Hello everybody! And welcome to Day 13 of Advent Calendar Extravaganza!!
In case you missed Day 12, click here!
In case you missed Day 11, click here!
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 13, 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 Pretty Pink Posh! Known far and wide for their awesome sequins and shaker mixes, Pretty Pink Posh also have a growing collection of dies and ultra cute stamp sets too! They are headed up by my awesome friend Paulina, who is truly an inspiration and a gem! I’m so thrilled to have them sponsor the event this year!
Pretty Pink Posh are generously sponsoring a $25 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 had so much fun making this card! I loved building the scene with all the different elements!
I started by stamping and watercolouring the cute little kids from the Christmas Friends set. I used my Zig Markers for the colouring – love them! I also stamped and watercoloured a stack of presents too, pulling in some from the Holiday Pals set to shore up the haul! I fussy cut everything out and adhered some of the presents in their arms. 🙂
Next I set about that fantastic sky! I blended Festive Berries and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks over my card base, then splattered with a few mists for a fun look! Next I heat embossed the sentiment and snowflakes. There’e a lot going on in this sky, which is why I have so many white elements to help bring a balance to the card.
I die cut some snow banks to ground the scene (they are white, just didn’t photograph that well!), coating the tops with gold glitter and giving them a spritz with some Glimmer Mists for some sparkle! I heat embossed the trees from Holiday Pals, fussy cut them out and gave them a spritz too before adhering them, together with my kids. Lots of dimension on this one!
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
Such a sweet card…love all the snowflakes in the background. Cheers.
Beautiful winter scene!
Hi Taheerah, love the background..the festive berries and the aged mohonary distress inks are.absolutely stunning! The Christmas friends stamp set is so cute. Beautiful card as always.
What a fabulous winter scene! Love your background plus all the sparkle!
This sweet card with the PPP Friends set is so precious!!! Love how you designed the sky especially with the bold reds and embossed sentiment and snowflakes! Gosh it’s so gorgeous!
What a cute holiday scene! I love this adorable stamp set…so many fun ways to use it.
Very cute winter scene! 🙂
wow that blend of reds is stunning!
Love that background!
With all the color, the sparkle and the cute scene… this is a very festive and fun card. How clever you are!
Very cute!
Your card is just colorful as I love them and it’s perfect for this time of the year when the sun has gone on vacation !!!!!! PPP is one of my favorite shopping website: their sequins and other embellishments are just unique and their stamps and dies are of great quality, really a fabulous address !
Awesome background! Thanks for all the fun this month!
Gorgeous card! I love everything about it.
So pretty! I love the red and gold together.
Super pretty – love the colors. Merry Christmas.
great background. thanks so much for sharing.
Love your card. It’s so cute and lovely! Love the glitter edged border and those adorable images.
Love the bright Christmasy background you made!
Beautiful holiday card! Love the added touches and details. Thanks for sharing!! Off to hop…
I simply adore this card! Love the pops of gold!
Love the colors.
Such a nice color for the background! The subtle colors used in the cute little kids compliments the background very nicely.
I love your card! So cute and festive. A great colour scheme that isn’t too traditional!
Beautiful card! I really like the contrast of winter white hills with the gorgeous blended sky.
um, hello….?! red/pink sky!!! and gold trees!!! YES!! all the yes! sooooo cute!
Such a fun card, love the unusual sky colour!
I love the colors you chose for your background,… and of course Pretty Pink Posh has such darling stamps. Love this card!
the gold accents are awesome!
The background shading is very beautiful and I love the elegance of the gold embossing!
This is so pretty! 🙂
WOW Taheerah, you are killing me here with CUTENESS! Do you ever make a flop? LOL This is AMAZING! I have GOT to try this in these colours. What an amazing card. ♥ IT!
Your distress colors on the background caught everyone’s attention. Including mine! Very pretty card! Thank you.
Lovely card. The background is fantastic!
Fun and festive card.
Love love love this!!!! The gold embossing is so pretty and that background is fantastic! !!
Such a sweet card. I thought I recognized those trees… Love your dark pink background. Must remember this colour combo.
Love the red background with water droplets and the glittery hills along with the beautifully colored images! A very pretty card! TFS!
The colors in the background are beautiful! The little extra things you did in the card, such as embossing the trees or adding the glitter to the snow banks, really make the card pretty in a variety of ways. Instead of just the background, the message, or the characters being the one item that draws your eyes, the extras keep the person looking at the card from one area to the next. I was thrilled to read that you love your Zig markers because they are are on my wish list for Christmas. I love your Advent Calendar because I have seen such beautiful cards and so many techniques to try. Thank you so much!
Love the background you created. It really brings a festive vibe to your card. Great job!
Oh my word…this is BEAUTIFUL and so sweet!
The background is beautiful. I love the colours.
Love the background that compliments this card perfectly….little presents in small hands…adorable.
Gorgeous card, love the super cute kids and gifts, and festive sky background and all the white really does balance it so well!
oh, I SUPER love this. The scenery is absolutely SWEET!
Love, love and love this card! So creative!
Festive berries and Aged mahogony,I must REMEMBER… This is so festive.I’m impressed with the colors .A beauty.
So very cute! Love the background!
I like the softer colors in this one. Keeping the trees white with gold accents was perfect! Just enough gold glitter on the snow banks to accent without overwhelming! Thanks so much. Just about halfway, and my brain is in a creative explosion mode!
Taheerah, this card is adorable! I love all the little touches you did and the red background is so unique and striking!
Thank you for having us be part of your special event!