October Afternoon

OA Under the Tree | Lunch Notes and December Daily Cards

Hi friends! Happy Friday!! It's Janice here with my last project as your October guest designer.  I've thoroughly enjoyed creating fun and simple projects using October Afternoon's lastest holiday collection, Under the Tree. 

I've put notes in my 10 y.o.'s lunch since he was in preschool and I continue to do so.  I try to write him a note about once a week.  I decided my last post was going to be lunch notes using Under the Tree.

I also created cards that can be used for your December Daily album or just a collection of Christmas memories.  You can use them as title cards, journaling cards, or even just placing a small picture on it and putting it in a pocket page.  There are so many options.   

I timed this project like I did last week's (confetti gift tags).  Again, all of these cards were created in about an hour. 

I rounded the corners for a cleaner look.

 

 

 

 

Thanks again for dropping by.  I hope that you are able to find some time to be crafty for the holiday season.  Merry Christmas!

Blessings,

Janice

Under the Tree | Pocket Page Scrapbooking: Part Two

Hi.  Janice here to share with you the second part of pocket page scrapbooking using Under the Tree, October Afternoon's latest holiday collection. This is the right side of a two page spread, the left side was posted last Friday.  You can find it here. 

 

I love the variety of nostalgic die cuts in this line.  It brings back many childhood memories for me.  Even the Music Notes washi tape reminds me of something that was used on a gift back then. 

 

 

This Christmas Card List can be found on the back side of Card Sending.  I combined it with die cuts from the Ephemera pack and a sticker from the Word Stickers page. 

 

 

This picture is one of my favorites.  The cousins are catching up with each other and playing good old-fashioned board games.  A wonderful time for family. This is our December Story. What's yours?

 

 

This pattern can be found on the back side of Cocoa Sipping.  It makes me think of sipping hot cocoa while stirring it with a candy cane. 

 

 

How are you planning to document your December story?  I hope these pocket page posts are encouraging you to think about what you want to remember this year during Christmas. Thanks again for dropping by.  See you next Friday.

Under the Tree | Pocket Page Scrapbooking: Part One

Hello!  Janice here to share my first project with you, using OA's new holiday collection Under the Tree.  This is the first part of a pocket page spread I created using some of my family's December 2014 pictures. I wanted to highlight that I stamped "Joy" onto the sunset photo in the upper right corner from the Clear Stamps set.

I mentioned in my previous post that pocket pages work the best for me.  When I first started with pocket pages, I was creating a spread a week.  I found it hard to keep up, so for the past couple of years, a spread for each month is much more doable with my schedule. 

The shaker card was created with the Under the Tree background stamp.  The Home for the Holidays card was accessorized using Pop Drops and Shape Stickers. 

I gave the Lego princess a Pop Dot star on top of her hat and used some tiny words from the Word Stickers.

This Days 'til Christmas card came from the paper Merry Making and I found some numbers in the Ephemera pack that fit perfectly.

I like this picture of my boys, but my younger son was wearing a shirt with a giant logo that I wanted to hide.  This was my solution.

 Here's a shot of some of the products I used for this post.

Thanks for stopping by.  See you next Friday. 

Janice

October's Guest Designer | Janice Matsunaga

Hello!  I'm Janice Matsunaga and I'm very excited to be able to share some October Afternoon projects with you during the month of October.  I was born and raised in sunny Southern California and live here with my husband Dean and sons, Canaan and Luke.  I've been scrapbooking since the mid 90's and started using pocket pages in 2011.  I find pocket pages the most efficient format to document our busy lives, while still being able to be creative.  I am an admitted paper addict, washi tape hoarder and coffee snob.  My father was a photographer and he gifted me with a Kodak Instamatic 110 pocket camera when I was in elementary school.  I've been taking pictures since and enjoy documenting life's moments.

 

Now to answer some questions...

Are you a layout person, a card person...or both? I used to make cards before I started scrapbooking.  After a friend introduced me to modern scrapbooking, it's been my creative outlet of choice.  Occasionally, I'll sit down and stamp out an assembly line of cards.

What is on your scrap desk right now?

I have pictures from the month of April that need a home, bowls of embellishments, water colors, my journaling Bible, and memorabilia that needs to be filed. 

What is your favorite October Afternoon line or product?

I have owned most of OA's lines but my personal favorites are the Schoolhouse and Report Card lines.  I collected these lines for many years until I recently used them to create my younger son's School Years book, Pre-K to 3rd grade.  I also love the Mini Market letters and sticker tabs. 

What can you NOT scrapbook without?

My paper cutter, rolling adhesive and journaling pens.

What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Usually it's a photo or something funny my boys said.  Sometimes it's scripture or a verse from a song.

What is your favorite movie or TV show?

Currently, it's "Downton Abbey" and "The Blacklist."

What is your favorite food?

A tender, juicy piece of rib eye.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Roller skating with my friends in the street until the streetlights came on.  That would be our signal to go in for dinner.

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

My name would be Blink and my power would be super speed.  I would be able to clean my home, run errands and cook meals in the blink of an eye. I would have more time to spend with my family, scrapbook and read.  

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to see you back here next Friday.  I will be sharing my posts on Instagram at: @mochajan and on my blog at: mochajan.wordpress.com

Janice 

 

 

 

Under the Tree: NOEL Banner | Guest Designer: Kim Mathura

Happy Friday everyone! Kim here with my second project as your September guest designer. Today, I would like to show you how I made this stinkin’ cute Christmas banner, using the Under the Tree collection. 

In addition to making cards and mini books, I also love making banners. Christmas decorating would not be complete without a cute banner hanging somewhere in my house. It just makes me happy every time I look at it.

Creating banners is relatively easy. Once you know the basics, you will soon be making banners for every occasion.

Here is how I made this Christmas banner…

Step 1: Gather the supplies.

For this project, I decided to use triangle (with scalloped edge) chipboard banner pieces. I painted the edges of each chipboard banner with grey acrylic paint.  

My plan for the letters was to cover each one with the shabby white embossing enamel from Stampendous. Before I could apply the embossing enamel to each letter, I painted it with Gesso to prevent the embossing ink from soaking into the chipboard letter. Once dry, I covered each letter entirely with the embossing ink dabber and sprinkled the embossing enamel on top of it. Heat set and voila! The “NOEL” letters now have a white enamel look with a touch of gold. Mission accomplished!

Step 2: Cover each banner piece with patterned papers.

Cover each piece of the banner with various papers from the Under the Tree collection – Cookie Nibbling, Cocoa Sipping, Candle Lighting and Mistletoe Kissing, leaving about a ¼” border around the edges. I then decorated the top of each banner with Christmas ribbons.

The faux stitching on the banner piece was done by gliding the tracing wheel along the edges and connecting the dots with a fine tip black pen. I then punched two holes at the top with a Crop a Dile and reinforced each hole with an eyelet. 

Step 3: Make the Rosettes.

        1. Cut two 2" x 12" strips of paper and punch out two scalloped (or plain) circles.

        2. Score every 1/2" and accordion fold each strip of paper.

        3. Join the two strips of paper to make a circle, using a strong adhesive.

        4. Make the rosette. 

Step 4: Assemble.

Attach the rosette to the banner piece. Attach the letter to each rosette and decorate each banner with elements from ephemera pieces, shape stickers, word stickers and tin pins. Here is a close-up of each banner piece…

I hope you enjoyed my banner tutorial and are inspired to make a Christmas banner this year. I will be back next Friday with my last project as your September guest designer. 

Happy Creating!

Under the Tree: Christmas Cards | Guest Designer: Kim Mathura

Happy Friday! Kim here, with my first project as your September Guest Designer. Today, I would like to share with you how I made these lovely Christmas shaker cards, using the Under the Tree collection.

I love sending and receiving handmade cards. This year, I am inspired to make shaker cards to send to my friends and family. Shaker cards are going to cost a little more in postage, but they will certainly put a big smile on the faces of your loved ones this holiday season!

  Here is how to make this deer card…                                         

Step 1 - Gather your supplies.  The measurement of the card base is 5” x 6.5.” Cut a 5” x 6.5” piece of the Cookie Nibbling (blue) paper and cut a 4.5” x 6” piece of the Merry Making (star) paper. Die cut a star from the star paper and save the cut out star for step 2.                   

Step 2 – I used a piece of leftover page protector for this project. Use the cut out star, which you had saved from step 1, as a guide to fuse the page protector together (following the outline of the star), leaving an opening for the sequins.

Step 3 – Fill your star pocket with sequins and seal the star pocket shut with the fuse tool.

Step 4 – Trim around your star pocket, leaving about a 1/4" space away from the fused line.

Step 5 – Turn the star paper over and apply some strong liquid glue around the star window. Adhere the star pocket behind the window. Voila! You now have the foundation of a shaker card. 

To finish the card, adhere the blue paper to the card base. Draw stitched lines around the border and tie a piece of twine to the bottom of the star paper. Apply foam tape to the back of the star paper and adhere it to the front of the card. Decorate the card with the elements (deer, rush label and holly label) from the ephemera pack and label sticker sheet.

I decided to make a couple more shaker cards because I had so much fun making the first one. 

These two shaker cards were done by applying a piece of acetate behind each cut out. Feel free to use the clear stamp set on the acetate. Here, I stamped the “Fa La La..” and music notes on the acetate, using Stazon ink.  

I applied foam tape to box around the back of each cut out, creating an area for the sequins. I then filled in the boxed area with sequins and adhered a piece of patterned paper as a background, which also prevented the sequins from falling out.

I hope you enjoyed my shaker card tutorial and are inspired to make shaker cards this holiday season. Thank you so much for stopping by. I will be back next Friday for another fun project.

Happy Creating!

                 

 

 

September's Guest Designer | Kim Mathura

Hello there! My name is Kim Mathura. I am so excited and honored to be your guest designer for the month of September. It has been a dream of mine to be a part of October Afternoon’s family. I can now check it off of my bucket list! Checked!  

I was born in Bangkok, Thailand. I moved to south Florida in 1997 to pursue a degree in Business Management. It was at the college, where I met the love of my life. We have been together for eighteen years but married for thirteen!

I was so fortunate to be born into a family, where art and creativity were always encouraged. For as long as I can remember, I have been collecting papers and stickers. Even though I have been doing some type of crafting all my life, I started scrapbooking when we moved to Tampa, Florida in 2007. My signature style has to be the ability to incorporate real vintage object findings with my work. I like to layer different products and embellishments on my projects while maintaining a clean and organized look.

You can see more of my work at the following links:

Blog - http://kimmathura2015.blogspot.com/

Instagram -  @kim_mathura

Facebook - Kim.Mathura2015

    

I am so lucky to be working on the brand new Under the Tree collection. I love Christmas! I hope you will enjoy looking at my projects throughout the month of September. 

Let’s get started with a little Q&A…

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

I love making cards! There’s something special about sending handmade cards to my friends and family. In addition to making handmade cards, I LOVE making mini books. I love the fact that there is a beginning and an end to the mini book. I always look forward to making a mini book after taking a trip. 

What is on your scrapbook desk right now?

Right now, I am working on my weekly journal, which is a mini book, filled with notebook pages. In addition, I have the three October Afternoon – Under the Tree projects, which I will be sharing with you throughout the month of September. My desk is filled with pictures and embellishments and is messy when I am working on a project, but I usually clean it up as soon as I am done.

What is your favorite October Afternoon line or product?

I knew this question was coming! It is so hard to pick one, but if I have to, it would be the Travel Girl collection. I love the little girl with glasses in this collection! My October Afternoon favorite product is the Miscellany pack. Opening a bag of Miscellany pack is like opening a gift. My heart starts to race because I get so excited to go though the fun bits and pieces that come in the bag. 

What can you NOT scrapbook without?

I could not scrapbook without my Fabri-Tac glue. I have one bottle on my craft table and one spare bottle in my drawer at all time. It’s my to-go adhesive when it comes to making mini books. Nothing bugs me more than having a page lifted from my chipboard cover after a short period of time.

What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Most of the time, the collection itself inspires me. When I see a collection that I like, it sparks the creativity fuse in my brain. I also find ideas from reading through magazines, blogs and Pinterest. 

And a few more…

What is your favorite movie or TV show?

My favorite TV show is The Walking Dead. My husband and I usually record and watch most of our favorite shows at a later time in order to skip the numerous advertisements. However, we often find ourselves watching The Walking Dead on live TV because we just cannot wait to see it.

What is your favorite food?

Naturally, I love Thai food. I also have an insatiable love for sushi.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

My fondest childhood memory was when I traveled with my family internationally. Because of the nature of my parents’ business, my brother and I had many opportunities to visit several countries. It was so much fun traveling to various countries and experiencing different cultures.

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

My name would be “The Transpacific Traveler.” My superpower would be the ability to travel back and forth from Florida to Thailand in a wink of an eye so that I could see my family in Thailand more often. I try to visit them at least once every eighteen months.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be and why?

I would have dinner with my family in Thailand. Whenever I go there, I usually stay for two months and we always have dinner together every single night.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my interview with October Afternoon. I will be sharing my projects with you every Friday throughout the month of September. Hope to see you there!

Happy Creating!

 

OA Summertime and Treasure Map | Mini Notebooks

Hey ya'll! It's Amanda here to wrap up my guest spot for August. I have really enjoyed creating some fun things, and this project is a bit different.  I'm sure many of you are owners of a Traveler's Notebook or similar method of planning or journaling.  Because I love the papers so much in the October Afternoon collections, I thought it would be fun to create a few personalized notebooks for use in a Traveler's Notebook or just to jot down notes or journal or whatever you'd like.

First, I chose some of my favorite papers. 

Then I printed several different notebook papers that I downloaded. I love that you can personalize not only the lines, but also the colors.

 

I made a few different sized notebooks, and I mostly used staples to bind them together, with the exception of one that I used twine to bind. I also used some simple embellishments on the outside of a few of them. 

I used an exacto knife to cut out a "tab" of sorts on the side to add some fun and a different pattern to the exterior of the notebook.

Once bound, I used an exacto knife to trim the edges of the pages so that they line up correctly once folded.

You can see that I chose several different options for the paper inside the notebooks.

These are so simple to make, and just seeing them inside my handbag makes me smile. I'm a notorious paper hoarder, so I like being able to see these on a regular basis instead of sticking them in an album where I can't enjoy them quite so much.

Thanks again for having me as a guest. I really enjoyed it.

OA Summertime + Treasure Map | Road Trip Minibook

Hey ya'll!  Amanda here to share my first October Afternoon project as the guest designer for August.  One of my favorite things about October Afternoon is always their fun patterned paper. I decided to pull together a minibook of our July road trip to the Smoky Mountains, focusing on all of the fun patterns in the Summertime and Treasure Map collections. 

I've been really loving Instax pictures lately, but I will confess that none of these are really Instax pictures. I simply put pictures (iPhone and Nikon picture) into an Instax template and printed them out. I like using these for a minibook because of the consistency of sizes, and also I can make a small-sized minibook with them.  This book is 4x6 in size.  I used Silhouette canvas to print the cover, and simply trimmed it using my paper cutter.  I added a small embroidery thread embellishment to the corner, but otherwise kept the cover simple.

 

I chose pictures that focused on our outdoor adventures during this trip, including an impromptu swim in a creek near Cade's Cove, mini golf, and other exploring. 

I love the Sew Fun Banners in the Treasure Map collection, so I used a few of them here to embellish this photo of my mother and oldest son playing mini-golf.  

 

 

The border stickers are also a fun addition to these pages. 

 
I really enjoy mixing and matching the papers in the October Afternoon collections.  The colors really work well together.  
I am a sucker for a photobooth, and I almost always make the boys take pictures when I come across one. This strip cracks me up because my youngest son was so animated.  I also had to trim one image off the bottom of the strip in order for it to fit. 

 

I love the dimension that tabs add to a layout, so I chose to punch several tabs to use in this book so that the tabs would peek out of the side (and one out of the bottom) of the book. I love that it adds some color to the book when it's closed. 

August's Guest Designer | Amanda Caves

Happy Friday, ya'll! My name is Amanda Caves, and I am so thrilled to share some projects with you during the month of August.  I live in Alabama with my husband Andy and our two sons.  Bowen will be nine (tomorrow!) and Wilder is seven.  They keep me on my toes, and I love every minute of it.  I'm an attorney by day, and I love the creative outlet of photography and memory keeping. I have always loved photography, and that's where my memory keeping began.  I started scrapbooking digitally in 2011, and then made my way to the more traditional method using paper and glue in 2012 when I started memory keeping in the pocket page format.  I love looking back at my albums and reliving the big moments such as beach trips, Disney vacations, cruises, and roadtrips.  But even more than that, I love that smaller moments that are often forgotten are captured as well.  I can read the cute little sayings that the boys said over the years, and almost hear their little voices speaking the words.

You can see more of my memory keeping projects (and the craziness of living with two boys) at the following links:

Instagram:  itsmeamanda

Blog: threehundredsixtyfivedaysofus.blogspot.com

How about a little Q&A?

Are you a layout person, a card person, or both?  I'm actually neither. I can count on one hand the number of traditional layouts that I've made. I prefer pocket pages, but I also love putting together minibooks. 

What is on your scrap desk right now?   Right now it's covered in beach pictures and lots of coordinating papers and embellishments.

What is your favorite October Afternoon line or product?   It's hard to name just one thing, so I will say that I've always loved October Afternoon's fun patterned papers as well as their variety of alphas.

What is your favorite source of inspiration?  For  me, it all starts with the photographs.  I'm currently inspired by  lifestyle photography.

What is your favorite TV show?  Nerd alert: I'm not a big fan of TV. I much prefer reading. But I do love NCIS, and that's about the only must-see show for me.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?  Kurt Cobain because I am fascinated by his music.