Challenge #43: ANYTHING GOES

Hello, crafters! It is the first day of July and that means it is time for our next challenge to get under way! Before we start I just want to give a big shout out to all my fellow Canadians out there who are celebrating Canada Day today! We're a proud country and proud to be able to call ourselves Canadians! For those of our American friends south of the border, we wish you all a happy Independence Day coming up on July 4th!

I'm flabbergasted that it is already the start of July. That means that today, we are officially entering the second half of the year already! Now I hope that you all are doing better than I am with your stash. Due to unforeseen events, I haven't had the time to get a single Christmas card ready yet this year. If you happen to send out a lot of cards during the holiday season and haven't started your pile yet, it is time to get cracking! If you've been slowly working on your pile, congratulations for getting an early start. Whichever category you fall into, I hope that you'll continue with the quest to work on all those Christmas and other December Holiday cards needed for year end AND share them with us here on our Link Up!

Now, we're doing things a bit different this month over here at The 12 Months of Christmas. This month's link up is technically just for fun as we don't have a guest sponsor lined up. However, you'll still have the chance to win the mini paper kit up for grabs (see details below). In fact, since there is no sponsored prize, I'll be giving away the paper pack to THREE lucky winners. Additionally, those of you who link up two cards during the month will still earn the free digi paper available. So, the only difference is that we won't have a sponsored prize for one lucky winner. We hope that this change won't dissuade you from joining us this month! Before we get started, let's take a look at the basic guidelines for the link up:

The Basics

While you can find out ALL the information you need to know in order to participate in the challenge by checking out the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page (or by clicking HERE), here is a refresher of the basics. Please note that they have been modified to meet the needs of this month's particular link up:

• Anyone can link up as many Christmas and/or December holiday themed cards (including Happy New Year's cards) throughout the month with an ANYTHING GOES theme.
• Every person who has linked up a MINIMUM of two (2) cards will be eligible to receive a specially designed digital paper.
• ALL entries adhering to our basic rules will have the opportunity to win a mini pack of digi papers. This pack will be given out to three random winners this month.

Now that the basics are out of the way, how about we get on with the specific details of Challenge #43.

Challenge #43: ANYTHING GOES

As far as the theme goes, we're leaving that wide open this month. Since many general challenge blogs have a 'Christmas in July' theme, we have decided to capitalize on this and have opted to do an ANYTHING GOES theme BUT don't forget that your card still has to be suitable for CHRISTMAS!

I know, just when some of you are getting the hang of adding FT after your name if you've followed the theme, I come along and tell you you don't have to. However, it is strictly for this challenge I'll be bugging you again next month to do so again. 😉

Now since we don't have a sponsor this month, our Sleigh Belles were presented with the opportunity to work with their favourite images from any of our 2018 sponsors (already showcased, or yet to come later in the year). See what fun they had from these particular 2018 sponsors (clicking on the link will take you to each of the stores featured below):

While team members had the option of working with any of my Décosse's Dynamite Doodles papers, I did create a special set called The Shape of Things 2. Check out the preview...

Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of July will earn ONE of the digital papers from this set. The specific paper up for grabs will be shown during the winner announcement post. Additionally, THREE random winners will earn the full set of papers.

Have your say in determining which paper will be offered to those who link up a minimum of two cards this month by completing the poll below.


DIGI PAPER POLL
Please click "like" to choose the ONE paper that you would like offered up to participants who link up a minimum of two cards during the month of July. Poll will be open until July 31st, 11:59 p.m. EDT. Please note that you can get a better idea of what the actual paper looks like by bringing the preview ABOVE up in the lightbox.

Now check out what the Sleigh Belles came up with to inspire you. Clicking on the names will take you to the individual blogs where you can check out the details for all these wonderful cards...

Julie has used Holiday Tree from Scribbles Designs--

our sponsor for the very first link up of this year.

Helen has used Head Stand - Image no 123 from SheepSki Designs--

our sponsor for our most recent link up in June.

Susan has used Flamingo Christmas from Imagine That Digistamp--

our sponsor during the March link up.

So what are you waiting for? It is time to link up your Christmas and other holiday cards for July!

If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I started it under the 'Introductions' tab and all the details you need to know in order to participate, in the 'Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).

We have a packed month as usual; so, Pat and I and the rest of the gang hope to see you back with us soon!

• Please join us between July 8th & 10th (as long as everything goes according to plan) when we'll be back with the winners and top picks from Challenge #39. 
• Then, be sure to join us again on July 15th, for our midway post where you'll get to see cards created by the Merry Maidens! 
• Pat might be back towards the end of the month with a special Christmas Craft for you to try! So check in around the 23rd or 24th in case she has time this month.
• Other special posts may be published throughout the month. Be sure to sign up to have our posts delivered by email or follow us through Bloglovin' so you don't miss a thing!

CHALLENGE DETAILS SUMMARY
Each month we'll include a summary of details for the particular challenge taking place. If you are new, please be sure to familiarize yourself with all the details and rules in the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page. Please note that dates and times listed below are for this particular challenge only:

• Cards for this challenge will be accepted from 6:00 p.m. (18:00 hrs), July 1st until 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hrs), July 31st, 2018.  All times listed are in EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time).
  
• If you wish to receive the free digi paper being offered up for this month, you need to link up a minimum of two (2) Christmas or holiday themed cards. 
• If you receive a free digi paper, you are not obliged to use it in any future link up; though, if you do create something, be sure to let me know as I'd love to see it.
• This is NOT a progressive challenge. You can jump in at any time.
• You are allowed to enter as many Anything Goes cards as you'd like. HOWEVER, please note that if you enter more than 10 cards, it is possible that you may not receive comments on entries after this number of link ups. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.
  
• Make sure when entering your project that you mention The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up in your post with a link back to this blog.
• Please remember to link directly to your blog post where we can see your creation, and not just the generic link to your blog.

We look forward to seeing you participate!

Link Up Below:
If you have any problems linking up, please be sure to leave a comment.

The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up Challenge #43
Please link up your Anything Goes Christmas and/or December holiday themed CARDS below. Please see above for all the rules and details.

Members of the EU Please Note: 

• By entering your Personal Information (i.e. name, blogpost address, email address) into any type of link up on this blog, you are giving your consent to having your name and blogpost link visible to everyone who visits this site. While we also request that you submit your email address when adding a card to any link up, this particular piece of Personal Information is kept private. It is only visible to me, Lisa Décosse, the owner of this blog or my designate (see more on how your email address is used below).
• By commenting on any post on this blog, you are also giving your consent to having your name and blogpost link visible to everyone who visits this site (unless of course, you have left a comment by remaining anonymous). 
• If you are a winner or top pick in an event that you have entered, a copy of your entry information will be published in a separate winners announcement post. This entry information may include the following: 
• your name and/or possibly your blog name
• the blogpost address of the card that you linked up
• a copy of the image that you originally linked up
• Should you qualify to receive a free digi paper by linking up two or more cards, or possibly win the full set of Digi Papers for any particular month and have linked up two or more cards, we will use the email address provided to send out your prize.

Your continued use of this blog and any services it may provide will constitute your acknowledgement and acceptance of this notice.A full Privacy Policy is being created and when completed will be added to a separate page on this blog.