October Afternoon

A Monday Challenge inspired by Pinterest

If you're anything like me, you find it easy to get lost in Pinterest. I save/'pin' tons of images that catch my eye, never knowing when they may get used...but with lots of good intentions. Here is a recent image I fell in love with:

http://pinterest.com/pin/16677461092500755/ ]

Maybe it was the colors, or the banners, or the alphabet letters (I'm a sucker for fun alphabet/font images)...who knows?! But I invited Danni to join me in using this Pinterest image as a jump start to our Monday challenge and fell in love with the card she made!

The layered flower she made from the Farm Girl Patchwork paper is darling...and the green seam binding mimics the banner feel in the original image. We both drew inspiration from the many colors in the original image!!

I LOVED the way the banners in the image fell loosely and draped every which way, so I decided to try to achieve that feel with some seam binding from a Miscellany kit and punched scraps of various papers. I stapled a few directly to the seam binding, I attached some with a brad...I even added buttons to simple strands of jute twine and let them fall where they may.

After adding a quick stitch all the way around the border of the pink polka dot paper (making sure to catch the seam binding and jute twine), all that was left was the sentiment!!

Admittedly, I"m typically a more 'disciplined' scrapbooker...so I was worried about letting things dangle about on their own, lol. But i the end, I LOVE how it turned out!

When the fair isn't in town, Guest Designer Melanie Fink makes her own!

I am so very excited to be the Guest Designer on the October Afternoon (OA) blog this month and playing with their AWESOME products!  Like all of you, I am a huge OA fan!  Their products are so versatile and they have a wonderful throwback feel that just makes you feel warm inside. 

I came to love OA products even more when I went to the OA Warehouse Sale last fall and met some of their employees.  They are wonderful people and they live in Minnesota, which makes them even more awesome!  Yes, I am a fellow Minnesotan, which you may have guessed already or read in my introduction on the blog last Friday.

I am a big die-cutting fan too, so you can expect to see me incorporating die-cuts (particularly SVGs) in my projects.  Die-cuts create so many possibilities with paper, as you will see with my project today.  With the exception of wooden dowels used for support, it is entirely constructed of paper!

I primarily used OA’s Midway collection to create the Ferris wheel (SVGs from the Summer Street Carnival collection at SVG Cuts) and the base it is standing on.  I used bits of other collections as well – Witch Hazel (wheel), Cakewalk (twine), and Sidewalks (buttons).  You can fill the carts on the Ferris wheel with treats and/or plastic toys, and you can embellish it so many different ways.  It is a great center piece for a carnival themed birthday party!  Disclaimer – the Ferris wheel does take patience to assemble.  The great news is that there is a video tutorial here that shows you how to put it together.

When I am tackling a big project like this, I start by cutting out all of the SVGs that need to be assembled.

Tip:  Use lightweight cardboard for the base of the Ferris wheel.  This creates a sturdier base.

Tip:  Cut each of the carts out twice – once with the Midway paper and once with a solid-color coordinating cardstock.  Then glue them together prior to assembly. This will allow you to put heavier treats in the carts and it makes the patterned papers really stand out.

Next is assembly time!

Tip:  Use Spray Adhesive to glue the wheel together – it is faster and easier to reposition before it dries.

And more assembly!

Now for the embellishments!

I created a fun star embellishment on the face of the wheel!   To create this embellishment, you will need the Midway brads, Sew Fun Banners, and Label Stickers, a 1-1/8” circle punch, foam dimensional stickers and decorative star pins.  Start by taking one of the circle banners and poke a hole in the center of it. 

Then put a Midway brad in the center (I liked the red star one) and apply one layer of foam stickers to the back of the banner circle.

Next, add the 1-1/8” circle punch to the back of the banner circle.  Apply two layers of foam stickers to the back of the circle punch.  To finish the layered circle, add the label sticker to the back (I liked the gray star-like one).

To finish off the embellishment, add star pins by pushing them into the foam stickers inside the layered circle.  I added a rhinestone circle-shaped sticker that I had lying around too.

I used buttons from the Sidewalks collection on the ends of each wooden dowel on the wheel.  I added rhinestones to the center of each button for some bling (adds to the glitzy feel many Ferris wheels have).

I chose to embellish the right side of the wheel base with stickers from the 12” x 12” sticker sheet in the Midway collection and I added a star pin too.

Who wants some cotton candy!  I do!  I put mini cotton candy bags into the carts.  I used 4” x 3” bags, cotton candy, and twine from the Cakewalk collection to assemble these.  Yes, I ate some of the cotton candy during assembly!

Lastly, I created a base for the Ferris wheel using a corrugated box (It is the one I got from OA filled with goodies and it is the standard scrapbooking paper box size).  The first thing I did was take extra tape off the box and cut off the 4 top pieces of the box using a utility knife.

Next, I cut 4 sheets of the Midway paper so they were 11x11 and would fit perfectly together on my box.  Then I started at the center of the box and taped down the sheets of paper as shown below.  Don’t worry about the tape showing, you can always cover it up, as I will show you.  To make it look like a wrapped gift box, I folded the paper in the corners as shown below.  Don’t worry about the tape showing, you can always cover it up if you don’t like it showing. 

When done adding the 4 sheets of paper, the box looks like this.  

Next, I cut two strips of the Midway patterned paper to cover up one of the taped areas on top.  You can use any paper you like. 

Then I added some ribbon and a bow to cover up the tape line running horizontally. 

There are so many different ways to embellish this paper Ferris Wheel.  You could add your own unique take - use flair, Midway miscellany, and/or goodies from other collections!

 To share in my excitement as the Guest Designer this month, I have a surprise for you!  The box I made for the base of the Ferris Wheel has some goodies inside!  Stop by my blog http://www.thepaperretreat.blogspot.com, to see what is inside and to enter to win the goodies inside!  I hope you stop by my blog and celebrate with me!

Melanie

(For more from Guest Designer Melanie Fink, check out the OA blog every Friday during the month of April!)

Technique Thursday: Repetition Stamping

Happy Thursday!  It's time to get some extra mileage out of your October Afternoon stamps while also putting your Sprinklers to use!  In the past, I've shared my love of stamping with Sprinklers, and today, I will walk you through an approach to stamping with Sprinklers that I love: repetition stamping. 
The term "repetition stamping" has multiple meanings. While it can refer to simply repeating a single image multiple times, it may also refer to repeating (and possibly overlapping) an image multiple times without stopping to reink the stamp each time. The effect of that kind of repetition stamping is a series of images with different intensities of color.  

Here is the approach I took to create the layout above:

Preparation.

- Choose a stamp that you can envision repeated multiple times on the background of a layout. I chose the pinwheel stamp from the October Afternoon Midway collection. 

- Select several bottles of Sprinklers in similar colors or analogous colors (that is, colors next to each other on the color wheel), so that when the colors combine, they will blend well. I worked with blues (Carbon Copy and Lagoon) and a neutral gray (Token) on this layout. 

- Consider using a box as you spray the Sprinklers over the stamps; it will help to keep the "blowback" under control.  

- Place a piece of sturdy cardstock (your stamping "target") on a flat surface nearby, and back it with scrap paper (like newspaper, magazine pages, or catalog pages). This way you can stamp off the edge of the paper without making a mess on the surface below. 

Step 1. Place the stamp on an acrylic block and spray the first color of Sprinklers over it. Don't worry about coating the whole stamp. I just sprayed toward the center. Complete, crisp images aren't the goal here -- just go with the flow! 

Step 2. 

Stamp the image multiple times on different areas of the paper, with different areas of the stamp. I was able to stamp three to four times per image without reinking.  

Step 3.

Without cleaning the stamp, spray the second color of Sprinklers over it. Once again, don't feel the need to cover the stamp thoroughly. 

Step 4. 

Stamp the image multiple times, just as you did the first time. Try to stamp the image in open areas. Overlapping edges isn't just okay -- it's preferred.  You'll start to notice that the colors blend in lovely ways. 

Repeat the entire process with additional colors of Sprinklers, until you have covered the entire background. 

Step 5. 

After the background dries (mine took just a few minutes), add some stitching to the images for a bit of extra texture and charm. I machine-stitched the centers of the stamped images, turning the page slowly as I sewed. 

I love the overall effect! 

I completed the page by adding my journaling on October Afternoon label stickers, and used some 9 to 5 letter stickers for the title. 

So what do you think?  Are you ready to try some repetition stamping on your next layout?  I'd love to see it!  Be sure to share it in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery. 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

-- Jill 

Tuesday Sketch: All in a Row

Vivian here with our weekly sketch. Today's sketch lines photos up in a horizontal row, with the title placement and a few key page elements drawing attention to all the photos, with one focal point photo emphasized with a large chevron/arrow element:

Interestingly enough, both Roree and I interpreted this sketch as a card.

Roree rotated the sketch 90 degrees to the right and came up with this absolutely gorgeous card:

Roree had this to say about her card: "It is always so fun to see which direction a sketch will take you. Just by turning the sketch you can get a very different look. I just love that about sketches! I created my card using paper, stickers, and chipboard from the Farm Girl, Woodland Park, and Sidewalks collections. I decided to replace the photos/journaling boxes with a long strip of floral paper. I replaced the title with a scalloped edge along the paper strip. And I kept my sentiment towards the bottom like in the sketch and replaced the arrows with white twill ribbon that I misted using Comet Tail Sprinklers from the Rocket Age collection."

Let's take a closer look:

While Roree went in the gorgeous direction, I went in the whimsical direction. My card uses the sketch in its original orientation and combines patterned paper, stickers, and embellishments from the Midway line (including the fun Photo Booth patterned paper). A few white staples add the finishing touch:

We hope you are inspired by this sketch, whether you use it for a layout, a card, or any other project! We'd love to see projects inspired by this sketch, so be sure to post them to our October Afternoon Flickr gallery.

Monday challenge: Three's Company

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's challenge!

When I make layouts, cards, etc. I rarely stay within one collection. I like to use bits and pieces of papers, embellishments, etc. from several collections. In that process, I have found that the October Afternoon collections, as distinct and beautiful as they are, also work really well together. That's where my idea for today's challenge came from: Make a project with 3 patterned papers, 3 buttons, and 3 brads. 

Here's my take...

On this card, I used 

3 patterned papers

1. Berry Basket 12x12 paper, Farm Girl Collection

2. Elixir of Eucalyptus 12x12 paper, Witch Hazel Collection

3. Paper Staws 12x12 paper, Cakewalk Collection

3 Designer brads from Cakewalk Collection and

3 Buttons from the Midway Collection

In addition, I used a little piece of cheesecloth, a Cakewalk chipboard sticker and some Mini Market Mint & Creme alpha stickers.

Today, I have Becky playing with me and take a look at what she created...

Becky says: "One of the things I enjoy about challenges, is the fact that you can make it your own. When Mou gave me her challenge, I decided to be pretty literal in my approach. I used only 3 pattern papers, 3 buttons and 3 brads, and only added non-consumables, a bit of vintage ledger paper, misting and sewing in addition to my background chipboard. Made the challenge a little more challenging, but that was good for the creative process."

You rocked it Becky! Thanks :)

You can play along too. Upload your creations on the October Afternoon Flickr gallery  for all to see and be inspired!

Happy Monday :) 

Introducing: Melanie Fink, guest designer for the month of April

October Afternoon is pleased to welcome Melanie Fink to the blog as its guest designer for the month of April!

Melanie has always enjoyed art, whether it was drawing, painting, or papercrafting.  She has been papercrafting for almost 12 years and began sharing her creations 2 years ago when she started her blog http://thepaperretreat.blogspot.com.   Melanie says papercrafting calms her and provides her with a sense of community.

Melanie has lived in Minnesota her entire life and has worked for the same company since she graduated from college 11 years ago.  Although it may not seem like it, she says she really does embrace change!  She is employed part-time as a Financial Analyst at a Fortune 500 company and feels very fortunate to have a great job and one that allows her to have flexibility at the same time. 

Besides her job and papercrafting, Melanie loves spending time with her family and friends including her dog, Harvey, and two cats, Mattie and Snickers, whom bring lots of joy to her life.

Now let's get to know Melanie even better: 

Are you a layout person, a card person ... or both?

I started papercrafting as a “scrapbooker” and I was very much a layout person.  More recently, I am much more of a card person.  I love making things for others, which most often is a handmade card, gift, or home décor item.  However, I have a scrapbook in the works for my grandmother about our family heritage.

What is on your scrap desk right now?

This is really sad to say – nothing!  I am in the process of moving so my old craft space is gone and my new craft space is just getting set up.  I am really excited about my new craft space.  It will be organized and has lots of space for storage.  More storage is a really good thing for me considering I am a shopaholic and have tons and tons of crafting supplies, and as you might guess, many of them from October Afternoon!

What is your favorite October Afternoon line or product ... and why?

This is a really tough question because I genuinely love them all.  My favorite holiday to craft for is Halloween and the Witch Hazel collection is awesome!  I love the cute witch, the vintage jack-o-lanterns, and the Devil’s Claw paper with the web-like sheet of music.  I bought the collection at the October Afternoon warehouse sale last October (right before Halloween), and I didn’t get a chance to play with it.  I am very anxious to get it out this fall!

What can you NOT scrapbook without?

I love my Sizzix Eclips electronic die-cutting machine.  I love the limitless possibilities I have when using my Eclips.  I can cut SVGs, fonts, and shapes I create in my eCal software (Sure Cuts A Lot for the Eclips).  I equally love my Purple Cow Paper Trimmer.  It cuts straight every time and it is so easy to use!

What is your favorite source of inspiration?

I pull inspiration from everywhere.  I will be driving and see a billboard that I think has a cool design or a restaurant that has a really cool logo.  If I need to find my creative mojo, I will check out my favorite blogs (Papertrey Ink’s blog is one of my favorites) or comb through my stash of Stampin Up catalogs.    

What is your favorite movie, TV show or book?

My favorite TV show is The Walking Dead on AMC.  It is full of surprises and is so well acted.  I am usually not a fan of shows/movies with a lot of gore, but this one is worth it!  Also, I know what to expect should a zombie apocalypse happen!  The funny thing is that I have had conversations with people that believe it will happen!  Quick question – would you scrapbook during a zombie apocalypse?  I would!  :)

What is your favorite food?

Anything with tomatoes!  Garden fresh tomatoes!  I love making fresh salsa and always go heavy on the tomatoes.  YUM!

Besides scrapbooking and papercrafts, what do you do for hobbies or enjoyment during your "free" time?

Music is my life.  I love to sing – often while I am crafting!  I love spending time with my family and friends, buying and selling on Ebay, swimming, traveling, and watching movies too! 

If you were a superhero, what power would you possess and why?

If I were a superhero, I would want the ability to teleport distances instantaneously.  Won’t it be cool to go anywhere on a whim and not have to pay for the trip!  Hawaii, Italy, the Moon, here I come!!!!

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be and why?

I always struggle with this question because I would love to have dinner with Jesus or God because I would be certain to learn more about life after death and how to be a better person, but if I had a chance to have dinner with Johnny Depp, I wouldn’t pass it up!

Watch for Melanie's contributions to the OA blog every Friday during the month of April and be sure to check out her own blog at http://thepaperretreat.blogspot.com.

Technique Thursday: Label Stickers as Stencils

Hi everyone, it's Michelle with you today and I'm sharing something fun you can do with those used Label Sticker sheets.  As you use up those labels you're left with the negative sticker portion still on the backing sheet.  Cut apart the used label sections and you've got a great stencil. 

Before using your stencil be sure to remove some of the stickiness by rubbing an embossing buddy (a small bag filled with a powder substance) over the sticky part of the back of the stencil.  Then place your new stencil over a piece of cardstock.  Using a palette knife (or expired iTunes card) spread some Gesso over the labels.  Gesso is a mixed media product used to coat canvas, art journals,etc before applying other art mediums.  If you don't have Gesso, simply try out thick, white acrylic paint. Let the medium completely air dry or use a heat tool to speed up the drying process.  Then you're ready to use your finished piece on a project.  

Here I used my label background on a whimsical card using items from the Farm Girl collection.  I ran the dry paper through my vintage typewriter to spell out the desired sentiments for an anniversary card.  Each label section was perfect for placing separate little sentiments.  I loved that the peas and carrots in mason jars were next to each other on the 8 x8 patterned paper from Farm Girl....a perfect lead in to the "You go together like peas & carrots" typed phrase.  

I finished my card off with machine stitching, baker's twine, spray mist and decorative brads.  

Such a fun way to try something new on your projects.  So save those used Label Sticker sheets and try out some label backgrounds of your own.  For other ideas, how about using the label background on along the side of a scrapbook page for written journaling...or a Project Life card to record little stories and events...or over the front of a gift tag to create a fun place to write the to/from information.  Lots of fun possibilities.  I hope you give it a try.  

♥ sketchy tuesday--arrows, trim, stamps? ♥

Good morning OA fans, Danni here with you today with a new, fun sketch to the start of our spring colors and weather (fingers crossed)

Here's this week's sketch

 

How will YOU interpret today's sketch?  What stands out to you?  Do you see a row of arrows?  A row of distressed stamping?  Possibly sticker trim?

 

 

Here is the card I created from this sketch

 

 

 

I wanted to use some of the diamond-shaped stickers in the OA Midway Line and this sketch allowed me to do so in a fun way

 

 

 

And joining me today is the incredibly talented Jill with her amazing take on the sketch.  I am completely WOWED and know you will be too! 

Here's what Jill had to say:

One of the first things that stood out to me about Danni's sketch was the line of arrows at the top of the page. Initially, I thought of adding an accent line, but then it occurred to me that I could fill that space in another way, with stamps and mist! I used the clock stamp from the 9 to 5 stamp set, and stamped the image repeatedly with white ink. I then added spray ink -- Tinsel and Lagoon Sprinklers -- holding the nozzles close to the top of the paper and tilting the paper at an angle to allow the Sprinklers to drip down the page. I then pressed the whole page against some scrap paper (a large junk mail envelope, actually) to remove any excess and to allow the page to dry quickly.  I then gathered my papers, photos, and accents together, and stitched across the top. Without this sketch, this page may never have come into being, and I am so glad that it did! Thanks, Danni!

 

 

 

I KNOW right?  Amazing page Jill, thank you so much!

And, we can't wait to see how this sketch will inspire YOU.  If you are inspired to create a layout or card using this week's sketch, please share your creations in our OA Flickr Gallery

We'd love to be inspired by YOUR take!

Happy Creating♥

Danni & Jill

 

 

Monday Challenge: Get Those Spring Holiday Photos Scrapped!

Happy April! Vivian here with this week's Monday challenge: get those spring holiday photos scrapped! I'm finally in a spring-y mood now that our snow has melted and the daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths are starting to bloom. I find that I often ignore spring holidays in my scrapping, probably because springtime always seems so busy and I file away the photos amidst the mayhem and then forget about them. This week's challenge gave me the jump-start I needed to pull out photos from last year. There are lots of spring holidays (St. Patrick's Day, Passover, Easter, Mother's Day, etc.), so if you're playing along, take your pick!

Nicole joined me for this week's challenge, and created this gorgeous layout with an Easter photo from her childhood:

Here are three quick tips to pull from Nicole's layout:

1. Create your own layered spring embellishments. Nicole die cut two different sizes and designs of butterflies from each of three different patterned papers, then layered and stitched them, creating a quick and easy row of stunning embellishments.

2. Use banner shapes as a shelf. Nicole cut long banner shapes from two different patterned papers and used those elements as a shelf for her main page elements (photo, title, and journaling). Banners are simple to make - just cut a triangle out of the end of a long rectangular strip of paper.

3. Design with corners. Nicole created a fun corner element in the upper left corner of her layout by layering patterned papers. She misted right below that and then echoed the misting in the bottom right corner.

I created a clean-lined layout with photos from last year's backyard egg hunt:

Here are three quick tips to pull from my layout:

1. Sometimes a blurry photo works! The picture of my kids running in opposite directions really captured their excitement and the motion of the morning.

2. Don't be afraid to use non-spring-themed or non-spring-colored products on a spring-themed layout. My kids were wearing orange and aqua so I went with it!

3. Use fun elements to draw attention to a title. After backing die cut patterned paper title with solid cardstock, I added chipboard bunnies (from the Woodland Park collection) facing toward it on either side to draw further attention to it.

So...with two layouts and six tips, hopefully there's something here that you can draw on to help you get your spring holiday photos (past or present) scrapped! We'd love to see your spring holiday layouts in our October Afternoon Flickr gallery.