Secret Santa bonus post and Christmas Giveaway

Hello and welcome to a very special extra post here at A Vintage Journey. Nikki gave you the heads up on her challenge post on Friday that the Creative Guides were participating in a special gift exchange with each other and here we are with the big reveal to see what each person received.

When organising this event it was decided that we wouldn’t share with each other who we were making for or who we received from so much of this is just as much a surprise for each of us as it is to you. Only I have known all the details.

We are sharing a photo here of each project with you on the AVJ blog and if you click on people’s names you will be transported to their blogs to see more details about the project they made. Please read on to the end of this post to also find out about our Christmas Giveaway and what to do to be entered into the draw.

Brenda

I made an altered book for Anne as a special place for her to keep all her Tim tags for 2015. Anne might like to embellish the cover but there is lots of me inside. All is revealed at Bumblebees and Butterflies.

Astrid

The person that I had to give to was the wonderful Alison (Butterfly) from Words and Pictures.
Well, it being Alison that I had to give to, I knew words would have to be a main feature in whatever I created. So in the end I made her a little mini, holding my favourite Christmas poem that I will share with you all at the end of the post on my personal blog

Jennie

My gift was for Annie and having spent a couple of days crafting with her back in September, I couldn't ignore the fact that she loved candles. I decided to make this T-light book/box which holds six Mulled Wine Christmas T-Lights using Tim's Merriment Paper Stack.

Nikki

I decided to make a little Tim inspired personalised chocolate box for Jools. I used stamps and stencils to decorate it and a crackled die cut ‘J’. 

There are lots more photos and details over on my blog today – Addicted to Art. 

Jenny

"It was a privilege to be chosen to create a present for my lovely teamie Jennie Atkinson (Live The Dream), but it also filled me with trepidation - well have you SEEN the incredible works of art she creates?!! I settled on altering a journal with the idea that she could take it with her on one of her sailing holidays for doodling, drawing, making notes or whatever else takes her fancy."

Jools

I created a snowy starry night journal for Brenda as she loves journals, I was inspired by Tim's November Tag technique and used his Layered Snowflake die and added a little sparkle! 

Julie

I was delighted to find out I was to make a Christmas gift for the ever so talented Nikki. My gift to her is a Tree Decoration nestled within a Keepsake Box for safe storage.

Anne

Jenny loves vintage sewing themes and I love creating 3D objects, so I combined these and created a perpetual calendar for Jenny using Tim Holtz papers, Distress Spray Stains and Tim's Word Play die'. 

Julia

For my gift to Astrid - I stamped or stenciled both sides of a little muslin bag adding some stampings and some Idea-ology findings. I made a card using Tim's Artful Dwellings die, some spray stains and stamps - to slip inside along with some extra die cuts of the Artful Dwellings for Astrid to use on some projects!

Chris

"My make for the team Secret Santa event was quite a challenge! What do you make for someone as talented as our teamies? What can you think of that hasn't been done before? (Well, it probably has been done by someone as they say nothing is original anymore but at least I thought it up, lol!) My tealight stand can be adapted for any occasion but this is my Christmas one sent to Julie with love and best wishes for Christmas! Chris xxx"

Alison

I drew the lovely Julia Aston out of the virtual hat - eek, an earlier deadline to get it to the States on time! - and created a card which keeps on unfolding its secrets... from the front cover, to the inside, to the tags, to the reverse of the tags. I can't show you all that here, so you'll just have to come over to Words and Pictures to see the rest. I hope Julia likes it... I was certainly a bit reluctant to send it away!

Sandy

I was delighted when I got to make a gift for my lovely team mate Chris. 

I made a (battery operated) candle votive using a Graphic 45 Box; I decorated it with some beautiful snowflake ribbon, Tim's snowflake embossing folder and some of his fabulous legs, then made some tattered pinecones to embellish the front. I kept the theme all snowflakes and blue with a matching card. 

Annie

For my gift, which was for the very talented Sandy Diller, of 'My Crafty Life on The Internet' blog, I made an 8 by 8 Tri-Fold card. The base is plain card stock that I covered with Tim Holtz Seasonal Papers. The centre photograph/verse on sides are from the same paper stash and were matted on red and black card. Papers were distressed using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and some burlap ribbon tied it all together, with a few jingle bells attached. A few crafty goodies were also included and in particular some Tartan Ribbons. It has been great fun taking part in our first Secret Santa swap and I certainly hope we can do it again. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas with Best Wishes for the New Year too xx

Special Christmas Give-Away

We would like to give each and every one of you who enter our challenges and who read our blog posts a Christmas gift and the nearest we could think of doing this is to offer our Christmas Give-Away.

This is a lovely present for one lucky person.

Now just to be friendly we would like you to -

1. Visit all the blogs of the Creative Guides above and leave them a comment. Just click their name to be transported to their Secret Santa posts.

2. Come back here and leave a link up on the Linky below to a post on your blog where you have mentioned our Give-Away and linked it back here - this might be a new post just with the Give-Away info in it or you could include it in a post you are writing for something else - just like you would if you were entering a challenge.

If we get more than 30 links there will be a second prize Giveaway added .........

..... and if we get more than 50 links there will be a third prize.

Make sure you have linked by 23.55 on Sunday the 21st of December which is when the Linky closes. The winner will be chosen by Random Org and announced on our following challenge post which will be on the 26th December.

Good luck everyone, enjoy the hop and thank you in advance for taking part.

hugs Brenda and the Creative Guides