October Afternoon

Thursday Sketch: Make a card

Hi OA Fans, Mou here from colorhappycreations.com with a card sketch today!

I kept it really simple and open to your interpretation. Here's my take.

To make this card, I used elements from Under The Tree collection.

On the card base, I attached a block of Carol Singing paper. Layered a bird duo sticker from Working Shape Stickers as the main image and sprinkled some red Pop Drop circles all around and finished with a sentiment strip from Working Word Stickers.

This is super quick and easy if you need to make last minute cards to hand deliver.

Here's a close up of my card.

If you celebrate, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours and Happy New Year to everyone!

Tuesday Inspiration: String Art

Hello, and Happy Holidays!  I have a couple of string art displays or projects pinned.  They are so inspiring. My favorites things to pin are window displays.  This is the inspiration for my layout today.

This is how I interpreted it with the Under the Tree collection.

I started by using the First Snow background stamp on my plain white cardstock.

Then on the bottom half, I cut different size strips from the Candlelight Pattern Paper to create the look inspired by the string art display.  I started placing them in the directions similar to the inspiration piece.  

To give my photos more focus, I layered a piece of Family Gathering Pattern Paper along the middle, and added gold stitching.  I added a few stickers, a tin pin and enamel shapes under the large red bow I made to also help bring focus to the photos, along with some black paint splatters.

I added a strip of the washi tape at the bottom and layers of pattern paper and an ephemera die cut at the top to help give the layout a little balance.  For my journaling, I used the labels to layer near the top by the photos, and added a straight stitch in gold.

Of course, the puppy adds a little more innocence to the theme of this layout, and doesn't take away from my photos.  I am always a big fan of October Afternoon's Christmas collections.  It is such a beautiful collection to work with.  Hope you are able to grab some to use for your holiday memories!

I would love to see your interpretation of the inspiration piece.  On Instagram, tag @octoberafternoon and me @Patricia_Roebuck using hashtag #octoberafternoon, upload to October Afternoon Flickr gallery, and/or post it on our Facebook page.  Happy Holidays and happy scrapping!!

Monday Challenge: Stripe it out

Hey October Afternoon fans, Mou here with today's challenge and it's all about STRIPES! You have to mix at least two different stripe patterns in one project, be it card, layout, or anything you can imagine. Here's my take.

To make this 6" x 6" card, I used Carol Singing and Stocking Hanging 12x12 papers from Under the Tree collection.

These two papers provided not only contrast but also different widths of stripes.

To make this card, I cut out a 6"x12" piece from Stocking Hanging and two 2" x 6" strip from Carol Singing papers. With scissors I notched the ends of the smaller strips of Carol Singing paper and folded the Stocking Hanging paper in half to make the card.

I stacked the cut out notches to create a Christmas tree, added a sentiment from the Merry Making paper and a star from the Shape Stickers to finish the card.

What will you create with stripes?

Tuesday Inspiration: Layers upon Starry Layers

Hi there! Happy Tuesday! Emily here with today's inspiration piece! When I was searching for inspiration, I came across this fun photo of star confetti:

(source)

I was hesitant to use this for my layout because I've already used stars on a number or layouts for October Afternoon, including this one using stars cut from map paper. After searching for awhile without any luck, I decided the star confetti was meant to be!  I pulled out a few different star punches and began punching away at stars on every piece of blue, red, gray, and orange patterned piece of paper I could find. These colors matched my chosen photo, which is of my kiddos on Halloween this year. I also included a few plain black stars that I cut from cardstock. When I had a large collection of stars, I literally dumped them on my page into a giant pile and then spread them out around my paper. I wanted the layout to be very multi-dimensional and I didn't want the stars to be perfectly placed or adhered to the background. 

After sticking all the the stars down (definitely the longest part of my process) I added my photo on top of the stars and cut out a title using my die cut machine. I wanted a big, bold title, so I used black cardstock and a very simple font for my title, "Fun." The title comes from a Facebook status I included with this photo.  I had hoped I could convince my kids to have matching costumes this year like they have had for the past few years. However, they all had their own ideas, and I was a little bit sad about their mismatched costumes. After a fun night of trick-or-treating I concluded, and posted, "I have reached the point in parenthood where I realize that it doesn't matter if they all match, it only matters that they all have fun."

Finally, I added a few simple embellishments to my layout. Let's face it, it's a pretty crazy layout already, I didn't feel like I needed to add a ton more. I even opted not to include my journaling, because I couldn't find a good place to put it. Instead, I will simply write it on the back of my layout, which is something I frequently do! 

 

Here is a look at my final layout. I love good color combinations, and I can honestly say this is the first time that I have ever used red, orange and blue...it might be a new favorite!

I would love to see how you are inspired by these fun confetti stars! Upload your project 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!

Tuesday Inspiration: Christmas for Halloween

Hello hello my fellow October Afternoon fans, Mou here today with your Tuesday Inspiration!

You guys have seen the new and merry Under the Tree collection I'm sure. Look at these papers... it is clearly a Christmas Collection!

 

And now, look again...

I suddenly see Halloween in them. HOCUS POCUS!

And to prove my point that you can be totally inspired by Christmas papers to scrap Halloween and other autumn-themed photos, let me share with you our visit to the pumpkin patch in search of a jack-o-lantern.

 

The papers I used here are: Carol Singing, Working-Merry Making, and Candle Lighting, all from Under the Tree collection. I even pulled some of the blue-green from Working-Merry Making when I hand cut my fall leaves. Here are some close-ups of my layout.

So, what will you scrap with this collection beyond Christmas?

Monday Challenge: Pattern over Pattern

Hey everyone! Roree here with a Monday challenge for you. 

With Halloween just around the corner, I decided to get out the Witch Hazel collection to use for creating today's project. I was playing around with the Spooky Music background stamp and stamped it over a scrap piece of Freckle Dust patterned paper. While I originally was just using it as a practice piece for stamping, I ended up really liked the way it looked. So, I decided to use it for the base of my card.

I added some striped strips from the Spider's Silk patterned paper along the top and bottom of the stamped panel. I cut out a cute little ghost with my die cut machine from white cardstock and vellum, added some black gems for eyes, and placed the ghost in the center of the panel. I stapled a tab from the Tidbits pack to the top right corner of the panel, then I layered a black gem and chipboard star from the Chip 'n Stick chipboard sheet over the right side of the tab. I attached the "Boo!" sentiment from the Chip 'n Stick chipboard sheet to a label from the Label Stickers sheet, added a couple more black gems, and placed the label at the bottom right side of the panel. I finished by adding the panel to the front of  4 1/4 x 5 1/2" card to finish.

I wouldn't have normally overlapped two strong and distinctive patterns like this, but I think it works on this card. Such a fun and happy accident!

So here is my challenge to you, create a project mixing one pattern over another. Maybe you will end up with something fun and unique like I did.

If you would like to take on today's challenge, 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!

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

Hey, everyone! Roree here with a little inspiration for you this fine Tuesday.

Today's inspiration comes from an Oreo's advertisement. 

I have been seeing this "Wonderfilled" ad quite a bit and was totally inspired by its simplicity. I created a card inspired by it using the new Under the Tree collection:

I used the Tree Trimming patterned paper for the base and cut a circle from the Cookie Nibbling patterned paper for the center of the card. I layered a holly sticker from the Shape Stickers sheet and the bird tin pin from the Tin Pins pack over the circle. I placed a sentiment under the circle with the Working - 12x12 Alpha Stickers sheet and added a gold star Pop Drop to one of the letters. I finished with some machine stitching around the outside edges.

If the "Wonderfilled" Oreo ad 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!