October Afternoon

Cutting Saturday Mornings Up!

Hello, everyone!  Jennie McGarvey back with you again and I'm so excited for yet another opportunity to share with you all pages I created with the Saturday Mornings collection!  

After I had created my first couple of projects with Saturday Mornings, I was left with some cool scraps that I knew still had the opportunity to be something great.  Rather than throw them out or even put them away, I got to work straight away creating this first page.

Pink isn't a color I use predominately in my scrapbooking, as my pages are, more often than not, masculine in nature. However, the pinks in this collection were too pretty to pass up, so I knew a dog layout was in order!

 

 

 

Even better?  (What's better than pretty colors and using up scraps on a page?) I was able to combine brads from older collections (Midway and Cakewalk) to give the page some dimension.  Not only that, these great brads reignited my love affair with brads!

After thinking on it a bit, I wasn't ready to put Saturday Mornings away just yet.  I thought on it a little further and was thinking about how the lovely shade of light blue in the Orange Juice would be perfect for a SNOW page!  

Aren't those pretty as delicate snowflakes?  I thought so too.  I wanted to keep the focus on the photo + die cuts, so I went nice and simple on the title as to not distract from the more important part of the page.  

Like I mentioned above, I'm kind of into brads and that spilled over here on this page.  Still working with the same Cakewalk and Midway brads as they were pretty irresistable AND matched this layout well.

Thank you for checking out my pages.  What elements from the Saturday Mornings collection are you loving? Have you worked with it yet?  Please share, I know we'd all love to see!  I'll be back next Friday for one last share with the Saturday Mornings collection -- I hope you'll stop by, too!

 

Thursday Sketch with Sasha and Patricia

Happy Thursday morning everyone!

Are you ready for a new sketch to play with? I sure hope you do! I have Patricia playing along with me this week. Let's get to it, shall we?

 

I followed the sketch quite closely but I switched the positions of most of my elements. The strips on the bottom right went to upper left and my photo + journaling labels were moved to the right hand side of the layout.

 

I really, really love that flower bouquet sticker from our Public Library collection, and converted my photo to black and white so they don't compete with each other even when they're being placed side by side. 

I also printed my journaling onto two pieces of labels, stamped a yellow ampersand and some grey arrows straight onto the white cardstock and finished my layout with a couple of stars, pop drops and 'empty stitches' using my sewing machine. 

Patricia made a pretty card this time. That rooster! I'm in love! :)

Patricia said :

"I love how Sasha leaves her sketches to your imagination.  Her horizontal lines with the heart at the bottom really caught my eye and gave me the spark to create this card.  I turned the sketch on it’s side, then started trimming papers from the brand new Saturday Mornings collection to mimic the lines from her sketch.  Once those were in place, I added a straight line of machine stitching using a dark golden brown thread.  Then I cut another piece of coordinating pattern paper from the collection to form a triangle in the corner, and added a zigzag stitching.  I loved the colors I was pulling from the collection and decided to pull in some of the stickers to compliment my base design.  I pop dotted the clouds, flowers, and rooster to give some dimension.  Between being inspired by Sasha’s sketch and the new Saturday Mornings collection, this card came together within 30 minutes.  Thank you Sasha for the inspiration!"

I hope you'll play along and 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 beautiful layout. 

Work those Labels

Hi all! Alex here today bringing you this week's "Work it Wednesday". I thought that we could focus on labels this time.

I love October Afternoon labels! Love! Yet, I don't use them much. There is no logic there, I know. So, I wanted to find a way to make them feel more like me. When I was looking at the cute borders and labels stickers from the Saturday Mornings collection, it hit me that it looked a lot like a piece of patterned paper. I decided to use it as a whole, instead of using the labels one and one. Here is how the layout turned out.

I used it as a border between two different patterned papers: Coffee and Bacon (don't you love the names??). 

Around my photos, I added some Saturday Mornings word stickers as well as arrow stickers from the All Boy collection and heart shaped pop drops from Eggnog and Milk Money. The colors of the "fun" Travel Girl tin pin go perfectly well together with the Saturday Mornings! 

Of course, I had to use this cute little guy ♥ You can find him among the Saturday Mornings shape stickers. The pink heart is one of the lovely Daily Flash chipboards. 

And now, my dear friends, get ready to be amazed!

I sent my "Work those labels" challenge idea to oh-so-talented Emily and a couple of days later I saw this photo on my Instagram feed:

I almost fainted! I just knew that she'd take this challenge to a whole different level! I'll be honest with you... When I saw her amazing layout, I was almost ashamed to share mine! :-) So, here it is people: Emily's rainbow of labels!

I know, right?? Brilliant!

And here is what she had to say about it:

"When Alex told me that today's theme was "Work Those Labels" I knew this was the perfect challenge for me!! I have been obsessed with October Afternoon's label stickers for as long as they have been making them! I probably have at least fifty sheets of them that I hoard. ;)  I knew I wanted to make a layout with lots of labels. First, I considered a monochromatic layout with all blue labels or all yellow labels, but I was afraid that doing that would use up all of a certain color...which in reality is actually totally unrealistic because I have SO many labels!  I decided instead to create a rainbow of labels. I love rainbow layouts almost as much as I love label stickers! I used labels from a ton of different collections and lines and added a few chipboard elements and buttons.  I decided not to use a title because, quite frankly, I didn't want to cover up the rainbow!  I wrote little bits of journaling on a few of the labels.  Some layouts are made to tell a story and some are made to just be visual and fun - this is definitely one of those layouts!"

One more detail-picture because I simply can't get enough. I am definitely going to use all my labels more often!

I hope we have inspired you to pull out those pretty OA labels and work with them! If you do, be sure to share your project with us. You can share it with us both on Facebook, Flickr or Instagram. 

Have a lovely day!

Alex & Emily

Designer Challenge | Magazine Inspiration

Hello again everyone! Suz back again today along with the lovely and talented Mel to share two design takes from the same inspiration piece.

While perusing Pinterest, I came across this inspirational, graphic design from a magazine.

 

Source

I immediate saw all sorts of possibilities with it, from the two page design, the oversized, bold text, and the areas for journaling or embellishments.

Mel shares how she utilized this inspiration piece and tweaked it to fit her own design style. I am constantly amazed and inspired by how my fellow OA designers the inspiration pieces to fit their own styles and create something completing inspiring and different from the others!

Here is what she had to say about her creation and the inspiration piece:

"I am so very excited to be playing along to Suz’s challenge today! The inspiration piece really sparked a lot of ideas. I debated using a very large picture to mimic the focus on the right side, I also (very briefly) thought of doing a two pager but I’ll be honest, I let go that idea pretty quickly (2 pagers just aren’t my thing). In the end I was inspired by the design structure of the piece, that being; the focus to the right, the arrow, and of course the title, which the font is an exact replica of the Daily Flash Nightfall alpha stickers. The Daily Flash - Flash Chip arrows were the ideal items to use as a focal point. I used the negative part of the chipboard sheet as a guide for placing the arrows, and then I added stitching to each arrow. I also used the December Story kit for embellishments.

 

 

This was such a fun and quick layout to put together, I had been hoarding those arrows for very long time and I’m thrilled to have been able to use them in such a predominant way. Thanks Suz for the inspiration!!!"

(*ETA-You are welcome Mel! Thanks for playing along with this challenge! -Suz)

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My take on the design was more of a direct translation. I loved the big, bold oversized text and decided to keep that element of the design as well as the two page element.

I choice this inspiration piece as an opportunity to complete yet another day in my December Story album too.

 

 

I decided to keep the one page photo as well, and this photo of our Elf on the Shelf scene my boys playfully set up fit the bill. Since my title words contained my letters than the original title, I used two smaller arrows running across the page and added a few to the right hand page for the trajectory of the Lego dude's weapon. (Yeah, this is definitely a page that epitomizes life with imaginative boys. It also depicts that in this stage of my life, with two teenagers in the house, the fact that actual photos of them are few and far between, so taking images of things that represent their interests, their personalities, their antics has become the "go to" photographic captures.

 

I used elements from the December Story Kit  (Chipboard elf, Little Labels, and patterned paper) as well as Daily Flash - Eggnog. Daily Flash Flash Chip -To the Point, Daily Flash Eggnog - Pop Drops, Daily Flash - Flash Blurbs - Eggnog, Daily Flash Snap Caps - Eggnog.

I really loved this inspirational piece!! I already have at least two more designs in the making from it! I hope you find it inspiring in some way and share your takes on this OA Designer Challenge by posting on Instagram, tagging us @octoberafternoon, @suzmannecke, @melblackburn05 and use the hashtag #oadesignerchallenge! We'd love to see your takes too!

 

December Story Kit Pages Challenge | Git 'er Done!

Happy Monday everyone! Suz here with you today to check in on how you are coming along with your December Story pages. Making progress? Yes? No? 

If the answer is no, I may have a few ideas for you to help you get those pages completed.

If the answer is yes, way to go!! Please share your pages in the OA Flickr gallery, on Instagram, or on our Facebook wall! We would love to see what you have created with the December Story Kits and albums. Tag @octoberafternoon and @suzmannecke on Instagram and use the hashtag #oadecemberstory so we can see your designs!

 

First off, as you may recall, I decided for many reasons (time constraints -I knew my time to document in December was minimal, this is my 7th or 8th year of documenting December) to cut down the number of days that I documented in December to a simple dozen. By doing so, I could shave off some creative time that I simply didn't have and it also allowed me to focus a bit more on stories.

 

Secondly, a tried and true idea: the whole "KISS" mentality - Keep it Simple Silly!

Grab a photo, an embellishment or two, a piece of memorabilia, a journal card. Journal one memory that photo evokes from the day it was taken (or just an emotion or memory it evokes) and slip it as well as the OA pretties into the page protector and call it done! Don't worry about it being perfect. Let go of that if at all possible! Making progress is sure to inspire you and to move you forward in a positive direction. I can almost guarantee it! 

 

Here are a few pages I created recently that came together in short order because I kept it simple:

On the left is a piece of the sheet music patterned paper and doily included in the kit, I simply tucked in the adorable gift card memorabilia and then set to creating the right side of my layout. I added the Chipboard numbers to the outside of my pocket protector and dropped in some of the fun sequins (and snowflake) also included in the kit. Then I sewed up the top. I took like five seconds to do that since my machine was right behind me, threaded and ready to go. Next up was my journaling card. Using my vintage typewriter, it was completed in a flash! I simply added the "Special Delivery" Cut Ups and the adorable Santa sticker to my photo and my design was complete.

I this design, I broke out the kit stamps and used them on the top left journaling card as well as the sentiment card at top right (snowflakes). A couple of stickers from the kit were added and some sequins, a touch of patterned paper and that sweet holly Pillow Puff. A bit of stitching and done!

This close up of another page I completed shows how I documented the day we opened our gifts. Lots of journaling about the gifts received and in the gold polka dotted envelope I placed my oldest son's wish list. It was on a bright neon yellow Post-It Note, so I liked having the ability of knowing it is there tucked inside and not a glaring distraction on the page. On the bottom left I used my Big Bite to punch an extra hold in the manufacturer's product card of my son's gift. Just a few ideas of how you can incorporate what was given without using a handful of photos of each gift received. And if you are like me, gift opening is often a big blur, with everyone caught up in the moment and not taking time out to have photos taken anyways! 

So, there you have it! A few ideas of how you can keep your Dec Story kit simple and yet something you enjoy looking back on in the years to come! Your challenge is to get two days done today? I think that is totally doable. Set a timer if it helps. Turn on your favorite soundtrack and simply get started. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

Suz

 

 

 

Cardmaking with Saturday Mornings!

Hello, everyone!  Jennie McGarvey again and I'm positively thrilled to share with you again today!  

As I mentioned when I introduced myself, I love to scrapbook and I love to make cards.  Today, I'm going to share with you a couple of cards that I created using the Saturday Mornings collection. I don't consider myself to be a cardmaker that uses intricate designs or lots of techniques but I really do use simplicity.  I love the way a simple card really shines.  I hope you'll be able to see that here!  

There are so many fun colors and patterns in the collection and I wanted to play those off of one another.  I thought it would be fun to combine for a little mix and match feel.

 

I had chosen the pink card from the Memory Card Mix to be the focal point of the card.  I am quite enamored with the little sunshine, and of course, my beloved clouds.  It was so easy to mix that card up with patterned papers from the collection.  After playing around for just a bit, I settled on Grapefruit (B-side for the base patterned paper) and Cereal (B-side for the layering patterned paper)

As you can see, simple layering of beautiful patterned papers with minimal embellishments really can be beautiful!  

For this next card I wanted to take a different approach.  I wanted to stay simple and let these beautiful pieces from Saturday Mornings really shine.  This time I was completely focused on the Clouds rubber stamp.  I love that stamp!  This one features those clouds that I so love and I knew that I could really make something special.  

Don't you just love that stamp?  This is only the beginning for me, I know that is going to be one well loved (and used!) stamp.  I used a Copic marker to color around the clouds.  I do not consider myself to be any more than a novice with Copic markers, but I knew that using a beautiful shade of blue for the sky would really highlight the whimsical nature of those clouds.  So, I set off coloring, highlighting the shadows a bit to really bring focus to the background stamp!  

Now, to complete the card I needed to add a few simple and linear pieces.  The Cereal patterned paper created much needed contrast, yet really fits as it mimics the sun + sunshine against the blue and clouds of the sky.  The twine wrapped on the card gives it a bit of texture but doesn't draw attention away from the focal point. (The clouds, in case you hadn't figured that out!)

I hope that you enjoyed my simple, yet fun cards today and will try how you can use the October Afternoon Saturday Mornings collection for your own cardmaking!

Thursday Sketch: Back to Basics

When it comes down to it, the basic ingredients of a layout are pretty straightforward: a foundation, one or more photos, and the words to say what you wish to say.  Even those basics are negotiable -- consider the photo-less or title-less layout, for instance. Once you have the basics covered, anything goes. Add accents. Layer paper. Emboss. Stamp. Paint. Stitch.  

This week's sketch gets back to basics while also allowing lots of room for interpretation. The sky's the limit! 

The sky, as it turns out, also happens to be a common theme for the pages that Suz Mannecke and I have created based on this sketch.  Here's mine, from the land of rainbows:

I usually work with smaller photos, but the sketch challenged me to work with a larger photo. I selected one that would have been a shame to size down, giving the presence of a sprawling rainbow (including a slight double-rainbow, if you look carefully). The focus on the sky prompted me to reach for a sheet of cloud-patterned "Omelette" paper from the new October Afternoon "Saturday Mornings" collection. After trimming the paper and adding a rectangle of it to the layout, I cut out little clouds from the scraps and, using adhesive dots, placed them over their counterparts on the layout. 

When it came to the title, I drew inspiration from the rainbow and misted the die-cut letters in ROYGBIV order. Below the title, I depicted my daily schedule by cutting out small pieces from a sheet of schedule-themed "Bacon" patterned paper from the "Saturday Mornings" collection. To break up the hard line in the center of the layout, I varied the arrangement of the small pieces and added wavy stitching across the pieces and the title. 

Like me, Suz also had her head in the clouds (in a good way!) as she put her layout togther. The result is a light, airy, ethereal feel. 

Suz shares: 

"When I saw Jill's sketch, I loved the clean and simple design of it and decided to run with the oversized photo as my inspiration jumpstart. I moved the journaling and title to the center of my design and placed a clustering of embellishments in the bottom right corner of my layout as well as a few others scattered elsewhere rather than the top right corner as depicted in the sketch. The machine stitching is to repeat the design of the spreading butterfly's wings in the cloud formation." 

Suz used the following supplies: Public Library "Biography" patterned paper (A&B sides), Daily Flash Eggnog Pop Drops, Daily Flash Chipboard Alphas "Grey Flannel" Signboard, Daily Flash Chipboard Alphas "Strawberry Ice Cream" Signboard, Daily Flash - Flash Chip Bubble Talk, SprINKlers - Boarding Pass - Frequent Flyer, 5 & Dime - Strawberry Creme. 

Isn't her page dreamy? 

Suz and I would love to see your take on this sketch!  Be sure to share yours via the October Afternoon Flickr gallery.  

Thanks for stopping by today! 

-- Jill 

Work It Wednesday: Pinterest Inspiration

Hey everyone! Roree here working some Pinterest-found inspiration.

Whale has a Friend by Tracy Walker
Tracy Walker Art

This little beauty has been waiting oh-so-patiently on my Pinterest board for quite some time now for the chance to inspire one of my projects. I am so in love with that adorable whale, but what I was really drawn to was the cluster of speech bubbles at the top of the image.

With that in mind, I created this card:

I just loved the "STORY" letters in the Public Library Chip 'n Stick pack and thought they would work well in a cluster that mimics the one in the image. I used stickers from the 12x12 Shape Stickers sheet to fill in the rest of the cluster.

I added some Word Stickers and a Designer Brad to fill in the top corner.

Then, I created my sentiment with some Mini Market Stickers and another Word Sticker and finished the card with a Border Sticker and some twine from the Holiday Style Wrap Pack.

What from the image inspires you? Upload your Pinterest-inspired project to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or on Instagram via #octoberafternoon so we can all see.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday Inspiration Challenge

Hello friends! Melanie here today to share a fun Tuesday Inspiration challenge, grab a beverage and let’s get started! I think the very cold weather has influence my choice of inspiration. Who doesn’t love wrapping itself in a warm cozy quilt, spending some quality time with a good book in front of a fireplace with a nice warm beverage? It’s one of my favorite things to do. So it goes without saying that my need for warmth and comfort has influenced my choice of inspiration. I find that quilts are so beautifully designed; such a labor of love, one of my favorite quilter is Blue Elephant Stiches. I actually own one of her beautiful quilts; it keeps my sweet baby warm on these cold nights.

For my challenge I selected this amazing quilt inspired wall hanging.  I love the strips of fabric, the bold colors and the fun quote. Such an inspirational piece – I just want to make.

 

My initial idea was to use strips of paper and add stitching, then I debating use the colors as a guide for my layout and then I thought the quote could also work well on a layout. So many options, my head was spinning with ideas. In the end I took a simple approach, I stitched on my white cardstock multiple lines, with white thread. It creates a soft texturized background, the tone on tone effect is always one of my favorite technique.

 

To create my layout I used the December Story kit, I love the versatility of this kit. Perfect for a mini album but also for scrapbooking and cardmaking. The sequins included in the kit were the perfect element to add to those stitched lines. They added just a little tad of sparkle, which compliments perfectly the picture of my oldest daughter who is bursting with joy and excitement.

 

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: What's Old is New

Hi there!  Emily here with today's Monday Challenge!  Awhile back, I was looking through some old layouts, and I realized I have a LOT of layouts that use October Afternoon products! I've been a fan for many, many years! I though it might be fun to create a challenge around the concept of "OLD."  I decided to call my challenge "What's Old is New."  My friend Ginny Hughes is joining me this week, and I wanted her to interpret "What's Old is New" in her own personal way, so I told her to feel free to interpret the title however she pleased! She went a totally different direction, which I love - she chose an "old" memory as the inspiration for her layout!  Here is what she had to say:

When I found out the challenge today I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I recently took this photo of my father driving me around when we were on vacation and it was such a weird feeling, it took me back to when I was a kid! I used the new Saturday Mornings collection, it has a great retro vibe. The woodgrain paper is going to be a new staple for me, it goes perfectly with everything!

And here is her fabulous layout:

 

When I came up with this challenge, I thought I could either a) use old products or b) scrap in an "old" style.  I decided to do a little of both. I chose a single layout as my inspriation. I made this layout in March of 2012. 

My style has definitely change a bit in the past three years.  I have always been a lover of paper...thought I used to use a LOT more.  I started out my new layout as a "modified" direct copy of the old one. I had a lot of paper and a lot of patterns.  I pushed paper around. I added things. I subtracted things. I decided...I hated it. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this photo at 11:30 p.m. when I ripped my layout apart and started over:

I decided that, while I may have rocked the TONS of paper look in 2012, it just wasn't happening in 2015.  I went with a lot more white space and less pattern. I did keep a few elements the same, such as the blue strip + the tickets from the Public Library Miscellany pack, the Flower Sack die cuts from the Farmhouse line, and an old vintage doily from my personal collection.  To say I am much happier with the second layout would be an understatement! It's funny - I love the layout from 2012, but as my style has changed, it was impossible for me to create a similar layout that I also loved.  So..what's old is kind of what's new, but not exactly... ;)

(Excuse the bad photo quality - I'm having some printer issues.)

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. Happy Monday, and happy scrapping!