December Honorable Mentions

This month's honorable mention post is going up a lot later than usual, but I felt that many of this month's entries were so amazing, they couldn't possibly go without a shout out!!!

 
Regina Magnum's advent calender will probably go down in history as one of the most impressive advent projects of all time!  The detail she put into it, from the numerous windows, to the brick siding to the wreaths on the doors, she included everything.  This is sure to be a family treasure for her home for many years to come!

Michele Hetland created a version of Home Made that is full of sunshine & celebration.  I loved the way she displayed & emphasized the sentiment, flanked on both sides by buttons & ribbon.  If you look really closely at the front window you will even see a Christmas tree peeking out!

Kittie Coracciolo preserved an amazing air or sophistication & elegance with her version of the house.  Her ribbon accent around the middle is just amazingly stunning.  The way she included a black front door is unique & perfectly suited for the style she chose.  Way to go Kittie!!!

Kerri Michaud's house is a perfect example of clean and simple.  The color scheme is very holiday and festive.  One of my very, very favorite touches is the tag accent hanging from the chimney.  A perfect way to finish one of these little projects off.

It's not hard to see why Aga won for the Best Use of Leaves.  Such an amazing and intriguing contribution to this contest.  The pretty metallic heat embossing paired with the snowflake style formation, complete with a sparkling baubled center is nothing short of breath-taking.  I love her choice of colors, her unconventional design and just the overall "thinking outside of the box".

Winter Sims caught my attention for several reasons.  The colorful pieced background, the large cut-out scrolling vine, the bright flowers that provide color pop.  But most of all, the overall design is well-balanced and easy to replicate.

Tracey Mason cleverly created a poinsettia from the leaves included in Friends 'til the End.  It took me a minute after looking at her project to figure out exactly how she had created the beautiful bloom, but once I did, I could see the pure genius behind it.

Ted Mattos kept it super simple and made an amazing windowed creation, highlighting a single leaf as it's focal point.  One of the best parts?  There's no sentiment, so you can literally use something like this for any occasion.

Crisanne used Star Prints and her creative eye to make this amazing holiday ornament.  The shimmer and shine she was able to capture with nothing but mere paper crafting supplies is truly amazing.  I can just picture dozens of these adorning any paper crafter's tree!

Julie Cameron utilized a bright & cheerful color scheme that I am anxious to try out myself.  By pairing several popular Papertrey sets, she proves that even the smallest elements can be combined to make an impressive impact.  The label from Tea for Two was a great finishing detail that added emphasis to her theme.

Dee Woodland used Faux Ribbon to create a festive striped pattern on the "gift " she put on the front of her project.  The photo of her son cleverly pulls out as an insert from the gift, as if the recipient is truly opening something special.

Valerie Johnson assembled an amazingly festive gift card holder using one of the three selections from our Cash or Charge template collection.  I loved the way she opted to not punch out a handle at the top and instead accented it with a button.  The small cluster of pearls paired with the sparkling snowflake really add a touch of magic to this project.  Be sure to keep an eye out tomorrow for a sneak peek of the amazing project that Valerie created with this month's new template!

Jeni16 enjoyed created different variations & sizes of the Around Town Tote.  Her embellishments were created with Vintage Ornaments in festive shades of pink.  I also loved the subtle background she created with Borders & Corners Squares set.

rj77 really kept things simple with her version of Tucked Away.  She used a large image from Turning a New Leaf as the major decorative element, then accented with a pretty gathered ribbon flower.  I love the way this looks and think it would be so easy to mass-produce for nearly any occasion.

Wendy Beck used the element of surprise to accent the interior of this gift card wrap from Cash or Charge.  The layers of cupcakes are the perfect thing to greet the recipient that would most likely be celebrating a birthday!  The same application could be done for other events and celebrations to add a fun element to the unwrapping process! 

I hope that you found all of this month's entries as inspiring as I did.  Especially the numerous entries we had for the Home Made category (you can check them ALL out HERE).  If I listed your winning entry today and you happened to highlight it on your blog, please feel free to add a link in the comments section and I will be sure to include it in the body of this post so others can reference it!  I look forward to seeing you back here for the countdown festivities that begin tomorrow!