Challenge #17: Optional Theme--Non-traditional Christmas Colours

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!  Remember that prophecy I made last month about being perpetually behind one month in my Winner Announcement posts?  Well, sadly that trend is continuing.  Unfortunately, I lost almost the entire month of April to a rather nasty virus which has put me even farther behind!  So, I continue to appreciate your patience while I try to get things back on track.

Before I continue, I must share that Sheena has decided to leave us.  The May challenge will be her last one.  In the short time that Sheena has been on the team, she has definitely made an impression.  She is an incredibly talented card maker and she will definitely be missed!  Please join me in wishing Sheena all the best as she moves on to new adventures in her crafting life!

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 #17.

Challenge #17

Optional Theme:  Non-traditional Christmas Colours

One of the things that I love about Christmas is that it is so rich in colours.  While the holiday season is known for its bright reds, brilliant greens and sparkling golds and silvers, there are many other wonderful colours that can represent Christmas just as beautifully.

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month, make sure that your card uses a selection of non traditional Christmas colours.  It is time to bring out the blues, pinks, purples or other non-traditional colour palettes and give your Christmas project a different kind of hue.  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 2 digital stamps from The Stamping Boutique (3 if your card features a stamp from The Stamping Boutique or one from Glitterbabe).

This month's sponsorship is actually a combination of The Stamping Boutique and Glitterbabe Stamps (selling out of The Stamping Boutique Store).  As such, I'll present a refresher of what Tracey's company is all about as TSB has been a previous sponsor, and then I will introduce you to Glitterbabe Stamps...

Thank you so much for having us as your sponsor. We at TSB are very proud to offer original digital images and artwork to you. Thank you for giving us a few minutes of your valuable time to look over the store at http://thestampingboutique.com. Good luck in the challenge and we hope to see you over at our TSB Community network: http://thestampingboutique.ning.com.

Thanks so much!
Tracey Malnofski

hi. i'm glitterbabe... or sometimes known as stef h. i started doing digis on a dare from my hubby ages ago. he had more faith in my drawings than i had myself. anyway, i played and got to liking it so thanks to tracey malnofski of THE STAMPING BOUTIQUE, i managed to get my images "out there." you can find them at THE STAMPING BOUTIQUE STORE and i sure hope you have as much fun with them as i have.

Check out the great images the team worked with for their projects for the beginning of this challenge. Clicking on the watermarks below will take you to their location in the store.

#243 Natalie

#600 Nativity

#745 Bethlehem

One of our team members chose to use an image that she already had...

#54 Snowman's Laundry Line

 
While team members had the option of working with any of my Décosse's Dynamite Doodles papers, I ended up creating two special sets this month.  Given that the optional theme is Non-traditional Christmas Colours, I decided to make some Bokeh papers.  The first set is a multicolour set and the second is a set of solid colour papers. Check out the previews (you can click on them to bring them up in the lightbox to get a larger view)...

Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of May will earn ONE of the digital papers from one of these sets. The specific paper up for grabs will be shown during the winner announcement post. Additionally, one random winner will earn their choice of which full set of papers they'd like.

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 May!  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 May 5th when Pat will be here to share a holiday tradition with us all.
• Then on May 8th, we hope to publish the names of the winners and top picks from Challenge #15. 
• Be sure to join us again on May 15th, for our midway post where you'll get to see cards created by the Merry Maidens!
• Then during the third week of May, 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), May 1st - 11:55 p.m. (23:55 hrs), May 31st, 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 Non-traditional Christmas Colours (see specific details above), only a maximum of three (3) entries will qualify for the draw for this month's prize of 2 digital stamps from The Stamping Boutique.  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.
• If I can somehow manage to catch up this month, the winners and top picks for this challenge (#17) will hopefully be announced on June 8th in a special post.

We look forward to seeing you participate!

Link Up Below:

An InLinkz Link-up