Not a CREATURE was stirring

We're still celebrating animals (and CREATURES, aka Monsters) at Jingle Belles this week, so pull out your favorite creature* and join us at the post just below this one to link up.

Here are our week two creations.

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "If you've JINGLED along with us other years, you probably know that I generally break out my favorite intergalactic monsta hooligans (technically, creatures from a retired Paperchase line called "Mini Mutants") around Halloween. So this week those guys have dropped in to help us get ready for a big holiday celebration, and thanks to Sketch Saturday, they knew exactly how to arrange themselves for maximum photogenic benefit."

   

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "You had to know I was going to break-out a Yeti ... especially these fun new Beast Friends from My Favorite Things.  I colored him with Spectrum Noir Markers and used this week's Sketch Saturday layout.  I finished with a bit of Christmas Washi Tape and a sprinkling of enamel dots.  Love him."

*Earth animals such as reindeer, moose, penguins, cardinals, etc, are also welcome!

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

This week we're breaking out the animals … it could be a sweet little sheep, a cardinal in a snowy tree, or perhaps one of Santa's reindeer … okay, or even a monster if you're in a Halloween mood and want to stretch the theme (and your name is Lauren).

Here are our animal creations.

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I couldn't resist featuring one of the super-cute Holiday Grumplings from Taylored Expressions.  I colored him with Spectrum Noir markers and used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I know it's shocking to everyone who knows me well, but my card's got a perfectly normal, perfectly adorable reindeer! (Don't worry, there's a MONSTA on deck for next week, I promise!) Meanwhile, I'm still pretty smitten by the adorable Doodlebug reindeer stickers, and I still had a set of eyelet outlet antler brads, and the pairing is apparently quite irresistible to me at the moment. I've used my favorite "washi tape letters" trick (details on my blog) as well as this week's layout from Retro Sketches."

Link your amazing animal creations here by 6pm (EST) Wednesday, November 2nd. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:16:22.  

An InLinkz Link-up

In the Pink!

Before we reveal the totals for PINK CHRISTMAS 2016, we have to tell you something really special that happened this week. We got an email from our lovely friend Mimi, who participated this fortnight as one of our guest stars from Shopping Our Stash, and as a linked-up card-maker, as well. Mimi's eight year old daughter, Maude, had been (independently!) raising money for breast cancer research and wanted to know if she could contribute it to our total. Well, OF COURSE we were thrilled to accept! Here's what Mimi said,  "Maude decided to earn money for breast cancer on her own earlier this year. She did chores for some of the teachers at school, and I think grandpa even gave her some cash. I don't know why Maude focused on breast cancer, but I think at age 8, it was a mentally accessible concept-- she had heard about it, she knows people as they have gone through treatments, and she's seen how sad it's made my family for the families we know dealing with it." We were sooooooo impressed and so touched, we just had to share the story with you guys!

Thank you, Miss Maude, for your kindness and generosity, you've helped make this year's PINK CHRISTMAS celebration our best yet!

♥♥♥♥♥

Meanwhile, counting all the link-ups, the extra cards in some of the links, and the cards by our lovely guest stars, we had a total of 75, and with a donation of $2 for every card from each of us (Stephanie and Lauren) we came to $300; when you add in $30 from Miss Maude we've got a total donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of $330!!! Which is pretty flippin' awesome, in our opinion.

Thank you, JINGLE BELLES for thinking pink and linking pink with us again this year!

♥♥♥♥♥

Of course, it wouldn't be a proper wrap-up post if we don't add in a few shout-outs, so here's a trio of PINK CHRISTMAS cards that made us especially happy this fortnight:

Kate of Cards a la Kate

...made not one, but *FIVE* gorgeous pink greetings, making it nearly impossible to choose just one to feature. 

(Those BUTTONS, though!) 

CreaMaria of Made by CreaMaria

...started with an amazing vintage image and added lots of pink-n-glittery bits!

(Clearly, a girl after our own hearts!)

Becca Cruger, aka the Damsel of Distressed Cards

...rocked the stamping, the masking and the ghosting, all while proving that pink and grunge can totally be BFF's!

(Plus: Wordfetti!!!)

We cannot possibly thank our readers AND our lovely friends from Shopping Our Stash enough for making cards, linking cards, sharing and posting about the challenge on social media, and all-round reminding us how truly *WONDERFUL* the online papercrafting community can be! Take 18 hours or so off, won't you? Then head back here at midnight, because we'll have a brand new prompt to be enjoyed by all creatures, great and small! 

♥♥♥♥♥

Fuchsia Festivus

We're off to a pretty good start in the ♥PINK CHRISTMAS♥ gallery, but there's LOTS of room left for your card (or cards, plural, lol!) so be sure to scroll down to the original post just below this one for more inspiration and to link up your own pink masterpieces by Wednesday night!

Meanwhile, here's what we... and our lovely friends from Shopping Our Stash... made this week:

Cyndi's Card

Mimi's Card

Barbara's Other Card

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "Not only do I love (GAH!) pink, I love all the different shades of pink, and I'm quite happy to mix them all in together! In this case I've added some very soft fawn mats as a neutral to tie the layers together and a teeeeeeny bit of gold glitter because glitter makes everything better, right? I've also used the current Sketch Saturday layout to make the placement of each element super-easy!" 

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I created a fun patchwork design using several pieces of pink glittery holiday paper.  The fun cardstock sentiment stickers finish the design." 

(gah!) Pink Christmas

Woohoo! It's time for our favorite prompt of the year, Pink Christmas! If you've ever hung out with us in October, you already know the drill, and there's an FAQ type post just above this one, but basically: each year in October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Stephanie and Lauren host a challenge where we ask everyone to make holiday cards that are, (as the title suggests, lol) *PINK*... and then we each donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for each card that gets linked up. 

If you're wondering why this year it's (gah!) Pink Christmas, you may remember that our friend Leslie Hanna (aka the Crooked Stamper) who passed away last December, was always a big cheerleader for this event, despite being a famously ardent NON-fan of what she always called, (gah!) pink. So it just seemed like this year we should make it a bit of a tribute and remembrance of that lovely, snarky, crafty, fun lady. In fact, we've asked a few of her teammates from Shopping Our Stash, to come along and help out. So without further ado, here's the bumper crop of (gah!) Pink Christmas cards we've assembled:

Stacey's Card

Maria's Card

Barbara's Card

Barb says, "House Mouse angel framed by an off-cut from a top note I had in my Christmas scrap from last year, edged in pink for dimension and coloured with alcohol markers."

Deena's Card

Chris' Card

Chris says, "Leslie was truly a one of a kind lady. I loved her incredibly sarcastic sense of humor, and her distaste for the color (GAH!) pink always made me laugh. Her blog posts were always funny and it was wise not to drink or eat anything while reading them, as you'd most likely be spitting whatever was in your mouth out form laughing so much! I miss you, sweet friend! ((HUGS!))"

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "There are lots of fun holiday papers that feature pinks ... like DCWV Jolly Whimsy ... so if you use those, the designs can come together quickly.  A stamped sentiment and a few snowflake embellishments finish the design."

Lauren's Card
Lauren says, "I've really missed Leslie this year. She, the lovely June Houck and Tracy Parlett were my very first blogging friends, and ever since, our online lives did a fair amount of overlapping. We knew a lot of the same peeps; we were on SOS together; we chatted and joked via email a couple of times a week. It's tempting to complain how unfair it is that she's gone waaaaaay too soon, but when I really stop and think, the thing I marvel most about, is that I was given the incredible bonus of a friendship that lasted nearly a decade, purely based on the fact that I like to make cards, and in 2007 I decided to start posting them on a blog. Seriously. HOW COOL IS THAT?! For that matter, Stephanie and I --and most of the rest of the people reading this-- met the same way. I'm amazed and grateful for all of the fun, inspiration, friendship and love that has come my way because of this hobby. It blows my mind. Thank you Leslie, and thank you, fellow Jingle Belles, for all of the *FUN* we've had together. I'm looking forward to all of the good things still to come!"

Ok, so, the one thing that would make this event even better, would be if we could break our 2014 record of 144 cards, for which we donated $576.00. Tell your friends, tell your fellow crafters, heck, tell your Granny if she likes to make cards! Feel free to link, share and repost the graphic and the FAQ in the post above. Then grab your fuchsia papers, your cerise embellies, your salmon ink, your bubblegum florals... well, you get the idea: THINK PINK and LINK PINK right here on this post between now and 6pm (EST) Wednesday, October 19th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:16:21. 

An InLinkz Link-up

It's Nearly Time

What is it? 

A challenge to make and link *PINK* holiday cards in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Where is it?

Right here!

jinglebellesrock.blogspot.com

When does it start?

At midnight!

(technically, at 12:01am (EST) on Friday, October 7th)

Whom does it benefit?

Lauren and Stephanie (aka the Jingle Belles) are each donating $2 per linked up card to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How many cards can I link?

As many as you want, there's no limit!

What if I don't celebrate Christmas?

You're welcome to make pink Hanukkah, pink Solstice, pink Kwanzaa or pink New Year cards instead.

Does my card have to be ALL pink?

Nope! But it should be noticeably pink. So there should be more than, say, the blush on Mrs. Claus' cheeks, if you see what we mean?

What's with the "(GAH!)"?

Our friend and fellow papercrafting blogger, Leslie Hanna (aka the Crooked Stamper) passed away last December. Each year, Leslie was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of this event... which was pretty cool, seeing as how she really REALLY did not like the color pink, at all. A fact she wrote about quite hilariously on many occasions. So it's a bit of a tribute, and a way to have her with us in spirit!

Please join us to Think Pink and Link Pink at Jingle Belles!

♥♥♥♥♥

(Feel free to link, share, repost and spread the word, we'd like to raise as much money as possible!!!)

Ring-a-Ding-Ding

So many fabulous Bells in the gallery this week ... here are a few that did an extra-special job of RINGING in the holidays.

Bonnie Garby of Make Time to Craft

rocked some big bold jingle bells with a perfectly tied double bow ...

and what a fun holiday sentiment.

Jacki D of Crafting in my Kitchen

turned Cherry Blossoms into an amazing holiday wreath ...

and topped it with two perfectly placed little jingle bells.

Kathy Schweinfurth of Stamps At Play

featured a pair of rusty little bells with her perfectly place pine bow ...

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas indeed.

Our next prompt is a super-special annual event that you won't want to miss.