October Afternoon

Thursday Sketch: A Little Here & A Little There

Hey, October Afternoon Fans! Mandy here today bringing you this week's sketch. 

This sketch was based off the layout I created below. I was just having fun creating and this layout kinda fell together rather quickly(love when that happens!) and I thought it would be a fun one to make into a sketch so y'all could create a project based off it. 

As you saw earlier in the week I love working with scraps. This layout is another one created with items I had within arms reach and scraps laying on my table.I say this all the time but I'll say it again.. I love that all the bits and piece of the October Afternoon lines seem to coordinate together it makes scrapbooking so much easier. Here I used scraps and embellishments from the Daily Flash & Saturday Morning collections. 

I hope you've been inspired with this sketch! Please share your creations on OA's Facebook wall or on Instagram. On Instagram, please tag us @octoberafternoon and use the hashtags #octoberafternoon #oasketchday so we can see what you've been creating with OA products!

~Mandy 

Tuesday Challenge | Use Your Scraps

Hello OA fans!  If you are like me (Patricia), you have lots of scrap pieces of pattern paper leftover.  Before you throw them out, take today's challenge.  Working with scraps is my favorite way to scrapbook.  You can layer with them, tuck pieces here and there, and my new favorite trend is to use pieces and stitch across.

This is what I did here for my layout.  Used strips that I stitched across, and tucked pieces in along the line of the photo.  I used Saturday Mornings collection to document my favorite shows.  And I am embarrassed to say, I had too many that I couldn't fit on the layout, even tried a 12x12.  So I got creative.

Using Daily Flash washi tape, I taped all seven shows (photos) front and back to create an accordion fold.

Now I can see all of the shows on one layout!  Of course, the dinosaur was a perfect little touch to this since Doctor Who is a time traveler.  I cut one of the cards from the collection, and placed the "watcha watchin" part at the top of my layout, and then typed out the name of the shows on the TV part.  I like how I got use out of that one card in two different ways.

I just love the Saturday Mornings collection.  Beautiful colors, patterns, and so fun to work with!

I am so excited to have one of my long-time scrap crushes joining me in today's challenge.  Here is Mandy's layout and what she has to say.

I absolutely loved Patricia's challenge this week! I am one of those gals that gets all giddy diggin through her scraps and finding use for them instead of throwing them away(this is sometimes a bad thing). 

For this challenge I only used things I had laying on my desk from previous projects. As you can see from the variety of papers and embellishments my desk hasn't been cleaned in awhile lol. 

When it comes to scrap papers I like to use them as is or rough cut them into wonky squares. I like how this use your scraps layout turned out and I hope it inspires you too. Thanks P for the awesome challenge!!

Mandy put those pieces to great use on this almost abstract layout, such a cool look!  She also used papers from Saturday Mornings, as well as Girl Talk, and Daily Flash. 

Now it is your turn.  Go through all of your October Afternoon scraps and see what you can come up with.  Layering, blocks, die cuts, strips, whatever you like.  Be sure to share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery and tag #oadesignerchallenge and #octoberafternoon on Instagram.  Don't forget to tag me @patricia_roebuck so I can see.

Tuesday: Be Bold

Hey everyone! Mandy here with you today asking you a simple question… What first comes to mind when you read the word BOLD? Patterns, colors, cut out shapes, large photos, eye catching title, etc. For me bold means enlarged photo that is front and center, free hand cut pattern, and usually a big title. 

This week I am challenging you to comment what Bold means to you and share your projects with us!!

Here is the layout I created.

Mav is a total cartoon junkie on Saturday morning well any morning really lol so it was a no brainer to use the fun new Saturday Mornings Pattern Papers and Embellishments. I tried to keep this as simple as possible since that's my thang.  Even though this photo of Mav isn't the most perfect because it's blurry and not so pretty, it still catches the eye and you can see that smile on his face and it makes you want to know the story behind the photo,to me that's keepin it BOLD. 

A detail shot of my bold color cluster. Again just keeping it simple. 

I hope you leave the blog today feeling inspired to be BOLD! If you decide to take the BOLD challenge be sure to upload to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon.

Have a great day! MK

OA Sketch Day

Happy Thursday everyone! Suz here along with the fun and fabulous Mandy K to share with you this week's sketch challenge and our takes on it.

First up, the sketch:

And here is Mandy's fantastic take on the design and what she had to say about it:

 "The sketch Suz created for this weeks challenge is awesome! I had lots of ideas swirling in my head but I decided to keep it simple and create a fun date card to send to a friend since a "Pancake Date" with my girl Lisa is at the top of my list to make sure gets done this year. I love the cut stickers and fun paper from the Saturday Mornings collection it make it simple a quick to create this little card.

Thanks for asking me to join along with this fabulous sketch Suz!" 

 

*ETA--Isn't that card adorable! Love the way Mandy used the pop drops to add motion and dimension to her card!  Thanks for playing along with the sketch Mandy!

For this sketch, I created with the Saturday Mornings Collection and kept pretty true to the sketch, opting to use one of the four squares to house my photo and the others to use some stickers and patterned papers from the Saturday Morning collection to complete the look.

I kept the title in the approximate location as depicted in the sketch, but chose to journal on one of the Saturday Mornings Word Stickers instead. For the lower triangle image, I placed the fork and spoon Shape Stickers in a "v" pattern. Then I added some stitching and a bit of Lemon Drop SprINKlers, dropping a few slashes across the page to mimic batter droplets. ;)

This sketch would translate well to a card design too.

We hope this post leaves you inspired to crack into your stash of OA goodies or even your new haul of Saturday Mornings and to start creating with them! Please share your creations on OA's Facebook wall or on Instagram. On Instagram, please tag us @octoberafternoon and use the hashtags #octoberafternoon #oasketchday so we can see what you've been creating with OA products!

Have a great day! 

Work It Wednesday

Hey Everyone! Mandy with this weeks work it Wednesday post. This week I thought we could work with the awesome October Afternoon Flash Chip.

I LOVE the Flash Chip! I am always grabbing flash chip when creating whether its the alphas or shapes. As you can see I used both on this layout. 

I like to layer the chip pieces and cluster them together with other embellishments. This layout is about me being his momma and having to be strong so layering the large stars with small stars represents our mom & son relationship. Mav is my star so it all works well to tell the story. In the detail shot below you can see the layering and dimension it adds to the layout.

I hope you leave today inspired to grab your flash chips next time you create. If you do, be sure to share your project with us. You can share it with us both on Facebook, Flickr or Instagram. 

Thanks for joining me today! MK

Tuesday Inspiration

Hey y'all! Mandy Koeppen here with this week's Tuesday Inspiration piece. If you know me or take a look at my previous work you'll see one thing in common with every single thing I create... simple shapes-circles, squares, and my love for triangles. I tend to stay in my comfort zone which can be both great and irritating. I had an awesome inspiration piece picked out to share today but I couldn't get it to work on paper the way I saw it and planned it in my head so today I give you plan B.

I found this photo on pinterest and it can be seen HERE.I 'm sure you can see why this popped out at me and worked. SImple design working from left to right with circles and squares.I hope it inspires you too. I tell you it took no time at all once I gathered my supplies to create the layout below.  

 

My daughters and I went to see Annie this weekend (Y'all it's a must see) then my youngest got her Annie gear (Annie Clothes) which included this cute tag so I had to scrap because we had so much fun! I used a mix of Pop Drops and sticker hearts to create the flow on the left just like in the inspiration piece. The rope on the tag reminds me of the glassware on the table. Although I didn't make it a point to move items all the way over to the right edge of the page I think the October Afternoon pattern paper from Public Library was already doing that job from the start. I swear OA makes this creating thing easy! 

I hope you leave the blog inspired today. Thanks you so much for joining me!

We would love for you to play along! Upload your layout to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon. 

Monday Challenge: Goodbye 2014

Where did 2014 go? It flew by. Can you believe today is the last Monday of 2014? Crazy. In just a few short days we'll be ringing in the New Year but before you grab your party hats and bubbly lets take a minute to reflect on what's happened this past year. We all have stories to tell from this year: the good, the bad, the ugly, the fun & excited. You could document 14 things that happened in 2014, a photo from each month, it's a challenge so take it and make it yours!

I decided that I would document some thoughts on the ups and downs I faced this year and create a small layout without photos to go in the back of my December Story. 

I free-styled the journaling on the typewriter so it may sound like rambles when others read it but they'll get a view into my 2014. I love how quick this small layout came together with the supplies from the December Story kit.

The fabulous Mou Saha joins me today with this absolutely gorgeous layout.

Here's what Mou had to say about today's challenge:

"Mandy's challenge was perfect for me as I usually do a wrap-up kinda layout every year. This year was filled with big life events for our family. To document that I used bits and pieces from Our December Story kit and Daily Flash. Combining chipboard numbers and cardstock stickers with handwriting to create the title was fun. I matted my photo and attached it to the page with washi tape to create a hinge to lift it to reveal my journaling."

Thanks you so much for joining me today!

We would love for you to play along! Upload your layout to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon and #oadecemberstory. 

Monday Challenge : Water

Happy Monday everyone!!

If you wonder why I'm so happy when it's Monday - well, it's the school holidays over here and I didn't have to wake up early. I can not wake up if I want to. Haha! One of the perks of having older children! ;)

And what else? I have a challenge for you, and Mandy is playing along today, that makes me happy too :) Okay, here goes. My challenge for you is to scrap . . . 

 

You can make a project about the sea, waterfalls, your drinking habit (water, I assume! lol), playing in the puddle, rainbow after the rain, your baby's sippy cup or even tears. Just some suggestions there.

Here's Mandy's card

 

Mandy said : 

"When I was given Sasha's challenge for today I thought I would create something around snow since it's December and I live in Michigan and there's always a ton of snow here, right? Um, NO not this year! So back up plan a card that asks for someone to bring snow to the mitten state. The October Afternoon Partly Cloudy Flash Chip was perfect for my card. I also grabbed papers from last years  Very Merry December  kit. 

 

Thanks for some great inspiration and a fun challenge Sasha! "

Here's my layout

The B side of Reference Section patterned paper from Public Library reminds me of the sea, so I decided to use that as my background paper. I cut my white cardstock into sections and stitched them back onto the background paper to create some interest rather than having a flat white background with a border. This must be my favorite thing to do nowadays, I've done this many times lately. :)

For my photo focal point, I layered Corn Maze, vellum, Bonfire pp and a couple of tabs. I playfully stamped one of the tabs because that's what this layout is about. My daughter, playing at sea. I believe we can learn so much while playing and it's not like I want her to go out and earn a living as a sailor, so this was play. :)

I used Daily Flash Navigate alphas for my title. Just how perfect is that for my layout? I squealed out loud when I realized that as I usually start my layout with a photo + story, not products. Such a happy coincidence! I hid my journaling underneath the photo cluster and finished my layout with a printed circle tag and a sprinkle of Pop Drops. 

I hope you'll play along with Mandy and I. Share what you make with us in the OA Flickr Gallery.  You can also share with us on Instagram. Use the hashtag #octoberafternoon and tag me @sashafarina as I'd love to see your take on this challenge!

 

 

Monday Challenge: Thankful

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

Thanksgiving is only a little over a week away so when thinking about a challenge for today, I decided to take inspiration from the holiday. Because Thanksgiving is all about celebrating the blessings in our lives with our friends and family, so my challenge to you is: Create a project based around the word THANKFUL.

I created a card for the the challenge:

I originally planned on using the Apple Cider collection, but I happened to have the Woodland Park collection out and found the sweetest sentiment on one of the Here & Now Chapter pages and thought it was perfect for one the people I am most thankful for in my life, my husband.

I trimmed a couple of the Here & Now Chapter pages down to create the 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" card. Along the top, I added some stitching to frame the "Sign Board" Alphas from the Daily Flash collection,

I finished the card by adding some baker's twine from Sasparilla, a die cut and sticker from Woodland Park, and a puffy button sticker from Apple Cider.

Mandy played along with my challenge, and here is the amazing layout she created around the word thankful and a little blurb about what she is thankful for:

"Lately I've been thankful for many things so when Roree challenged me to create a project based on the word "Thankful" I had no problem getting started. When I started to brainstorm my project I instantly thought of 3 friends who over the last few months(actually longer) have been great support to me and I'm so THANKFUL for these awesome gals I call my friends. Since we live hundreds of miles apart the Milk Money "Social Studies" paper had to be my base paper and from there I went with a large title and bold journaliing. Can't wait to see what y'all do with this challenge! Thanks so much for asking me to join along Roree!!-MK"

So now it's time for you to take my challenge and run with it. Create your own "Thankful" project and share it with us in the OA Flickr group. We can't wait to see what you create! 

Workspace Wednesday: Organizing On A Dime

Hello October Afternoon fans! Mandy Koeppen here with you today sharing a fun post about Organizing your scrap space on a dime. We all love scrolling through Pinterest, flipping through design magazines, and hitting up out favorite scrapbookers blogs for organizing inspiration but as you know some of those spaces are just too far out of our budget. Sometimes the stores that one person has isn't in our neck of the woods so it's almost impossible to get that must have organizer- this reminds me of the famous raskog cart from ikea. Somethings like awesome vintage tool boxes or container just can't be found or replicated so you spend years still looking every time you go to a flea market. Well here's an idea why not reuse or DIY your own organizing containers for your scrap space? I scrolled through Pinterest and here are some of the idea I thought could come in handy when organizing those precious October Afternoon supplies.

Links below will take you to the project on Pinterest and the Pin. 

Cereal box drawer organizer would be great for small embellishments and tools. Do you see the October Afternoon pattern paper used here?

 

Tin can  tool holder. This is so cool! Pens, brushes, scissors, mists(use a tomato can) etc. could be stored in the cans. 

Aluminium Foil washi dispencer? Some of you this could come in hand while others will more than likely need the next organizer lol.

Skirt Rack Washi Holder this rack shows ribbon but I'd switch it out for washi. These skirt racks are pretty handy not only for washi tape but you can hang projects from them, store spools of ribbon & thread.

DVD folder Stamp Storage . Ever wonder what to do with those clear DVD/CD folders laying around? Why not store clear stamps or cling stamps in them? Label and stamp image so you know what the folder contains.

Another Cereal box but different use.This organizer would be perfect for small embellishments like October Afternoon Miscellany, buttons, Daily Flash supplies.

Last but certainly not least Paper Storage. Mostly likely you get some kind of package shipped Priority. Have you thought about saving those boxes to use for paper holders? You can spray paint them or cover them in wrapping paper.

Or maybe you get a kit in the mail monthly save the boxes they are great for storing paper. If neither of these are an option for you then you can find ThEsE BoXeS that are are like the ones kits come in. 

I hope you leave inspired and perhaps try creating something from this post to use in your scrap space. Thanks for joining me today! ~Mandy