Challenge #12: Optional Theme--Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Hello and welcome to The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up.   Last month's challenge saw us with an amazing 154 entries.  Wowee!  That is triple what we usually get in a typical  month!  With 24 days left before we reach the big day, let's see how many last minute Christmas cards get linked up in this final challenge of the year.

Oh and heads up! December marks our one year anniversary and some of our DT are moving on so we need to add some new faces to our ranks. Unfortunately, today's post marks Moni's last card with the Sleigh Belles.  Moni has created some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen and it will be a true shame to lose her.  She has been an absolute blessing to have with us here on The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up.  Please join me in wishing Moni the best as she moves forward in life's adventures!

Would you be a good fit with The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up?  Joining the team would allow you to get a great start working on your Christmas card stash for 2016 and if you like playing with digital papers you can add a minimum of six to your collection each month you are with us, plus at least one digi image each month from our fabulous sponsors.  At the end of a six month term you'd amass a minimum of 36 digi papers and six + images.  Stay a year and you earn double that--72 Christmas themed digi papers and 12 + images.  How's that for incentive?!   If you are interested, stay tuned for our DT Call being announced some time in the next week!

And on that note, it is time to get December's challenge under way!

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.
• Every holiday card you submit to the link up, earns you one chance to win a special digital Christmas kit that will be offered up after the year is complete.

Now that the basics are out of the way, how about we get on with the details of Challenge #12.

Challenge #12

Optional Theme:  Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Santa will soon be here. Are you ready for him yet? To ensure you are not on the naughty list you should probably get all those last minute Christmas cards created and sent out. Since you have to make them anyway, why not create one according to our optional theme this month for your chance to win yourself some extra presents this Christmas.

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month, we want to see a Santa image somewhere on your card. Now we are looking to see the big old jolly guy himself, no Santa substitutes please (i.e. no Santa frogs, Santa mice, Santa children, etc).   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.

 

Remember, you don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, and have your name thrown into the year end draw for some extra digital goodies.  You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of 3 digital images from Rick st. Dennis.

Talking about Rick st. Dennis, how about we get to know him a little bit better...

Rick St. dennis MFA has been an artist, designer, stage designer and instructor for over 45 years, you can find his full Bio here. His digital stamp images can be found on Zibbet or Etsy . Inspiration projects from the Rick St.dennis Elite Design Team can be found on the Sparkle and Glitter blog, or for the darker images on the Airless Chambers blog.

Rick also has a personal blog and on Facebook there is the Rick St.dennis Digi fans and friends group, showcase your cards and other projects using RSD images there to be eligible to win prizes.

Main Blog: http://rickstdennis.blogspot.com Stores: https://www.zibbet.com/Rick1949 and https://www.etsy.com/shop/RickStdennis

Check out the incredible 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 Zibbet store where each of these images can be found.

Skating Santa

Santa

Isabella Last Minute Gifts

Starry Night Santa

While team members had the option of working with any of my Décosse's Dynamite Doodles papers, I did create a special set called Santa Claus is Coming to Town, based on the theme for this challenge. Check out the preview...

Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of December 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 in the sidebar on the top right hand side.

Now check out what the Sleigh Belles came up with to inspire you.  Susan had the opportunity to create two cards!  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 December!  Whether you choose to link up two Anything Goes themed cards 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!

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, Monica and I hope to see you back with us soon!

• DT Call coming up later this week!
• Join us on December 8th,when we'll publish the names of the people who earned the free paper for November along with the winners and top picks from Challenge #11.  
• Next, be sure to join us on December 15th, for our midway post where you'll get to see cards created by the Merry Maidens!
• Then on December 23rd, Monica will be back to share the final holiday tradition of the year with you all.
• 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), December 1st - 11:55 p.m. (23:55 hrs), December 31st, 2015.  
• You need to link up a minimum of two (2) Christmas or holiday themed cards each month in order to qualify to receive that month's digital paper.
• This is NOT a progressive challenge.  You can jump in at any time.
• You can link up as many holiday themed cards as you want as long as each entry is with a new project.  No backlinking.  HOWEVER, if you decide to follow the optional theme of  Santa Claus is Coming to Town (see specific details above), only a maximum of three (3) entries will qualify for the draw for this month's prize of  a 3 images to the Rick st. Dennis. store.  You must add 'FT' after you name so we know which cards to add to the random draw for the sponsor's 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. Generic blog links will be disabled or deleted. 
• The winners and top picks for this challenge (#12) will be announced on January 8th in a special post.

We look forward to seeing you participate!

Link Up Below:

An InLinkz Link-up