October Afternoon

Inspiration Tuesday with Sasha and Alex

Hi everyone! 

I found this image on Pinterest the other day and couldn't wait to get scrapping! I thought I'd share my inspiration with you as well!

Isn't this just fabulous? 

(source)

I was instantly inspired by the stamping on the wooden pegs, I think those are so charming! Here's my take on the inspiration piece :

The first thing I did on this layout is the random rectangles machine stitching. There was no template or any guide at all. It was fun! Then, can I have a 'YAY!' for labels? :D I rounded up all my Daily Flash Double Take sticker sheets and stamped on the labels. I started with one and just keep on stamping until my sentences were complete. I didn't even pay too much attention on making them straight! I couldn't if I wanted to anyway as I was using my old wooden stamp set from studio G, just in case you're curious. 

You can say the labels made the layout. The rest of it came together pretty fast. Some chipboard embellishments (arrows), Daily Flash alphabet stickers (xoxo), some stamping (once upon a time, ✭✭✭✭✭, date stamp) and a couple of pop drops and my layout is complete. I added the two bicycle wood veneer because well, marriage to me is a journey where two people try their best to balance each other. It's a ride for sure. :)

Alex played along too! And let me tell you that I squealed when I saw her layout for the first time!! It is so adorable! I plan to scraplift her when I have the time! :D 

Alex said :

"The second I saw Sasha's inspiration piece, I thought of OA's awesome Daily Flash roller stamps. I pulled them out along with some white cardstock and different shades of ink and started to make these colorful strips. The little "my show" tidbit from the Saturday Mornings collection inspired me to scrap these photos of my boy. To finish of my quick and easy layout, I added some more bits and pieces not only from Saturday Mornings but also from DF Snapshots, DF All Boy and DF Girl Talk. A couple of chipboard and pop-drops stars and some mist splatters aaaaand it was done :-) I hope you like it!

Sasha, thank you so much for inspiring me to pull out those stamps and play! I had a blast making this one."

I hope we've managed to inspire you! Let me know if you play along, I'm @sashafarina on Instagram. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

Have fun and happy scrapping!

 

 

Designer Challenge | Out Like A Lamb

Happy Monday everyone! Suz here with you today (along with the lovely and talented Mou!) We are starting to see signs of spring here in the States, and are enjoying the longer days of daylight too. We hope you are having lovely weather where you are in the world as well!

Here is today's Designer's Challenge/inspiration piece to get your creative juices flowing just in time for spring and Easter:

 

 Source: http://www.pullingatstrings.com/blog/2011/06/07/tutorial-tuesday-sheeeeeeep/

 

Mou created an adorable bookmark for this challenge and here is what she had to say about it:

"Blurb: I loved the little lamb in Suz's inspiration piece! I wanted to design a bookmark around the lamb I found on the slightly older October Afternoon collection, Farm Girl 12 x12 paper Milk Pail. I started by adding bits and blocks of patterned papers from Public Library, Travel Girl and Daily Flash Girl Talk collections, layered various wash tapes, and stitched them in place. I added some Daily Flash Apple Cider Pop Drops hearts and a brad. Finally, I punched a hole and tied a ribbon from my stash to finish."

 

 

I love how she incorporated so many little details on the the bookmark and several patterns of OA washi tape!

 

 

I have to confess, I had a bunch of creative ideas that involved soft and cuddly, lovely little things (lambs, baby animals, etc) but then the DT kits arrived with Treasure Map last week and I immediately wanted to get scrapping with it. So I took pieces of design elements from the inspiration piece and got to creating!

  

 

In truth, I did pull some design elements from the inspiration piece; the red, the ombre blues, the heart. the "gallon, quart, pint" principle of design ;) So, I think it goes to show that inspirational pieces are just jumping off points for creativity and one can use any or all of the piece for inspiration! 

 

If you decide to take on this challenge, please share with us here on the blog, on the OA Facebook Wall, or on Twitter (@oct_afternoon) and Instagram @octoberafternoon. Please tag me @SuzMannecke so I can see and use the hashtag #oadesignerchallenge

Have a fantastic week!

Suz & Mou 

 

Bring Your Own Sunshine | Guest Designer: Heather Leopard

Heather Leopard here to say that I have had an amazing month guesting here on the October Afternoon blog but before I say goodbye, I have a fun layout and process video to share using the Saturday Mornings collection. 

If you know me, you know that I have a fondness for creating visual backgrounds for my base pages. Sometimes it's piecing itty bitty pieces together and sometimes it's a little more free-flowing, like today. I used a mix of scrap papers and 3x4 journal cards create the background and then meshed up some fun circles along the horizontal and vertical axises for a fun visual twist.

I share a tip in the video below for cutting a photo into a perfect circle when you don't have a punch or die that fits perfectly. I used it for last week's hexagon photo and explained it in the video as I cut the circle photo for this layout.

This little girl definitely sparkles and shines wherever she goes so I thought it only fitting to title this "She brings her own Sunshine". I chose to focus only on the gorgeous blues and yellows (with a small bit of brown) from the Saturday Mornings collection help accentuate the story.

So there you have it, my final layout as guest designer.  Please STAY TUNED below and check out how this layout came together, relatively fast and easy.  And do tell me, do I have a Texas accent?  I don't think I do even though I've lived here all my life.

Oh and I'd love to connect with you on Instagram @heatherleopard or on my blog!

 

Thanks October Afternoon for having me this month. I had way too much fun creating with your fabulous collections. 

 

 

ETA: Thank you so much Heather, for sharing your time and your talents here with October Afternoon this month! It was a pleasure having you join us! 

Sketch Thursday

Hello OA fans and friends! Melanie here today bringing you a fun sketch which focuses on incorporating multiple photos on your layout.  This sketch is created for an 8.5x11 format, but can certainly be adapted to a 12x12 layout.

 

My design is pretty true to the sketch, however I did change things up a bit with the pattern paper. I wanted to incorporate a bold pattern paper that would balance out the smaller pictures, in order to do this I used the Bonfire pattern paper from the Apple Cider collection, paired with a larger star die. This really creates a nice balance between the four pictures and the journaling card.

I wanted my layout to have a soft color palette, I was excited to finally be able to pull out the Girl Talk collection, which has to be one of my favorite line ever created!!!! The Memory Cards, Snap Caps and Flash Blurb were ideal to create small clusters of embellishments.  I could have left my 4 2x2 pictures in a 4x4 square print, but I thought it was more fun to split them in two and to layer them together. I found this created fun element to my layout. Additional supplies used on this layout; Daily Flash Stars and Hearts, Daily Flash Sign Board Alpha, Daily Flash roller stamp.

 

 

I’m so excited to have the wonderfully talented Jill Sprott joining me to play along with this sketch. I love Jill’s work and her interpretation of the sketch just blows me away. I love how she incorporated scraps of papers and created beautiful layers with something that could have easily been discarded. I love to see people making the most of their supplies and paper, this layout just makes me happy. Thanks Jill for playing along and the amazing inspiration.

Here’s what Jill had to say about her layout;

"What I love most about this sketch is that it welcomes multiple photos while still making room for journaling as part of the page design.  I’m happy to share that I worked entirely from scraps of paper here, with the exception of the cardstock background. Drawing from the colors in the photos as well as the theme of the page, I incorporated layers of patterned paper from the Saturday Mornings collection. Added to the mix is another “scrap” — a bit of ephemera — from a cup of coffee, a staple on our morning commute. Rather than focus the journaling solely on what is in the photos, I chose instead to concentrate on what the photos represent as a whole: time together with my daughter, something that is in short supply as she looks ahead to her high school graduation in a few months."

 

 

I hope you like the sketch and that you feel inspired to play along! If you do, share your take on OA's Facebook page or connect with @octoberafternoon on Instagram. We would love to see what you make!

Let's The Adventure Begin! Shipping Now - Treasure Map

Hello OA blog readers and a very happy Wednesday to you!

Suz stopping in here with you today to share the long awaited and much anticipated news that the fabulous Treasure Map collection is now shipping to stores online and elsewhere!!!

 

Here is a sampling of the collection:

To view the complete Treasure Map collection, click>>>> here. ;)

For more updates, inspiration, and info about this collection, follow along here on the blog, on OA's Facebook wall, Twitter: @oct_afternoon and on Instagram @octoberafternoon. Have a beautiful day!

- Suz

Topic Tuesday: Counting Sheep

Hello!  Emily here with a bit of a twist on this week's theme "Out Like a Lamb." I was having a little trouble trying to think of a good challenge to work with this theme, and then like magic, it popped into my head! Counting Sheep!  Create a layout about sleep! This might seem like an odd topic..though if you have children, sleep (or lack thereof!) is probably something you actually have a lot of experience with!  It just so happens that I have two boys who love to sleep...and in the strangest places!!  I decided to use a photo of my youngest son who fell asleep sitting up in his crib last month.  

 I had a very limited amount of time to create this layout, and I decided to use a piece of paper from the Daily Flash Milk Money paper pack as a backdrop for my photo - like magic it creates the illusion of three different patterned papers, when it's really just one!  I tried to keep my green/aqua/orange/black color scheme consistent throughout by choosing coordinating embellishments and papers. 

 I'm SO happy to have my typewriter back in commission. I had someone ask if I darkened the vowels, but it's just the way my typewriter types!  I have used a lot of typewriter fonts, but there is nothing better than the real thing!

I think I can officially claim that green houndstooth paper as my new favorite OA paper. I think I have used it on the last three layouts I made! It's perfect!

I would love for you to play along with my "Counting Sheep" challenge! Upload your layout to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon. Happy Tuesday, and happy scrapping! 

Monday Challenge/Inspiration: Out Like A Lamb

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's post!

You know the saying "In like a lion, out like a lamb?" As far as I know, it's an idiom about March weather which is really changeable. Well, that's also the theme of today's post. I looked up on Pinterest and found this beautiful image:

(Via Pinterest)

You could use the theme and/ or the image for a gentle theme or grey color scheme or soft texture or any way it appeals to you. Here's my take:

I stayed mainly with a greyish color scheme with some pops of colors. The theme of my page is gentle sweet everyday moment and I have added some texture.

The papers I used are from various new and older October Afternoon collections: Daily Flash Apple Cider Bonfire,  Daily Flash Girl Talk Blah, Blah, Blah, Public Library Dust Jacket, Travel Girl Mix Tape, Woodland Park Blue Sky, and some notebook paper. Again, I selected my embellishments from various collections as well, such as, DF Girl Talk Flash Blurbs, Saturday Mornings Designer Brads, Saturday Mornings Border & Label Stickers, DF Inspiration roller stamp, DF Photo Booth Chipboard, along with some alphabet stickers, threads and mixed media supplies from my stash. Here are some close-up shots of my layout.

Hope you enjoyed today's post and grab some grey papers and embellies from your own October Afternoon stash and get started creating

Breakfast for Dinner | Guest Designer: Heather Leopard

Hello there everyone!  Guest designer, Heather Leopard, is back with another fun layout to share with you all today. 

Okay, who's with me and agrees that breakfast for dinner is one of the most fun dinners to have, especially for the kiddos?!?! We don't do it very often but when we do, my girls get a kick out of it every. single. time. And it's even better when someone else is cooking!

If you don't know this yet, I am obsessed with patterns. I love to mix and match them to create visual backgrounds and designs to help tell the story of my photos. Sometimes, I do elaborate backgrounds and sometimes I go the more clean looking route but I almost always have some form of pattern mixing on my pages. Today is no exception. Visit my Instagram (@heatherleopard) today to see a Flipogram of how this layout came together.

This look can be easily achieved with a triangle punch or by hand cutting the triangles. Just make sure to include 6 even sides so they line up properly. BUT, if you have a Silhouette, you are in luck.  I created a cut file. If you want to re-create this layout for yourself, you can DOWNLOAD THE FREE CUT FILE from my blog.

To create this layout, I cut each of the triangles and octagons and then pieced them together.  I chose to leave some of the octagons empty so I could add octagon shaped photos in those spots. 

I added some hand stitching to the background as callouts for each photo on the page.  Then I topped it off with the title at the top and additional embellishments.  I played with the font colors so that it could read at least 3 different ways - "Breakfast for dinner" 'cause that's what it was, "Break for dinner" 'cause I was catching a break by not having to cook dinner and "Fast dinner" 'cause it came out speedy quick.

So that's how I embrace patterns. Many thanks again to October Afternoon for having me guest today. Stop by next Friday to see my process for creating backgrounds.  

Thursday Sketch: Green is for...

Hey guys :)

This is Laura here today with a 12x12 layout sketch, although you could definitely use it as inspiration for a 8.5x11 too as you will see bellow!

Being as our theme for this week is "Green/Luck", I thought I'd focus on the green aspect, and do a layout about how we color coded our kids when it comes to cups, and things.  Our middle guy could never remember his color so it became a bit of a mantra I would find myself saying over and over "Green for Griffin".  My printer has decided to go wonky and not print so there is not visible journaling on the page yet.  I've written my thought on the back of the page and will print it out for the front once it resumes working.  

I knew there were some great greens in the December Story kit so I pulled that out and started with the green trees on white.  I turned it on it's side and they now look like arrows!  The gold stars and striped journaling card were also from the kit.

My favourite part of the page it the cut up label stickers along the edge.  It's such a fun way to use them, and I totally cut them in half and used the other sides so as not to waste any of them.

It was just enormously fun to dig through my stash for green products.  

I have Emily with me today to see her fun take on the sketch!  I was so excited by how she made it work for her.

Here is what she had to say:

When I saw that the theme for this week was “luck,” I knew I had the perfect story to document.  Last year while I was walking with my two boys, a man stopped me and asked about them. When I told him I also had a daughter, he exclaimed, “Wow!  Two girls and a boy!  How lucky can you be?” Usually when I’m out with all my kids I get comments like “you sure have your hands full.”  I absolutely love that this man saw they joy and love that comes with having a bigger family!  I used a lot of elements from the Daily Flash Milk Money collection because I love how their bright colors contrast with my black and white photo. I was sure to include lots of hearts, because this layout is about luck and love!  My layout stayed fairly true to Laura’s sketch, although I knew I wanted to use a big title, so I moved the photo from the right to the left so I could include my vertical title!  Thanks to Laura for such a fun sketch!

So thanks for stopping by today, I hope you are having an amazing day. If you guys feel inspired to use my sketch, then please share your creations in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery!  I'd love to see them :) 

Laura & Emily

Wednesday Inspiration: Green

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's post! For the last couple of weeks, a lot has been going on at the kids' schools and extracurriculars around St. Patrick's Day celebrations. And I'm loving all the greens that I'm seeing and thinking about the things that make me feel lucky... that's what inspired today's layout for me.

I chose several green elements from some of the recent October Afternoon collections, such as Hashbrowns 12 x 12 paper  and Border & Label Stickers from Saturday Mornings collection, Dust Jacket paper from 8 x 8 Public Library paper pad, Clover Flash Alpha stickers from Daily Flash collection, and assorted green and blue buttons from various collections.

I used a white cardstock to show off all the greens on my layout and added some green fabric, thread and paint from my stash to bring the layout together. Here are some close-ups:

 Hope you enjoyed St. Patrick's Day and today's layout and would pull out green elements from your October Afternoon stash and create projects about things that make you feel lucky!