The Nature of Christmas

Welcome back on this 1st of September! My first card today was Christmas as is this card for the new challenge beginning today at the 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. This month we have a fun challenge for the Nature of Christmas.

 Before Christmas came in a box—store displays going up in August, made-for-TV movies with frequent holiday-themed advertisements, online shopping—before the commercialization of the holiday…

…there were family outings in search of the perfect pine tree, strings of popcorn and cranberries ready to hang on that perfect tree, and decorations made from holly leaves and pine cones. Sometimes the best way to capture Christmas is to turn your face away from the TV, the computer, your phone, and watch the magic of Christmas unfold outside your windows. We’d like you to remember the Nature of Christmas with our newest challenge. Show us woodland scenes, snowfall, winter animals—whatever flora or fauna brings out the natural beauty of the holiday and inspires you to create.

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month,make sure that your card has some sort of outdoor nature element in the design.  Examples include: scene of trees, forest, river, birds, woodland animals, etc. Whatever element you choose must be flora or fauna (i.e. botanical or animal related). 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 $15 gift certificate to the Sparkle N Sprinkle store.

One free digital paper from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles to everyone who links up a minimum of two cards to the challenge.  Cards can be anything goes for this prize, they only have to follow the theme if they want a chance at the sponsor's prize.  The mini set of six digital papers called Nature of Christmas, will also be offered up as a prize to one random winner.

Now here's my card for the Nature of Christmas challenge:

My images is A Winter Wonderland from Sparkle 'n Sprinkle. The sentiment is from the same digital stamp set. My designer paper is from the Holiday Hoopla Paper Set from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. The image is doe cut from Spellbinder's Lacy Squares and the sentiment is di cut from Gina Marie Designs Cross Stitched Rectangles, both backed with dark green card stock. I used some Doodlebug twine, a pre-made bow and some self-adhesive rhinestones as embellishments. I decorated the image with Diamond Stickles for the snow. I hope you will join us at the 12 Months of Christmas Link Up  this month, get some Christmas cards done and earn a free paper or the great prize from Sparkle 'n Sprinkle. 

I am entering these challenges: 

• Christmas Card challenge: anything goes
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Challenge: use a sentiment
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Challenge Extra: anything goes Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut Patterned Paper challenge: use patterned paper
• Simon Says Wednesday challenge: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by. Stop back tomorrow for another fun design team card!

Hugs,