Challenge #100 Midway: ANYTHING GOES CHRISTMAS with the Optional Twist…Holiday DECORATIONS

Welcome back crafters! It is the 15th of the month and that means it is time for the midway of our current challenge. I hope that you and your families all continue to stay well in the various regions that you reside. 

 

In case you missed our start post, I'm very happy to share that it is a special month for us here as it is our:

 

100TH CHALLENGE!!!

 

Thanks so much to every person who has joined us for at least one challenge along the way. Without your interest there would be no challenge blog so thank you so much to those who take the time to honour us by linking up. We especially thank those of you who have been with us from the very first Link Up that started so long ago on my own personal blog!

 

Right now, as we are halfway through the month of May, it is time to see what the Merry Maidens have been up to! Clicking on the DT 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 May. Below you will find 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, ornaments and other creative projects in the past, we've sadly had to disqualify them.

Challenge #100

  ANYTHING GOES with the 

Optional Twist: Holiday DECORATIONS

Our theme, as always, is Anything Goes Christmas (or in celebration of other December holidays). Do you put lots of holiday decorations out each year or just a few? Do you start in November or wait until the week before Christmas? Do you have any particular collections like a winter village, nativity scenes, angels, snowmen or trees?  Whatever items you use, and how or when you actually decorate your home during the holidays, it all works together to establish your own unique style. If you want to challenge yourself this month, you can always follow our optional twist of choosing to feature Holiday DECORATIONS on your card.

Keep in mind though, 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.
  
Here is a preview of May's paper for those adding two cards to this month's link up:  

 

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 twist 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). I have provided a summary of the most important rules in the right sidebar.

You can find the link up for
Challenge #100 by clicking HERE.

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

I'll hopefully be publishing one of the outstanding winner announcements sometime in the next two weeks. Then, please join us on June 1st when we'll be back with our newest link up! 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!

 

 

Challenge #100: ANYTHING GOES CHRISTMAS with the Optional Twist…Holiday DECORATIONS

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!

 

It is a special month for us here as it is our:

 

100TH CHALLENGE!!!

 

Thanks so much to every person who has joined us for at least one challenge along the way. Without your interest there would be no challenge blog so thank you so much to those who take the time to honour us by linking up. We especially thank those of you who have been with us from the very first Link Up that started so long ago on my own personal blog!

 

While Christmas may still be several months away, it is never too early to get started on all the Christmas and other December Holiday cards you are going to need when December finally rolls around! Whether you are just embarking on getting a start to your stash or you already have a few cards completed, 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 #100

  ANYTHING GOES with the 

Optional Twist: 

Holiday DECORATIONS

Our theme, as always, is Anything Goes Christmas (or in celebration of other December holidays). Do you put lots of holiday decorations out each year or just a few? Do you start in November or wait until the week before Christmas? Do you have any particular collections like a winter village, nativity scenes, angels, snowmen or trees? Whatever items you use, and how or when you actually decorate your home during the holidays, it all works together to establish your own unique style. If you want to challenge yourself this month, you can always follow our optional twist of choosing to feature Holiday DECORATIONS on your card.

Keep in mind though, 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.
  
Here is a preview of May'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.

 

 

 

 

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

 

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 May 15th, for our midway post when the Merry Maidens will be here to share their awesome cards. If everything goes according to plan, another outstanding winner announcement will be posted before month's end as long as I can pull it off. My sincere apologies that I couldn't get another one out in April. The second week of April I got an infection and then the last two weeks I've been recovering from dental surgery. It is one of those years I guess! 

 

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), May 1st until 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hrs), May 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.

 

Challenge #15 Midway: Optional Theme--Holiday Decorations

We have reached the midway point of Challenge #15.  YaY!  I finally got  the winner announcement posted for Challenge #13--now I just have to take care of Challenge #14.  Hopefully, I will be able to get the winner announcement done sometime during the course of this next week or so--man, my fingers are doing a lot of crossing these days.

 Right now, it is time to see what the Merry Maidens have been up to with their images from A Day For Daisies, our guest sponsor for this month!

Check out the sweet images that the team worked with this month for the midway of the challenge.  Clicking on any of the image watermarks will take you to their spot in the A Day For Daisies store.

Christmas Light Fairy

Sami

Penguin Snowman

 Christmas Bulbs

Christmas Ornaments to Hang

Tree Angel

Christmas Poinsettia

Tower of Gifts

Vintage Tree Party

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 Holiday Decorations.  Check out the preview...

Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of March 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 Merry Maidens came up with to inspire you.  As I mentioned in the recent new DT announcement, we have three new Merry Maidens joining us--Christine, Granmargaret and Janet!  Monica is also here with a card!  Additionally, as I mentioned at the start of the challenge, Christina, from the Sleigh Belles, was away on business so she'll be joining us here today too.  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 March.  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! 

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.

Optional Theme:  Holiday Decorations

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I love about Christmas time is the decorations that I see up all over the place.  Whether in people's homes, or out and about in the community, there are such a wide variety of beautiful holiday decorations to choose from.  Strings of lights, wreaths on doors, stockings on mantles (or in the case of my house, hanging from the piano!), window paintings, tree ornaments, angels on trees--the list goes on and on!  This month, let's bring some of those holiday decorations to your cards!

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month, make sure that your card has a holiday decoration on it in some form or other (i.e. lights, wreaths, ornaments, etc.).  The decoration can be in the image, part of your papers or even as a separate 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 A Day For Daisies.

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 unique kind of link up where we have both an anything goes Christmas 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 #15 by clicking HERE.

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

• Be sure to join us on next week when Monica will be here to share a Christmas recipe with you all.
• Then hopefully I will get the winner announcement for Challenge #14 posted.
• Next up it will be time for our new challenge to start on April 1st.
• Pat will be back in April to share a tradition with all of you.
• Then, the winners from Challenge #15 will hopefully be posted on April 8th.
• 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!