October Afternoon

Monday Challenge: Fussy Cutting

Hi OA fans! It's Alex here today with a new Monday challenge for you. This time, I would like to see how fussy you are! Yep, that's what this week's challenge is all about: fussy cutting.

I know that some people find it a little bit scary, but I have always loved to cut out patterns from my papers. All you need is a good pair of scissors and a whole new world will open up for you. The possibilities are endless! October Afternoon's papers are simply made to cut! The new Daily Flash Apple Cider collection is no exception.

For this layout, I cut out the trees from the Hayride paper and layered them underneath my photo.

I added a couple of buttons from the Farm Girl collection as well as a navy piece from the Travel Girl miscellany pack. The splatters are made with the Wheat Field sprinkler from the Farmhouse collection. That color goes perfectly well together with the Apple Cider!

Have you seen the beautiful Harvest paper with all the cute little leaves? I just had to cut out couple of those and use them as embellishments! I also cut out the "Hello Fall" shape from the Pumpkin Picking paper. 

See? There is SO much you can do with just a pair of scissors!

I am not the only one who had to play with those colorful little leaves. Vivian joined me for this challenge, and you just have to see her adorable card! How cute and brilliant is this?!

Here is what Vivian had to say about fussy cutting:

"I used to be terrified of fussy cutting until I got a great pair of scissors and learned the all-important “move the paper, not the scissors” tip. Now the sky’s the limit! For this card, I combined fussy cutting with die cutting. When I first saw the Harvest paper from the Daily Flash Apple Cider line I thought it would be fun to cut the leaves out and use them as turkey feathers. I cut out seven of the leaves – choosing different sizes and colors – and layered them behind a turkey body and head die cut from the woodgrain bit in the Apple Cider 6 x 8 paper pack."

Thanks, Vivian! I adore your card!

I hope that you feel inspired to grab a pair of scissors and play along with us! If you do, don't forget to upload your project in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery. We would love to see it!

Thanks for stopping by today!

♥

Travel Girl in London with Linda Barber

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! It's me, Linda Barber. I'm super excited to get my guest designer gig started. Today I'm sharing with you a layout created with Travel Girl. I remember the first time I saw the line, I knew it was perfect to document my recent trip to London.

 
My style is clean and simple. I'm a fan of photos being the main focus of layouts, but that doesn't mean I don't love color and little details. As a matter of fact, clean and simple benefits from color and details become even more prominent.

 
I knew I wanted to use the Subway Token paper with its airmail stripes. The colors are just right for London photos, and the stripes add the right amount of color and pattern without being too busy. Then, I printed my photos in a variety of sizes with a white border. The white border helps separate the photos from the background pattern. I knew I wanted the photos in a loose grid, in a general square-ish formation. Usually, I do a quick sketch using Photoshop, but this time, I just pushed the photos around until I was happy.

 
Once I figured out the placement for the photos, I adhered them and set to work on adding the little details. The Doo-Dads, Miscellany, and Shape Stickers were perfect to add just the right amount of detail without overwhelming the photos. I got lucky with the "double decker bus" ticket (what else screams London more than the red bus?) and the American Airlines tag because that was the airline carrier I used!

 

I used two different Daily Flash Alphas for my title. I'm a huge fan of titles in photos. For a finishing touch, I added a little bit of stitching in yellow. I used a ruler to poke holes into the paper, and two strands of embroidery thread to stitch. I love hand sewing on my layouts. It adds a little texture and a bit more color without too much bulk.

 

 Thank you for stopping by! Hope you have a great weekend. You'll see me again next Friday with another October Afternoon project.

Thursday | Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone! It's Amy here today with this week's sketch challenge!

This week I turned to my favorite source for inspiration in a pinch, Pinterest, to aid in my search for a unique and fun twist on a regular sketch. What I found was this fantastic textbook, on quantitative research of all things! What a fabulous page inspiration piece, though, don't you think!? 

I went quite literal on my interpretation of it for a sketch. Let's take a look:

I only moved around the elements on the bottom of the page to accommodate a page layout. But that isn't to say, that was how I would interpret it, ultimately. In fact, my page, was quite inspired by the top portion of the sketch, but the bottom portion, I switched it up a bit. Here's my page:

I used a large photo in lieu of white space for the bottom portion of my page, and I used the image of my son, as the focal point, much like the circle with the journaling in the sketch. I placed my title at the bottom of my page, but other than that, my inspiration on the bottom portion was a little more abstract than the sketch. Also, I thought about changing up from using actual circles, so some other shape, but because I love the paper with the multi-colored circles from Apple Cider so much, I decided to just continue with that theme throughout my page.

I asked Jill to play along with me this week and as always, she created a stunner to share! Here's a look at her interpretation of the sketch!

Here's what Jill had to say:

This sketch definitely had me putting my circle cutter to good use!  I adapted the sketch for an 8.5" x 11" layout, overlapping vellum with patterned paper from the Apple Cider line as well as a few bits and pieces from past October Afternoon lines.  I then added some texture in the form of freestyle stitching, just having fun with it and seeing where each stitch would take me. 

Thanks for playing along, Jill - your page is GORGEOUS! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you are inspired by this whimsical sketch!  If you happen to play along,  please share your creation in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery. We'd love to see it!

Have a wonderful day! ~Amy

Do the Best You Can...

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's post! 

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about these famous words by Theodore Roosevelt:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

School's back in session and extra-curricular activities are in full swing. But unlike years past, my crafting time has been drastically cut short because of the kids attending different schools leading to several changes in our transportation scenario. I find myself spending a lot of time commuting and waiting, when my heart really yearns for my studio desk. But it is what it is... and I want to make the most of it. In fact, while I waited in the car line these last couple of weeks, I took photos of a lot of little things that I usually don't pay much mind to, such as the flashing speed limit sign, children crossing the road, school signs and more. Taken with my Droid phone, they aren't the best photos, but they do capture the details honestly. I ended up with quite a few photos that I narrowed down to six. Keeping in mind this Daily Flash sleeve, I resized and stitched them together in Adobe Photoshop 5.0 to create a 4 x 6 print.

And thought about filling in the remaining pockets with some of the cute papers and embellishments from the Milk Money mini collection.

 

SL-1072 - Daily Flash - 6x8 Sleeve for 2x2 (A)

I had two more photos I really wanted to add. So, I created another photo composite with two 3 x 4 photos and printed it as 4x 6.

The goal was to cut them apart to fit inside this sleeve.

SL-1074 - Daily Flash - 6x8 Sleeve for 3x4 (A)

When I set out to put my pages together, I realized that I didn't have any of the SL-1072 - Daily Flash - 6x8 Sleeve for 2x2 (A) left. I had also used up the two 4 x 4 paper blocks I wanted to use on the layout. So, a little change of plan was in order. This is what I did.

1. I picked these sleeves instead

2. Instead of cutting apart my first photo composite with the six 2x2, I decided to use it as a 4x6 photo to go in the bottom right sleeve pocket.

3. I made my own journaling card by cutting a piece of white cardstock to 4" wide and 3.5" tall, stitching a few Snap Caps near the top edge, and splattering some paint on it.

4. For the other 4x4 pocket, I just cut a piece from the 12 x 12 Lunch paper as it fit my theme perfectly.

5. For the 2 x 8 pocket, I cut apart the 'Clocks Tell Time' strip from one of the 8x8 papers from the Milk Money collection and added a couple of Tin Pins to embellish. And the left half of the spread came together like this

 The right half was all about the photos. I just added a couple of Snap Caps for fun.

And together

So, you see even with little time and without your top pick of products handy, you can still finish a spread quite easily. I guess, sometimes it's about embracing a philosophy! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Challenge: Celebrate the season!

Hey guys, It’s Laura Craigie here today with a fun and simple challenge for you!

 I have to admit that fall is pretty much my favorite time of the year!  I love the turning leaves, watching maple seed “helicopters” flying through the air, cozy sweaters, pumpkins, and hot beverages.  What’s not to love?!

 So it made it easy for me to make this challenge, of crafting something for the season!  

I made two cards using the awesome Apple Cider Daily Flash line.  It’s simply adorable and I love that I was able to get two completely different color schemes from it for these cards.

Here is my second card with a Navy and Aqua color combo, which is one of my favorite combo’s these days.  I thought the “Bundle Up” Tin pin was just too cute and I had to put it to use straight away, so I created the card entirely around it! 

I also noticed with these cards that I have a tiny obsession with pairing Tin Pins & Buttons together.  They just go together so well I can't help myself! :)

The talented Danni Reid played along with my and made an adorable card, and here is what she had to say.

"I loved Laura's fun challenge.  This is my favorite time of year, I love the weather, the leaves, the drinks and the food.  The new Daily Flash Apple Cider line and will be making lots of cards and pages with it.  It just might be my favorite OA line ever, gasp, I know.  Thanks for such a fun challenge Laura."

 

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you feel inspired to create a project with a fall theme!  If you do please share them in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

Have a happy Monday, and a great week!

Laura & Danni :)

 

Welcome Linda Barber!

Today we welcome our October Guest Designer: Linda Barber!

Find Linda's blog over here. We are really excited to have her with us this month. She will be sharing a project every Friday so be sure to check back. To help us get to know her she filled out our fun questionnaire.

Are you a layout person, a card person ... or both?
Both. I didn't use to make many cards, but since I started working with
stamp companies, I've discovered that I love making cards. Alas, I have
either a layout mode or a card mode. I can't go back and forth like others
can!

What is on your scrap desk right now?
A mess! I need a clean desk to start projects, and once I get started,
product layers start building up. Once I'm done, the desk just stays messy,
mocking me, until I break down and clean it up. Only to be messy again. But
it's a happy mess!

What is your favorite October Afternoon line or product ... and why?
Ever? Oh, that's hard. I've been a fan from the very first collection. And
I have a healthy stash of just about every line produced since then. I'm
going to be lame and pick two: Rocket Age and Thrift Shop. Total classics!

What can you NOT scrapbook without?
My computer. I use it to print my photos and journaling, and occasionally I
use it to plan my layouts. Yes, I'm that crazy. I'll mock up a version on
my computer to see what size photos I need to print, if the sketch is good,
etc. I also like pop-up adhesives, and hand stitching. I use both in almost
every layout.

What is your favorite source of inspiration?
It's super random for me. I will be reading a magazine, and notice a good
photo placement or color combo. Or driving down the street and have to pull
over, so I can photograph a font I like.

What is your favorite movie, TV show or book?
I absolutely love the movie "A Room With A View". I will probably get booed
by fans of EM Forster out there, but I like how the movie ends more than
how the book ends. I'm a fan of happy endings.
My favorite TV show right now is "Person Of Interest". Such a clever show!
I usually DVR it and watch it later in the week with my husband. Other than
that, I don't watch much TV. Oh wait, I do love "House Hunters".
As for books, I have a hefty list of favorites due to various reasons. I
also tend to read certain authors again and again. I really like Gabriel
Garcia Marquez, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Arundhati Roy. And I love love love Jane
Austen, especially "Persuasion".

What is your favorite food?
Something noodly and soupy. I don't discriminate. I love pho, boat noodles,
wonton, Japanese ramen, chicken noodle, you name it. If there's dough and
broth, I'm all over it.

Besides scrapbooking and papercrafts, what do you do for hobbies or during your "free" time?
I'm going to be really honest here. I nap during my free time. There I've
said it! But during my awake moments, I love reading and watching movies
with my family. We actually buy sofas depending on whether it fits our
entire family or not. We are a clustering family. We love being together. I
do have two teen boys though (and one eight year old), so I'm sure those
clustering days are numbered. So I'm trying to get as much togetherness a
possible. As the kids grow, we upgrade the size of the sofa. Right now,
it's getting a bit too cozy during family movie nights.

If you were a superhero, what power would you possess and why?
Teleporting! I really dislike traffic. But I live in Los Angeles and cannot
escape it. If I could teleport and carry a few kids with me each time, I'd
be set.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be
and why?
I think I'd be self-serving and invite someone who would cook me a really
good meal. So let's say Mario Batali. He looks like he would be really fun
at a dinner party. Plus I know I like his food.

Linda also shared a couple past layouts she made with OA product. Don't you just love her clean style?

It's always fun to see projects using some older collections like Road Map (above) and The Thrift Shop (below).

 

Thursday Sketch: Vertical and Horizontal

Hi there, OA fans! Alex here today with another Thursday sketch.

This time, I wanted to share a design I often go back to when I want to use both vertical and horizontal photos on my layout. First time I used it was 5 years ago when I started to scrap. I don't remember if it was inspired by someone else's sketch or layout, but I know that I love it. I have at least three layouts based on this simple design :-)

And here is my layout:

I have played with the gorgeous Daily Flash Milk Money collection. Since I have the colorful Science paper as my background, I chose to keep the area around my photos pretty clean. Instead of adding more patterns, I drew the rectangles that were not photos on the piece of Lunch paper. 

I filled them with bits and pieces, such as snap caps and tin pins. The arrow brad is from the Travel Girl collection and the buttons are from the Midway. 

I cut the words laugh, play and learn from the Spelling paper. And don't you just love that alphabet washi? I know I do! 

I sent this sketch to Mandy and I knew that she would rock it! Here is her awesome take:

And a close-up:

This is what Mandy had to say about her layout:

"When I saw Alex's sketch I knew it would totally work for me a simple grid design is a go to design for me.  I did add some layers to make it a little more me. When I started creating I knew I wanted to try to use this photo of Mav I've had on my desk for ages.When I was rummaging through product I came across the new Daily Flash All Boy line and knew instantly it would be perfect to use. I love all those fun squares and colors from this line. Really love how this layout turned out. Thanks Alex for sending me this fabulous sketch challenge!"

Thank you SO much, Mandy! 

I hope we have inspired you to pull out your OA goodies and play along with us! If you do, please upload your work to OA's Flickr gallery. We would love to see it! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

♥

Tuesday Tutorial: Matchbox Gift Box

Hey everyone! Roree here with a Tuesday tutorial.

Giving someone a gift, even something little, is a great way to brighten someone's day. If you are like me though, you might not have many small boxes on hand for smaller gifts. When that happens, it is great to know how to make your own. Today I am going to show you how to create a matchbox-style gift box.

For this box, I used papers, a Memory Card, and a Snap Cap from the new Apple Cider mini collection, paper from the Milk Money mini collection, a button from the 9 to 5 collection, kraft cardstock, hemp cord, and white twill ribbon.

 

First, choose a paper and cut it to the dimensions you need to create the box.

 

Then score the paper.

(The box I created for this tutorial is 4.5 x 3 x 1", so I cut my paper to 7 1/2 x 9" and scored the paper according to the lines below.)

Note: You can use the above image as a guide for any size box, just adjust the measurements to your desired dimensions to create a smaller or larger box.

Trim off the four corners.

Cut a flap along the score lines next to each corner that was removed.

Fold the paper along the score lines.

Fold in the flaps and adhere each end together.

Then, fold in and adhere one of the sides of the box.

Fold in and adhere the remaining ends, and let it dry.

Wrap a panel of patterned paper that is as wide as the box and a little longer and adhere the ends.

Remove the cover and add a panel of pattern paper to decorate the inside of the box, if desired.

Add your gift, and slide the cover back over the box.

All that is left is to decorate the box.

 

I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial, and I hope you get a chance to try making one of your own.

Thanks so much for stopping by!