Challenge #96: ANYTHING GOES CHRISTMAS with the Optional Twist…Out with the OLD AND In with the NEW

Welcome Christmas Crafters! It is the first of the month and time for our new challenge! I hope that you and your families are happy and well! I also hope that your holiday was a pleasant one. 

 

My hubby and I got sick on Christmas day and while we are both on the mend, we're still experiencing lingering symptoms. We finally felt well enough to make our 'Christmas Dinner' last night and it was yummy (tofurkey, rutabaga and a special rice dish that cooks in the oven)! This coming weekend, we're hoping to celebrate 'New Year's'! Hopefully this isn't an omen that I'm going to be two weeks behind throughout the year for other important stuff as well! 😉 Once our festivities are over, we can then put away our Christmas decorations. It is actually the first time in around seven years that we've put them out. While we love Christmas, my hubby's mom died in 2015 and he just didn't feel the 'Christmas spirit'. But we helped my parents get the tree decorated when we were visiting in November and I convinced him it was time for us to get back in the swing of things. It is also the first time in our 33 years of marriage that we've had a Christmas tree and while we didn't have a lot of decorations to put on it, it was still very special. We've had cats almost our entire marriage and cats and Christmas trees are just not a good mix so we never bought one. Our last fur baby died in 2018 and after helping mom with her tree, I knew it was time to get one of our own.

 

Well, it is a brand new year and it is time for our very first link up of 2023 to get underway! As I mentioned in our December posts, in order to give the team a bit of extra down time over the holidays, we decided to wait until today to post our challenge. Now, I realize that the last thing that many of you want to do is think about Christmas right now but it is never too early to get started on all the Christmas and other December Holiday cards you are going to need when December rolls around! I swear, the older I get, the faster time goes; so, we're going to need those Christmas cards sooner than we think!!! For those of you embarking on getting a start to your stash, we'd love to have you join us and add your cards to our Link Up for a chance to win some goodies! 

If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I created it under the Introductions tab and all the details you need to know in order to participate, by checking out the Challenge Details tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog). For your convenience, a summary of the most important rules can be found in the right sidebar under the heading Basic Rules Summary.

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

 

Challenge #96

  ANYTHING GOES with the 

Optional Twist: Out with the OLD AND In with the NEW

Our theme, as always, is ANYTHING GOES CHRISTMAS (or in celebration of other December holidays). If you want to challenge yourself, you can always follow our optional twist of Out with the OLD AND In with the NEW. 

 

It is a brand new year and odds are that you will have acquired some new crafting items over the holidays. There are also good odds on the fact that there is probably stuff in your stash that you have never touched, or at least haven't touched for quite a while. That is why we've decided that the optional twist for January is Out with the OLD AND In with the NEW -- Use something OLD (an old piece of equipment that hasn't been used in at least six months) or something from your stash that is more than one year old; PLUS use something NEW (a brand new embossing folder, punch or other new item you've acquired) or use something that you received during the holidays or acquired in the last three months.

Keep in mind though, that you don't need to follow the twist to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month or for a chance to win your choice of TWO Christmas or Winter themed mini kits of digital papers from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles. Following the twist is simply for fun and to challenge yourself if you'd like.
  

Here is a preview of January's paper for those adding TWO cards to this month's link up:

 

 

 

Now check out what the Sleigh Belles came up with to inspire you. Clicking on the DT names will take you to the individual blogs where you can check out the specific details for these wonderful cards. Be sure to visit them so you can find out what OLD and NEW items each of them used.

 

 

 

 

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

 

Please remember that this is a CARDS ONLY link up. While we've had some lovely tag entries, ornaments and other creative projects in the past, we've sadly had to disqualify them.

Please join us again on January 20th, for our midway post when the Merry Maidens will be here to share their awesome cards. January 20th falls about the midpoint between the 8th and 31st which is why we've decided to post the midway at that time. If everything goes according to plan, an outstanding winner announcement will also be posted before month's end as long as I can pull it off. I had hoped to catch up on one in December but with getting ready for the holidays and then getting sick, things didn't go according to plan. Oh well. As much as it pains me to be so far behind, there is nothing I can do about it other than get caught up as I am able to.

 

Other special posts may be published throughout the month. Be sure to follow us through Bloglovin' so you don't miss a thing!

We look forward to seeing you participate!

Link Up Below:
Cards for this challenge will be accepted from 6:00 p.m. (18:00 hrs), January 8th until 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hrs), January 31st, 2023 (all times listed are in Eastern Time).  Please click the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page above for all the rules and details. Maximum 10 entries.