Challenge #16: Optional Theme--Gifts Galore

Hello and welcome to The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up.  It is a brand new month and time for our next challenge to get under way!  Sadly, while I did manage to get the winner announcement for #13 posted, I still haven't been able to catch up with #14.  I have a feeling that I'm going to be perpetually behind one now unless a little fairy who can grant me the wish of stopping the clock for awhile shows up.  However, since we know the odds of that aren't good...well, I can only thank you ahead of time for your patience.

Now let's get on with the new challenge...

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 #16.

Challenge #16

Optional Theme:  Gifts Galore

Gift giving is a fun part of Christmas and something we all look forward. Whether we are giving or receiving, it is always fun to watch the surprised faces on Christmas morning when opening up our packages. While it may be a bit early for gift giving, let's add some presents to our cards this month.

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month, make sure that your card has an example of a gift or present on it.  Th gift can be part of the image, in your papers or even as a prominently featured embellishment.  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 a $12.00 gift certificate from Sami Stamps.

Talking about Sami Stamps, how about a refresher on what the company is all about...

Hello! I'm so happy to be here as a Sponsor for the 12 Months of Christmas! Sami Stamps provides a variety of high quality Digital Stamps in both JPEG and PNG formats. I hope you enjoy crafting with Sami Stamps images as much as I enjoy illustrating them!

If you're having fun here, please feel free to come check us out!

Click HERE to go to the Main Blog, click HERE to go to the Blog Shop, and HERE to go to Sami's Etsy Shop.

Check out the sweet images that the team worked with this month for the start of the challenge. Clicking on the first two image watermarks will take you to the Christmas and Gifts page in the Sami Stamps store where each of these images can be found.  The third image can be found in the Winter section.

While team members had the option of working with any of my Décosse's Dynamite Doodles papers, I did create a special set aptly called Gifts Galore.  Check out the preview...

 Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of April 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.   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 April!  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 and the rest of the gang hope to see you back with us soon!

• Join us on April 4th when Pat will be here to share a holiday tradition with us all.
• Then on April 8th, we hope to publish the names of the winners and top picks from one of our previous challenges.  While I can't make any promises I will try to work on the second one as well.
• Be sure to join us again on April 15th, for our midway post where you'll get to see cards created by the Merry Maidens!
• Then during the third week of April, Monica should be here to share a Christmas recipe with us 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), April 1st - 11:55 p.m. (23:55 hrs), April 30th, 2016.  
• 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. 
• 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.  HOWEVER, if you decide to follow the optional theme of Gifts Galore (see specific details above), only a maximum of three (3) entries will qualify for the draw for this month's prize of  a $12.00 gift certificate from Sami Stamps.  You must add 'FT' after you name so we know which cards to add to the random draw for the sponsor's prize.
• No backlinking.
• 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. Only permalinks are accepted.
• The winners and top picks for this challenge (#16) will hopefully be announced on May 8th in a special post.

We look forward to seeing you participate!

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