Hello everybody! And welcome to a very special day, kicking off a very special event!!
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 a couple of years ago 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 a quick video that explains how to find those special links!
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 1, shall we?!
I’ve got some of my very favourite designers lined up today to kick everything off! 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 Catherine Pooler! From her fun product collections, to her amazing online community, StampNation, and all the way to her *amazing* Stamp of Approval Collections AND beyond-awesome inks (seriously – they will change your stamping life!), Catherine is making massive waves in the industry – and she sure knows how to throw a party! I’m so happy to have her open the event this year!
Catherine Pooler is generously sponsoring a prize pack worth $100!! Is she super generous or what?! I insisted she included some of her *amazing* inks in that bundle of goodies too!
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 created this card using the awesome Holiday Mittens stamp set, stamping my panel using the Peppermint Scrub and Eucalyptus inks!
I stamped the snowflakes and edged the panel with gold ink, then stamped the sentiment with Icing On The Cake ink! This baby is great for mass producing!
Don’t forget the 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
Your card is right on time : today is the first real cold, let’s say freezing day here in Geneva – Switzerland ! Your lovely mittens are more than welcome – LOL !
Thank you for organizing this fantastic calendar !
Hi Taheerah! Thank you so very much for another year of your fun advent calendar . So much fun and a wonderful beginning with Catherine Pooler. She is an incredible woman and l am very proud of her.
Such a fun card and concept!
Thank you for the chance to win!
I’ve been sort of patiently awaiting your blog hop. Don’t know if you remember me as one of two people that couldn’t sign on to your site for e-mail contacts. You didn’t forget and it works perfectly for most of this year. THANK YOU and for the hop itself. SO FUN. Love your knit mitten card.
Thanks for putting this event together again because it is so much fun! Thanks, too, for the inspiration and for the opportunity to win!
Yes, I love this event so much! The format is great, Thank You.
SUPER sweet! Cant wait to begin hopping!
Love the inspiration!
The contrast between the cold snowflakes and the cosy mittens is wonderful. Love it!
Smitten with these mittens! Going to give this stamp set a workout this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration.
Awesome card. Thank you for a chance to win.
Such a cute card.
Sweet little mittens Taheera. Love your Advent calendar idea and hope to play along every day!
I’ve been waiting patiently for this years extravaganza and now the day is here! I thoroughly enjoyed last years! I love your card. Those mittens are so cute! Thanks so much for this concept! ?
Definitely so much fun! Amazing job on pulling it all together! Can’t wait to follow along all month! This is my kind of advent. Lol.
This Advent Calendar is going to be so much fun! The mitten card is adorable! I thought I would never need another winter stamp set- but this card changed my mind in a hurry! Love it!
I love advent and I love your ideas! You are amazing and fun! ?
What a fun concept Taheerah! I’ll be back tomorrow.
Love this event each year & your card is so cute!
Am so excited that it has started again!!! Loven’t the Catherine Pooler Holiday Mittens Card!!! Love the texture and fab colors of the mittens especially! Great start with a bang!!! So looking forward to all of your inspiration to get me kick started!!! Thanks again!!
Always love your wonderful Advent Calendar event! And thanks for putting this all together. These mittens are adorable–so cozy and warm looking–great new set!
I really love the names on the C Pooler inks! what fun. The designers also gave several great tips to use. This is going to be fun!
Yay! This is such a bright spot in my day, I adore the advent calendar! So many wonderful cards and inspiration. Your card is super cute and the color scheme is perfection.
Great card Taheerah! Thank you so much for doing this, it is so awesome!
I look forward to this event all year long! A great day one! Love those mittens. Can’t wait to see what other great inspiration you have in store for us. Thank you!!
Such a pretty mitten card, I love the gold snowflakes and edging. This Advent event is one of my faves of the year! I love opening the doors, visiting old and new -to-me crafters, so much inspiration packed into 25 days, thank you so much for putting on this fabulous event. Time to follow the surprise links!
Great first day and glad you are doing this again. Love your mitten card.
Yay! It’s back! I’m sure this takes a lot of work to put together, so thank you!
The mittens stamp is adorable. I like how you created a background with the different stamped images.
Great card . Love the detail on the mittens. Looks like this Advent Calendar idea is a hit again this year.
Great card! It’s going to be a fun month!
Great card.
Super cute card! I love those adorable knitted mittens.
I like these colors together. Very cute!
This is such a fun idea and you’ve done an amazing job putting this together. I can’t imagine the work. I love the cozy card you made. Super cute. Thank you for the inspiration. Looking forward to more. Thank you. .
Mitten card is so cheery. Love the advent idea.
This will be my first Advent hop. I love your card with the mittens! Your chosen colors are perfect. Thanks so much for your inspiration!
Love your mittens card! And I really love CP’s stamps, dies, inks, and her wonderful ideas.
Adorable card!
I have been looking forward to your advent calendar for ages and am so excited now it’s finally here! Your mittens card is perfect for the current cold spell. Thank you so much for all your hard work in arranging everything again this year x
So excited your Advent Calendar has begun. Thank you so much for putting it together again this year.
Your mittens card is so cute and colorful. Thank you so much for sharing.
Oh Taheerah, I am so excited about this extravagaza, it is so much fun. Your card is so sweet. I love the mittens stamp and the great colours you uzed. Thanks for do I g this again this year as I know it is a tremendous amount of work for you. I so appreciate all that you put into it. Thank you!
So glad you are doing this series again…its always fun! These knit mittens are so cute!!! Love the design with the gold stamping!
Thank you for doing this again this year! I had a blast last year and am looking forward to seeing all the surprises and ideas and tips again this year! Love your cute mitten and snowflake card.
Love the mittens! What a fun advent calendar…..can’t wait to discover all the presents!
Oh yay! I love this event each year. It’s so fun to see what everyone creates. Love Catherine Pooler’s products and it’s nice that the sponsors are so generous. Thanks again for hosting this!! Your card is wonderful!
i love this stamp set ! great card!!
First time to do this. Looks like fun with great ideas!
What a FUN way to blog hop and lovely, lovely cards all along the way! Including your adorable mitten card…love it! :0)
Very cute! Love the mittens!
Really cute card. Makes me want to dress up warm and go out and play in the snow. Too bad I live in Arizona, lol!