October Afternoon

Designer's Choice with Patricia and Roree

It is the first day of July and for those in the United States, we are about to celebrate Independence Day on the 4th!  Fireworks, grilling, parades, and lots of red, white and blue!  But red, white and blue are not just for being patriotic.  Red and blue are primary colors and create a bold contrast, and it makes me think of summer!

Instead of using photos that are celebrating Independence Day, I used photos that had the red and blue colors.  Red is an intense color, so I used a lot of blue from Treasure Map as the primary color, and then accented with red with the stitching, labels, brads, die cuts, chipboard, and pillow puffs.

I cut the LOVE with Mickey ears from pattern paper, then backed with another blue pattern paper.  Trimmed the die cut pattern paper, then adhered to another background pattern paper.  Lots of pattern paper, but the contrast of light and dark and different patterns worked so well together.  I made the LOVE Mickey ears a couple of years ago.  

To make the die cut stand out more, I hand stitched in all 6 strands of embroidery floss.  Since there is so much pattern paper, I left the white around my photos to help them stand out more.  For my journaling, I adhered the labels to a scrap piece of paper, sent it through my typewriter, and then trimmed them from the paper using scissors and adhered in place.  I used chipboard from Daily Flash, a badge from Milk Money, and the roller stamp and Puffy Clouds pattern paper from Summertime.  I fussy cut the clouds from Puffy Clouds pattern paper to adhere on top of the die cut.

Red and blue is one of my favorite color combinations.  It is perfect for these Disney World photos, it has a great vintage/retro feel, but can also be very feminine.  

I absolutely love Roree's cards.  She puts together such great colors and patterns, and she really shows how red and blue can be both vintage and feminine.

When I signed up to take Patricia's Red, White, and Blue Challenge, I remembered that there was some awesome red and blue papers and embellishments in the Travel Girl collection. Since that collection has a travel theme, I went with it for my card. I cut out a journaling card from the Journal Cards sheet and added some stickers from the Word Stickers, Border Stickers, and Shape Stickers sheets.

Then, I dug way down deep into my October Afternoon stash for some Cherry Pie patterned paper from Modern Homemaker to create some flowers and tied them together with buttons from Holiday Style. I added a little bit of red and white baker's twine to finish. I just love how it all came together. Thanks for the fun challenge, Patricia!

So gorgeous, Roree!  Thank you so much for joining me!

I hope this inspires you to look at red and blue in creative ways for your projects.  If you create something, upload it to our October Afternoon Flickr Gallery, or Facebook Page.  You can also use Instagram and tag me @patricia_roebuck and @octoberafternoon with hashtag #oadesignerchallenge.  Hope to see what you make!

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!

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

Tuesday Inspiration: Colored Stripes

Hello readers!  This is Laura here today with an inspiration image to share with you guys, and two pages based off it.

I pinned this image on Pinterest forever ago, and I have just loved it ever since.  I love the gorgeous colors, the paint like brush strokes, and most of all, the great quote.  I think there are so many directions you could go with this image.  I've just been itching for the chance to use it as an inspiration piece.  Thankfully, today is the day. 

I decided I wanted to use the quote and make it serve as both the title, and journaling for this page.  Being as there isn't really any action going on in my photogrpahs that needed explaining, I though it could work well.

One of my most favourite supplies is simply alpha stickers, you can just have so much fun with them, and I loved mixing and matching so many different fonts and colors to make the quote interesting.  Knowing that my page was going to be quite busy I wanted a background paper that felt light and airy, and this bokeh "Focus" paper from Snapshots Daily Flash worked great.

I thought that the washi tape from the Girl Talk Daily flash line matched the inspiration so perfectly I just had to use it.  It also helped visually "ground" some of the words, and helped this busy page feel a little more cohesive.

I'm pretty sure these great stickers from the Travel Girl line are one of my all time favorites; I just love the soft blue color, and thin red outline they have.  I also wanted to point out something very unusual for me, and that is that this is almost a completely flat layout apart from the one tiny enamel heart.  I'm not sure I've ever made such a flat page, but I still love it :)

I have the amazingly talented Patricia with me today, to share her take on the inspiration image.  Here is what she had to say.

"The repetition in Laura’s piece instantly caught my eye, then the color, then the paint strokes, and last, and I think the post impactful part of the design for me, the way the words were placed.  I used strips of Apple Cider  and Public Library pattern paper and washi tape for the lines of repetition and then used the Everyday roller stamps and Public Library Tidbits placed along the edge of them.  I stopped about 3/4 down the layout, and then placed my small photos in a row, also adding to the vertical repetition of the lines.  I broke up the lines a little with stitching, more die cut shapes, Public Library stickers, Daily Flash stickers, chipboard, and tin pins, and Apple Cider stamp."

I just love her page, don't you? So many amazing details.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope that you feel inspired to get crafty too.  Please share your projects on our Flickr group, and use the hashtag #octoberafternoon on other social media platforms so we can see all your awesome designs!

Have a great day!

Tuesday Inspiration: Colors, grid, circles... you choose!

Hi everyone, Mou here with Shanna today sharing with you an inspiration piece I found on Pinterest.

This is the inspiration piece (via Pinterest) and below is my take on it...

In my layout, I picked three things from the inspiration piece: colors (rather loosely), circles (layered them too), and the grid pattern.

I picked various papers and embellishments from the October Afternoon lines, such as, Passport (12 x 12 paper) from Travel Girl, Daily Flash Apple Cider (Harvest, Hayride, and Bake Sale) papers, Daily Flash Girl Talk Memory Cards, Daily Flash Snapshots Double Take stickers, and Daily Flash Inspiration Roller Stamp.

And here's another close-up of my layout.

Now, let me present to you Shanna Noel's take on this inspiration piece. 

Shanna says: "I love the inspiration piece that Mou picked out and I was drawn into the color first and then this graphic, grid design. Let's face it, who can resist a grid design?! I decided I wanted the bottom to be the alphabet stamp and from there used the cards  from the public library (one of the favorite OA lines, EVER!!!). One of my favorite things about the OA lines is that they all work so beautifully together! I can't wait to see what you make with this beautiful inspiration piece!"

Here's a close up of Shanna's adorable layout!

Hope you'll find something in the inspiration piece that triggers your creative imagination. Thanks for stopping by :)

Thursday Sketch: Big Triangles

Hi everyone! Alex here bringing you this week's sketch. It's all about big triangles. I love using geometric shapes in my designs. Triangles are no exception. 

I have used the Daily Flash Girl Talk collection for my layout. Instead of putting the text inside one of the triangles, I went big and wrote it across the entire page.

The alphas are from the Travel Girl collection. I think they go perfectly well together with Girl Talk. 

Love this quote by Merilyn Monroe: "If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure is hell don't deserve me at my best." So true.

I hope you feel inspired to play along! Post your link here or share your project with us on Facebook or OA's Flickr gallery.

 Have a lovely day!

//Alex

Monday Challenge: Go BIG

Hi everyone! Ginny here back with another Monday challenge for you all. I am joined today by the crazy talented Roree Rumph, I always adore her cards! This week we are challenging you to go BIG with your title. That can mean literally a big title, a long title, or however you want to tackle the challenge. We encourage creativity here at October Afternoon, so show us how creative you can be!

First we have a beautiful card from Roree and here is what she had to say about her project//

"I loved Ginny's idea for going big with your title. Using a large sentiment on a card really can be a challenge, since it leaves little room for anything else. So I had to be creative. I put together a house-shaped card around the phrase, Home Sweet Home. I used the Daily Flash Grey Flannel "Sign Board" Alphas along with a die cut to create my sentiment. And because I made it the width of the card, I replaced the Os Home with embellishments—two die cut flowers with buttons. I finished the card with some machine stitching, a label sticker, a stamped sentiment, a chipboard heart, and pop drops."

 

 

 

 

 

 

I knew that I wanted to use this particular quote as my title and I had some photos leftover from another project that were already punched into circles. I remembered Suz's sketch from last week and knew that it would be perfect! 

 

 I added the pop drops and a few brads from the Public Library collection to the stitching. 

 

 

 

 

So, anyone up for the challenge? I hope so, I would love to see what you come up with! Be sure to share your creations in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, and link us up in the comments below as well. 

Don't forget that October Afternoon is also on Instagram, so please follow us there for all of our latest challenges and any upcoming news about us!  

 

Monday Challenge: Two is better than one

Hi all, it is Ginny here with my first official post with October Afternoon and I can't tell you how excited I am to jump right in! I am here with a Monday challenge for you, a 2 page layout. Mou Saha is joining me and she has a great spread to share with us.

First up is Mou and here is what she has to say about her layout: 

To create a 2-pager for Ginny's challenge, I decided to use the Daily Flash sleeves, SL-1076 - 6x8 Sleeve for 6x8 and SL-1075 - 6x8 Sleeve for 4x4. For the base, I used Travel Girl 12 x 12 Passport paper and embellished the spread with Mix Tape paper and 12 x 12 Shape Stickers along with some mixed media elements like gesso, paint, etc.

 

 

 

 Thanks Mou, I just love your travel journal!

I am still in back to school mode here and it is the perfect excuse to break out the Public Library collection ;) I love 2 page layouts. Sometimes I use them to tell a big story, sometimes to showcase a product or patterned paper that I love and really want to show off, and sometimes, like the layout I am sharing today, I have a photo that really tells the story and captures the perfect moment in time. 

This layout all came together because of the Daily Flash Tin Pin  that says "true story". I thought it would be a neat & different way to journal on the page, to tell it in a story. 

So, anyone up for the challenge? I hope so, I would love to see what you come up with! Be sure to share your creations in the October Afternoon Flickr gallery, and link us up in the comments below as well. 

Tuesday Inspiration

Hey everyone! Roree here with some Tuesday inspiration.

In preparing for today's post, I went to my Pinterest board in search of an inspirational piece. Here is what I found:

Image via Pinterest

I have been holding on to this image for quite a while, knowing that one day it would be used for just such an occasion. I am so totally in love with the colors, the birds, and the patchwork feel. (So sorry if you are tired of it, but I just can't seem to get away from using that quilted kind of look for my inspiration pieces. ;) ) 

Focusing on the patchwork look inside a unique shape, I came up with this card:

With autumn just around the corner, I decided to create a leaf-shaped card. I cut the shape out with my die cut machine and then added strips of patterned paper from Daily Flash's Apple Cider collection to the cut. I trimmed the excess then added machine stitching for a fun look.

I finished the card off with a Pillow Puff sentiment, a couple of Travel Girl buttons, and a twill ribbon bow. I just love the way it turned out, and isn't that color combo just gorgeous for fall projects? I think so!

Mel Blackburn, one of our new design team members, was inspired by the image and created this layout:

"I'm so very excited to be sharing my very first project for OA. I love Roree's inspiration piece, I had so many ideas on how to incorporate on a layout from adding birds and triangles, to choosing a similar colour palette. But what really stood out was the patchwork effect which I wanted to mimic with my title. My initial idea was to cut out my title using pattern papers from the Public Library collection but as I was selecting my paper I came across the chipboard word that was exactly the look I wanted to achieve. Although I didn't exactly replicate the inspiration piece, it still had me thinking and challenging me to do something fun on my layout. This inspiration piece was definitely a joy to work with."

I just love Mel's take on the inspiration piece, and I can't wait to see more of her beautiful work on the OA blog!

I hope you enjoyed today's inspiration piece and the projects inspired by it. If it inspires you to pull out your OA supplies and do some creating, be sure to post your project in the OA Flickr gallery or on the OA Facebook page so we can all see. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Monday Challenge: Creative Borders

Hey everyone! Roree here with this week's Monday Challenge.

Sometimes you find a great image or sentiment on patterned paper that is just to wonderful to cover up. That is what happened to me when I was looking through the Daily Flash "All Boy" 6 x 8 Paper Pack. I instantly fell in love with the "I Love You to the Moon & Back" Sentiment/Graphic.

I knew it would be perfect for a card. The only problem was the image is 4" square. That is pretty much the size of a card. It wouldn't leave much room to add embellishments (which is completely out of the question for me!), so I had to get creative. Here is what I came up with:

I created a unique border to highlight the image using strips of Me First! patterned paper (B-side). I adhered the image and strips to a King of the Hill patterned paper (B-side) base, and then i added lots of fun little goodies, including stitching, Daily Flash "Eggnog" Pop Drops, and buttons from the Travel Girl and Farmhouse collections.

I finished the card with a Pop Drop heart in the sentiment and a Daily Flash "All Boy" Snap Cap sentiment.

The border allowed me to leave the sentiment/graphic intact, while still being able to add little bits of goodness that stick with my style.

So here is my challenge to you:

Create a unique border on your next OA project.

If you get a chance to play along, post your project in the OA Flickr Gallery or share it with us on the October Afternoon Facebook page. We love to see what you are creating!

Hope you enjoyed today's project. Thanks so much for stopping by!