October Afternoon

Thursday Sketch: Four Rectangles

Hi everyone, Mou here with Alex today and sketch based on four rectangles of different sizes.

Here's my take:

On this layout, I used only the Daily Flash Girl Talk papers to create and embellish. The background blocks came from Giggle and Blah, Blah, Blah papers. After adding my photo, I embellished with pieces I cut out from Dish, Whisper and Gossip papers. Love that I didn't even need extra embellishments to make my layout except for these alpha stickers: Index Card Mini Market Stickers from Public Library and Treasure Map Sea & Sails Mini Market stickers. 

Here's a close-up of my layout.

And now, here's a fabulously fun card from Alex!

Alex says: "I am not a card maker, but the second I saw Mou's sketch I got inspired to make one. The grid design is perfect for OA's traditional cut-outs. I grabbed the Blue Skies paper from the new Summertime collection and cut out two pieces that I found fitting for a fun summery card. The yellow Daily Flash chipboard frame was a perfect match for the smaller one. I used a piece of Swimming Pool for my background. To finalize my card, I added a couple of small heart shaped Summertime stickers, an old Midway "hello friend" doo-dad and some yellow mist splatters. I have used the Grey Flannel chipboard Alpha for the "hey". Thanks Mou for the fun sketch!"

That's a lovely card! Thank you Alex!

And here's a close-up!

Hope you enjoyed today's post and will find a creative way to use this sketch to suit your unique style!

Wednesday Inspiration: Babies don't keep

Hi everyone, Mou here! Recently, I chanced upon this sweet poem that dates back to 1958

                     (Source)

and it became my inspiration for today's layout! With a six month old baby girl at home and an overwhelming amount of other responsibilities, (such as singlehandedly packing up for a move to a different state) at the moment, keeping house has been dropped from the list. And I don't regret it either...  every moment spent with my little girl is precious and best use of my time. Here's my layout...

On this layout, I used the Skull Rock paper from Treasure Map collection and embellished with Public Library Sew Fun Banners and Index Card Mini Market Stickers, Saturday Mornings Shape Stickers along with some bits and pieces from Daily Flash Girl Talk and Apple Cider Pop Drops, Flash Alpha Strawberry Ice cream and Make it Merry Label Stickers, The most fun part of creating with October Afternoon for me is that I can mix and match older and newer collections and they work together seamlessly! Here are a couple of close-ups of my layout:

Hope you enjoyed today's post! Thanks for stopping by. 

Tuesday Inspiration

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

I found this fun image on Pinterest while surfing around the site one day:

I was totally inspired by the layout of the title and chose to create a similar kind of title on my card.

I created a fun card for summer with products from the new Summertime collection. I used the Sunshine and Green Grass patterned papers, along with Double Take Stickers. I also used the Strawberry Ice Cream Sign Board Alphas from Daily Flash and a button from the Midway collection. 

Don't you just love those gorgeous colors! Such a sweet new collection!

Mou played along with me this week and created this sweet card:

"I loved the inspiration piece Roree chose. The first things that stood out to me were the blue, the orange and the whale. I knew I'd find those colors and patterns in the Treasure Map collection. I used the wave pattern from the Hangman's Cove paper for my card base and cut a whale out of Moby Dick Isle. My card came together with a few Flash Alpha Orange Soda stickers and Apple Cider Pop Drops from Daily Flash collection and Index Card Mini Market stickers from Public Library along with a little decorative stitching."

Isn't Mou's card just adorable?!  I love it!

If today's inspiration piece 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: Let the photo take center stage

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's sketch and a layout!

There are several different components in a layout. I feel that the photo is the most important factor deserving the focal point of the page. In my sketch, I put the photo front and center with a few rectangles to keep moving your eyes around the layout. And here's my take on this sketch.

On this layout, I used papers, stamp, and  designer brads from the Saturday Mornings collection along with a little bit of a darling older collection called Cakewalk and Daily Flash elements. Yes, I save all savable scraps of my October Afternoon papers because most of the collections work superbly together! For my background, I chose Hashbrowns 12 x 12 paper from Saturday Mornings in keeping with the theme of my layout about my little one starting solids. The paper instantly added a colorful and playful touch to a milestone layout. As the backdrop for my matted photo I used the TV listing side of Bacon paper as we often watch TV during feedings. I stamped a cardstock using the Clouds stamp and used it to mat my photo as another fun touch. I added strips and scraps of Orange Juice paper and some Designer brads to embellish. I finished the layout using Daily Flash alpha Strawberry Ice Cream Shop Front, Photo Booth Flash chip, and Apple Cider pop Drops. 

Here's a close-up of my layout.

Hope you find my sketch useful for one of your upcoming layouts! Thanks for stopping by :)

Inspired by a Song

Do you ever hear a song, and the lyrics or title connect you with a memory or a relationship?  I (Patricia) usually have to open Notes on my iPhone as quickly as possible to write down the lyrics that inspire a layout or I will forgot.  As I was singing The Sound of Music's Do Re Me, because it is stuck in my head from my daughter and I singing it while jumping on the trampoline, I had one of those moments where I knew this needed to be scrapped.

This was a fun layout to gather lots of supplies to create the bits on each square grid to represent the song, leaving the last square to fill with a favorite photo from us on the trampoline.

Treasure Map:  Moby Dick Isle Pattern Paper, Skull Rock Pattern Paper, Moaning Cavern Pattern Paper, Hangman’s Cove Pattern Paper, Shipwreck Coast Pattern Paper,   Dead Man’s Pass Pattern Paper, Mermaid Bay Pattern Paper, Tidbits;  Daily Flash:   Letter Stickers, To the Point Chipboard, Stars and Hearts, Picture This Stamps, Homemade Stamps;  Apple Cider:  Memory Cards; Egg Nog:  Metal Badges, Cookies for Santa Stamp Set; Saturday Mornings:  Shape Stickers, Doo-Dads, Clouds Stamp, Memory Card Mix, Brads; Public Library Brads

The base of each square is 2.5" and then hand cut all the bits to go on top.

This is also a fun way to incorporate new and leftover October Afternoon supplies.

I am so very excited to have the talented Mou Saha with me today to take on this challenge!  

I love to use song lyrics as titles and as part of my journaling because sometimes they beautifully sum up my thoughts. When Patricia asked me to take inspiration from song lyrics, it was close to my heart. My oldest daughter loves listening to music and her current favorite is the Handwritten album by Shawn Mendes. We are listening to it a lot and my youngest often falls asleep listening to him. One song we love in particular is Life of the Party. I used that as my title and a few of the lyrics to tell my story.

I combined papers from Daily Flash Girl Talk and Public Library collections along with stickers from Treasure Map, Public Library and Saturday Mornings collections.

Thanks Patricia!

 

Thank you Mou for playing along with me and sharing this beautiful layout and adorable photo with us!

 

If you would like to play along with us, please share on Instagram using hashtag #octoberafternoon and tagging @octoberafternoon and @patricia_roebuck.  We would love to see! You can also share your projects on our OA Facebook wall or the OA Flickr gallery.

 

Thank you so much for joining us today!

Tuesday Inspiration: Bold Colors

Hi everyone, Mou here today with Patricia and this bold spicy color inspiration!

(Via Pinterest)

Don't these colors remind you of the Treasure Map collection? Well, Patricia and I both thought so! Here's Patricia's bold and beautiful layout balancing the colors with white space:

This is what Patricia says: "Instantly I was inspired by Mou’s color inspiration and found it was so easy to find all of the colors in the Treasure Map pattern papers.  My photo didn’t have a lot of color to it, but it did have the green and the grey.  I found that my photo worked best with using the Shipwreck Coast pattern paper as my background to give it more contrast.  I trimmed that to 8.25”x10.75” and layered it on top of the back of X Marks the Spot pattern paper to create more contrast.  I used a star metal die to cut from the red card on the Journal Cards pattern paper.  Then layered another of the Journal Cards pattern paper cards in the green and grey.  I matted my photo to give it even more contrast with the Hangman’s Cove pattern paper but wanted to create a frame frame for the photo, similar to the X on a map.  So using a sheet of vellum, I cut a 4” scalloped circle, trimmed the piece down to fit in the center vertically framing the photo.  I stitched my title “Carpe Diem to another die cut and added it to the cluster of more die cuts and sticker from the Treasure Map collection.  I finished the layout with more color using my stash of October Afternoon buttons and brads from both Saturday Mornings and Public Library."

 

Thanks Patricia for the FUN layout!

 

And here's a card I made using these colors as my inspiration:

 

I used the Treasure Map Hangman's Cove paper as my base layer and added a slightly smaller block of Crow's Nest paper on top. I cut a 3" x 3" block from Skull Rock paper and cut it out along the scallop edge. The grey muted down the bold colors a bit and provided me a focal point to add my sentiment and embellishment. I added a banner piece from the Sew Fun Banners from the collection. While they are great as banners, you can always use a piece or two to embellish your project. Finally, I added a Tid Bits from the collection as my sentiment.

Here's a close-up of my card.

Hope you find this color combination inspiring! Thanks for stopping by :)

Designer Challenge | Out Like A Lamb

Happy Monday everyone! Suz here with you today (along with the lovely and talented Mou!) We are starting to see signs of spring here in the States, and are enjoying the longer days of daylight too. We hope you are having lovely weather where you are in the world as well!

Here is today's Designer's Challenge/inspiration piece to get your creative juices flowing just in time for spring and Easter:

 

 Source: http://www.pullingatstrings.com/blog/2011/06/07/tutorial-tuesday-sheeeeeeep/

 

Mou created an adorable bookmark for this challenge and here is what she had to say about it:

"Blurb: I loved the little lamb in Suz's inspiration piece! I wanted to design a bookmark around the lamb I found on the slightly older October Afternoon collection, Farm Girl 12 x12 paper Milk Pail. I started by adding bits and blocks of patterned papers from Public Library, Travel Girl and Daily Flash Girl Talk collections, layered various wash tapes, and stitched them in place. I added some Daily Flash Apple Cider Pop Drops hearts and a brad. Finally, I punched a hole and tied a ribbon from my stash to finish."

 

 

I love how she incorporated so many little details on the the bookmark and several patterns of OA washi tape!

 

 

I have to confess, I had a bunch of creative ideas that involved soft and cuddly, lovely little things (lambs, baby animals, etc) but then the DT kits arrived with Treasure Map last week and I immediately wanted to get scrapping with it. So I took pieces of design elements from the inspiration piece and got to creating!

  

 

In truth, I did pull some design elements from the inspiration piece; the red, the ombre blues, the heart. the "gallon, quart, pint" principle of design ;) So, I think it goes to show that inspirational pieces are just jumping off points for creativity and one can use any or all of the piece for inspiration! 

 

If you decide to take on this challenge, please share with us here on the blog, on the OA Facebook Wall, or on Twitter (@oct_afternoon) and Instagram @octoberafternoon. Please tag me @SuzMannecke so I can see and use the hashtag #oadesignerchallenge

Have a fantastic week!

Suz & Mou 

 

Monday Challenge/Inspiration: Out Like A Lamb

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's post!

You know the saying "In like a lion, out like a lamb?" As far as I know, it's an idiom about March weather which is really changeable. Well, that's also the theme of today's post. I looked up on Pinterest and found this beautiful image:

(Via Pinterest)

You could use the theme and/ or the image for a gentle theme or grey color scheme or soft texture or any way it appeals to you. Here's my take:

I stayed mainly with a greyish color scheme with some pops of colors. The theme of my page is gentle sweet everyday moment and I have added some texture.

The papers I used are from various new and older October Afternoon collections: Daily Flash Apple Cider Bonfire,  Daily Flash Girl Talk Blah, Blah, Blah, Public Library Dust Jacket, Travel Girl Mix Tape, Woodland Park Blue Sky, and some notebook paper. Again, I selected my embellishments from various collections as well, such as, DF Girl Talk Flash Blurbs, Saturday Mornings Designer Brads, Saturday Mornings Border & Label Stickers, DF Inspiration roller stamp, DF Photo Booth Chipboard, along with some alphabet stickers, threads and mixed media supplies from my stash. Here are some close-up shots of my layout.

Hope you enjoyed today's post and grab some grey papers and embellies from your own October Afternoon stash and get started creating

Wednesday Inspiration: Green

Hi everyone, Mou here with today's post! For the last couple of weeks, a lot has been going on at the kids' schools and extracurriculars around St. Patrick's Day celebrations. And I'm loving all the greens that I'm seeing and thinking about the things that make me feel lucky... that's what inspired today's layout for me.

I chose several green elements from some of the recent October Afternoon collections, such as Hashbrowns 12 x 12 paper  and Border & Label Stickers from Saturday Mornings collection, Dust Jacket paper from 8 x 8 Public Library paper pad, Clover Flash Alpha stickers from Daily Flash collection, and assorted green and blue buttons from various collections.

I used a white cardstock to show off all the greens on my layout and added some green fabric, thread and paint from my stash to bring the layout together. Here are some close-ups:

 Hope you enjoyed St. Patrick's Day and today's layout and would pull out green elements from your October Afternoon stash and create projects about things that make you feel lucky!

 

Thursday Sketch: Rectangles

Hi everyone, Mou here today with Emily and a sketch!

My sketch is simply a collection of rectangles. Turn them on their sides, use them as is, pick one or all... however you choose to play with them, you'll get a fun layout. Here's mine:

For this layout, I used the Pancakes paper from Saturday Mornings collection as my background. Now, why would I choose a pancakes paper to create a baby page? Well, because I'm flippin' crazy for my little one :) The woodgrain side of the Pancakes paper was just perfect for making mats for my photos to stand out on an otherwise busy background. Little strips of Bacon paper, some Saturday Mornings Designer Brads and Border & Label Stickers along with a few stickers from different October Afternoon collections was all I needed to tell my story. Here are a couple of close-ups of my layout.

And here's Emily's take on the sketch. Notice how we both used the same papers for completely different themes.

Emily says: "Sometimes I feel bad when I'm assigned a sketch challenge, because my layouts inevitably look nothing like the sketch. This is no exception! When I started out creating this layout, I planned on following Mou's rectangle sketch almost exactly. However, as I started pushing paper around and choosing embellishments, I ended up keeping only the one large rectangle. I layered paper and added bits and pieces until it felt like a cohesive layout to me. I don't think that you would ever guess that her sketch inspired me, but I suppose that is one great way to use sketches - as a starting point!  The very first things I added to my layout were the large strip of woodgrain on the bottom and the large section of Saturday Mornings Pancake paper!  The rest is history!  I had fun pulling yellow and brown elements from both the Saturday Mornings collection, as well as a few items from various past lines!"

Thanks for another great layout, Emily!

Hope you find the sketch helpful and thanks for stopping by!