Chalkboard aRt cheeR ----> Rhonna Style

I've been having far too much fun cReating Christmas presents this year w/ my handwriting, chalk, & chalkboards.  

As I've mentioned before...I get much inspiRation from the master chalker: Dana Tanamachi. LOVE her work, style, & watching her time lapse videos.

LOVE.

I'm a doodler at heart. I used to steal my mom's calligraphy pens & paper & sit for hours listening to music & just 'practice' writing. I started by scouring her Calligraphy Books. You know...the old school ones that would teach you strokes, etc. But, soon I got the hang of it & started to add my own style & flair to it.  I experimented w/ tons of different styles of 'type faces'...I'd scour magazines & find one I liked & write & write & write until I got it down.  All the while, adding my own flair to things. I didn't follow the rules & I still don't. To me...that's part of putting the 'Rhonna Style' into it! *wink*

I loved it. It made me happy....brought me CHEER!

So...at this time of year as I was thinking of a gift that was from my heaRt...I thought of cReating my own chalkboard cheer for my friends & family.

1. I took my 6 Chalkboard Tips to heart as I created these little gifts of LOVE & CHEER!

2. Chose a small sized chalkboard that would make a cute gift....made a little KIT for each person...

including chalk, a sharpener, eraser in a little muslin bag &

3. Added uplifting & inspiRing Christmas word aRt. Each is different. Each is unique. & Each is my own little woRk of heART this Christmas Season!

Want to see more of the kits?

They turned out so cute! Love them!

I'll share on Monday....off to finish addressing my Christmas cards...are you on my list?

cReative Team Tuesday...Christmas all wrapped up in bows!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the packaging. 

Presentation is *everything* and this year I'm loving BOWS!  

My cReative Team members are right up my alley, too! Remember the Rhonna Designs FREE Paper Bow Template? Well, Amy takes the template & makes a  MEGA paper bow! I'm loving it! It's making a HUGE appearance in everything from gift packaging to decorating, to gifts in my home, too!

She says she printed it at 200% onto vintage music paper & voila! LOOK at how cool this is! On wreaths, 

& on her HUGE birdcage, too!  Love it sooo much! **see the white poofs at the bottom of the cage? This is the coffee filter wreath we made...it's HUGE & it fits in her bird cage...to give you the idea of it's HUGEness!**

I used the MEGA bow to create this gift wrap for the Smash Ball I went to on Saturday...it was a big hit & I ended up making a few more for people at my table! LOL!

I mean...who doesn't LOVE a Mega Bow?

And...I LOVE what Jamie did with her junque bow on her lovely mannequin! Gorgeous!

Jamie says:

I dressed up my Lady Eve for the holidays with a junque bow that shows off ChrismasJunque. The collage pattern was printed on dictionary paper and used as paper bows. And the MusicTagPiece from the ChristmasJunquePieces was printed on vellum and used in place of a cameo. She is so purdy!  I think a person could dress up anything thing in their everyday decor with a junque bow and hybrid printables from your collections. 

Isn't this just TOTALLY uplifting & inspiring? I'm loving the bows to package up just about *anything*...

Hope your holidays are filled with all sorts of things to uplift & inspire...

enjoy your pRocess!

cReatvie Team Tuesday.... Christmas projects w/ Rhonna Designs

cReative Team Tuesday is always one of my fave days...I LOVE seeing what members of my Rhonna Designs team cReate! And today is NO exception! Amy & Kirsty have sprinkled their magic w/ their Christmas projects: home decor and Christmas cards!

Ok...do you  LOVE Amy's  frame wall or what? Sooo cute! LOVE how she used the font file: Insta Christmas to cut out the vinyl & put the 'Peace On Earth' art on some scrolled music paper.  Um...really? LOVE!

I love how Amy displayed this card in her home decor. First...i DIE at those cake boxes...delish. And Second...LOVE how she brought the mint & red together just by using the Rhonna Designs card!  The card is created using the Merry Christmas Insta Card w/ the cute Insta Christmas fonts printed out & voila! An insta decor piece. *wink*

And this cuuuuute little frame w/ the Merry Christmas art...adding the "Oh Holy Night' to customize this for her house. Perfect, Amy! Soooo uplifting and inspiring!

Aaaannddd.... Kirsty got in the spirit of our Rhonna Designs Merry Christmas Gifttag Design contest (ending TODAY>>>> go enter if you haven't already!)

Isn't her Christmas card deeeelightful? One thing I LOVE about Kirsty is her digital cReativity! She sees things in an amazingly cReative way- her photography is FAB! She has used SO many different Rhonna Designs pieces here to create the MOST amazing work of art...right on her computer! And...she says she will be using this as her Christmas card...simply brilliant! Another thing I LOVE about Kirsty is her humor. She's witty, clever & makes me giggle! I LOVE her...she's brave...an amazing mom & I just feel so thankful to have her on our team! Thank you, Kirsty...for uplifting and inspiring us through more ways than just one...you are truly amazing! 

Another thing I wanted to share that is REALLY uplifting and inspiring me is...this SMASH BALL put on by Becki Crosby of Whippy Cake! I'm sooo excited!If you don't know that this is...here's a re-cap of her first one in AZ!

Well, It's this Saturday in Provo, but there's also one in AZ on the 15th! More details HERE!

Do YOU want to WIN a ticket? GO HERE for more info! Help spread the word & I will see you there!

OK...you have until MIDNIGHT tonight (MDT) to enter the Gift Tag Design Contest...then, my cReative Team will pick a winner & we will announce! YAY!!!! smooches!

more DIY Christmas wReaths---->

I am a wreath addict...I confess. And when it comes to Christmas....DIY is my fave because I usually pick my own custom colors! Love it! So....like last year...this Christmas is all about neutrals w/ a kick of color. Mint. to be exact this year....

so...thought I'd share a few more I made.

Wreath No. 1 is an up-cycle of my Spring wreath mixed w/ my Valentine Wreath! So, this is HUGE! & I LOVE it!

I added some of my Rhonna Designs printables to it along w/ some of my 'All is Bright' line w/ My Mind's Eye. Lots of texture & juxtaposition w/ glitter, burlap, book paper, pinecones, doilies...yum!

Wreath No. 2 is my own lil version of my Spark Sister- Margie's online Spark Your Christmas Class. 

Again...lots of fun juxtaposition. Added a glittered bird, some burlap flowers & the 'Silent Night' banner is just stamped w/ foam stamps onto that cheap white ribbon that I LOVE...it's a perfect banner!

 The book paper flowers are left over from my flowers last year that I made for Christmas...& I just added them along w/ the tickets, 'Joy And Peace' printable & glittered it! It's on one of my old vintage windows right above a glittered nativity scene...fave spot!

Wreath No. 3 is full of white feathers & kraft flowers that I adore hanging from my gold Ikea frame. Our cute little #elfontheshelf was hanging around the other day...to kick off December! *wink* 

There ya have it...Now...my decorations are complete...I've got all of my Nativity Scenes all around my house (my fave) and now I'm fixin' to create ornaments..

have you see the 12 Artsy Ornament class? Check it out! It's sure to be fab w/ tons of my talented friends contributing their talents! 

Ok...soooo, today is the LAST day to enter in our Christmas Gift Tag Contest! Excited to see the entries & pick the winner!!! It's not too late...LOOK HERE for a reminder of the guidelines! 

And...happy Monday!

DIY Christmas: Doily flowers. Gift Wrap. Garlands.

Super easy DIY here for Christmas or anytime. All you need is a bunch of doilies, hot glue...& that's it. Seriously! check out the Gift Wrap ideas and the Garland idea!

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Step. No. 1:

Take a stack of doilies & fold in half.

Step. No. 2: 

Separate the doilies.

Step. No. 3:

On a heat resistent surface, hot glue a line directly onto the surface. Put 2 of the folded doilies side by side on the line of glue.

Step. No. 4:

Add another line of glue on top of the 2 folded doilies in the middle...add 2 more doilies.

Step. No. 5:

Repeat Step No. 4.

Let cool. fluff the flower. create with it.

Add Gift tags like the ones I showed you HERE last year. I created some new ones this year with the Christmas Junque Background papers, wire, toothpicks & pearls. LOVE that you can use the wire to bend the flag as if it's waving in the wind. cuuuuute!

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Use this same technique but instead of gluing it to the work surface, glue right to Jute twine & then hang as a garland. I have these all over my house right now. LOVE.

See? Simple. Easy. DIY tutorial! Happy creating!

DIY Christmas...Parisian Hot Chocolat Recipe

A DIY Christmas is underway again this year.

Today: Do-it-yourself Parisian Hot Chocolat.

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 Christmas time makes me completely giddy....I love everything about the holiday season:

the food

the decorations

the smells

the lights

the music

the gifts

the creating....

& it's all about creating memories that will last a lifetime.

I tweeted about a book that changed the way we are doing Christmas this year...it's called 'A Christ-centered Christmas.' It's all about getting back to WHY we have Christmas & really focuses on the Nativity...each person that was involved.  

Mary, Joseph, The Angel, The Shepherd, The Wise Men, The Lamb & The Christ Child.

In each chapter it talks about each person & what they might have been feeling, thinking, doing...It makes it real to us now. And it includes Christmas Carols to sing, activities to do as a family & really focuses on a meaningful Christmas.

Like I said...it's changed the way we are doing Christmas this year...so far, we've made new traditions, re-vamped some old ones & have thoroughly enjoyed the Season so far.

One thing I loved about this past Monday was The Angel chapter....If I were to choose to be anyone that was at the Nativity Scene...

I'd choose to be The Angel....

I would want to bring 

'glad tidings of great joy' 

to those Shepherds...

I'd want to sing it out to the world & shout: Glory to God in highest...

because I would be bursting with 

JOY!

So...our activity? 

We sang Christmas Carols by the fire..sipping Hot Parisian Chocolat (show-Ko-laht)...

the thick, delicious kind that took me back to the cafes in Paris....

it was truly a dreamy night...filled with JOY!

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 We had a Parisian Chocolat Bar...complete with whipped cream, marshmallows, toffee bits, peppermint twists & balls....& more chocolate *just in case it wasn't chocolatey enough!*

Thought I'd share this delicious homemade recipe with everyone....it was truly divine! ..bottoms up!

enjoy!

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(frame created with the christmas junque collage borders.)

closer look at Christmas Junque & Chevron Funk

As noted in our Newsletter, there were 5 NEW digital art kits that went into the store at Rhonna Designs this week. I'm giddy about each of them & wanted to give a closer look at these kits...they are so much fun!

First up: Christmas Junque

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A little background:

I've been designing the Junque vibe for years now...I had the Urban Junque digital kits over at Two Peas & came out with the physical line of it in 2007 with Autumn Leaves...seems forever ago...but I never grow tired of it...I love how it has evolved throughout the years. A lovely combination of vintage art from my collections, Dover, & my sweet friend, Karen at The Graphics Fairy...all combined with my own swirls, art & designs.

I continued with that Junque look when I was with House of 3 & we released some physical collections with Pink Paislee as well...

so, now, it's been very fun to bring Spooky Junque & Christmas Junque to Rhonna Designs. *ahem* you MAY be seeing physical product...just sayin'. *wink*

So far I've designed the Christmas Junque pieces & the Backgrounds...kind of the basics. The Pieces come with 14 pieces that can be used as borders, or single elements.  But, the whole idea of the 'pieces' is to build with these....

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For this little printable, I've used the Christmas Junque background, & then pieced various bits around of the Christmas Junque pieces...

I added the JOY from the Christmas Word Art brush kit & the hanging ornaments, chevron prezzie & snowflakes are all part of the Christmas Art brush kit... so, this whole printable was created with the NEW kits...fun, huh?  

Check out the printable Backgrounds: This kit is perfect for your Christmas cards, banners, wrapping, tags, you name it!  The junquey vibe juxtaposed with the  modern quatrefoil & chevron designs make me smile.  

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9 backgrounds that all coordinate & come in 8x10 format AND 12x12....so fab!

I'm in LOVE with this collaged paper...so fab as a background, or print out & cut out the vintage pieces.

OR double print; print this on the front & another background on the back for double sided cards, papers, gift tags, wrapping...oh. i can't wait!

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The Christmas Word aRt kit is a brush set (also comes with black PNGs) that is so fab...perfect for adding a stamp on your Holiday photos, scrapbooks, cards, tags...neighbor gifts! Includes 13 different sayings:

happy holidays

merry

merry christmas

rejoice

joy

season's greetings

& yes, I did listen to you, my international darlings: even italian, french & spanish greetings!

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I'm already singing Christmas songs..hee hee. love this! Imagine...you can stamp in ANY color with these brushes...so, whatever color you need in your photos to match, or your cards, or blog posts...you can customize your digital stamp/brush!

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Ok..NOW>>>>let's top it all off with the Christmas aRt brush kit! This is another kit that is designed for YOU to customize, build your own Christmas art & use it on cards, tags, gifts, blogs, EVERYTHING!

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The set comes with 13 brushes....hanging ornaments, lanterns, a present, chevron Santa...or how about this festie little lady...she makes me smile. love her vibe!

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&. Isn't he a cutie?

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And this brush has already been one of my most versatile background/accent brushes...the soft snowflakes & brushes just finish off every project! LOVE!

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Now, this last kit isn't necessarily Christmas themed (albeit it CAN be used for anything)...it's the Chevron Funk brush kit.

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Oh mercy...let me tell you something..this will be your new 'go-to' brush set. It's so amazing for adding subtle texture, patterns, accents or even BOLD ones! I'm in love with these....you gotta try them! YOu will LOVE them!

so....be watching...I'll be adding MORE stuff all through November! You will be all ready for Christmas in no time...but, for now...enjoy your November...be gRateful for all around you...life is a wonderful gift.

hugs!

DIY Christmas No. 4: Gift Tag Flags tutorial

Everyone's getting ready for Christmas...gifts are being wrapped & delivered...it's a busy time of year & it's my favorite. I'm really trying to enjoy it & keep it simple.

So, I've incorporated one of my favorite little DIY projects into our Christmas this year: toothpick flags.

it's as easy as 1.2.3.

supplies:

1. toothpicks or bamboo skewers

2. faux pearls, beads, jewels..whatever you have around

3. House of 3 Printables: Christmas Carols and/or Christmas Cheer backgrounds

steps:

1. Stick the tip of the toothpick in the hole of the pearl, bead or jewel. glue it to keep it sturdy.

2. Cut out a Christmas Carol saying & glue around the tooth pick right under the pearl & cut out a notch.

OR.

3. Cut out a long strip of Christmas Cheer paper & do step 2 above, adding a Christmas Carol saying on top to add a word...OR just type: for you. a gift. to: from: etc. customize with your computer for a fun, festive gift tag...then, top your gift with the little flags!

enjoy!