Hello everybody! And welcome to Day 23 of Advent Calendar Extravaganza!!
In case you missed Day 22, click here!
In case you missed Day 21, click here!
In case you missed Day 20, click here!
In case you missed Day 19, click here!
In case you missed Day 18, click here!
In case you missed Day 17, click here!
In case you missed Day 16, click here!
In case you missed Day 15, click here!
In case you missed Day 14, click here!
In case you missed Day 13, click here!
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!
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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 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 23, 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 $30 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:
You know, I try *really* hard not to pick favourites when it comes to my cards, but this one just might be my favourite from this entire event! I mean, just look at that labour of love!!
There’s so many techniques and details on this baby that I don’t really know where to start! How about with that background though, which looks just like my Sitting Room floor! I used some white woodgrain paper and watercoloured it with a mixture of Distress Inks, water, and Glimmer Mist, then spritzed it all over with Distress Mica Spray to ‘cool’ down the colours. I then sliced it up into boards, inked the edges, then adhered them in a random order to create a truly authentic looking floorboard background! I splattered on some white mist and drew a border with a white pen and with a Distress Crayon, then dabbed on some white ink in places too! Then I stamped some bokeh dots to complete the background! And that’s just the background!!
I used the limited edition Merry Mistletoe stamp set (an Avery Elle/Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember exclusive set) to stamp my mistletoe, then heat embossed it with Iridium embossing powder from WOW. It’s sort of like a sparkly rose gold, but a little more grungy!
I waterecoloured my mistletoe with Distress Inks and Glimmer Mist, then fussy cut it out. I added some Wink of Stella to the bow and berries, then added Nuvo Crystal Drops to the berries, along with a sprinkling of clear glitter!
The sentiment was heat embossed using an off-white embossing powder. I then watercoloured around it with a number of Distress Inks, building the intensity on the edges. I used a Copic Marker to edge the embossing ever so slightly, to give it an aged/illuminated look! I fussy cut that too and adhered to my card panel with Pinflair Glue Gel for some dimension.
You can see the awesomeness of the Pinflair Glue Gel in this close-up too – variable dimension for the various leaves/berries, clear setting, and strong too! I added some ribbon to my image, and a few cardstock layers (with various ink edging on the Kraft layer to add some variation to the colour) between my floorboards and card base, and finally I was done! Phew!
It’s not a party without a prize – and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! Today’s prize is generously supplied by Avery Elle so you’ll definitely want to get your hands on it! Simply leave a comment on this post to enter! Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from behind the door, and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 7am EST on Sunday 31st December to leave all your comments!
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
That background is amazing!
Seeing that wonderful wood background and hearing how you made it is the highlight of my Extravaganza visits.
Love this stamp on the wood background
That’s a wonderful, very impressive card !
[margessw (at) icloud (dot) com]
Jaw-dropping card with your beautiful woodgrained floor background, lovely mistletoe and fussy-cut sentiment. Every single detail added so much to your finished card. It’s gorgeous!
Love the foliage against the woodgrin, it’s a lovely effect.
This is so pretty! I love this sweet, rustic Christmas greeting!
Ohhhh, this is just lovely!!
This card is stunning and super unique! Beautiful!
Great card. Thank you for sharing.
What a fun card! Love the mistle toe. Thanks for the inspiration and chance to win yet again. 😀
Wow! I love your handmade background.
Wowzers! That background. Wow. Such a pretty card.
I love the wood background. What a pretty card.
Love the wood board background. Sometimes a simple design is the best.
The rustic background is beautiful. I love how you did the mistletoe. So pretty!
My husband and I own a floor covering store and the wood background you created modeled after your floor is gorgeous! Can you make them in 6” x 48” planks? ?
Simply beautiful card. The background is amazing.
Lovely card! Like how you did the wood background.
This is my absolute favorite card…stunning!! I loved it at first sight, but then when I read your notes…wow!! I have to try this floorboard background. Thank you so much 🙂
What a great rustic card with just the right amount of bling!
Love this card! I love the mistletoe against the wood grain background. Thanks for sharing.
Holy cow! You really outdid yourself with this card! It would have taken me a week or more to do what you did. I love the wood background with the spatters. It looks like real wood. You always do such a nice job on your cards. Thank you for showing us your pretty card and for giving us the chance to win something.
This truly has to be one of my favourites too, especially that beautiful woodgrain background!
Gorgeous card!
Love your card, so pretty!
Gorgeous card!
Such a lovely , warm card! Love the wood grain background.
I thought for sure you used patterned paper for the background. This card has so much beautiful layering. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
Love the simple scene that the woodgrain and mistletoe make.
Wow! Love everything about this card! The floor board background is smashing — so much depth and texture. Love the detail on the mistletoe and the sentiment. Just a brilliant card in every way!
Pretty card….thanks for sharing some great cards and ideas. Love the format.
I love the rustic look of this card. Great job.
Truly a labor of love! Another fantastic card!
Love this event!
Love the card. I like the background.
*after picking jaw up from the floor* Taheerah, this is just breathtaking! And even more breathtaking after reading how you achieved the look. I can see why you would say it might be your favorite of all the cards you have done for the Advent Calendar series this year…. It is AMAZING! I love how you achieved the wood floor look – I’m so trying that (once I have time to get back into my craft room which was deserted for most of the month due to an unexpected situation that came up). The pin flair glue is on my wish list and so many of your cards are on my pinterest boards! 🙂
I cannot thank you enough for putting together the Advent Extravaganza because it is and has been full of inspiration and always gave me something to look forward to every day (even if I couldn’t do anything more than look quickly). I’m now catching up on posts and commenting so you’ll see a flurry of comments rom me today. 🙂
Such a stunning card! Love all your techniques! Thanks for sharing. ?
What a labor of love this card is! I really thought that background was a printed pattern, not one that you made; it looks so realistic! It really is amazing; I would have had a hard time covering it with anything, but I love what you chose to do with all your various embellishments. They add to the background without overpowering it. It’s hard to decide what my favorite part is, but it might be the color on the sentiment. It’s just so pretty, and pops so nicely.
Also, “It’s sort of like a sparkly rose gold, but a little more grungy!” might be my favorite description ever, because it sounds so out of left field, and yet, I kind of see what you mean.
Love the mistletoe. Very cool card!
Love the rustic feel of this card, absolutely beautiful.
You mastered that woodgrain! So realistic!
Great card. Very elegant even with the wood background.
Beautiful card Taheerah, loved this blog hop, so much fun!
Wow – very pretty and unique card!
All sorts of wonderful texture and layers on this card!
Your woodgrain background is unbelievable – looks like a photo of a floor!
Fantastic card!! I love the woodgrain background 🙂 I’m so glad to be playing along and left some love on all the participating blogs for Day 23 🙂
Stunning! All of the elements work perfectly together! Thank you!