November 2015 Linky Challenge and Blog Hop: Visions of Sugarplums with FREE downloads and prizes

Hello, Friends!

Welcome to the Crafty Secrets November 2015 Linky Challenge and Blog Hop!  We have some sweet surprises in store for you this month with our Visions of Sugarplums  hop.  The design team was challenged to create a Christmas themed project that could be anything BUT a card.  You are going to find loads of great ideas for gift giving, stocking stuffers and decor that will  help you get your home ready for the holidays in this month's hop!  So turn on some Christmas tunes, grab yourself a cup of Christmas cheer and let's get this party started with some sneak peeks of our designer's beautiful projects!

If you have little people in your home, I know you've heard this question asked a million times?  "How many days til Christmas?"  Whether you are 3 or 103, this festive Christmas Countdown Calendar is a sweet, interactive way to keep track of the number of days til Christmas.   You will find loads of photos, details and supply lists for this festive project on my blog, Kathy by Design.

 

Victorian Christmas decor is back in style, and Ginny has created a wall hanging that captures our Visions of Sugarplums theme to perfection.  The pink color palette, Victorian image and stunning embellishments will have you swooning, and her tutorial on how to color match your flowers is one that you find very useful indeed.  You can read all about it, and see all the pretty details on Ginny's Blog, Polly's Paper Studio.

 

 Decorating the Christmas tree is something we all look forward to, and handmade ornaments are the best!  Sheila has created a darling hanging ornament that is just loaded with vintage goodness.  In her tutorial, she'll share how to change the colors on a digital PNG file.  If you are new to digital, Sheila does the BEST tutorials with clear, step by step instructions.  Visit her blog, Sheila Rumney Design and Photography to learn how, and then schedule a crafting day for the family so you can fill your tree with beautiful handmade ornaments like this one.

 

Don't you just love snowmen as Christmas decor?  You can keep your home filled with cheer right through the winter with this darling bottle cap ornament from Michele.  If you love retro images, these sweet ornaments will be at the top of your wish list, and you can find out how Michele made them on her blog, Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker.

 

You can almost feel the brush of angel wings in Diane's beautiful Christmas ornaments.  The soft blues and touches of glitter and tinsel are absolutely heavenly!   Her tutorial will show you how to work with paper mache and digital papers.  Get all the info you'll need to make some of these pretties up on Diane's blog: Nellie's Nest.

 

Gifts in a jar are always popular at Christmas.  You can fill them up with jams or jellies, bath salts, cookie mixes, small candles, hand scrub or homemade candies.  When you have a jar as pretty as this one that Shantaie altered, it is a gift all on its own.  Shantaie always has such fun ideas for embellishing, and this month, she'll show you how to  make a tassel for embellishing your goodies.  You can find product links and this tutorial on Shantaie's blog, Inking Pink.

 

If you are in need of beautiful supplies for your Christmas Crafting, we have loads of options in our Crafty Vintage Girl online store.  If you like to work with digital product, our two Christmas CD's are filled to the brim with beautiful papers, Bingo cards, templates, printable images, PNG files, fonts, words and more.  If retro is your thing, you'll love our Creating with Retro Christmas CD for its bright colors, nostalgic images and playful feel.  

 

If you swoon over Victorian and traditional images, we've got you covered with our Creating with Vintage Christmas CD.  The rich colors, vintage patterns, templates, Post Cards, fonts, frames and ephemera on this CD are all that you need to fill your home with Christmas cheer. 

Our online store is filled with almost as many Christmas treats as Santa's workshop! We have both digital and traditional supplies in stock to help you and your Christmas helpers create a holiday that is Merry and Bright!  You'll find great deals and FREE SHIPPING on domestic orders over $35!  

I hope these sneak peeks have you in the mood to create, because we'd like to invite you to play along with us in this month's Linky Challenge.  Just create any project you like using your Crafty Secrets goodies, and link it up below this post.   You don't need to follow our Christmas theme, but it's always fun if you do.  We're offering a $25 digital shopping spree to one randomly chosen participant, and we'll all be stopping by your blogs to take a peek at your handiwork.  This is such a great way to bring new people to your blog, share your love of crafting and, maybe win a prize.  Note: You MUST use Crafty Secrets product in your entry to be eligible to win the prize. 

To thank you for playing along, we'd like to share some Christmas treats with you.  Plaids, checks and houndstooth patterns are very "in" this season, and this traditional red plaid paper from our Creating with Vintage Christmas CD is one of my all time favorite prints.  Simply click on the image then select the option to save the file to your computer.  You can print it out in any size you choose, on any type of paper you choose.  

And how about a digital stamp this month?  Last year, we released a fabulous digital stamp set called Deer Christmas. It is a stamper's dream with 37 digital stamps ranging from elegant etchings to fun, whimsical images, with deer being the unifying theme.  This handsome deer postcard can be used on its own, or as a card focal.  

Please remember that these images are not to be shared, sold or otherwise reproduced.  They are provided here for those who play along in this month's Linky Challenge. 

We are so glad you are joining us for this fun, inspirational hop and we can't wait to see what you make!  You have until midnight PST, Sunday November 15th to upload your project below.

On behalf of Sandy Redburn, I wish you joy and creativity!

Cheerio,

Kathy Clement

Design Team Leader/ Crafty Secrets


ENTER YOUR PROJECT HERE: