October Afternoon

Thursday sketch with Alex

Hi all! Alex here, bringing you this week's sketch inspiration. This is what I came up with.

I pulled out my brand new Treasure Map goodies and created this layout.

I adore the Whale Bone Reef paper and I just had to use it as my background! The waves in the paper represent the horizontal section in the sketch.

I picked up the red from the flags on the pirate ship and added small touches of it here and there for a more balanced feeling.

I usually find pool photos hard to scrap, but this collection makes it so easy! Thank you OA! I can finally pull out all those pictures and get it done! :-)

I hope you feel inspired to play with this sketch or/and with your Treasure Map goodies!

Thanks for stopping by!

//Alex 

Workspace Wednesday

Hello October Afternoon fans, Melanie here today for a workspace Wednesday edition with a bonus layout! I couldn’t do a blog post and not share a layout, hope you all don’t mind.

First of all my scrap space, it is more like my scrap desk because I do not have a dedicate room for my scrapbooking. I have taken over a small corner in our master bedroom, my wonderful husband doesn’t seem to mind, or if he does he isn’t vocal about it. Since I have a small space a couple of things are crucial, lots of baskets for organization, keeping things tidy and in their rightful location and not hoarding my supplies. I do have a dedicate armoire in our bedroom which holds all my supplies, it’s beautiful and works perfectly. The beauty in a small space is that less is more; I am more selective about what products I bring home, what I use and how I display my supplies, because in the end there isn’t any space for anything that will not be used.

My October Afternoon supplies are located in a small wire basket which is kept in my armoire and a larger plastic bin which is kept in our master bedroom closet. I pull out these containers when I work on my projects and once I am done everything goes back in its appropriate location.

While thinking about today’s workspace post I started pulling out my supplies and was immediately inspired to create a quick and fun layout. In an effort to use what I have I pulled out my favorite OA collection, Girl Talk, which I have been hoarding. Now is the time to put it to good use! I wanted to use the 3x4 card as the focal point of the layout, this song is my oldest daughter’s song, so very perfect for this layout.

Another one of my favorite OA items are the roller stamps, they have a permanent spot on my work table, as I use them on almost every single project/layout I create. For this layout I decided to use them in two different ways, one as an accent to my photo and the other as part of my title work.  I really love the versatility of these roller stamps and I’ll be honest, roller stamps are so quick to use, no fuss and that makes me happy.

I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into my scrap room, I will be back to share more very soon. In the meantime, make sure to upload your layout to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon.

Designer Inspiration | Timeline Graphics

Hello and happy Monday everyone! Suz here today (along with the fabulous Sasha!) to start your week off with a little OA Designer Inspiration (#oadesignerinspo); create a layout based literally or loosely off of the timeline graphic shown below:

 

 SOURCE: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/287526757436353015/

I challenged Sasha to interpret this design and, as always, her translation was amazing and impeccable!

 

Here is what Sasha had to say about the challenge and her design:

I looked at the inspiration piece and was straightaway drawn to the design of the page, which means I used it as kind of a sketch, even though it is not technically a sketch. I decided to use a half sheet of the Treasure Map Label Stickers. If you take a closer look, the stickers on that sheet goes from light blue to dark blue gradually. I cut the sheet in half vertically and used them in the order the very order they came in. Don't you just love it when that happens? :) 

 

 

 

I machine-stitched the labels with straight lines down the middle, imitating the line on the center of the inspiration piece.

 

 

 

 

I then raided my stash of Mini Market Alphabet Stickers and completed the title of my layout, adding some typewritten strips in the middle. Back to my sewing machine again to stitch straight horizontal lines across the alphabet stickers, again, to imitate the lines + bulleted points on the inspiration piece. I had to use some of the fabulous embellishments from Treasure Map, I had to! They were begging to be put onto this layout! :D I ended up using one of the chipboard, a tin pin and a banner. I also stamped the star a couple times here and there because I just love the way it looks together with my mist sprinkles. 

 

 

 

I must tell you this, I am in love with Treasure Map! Expect more Treasure Map layouts from me in the near future! Thank you Suz for inspiring me today!

 

ETA: Isn't Sasha's design Ah-Ma-Zing!?  I love the sentiment, the stitching, the photo and the embellishments that complement her design! Thank you for playing along Sasha!!

Next up is my take and my thoughts on the challenge.

When I found this challenge piece while perusing Pinterest, I found myself drawn to the clean + simple design of the graphic and it spurred a bunch of memories that needed to be documented from many different times in my life. I decided to hone in one particular year of time; 1996-1997 when my hubby Mick and I bought our first home and transitioned from Missouri to Gainesville, Florida.

I knew I had several items I wanted to document in a bullet point type of format, so I opted for an untraditional, vertical two page layout.

 

I used my Silhouette Cameo to create the "potty people" and used some Designer Brads from the Saturday Mornings collection for their heads.

 I machine stitched the timeline and used more Saturday Morning Designer Brads to finish off the timeline/list of details. I broke out the adorable glasses stamps from the Daily Flash collection ("Picture This!") as they were perfect for documenting my occupation; optometry. I also used lots of Snap-Caps from the Daily Flash All Boy collection.

Unfortunately the weather outside (windy!) and the lighting inside weren't cooperating-and so it goes! A small detail blew away (to the right of the "rad" I had placed a small Snap-Caps from the Daily Flash All Boy collection that read "You are my sunshine") so my sentiment at the bottom of the page should read: "I love this place. You are my Sunshine--State." Sadly, I have yet to find the piece, but I am optimistic it will show up soon (probably stuck to my pants leg or something! LOL -I am not alone in this quandary, right? *wink)

I hope you play along with this OA Designer Inspiration piece! Link us up in the comment section below with your design or post it on Instagram with the hashtag #oadesignerinspo and tag me @SuzMannecke and @sashafarina so that we can see it! You can also share on our OA Facebook wall. ;)

 

Have an amazing week!

Suz (& Sasha)

 

 

Monday Challenge: Circles Galore!

Hello, and Happy Monday! Emily here with a fun challenge for you!  I often find myself gravitating towards circles in different areas of my life (I think I post a circle photo at least every other day on Instagram!), and scrapbooking is no exception! A few weeks ago, I organized all of my October Afternoon embellishments and really got a good look at what I have in my collection. There are TONS of fun circle embellishments in each line, including tin pins, chipboard circles, puffy circles, and of course, die cut circles!  I decided to create a layout using all of these small circle embellishments!  When I began, I had a few different ideas circling in my head, haha...circling... ;)  I decided to break my layout up into sections and fill some sections with my circles, some with journaling, and some with either patterned paper.  

I don't usually take process shots of my layouts, but I took a few as a made this, and I thought I would share them, if you promise to pardon the bad lighting, as I took them at night!  My first step was drawing random lines on my paper using a ruler. This was completely unscientific! I just wanted them to be uneven! I also placed my picture on the layout, traced it, then removed it so I could get a good idea where the journaling should go.

Next, I added my journalilng. I needed to do this first so that the paper would fit smoothly through the typewriter! I purposefully made my journaling a little wonky so it would fit into the uneven section, and as with the rest of layout, I wanted it to have an air of imperfection. I stuck my photo back down, and added a red sticker title.

Finally, I started adding circles. Some of these are very current from our Saturday Mornings collection, some are ridiculously old!! Anything shaped like a circle I considered! I also added a light blue tab, because tabs are some of my favorite embellishments! (The color is especially crazy on this one!)

I decided to swap out my tab for something brighter and added more circles...

And finally, I was finished! As you can see in my completed layout, I ended up getting rid of the tab altogether, and moving my title over. I also decided to leave two sections blank. I did try putting some patterned paper in those sections, but I just wasn't fond of it - with all of the circles it was a little to busy! I used my black pen to outline some, not all of my circles. Here's a look at my finished product: 

In retrospect, I wish I would have filled the section right above the title with circles...oh well, live and learn! ;) I would love for you to play along with my circle 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 Monday, and happy scrapping!

Scrapping your Childhood Memories | Guest Designer: Tara Elias

Good morning everyone!  I'm back this fine Friday with my very first project!  Let me just tell you how excited I was to receive the Treasure Map line in my box of goodies from October Afternoon.  They have such a way of taking a line with a general theme, but making it so versatile!  I am looking forward to using this line in many ways over the course of this month!

For this post, I thought it would be timely to create a layout about a childhood memory.  I am by no means a chronological scrapper (unless we're talking PL, and even then it's all over the place), so I love scrapbooking and documenting whatever happens to be near and dear at the moment.  Recently, I took a road trip to Alberta and British Columbia in Western Canada, and this was a place that I had a lot of childhood memories from.  Because of that, this was no ordinary road trip.  Every stop along the way, every tunnel through the mountain, every body of emerald green water, every little mountain town along the way had a memory.  A story.  Sharing these experiences with my husband was something I had wanted to do since we started dating, so it was incredibly special.  I tried to sum it up in the journaling of this layout, but there never is enough room, is there?  

It got me thinking about some other childhood memories, and how many things there are that could be documented.  The time I forgot my choreography at a dance recital on stage (yes, there is a picture), the time I forgot the words to the National Anthem at a local sporting event I was honoured to sing at (yes, there is a picture), or how about the time my Grandpa helped me build an igloo out of sugar cubes for a science project (unfortunately, no picture).  

Here's how I approached documenting this childhood memory with some close-ups:

 

and the full layout:

This layout only scratches the surface of my feelings about this childhood memory, but I look forward to documenting it in more detail very soon.  

I really encourage you all to take a trip down memory lane and find a way to pick a meaningful experience and document it.  The result is so gratifying.  I have already had several questions from my own family after looking at it, and it was such an opportunity for storytelling and sharing with them.  

Thanks again to October Afternoon for having me this month, I am having so much fun, and very much looking forward to the remainder of the month!

-Tara

 

Thursday Sketch

Hey, everyone! Roree here with today's Thursday sketch!

Playing around in Photoshop, I came up with this:

This sketch was originally designed for a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" card, but you can easily adjust it for a square card, or you could pop a few photos into the design and use it for a layout—whatever works best for you!

I created a card with the new Treasure Map collection.

I decided to flip the sketch upside down and I replaced the lines with waves from the Whale Bone Reef patterned paper. 

I added a star sticker from the Shape Stickers sheet and a Pop Drop from Daily Flash's Apple Cider collection.

I finished with a sentiment sticker from the Word Stickers sheet cut into two pieces and embellished them with two Buttons from Woodland Park.

Laura played along with my sketch this week and here is her amazing card:

"I just loved the cute simple sketch that Roree made, and it just so happened that a box of Treasure Map showed up on my door step the same day I was set to make my card.  So the first thing I did was to pull out that adorable star patterned paper and use that to cover my card front.  I decided to still keep the 3 sentiment rows from the sketch, but instead of strips, I used label stickers on one side in the colours of the stars on the paper.  I kept things simple, and only added a few additional star stickers and pop drops for embellishments.  I didn't have a red pop drop left so I used a copic marker to color one to match."

Isn't it the cutest?!  I just love it!

If today's sketch inspires your next project, please share your creation by linking it on Instagram with the hashtag #octoberafternoon, along with tagging @octoberafternoon, so we can see! You can also share your projects on our OA Facebook wall or the OA Flickr gallery.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Scrap your favorites with Alex

Hi all! Alex here today.

Once in a while I like to document my favorite things. It could be a list of my favorite songs, movies, desserts, shoes or like in this case: audio books. I listen to books a lot. I listen to them on my way to and from work, when I take a walk, when I clean the house or when I scrap. I just had to make a layout with some of my favorite audio books right now.

It was the "All of my favorites!" journaling card from the Saturday Mornings collection that inspired me to make this layout. I just had to replace the "all" with a "some" :-)

I have used a piece of the b-side of the SM Journal Cards sheet as my base. That way I got a beautiful mixture of patterns and colors "for free". 

I printed small photos of some of my favorite audio books, one per journal card, and decorated them with different Daily Flash and Saturday Mornings bits and pieces.

I hope you feel inspired to scrap your favorites using tiny photos. If you do, I hope you will share it with us on one of OA's social media channels!

Thanks for stopping by!

//Alex 

Topic Tuesday: Right Where You Are

Each time we reach for a photograph to add to our scrapbooks, and each time we search for the words to accompany that photo, we choose to focus on a moment. Today's prompt, however, is not about journaling just any moment -- it is about journaling THIS moment. What is happening right now? Take a moment to think about what is on your mind, and translate that to a layout, truthfully. Don't worry about whether the topic is "worthy" of documentation -- in committing it to the page, it becomes worthy. 

At the moment, I am going out of my mind as I attempt to navigate the college admissions process with my daughter. It is, to put it lightly, excruciatingly stressful. Rather than pretend it away and focus on a peppier or more saccharine topic for my layout, I faced my feelings head-on and created a page that is honest, heartfelt, and cathartic. 

I did not simply "use" the newly-released Treasure Map collection here; I am indebted to it for inspiring the page's central metaphor and unifying motif. The imagery of the ocean, of ships and maps, of journeys and destinations helped me to find the language to talk about what happens when the course one has set does not lead to the expected destination. After composing my journaling in a word processing program and using the ruler tool to align the text, I printed the journaling on some Treasure Map label stickers. 

Each time I take on a difficult subject on a layout, I try to write my way toward the bright side, which is a challenge, but a necessary endeavor. In times of hopelessness and frustration, we will only grow stronger if we can adapt and find ways to reinvent ourselves. This page is about one of those times. 

The items in the Treasure Map collection help to reinforce those ideas on this page. The background paper ("Skull Rock") features intersecting lines that make clear that there is not just one route to follow in life. This is echoed in the map pattern on the title letters (as well as in the title itself). Many of the accents relate to finding a sense of direction, such as the compasses, the globe, and the stars. Even the chipboard lighthouse image is a hopeful little touch. She'll find her way. 

Now it's your turn: focus on the moment and let your next project follow from that. If you wouldn't mind sharing, I'd love to see where this prompt leads you. Share a link in the comments or post your project in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery. 

Good luck! 

-- Jill 

Monday Challenge: No Patterned Paper

Hi Friends!

It's Laura here today, and I have the pleasure of issuing you a new challenge.  My challenge is a simple one, and it's to not use patterned paper.  Typically I will start a project by picking out patterned papers, so for me this was truly challenging!  October Afternoon makes so so many cute products that I knew I could come up with something fun all the same.

Next month is Mother's Day, and I thought I would try and get ahead of the game and start my card making.

I pulled out the 12x12 Public Library sticker sheet and used two large ones to create my card.

For a fun unique detail on this card, I trimmed down the front of the card so the inside would by longer, and then used a border punch to add scallops.  It's such a simple yet fun detail to add personality to your cards.  I also dressed up the floral sticker with pop drops!

I created the simple sentiment with the soft striped Grey chipboard alphas, and then used a glitter pen to add a slight sparkle.  It's hard to photograph, but you can see some of the shine in the photo below, it's so pretty in person.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you feel inspired by this challenge, and get crafting. Please share your projects on our Flickr group, and use the hashtag #octoberafternoon on other social media platforms so we can see all your awesome designs!

Have a great day!

Laura :)

April's Guest Designer | Tara Elias

Hi all!  My name is Tara Elias and I am so excited to be guest designing for October Afternoon this month!  October Afternoon is a company I have always loved, so I'm incredibly honored to be working with their new lines this month.  I'll be around the blog every Friday in April and look forward to sharing my projects with you!

I live in Winnipeg, MB Canada, and I began scrapbooking in 2006 after attending a beginner class.  The rest is clearly history!  By day, I work in marketing for a large insurance company, and by night, I spend time with my husband, two Stepdaughters, our maltese pup, Jake, hang out with my girlfriends and of course, Scrapbook!  I currently scrapbook layouts in an 8.5x11 format and Project Life in a 6x8 format.

Instagram:  @taraelias

Twitter:  @taradelias

Facebook:  Tara Elias

Let's get this started with a little Q&A!

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

I'm a Layout and Project Life Person!  I am currently working on bringing out my inner card person :)

  2. What is on your scrap desk right now?

Currently I am working on a couple of mini albums, and that is what is scattered all over my desk at the moment.  I actually like things neat and tidy on my desk, so this isn't my usual state

  3. What is your favorite October Afternoon line or product?

I absolutely love Saturday morning!  Those pancake Tin Pins had me at hello!

  4. What can you NOT scrapbook without?

A sewing machine and a computer printer, I use them for everything I make.

  5. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Pinterest, other scrappers, art and of course great products!

 Then these:
 
   1. What is your favorite movie or TV show?

My favorite TV show of all time is Friends, but right now my husband and I are really into The Walking Dead.  I never thought I'd ever like a show about zombies, but I guess I was wrong.  It's so good!

   2. What is your favorite food?

SO MANY THINGS.  Right now I'm really into breakfast for supper.

   3. What is your fondest childhood memory?

My Grandparents would load us up in the RV every summer and drive us through the mountains in British Columbia.  I am so excited to be taking my husband down that same path this week (minus the RV) and to show him all the special places we would visit and sights we would see.  As much of a beach person I am, the mountains are my true happy place.

   4. If you were a superhero, what would your name be and what power would you possess?

I would love to have the power to know what people were thinking...

   5. If you could have dinner with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
It would be my Grandfather.  He passed away 13 years ago and I miss him terribly, and I would want him to see how my life has turned out.  I think he would be really proud.

Here's a few sneaks of what I did with some of my favorite OA products.  I am so looking forward to next Friday when I can reveal more! 

Thank you so much OA for inviting me!  Look for me on Instagram where you will see more sneaks in the upcoming days!

- Tara

 

ETA: Welcome Tara! We are so happy to have you join us this month!