October Afternoon

Tuesday tutorial: Quick and simple bookmark

Hi everyone! Alex here today bringing you this week's tutorial. 

It's probably going to take me longer to write this post than it took me to actually make the bookmark I am going to share with you. It's super easy. All you need is the following: 2 Public Library tin pins, the ribbon from the Public Library Miscellany pack, piece of patterned paper (I used one from the 8x8 pad) and a 1" circle punch. 

To start with, iron the ribbon to get rid of the folds and cut it to the size you want to use. I almost always read paperbacks and I chose to use 11'' of the ribbon. Punch out two 1'' circles from the patterned paper of your choice. 

I used glossy accent to put my bookmark together, but I guess any liquid glue/sealer would work fine. Put some on the back of a tin pin, put one end of the ribbon over it and add some more glossy accent on top of it. Close it with the paper circle.

Now do the same with the other end of the ribbon and you are done :-)

I told you it was quick and simple!

This is how it looks like inside the book.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial of mine.

Btw, I looooove Game of Thrones! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

//Alex

Monday Challenge: Scraplift yourself!

Hey guys, It's Laura here with a new Monday challenge for you!

Sometimes when I'm having trouble creating a new project, I look to an older project for inspiration.  I think we often put too much pressure on ourselves to always be creating something completely new. So I try to think of other crafts like quilting, and I image that quilters probably use the same pattern more than once, so why can't we?

I pulled up the image for this card I made quite a while ago because I liked the general design of it, and used it as the inspiration for a new card.

So here is my older card:

 

And here is my new card, which I pulled out supplies from the Public Library line to create with:

Because I gave myself the starting point of a previous project, this card came together so quickly!  I didn't completely copy the design, but pulled aspects out like the two patterned papers for the background, and a group of three embellishments to the side of the sentiment.

I kept the little banner sticker plain and when I know whom I'm sending this card to I will use some tiny letter stickers to add in their name and personalize the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, if hope you will share you creations in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery!

Laura :)

Thursday Sketch: Simple Layers

 

Is it possible to create a simple page while also using lots of layers? Sure it is! This week's sketch proves it. 

The sketch calls for a single photo, backed by various sizes of squares and rectangles, with a few accents added to the mix. Here's my take on the approach:  

The layout came together in no time at all, helped along by the fact that I was working with a single coordinating collection, October Afternoon's Public Library.  There were no worries about whether everything matched. I simply selected a few pieces of patterned paper as well as a couple of Miscellany cards from the collection and layered them, starting wtih larger pieces on the bottom and building up to smaller pieces on the top. 

After building the paper base, I worked in a few embellishments, including an oh-so-fitting brad, a tab from a pack of Tidbits,  and a chipboard piece. I printed my journaling on a label sticker, and tucked it in at the top of the layout. 

The sketch called for a bold title running across the bottom of the page, and I happily complied. I've been experimenting with creating die-cut letters using my own handwriting, and this was the first time I used my own die-cut title on a page. I'll definitely be trying this again! 

I'd love to see your interpretation of this sketch, so if you try your hand at it, be sure to add your project to the OA Flickr gallery and link me up in the comment thread below. Thanks for stopping by today! 

-- Jill 

Tuesday Tutorial: Embrace the Clutter

Happy July, everyone! I don't know about the rest of you, but I (Vivian) am in the midst of our busiest summer ever, juggling work, the kids' camp schedules that change from week to week, travel, and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while because, well, spring was busy!

Enter clutter. Something has had to give this summer, and I've chosen to ignore the things that pile up on the dining room table. (Don't worry, I'm still attacking the clutter, just less frequently than usual.)

For today's tutorial, we are going to look at clutter in two different ways...and embrace it! First, the layout, and then the discussion of clutter...

 

 

Clutter, Part I:

Take photos of your clutter. Don't stage it, don't rearrange it, just document it. On the day I took the photo in the layout above, I was struck not by the messiness of the clutter, but by the story the clutter told. It's not a stunning photo, it's not particularly well-composed, but it's real. I tend to pull my best photos (from a photography-as-art standpoint) and use those on my layouts. Here, however, I took a step back and let the story lead.

Clutter, Part II:

Embellish with clutter. I've already dispensed with the idea that clutter = mess, so let's look at the dictionary definition (from Merriam-Webster) to help us understand what clutter might mean in a design sense: to fill or cover (something) with many things. See? Clutter does not equal mess, just space that is filled. October Afternoon's Public Library collection, featured on this layout, includes several patterned papers that fit the dictionary definition, interpreted through the lens of design. In our effort to embrace clutter, let's add to the clutter! One of my favorite techniques is taking a cluttered (remember, we are using this term in its positive sense!) patterned paper, like the Children's Section patterned paper I used on my layout, and adding embellishments on top of it. It's fun to play around with doing that in two different ways.

First, at the top of the layout, I largely added embellishments that matched the patterned paper in tone and sheen (the bird die-cut circle, the "discover" sticker, and the "weekend photos," "favorite," and "recorded" die cuts):

 

 

Second, at the bottom of the layout, I mismatched the tone or sheen of the embellishments (the heart sticker and the "my story" chipboard). These two embellishments create balance on the layout, with the heart sticker's sheen balancing the sheen of the spider tin pin at the top, and the pink of the chipboard embellishment balancing the pop of pink in the patterned paper above the photo.

 

 

So, don't de-clutter, embrace or add to the clutter to tell your story! All you clutterers out there, please share your work with us in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery so we can admire it.