October Afternoon

Thursday Sketch with Sasha

Hello again, friends! :)

I'm back with a new sketch this week. Still in love with triangles, as you can see below. I think I kept pretty close to the sketch overall. Of course, there are a few changes in size and placements but the triangle paper (the one I look at as main element of this layout) is in its designated place :)

I used my Summertime favorite yet again! That Heatwave patterned paper is not gonna get wasted around here. I guess the graphic look is what draws me to it every single time. 

I layered a tiny slice of Blue Skies pp (B side) below one side of my triangle, a little strip of that beautiful True North paper from Treasure Map and stitch them down together to my background cardstock. Machine stitching is a great way to save on adhesive! 

I also opted to stamp 'Photos Enclosed' instead of the date as shown in the sketch. 

Beside Daily Flash Red Wagon and  Meringue (B side), I added some Daily Flash embellishments (Snapshots Tin Pin, All Boy Snap Cap). 

I hope I've inspired you to use this sketch! Tag me @sashafarina if you play along. I'd love to see your take on it. If you don't have time to scrap, you can always pin this sketch for future reference or browse #octoberafternoon on Instagram for even more inspirations!

Happy 'almost' weekend!

Monday Challenge : Scraplift Yourself

Hi everyone! :)

A brand new week, a brand new challenge for you! I challenge you to scraplift yourself. Yes, flip through your album or your layouts photos folder and choose one that inspires you, then scrap a new page. 

I decided on this layout I posted last year → click for original post.

Here's my take on lifting the layout above :)

Similar but different. 

I wanted to move away from the romantic tone of the earlier layout, so this layout uses a lot of Summertime  and Treasure Map papers and embellishments.

I also did not use every single piece of the 'waves' I cut on B side of Puffy Clouds pp, those open spaces are perfect for mist splatters and some stickers here and there. 

Like the older layout, I used the curved lines of the paper pieces to guide my title placement. Sidenote : how cute (and perfect for my layout) is that 'Splish Splash' tin pin? 

I must admit, I thought I'd feel a little meh about this new layout because I adore the old one so much but hey! I love this one too. Two different layout with two different mood, if you know what I mean. :) Scraplifting myself was fun!

Now it's your turn! :) I would love it if you play along with me. You can tag me @sashafarina on Instagram, when/if you upload your layout. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

 

 

Have a great week ahead!

Thursday Sketch with Sasha

Happy Thursday friends!! :)

As per our usual schedule, I have a new sketch for you to play with this week. Just so you know, I absolutely love it when I see any of you using my sketch or pinning them for future reference!

Here's my take on the sketch using two photos from our first ever long bike ride. Long is subjective here of course. We only did 27km/16.7miles - but at that time, it was such an achievement especially for Nidhi! :)

Loving the huge triangle, I have mine almost exactly where it is on the sketch but flipped it upside down. I felt like this little change suits my layout better. I added two squares of paper that I cut from Summertime Blue Skies PP making it look like I have four photos instead of two.

I also 'quilted' on Summertime Heatwave PP because to be frank, I've wanted to do that from the first time I laid my eyes on that paper. I just love it so much. 

I stamped part of my title on one of the label from Summertime Double Take stickers. 'Good Times' and 'June' tab came from the same pack. And finally, a tin pin! I mean, how adorable is that bike? Ours didn't have a basket on it obviously but I can't resist adding that little tin pin to my layout. 

Three bicycles on this layout, six if you count ours. Every summer has a story. Ours is all about bike rides. What's yours? 

I hope you'll have time to play with the sketch. Tag me if you do. I'm @sashafarina on Instagram. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. 

Happy scrapping!

Thursday Sketch with Sasha and Jill

Hello everyone!

How's your summer coming along? The girls and I have the whole month of June off school and work. A month sounded like forever when we discussed it in May, but now, we're already in the last week of our holiday! Time flies when you're having fun they say? So true!

Here's the sketch for this week :

I used that bold B side of Fresh Fruit PP as a background and cut apart my white cardstock before stitching them back together on top of it. I've done this before and will be doing this again for sure. I love how you can see bits and pieces of the background paper through the gaps. 

 

I finished my layout with some a variety of embellishments from Summertime, an old brad from Travel Girl collection, an arrow chipboard and of course, a sprinkling of colors all over my layout. 

Okay, let's move on to Jill's fabulous layout. I am seriously head over heels in love with this one. Jill rocked that sketch I must say!! I need to scraplift this!

  

Jill said "I don’t often use diagonal lines in my scrapbooking, because I have such trouble getting them to work for me. I never know where to place items in relation to the diagonal. You won’t be surprised to learn, then, that when I first set eyes on Sasha’s sketch, I was a little nervous. However, I trust Sasha’s design sense, and rightfully so, because this sketch makes using diagonal lines a breeze!  The way that Sasha’s sketch gathers the title, subtitle, and accent at the point where the lines meet prompted me to move the photo block even lower, creating a cluster at the point of intersection.  I took my color cues from the photos of my daughter receiving her diploma, using a mix of yellow, white, and black; the darkness of the photos is counterbalanced by the bright and lively patterns from the Summertime collection. To anchor the photos and journaling, I used a couple of journaling cards from the Saturday Mornings collection. Daily Flash chipboard letters and shapes add dimension to the page. Thanks, Sasha, for pushing me out of my comfort zone with this sketch. There is no way I could have created this page without your impeccable design sense guiding me! "

I hope you will give this sketch a spin! If you do, I'm @sashafarina on Instagram, feel free to tag me when/if you upload your layout. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

Happy scrapping!

Sasha's Scrap Recipe Challenge - Easy as 1-2-3-4!

Hi everyone! :)

June is always very hectic for me. I think that has to do with the fact that my girls are off school for the whole month! I have a recipe to help you maybe scrap a page or two these busy days of summer. Speaking of which, have you seen Summertime? Oh my! I'm in love with the colors and ever versatile patterns in it!

Yup! That easy! 1-2-3-4! :) Feel free to add your own spin to the recipe. This is just the recipe for the base of the layout.

Here's my layout sample :

I made some mistakes while typing out the journaling with my manual typewriter and I left it that way because this is a layout about me, and I'm not perfect and I actually think some of them are quite funny. Would I have corrected them if this is a different layout? I don't know. It depends on my mood I guess. 

I'm going to list down what I used here because I know some of you like it when I point out things I used, one by one.

1 paterned paper - Sunshine from Summertime. 2 pop drops, both from Daily Flash Apple Cider collection. 3 stamping - I stamped 'one of a kind' phrase using Daily Flash Inspiration Roller Stamp, three times. 4 stickers - Film roll and True Story stickers are from Daily Flash Snapsots Double Take pack, while that cute yellow sunnies is from Summertime. That black label is from an older October Afternoon collection. 

To add my own spin on the recipe, I used some chipboards (red arrow and grey star), mist splatters, letter stickers (Daily Flash Stop Light Alphas), the word happy in wood and also lots of wonky stitching all over the page. 

Please let me know if you need help in identifying stuff used on my layout. I'm available via email and Instagram. I can't wait to see your take on this recipe!

Happy scrapping!

 

 

Wednesday : Create With Kraft

Create with kraft. Why don't you? I love white background and I admit I use white background a lot. It has been a while since I used other colors for my layouts background cardstock but today, let's create with kraft!

I scrapped the photo I took of my youngest just before she went to her Graduation Party last year. It was a huge deal for all Year 6 students as they end their Primary School years and move on to Secondary School. I'd never realized how difficult it is to find an age appropriate dress for a 12 year old! The dress shopping took for-e-ver :)

I started my layout with a tag and layered pieces of patterned papers here and there on top of one another to build a cluster as my photo mat. I didn't cut into any new piece of patterned papers for this layout. Everything came from my October Afternoon scraps bag. I'm still very smitten with Treasure Map and Saturday Mornings as you can see.

I also picked some bits and pieces from other collections to complete my layout. The Snap Caps from Daily Flash Snapshots and All Boy are perfect this this page. I finished my layout with some stamping with the 2010's decade stamp and Travel Roller stamp.

Creating on kraft with the beautiful colors from October Afternoon is so fun! If you haven't been scrapping on kraft for a while, or have not tried kraft at all, I strongly urge you to do so :)

Go get krafty! You can tag me @sashafarina on Instagram, when/if you upload your layout. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

Have fun!

 

 

Monday Challenge : Black and White

Often, black and white photos take a backseat. At least for me, that's the case. Not today! This beautiful Monday I'm challenging you to scrap at least one black and white photo. My eldest daughter is into black and white photos right now and I thought why not use one of hers for my layout? :) Why not indeed. 

I haven't done this much layering in a while and it was so fun. I should layer more, I think! :) Those awesome papers from our Treasure Map collection are just perfect for me. They work for simple, graphic layout and are still amazing to use for a heavily layered layout like this one. 

I also used quite a lot of bits and pieces from older collections. Namely Daily Flash All Boy Double Take Stickers, Daily Flash Snapshots Snap Caps, Daily Flash Milk Money Memory Cards and Daily Flash Girl Talk Flash Blurbs. Can you spot them all?

The chipboard arrows, oh the chipboard arrows. . .  I don't know what I'm gonna do without them. I can't stop using them but at the same time I don't want to run out! Love them so! Do you have one pack of embellishment that you love like I do the chipboard arrows (and hearts &stars too)?! 

To finish my layout, I added yellow machine-stitching, and a sprinkling of colors, as usual. I love that the machine stitching and the splatters are part of my routine to signify the completion of a layout. I like the feeling of 'being done' if you know what I mean! :)

I look forward to see your take on this black and white challenge. If you do, @sashafarina on Instagram, feel free to tag me when/if you upload your layout. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

 

Happy scrapping!

 

 

Monday Challenge: Destination

What comes to mind with the word "Destination?"  I think of my dream places I would love to visit and see, favorite vacation spots and favorite places like your favorite coffee shop, favorite store to shop.  I also think of where I want to be, my goals, dreams.  Destination can be a place, a dream, a feeling, or a goal...it is a word with unlimited possibilities.

For me, I have Summer on my mind and my absolute favorite place to be is in the pool.  It is my little getaway without leaving home.

After I picking my photo first, I reached for the new background stamp Out to Sea from Treasure Map and stamped it in white pigment ink on the dark blue Hangman's Cove pattern paper, then embossed in white.  Trimmed it out and adhered to the woodgrain Moby Dick pattern paper.  I layered more pattern papers from the Treasure Map collection behind my photo, and added some embellishments around the photo, like this adorable octopus.  I added baby powder to take away the stickiness, and then adhered him with a pop dot.

I kept the Out to Sea stamp as the extension of the water from the pool, and added my embellishments to either side of the waves.  

I cannot say enough how much I love this collection.  Using Treasure Map for this photo and my favorite destination makes me think of Summer, the beach, anywhere tropical and perfect for vacation and cruise photos.  The button is from an older collection, and the Destination stamp is the roller stamp called Travel from Daily Flash.

So excited to have Sasha joining me for this challenge, and see her interpretation of the word "Destination."

I dream about travel all day long, all year long. It's true! Have you ever heard the saying "if traveling is free, you'd never see me again"? Yes, that would apply to me. When I was given this challenge, I knew I would have to scrap about my wish to travel the world. 

I have an enormous amount of photos taken from the airplane and this is a perfect layout for them! :)

 

 

I used lots of Treasure Map collection on this layout. Pieces of True North pp was used to cut the words 'everything' and 'on my list' and Dead Man's Pass pp was hand cut into little wonky triangles. If you haven't taken a close look at Dead Man's Pass pp, let me tell you that the B side has ombre triangles on it. Very pretty! I then completed the layout with several pieces of stickers from Daily Flash Snapshots and All Boy collection, a heart chipboard and of course yellow machine stitching and some paint sprinkled all over. 

 

 

Thank you Patricia for this great challenge! I had a great time playing along!

 

What I love about Sasha's layout is she was able to use those airplane photos to document her desire and wish to travel the world and see as much as she can.  Just so long as she takes me with her!  Thank you so much Sasha for playing along!

 

How will you interpret "Destination?"  What is the first thing that comes to mind?  Scrapbook it with a photo or no photo.  Hope you will share either on October Afternoon Flickr Account, Instagram, and/or below.  Use the hashtag #octoberafternoon and #oadesignerchallenge.  Would love to see your interpretation!

Thursday Sketch with Sasha and Suz

Hi everyone! Sasha here!

I have a new sketch for you to jumpstart your layout today. This sketch would be perfect for you to showcase multiple photos. Suz and I will each be showing a layout example. 

Here is Suz's take on the sketch. I'm totally hungry after looking at this layout though! :D I love that Suz added that strip of patterned paper and a border sticker on the right hand side, and I adore the stitching lines for her precious handwritten journaling. 

 

Suz said :

"When I first saw Sasha's sketch, I knew it would work perfectly for some recent photos I took on a road trip with my hubby to an organic restaurant. I decided to use some photo and a few OA Doodads in place of where some of the photos are in Sasha's sketch. For the journaling areas, I decided to stitch a journaling box and a few stitched lines to journal above. I love the cascading movement to Sasha's sketch as it draws one's eyes down the page. Thanks Sasha for the inspiration!! :)"

OA ITEMS USED IN THIS DESIGN: DAILY FLASH: Flash Chip | Stars & Hearts, DAILY FLASH: Catch Phrase Roller Stamp | "Inspiration", DAILY FLASH: Eggnog | Pop Drops, DAILY FLASH ALPHAS: Snap Peas, Story Book ("green"), DAILY FLASH ALPHAS: Clover, Story Book ("Ruggles"), SATURDAY MORNINGS: 12 x 12 patterned paper; "Toast", SATURDAY MORNINGS: Doodads, SATURDAY MORNINGS: Border & Label Stickers

And here's what I made based on the sketch.

Can we take a moment and *sigh* for Treasure Map? I adore that collection oh so much!

I only used 2 photos and replaced the rest with randomly cut squares and rectangles of patterned papers, but followed the sketch quite closely otherwise. I scrapped about our very quiet vacation way back in 2009. We were practically the only family there. It was amazing to say the least. 

I completed the layout with some chipboards (heart and cloud), some Public Library doodads, a few pop drops from our Daily Flash Milk Money collection, and also a very cute Treasure Map anchor tin pin.

The title was made up from Early American Shop Front and Stop Light Story Book stickers. I'm still head over heels in love with those cursive alphas stickers just so you know! :)

We hope you'll have time to play with the sketch. I'm @sashafarina on Instagram. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also share your creations with us via the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.

 

Happy scrapping!

 

 

Monday Challenge : Scraps! Papers! Patterns!

Happy Monday everyone! 

Today I want to challenge you to push aside your 12 x 12 and only use your scraps! Except for your background, that is. Being on the team, I have my October Afternoon scraps separated into a ziplock bag and I often dig into them first when I create, but I still cut up new papers for each layout. For this challenge, I tell myself, no cutting new sheet of 12 x 12 and I'm only allowed to use what I have in my OA scraps bag. 

Here's the layout I made!

I had so much fun creating this layout!

I made use of my Silhouette Cameo to cut all the alphabets (font : Blackout, Midnight variation) but you can definitely do something like this without the machine. It will just take more time, but more fun time is good! :)

What a colorful page, right? I used scraps from Public Library, Treasure Map, and Daily Flash collection. Yes! Three different collections and they all work together. That is one of the thing I like best about October Afternoon. 

Due to the silly fun nature of this layout, I was also able to use that round framed spectacles chipboard. I've been wanting to use it for a long time and now I'm glad I waited. I also stamped with Daily Flash Milk Money stamp set (A+ and mini graduate at the bottom of the layout) and Daily Flash Homemade stamp set (color outside the lines).

I wanted to say that three chipboard arrows pointing to the cluster of photos and the 'thumbs up!' Double Take Sticker are my favorite but that would be a lie because I love that Oh Snap! chipboard too and also that cute Whale tin pin. In short I love everything about this fun layout. Yes, that is about right! :)

So many colors, so many patterns. This is not a normal layout for me, but somehow it fits my personality. :) I love my scraps! Now it's your turn. Go. Have fun!

Do share if you play along. I'm @sashafarina on Instagram. I usually post sneaks and my layouts with #octoberafternoon in the description. You can also post your creations to the October Afternoon Flickr Gallery.