cReative Team Tuesday: Halloween Gifts!

One of my favorite things is to see my cReative Team cReate amazing projects w/ my Rhonna Designs! And today you will LOVE what they have done...it's all about Halloween Gifts today!

Look at what our international crafter, Jing, has for us! A delightful Halloween CD gift- all created w/ Rhonna Designs SPOOKY & SPOOKY JUNQUE! She's quite the hostess!

Here's what Jing says:

"CD name/menu card – I used Herma CD stickers and spritzed it with Glimmer Mist – totally cool! But it didn’t capture in my photo. Plus another cool thing… I was in the mood to use my silhouette machine … I used the ribbon pattern with my silhouette – fast and easy! What I normally put in the CD? … our favorite music and sometimes photos depending on who are the guests."

Isn't that fantastic! Thanks so much, Jing...you always amaze!

Rosemary created this fabulous neighbor gift out of Rhonna Designs..I"m IN LOVE! 

I just adore this...so cute, so fun & so creative! Thanks, so much Rosemary...you are simply incredible!

And Amy's throwing a Halloween party for her daughter & created these fabulous little favors. She created them out of TP rolls, book paper- filled them w/ candy & topped off w/ doilies & Rhonna Designs. Oh my...in love w/ these, too!

Thanks girls for truly uplifting and inspiRing us all! Now...go, cReate your last goodies before Halloween tomorrow! Can you believe it's almost November? wow! 

P.S. a HUGE thanks & shout out to Home Goods!  & Nancy...for encouraging me to enter! 

If you are on Instagram, you might have seen their contest? Amy & my spark sister, Margie were both finalists & was totally surprised when they just informed me...I WON! I'm feeling very humbled & honored....& ...still surprised! I LOVE their store & am so thankful!  I'll be sure to share what I purchased there!!! so excited! Thanks, again, Home Goods!

Idea No. 31: 31 Halloween Ideas w/ Rhonna Designs: Spooky Typography & a Birthday Celebration!

Aaannnddd here we are...Our last idea for Halloween! I love using the fonts & brushes from Rhonna Designs Spooky kits to make NEW cReations! See? This cute little card was created w/ a bunch of various elements, mixed w/ type & voila! 

Idea No. 31: Spooky Typography!

(above: window decal on vintage silver platter; 'scream' banner created w/ the Mini Banners Brush kit, & the little paper bows are created with the Rhonna Designs Paper Bow Template w/ Spooky Printable Papers! 

and...because it's my Birthday & I LOVE to give gifts to others on my birthday....HERE is a free download so YOU can print off this fun typography piece! **personal use only. Please do not share, pirate, or resell/manipulate.  Thanks!

Now...a word about celebrations!

sit down...this is my gratuitous birthday rant...hee hee.

I am turning 45 today. Mid forties...yes. and,  I love it. I am embracing it. & I think it's FUN & cause for celebration!

In fact, I think every phase of our life is cause for celebration! No matter what our age, circumstances...whatever. The trick is: FIND something to celebrate! I promise it will put a spring in your step.

My mom- the amazing women who labored to bring me into this world...45 years ago today...is my example of this. She's 70 & is one of THE happiest, sassiest, most content & fulfilled women I know. She embraces her phase in life & grows older w/ grace & beauty. I want to be just like her.

I think too much of our society is focused on 'staying young'...looking young, trying to be young- like people are kicking & screaming into the later phases of their lives w/ lotions, cremes, surgery, drinks, foods, you name it...youth is portrayed as 'desirable' & 'growing old' is taboo? and somehow BAD? um...no. it's natural.  And there's no getting around it. *obviously is you are still young...enjoy it & feel good about yourself NOW!** 

I'm embracing my body changing. I look in the mirror & I have wrinkles around my eyes, my mouth, my neck, my lips, my forehead.....I have sags in certain places. *ahem* ...but you know what? I love it! I embrace it! All of this just shows that I'm living a happy, fulfilled life as a woman, wife, mother, & friend! I love life! It's cause for celebration.

So...with this free gift I only ask ONE thing today:

Turn around & show some kindness to someone else. 

Can you imagine what amazing things can happen if we ALL do at least ONE act of kindness to someone today? 

JOIN IN & you can use the hashtag:

#spreadthelove

birthday + 

free gift + 

pay it forward + 

spread the love = 

day of celebration

Let's celebrate by bringing life, light & JOY into someone's life...

& I'd LOVE to hear about it! Comment & let me know...that would be sooo incredible!

So...enjoy your day! LOVE you all! & remember....have fun. be kind. embrace your BEST self! You are loved!

xoxox

Idea No. 29 & 30: 31 Halloween Ideas w/ Rhonna Designs: Spooky Tassels & DIY Wreath

We are nearing the end of our 31 Halloween Ideas Series & today I've got some fun ones! All about DIY & Recycle/repurpose crafting! Along w/ some Rhonna Designs hybird crafting, of course!

How about a Recycled DIY Tassel Garland made out of old shirts, shopping bags & tissue paper...all things you most likely have around your house! And a regular feather wreath all Spooked up!

Idea No. 29: Spooky Tassels

Recycled DIY Tassel Garland:

I took this tutorial from Prudent Baby & modified it w/ the various materials I worked with:

recycled Forever 21 bag

old plaid shirt

leftover mylar tissue paper

I followed the tutorial (thanks, Prudent Baby, for such a great one!) on making these tassels, then strung them up on jute twine & voila! A festive, in expensive garland for my front door. I love this because it's weatherproof! *wink*

My whole 'door scape' is all about recycling! I recycled the It's Time Printable clocks into a garland, added my OLD spider web (which I love now that it's all ripped & torn) & used old wrapping paper to create fringed flowers (accented w/ vintage paper leaves) on the Rhonna Designs Dotty Printable paper lolly! Simply bewitching, I might add!

Simply fold the clocks in half, leave plain OR you can use doilies as well...i loved  mixing it up here!

Cute cute!

For the leaves of the Lolly, I simply created them out of vintage book paper & fringed the sides, for a feathery look...I love how it turned out!

Anndd....how many of you have the regular old feather wreaths? I've had black & white ones for years & i LOVE them because they are such a staple. You can do so may things w/ them. Add a Lolly inside.  a wreath in a wreath or

little mini buntings like this one!

But, for this year's Halloween door wreath, I combined both of those ideas WITH this vintage paper wreath from Valentine's day to create.....

Idea No. 30: Spooky DIY Wreath

Love this one because of all of the other DIY elements mixed in to create a huge SPOOKY DIY Wreath!  I still have all the elements I loved of my other wreaths, but just created my own version for this year! 

I loved mixing the Spooky Junque mini banners w/ the picks and the modern Spooky collection with the vintage book paper, kraft paper & pearl...all juxtaposed w/ the feathers! mmm....loving it!

So...there you have it! enjoy & be sure to come back tomorrow for our final idea AND a fun, FUN Birthday giveaway! 

mmmwah!

Idea No. 27 & 28: 31 Halloween Ideas w/ Rhonna Designs: Spooky Handmade Cards & Instagram fun

Now that Halloween is getting closer...It's time to ramp up & be ready to send out Halloween greeting cards, attach a handmade card to some goodies for a teacher, or neighbor or how about simply creating handmade Halloween cards for the sheer fun of it!

Today's first idea in our 31 Halloween Ideas series comes from cReative Team Member, Nancy Wyatt! I love her easy handmade cards...go on over to her blog for her little tutorial! She's simply amazing!

Idea No. 27: Spooky Handmade Cards

I adore these little monsters....they re so cute..& I LOVE how she took my fave little guy & printed & cut it out...adhered & ka POW! such a fab & easy Handmade Halloween Card...hybrid crafting at its finest! Thanks, Nancy...

Idea No. 28: Spooky Instagrams

And....you know we will all be taking a bunch of pictures at Halloween of all the festivities, right? Well, LOOK at how cool cReative Team Member, Susan, made her Spooky photo? 

She passed it through Instagram for the various filter effects & voila! Super Spooky Instagrams! Love this inspiration Susan...thanks so much!

ok, bloggers...2 days & counting...until the final ideas AND our big celebration on Tuesday, October 23!!!!

Idea No. 25 & 26: 31 Halloween Ideas w/ Rhonna Designs: Spooky Chalkboard Art & Tips n Tricks

If you have never seen the amazing Dana Tanamachi's chalkboard art, you're missing out. I have loved her style for a long time & being the doodley, chalkboard, handwriting lover that I am....this was something I've had a lot of fun with. So, for today's segment in our 31 Halloween Ideas I wanted to show you some up close & personal bits of my Halloween chalkboards I have sprinkled all over my house w/ tons of Rhonna Designs, of course.....& 

how about 6 tips & tricks for creating your own chalkboard art.

Ideas No. 25 & 26: Spooky Chalkboard Art & Tips n Tricks

Tips: 

1. Check out format. When I start a chalkboard project, I take into consideration whether it is a vertical or horizontal area. This will make a difference on what kind of frame, writing & space I have to work with.  **Some like to sketch out their ideas...I am a freehand kind of person, so I just go to town!

2. Decide on wording, quote, or images. Shown above is a whole chalkboard wall in my home: about 4' wide from ceiling to floor. It's a large space & I knew I just wanted to fill it with a bunch of spooky words, bats, stars, swirls, phrases, etc. I start from top to bottom & just fill in w/ shapes, scallops..& have fun! If I need to erase, it's no worries...I just erase it..after all..it's only chalk!

3. Combine font styles. Above is the bottom part of that wall for a close up.  A combination of shapes, images & font styles make it interesting to the eye. 

**have fun with cursive script....loosen that wrist & get going! It adds a lot to the design of your chalkboard art!

Now...for Idea No. 26...the tricks of the trade I've learned w/ lots of practice!

Tricks:

1. Prep your board. This is called seasoning.  Once you've got a newly painted or brand new chalkboard, it's all black & purdy, right? Well, if you took your chalk & started creating your art....it would make a ghost impression & no matter how much you erase...you will see those lines. Not cool, huh? So....Season your chalkboard surface by taking a chalk piece on its side & chalking the entire surface. Erase. & you are ready to go. 

***A word about erasing.  I find a soft, old cloth works the best. PLUS I love how easily you can get into little places whilst creating your chalk art. In my opinion, normal erasers are a pain!

2.  Practice chalking.  It's chalk. So let loose, have fun & ERASE when you need to! I have to say...when I am doing a wall or board ...I have lots of do-overs & erase, erase, erase! To get back to that fresh, black board...simply dampen your erasing cloth. Watch some of Dana's Time Lapse videos...pure inspiration! You'll see how she does it!

3. Choose your chalk. Discover which kind of chalk you like to use. Regular old chalk sticks are my weapon of choice. They are inexpensive, come in a box & I can break them into the sizes I want! LOL!

But....I've found that SOME surfaces are really difficult to chalk on if they are either REALLY smooth (the chalk can just slip off) OR if they are REALLY textured....it's crazy to try to make a straight line for that!  So, I have found a more expensive tool I love called: Bistro Chalk Pens. um...yea. liquid chalk? in a pen? sooo easy, so fun! But I have found that no matter how much you season, it does leave some ghosting...so, I would suggest using it on a surface/project that won't be chalked very often. 

See the bold difference? I re-did my huge clock in my family room & decided I wanted to paint the inside of the clock w/ chalkboard paint. I won't be chalking this very often & it's super slippery, so the Bistro Chalk Pens worked great. You can erase them w/ a wet cloth, but....be prepared...it's not as forgiving as regular ol' chalk. ( I also did our vintage trailer (Dazey) door w/ this...the door is textured & I knew the quote I wanted would have to withstand rain, dirt, etc....& the pen chalk worked great!& HERE on our little fridge inside the trailer.)

**another fun tip: wet your chalk for a cool effect. Kind of like the 'liquid chalk' effect, but still lots of texture.

I've had so many questions about my chalkboard art: What chalk do you use to get those tiny thin lines? & the thick lines?

well.....I use the regular ol' chalk sticks from Crayola...or Rose Art...whatever is on sale...BUT...

to get the varying widths, I have a little secret.

now...lean in closer.

closer.

shhh..... listening?

my secret?? mix & match sizes...

 How do you get thin lines? thick lines? 

thin lines? I use an old make up pencil sharpener (you know, the wide ones) & just sharpen the ends of the sticks according to the width I want them to be....cool, huh?

thick lines? I break the pieces into the width i want, turn it on its side & draw...see the thick lines on my huge chalkboard 'S'? yup...a piece of chalk broken to about an inch & then written on the side. Now...don't get all break happy at first, because you will have plenty of pieces breaking...so, save those & use them for wider letters & larger images! 

So...there ya go...my 6 tips & tricks for creating your own chalkboard art.  
Sprinkle it all around your house for a little Halloween magic...a dash of Rhonna Designs...& you are sure to have a Spooky Halloween!

Ideas No. 23 & 24: 31 Halloween Ideas w/ Rhonna Designs: Spooky Cards & Lollies

I wanted to combine these two ideas today because I just LOVE how this looks in my home: a Lolly Wall + a Card Carousel. Fun & festive...not TOO spooky *wink* but using Rhonna Designs it's such a WOW -KaPOW impact! I have this right when you enter my house & I can't tell you how many people love it! It's so fun!

Ideas No. 23 & 24: Spooky Cards & Lollies

The cards are just printed out from the super easy Printable kit: Spooky Frameables Kit.  These are pre-designed & ready to print out. AND they come in 8x10 print outs so it's easy to create good sized cards or you can downsize them & make smaller 4x6 which is what I did here.  But, I also LOVE that they come in mini card sizes: 3x4. Perfect for small gift tags, cards, Halloween Favors, Hostess gifts...you name it!

Here are some fun close ups of the cards...you can see I added some extras & created some NEW cards using the Washi Tape kit, the Insta Spooky Kit & the Spooky Silhouettes kit!

The name: Frameables tells you just what these lil pre-made goodies were designed for: YOU!  I love this little 'Drink Me' one. So cute printed out & set up by some 'potion' for your 'ghouls'...I have it framed & sitting by THE most adorable little bottle my sweet friend, Jamie, brought me back from Turkey! 

You can see I added the Spooky Junque Frame to it...love that kit!  And, of course...my vintage paper flowers I made last year STILL are getting used! *wink* 

Now for the LOLLY WALL!  Let me tell you....I've been addicted to lollies since Spark No. 1  years ago...they are fast, fun, cheap & easy to make! Here's my video tutorial using vintage book pages, BUT...the fun thing is: YOu can make these out of ANYTHING...HUGE ones w/ newspaper, like we had at spark, or wrapping paper? YES! 

On this wall, I've got all sizes...but, I'm LOVING how the chevron ones turned out...and the stripes. and the ....haha! ALL of them! Love this wall....makes me SO happy!

Varying the size is a fun way to get creative.  LOVE the huge Lollies all the way down to the tiny tiny lollies! Seriously...the large polka dot one is created out of wrapping paper so it's about 30" to the tiny vintage book paper lollies at 3.5 inches.

 Mixing and matching the Spooky Backgrounds w/ polka dot wrapping paper & vintage book & dictionary paper adds such a fun look...very Spooky Junque vibe, *wink*

And...wanted to add this bonus idea: Try taking the Rhonna Designs Paper Bow Template & printing it out w/ your favorite Rhonna Designs Printable papers ONTO inkjet fabric paper! THEN...create the bow! I did this here for this Lolly, added a foil doily & then silk ribbon....mmmm...i Love this Lolly!

Isn't that fun? So...get cReating & show me what you've got brewin' for your Halloween Ideas! 

Tomorrow I'm sharing my fun ideas & tips for my FAVE Halloween décor accent: chalkboard walls! 

Happy cReating!