Currently

I have been wanting to blog this layout for many many days . . . 

Re: Stitching on paper - it has been a while but I think I'm back at it. This time I used the 'currently' from Prompts digital brushes by Ali Edwards. It felt so good to be stitching on paper again!

My only regret with this layout? In the last para, that I didn't realize I typed 'running back' when what I have in my head was 'running again'. There's a couple of spelling mistakes here and there too, but that 'running back' bothers me so much I'm tempted to redo the whole dang layout. :D

Just like that 2014 is almost over. I guess I'll see you next year! 

Just Sayin'

Merry Christmas from us to you, you, you and you!! May this holiday season sparkle and shine. May all your wishes and dreams come true and may you feel this happiness all year round.  #throwbackThursday Pic from 2007

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I have a layout up on the October Afternoon blog today. If you need a little break from the festivities, I say why don't you play along with my sketch? :)

I kept pretty close to the sketch, cutting strips of Story Time pp from Public Library and arranging them towards the top portion of the layout. I adore that patterned paper, I guess I will always have a soft spot for papers with text on them. I'm a bookworm if you can't tell. :D

Then I took two banner shapes from this Sew Fun Banners pack, used one of them to draw attention to the number 15 (we've been married 15 years this year!) and another as some sort of a mat for my journaling strips. I also added a stamped tab underneath one of the paper strips before I machine stitched everything in place. 

And oh! I absolutely think that Just sayin' tin pin is perfect for my layout! Don't you think so? That's just how we roll. In fact, if you follow me on Instagram, you'd have known that I dropped Sam on his butt right after this picture was taken. LOL.

I added a chipboard heart and my last strip of journaling on the lower part of my layout because I really love how it looks. I consider that my own spin on the sketch even when I was the one who created the sketch in the first place. 

Do share with us on Instagram. Use the hashtag #octoberafternoon and tag me @sashafarina as I'd love to see your take on this sketch.

Hello Real Life

Real life. 

What's real life, actually?

I've been teaching my girls that real life is hard. Real life is not fair. You don't always get what you're due. What can you do? Suck it up. Speak up. Work harder. 

Nidhi, especially. She's my youngest. And people around me seem to think that I pamper her too much. The fact is, I do pamper her, but not too much. She has her own share of heartbreaks and disappointments. She has to work hard for what she wants. Tantrum? I'd like to think I'm immune to tantrums. Haha! I take pictures in the middle of melt downs!

I wanted to layer the photo and title onto the stitched pocket so I turned one of Ali's Heart Real Life digital brush into a cut file. I slipped my journaling behind the photo, into the pocket and managed to keep this layout fairly simple and clean with vibrant pops of colors. :)

NOSS

First of all, please don't ask me what NOSS is. I have no idea what the heck it stands for. LOL. Nidhi was in this NOSS Sailing Championship last year, and I wanted to document that. :)

I have a 'water' challenge on the October Afternoon blog - please do check it out if you have time to scrap! I know people are so busy during the holidays, but sometime it's nice to have one rest day to do something solely for your self-enjoyment, don't you think? 

The B side of Reference Section patterned paper from Public Library reminds me of the sea, so I decided to use that as my background paper. I cut my white cardstock into sections and stitched them back onto the background paper to create some interest rather than having a flat white background with a border. This must be my favorite thing to do nowadays, I've done this many times lately. :)

For my photo focal point, I layered Corn Maze, vellum, Bonfire pp and a couple of tabs. I playfully stamped one of the tabs because that's what this layout is about. My daughter, playing at sea. I believe we can learn so much while playing and it's not like I want her to go out and earn a living as a sailor, so this was play. :)

I used Daily Flash Navigate alphas for my title. Just how perfect is that for my layout? I squealed out loud when I realized that as I usually start my layout with a photo + story, not products. Such a happy coincidence! I hid my journaling underneath the photo cluster and finished my layout with a printed circle tag and a sprinkle of Pop Drops. 

I hope you'll play along with Mandy and I. 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 take on this challenge!

Bento

How fussy are your kids when it comes to eating? 

Or more importantly how fussy are you when it comes to eating? I'm quite fussy I must say. I don't eat lamb, oyster and the likes, raw fish or anything for that matter except for vege, I don't eat innards and the list can go on and on and on. 

And this is why I can't be on Survivor, Amazing Race or the likes. Haha!

But this girl of mine.. she's brave. She will try almost everything at least once and I'm so proud of her. I know, japanese bento is 'nothing' to some of you, might be your daily meal but she came from me and I don't do japanese food and this is a big deal in our household. :D

The layout is my take on a sketch by Melanie on the October Afternoon blog. Please hop over there to see her fabulous layout and the sketch itself.

Please take a moment to look at that smile. *sigh* My heart melts.

When Melanie first showed me the sketch, my eyes zoomed straight for the triangles. I knew then that I wanted to create something based on the angles. I thought about it for a while and decided to go bold and cut apart the white cardstock to show bits of the Science Patterned Paper underneath it. The strong black background and angled white cardstock made a very interesting background for my layout. I layered some chipboard pieces and stamped labels to create the perfect placement for the 'yummy' Mason Jar letter stickers. 

 

I absolutely adore the Strawberry Ice Cream chipboard alphas - how perfect are those for a food layout? :) There are scattered + symbols on the sketch and I mimicked that by stamping and some adding some mist splatters.

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 take on this scrap recipe!

Marathon

How about a recipe to get you scrappin'? I know December is a busy month for most of us. Christmas for some, summer holidays for the others and also school holidays for those with the same school calendar as us in Singapore! :)

One look at the recipe and you'll think "that's not a lot to work with!" - believe me I know. But that's the interesting and challenging part.

Here's my layout

Verdict? I adore this layout.

I use little patterned paper as it is, but when I have a recipe calling for no patterned paper, that is all I wanna slap onto this layout! :D I focused on the journaling, and made the alphabets chipboard the star of the layout. The Old Oak alphas are my personal favorite!

One brad - oh this was hard, because I love brads! It took me a while to decide on that 'No 1' brad from Public Library. The layout, after all, is about Sam's first marathon :)

Visit October Afternoon blog to see another layout based on this recipe by my talented friend, Laura. 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 take on this scrap recipe!

xoxo