And then somehow it was December ...

Welcome to December.  I am sure you must be asking yourself the same question I am - where the heck has this year has gone - wasn't it only January yesterday?

This month I thought I would do something just a little different as I am sure we will be bombarded with Christmas theme challenges across the web.  One member of our design team lives in the north of Norway and when I was searching for photographs to use this month I came across this one and just knew I had to use it as a tribute to those who get to see the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) this time of year.

So use the snow theme, or the gorgeous colours in the image or perhaps find inspiration in the patterns and swirls of the sky.  You might be inspired by the pine trees or the stars in the night sky.

Just look at the very different takes from our design team - all inspired from this one photograph.

TONE-LILL

This months inspiration picture showing the Northern lights, made me think of this Pion Design paper called "winter in Swedish Lapland" from last year. I final managed to get one my self and used it together with a winter photo of my niece with similar sky colours, taken a late winter afternoon, years back when she was a little girl.

This is your chance to scrap some winter photos, come and join in and have some fun  :)

HEIDI

This month the beautiful colours inspired me,I did some texture paste background on to canvas paper and some spraying .hope you come along and join in this month great colours.

REGINA

Beautiful inspiration image this month courtesy of Mother Nature!  So I followed the nature theme and showcased another joy of nature-snow. This is Dove Lake in Cradle Mt Tasmania in winter. I'm looking forward to seeing all your entries this month.

LYNNE

I was inspired by the magical feel and the swirls of the northern lights.

ANNA

I was inspired by the green in the sky.

PHILLIS

I had no snow photos to scrap so I concentrated on the sky. I used mists on my background paper to give it the colorful shimmering look. I used the photo of our family about to go up in a ferris wheel this summer. Then I added some colorful paper and the hot hair balloon. I used the string to give the page texture.

DI

From December's inspiration I took the clean, crisp colours from  the blues and whites. The photos were taken from the top of Mt Wellington in Tasmania after a light snowfall and a very heavy coat of frost and ice. This made all of the flowers on the plants look like crystals.

JANE

I was very fortunate to see the Northern Lights shimmering in the sky over Edmonton many years ago.  It was a dazzling spectacle and at the time I likened it to seeing a rainbow at night.  The image has stayed with me all these years.

We also bid farewell to one of our team this month, Anna Volker.  It has been lovely having you part of Pixels and Paper - we wish you all the best and please do pop back and see us when you have a spare minute.  

Please upload the DIRECT link to your actual entry to the link tool on the LEFT by 11.55pm on December 31st.

You are welcome to submit traditional paper layouts, art journals, divided page protectors, smash books (etc). Digital entries are welcomed and encouraged.  All entries must be new for this challenge and no back-linking please.

  I am happy for you to combine with two other challenges but the essence of the Pixels and Paper inspiration must be clear in your work. Combining with a sketch and technique/product challenge would be preferred. Please include our inspirational picture as well as provide a link back to Pixels and Paper on your blog post and tell us how you were inspired. International submissions are welcome.

Please come back on the 8th when we will announce the winners for November and welcome our guest designer for the month.