Welcome to the ABC Christmas Challenge Blog






The aim of our challenge is to help us avoid the Christmas Stress and rush to have all your cards ready! Our monthly Challenges are themed, We hope you will join us and have at the very least have a few cards in time for Christmas Please Read the Rules, and remember that you can enter our challenges as many times as you like and combine your entries with as many challenges as you like too! Have fun!
Helen, Samantha and the Design team Xx

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

ABC Christmas 'Y' for Yuletide Challenge

Thank you to eveyone for joining is with our X for Xmas Challenge.

Lacey's back with the winner and "top 3" from the last challenge...
Oh my, there were so many wonderful entries! It really was too hard to choose a Top 3.
Therefore, I chose a Top 5 instead - and even that was hard.

But first, the random winner of the Wild Rose Studio prize is:
Congratulations, Cabio!!
Please email at the email above to claim your prize.

Now the Top 5 cards chosen are:
247 Norma
275 Lori
On to our new challenge...
This week it was my turn (Lols) to choose the theme and I chose

Y FOR YULETIDE


Please use 1 or all of the following things to create your card or project
Holly & Berries
or
Red & Green
or
Candles


We are sponsored by our lovely teamie Lacey from Wags 'n Whiskers and she will be giving one lucky entrant this fab prize!!
4 of our most popular Christmas digital stamps!!

DT Annie researched Yuletide for us and wrote this brilliant explanation :-) Thanks Annie xx

Yule Tide, the darkest time of the year when we wait for the old solar year to pass in order to celebrate the birth of a new sun. It takes about 3 days after the Winter Solstice, the longest darkest night of the year, before the days gradually start to lengthen again and the celebrations can begin in earnest – and can carry on for almost a month! There are many folk traditions from earlier times that are now incorporated into the more modern Christmas and New Year celebrations, but in villages across Northern Europe and Scandinavia many of the old traditions survive as we wish you all a “God Jul!”
The tradition of decking the halls with boughs of holly is reminiscent of the pre-Christian times when the evergreens in the depths of winter represented life and the red berries the seeds of life to come. Candles were associated with the Roman festival of Saturnalia when Ops, the wife of Saturn, was remembered with the giving of gifts as a token of love and respect on her sacred day of 20th December. All over Northern Europe and Scandinavia candles are lit, especially on the night of the Winter Solstice, in celebration of old customs and beliefs that still linger.

So, as the old solar year passes and we start anew, we remember our ancient past and celebrate the Yule Tide with the giving of gifts, lighting of candles and decorating our homes with greenery. We celebrate with family and friends, giving thanks for the feast at our table that was raised and grown in and from the earth nurtured by the rain and the sun. We toast to a new year and a new growing season and hope that the new sun will shine, the rains be gentle, the winds soft and the earth rich and abundant once again. Wassail!


Guest Designer - Tanja

Guest Designer - Paula








And my Candle and Tag



The DT are looking forward to popping by to see your creations, all we ask is that you make sure Word Verification is turned off if you would like us to leave you a comment :-) thanks for your co-operation with this, it makes alot easier for us :-)

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

X is for Xmas

It's Lacey's turn to host the challenge this fortnight, but as she's recovering from some surgery she had last week, we've ordered her to take it easy, so it's Helen here, posting on her behalf. I'm sure you'd like to join us in sending her lots of get well wishes! :0)

************************
I guess you all must be getting into Christmas card mode...we had over 260 entries to our last challenge...and it was great to see lots of lovely new faces joining us for the first time...we hope to see you again!

Here's Annie with the winner & Top 3:

My apologies for the delay in posting the winner and top 3 from our Winter Wonderland challenge - so many fabulous creations it was a hard choice to make. But without further ado, the winner of the $15 gift certificate from

Photobucket

chosen by the random generator is .. ..



#263 - Ceal

Congratulations!

Please email abcchristmaschallenge@hotmail.co.uk to claim your prize.

We had 265 wonderful entries so choosing my top 3 was hard
but rising to the challenge,
in numerical entry order my choice is .. .. ..

#2 - Rica

#27 - Sam

#200 - Annika

Congratulations ladies, please email abcchristmaschallenge@hotmail.co.uk for your blinkies

***********************

Ok, so on to our new challenge....with less than 6 weeks to go until the big day...we've only got 3 more challenges left...EEEEEEK!!!!

We know you all have lots to do to prepare fro Christmas, so we're trying to make it nice and easy for you...our theme this fortnight is:

'X is for Xmas'
Optional Extra of Flowers

We are sponsored for this challenge by Wild Orchid Crafts...home of all things flowery - hence the optional extra ;0)

They've put together this fabulous bundle of goodies for one lucky winner:

So, here's some inspiration from our fabulous DT:
Guest Designer - Paula

Guest Designer - Tanja







Over to you....
Have fun and happy crafting!

Sunday, 14 November 2010

A couple of reminders

Hi all!

We have an unclaimed Prize for the last Challenge
V is for Vertical sponsored by Pink Cat Studio
If the prize is not claimed by Monday 10pm
we will do a re draw!

*********
  **
UPDATE
 **
I have random Draw a new winner
and the winner is
That's you Debbie!

Debbie Congrats please email us on abcchristmaschallenge@hotmail.co.uk
to find out how to claim your yummi prize!


***********
also please bare in mind you need to follow the theme
to be in with chances of winning the random prize draws

*******

Only 2 days left can we hit the 250 entries??
I will add an extra prize draw if we go over the 300 entries which I will add myself :0)

hugs Samantha

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

W for Winter Wonderland


Hi Everyone!
My little bit of house keeping before our new challenge!
********************
Please join me in welcoming our fantastic new DT members:
don't forget to visit their blogs too!!
We are also mega lucky to have Paula & Tanja joining us for the next 3 months so you will have lots of lovely inspiration to lead you up to Christmas and beyond!!

***********************
Well I know we say this nearly every week! but this week its been mega hard for me to choose! my Top 3
I am choosing in number order...
7. Joycelyn
23. Kathy Curry
41. Natascha
 The winner selected by the lovely generator is 

Number 8 thats you LAURA!
 8. x laura x  Congrats sweetie!
 
Please email myself and Helen to find out how to claim
your fabby digi stamps from the fantastic, fun & cute Pink cat Studio!!
*******************************************
 I also was to say thank you to Carissa, Delphine & Dorte as your V for Vertical cards were Awesome! I nearly posted a top 6!
tehheheee :0)

 *****************************


So on to this fortnights Challenge!!
How have we got to W already?
Ooooo your gonna love this challenge from Annie
I am posting it for Annie as she has been a little poorly
but thankfully is well on the mend now.

OK so on to the challenge!
Annie has chosen Winter wonderland with the optional extra of a white theme
She has seen lots of lovely Christmas cards featuring large expanses of white
and thought this would be a great extra for her challenge...
You can add colour to your image of course or we wouldn't be able to see it! tehhehe!
You can add colour to the background matt layer or even a little edge distressing, but we want to see lots of White Winter Wonderlands!

We are sponsored for this challenge by one of our regular sponsors:


Photobucket


And the prize is a $15 Gift Certificate...they'll pay the shipping too!
.
Here are the inspirational Winter wonderland projects for the FANTASTIC design team!

Squirrel 2nd Card (Opting out of the optional white Extra)


2nd fabulous card from Lorraine


Helen


Samantha

2nd card from Samantha



Annie

Jayne

Delphine

Carissa

Dorte


and now for our 2 lovely Guest Designers



How about that for inspiration!

OK so now its your turn!
and I can tell you this much the girls have been saying they can not wait to see all the projects this time!! they have had a great time creating!
there only one thing left for me to say
HAVE FUN!

Please Turn it off!! We No longer comment on blogs with Word Verification switched on.

Please Turn it off!! We No longer comment on blogs with Word Verification switched on.
Click here for how turn it off!!