind of pockets you'll create with your journal tags. If you get a chance to play along, don't forget to post your pockets in the OA Flickr group.

 

happy creating♥

danni

Monday Challenge: Journaling Cards

Happy Monday morning to you! Lexi here to get this week of highlighting October Afternoon's journaling cards started with a challenge: use them in an unexpected way. Sure, they are the perfect little spot for adding journaling to a layout, but how else can they be used? Becky and I have a few ideas. We both used Woodland Park journaling cards and products for our projects.

First, Becky created this gorgeous layout. She stacked the journaling cards on top of one another in this layout, right up the middle, and embellished them along the way. Genius! I would have never thought to do that.

For my part of the challenge I decided to take the journaling cards and add a few goodies like this

and create a mini mini :)

We've had lots of outside time this summer so I thought a mini using Woodland Park would be the perfect place to highlight some of our outdoor summer fun.

Mini envelopes and a tag with string break up the similar size of journaling cards with something unexpected. It also creates a place for more journaling.  

Another little tip is if you are going to sew directly on your pages you kinda need to plan out what gets sewn and where so you aren't sewing a label on one side which is sewing through the middle of the picture on the other side. Or avoid it like I do: truly sew something down on one side of a page and then sew on the photo PRIOR to gluing it down on the backside. Sneaky ;) 

My minis are always a bit random. The theme is there with the photos and coordinating product, but often the journaling is a mix of typewriter and handwritten, photos don't always face the same way..it's all okay :) Don't make it too complicated. That takes the fun out of it! 

I find mini albums are a great way to add in bits and pieces of embellishments that we all seem to have hanging around the desk or in little bowls. It helps to gather a small pile before you start so it can go faster and not overwhelm.  

I always like to add a little something to the back.

So how about you? Have you ever created a mini with journaling cards or used them in a unexpected way? Show us! Link us in the comments or flickr group. We would love to see :) 

Enjoy your Monday! 

Scrap space tid bits

Hi there everyone, Mou here today with a peek at my scrap space! But first of all, let me warn you... mine is NOT the most organized space and between summer vacation, family trip, CHA and workshops, it's more like a... disaster!!! So, instead of subjecting you to the horror, I'll show you individual storage ideas that I find effective. Maybe you too will find something useful in these peeks. Okay, so let's get started...

I collect stamps-- wood-mounted, clear, all of it. And I like to look at my pretty stamps. So I arrange my current favorites on a little display case above my shelf. They just make me happy!

I hoard tapes: washi, paper, sticker, gaffer, book, canvas, you name it! And yeah I have near a hundred rolls that I lovingly show off in this ribbon holder.

But let's face it... I don't like to have to rearrange every time I want a roll because well, not every roll can be placed at the end. So, just like stamps, I keep the ones that I'm using a lot at a moment on a paper towel holder...much easier to tackle.

I keep most embellishments in these media boxes I buy at Ikea.

Paper goes to repurposed used priority mail boxes. When I get a chance, I like to pretty up these boxes with scrap papers, fabric, etc. This one is still in the waiting...

Recently I've been thinking a lot about making an inspiration board. However, I have a fear of cluttering it up all too quickly, but I still want the little things I love pinned up in some sort of a display. I also want to keep it small. So I used a vintage ticket holder... mine's not vintage, but you get the idea ;)

Well. that's it for now... hope you enjoyed!

Thursday Sketch

Hi OA Fans! It's Amy here with your Thursday sketch.

I wanted to challenge myself a bit, so I decided to use large circles and push everything to the sides of my sketch. I generally don't work with large elements against the edge of my pages, so I really wanted to see what I could do with this simple yet challenging concept.

I asked Marcy to play along with my sketch, and here's what she came up with:

This is what Marcy had to say about her page:

I started by thinking that I'd approach Amy's sketch exactly how it was. But then I decided to rotate it.  From there I moved the row of circles along the edge inwards... and then it got a little circle crazy!

I love it, don't you!? That circle-type speach bubble is so great and I love that she used it as her title as well. Wonderful, Marcy!

I took a more literal approach to the sketch, and this is what I came up with

I used Woodland Park almost exculsively for my page. 
I used my Silhouette to cut out my pie shapes, and with one of my "leftover" pieces from the cutting, I used that as the place for my journaling. This was the only adjustment to the sketch that I made - I moved it inward from the left edge.

For my title, I used Woodland Park Sticky Keys, Cakewalk Tiny Type and Woodland Park alpha stickers. I love using them all together to create a dynamic and easy to read title in my pages. 

So what do you think? If you'd like to give this different sketch a try, we'd love to see it! Simply upload your creation to our Flickr gallery. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

CHA-Summer Releases: Design Team Projects!

Today we are excited to share four new lines with you, fresh from CHA-Summer 2012! The design team happily created a bunch of spectacular projects for the October Afternoon CHA booth using these collections.  We hope you love them (and the new lines) as much as we do!  

Midway

The team absolutely fell head over heels for Midway's vibrant colors and playful patterns. As the projects below demonstrate, this line is perfect for carnival and amusement park photos, for capturing children (and even grown-ups) at play, and for creating a sense of energy and motion on the page. 

Layout, Card, and Tag by Lexi Bridges

Card, Tag, and Layout by Marcy Penner

Tag by Roree Rumph

Layout and Card by Jill Sprott 

Card and Layout by Amy Heller

Layout by Mou Saha

Tag, Card, and Layout by Becky Novacek

Layout by Roree Rumph

Layout and Cards by Danni Reid

Witch Hazel

We've been longing for some time for an October Afternoon Halloween-themed line, and we could not be more excited about Witch Hazel! It's full of hauntingly wonderful patterns that will dress up pages featuring practically any costume, since it not only pairs black with orange, but also includes other colors as well.  The real treat is that long after Halloween, you'll find that many of the papers can work with a variety of themes. 

Layout by Mou Saha

Layout and Card by Danni Reid

Layout by Becky Novacek

Card and Layout by Roree Rumph

Tag by Marcy Penner

Tag and Layout by Jill Sprott 

Tag and Layout by Lexi Bridges

Layout by Amy Heller

Make It Merry

Joining favorite October Afternoon holiday lines such as Very Merry and Holiday Style is a new collection, Make It Merry! As the design team learned in the process of creating these projects, this line is perfectly named.  

Layout and Tag by Amy Heller

Card by Danni Reid

Layout by Jill Sprott 

Layout by Mou Saha

Card and Layout by Lexi Bridges

Tag, Card, and Layout by Marcy Penner

Farm Girl

The Farm Girl collection has a homegrown, wholesome, farm-fresh feel to it.  Amy and Mou had a chance to work with this line, and their projects attest to just how super sweet and super cute this line can be! 

Cards by Amy Heller

Layouts and Card by Mou Saha

You can find even more images on each of the design team members' blogs.

We'd love to hear what you think of the new lines, so please, feel free to leave a comment on this post. Thanks for visiting today! 

Tuesday Tutorial: Masking with Sticky Keys

I don't know about you, but I (Vivian) always have random letters left after I've used a set of alphabet stickers a few times. While I sometimes combine alphabet stickers from multiple sets for a fun and whimsical look, I'm trying to think outside of the box when it comes to leftover alphabet stickers. Enter today's tutorial: masking with Sticky Keys. Today I'm going to show you how I used Sticky Keys to create a confetti effect on a layout.

1. Start with a set of Sticky Keys (these are from the Woodland Park collection):

2. Choose leftover letters. You'd also probably be fine (depending upon what the names are in your family) using Js, Xs, Qs, and Zs from a new set of Sticky Keys. Stick them to a piece of white cardstock where you want the confetti bits to be. I knew I was going to use a piece of 8" x 8" patterned paper as a photo/journaling mat so I placed that on top of the cardstock to help me figure out where to put the Sticky Keys:

3. Remove patterned paper, photo, etc., leaving just the Sticky Keys:

4. Using a Sprinkler (here I used the Strawberry Creme Sprinkler from the 5 & Dime collection), mist over the Sticky Keys:

5. When dry, remove Sticky Keys (detail shot of top section of cardstock):

6. Assemble layout. I added a few small Designer Brads in the center of the masked spaces - and two larger brads outside the masked pattern - to create the confetti effect I was after:

Here's a detail shot of the top section of the layout:

While I used this technique to create confetti, it can also be used to create polka dots, shapes, etc. - there really is no limit! You can re-use the same Sticky Keys as masks on other projects as well, so this is really a very economical technique! :)

If you create any projects based on this tutorial, please share them in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery - we'd love to see your work!

Summer Challenge...

Wilna Furstenberg here! I hope you are having an awesome summer so far! Today i have a fun challenge for you! I created this pinterest board full of summer inspiration and my challenge to all of us is to create a page from it. Here's a peek:

 

this is my page. I created a shilouette cameo file from one of the quotes: (And i was planning to shre it with you but my hard drive crashed). I used the new Woodland Park collection:

 

Roree also used this pinterest board as inspiration and this is what she wrote: I was inspired by the beach theme of some of the pins on your board, and it made me want to create a layout about one of our trips to the beach.  I used Midway papers, along with embellishments from Woodland Park, Sidewalks, and Boarding Pass.

 

If you get a chance to create for the challenge, don't forget to post your project in the OA Flickr group. We can't wait to see your interpretation.

Love

Wilna and Roree

Thursday Sketch Challenge

Hey everyone!  Roree here with today's Thursday Sketch Challenge. I am back at it with another inspiration piece from Pinterest. Today's sketch was inspired by this image:

I was so in love with the grid of circles that I wanted to use one for the background of my sketch. Here it is:

Just a simple sketch with a fun background.

For this sketch, I put together a card using the Woodland Park collection. 

I created a grid of stitched circles. Then, I added smaller patterned paper circles within each one.

I created a cluster with Label, Word, and Shape Stickers along with a couple of brads from the Designer Brad pack.

The colors in this collection are so gorgeous. I think I found a new favorite!

Mou played along with the sketch this week and created this beautiful card:

She also used the Woodland Park collection and put together a lovely mix of the gorgeous papers in this collection.

I hope you enjoyed today's inspiration sketch.  If you get a chance to play along, don't forget to post your project in the OA Flickr group.  I can't wait to see how you interpret it!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday Tutorial: Album Pockets

Hi all! Among my favorite new items from October Afternoon are the Here & Now books and Here & Now chapters, both of which I used to create this mini-album: 

The Here & Now books come with a lot -- and I mean, a lot -- of lined paper, making them a journaling-happy scrapbooker's dream.

However, in creating this mini, I decided not to use the paper for journaling alone, but rather, as a basis for creating page pockets, in conjunction with pages from the Here & Now chapters. Here is the approach I took: 

Step One:  Cut a few selected sheets from the Here & Now papers in half. I used six sheets for my mini-album from the Cakewalk and Woodland Park lines, selecting them for their designs on both sides of the paper. 

Step Two: Determine the orientation of the pockets based on which side the holes are on (I wanted pockets on both sides of the page, so I had three face one way, and three face the other way). Fold down the tops of each sheet, approximately 1/4" - 1/2" in width. I used a bone folder to smooth the crease. 
Step Three:  Sew across each folded section. Have fun with straight stitches and zig-zag stitches. 

Step Four: Determine the pairings of the cards, placing one of the front of a page, and another on the back. Then sew around the sides and bottom, forming the pocket.  Trim the extra thread. 

Step Five: Assemble the album.  I alternated my pocket pages with pages from the Here & Now chapters.

As for the cover, I squeezed a few globs of pink and red paint on it, and with a large paintbrush, I smoothed the paint over the cover. 

I'll be using this mini-album to document some of our summer escapades.  

Thanks for stopping by today!  

ETA: If you're looking for sneaks from CHA, be sure to check out the design team's blogs.  We'll start sharing some of our projects beginning today! 

-- Jill 

Monday challenge: It's All About Colors!

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's challenge which is all about colors!

Image from Design Seeds via Pinterest

I have with me the very talented Amy Heller who created this...

 

And this is what Amy says, "I instantly loved Mou's choice for her color challenge. The palette is just gorgeous and perfect for using Cakewalk and/ or Woodland Park. I decided to create a page using a combination of the two, using the yellows and creams from Cakewalk and the beautiful pink-oranges and rich greens from Woodland Park. The two collections work beautifully together and I'm really loving the result. "

And let me share with you my take! When I saw this color palette, my first thought was October Afternoon Cakewalk! I liked the way the colors are presented in stacked bands on this color card. and thought the Sugar Stix paper would be just right. Plus it had a built-in focal point in the form of the star. I cut the star out with craft knife and placed my photo from the back of the paper like you'd place a photo in a frame.

 

Then I layered elements from the Cakewalk Flower Sack, Doo-Dads, Tin Pin, Little Flyers,Alpha and Mini Market stickers around the photo and journaled on the 'Celebrate' journal card.

You can take this challenge too and when you do, please upload your creations to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery for us to see and be inspired! Have fun!