Before we start though, we need to say a sad farewell to Diane Louise. She has been on leave for the last few months and was set to return in September but has instead decided to step down permanently. Diane Louise has been an active member of the Merry Maidens for just a little over a year, having joined us in January of 2017 and only recently going on leave in April of this year. It has been an absolute pleasure having this incredibly talented lady as part of our team and she will be most definitely missed! I hope that you will all join me in wishing Diane Louise the best of luck as she moves on to new adventures in her life.
Now, it is time to get back to business. As we are halfway through the month of August, it is time to see what the Merry Maidens have been up to with their wonderful images from Lunagirl, our guest sponsor this month!
102 Vintage Victorian Angels Download Pack
Joyeux Noel Digital Collage Sheet
Old Fashioned Christmas Tags Collage Sheet
Victorian Christmas Digital Collage Sheet
Christmas Birds and Holly
Thank you so much to this month's generous sponsor for providing such
amazing designs for the team to work with! Please pop over and pay Lunagirl a visit when you have the chance! You are sure to find something to add to your wish list while you are there!
While team members had the option of working with any of my Décosse's Dynamite Doodles papers, I did finally finish creating a special set called Christmas Greenery. Check out the preview:
Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of August 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, one random winner 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 August. Poll will be open until August 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 Merry Maidens 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. Helen from the Sleigh Belles is joining us for the midway as well. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, she wasn't able to get her project done for the start of the challenge but thankfully is able to showcase her card during the midway.
So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for? It is time to link up your Christmas and other holiday cards for August. Whether you choose to link up ANY type of Christmas or holiday card you've made for a chance to win this month's Paper Kit, or link up two of them simply to earn your free paper this month, or you choose to also follow the optional theme to have a chance at the sponsor's prize, it is completely up to you!
Here is a refresher of the details for this challenge...
Please remember that this is a CARDS ONLY link up. While we've had some lovely tag entries in the past, we've sadly had to disqualify them.
Challenge #44
Optional Theme: Add Some Greenery
Did you know that the Greenery we so often associate with the Christmas season has been used throughout history? It was originally used by Pagans during the winter solstice and then adopted by Western Europeans after the rise of Christianity. Once adopted by the Christians, the Greenery was given meanings associated with the religion. To this day many homes, businesses, churches and other locations still decorate with some form of greenery at Christmas time. Whether it is in the form of holly, ivy, laurel, yew, fir, rosemary or pine, the holiday season just wouldn't be the same without some greenery hanging about all over the place!
That is why this month, in order to have a chance to win the prize from our guest sponsor, we want you to create a card that has GREENERY featured prominently in your overall design. The great thing is that there are lots of ideas to choose from including Christmas trees, wreaths, holly and berries, ivy, pine boughs, poinsettia plants, and of course, mistletoe! Which ever form of greenery you choose is totally up to you!
If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize. Keep in mind though, that you don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month or for a chance to win the featured paper set. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of a $15.00 gift certificate to the Lunagirl store.
(Reference: Cooper, James. (2000-2018). Holly, Ivy and Christmas Plants. Available: https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/hollyandivy.shtml. Last accessed 5th Jul 2018.)
If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I started it under the 'Introductions' tab. As this is a different kind of link up where we have both an Anything Goes Christmas or other December Holiday option AND an
optional theme to follow, be sure to read all the details and rules you
need to know in order to participate, by checking out the 'Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).
You can find the Challenge Details Summary along with the link up for
Challenge #44 by clicking HERE.
Challenge #44 by clicking HERE.
Don't Forget, if everything goes according to plan...
- I'll try to post two winner announcements before the month is out.
- Our new challenge will start on September 1st.
- 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!
We look forward to seeing you participate!
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