October Afternoon

Pirates in January

Hi everyone! Alex here.

I don't know about you, but I needed to take a break from winter. Therefore, I am bringing you pirates and the summery Treasure Map collection today. 

I knew I had to use Treasure Map for my son's birthday layout. He is so into pirates right now, that I had to throw him a pirate party. I still can't believe that I actually made that pirate ship cake! Still kind of impressed by myself! :D

I didn't use a lot of papers for this one, only a fuzzy cut piece of Whale Bone Reef. Instead, I played with a lot of bits and pieces. I marked the upper edge with a strip of Nautical Flags washi tape. I cut off the pirate that was sitting under the palm tree sticker and stuck it under my photo. Number 3 is a Daily Flash Early Riser. 

I can't seem to be able to make a layout without Daily Flash chipboard arrows...

I have mixed three different alphas for my title: TM mini market, DF Meringue and TM alpha stickers for the year. The big anchor is TM Chip 'n Stick. Finally, I added some Eggnog pop drops and a cute little TM tin pin to the right side of the page for a more balanced design. 

I love to pull out collections that are not really right for the season to mix things up a bit. I feel so much better now :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

//Alex

Thursday Sketch: Squares of Different Sizes

Hi everyone! Alex here bringing you this week's sketch. I have used a lot of squares on this one.

And here is my own take on it.

I am not really ready for Christmas yet but I do love the new Under the Tree papers, so I decided to use them for this non-Holiday layout. The red and black were a perfect match for my little fire fighter. I have used papers Carol Singing and Card Sending. 

I mixed it up with bits and pieces from DF All Boy, DF Snapshots and DF Girl Talk. 

I also added some chipboard stars and a chipboard frame. 

For my title, I used the DF Nightfall alphas.

I hope that you feel inspired by this sketch and that you want to play along. Have fun!

//Alex

 

Tuesday Inspiration

Hey, everyone! Roree here with today's Tuesday Inspiration post.

As soon as I saw today's inspiration piece on Pinterest, I immediately fell in love.

Image via Pinterest

It is simple, yet so striking—absolutely beautiful, don't you think?

So with this image in mind, I created this card: 

I am going to apologize right now, because I know I have used the woodgrain side of the Tree Trimming patterned paper from the new Under the Tree collection on yet ANOTHER card. (I can't seem to help myself!) I am absolutely in love with this paper. I think I could use it again and again and not get tired of it one little bit. Besides, it really was the perfect paper to use on this project.

I cut a heart in the middle of my Tree Trimming panel with the Cricut Explore­® and Seasonal Soirees cartridge. I added a little stitching around the outside of the heart, then I popped the "Autumn" card from the Pumpkin Picking patterned paper in the Daily Flash Apple Cider collection behind the heart.

I added more stitching to a little label from the Snap Caps pack and adhered it over the bottom right side of the heart. I surround the label with leaf stickers from the Double Take sticker sheet, added a few Pop Drops to the leaves, placed a sentiment from the Pillow Puffs sticker sheet over the label, and finished it all off with a hemp cord bow.

I am just so happy with the way it turned out!

If the Pinterest image I chose for today's inspiration post 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!

Thursday Sketch: Photo Booth Strips

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's sketch!

Do you like photo booth prints? I feel that the photo strips help tell a story in a very fun way. Now, while there are limitations to what you can take to a photo booth, there are no restrictions to what you can do with the look. With that inspiration in mind, I created this sketch.

You could create a simple linear layout with a sketch like this or you could give it a touch of mixed media like I did.

I started this layout with a neutral grey cardstock as my photos are very colorful. Rather than just placing the pictures one below another, I created a staggered strip of photos mounted on slightly wider strips of Bonfire and Hayride  papers from Daily Flash Apple Cider collection. The papers instantly warmed up the grey background to match my Autumn photos. I cut my title out of Pumpkin Picking paper and created an embellishment by cutting out a tree from the Hayride paper.

Fall reminds me of sweaters and textures. To create that feel on my layout, I machine-stitched around the photo strips and title. I cut out leaf shapes from Bonfire paper and sprinkled them around the page like leaves falling from trees. Next I splattered paints around carefully as not to drop a lot on my photos. To add a date to the layout, I used the Daily Flash 2010's Decade Stamp. Finally, I journaled at the bottom.

Here are some close-up shots of my layout.

I hope you like my layout and find the sketch useful. So, how are you documenting fall this year?
 

Designer Challenge: Little Photos

Hi there! Emily here with a fun designer challenge for you. I recently had the privilege of visiting Camp Wandawega with two friends. This "summer camp for adults" has been in the news and social media a lot lately, and I am lucky that I only live a little over an hour away. Between the three of us, my friends and I took hundreds of photos of this perfectly curated camp. I am hoping to create mini album of our camp adventures, but in the (rather likely) event that I don't get around to it, I wanted to be sure to at least document our time in a layout!  In order to include as many photos as possible, I decided to use lots of small photos on my layout. 

My printer makes it easy for me to print small photos by offering me the option of printing 1, 4, or 8 photos on a page. I decided to make three 4x6 sheets of four, giving me 12 total photos. Once I had my photos printed and cut, I arranged (and rearranged...and rearranged) them on my page until I was happy with their placement. I decided to orientate my photos in a grid in the top righthand corner of the page, with the title underneath and some colorful strips of paper as a boarder on the left.  

I used foam adhesive to raise a few of the photos off the page, and I decided at the last minute to swap out one of the photos for a Daily Flash woodgrain chipboard heart and the perfect (and true) "Instagrammed" sticker. I like how it breaks up the grid a bit and makes it a bit more visually stimulating. 

I used a piece of patterned paper from last year's December Story kit to cut my title. I love the plaid - it is reminiscent of the blankets they leave everywhere to snuggle up in and perfect for a camp layout!!  

Along the left side, I included a bunch of different colors and patterns. I knew that I wanted to include some yellow in the layout so that it didn't have too much of a holiday vibe. The little cluster at the bottom is appropriately "vintage" - the Daily Flash Girl Talk badge features an antique phone dial, and the Sidewalks "Little Flyer" flag is truly vintage October Afternoon - it has a copyright date on the back of 2011!!

I contemplated adding journaling to this layout, but honestly, the photos tell so much of the story, that I didn't feel like it was necessary. It's a rather busy layout, and I didn't know that adding MORE to it would be the best idea!!  Here's the final product:

Tell me, when is the last time you went to summer camp?  How did you document it? I'd love to see your take on my little photo challenge or see any camp-inspired projects you may have! Upload your work to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon. Happy Wednesday, and happy scrapping!

Tuesday Inspiration: Frame Gallery

Hi everyone! Alex here bringing you this week's inspiration piece. I was browsing Pintereset for frame gallery inspiration, when I came across this image. I fell for the frames arranged as a heart and decided to use it for this week's layout.

I started by cutting a lot of 1.5'' x 0.75'' rectangles out of different Summertime patterns. Then I build up a heart with white cardstock strips and started to play around and arrange patterns until I was happy with how it looked. Finally, I adhered the patterned rectangles to white strips and put it all down on a lovely B-side of the Backyard Lights paper. 

Once the heart and my photos were in place, it was time to pull out all the Daily Flash goodies and start decorating.

I have used bits and pieces from DF Snapshot and DF Girl Talk. 

I also added a chipboard arrow and some Eggnog pop drop hearts. 

I hope you like this inspiration piece and that you feel like scrapping after reading this :-)

Have fun!

//Alex

Thursday Sketch: A Gathering Place

Happy Thursday! It's Jill here, bringing you this week's sketch. This one has lots of room for photos and journaling. 

In fact, it's a great sketch to use if you're planning a page that pulls together lots of little photos related to a single topic. Here's your chance to gather together those candids of your cat (you know you have millions -- and you know I'm not exaggerating) or the slew of bathroom selfies that you're not brave enough to reprint as large photos, or, as in my case, tons of pictures of the weather. 

It's been a crazy last 30 days around here, what with brush fires, 100% humidity, drought conditions giving way to sudden but short-lived rainstorms, record-breaking temperatures, flash floods, vog, and three (count 'em -- three!) category four hurricanes surrounding the state of Hawai'i at the same time. The series of photos taken over the course of the past month documents this meteorological madness. 

The page includes a mix of October Afternoon favorites, including Daily Flash chipboard and papers from the Saturday Mornings and Summertime collections. 

I pulled together photos depicting the landscape and skies over the past month, and sized the photos to 1" x 1" before printing them. On the layout, I give the photos a little boost by backing them with 1.25" x 1.25 squares of patterned paper, and placed the gathering of photos over three weather-themed patterns. The sketch allows for lots of journaling space, but I created even more space by overlapping the photos with journaling strips. 

I'd love to see your take on this sketch! Be sure to link me up in the comments below, and/or add your page to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

 -- Jill 

Monday Challenge: Inspiration Right Under Your Nose

You hear it all the time, "inspiration is everywhere."  I think sometimes it isn't a problem finding the inspiration as it is interpreting or just actually committing and doing it!  As I was planning my week and projects, I just happened to notice how pretty the box of Kleenex sitting on the counter was.  I almost didn't give it a second thought.  

I thought the shapes looked like leaves and almost used them in a different way then clustering them for a background.  That can be for another layout!  After I cut the background, I used Saturday Mornings pattern paper and Apple Cider pattern paper to fill in the background cuts.

Since the colors were Fall and my photo was about school, I used the Apple Cider puffy pillows, Milk Money Stickers, Stamps, Daily Flash Stamps, and Public Library embellishments.

And last but not least, since it inspired the layout, here is the box of Kleenex! 

I really hope you not only find inspiration right under your nose, but make the time to create something with that inspiration!  I would love to see what you create.  Hope to see your project uploaded to either the October Afternoon Flickr gallery,  our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon.

Monday Challenge: Record Your Summer in Pocket Pages Part 3

Hello there October Afternoon fans, Mou here today with your Monday challenge!

Summer is wrapping up here. Schools start this week. This has been a summer of big events for our family. We have moved from Florida to New Jersey. And yes, for the first time, I am sensing that summer is really coming to an end as the evenings are getting rather chilly. New Jersey is not the land of everlasting summer... but I'm looking forward to welcoming autumn because that has always been my favorite!

At the beginning of this summer, I challenged myself and invited you all to join me to record this summer in pocket pages. You can read my original post here. I have used the October Afternoon Daily Flash system to record our summer. In order to not miss a single beat, I have taken photos all summer with my phone and posted them on my Instagram account with #oursummerof2015. As I progressed with my project, I realized yet one more time, how helpful the Daily Flash system is..

Here are two more spreads from my album.

As I continue working on this album, I find myself reaching for more October Afternoon Collections than just Summertime and loving it because they all blend together seamlessly!

So, how is your summer memory keeping coming along? Please share in your comments.

Topic Tuesday: Maps

Every October Afternoon collection contains gems, those patterns that jump right out at you and beg to be used right away and hoarded forever at the same time. Among my favorites are the map papers that appear from time to time in collections. I ransacked my October Afternoon stash and pulled out a bunch of map papers to create this layout: 

There are so many patterns to love on this page, including "True North," "Shipwreck Coast," and "Skull Rock" from the Treasure Map collection, "Midnight Clear" from the Silent Night collection, and "Social Studies" from the Daily Flash/Milk Money collection. 

I cut each pattern into strips of varying sizes, and added sticker accents along the seams to unify the design and create continuity. 

Map patterns can even be found on October Afternoon alphas, like these from the Treasure Map collection. 

Here's hoping for even more maps to show up in future October Afternoon collections!  In the meantime, I'll be dealing with the "to use or to hoard?" conundrum. 

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!