Challenge #45: Optional Theme...Have a TWEET Christmas

Hello there folks. For those of you living in Canada or the United States, I hope that you will have the opportunity to enjoy this long Labour Day weekend.

If you are waiting on the winner announcements, once again I have to apologize. Just when I thought the difficulties of these past several months had finally started turning around, things have taken off in the other direction again. I have injured myself, my mom was rushed to the hospital last week and is still there, and sadly, my husband's sister had a massive stroke on Tuesday and died on Thursday afternoon. As you can imagine, I don't have six hours a day to spend behind a computer right now. The only promise I can make is that I'll do my best to catch up as soon as I am able. What I might do for sake of expediency, is to just combine a couple of the outstanding winner announcements and make the posts as basic as possible so that we can get caught up. Your patience during this extremely difficult time is appreciated.

It is hard to believe but it is the first day of September already and that means it is time for our next challenge to get under way! Just 3 months and 24 days until the big day arrives. Given the year I have had so far, I haven't managed to get a single card created but I am hoping that many of you have at least made some headway into your own piles. Thus, it is time to continue with your quest to work on all those Christmas and other December Holiday cards you will need for year end! To provide you with some extra incentive to get your cards completed, we have some lovely prizes available! So, why not join us for your chance to win?!

It is now time to get down to the business of our latest challenge. Here is what you need to know...

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.

• 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 Christmas themed digital paper.
• Each month there will be an OPTIONAL theme to follow. Anyone who submits a card adhering to the monthly theme, will have the chance to win a prize from that month's guest sponsor.
• ALL entries adhering to our basic rules also have the opportunity to win a mini pack of digi papers each month as well.

Now that the basics are out of the way, how about we get on with the details of Challenge #45.

Challenge #44

Optional Theme:
 Have a TWEET Christmas

Did you know that birds play an interesting role during the Christmas season? In fact there are an array of birds associated with Christmas and for different reasons. First off, the robin seems to be a favourite on Christmas cards. From a religious perspective the robin is a symbol of Christ. The robin is said to have obtained his red breast after being smeared with the blood of Christ when the robin removed a thorn from Christ’s crown while up on the cross. During the Victorian era in England when the Royal Mail came into existence, the robin became associated with Christmas as the postmen’s uniforms were bright red earning them the nickname REDBREASTS. For this reason and also for the fact that the robins was present during the winter, it led to the frequent depiction of robins delivering the mail in Christmas card images. Other birds are associated with Christmas due to their addition in the song 'The 12 Days of Christmas' which features several avian species including a partridge, French hens, turtle doves, calling birds, geese and swans! Then of course there are the birds associated with the Christmas Day feast: turkeys, chickens and geese again. Of course, since I'm a vegetarian, I'll just honour those birds in a different way. ;) Even flamingoes and other birds seem to be making their way into Christmas appearing on gift wrap, in decorations and other items throughout the holidays. And of course, who could forget about all the lovable birds that live at the North Pole? Penguins star noticeably at this time of year as well.

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 ONE OR MORE BIRDS featured prominently in your overall design. The bird(s) can serve as part of the image you use, or feature heavily in the papers you choose. It also doesn't matter what kind of bird you choose. As long as it has a beak, feathers and some wings, the choice of bird is completely 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 Sparkle N Sprinkle store.

Reference: 
Nick the Greek. (2012). BIRDS OF CHRISTMAS. Available: http://ladyoftheloch.co.uk/birds-of-christmas/. Last accessed 11th Aug. 2018.
 

Talking about Sparkle N Sprinkle, it is time to refresh ourselves with the details of this returning sponsor…

Sparkle N Sprinkle is a small company with a big heart owned and operated by Margaret Myers. SNS specializes in hand-mixed embossing powders and glitters. Our quality, deeply etched rubber stamps are closely cropped on Cling Mount Cushion ready for your acrylic block. Produced in our local Shoppe in Ruskin, Florida, the stamps are already indexed on a laminated color storage sheet for your convenience. SNS sells a variety of other paper crafting tools and products, including a new line of digital stamps and many other exclusive products.

Here is the hyper link for the website: https://sparklensprinkle.net/

"Please come visit us at........ We'd love to have you stop by."

SNS Website: https://sparklensprinkle.net/

Challenge Blog (now on Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/groups/SparkleNSprinkleChallenge/?ref=br_rs

SNS Blog: https://sparklensprinkle.net/blogs/news

Check out the adorable images that the team worked with this month for the start of the challenge. Clicking on any of the image watermarks will take you to their page in the Sparkle N Sprinkle store where each of these images can be found.

Winter Flamingos Set 1 Digital Stamp Set [DIGI860SK]

 

Winter Flamingos Set 2 Digital Stamp Set [DIGI861SK]

Grumpy Goose Digital Stamp Set [Digi823B]
 

You'll get to see more amazing projects using images from our sponsor during our midway so be sure to come back again at that time!

Sadly it has become the norm these past few months that having the paper set ready at the start of the challenge is a hit or miss. Given the latest series of events in my life, I haven't had a moment to even start this month's set. I'm not sure whether it will get done in time for a poll at the midway, but there will definitely be one ready for the prize. If I do manage to get the set completed in time, I'll upload the preview and get the poll added. Once again, this means that no one from the Sleigh Belles team will be using the new set and it is hard to say whether it will be done in time for anyone from the Merry Maidens to use. In case you're wondering, the set will be composed of a three or four papers with cutesy birds, and then a couple of complimentary papers. 

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...

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

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!

• The winner announcements will posted as soon as I can manage.
• Then, be sure to join us again on September 15th, for our midway post where you'll get to see cards created by the Merry Maidens! 
• Pat will hopefully be here towards the end of the month with something special to share!
• 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), September 1st until 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hrs), September 30th, 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 follow the optional theme for the chance to win this month's prize of a $15.00 gift certificate from Sparkle N Sprinkle, only a maximum of three (3) entries will qualify for the sponsored draw.
• 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.
• 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 #45
Please link up your Anything Goes Christmas and/or December holiday themed CARDS with the optional theme of Have a TWEET Christmas below. Don't forget that 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. 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.