Advent Calendar Extravaganza – Day 23!

By Taheerah | 23rd December 2017 | 199 Comments

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!
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 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!

 
Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This ‘hop with a twist’ was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are ONE HUNDRED special guests – each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you’ll never know where you’re going to be visiting next until you ‘open the door’!
And that’s not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as guests as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!!
Join in the fun every day at taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises await behind the door!

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:

'Tis The Season Mistletoe Christmas Card by Taheerah Atchia
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!!

'Tis The Season Mistletoe Christmas Card by Taheerah Atchia
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!!

'Tis The Season Mistletoe Christmas Card by Taheerah Atchia
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!

'Tis The Season Mistletoe Christmas Card by Taheerah Atchia

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!

'Tis The Season Mistletoe Christmas Card by Taheerah Atchia

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.

'Tis The Season Mistletoe Christmas Card by Taheerah Atchia

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

199 thoughts on “Advent Calendar Extravaganza – Day 23!”

  1. You aren’t kidding around with this card! How amazing. I love that background; truly awesome.. Such a great technique. The whole card is gorgeous!

  2. Absolutely stunning background. I thought it was a stamp at first. I couldn’t believe it when I read how you created it. Wow! I will try it out during the holidays, just for fun. Love the mistletoe stamp. Pity it’s no longer available.

  3. GASP! You ‘made’ the woodgrain background? I’m speechless with awe! So fabulous…and perfect for the mistletoe and sentiment! Yes, another ‘in love with ‘ card (I’m so fickle, as I love alllllllllllllllllllllll your cards *grin*)
    Hugs~c

  4. All of the work you put into your background is just amazing and so is the look you ended up with after all of your work. It’s a beautiful card with such detail. Thank you so much for sharing!

  5. This card did have great details. I really liked the wooden boards and the bokeh lights. Then the sentiment is set off so nice with it’s ombre colors. Beautiful.

  6. Your woodgrain background is the same colour as the floorboards in my lounge too minus the white dots, do like the look of the mistletoe against the wood texture, & the pop of red on the sentiment, missed this stamp set when it came out x

  7. Wow! This really was a labor of love. I don’t know that I would have thought to cut the woodgrain into strips, but the look is definitely worth it. Love the white frame, too. And of course the dimension (still thanking you for all the help about the Pinflair glue last year!!!). But I still can’t quite figure out why glitter/sparkle looks so good with rustic wood grain–but it does! I just did a similar thing with a gift I wrapped a few minutes ago! It makes me smile, even if the 13 year old boy won’t notice that detail. Thanks so much for this wonderful event. I can’t believe we are actually this close now. If I forget tomorrow, Merry Christmas and thank you again!

  8. You are right this card is like WOWZA, It ROCKS Girl!!! I am totally in love with the background, it looks just like a floorboard, I have to get that! I also love WoW’s embossing I think I have every color they make. AMAZING card. I can’t believe we only have a couple more days, it went way too fast but it was so much fun, I had a BLAST !!!

  9. WOW! That is stunning. I love the handmade floor look, all the techniques on the floor. And the mistletoe is amazing. I love all the details, inking, and sparkle. I can see why it might be your favorite. It truly is a labor of love. Just lovely. Happy Holidays!

  10. I love the combo of the woodgrain and mistletoe on your absolutely gorgeous card!! No wonder you love this card so much. It’s beautiful.

  11. Wow, this one is stunning! I am so loving the rustic look and feel! Oh and thank you for this awesome advent calendar!

    Sammibug aka Samantha Houp aka Sammi

  12. You did an absolutely awesome job on this card!! I couldn’t believe what you went through to create the background!! It looks like real wood flooring!! Just amazing!! The iridium embossing powder is fantastic! I wish I had gotten the Merry Mistletoe stamp. It looks so cute!! I definitely have to get that red glittery cord!! Thanks for sharing!! Merry Christmas!!

Leave a comment!

Keep the conversation going! Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.