Challenge #45 AND #46 Winner Announcements

Okay, so now that the midway is out of the way, I can get back to the winner announcement! Slowly but surely, we're starting to make some headway with them. After today we only have 3 more to go!

Today, I'm here to announce the winners and our top three Stocking Stuffers from Challenge #45 and also Challenge #46. So, are you one of those lucky peeps?! Let's find out!

 For Challenge #45:

***#48. Katrina***

You are the winner of a $15.00 gift certificate to the Sparkle N Sprinkle store, our guest sponsor for September (chosen by miniwebtool.com based on all eligible entries).

For Challenge #46:
***#44. Megan***

You are the winner of THREE images from the Pattie's Creations store, our guest sponsor for October (chosen by miniwebtool.com based on all eligible entries).

Katrina and Megan, please send an email to the_12_moc_linkup {at} outlook {dot} com (or click HERE to bring the address up in your email program), with the subject, "12MoC Challenge #4- WINNER" (be sure to put the actual number of the challenge you won in the subject line) to make arrangements to receive your prize. Please note that it may take me upwards of a couple of weeks to get back to you. Thank you for your patience. In the interim, please grab a copy of the winner badge below for your blog.

Next, it is time to get on with showcasing the top three. With so many wonderful entries to choose from, it is always such a difficult task for the design team. For Challenge #45, Helen N., Helen G. and Suze, are scheduled to choose their favourite card. So, without further ado, here are the Stocking Stuffers for September:

***#2. Anet***
 

***#10. Ans***
 

***#13. Wies***

For Challenge #46, Marji, Susan and Helen N. are scheduled to choose their favourite card. Thus, here are the Stocking Stuffers for October:

 ***#42. Hazel*** 

***#62. Megan***
 

***#4. Rosina***

Congrats to our top three Stocking Stuffers from each of these challenges! Anet, Ans, Wies, Hazel, Megan and Rosina please grab a copy of the badge below for your blog.

To all of you who linked up during September and/or October, thanks ever so much! We are so happy to have all of you with us and hope that you'll continue to link up your holiday cards as you start to work on your stash for 2019!!!

Everyone who links up two cards each month is eligible to receive a free digital paper. The individuals who linked up a minimum of two cards each during the month of SEPTEMBER, qualifying them to receive the digital paper from that month, will receive the Owl with the Top Hat paper which can be seen in the top right section of the Have a Tweet Holiday preview shown below.

The winner of The Have a Tweet Holiday Mini Kit from Challenge #45 is

Heidi W.

(chosen by random.org)

 
Heidi, please send an email to the_12_moc_linkup {at} outlook {dot} com (or click HERE to bring the address up in your email program), with the subject, "12MoC Challenge #45 PAPER KIT WINNER" to make arrangements to receive your prize.

Now here is where gets a little hinky. Sadly, I still have not completed the paper set from October. That month was right in the crux of problems with my mom's health and things kept getting more and more piled up. I had to make an executive decision to drop that set and move on to making November's set before it got way behind as well. So, now I am left with still having to complete October's set. Thankfully, I have at least figured out what I want to do and gathered some images. That alone is a giant step especially as I still have to keep up with the new sets as well.

That leaves me with a bit of a conundrum for giving away the paper and set for October, so here is what I'm proposing. Those of you who linked up two cards for the month of October will still receive a paper and you won't have to wait too long for it. I'm going to give you the Hats paper from the You'd Better Not Pout Kit which was offered up in October of 2015. Now don't worry, if you were playing and linking up two cards back then, this is a different paper from that set that was sent out. Now as far as giving away the full set, I'm going to give the winner a choice which I'll explain in the paragraph below.

The winner of the Winter Gear 1 Mini Kit from Challenge #46 is

Maria (Ivy Leaf Crafts)

(chosen by random.org)

 
Maria, please send an email to the_12_moc_linkup {at} outlook {dot} com (or click HERE to bring the address up in your email program), with the subject, "12MoC Challenge #46 PAPER KIT WINNER" to make arrangements to receive your prize. Let me know which one of the options listed below that you'd prefer:

1. you can wait for me to complete the Winter Gear 1 Mini Kit and I'll send it out to you when it is done (though I can't say when it will actually be made, only that eventually it will be); OR
2. you can choose from any of the Mini Kits (i.e. paper kits with SIX papers in them) from either the Christmas or Winter sections of my personal blog (click HERE to find them, roughly 1/4 of the way down the page).

Well folks, that is it for today. After getting two posts done, it is time for me to crawl back into bed and work on healing some more. While you are here, please be sure to check out the details for our current challenge going on now (if you haven't already), with the Optional Twist this month of "Penguin Power". You can find out all the details along with the link up, by clicking HERE.

Until next time,

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

Welcome back folks. It is the 15th of the month and time for our midway.

Before we start though, I just want to say thank you to the lovely ladies who left comments offering their sympathies regarding our recent family loss and for the other difficulties we've been enduring these past months. It was sweet and kind of you and very much appreciated.

Now, it is time to get back to business. As we are halfway through the month of September, it is time to see what the Merry Maidens have been up to with the the following wonderful images from Sparkle N Sprinkle, our guest sponsor this month!

Cardinal & Holly Digital Stamp Set [Digi895FS]

Christmas Goose Digital Stamp Set [Digi721b]

Winter Flamingos Set 1 Digital Stamp Set [DIGI860SK]

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 Sparkle N Sprinkle a visit when you have the chance! You are sure to find something to add to your wish list while you are there!

Unfortunately, due to all of the difficult issues I'm currently facing in my personal life, I have not as of yet had the chance to put together this month's digital paper set. No worries though, there will definitely be a digi paper available to the those people who link up two cards this month. Additionally, if I can't get this particular set finished in time for the winner announcement, there will be an alternate set to choose from.

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.

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 September. 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 #45

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.
 

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 #45 by clicking HERE.

Don't Forget, if everything goes according to plan...

• I'll try to post at least one more winner announcement before the month is out. 
• Our new challenge will start on October 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!

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.

Challenge #43 Midway: ANYTHING GOES

Hello and happy Sunday folks! Amazingly, we are already halfway through the month of July, and as such it is time to see what the Merry Maidens have been up to. If you missed the start post, we're doing things a bit different this month 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!

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 with these particular 2018 sponsors (clicking on the link will take you to each of the stores featured below):

Thank you so much to all of wonderful sponsors during the 2018 year. While these are just a few of the awesome companies supporting our Link Ups this year, you can find the remaining sponsors on our Sponsor & Prize Info page by clicking HERE. Please pop over and pay these amazing artists a visit when you have the chance! There would be no Link Up without them and you are certain 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 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 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. Donna from the Sleigh Belles is joining us for the midway as well. Donna has been on a leave of absence the past couple of months but was able to join us for the midway of this challenge and will back with the Sleigh Belles for the August Link Up.

Donna has used Woodland Santa from Scribbles Designs--

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

Marji has used Peace from Sparkle N Sprinkle--
our sponsor lined up for September of this year.

Pat has used Love Angel from A Day for Daisies--

our sponsor during the May link up.

 Suze has used Christmas Tree Light Bulb from Limited Runs--

our sponsor during the May link up (Nikki is in the midst of a store update
so if you want the image, just write and ask her).

Granmargaret has used Canção de Natal from Mari Digis--

our sponsor during the February link up.

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 July. 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 (there are three up for grabs this month), or link up two of them simply to earn your free paper this month, 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 #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. 😉

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 #43 by clicking HERE.

Don't Forget, if everything goes according to plan...

• I'll try to post winner announcement before the month is out. 
• Our new challenge will start on August 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!