Thursday, December 8, 2016

Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia


   
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!
 
   

 This card was created for a specific purpose, as you'll see a bit later. I loaded up my watercolor brush with some green ink and, starting at the top of a piece of scrap paper, swiped it back and forth until I ran out of color. Then I loaded up my brush with some pink ink and did the same starting at the bottom, until the two colors met in the middle. Once the paper was dry, I stamped Winnie & Walter's house from This Awesome House on top and cut around the image. 
   
 
The banner is from the same set, embossed in white on charcoal paper. I added the shading lines with a white gel pen and then embossed the sentiment from the new Sentimental: Winter set. Love how it fits in the banner! I still thought it looked a little plain on top so I added the Merry die from In a Word: Merry Cutaway to pick up the pink on the bottom of the house AND the pink on the inside of the card. 

So, why did I make this particular card?

Well, the house stamp is the perfect image to go with the village of chipboard Christmas houses I created for our nieces and nephews in Texas.


 
They are made with a thick doll house die from the now-out-of-business Top Dog Dies. I thought they would be cute sitting underneath the Christmas tree, on the mantel, or even in bookcase.



Going through my Christmas paper "collection" was so fun to find patterned papers for all the different parts of the house. I tried not to repeat any papers across the group of houses. Sometimes I'd alter a patterned paper by coloring it with a copic marker, like the shutters here which were originally the white and red zig-zag paper on this next house:



The roof of each house has a grouping of die cut berries, pine branches, and sometimes a strip of this cute snowflake trim.


 
This roof is covered with layers of scalloped lace to mimic the look of shingles.


  
 This roof has a bit of snow that's collected on top. Love the peppermint chimney (because who doesn't want one of those?!)


 
Each house is personalized with their first initial on the door. This door also has a crystal doorknob.
  

 
I covered the back with another patterned paper and added a chipboard stand covered in paper. The stand, conveniently enough, is the perfect spot for a greeting! For those detail oriented folks, you may notice that this was LAST year's present.
 
 
All the different backs.

  
 
Here they all are, wrapped up with an initial on each tag. If you're sending presents to far away family or friends this year don't forget decorating the box itself! These boxes were quick to pretty up with the w&w Winter Woodland set. Might as well make a good first impression : )

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 Winnie & Walter so you’ll definitely want to win! Simply leave a comment on this post - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too! You must leave a comment on Taheerah’s blog as well as mine in order to be eligible to win! Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah’s blog and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 23:59 EST on 31st December 2016 to enter.

Don’t forget 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!

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

206 comments:

  1. These are wonderful! Love the multi-colored inking on the card and those little houses, so cute!!!

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  2. Love the house theme! Great idea making personalised houses.

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  3. Love the Merry Cutaway. It gives the final touch to the card.

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  4. Kelly, you are SO CLEVER! A great idea on the wc blending on your 1st card. A beautiful job!
    Those house are totally AWESOME! Love this idea. TFS!

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  5. Kelly, you're absolutely AMAZING.

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  6. Your card is so pretty; such a warm, welcoming house! I am, however, blown away with the houses you've created for your nieces and nephews, not to mention the fabulous, special details you've added to the envelopes! How blessed they are to have such an awesome Aunty! WOW! Thank you for being part of Taheerah's Extravaganza; you've sent my festive spirit soaring! (and I'm keeping this idea for my niece and nephew for next year...maybe I can design a set of Advent calendar houses...)
    ~carol

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  7. OMG. Your houses are so cute.

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  8. Wow! These are simply, amazing!

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  9. Your card, houses and boxes are so cute!

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  10. Love your card and house projects..Such a clever idea :)

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  11. What a lovely and thoughtful gift! And yes, your card is perfect to go with.

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  12. These are so amazing :) your creativity is just wow!

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  13. Your houses are all decked out, Kelly! Oh my...each one is so unique and beautiful! I love how you used the images with pattern paper! AWESOME indeed!

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  14. Awesome! Love the houses they are so adorable.
    natgodfrey4@gmail.com

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  15. What a cool effect! I love your card - so creative!

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  16. Wonderful projects! I love house stamps and dies too. Inspiring.

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  17. Totally in love with your village!! The card is beautiul and having it be part of a village is such a great decor idea!! TFS!

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  18. What a fun idea! And yes, the card was the perfect thing to go along with the chipboard houses. Love all of the patterns - these will be a great gift!

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  19. Your Christmas houses are absolutely stunning, Kelly! I hope your nieces & nephews are old enough to appreciate what treasures these are--or at least the parents will hopefully put them away in a safe place! You're always so creative--love the card, too!

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  20. Wow! I'm stunned. These are all so amazing. Everyone will be so happy to receive these beautiful houses. What fun! :)

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  21. Love all your home themed projects. Home is definitely were the heart is.

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  22. Gosh you are so creative - love the little village you made - so fun and inspiring:)

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  23. houses seem to be the hot ticket this year and yours are cute. thanks so much for sharing.

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  24. WOW! The card is perfect for those AWESOME houses.

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  25. That card is beautiful and those little houses are so cool!

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  26. A perfect card to go with the wood houses. Very pretty.
    DebbieC

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  27. Lovely way to make
    the card and the
    little houses are
    so fun and festive!
    Carla from Utah

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  28. LOVe Love Love that decorated box! I have not even started shopping let alone doing crafts. I live vicariously by reading blogs! LOL

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  29. amazing houses! they will look fabulous no matter where they are sitting! And I love your first house card...awesome!

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  30. Such a great way to ship! love the houses and water color technique!

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  31. Very cool little houses! I love how you embellished the postage box too.

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  32. Beautiful card to go along with those awesome houses! Such pretty details on each one!

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  33. Love ALL your houses! Cute!

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  34. The houses for your nieces and nephews are fabulous, as is the big and bold pink 'merry'.

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  35. What a fun idea! The little houses are so unique!!

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  36. Kelly!! You never fail to amaze me with your creativity! Those little houses--LOVE!!

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  37. the houses are fantastic.
    The kids will love and treasure
    them/ I hated to see Top Dog Dies
    go out of business - they had good
    product.
    thanks for sharing.

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  38. Those house shaped cards are amazing! Doubly duty on the stand for adding your greetings.

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  39. These are so much fun! I love how you personalized them.

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  40. Wow!! I love the colors of the card!!! And your chipboard houses are DARLING!!!!

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  41. As usual you have outdone yourself, Kelly! I am envious of your nieces and nephews as you are probably one of the coolest, most gifted of aunts. Adore the house card and personalized houses so much (I am a big fan of houses).

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  42. The watercolouring on your fabulous house makes it look as though it's lit up from the ground, Kelly ... all festive and Christmassy ... and those initialled houses are fantastic ... what a wonderful gift and keepsake! Hugs, Anita :)

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  43. Love the card! Those houses you made last year show so much love, care and creativity!

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  44. I love the way you water colored the card, the gradual depth of color is so pretty! But your Christmas Village is GORGEOUS!! I love all the houses, each one has it's own character! I wish i was lucky enough to receive this beautiful Village, I am sure your nieces and nephews will adore them!!

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  45. Great projects! The houses are great.

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  46. I love the soft water colors on this card! Your Christmas village is amazing. The houses are so much fun -- what lucky nieces and nephews to receive such a wonderful holiday gift!

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  47. All your houses are so pretty and unique

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  48. The holiday houses and pickup trucks are perfect this year. Love your house(s).

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  49. The decorative houses are so pretty an can be used for years to come! Beautiful.

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  50. Oh too cool and heartwarming! Creatively colored and done! Thank you for sharing!

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  51. Your nieces and nephews will love those houses! I know I do! Look forward to a post with a picture of them under the tree!

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  52. Pretty card and the decorative houses are beautiful, love all the paper combos! Love how you've stamped on the mailing boxes, so fun and festive too!

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  53. Love your merry cards and the cute houses!

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  54. Your card is very lovely but those houses are just gorgeous!

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  55. I'm in love with houses of all shapes and sizes! Great card and little houses! LOVE! ❤️

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  56. The houses are too cute and I love the card

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  57. BRILLIANT! Love these projects~And what a great idea to stamp the mailing box. We never think about that...!

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  58. I LOVE your houses, thank you for sharing!

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  59. Thank you, Kelly. I love the cheerful little house from Winnie and Walter. The touch of watercolor and contrasting bright pink tag really pulls it altogether.

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  60. You made some really cute houses but my favorite thing and an idea I will be copying for sure, the standard mail boxes that were stamped and decorated. Such a lovely idea.

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  61. How fun! I was charmed by your card and then saw your sweet little houses - perfect!

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  62. OH my goodness Kelly, those little house are darling!! Cute card too, love the polka dots inside!!

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  63. Oh how fun! I love all your houses. What a great gift! Thanks for the inspiration. :D

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  64. The font/stamp on the merry is very eye arching just like your houses. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  65. I like your various projects with the house...so fun!

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  66. So cute love all the different houses.

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  67. Love all these fabulous houses! Your card is so sweet--fun color scheme with the red and green!

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  68. Card is nice and love all the individual houses

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  69. Oh Kelly, how wonderful are all your little houses! Love the card inside and out too :)

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  70. The card and the houses are darling. How fun!

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  71. The roof decorations on all your adorable houses are so detailed and fabulous!

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  72. The houses are adorable. Love the blending of the pink and green! Thanks for sharing

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  73. Someone had fun with houses! Love them all! Thanks for sharing!

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  74. Cute card and adorable houses! What a great idea to send to someone far away!

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  75. Cute chipboard houses and I like how you colored the house on the card.

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  76. There is no place like home rings true in your cards. Every one brings a different feeling to this idea but all need "home". great work.

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  77. Love your houses, Kelly! A woman after my own heart! <3

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  78. Love all the house cards. You did a awesome job. Thank you for sharing.

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  79. I absolutely love these houses. They're just beautiful!

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  80. Nice card, but I love your chipboard houses. All the fun paper combinations -such a great idea.

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  81. I love Christmas cards with houses! These are ALL amazing!
    Holiday Hugs!
    Michele

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  82. These houses are oh so pretty!!! I LOVE the red and green house on the card, very clever!

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  83. Love your card. So creative and I'm sure your family will love the Chip Board house. Adorable!

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  84. Your card is just wonderful and I adore your little village. Cheers.

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  85. ooohh I love the small little houses! amazing!

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  86. Amazing projects!! The card is just lovely and makes me think of the stately homes in London that are bathed in the Christmas colors.

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  87. Absolutely beautiful, a lot of love in these projects. Nikki

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  88. Unique projects! 😊 Thanks for sharing them! God bless

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  89. Love the little houses and the package decorations.
    They certainly stand out and are festive.

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  90. Love all the projects. Very cute houses!

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  91. Love both projects! Thanks for sharing! (Peg)

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  92. Very cute projects!Thank you for sharing your ideas.

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  93. Love the houses and your card. So cute!!!

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  94. Wow, great ideas! Thanks for sharing on this great blog hop!!

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  95. Those houses are adorable! Thanks for sharing!

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  96. So sweet and fun mail to receive!

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  97. Wow! From the card to the packaging, your project is just wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

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  98. These are so wonderful. Every aspect of these cards, shows the receiver the thought and caring that went into them. So beautiful.

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  99. Great house cards! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  100. Such a cool idea - i love the ink blending up the house on the card - really love these!

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  101. The detail on these house is amazing!

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  102. What an adorable idea. Love it! Thank you so much.

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  103. Those houses are so wonderful, Kelly, and it was so great of you to make them as gifts.

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  104. Dang, can't get the dies! These are a great idea! Nicely done.

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  105. Oh, so much fun! I hope your family treasures their houses. I started doing "memory" ornaments for each of my grands a few years ago. When I went by their house yesterday, the tree was up and the girls kept pulling off ornaments to show me! Look Mimi, this was from the beach, this was from our trip to Gram's, etc, etc. They were so excited to re-share the memories. My heart is still warm and you just cannot get the smile off my face. Thanks for (maybe) another tradition!

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  106. Lucky nieces and nephews. It's an adorable village and lovely card.
    Ingrid

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  107. I love homes all decorated for Christmas--yours are wonderful!

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  108. Love your houses! So creative.

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  109. Great card and fun decorative houses

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  110. These are precious! So many cute details on each one.

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  111. What cute little houses. It's always nice to have a project to use our designer series paper on. The card you made to carry on the theme of the houses from last year. Beautiful shading and I like the red merry on top of the house like you did

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  112. These house are just the sweetest! Love your card also!

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  113. Wow! These houses are so wonderful- on the inside and outside! The recipients are going to adore them!!

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  114. so many ideas with just one concept, love it

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  115. Love all your amazing projects. So adorable. Thank you so much for sharing

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  116. Love the houses....want that die!

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  117. You've certainly been busy, Kelly! Your family is sure to love these adorable houses. And, the card is perfect to send along with them.

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  118. I love seeing artist's watercoloring ideas, and your card is so cool! Love all the details you put in all those houses for your Texans.

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  119. I love the colors you used on your lovely card! What a wonderful idea to create a card to tie in to those sweet houses you made. I'm sure your family members cherished them. Such special and fun happy mail!

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  120. Clever little houses I'm sure the recipients will enjoy! The card is lovely on its own or as a tie-in to the gifts. Thanks for the great ideas!

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  121. Wow!! Your chipboard gingerbread houses are amazing!! So creative and fun 😊 And I love your card as well. I love that the inside of the card is pink. The colors you used are beautiful!!

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  122. Your projects are amazing and love the house card!

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  123. Love the house motif for your cards. Great idea.

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  124. Awesomely cute little houses! I love that you decorated the mailing box too!

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  125. Those houses are absolutely delightful!

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  126. The cards and houses are so beautiful. Enhances the mood of Christmas!

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  127. I love, love love your gorgeous creations!I collect little pottery houses and I would love to make these for christmas!

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  128. Your card is beautiful and what about your cute houses!!!

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  129. WOW! Great card and FABULOUS gifts. Really love the paper used for all the chimneys.

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  130. Beautiful projects! Love ❤️ the cute houses! :-)

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  131. eeeeeek!! those houses!!!! i can't!! so so so adorable!! and LOOOOOVE the pink/green house card! sooooo sweet!

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  132. i know its such a tiny detail, but i really like the stamping on the USPS boxes! such a cute touch!

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  133. Love the way you inked up the house - so simple yet gorgeous!

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  134. The houses are so cheery and pretty. Thanks for showing them to us.

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  135. I love the houses you have created!! Very pretty! The card is beautiful!

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  136. All of those little houses are so fantastic and I love the card and the packaging you made to go along with the theme!!! Super fun!

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  137. Great projects! The chipboard houses are so fun and inviting. Who wouldnt love one of these?!

    Sammibug in Ohio

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  138. Your card is great. Love the little houses you made, very cute.

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  139. Oh this is SO FUN!! I love how you used these little houses!!

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  140. Wow, these are so fun and lovely! Brilliant!

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  141. What darling little houses! Super creative!

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  142. Super adorable houses. I love the pink polka dot paper you used on the inside of your first card.

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  143. Thank you for coming up with a nontradional Christmas card theme!! And I love the PINK on the first card especially!! Am pinning your idea and hoping to play! TFS!!!

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  144. Great projects. The chipboard houses are adorable.

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  145. Adorable houses all and I LOVE what you did on the boxes- simple but wonderful.

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  146. What a treat! Love how they really truly are all different.

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  147. love the city feel of the pink card and the houses are so sweet thank you Merry Christmas

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  148. The card is simple and cute!! And those houses are adorable!!!

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  149. WOW... they are amazing and stunning projects! LOVE your card and those houses!

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  150. Nice village of houses! Nice touch to,decorate the boxes.

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  151. So many great ideas!! Love all your houses!! Can't believe I forgot to decorate the shipping boxes. I'll do that next year!!

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  152. I loved your projects! The initial on each of your nieces and nephews was such an amazing touch! Thanks for the inspiration and for the opportunity to win!

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  153. What fun paper-pieced chipboard houses and I love the banner across the cool watercolored house on the card!

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  154. How fun. Love both the houses and the card.

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I absolutely love reading comments. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave one! - Kelly