October Afternoon

Monday Challenge: Scraps & Labels

Hey OA fans! Mandy here with this week's Monday challenge. 

This week's challenge is pretty simple (I know I say this every time I have a challenge assignment to post but I'm a simple girl) I'm challenging you to use those October Afternoon scraps along with labels on your next layout, pocket page, or card. Simple right? I have tons of scraps in my bin right now including some I've cut with my silhouette and others that are small but still useful. So this week I reached for the scraps instead of cutting up a new 12x12 piece of paper. I'm also a labels collector. I absolutely love the OA labels they're so easy and fun to work but I love that any pen I grab can be used on these labels and it won't smear like others i have.

The labels I used on this layout are from the Silent Night collection. These particular labels had the to. & from. on them and I simply snipped that off with scissors. I used a pen for my journaling but if I would have had my laptop and printer on the same floor of the house I probably would have opted to print on these because the OA labels are great for printing and I love fonts more than my own handwriting. 

There you have it- my take on this week's challenge.I hope I've inspired you to grab those scraps and labels next time you start creating!

If you'd like to play along with this week's challenge,  we hope you'll share your projects in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery for us all to see! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! ~Mandy

Very Merry December Kit Inspiration

Good morning, Mandy here with you to share more December Kit inspiration with all of you, using the Very Merry December Kit. It's the middle of the month and this kit has me still going strong. This will be the first year in awhile that I will finally have a finished book on December 31st. How is your album coming along? I hope you're having fun however you are documenting your December and if by chance you are in a rut or feeling stuck I think you'll find some inspiration in today's post as I share more pages from Mou, Jill, and my Very Merry December albums. 

The first pages I'm sharing with you this week are from December 10th. I've included a flyer from Victoria Secret along with my shopping receipt. I used my cameo to cut the glitter paper(not included in the kit). The right side is a one of the 2x2 pocket page protectors which is great for documenting our Elves daily shenanigans. There are 12 pockets on front and back perfect for the 24 days leading up to Christmas when the Elves return to the North Pole. As the month goes on I remove the October Afternoon 2x2 papers and replace with the Elves photos. On the Right I cut down a larger page protector to 4.5x 6 for this photo from Gpa's Birthday lunch date. The back of the photo of Gpa's Birthday lunch has a personal note so I'm skipping pages. I've finally started Christmas shopping this past week so of course it had to be documented. I also had a dinner/shopping date with my lil sis Jessie. We always have to take some goofy photos when together so I made those photos into a photo strip in photoshop. I cut down another page protector just for the photo strip then added the glitter heart cut with the cameo and the tab. The left page in this photo is our Charlie Brown tree with a digital brush added to it. The right is another page protector cut down for a 4x6 photo. The photo has another digi stamp with journaling done in photoshop. I attached one of the cute tabs from the Very Merry Kit with my tiny attacher.To cover up the tiny attacher staples I just adhered another tab on the back of the other tab. Keeping it pretty aimple as you can see. 

 

Next up is Jill. 

Here is what Jill had to say about her pages this week: "This album has been invaluable in helping me to capture "freeze frame" moments as the days of December fly by me. To ensure that I can keep up with the album, I've tried to keep my process fluid and my page design flexible. At times, the layouts are photo-heavy, but at others, the journaling is featured more prominently.  The Very Merry December kit is full of fun bits and pieces that make compiling this album a real treat!"

Last but not least at Mou's pages.

Mou says: "Having fun recording the little details of December. I'm including receipts, cards, gift notes, ribbons, etc. in the pockets too. I used one of the glassine bags from the kit to hold small mementos and attached the bag to the page." 

Thanks so much for joining us today, I hope you are having a merry December too!

~Mandy

Very Merry December Album pages

Hi everyone, Mou here with Jill and Mandy for more pages ideas from our Very Merry December albums.

There's so much to share, I'll just go straight to the photos. First up are my pages...

It was so much fun to print this mini 2 x 2 photos for these pockets. I cut a square from the green felt and added my stamped date to it.

And of course, many businesses have special holiday bags... I put one from Panera Bread here and treated it as a baclground page.

Feel free to use stickers/packages. I used one from the cookie packet here.

 Next, I have Jill's pages

Jill says, "As I work on adding more pages to my album, I am finding that the Very Merry December kit, paired with the Daily Flash protectors, facilitates a simple yet festive approach to scrapping the holidays. Filling the pockets is never a challenge! 

 

Even the bags containing kit accents have been put to use in my album. I trimmed one of the glassine bags to fit a pocket, added a swatch of fabric and some punched confetti to the bag, and then stitched around it. Over it, I layered some die-cut trees and one of my daily Advent words, "notice." 

 

And last but not the least are Mandy's pretty pages.

 

 

 

 

 

Mandy says, "I have to say it again I LOVE the pocket pages that are included in the Very Merry December kit. I think one of the things that is really making this project work for me is that I am keeping this book totally me instead of doing what so and so or the other girl does I still keep it me, my style. I've added bits and pieces from my stash(like older OA numbers, glitter paper, vellum) which will be listed on my blog tomorrow. Right now my book isn't looking very Christmasy yet, it's more day to day stuff because we are just starting to get into the spirit. I finally have my shopping started, the tree is going up this week, and maybe a trip to see Santa Paws for my boxergirls. Next week I'll be sharing how I'm including the daily craziness of our 2 elves Bernard and Eddie in this book."

 

Loving how everyone's albums are coming together in their own unique styles! Hope your Very Merry december albums are coming along beautifully this year :)  

 

Very Merry December Album Pages

December is finally here! Today Jill, Mou, and myself will be sharing the first few pages of our Very Merry December Albums with you. 

First let's start with Jill's beautiful album.Here's some insight into Jill's album creating in her words :

The first twenty-four days of the month are dedicated to the season of Advent, and I have come up with a focal word to guide my journaling each day.  A full explanation of my approach to journaling (as well as the full list of words that I will be using this December) may be found on my blog. 

Each album page includes a focal word and the journaling related to it,  as well as a photo taken that day. The Daily Flash album pages will allow me to vary the design as the days go by, since they come in a variety of styles. I'm also working in some holiday ephemera, such as the photo of the peppermint bark seen in the sidebar.  It was taken from the first of the holiday catalogs that we will receive this December. 

I stamped over the negative space left behind after die-cutting letters, added strips of tape to peek through the negative space, and then stitched around the block. 

Next we have the fabulous first four pages of Mou's album.

Here's what Mou had to say about her album:

I'm having fun! My first 4 pages are now done and ideas are wiggling around in my head about how I'll fill out the rest of the album. I am staying mainly with the kit, just adding a couple of sheets of cream cardstock for stamping and cutting out accents. And I couldn't resist this pack of translucent sequins. 

The kit products will blend great with any other things you want to add from your stash such as paints, buttons, etc. I hope you are playing along!

I'm keeping my album pretty simple adding a few things here and there. I'm sticking mainly with the kit but adding a few items and I will share that information on my blog.

 

I've changed things up a little bit so that my album will be different from years past(and will be completed by January 1st). This year I'm focusing on the everyday life along with the Holiday season because we don't do something Christmas related daily and my album will also include the days following Christmas. 

I really love the mix of page protectors you get in the Very Merry December kit but you'll see as the days go on this month I cut them down, stitch them together, and put my own spin on them making them work for the kind of documenting I need.

There are many,many different approaches to creating a Very Merry December album. No matter what route you take, enjoy the process! ~Mandy 

Monday Challenge: Shaker Pockets

Hi, OA fans! Mandy here today with your Monday challenge.

Another December is upon us and once again I didn't get those Christmas cards created or sent. I do need a few cards for some very special people so I decided to create a couple cards for this blog post. I love the Silent Night line and I've kept all my bits and pieces after projects are finished so both of these cards share a fun technique and were created with scraps. Onto the challenge. 

Today I am challenging you to put a little shake into your projects with a shaker pocket. I have created 2 cards today. Each card has a different type of shaker to give you a couple ideas. Let's get started. 

For this card I knew I wanted the pocket to be a circle right in the center of the card which meant my punches wouldn't work and I'm not all techy with my silhouette yet so I went back to my trust old creative memories circles cutter and it worked great. To make the pocket I used some October Afternoon packaging cut into a square. Adhered the clear package to the inside of the card then put my confetti in, then adhered around the inside of the square again. Carefully flipped the card over and stitched around the circle. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I added the chipboard and border strip to complete the card.

Here you can see the center with the Silent Night flair and the confetti floating around. 

 

Card number 2 is a little bit different and took more time to create because it's a different type of pocket.

To create this pocket I cut the frame out of some Silent Night scraps, grabbed foam squares, cut a backing out of Silent Night scraps, and reached for that Ocotber Afternoon packaging once again. After the frame is cut and the backing pattern paper is cut to the same size put adhesive on the back of the frame. Add clear packaging onto the adhesive on the frame. Now grab those foam squares or a roll of foam tape works good too. Put the foam adhesive squares on all sides of the packaging on the frame. Add your confetti to center. Adhere the backing pattern paper. Now you adhere to your card and embellish. 

These shaker pockets are a fun embellishment to add to your card, layouts, mini albums especially December Books, and tags. 

I hope I've inspired you today to challenge yourself to add a shaker pocket to your next project.If you get a chance to play along with today's challenge, be sure to upload your project(s) to the OA Flickr group. We can't wait to see what you create.

~Mandy

It's going to be a Very Merry December

Hi everyone, Mou here and the Very Merry December kit inspiration starts here today! Please join Mandy, and me for cover ideas for your Very Merry December album! As I'm typing this post up, Mandy is putting finishing touches on her cover. So, I'll go first :)

As you might already know, paints are a staple in my projects. This one is no exception. Let me show you the simple steps for my cover.

I colored parts of the cover mint green and red. When those paints dried, I created a moderately thick whitewash with white acrylic paint. Next I took a palette knife and applied some cream paint which pulled some of the white paint and subtly revealed the colors underneath.

I lay the Hello December card and traced around it. I sketched a scalloped frame and painted it light blue.

I tore off a bit of gold mesh washi tape, notched one end, and attached it to the Hello December card, and stitched it. I attached it inside the frame. Next, I added some details with pencil like outlining the frame, drawing an arrow across the cover, and attached the kit exclusive Tin Pin '2013'.

Now let me share Mandy's beautiful cover.

Mandy says: "There are so many possibilities when it comes to creating the cover of this album especially with all the awesome items included in this kit. I actually thought I would do something a little mixed mediaish but in the end I decided to keep my cover pretty simple. The "Hello December" journal card was one of my favorites from the Very Merry December kit I knew  it would be great for my cover.I added a few embellishments: the stamp, 2013 badge, and ribbon. I'm happy with my cover and I'm really excited to create the inside."  

Be sure to check back on Saturday for more cover ideas by Alex, Danni, and Laura using the Very Merry December kit. And I hope you'll join us every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays as we work on our albums throughout December and into the New Year :)

Monday Challenge: Winter Fun

Hi OA fans! Alex here today bringing you this week's challenge.

Mandy and I wanted to show you the wintry side of the Silent Night collection. This collection can work for so many different occasions other than Christmas. Winter is definitely one of them! Here is the layout I created for you.

I am usually a very slow scrapper, but this layout came together pretty fast. I have used O' Holy Night and Midnight Clear as my base. I love the Tin Pin snowflakes and I wanted more of them, so I cut huge snowflakes out of white cardstock and spread them across my page. With them in place, my background was done. I then adhered my photos and added little bits and pieces such as stickers, chip 'n sticks, brads, tidbits and doo-dats around them. I wanted to incorporate more patterns into my design, so I added the fun and pretty sew banners above my photos.

I decorated the back side of the journaling card from the doo-dats with a "snow day" sticker and used it to document this fun day. The amount of snow we got last year was insane! To the delight of our daughter, we could even dig a tunnel in our backyard!

And here is Mandy's beautiful winter fun layout:

I just love the huge photo! Here is what Mandy had to say about her project:

"When Alex mentioned we were going to do a winter fun challenge I knew that I had a bunch of photos I could use. My family has a tradition where we all get bundled up and go sledding for the day sometimes even our dogs go too. It's fun for all and we all look forward to it every year. I love that the Silent Night collection has some fabulous B-sides and embellishments that work with many occasions besides Christmas. My layout is pretty simple and came together quickly with my go to large photo along with bits & pieces of the Silent Night Collection. Thanks Alex for a great challenge!"

Thank YOU, Mandy! I adore your layout!

I hope you feel inspired to play along with us. Be sure to share your wintry projects by uploading them to OA's Flickr gallery. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

♥

Thursday Sketch: Simply Bold

Good morning! It's Mandy here with today's sketch. 

This week the sketch was inspired by a poster I found online.

I love the bold yet simpleness of the poster. I created this simple sketch with a a few added embellishments to inspire you. I hope you like it. 

Here is the layout I created:

The first thing that came to mind when i started creating was that the bold vertical block would be a great place for a photostrip. I haven't scrapped many of the photos from the 2012 holiday season so the brand new Silent Night collection and this sketch was just the kick i needed to get those photos on a page. I love the classic Chrsitmas colors with the added pop of gold and chalkboard in this new line. The black chalkboard like washi tape from Silent Night is AWESOME! I used it for the journaling on the left side of the layout.The title and gift box are cut with the Cameo. 

Amy joined me for today's sketch challenge and created this beautiful card with Silent Night:

Here's what Amy had to say:

I loved Mandy's inspiration piece from the moment I saw it. It's striking contrast called for something bold. After a couple failed attempts at creating a card with lots of type like the book jacket, I opted to focus on the large vertical graphic in the center. I found a brilliant illustration on the "Winter Wonderland" paper from Silent Night that both had the vertical illustration I was seeking but was also black and white, which was what I was striving for. I left the background very minimal to create a similar impact to the jacket cover, yet layering it up with a few other papers to add interest. The finishing touch is the black tin pin in the center which adds texture as well as interest to the center of the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope we've inspired you!  If you happen to play along,  please share your creation in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery. We'd love to see it!

Have a wonderful day!~Mandy

Monday Challenge: Frame It

Hi, OA fans! It's Mandy bringing you this weeks Monday challenge. This week I'm challenging you to frame it. Scrolling below to the examples that Roree and I created to share with you today you'll see that this challenge can be interpreted in many different ways: layouts with frames, altered art, cards etc. 

It's no secret that I love frames I have them scattered throughout my home and I am always incorporating frames into my scrapbook designs. When I sat down to create I knew I would be making a layout with the new Apple Cider collection.

 Don't worry it's not your eyes this layout is a little angled with wonky frames and layers. I thought the memory cards, snap caps, and flash blurbs would be great cut up into frames and they did indeed turn out just how I wanted. I love the fall colors in the Apple Cider line and it worked perfectly with some recently snapped photos. 

The very talented Roree played along with this weeks and made this adorable frame, here is what she had to say.

"When Mandy suggested that we do a frame challenge, I was all for it! Instead of creating a traditional rectangular or square frame though, I thought a shape would be fun. Since I just received my daughter's school picture a few days ago, I thought it would be perfect for a school-theme frame. With a picture and a theme in mind, I got out the Milk Money collection and got to work. I cut out an apple from the Reading and Spelling patterned papers, added a little machine stitching, and then layered a doily, a couple of Memory Cards, my photo, some dotted ribbon, and a Flash Blurb on the apple shape. I added a Button and Designer Brad from the 9 to 5 collection to finish. I plan on adding some magnets to the back of my frame and giving it a prime spot on my refrigerator for everyone to see."

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you feel inspired to create a frame project!  If you do please share them in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

Have a happy Monday, and a great week!

Thursday Sketch: Vertical and Horizontal

Hi there, OA fans! Alex here today with another Thursday sketch.

This time, I wanted to share a design I often go back to when I want to use both vertical and horizontal photos on my layout. First time I used it was 5 years ago when I started to scrap. I don't remember if it was inspired by someone else's sketch or layout, but I know that I love it. I have at least three layouts based on this simple design :-)

And here is my layout:

I have played with the gorgeous Daily Flash Milk Money collection. Since I have the colorful Science paper as my background, I chose to keep the area around my photos pretty clean. Instead of adding more patterns, I drew the rectangles that were not photos on the piece of Lunch paper. 

I filled them with bits and pieces, such as snap caps and tin pins. The arrow brad is from the Travel Girl collection and the buttons are from the Midway. 

I cut the words laugh, play and learn from the Spelling paper. And don't you just love that alphabet washi? I know I do! 

I sent this sketch to Mandy and I knew that she would rock it! Here is her awesome take:

And a close-up:

This is what Mandy had to say about her layout:

"When I saw Alex's sketch I knew it would totally work for me a simple grid design is a go to design for me.  I did add some layers to make it a little more me. When I started creating I knew I wanted to try to use this photo of Mav I've had on my desk for ages.When I was rummaging through product I came across the new Daily Flash All Boy line and knew instantly it would be perfect to use. I love all those fun squares and colors from this line. Really love how this layout turned out. Thanks Alex for sending me this fabulous sketch challenge!"

Thank you SO much, Mandy! 

I hope we have inspired you to pull out your OA goodies and play along with us! If you do, please upload your work to OA's Flickr gallery. We would love to see it! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

♥