Hello everybody! And welcome to Day 11 of Advent Calendar Extravaganza!!
In case you missed Day 10, click here!
In case you missed Day 9, click here!
In case you missed Day 8, click here!
In case you missed Day 7, click here!
In case you missed Day 6, click here!
In case you missed Day 5, click here!
In case you missed Day 4, click here!
In case you missed Day 3, click here!
In case you missed Day 2, click here!
In case you missed Day 1, click here!
I’ve always loved the concept of Advent Calendars. There’s something special and magical about those little treats hidden behind those little doors – and the idea of a secret little something to be unwrapped every day really is a wonderful way to build the excitement towards Christmas, not to mention a fun tradition as well!
As the years roll by some of these types of tradition can be lost when we grow up, and it seems a real shame to lose some of that magic and wonder. And really there’s no reason at all why something such as an Advent Calendar can’t be revamped and repackaged for grown-ups, crafty grown-ups… grown-ups like you and me!
So one day in November last year I dreamed up a fun idea for a event. I didn’t know if it would work, or if anyone would be interested. I approached some crafty friends, and others recruited themselves – everyone loved the idea! Behind the scenes I worked hard to put together something rather different and very special. After much organising, coordinating and planning, I’m really thrilled to finally bring to you a very special, very fun, very festive series! It was *hugely* popular, and so, by popular demand, I just had to bring it back again this year!
Eek! How fun does that sound?! 25 full days of surprises, inspiration and prizes!!
In case you’re wondering just how it’s going to work, here’s last year’s video (I’m afraid my filmmaker friend was unavailable to help in time for this year!) to explain it:
I’m so excited to be bringing you this event! I really hope you’re going to enjoy it as much as I am!!
Let’s get on with Day 11, shall we?!
I’ve got some of my very favourite designers lined up today to continue the fun! Just click on the door to reveal today’s surprise destinations and prize! Tip: you will need to do this from the blog itself, not from a feed reader or e-mail!
The door is a bit different this year (curse of moving over to WordPress!). So, now you’ve opened it, please use the image below to find your secret links! As you see, there aren’t any text links, but tap or click on all the decorations/presents in the image below and you will find your secret destinations! *wink*
Exciting right?! Isn’t it fun to not know what’s in store at the other end of those links?! Make sure you click each one to reveal the surprise and leave comments at the destinations to win!
And speaking of winning…
Today’s sponsor is Avery Elle! Another of my favourites, Avery Elle have a great mix of cute and trendy stamps and dies – often with clever touches thrown in too! They are headed up by my awesome friend Jamie, who is a great designer and cultivator of talent alike! I’m so thrilled to have them sponsor the event again this year!
Avery Elle are generously sponsoring a $20 gift certificate to their store! With an amazing array of products you’re really going to be spoilt for choice spending it!
Now that you know what you can win, I’m sure you’re eager to head off to all those secret destinations to check them out! But before you go, some inspiration from me:
I’ll confess – I fell completely head over heels for all of the retro-style Christmas sets that my *awesomely* talented friend Caryn designed for Avery Elle! I just had to have them all and use them all!! This first card features the Kitsch Christmas set as its main focus. Oh those deer!
I had so much fun stamping out several images from this set (and a couple from the Retro Ornaments and Dear Santa sets too!) and colouring them with… you guessed it – Prismacolors! I studied lots of images of vintage Christmas cards before designing the projects for today’s post, and that definitely helped me with figuring out how best to colour them! I think they turned out awesome!
A *ton* of detail on this card! I stamped the pine branches and then watercoloured over them with my NEW! Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers – I have been coveting these for over a year now and I finally splashed out on them! They helped create the perfect look and blended so well for my scene!
I added iridescent glitter for my snow banks (another nod to the vintage style card), and heat embossed some snow and the glittery stars! I assembled all the pieces with quite a bit of dimension, and the finished look was exactly what I had in mind!
I was having such a good time that I had trouble putting my supplies down for today! Cue another card!
I let the brilliantly designed Retro Ornaments set take centre stage here! I combined it with a few elements from Kitsch Christmas too – all these sets work so well together!
I took my time building up my design on some shimmery cream cardstock, heat embossing every element. I worked in batches so that I could mask some images after they were embossed, so that I could give the illusion of some images being behind others.
Once all my embossing was done, I used the white from the Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours to paint over all the images, then watercoloured with my Zig markers. Again taking my cues from a vintage design helped me with my colour choices and also with the style of the watercolouring too!
Some splatter finished things off nicely. Just look at all that golden goodness!
Finally, I pulled out the Dear Santa set to create a gift tag!
I die cut a tag then stamped my cat and his hat using Stormy Sky Distress Ink. I then masked the images off and blended the same ink all over my tag.
I then painted on some adhesive in stages and glittered my cat and hat with white glitter, and some of the accents with gold. As you can see, you can still make out the detail of the stamping because I was careful not to get adhesive on any of the lines!
I added some black details and heat embossed my sentiments before adding some awesome sparkly ribbon to finish!
And here they all are together, which is your favourite?
Don’t forget Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from 1st-25th December inclusive so make sure you visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes every single time! Merry Christmas!
I hope you love this event just as much as I do! I would love to know what you think of Advent Calendar Extravaganza! Do you love the format? The secret destinations? The endless inspiration? I bet you certainly love the chance to win prizes! Please make sure you leave a comment below! Thanks so much for stopping by – I’ll see you back here tomorrow!
Supplies
Vintage Style Deer Christmas Card
Retro Ornaments Christmas Card
Define Naughty Christmas Tag
how cute are these? love the deer the best–looks like vintage Christmas cards from the 1950s!
All adorable! I love to use gold embossing with watercolor!
I, too, LOVE these stamps like you do. I am a fan of the retro ornaments. However you did a wonderful card with the little deer. And I LOVE the added snow on the branches. You really took alot of time with these cards. Nice job.
I love your retro cards and the cute tag! TFS
What cute cards. The deer are adorable and I am loving everything about the cat tag. Nice use of non-traditional colors for the ornaments.
Your retro cards are just beautiful! You’ve colored those cute deer and gorgeous ornaments perfectly!! Your cat tag is lovely!
These are all so sweet – love all of the detail & the very fun retro look! Thanks.
I’m not a cat lover, but I love that kitty tag!!! And the retro look of each card and tag is fabulous!!!! Thank you for sharing your creativity with us.
Fantastic deer card.
And one fantabulous blog hop.
I love opening the doors because I always enjoy a mystery.
Thanks!
Adorable cards!!!! LOVE the reindeer card!!!! And that tag is Awesome!!
I love those adorable reindeer! You framed them so nicely with the greenery. Love that darling Santa cat tag too!
Great variety and so vintage looking!
These are fabulous and adorable cards/tag. Love them to pieces.
I think that these stamp sets may be my favourites so far. I love them all, but I think that the deer win out overall.
Oh my goodness!!! Your tag and both your cards are absolutely adorable!!! <3
My favorite is the first with the two deer because I think they are just about the two cutest deer this season! But seriously all three are gorgeous!
These are all so adorable and love the retro look. Very reminiscent of my childhood. Just more stamp sets to add to my wish list!
Fabulous! Love the reto look on these!
Love the vintage feel on both your cards and the gift tag! Those deer are adorable!
Wow…three amazing projects… those little deer are utterly adorable. Cheers.
Love the cat and deer from Avery Elle. The ladies+you did a fabulous job showcasing that company. Beautiful. Love the star in the top off the deer card and how you muted the colors that the gold embossing would stand out on the tree scene. And the blue cat tag….. my favorite sass!
Love how the cards and tag turned out. My favorite of course is Bambi!
Awesome cards and tag.
Your 1st card captures a favorite movie of mine Bambi. Love the color choices for it. The second card also captures a Christmas memory of the old fashion ornaments from our tree growing up. The gift tag captures my favorite color in a cat. Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks for doing all 3 of these.
Love these cards you created!!!
I love all the gold embossing! And the reindeers are so cute!
You’re right, there are a ton of details on your first card and each one is done beautifully! I love the touches of pink. Very pretty! I’m so impressed by how you layered the stamps on your second card. Gorgeous! What a sweet and cheeky tag! I love it!
Love the retro look! Your colouring is gorgeous! Impossible to choose a favourite as they are all so lovely!
Awesome creations. Love the retro set.
I love the Retro Ornaments and the Kitchen stamps. I love your retro deer. So very cute!
Darling cards and
the retro look is
cool.
Carla from Utah
Three precious projects. I’m a huge fan of blue and gold and so…….especially like the use of teal with other Christmas colors.
Thank you, Taheerah. I love the vintage images. Nice job on the ornaments. I chuckled at the Kitty saying , Define Naughty.. Love it.
These cards look so retro, especially the cat. In fact, I have a card with that cat on it or I should say I had a card with that cat on it. The deer remind me of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer minus the red nose. Rudolph and Clairece were drawn like this. I have an ornaments stamp but I’ve never done it like this. I actually have all 3 of those ornaments for my tree. The bell is my grandparents ornament and the other 2 were sent to me in the mail from a pen pal in the 80’s or 90’s. They arrived in one piece (how did that happen with the post office? LOL) and we put them up every year. What a great memory seeing your card. I love them all and I don’t have a fave. They are all beautiful! I love how you made them look like water colors but with a marker.
Oh my gosh, those reindeer are perfect and that card is gorgeous! But the retro ornaments look just like we had when I was a kid (and still have some). Have to say I love them both!! The tag is fabulous too. Thanks for sharing your fun projects and how you created them. Love this post!!
Oh my Cuteness, Taheerah! I just love your retro Christmas cards and the tag is adorable too!
I adore the fun retro designs in each of your cards, you are spot on in your designs for this style!
All 3 great as usual love the dear they look so vintage.
I really like the ornaments. Very classic!
Your first card with the deer is absolutely beautiful. Great colouring.
I love the deer! They are so sweet and innocent!
Your coloring matches the retro stamps perfectly!
Your cards are beautiful. Thank s for sharing
Amazing cards today! Those retro ornaments really caught my eye!
Taheerah, your cards and tag are all wonderful., especially the deer card. That is way too adorable. Great work!
Awwe these cards are just darling. Thanks for sharing your talents with us:)
so many clever ideas. thanks so much for sharing.
Fabulous card! I love that cat stamp.
I love these stamps! You did a beautiful job with the retro feel!!!
Those deer look just like the Disney bambi! And that definitely naughty tag is right up my alley! Love it.