October Afternoon

Loving Layers

I LOVE layers and have always thought that October Afternoon papers were perfect for layering! 

I loved that this Daily Flash Apple Cider paper coordinated so well with this photo I found on my desk in my "to scrap" pile. For this layout I toned down the background pattern a bit with some gesso before adding my layers.

I love finding fun shapes in patterned paper. I used these triangles as quick and easy accents.

I often use a mini stapler to secure my layers quickly and easily, plus I like the bit of industrial feel they give!

For this second layout I knew that the Public Library line was exactly what I was going to use for this photo. The first saxophone in our house (how many feel my pain ;) ) He was so cute practicing as soon as he got home I made him stop and pose for a quick photo!

Labels and layers again on this layout. I like to mix it up a bit with different shapes in different positions (like the triangle). Labels make perfect layers too!

 

Sometimes a bit of journaling is all you need ;) I finished off the layout with a little stitched banner at the top.

 Have a great week!

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 

Trick-Or-Treat!

Hello everyone and Happy Halloween!  I'm here today with my last guest post for the OA blog.  I'm sharing a layout I created using a few photos of my daughter dressed up in her Halloween costume and a small decorative Halloween banner that I created using the Public Library and Apple Cider collections. 

I used a Photoshop template I had on my computer and placed three photos on one 4x6 sized piece of photo paper.  If you don't have Photoshop or Photoshop templates, you could easily re-create this look using a circle punch or by cutting your photos out in circles (or any other shape you want!). 

I added some punched stars directly onto the 4x6 photo and around my page using patterned paper from the Apple Cider collection.  I also used the negative paper from the punched stars on my layout and flipped the patterned paper over to the opposite side for some color contrast.  

I journaled on a small label sticker and placed it underneath the "Trick Or Treat" square.  I finished my page off with a few brown mist splatters and a litte machine stitching for a homespun feel.  

Next, I have a small decorative Halloween banner that I created using the Public Library and Apple Cider collections. 

I didn't decorate for Halloween this year, but I wanted to create a small banner I could hang on my mantel shelf in our living room.  I adore the 12x12 sheet of alpha stickers from the Public Library collection, so I used them to spell out the word "spooky" for my banner.  

I layered the alpha stickers on top of a few banners and pennants I cut out from some Apple Cider patterned paper.  

I embellished some of the letters with Pop Drops and my Tiny Attacher staples and after I was done embellishing, I punched tiny holes in the pennants and strung them up on some baker's twine I had on hand. 

It's small, but the banner is the perfect addition to my mantel shelf! 

I want to thank all of you for following me this month here on the OA blog and for all of your kind words and comments on my posts.  It's been a true pleasure and I have really enjoyed working with October Afternoon's amazing products and sharing them with you!  I hope I've given you a little inspiration and some creative ideas that you can incorporate into your own projects and layouts. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a very happy Halloween! 

 

 

***ETA: Hasn't Adrienne done a fabulous job this month as guest?!!

Her designs and inspiration here have been amazing! Please be sure to leave Adrienne a little love in the comment section below and if you haven't been following along this month on Fridays, be sure to take a look back at her earlier posts here on the blog! I guarantee, you will want to get your scrap on!

 

Four Cards and A Creative Space

Hello everyone!  It's Adrienne back again this Friday to share a few fall inspired cards I created using the Public Library and Apple Cider collections.  I also have some some photos to share of my creative space and a peek at how I organize all of my October Afternoon goodies! 

 I love making cards using the smaller scraps I've collected after I've worked with a collection.  The smaller pieces make it quick and easy to create coordinating cards and helps use up leftover scraps.  

I mixed embellishments and stickers from the Apple Cider collection with some patterned paper from the Public Library collection to create these cards. 

The Apple Cider Memory Cards are the perfect size for using on a card.  I used a few of the square and rectangle Memory Cards and placed scraps of patterned paper from the Public Library collection behind them.  I embellished on top of the Memory Cards using some Pillow Puffs, Pop Drops, and Stickers from the Apple Cider collection. 

For this next card, I ran a piece of patterned paper from the Public Library collection through my die cutting machine and cut out leaves.  I layered the leaves on top of a piece of cream card stock and stitched through them using my sewing machine.  Then I added a button and some ink splatters to finish it off.

I like to mix styles and trends on cards so I can have a wide variety to choose from when I need one for an occasion. 

Here's a peek into my craft space to see how I organize my OA supplies.  I like to keep my set up fairly simple.  When I'm guest designing for a specific company, manufacturer, or kit club I like to keep all of the items I'm sent together and in plain view behind my craft table. 

I use this wire organizer to hold all of the embellishments and smaller packaged ephemera, stickers, and alphas from a collection.  I like how the organizer descends down so I can place the taller items in the back and the smaller bits in the front, which makes it easier to see most of the items.  

I keep all of my patterned papers, stamps, and larger sticker sheets in acrylic shelves like these...

If I need more storage to house my finished projects, I just add a few more of these stackable shelves on top of each other and I'm set. 

As I said above, I like to keep the items I'm working with in plain sight so these organizers and containers are perfect for my style of organizing.  

I'm very, very lucky that I have a whole room in our house to devote to crafting.  Last year, I moved my craft room to the main level of our home from the basement which has made all the difference! 

Thanks for joining me today.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back next Friday for my last guest post here at OA.  

Happy weekend everyone!

Monday Challenge: Warm Colors and Cool Colors

Hi there!  Happy Monday! Emily here today with your Monday challenge! Today's challenge is simple: Warm Colors and Cool Colors - interpret it however you choose!  

Playing along with me today is the super talented Patricia!  Here is what Patricia had to say about this week's challenge:

Emily and I share a love of color.  I tend to love warm colors, although blue is one of my favorites.  So I decided to challenge myself and pull out as many of the cool colors from Daily Flash and  Public Library.

 

OA makes the best aqua and teal colors, so going from there, I pulled the Days of the Week washi tape to cover some plain cardstock and punch a large circle, used the leftover to the right by the photo, punched circles from the pattern papers, and used the leftover as a mask to paint on some aqua circles.

 

 

 The Public Library labels I used are not a cool green, they have yellow in them, but I liked look of breaking up the coolness of this layout with a touch of warmth.  The reds I pulled in were not an orangey red, so worked well with continuing the cool palette.  I accented with green, navy, and of course, red to finish off my layout.

 

 

I just love everything about Patrica's layout!  The washi covered circles, the pops of red...the paint!!  When I came up with this challenge, I had a nice cool color layout in mind, but I decided to go in a completely different direction. I decided to be...crafty.  I am not a crafty person. I know people assume that all scrapbookers must also be crafty, but let me assure you that we are not! ;)  I am a layout maker, and that's about it. However, I steped totally out of my box for this project!! I have enjoyed decorating my house for fall (this is our first fall in our new home), and I decided I really wanted to make a cute little fall banner to hang on the built-in buffet in my dining room.  I knew the Daily Flash Apple Cider collection would be just perfect!  

 

 

I gathered a few different warm colored papers and used my die cut machine to cut out three different banner shapes, as well as the letters to spell out "FALL" and a couple of leaves.  

 

 

I embellished my banner with some plain paper doilies I had on hand and some buttons, sitckers, and pop drops.  I tied them all of the individual banner sections together with baker's twine.

 

 

Here is a look at the entire thing! I didn't measure my banner pieces before I began, and luckily they fit the space perfectly!  Confession - I ended up just using tape to adhere them because I was having a difficult time getting them to hang correctly when I typed them up!

 

 

This was a nice quick project - the longest part was the die cutting! Once I had everything cut, it was a breeze putting it all together!  We would love for you to share your project by uploading your layout to the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, post it on our Facebook page, or connect with us on Instagram via #octoberafternoon.  Have a great day!

Coming Soon... (Friday, August 29 to be exact!)

Hope all of you readers are having a great week! Here at October Afternoon we thought we'd help you over your mid week slump with a little sneak of something exciting coming to the OA blog this Friday!! Here is a hint:

 

Any guesses what it is?

Check back here this Friday, August 29th for the complete details! 

 

 

 

Thursday Sketch: Scrap Layers

Hey OA fans! Mandy Koeppen here your Thursday sketch. This week's sketch is based on a simple layered card I created using leftover scraps from previous projects. 

 

Here is the card I created:

There's lots of layers, shapes, and some dimension going on with this card but it was created rather quickly.

I have to say that barefoot guy from the Public Library - Miscellany is one of my favorite die cuts ever! It was really easy to mix and match scraps from Public Library, Daily Flash Snapshots, & Daily Flash All Boy together since the OA collection colors seem to coordinate so well together. 

Remember take the sketch use it as is or make it your own it's up to you. It can easily be adjusted and use on a layout which I plan to do this weekend. So go have fun with it! We'd love to see anything you create with this sketch, so please post your work to our October Afternoon Flickr gallery.

Thanks for joining me today! MK

Tuesday tutorial: Quick and simple bookmark

Hi everyone! Alex here today bringing you this week's tutorial. 

It's probably going to take me longer to write this post than it took me to actually make the bookmark I am going to share with you. It's super easy. All you need is the following: 2 Public Library tin pins, the ribbon from the Public Library Miscellany pack, piece of patterned paper (I used one from the 8x8 pad) and a 1" circle punch. 

To start with, iron the ribbon to get rid of the folds and cut it to the size you want to use. I almost always read paperbacks and I chose to use 11'' of the ribbon. Punch out two 1'' circles from the patterned paper of your choice. 

I used glossy accent to put my bookmark together, but I guess any liquid glue/sealer would work fine. Put some on the back of a tin pin, put one end of the ribbon over it and add some more glossy accent on top of it. Close it with the paper circle.

Now do the same with the other end of the ribbon and you are done :-)

I told you it was quick and simple!

This is how it looks like inside the book.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial of mine.

Btw, I looooove Game of Thrones! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

//Alex

Monday Challenge: Monochromatic Tags

Hey October Afternoon Fans! Mandy Koeppen here today with this week's Monday challenge.

This week I'm challenging you to pull out those tags and grab your pattern papers of the same color and create. You could add the tag to a card, your layouts, mini albums, gifts etc. I have 4 examples for you today. yellow, red, green, and blue. As I've said many times here on the blog past and present October Afternoon collection colors always seem to mesh well together so creating monochramatic tags should be no problem. 

Here is a shot of all four tags together on the cork board.

The yellow "Thanks A Bunch" tag was created with a mix from Sasparilla to the new Daily Flash Alphas. 

"Remember tag" was created with all blues. Instead of the simple horizontal layers like the yellow tag I chose a bit of a different look with a woodgrain background and layers of circles and the blue doily. I added pop dots to give the remember some dimension too. "Baby O" the red tag was one of the first tags I created for this project. I wasn't sure where I was going but once this tag was done I was on a roll and had lots of ideas flowing: Baby showers, Birthday, Wedding, Graduation, Thank You's, etc. 

Last but not least the green "Congrats" tag for the 2014 grad. Simple layers of pattern papers and the fun new Daily Flash stickers made this a great addition to the grads gift.

These tags were really simple and easy to create. I'm sure your friends and family would love to recieve a tag from you next time. This is a great way to use up those scraps too! 

I hope I've inspired you to create some monochromatic tags and if you do please share your creations in the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery!  I'd love to see them :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Mandy

Thursday Sketch: Squared Up

Hi OA fans! Mandy bringing you this week's sketch. As the title suggests this sketch is all squares but feel free to add other shapes if you like. 

The squares can be pattern paper, your photos, frames etc. you choose. Have fun and make it your own. 

Here is my take on the sketch. 

I created this layout of Mav with the All Boy collection. I love all the colors and images in the All Boy collection. I used a mix of pattern papers and embellishments in all shapes and sizes. Lots of squares and of course lots of layers. 

This layout was really simple and came together quickly which is how I love to create. 

Roree is joining me today with this fabulous card!

Here's what Roree had to say:

"I just love the layered feel of Mandy's layout sketch, and I tried to recreate something similar in the smaller scale of a card. I used a few of the Daily Flash collections, primarily Milk Money and Snapshots, to create this end-of-the-year teacher thank you card. I kept the elements of my card moving from the top left to the bottom right corner as in the sketch and add a few special touches to make it uniquely my own."

Thank you Roree for sharing your beautiful card! 

If you give this sketch a try, be sure to share your work with us. Give us a link by commenting to this post or upload your project to our Flickr gallery. We would love to see it!

Thanks for stopping by!