Tell us your Blue Peter stories and Spotlight winners

You really did seem to enjoy sharing all your "Favourite Things" with us in June and there were so many contenders for the months 'In the Spotlight' feature, but as always we had to come down to just two from all the fabulous entries and I am very pleased to announce that these are Nanda and Lorraine with two stunning pieces of artwork.

As an aside before I move on, when I read what Lorraine had written it raised quite a smile and brought back so many memories of days spent sticking loo roll tubes together, usually with glue made from flour and water, paint all over the place, then total frustration that it never quite looked like the one on the TV, or in my case, usually fell to pieces as soon as I moved it. I'm sure lots of you remember those days and like me, think how things have moved on with all the fabulous crafting products now available.............who knows what we might have created if we had had just a few of them back in those days ? 

We would love to hear your Blue Peter stories and it would be great if you left us a comment or mailed me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your memories. If anyone has a picture of what they made that would be even better. I Have a feeling that for many of us, our crafting journeys started back then without us even realising it and if I hear from enough of you, I thought it might be fun to share them and do a special post dedicated to Blue Peter memories.

OK, now back to your winning entries, a few words from the DT about them and also something about both of our winners. 

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Lorraine

"so pretty, delicate and soft", "the soft colours make you feel like daydreaming is 

all that matters"

Here is a little about Lorraine:

"A well known children's programme (Blue Peter!) were making a 3D picture out of wrapping paper and a bathroom tile. I was about 8 years old and had to have a go! My crafting addiction had begun!! 

I spent many years making decoupage cards and just before Christmas my Husband bought me some promarkers so that I could try something new. Now all my spare pennies go on rubber stamps. I've only been colouring for about 7 month and I LOVE it!! I'm also addicted to Penny Black stamps! During the last 6 months I've made lots of new blogging friends and hope to make lots more. I'd like to say a BIG Thank You to Brenda and the DT for picking my card this month. I really appreciate it".

Nanda

"such beautiful precise work", "I really want to go for a walk in this 

pretty garden"

Here is what Nanda has written about herself:

"I am Nanda and I started making cards when I was 18. I started with 3d cards. Every new technique on the market I tried. After many years I found the stamps. I Liked that alot and started with stamping. At the same time scrapbooking came into the Netherlands. So I gave that a try too. Now I make cards with stamps and I still scrapbook alot. I like making cards because of all the little details and the small work area. But I like scrapbooking too, because it is bigger, the work area is different".

Congratulations to you both, very well deserved credit for your work. Please go grab our In the Spotlight logo and wear on your own blogs with pride.

This months 'Summer Blooms' theme is also proving popular, but if you have not had chance to join in yet, or would like to enter again.....you can enter up to three time, there's still plenty of time and of course some great prizes to be won.

July challenge

Welcome to another new challenge here at Penny Black and More and this month we would like to see:

........ Summer Blooms ........

As always you can create anything you like, be it a card, tag, gift box, l/o and so on, all we ask is that flowers are the predominant feature on your work and of course it's a stamped image. Remember, no digi images are allowed but you can use any make of stamp and if you use a Penny Black stamp you will be eligible for an extra prize draw. And all eligible entries will be considered for our In the Spotlight feature where we highlight two crafters and their blogs.

We have lots of fabulous prizes on offer again from our wonderful sponsors, just check them out.......................

In case you missed the news, Penny Black have some fabulous new  stamps  which can all be viewed here, if you like cute, backgrounds or florals, they have something for  you  and there are some stunning new butterfly stamps. It's wise to sign up to their on line newsletter as you will get notifications of all new releases ahead of time. Three great prizes from them this month.............

Sir Stampalot are our regular sponsors of the winning entry using a Penny Black image.

They stock a huge selection of Penny Black stamps along with many other leading brands such as Hero Arts, Magnolia, Molly Blooms, Magenta to name a few, as well as carrying a massive selection of die cuts, Design Papers, if fact they are the one stop store for all your crafting needs. Here the prize from them this month.........

We are pleased to welcome back Letraset who are offering a set of Prom Marks to one lucky winner.

Their website here is a source of inspiration and carries information about their various colouring mediums along with tutorials by many well known faces of the crafting world.

Addicted to Stamps are sponsoring us again this month and offering a $15 spend at the on line store to one winner. Do check our the store as they have some fabulous  stamps  and loads of  other  inspirational and  unusual goodies.

Now for some inspiration from the Design Team and our Guest Designer Helene, my team mate from Allsorts.  Please do find time to pop along to their individual blogs and see more of their fabulous work.

Helene

Brenda

Clare

Ellie


Linda

Lynn

Mervi

Shirley


Susan

Tracy

Have a lovely Sunday everyone, I hope the suns shines where you are and look forward to visiting your blogs to check out your lovely entries.

June winners

Good Morning to you all, time for some winners from our June challenge.

There were some fabulous entries, you really did seem to enjoy the theme and a big thank you to everyone who joined in the fun. Now on to the winners and there are rather a lot of lucky peeps, all as selected by Random Org.

Winner of the voucher from Classy Crafts:

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Joyce

Winner of the voucher from Little Darlings:

Tracy

Winners of the stamps from Penny Black:

Lorraine

Fiona

Nela

Winner of the prize from Crimson Cloud:

Fabiloa

And finally winner of the entry using a Penny Black stamp donated by Sir Stampalot:

Kraftyk

Congratulations to you all, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addy's so I can get your prizes off to you. And don't forget to grab out winners logo from the sidebar to display on your own blogs.

I will be back again on Sunday with our July challenge, see you then.

May Spotlight Winners

A very Good Morning to everyone,

A little later than normal due to it taking me far longer than it should to get myself sorted after my hols, but I am as always thrilled to introduce two more super talented crafters to you for our monthly 'In the Spotlight Feature'.

I think May was rather a difficult theme, but you proved to us what a super talented bunch you are and we had some really fabulous entries and the final two 'In the Spotlight' are Tanya and Irene.

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Tanya

Heres's a little bit about Tanya: "First of all, thanks so much to Brenda and the Penny Black and More DT for choosing my card for the Spotlight, I'm honoured :D 

My name is Tanya, I'm 23 and live in Ireland. I was never particularly crafty at all up to last year, when I became very ill and spent 10 months in hospital; there was a craft-room for long-term patients there and I started jewellery-making and knitting. Then, another patient brought a card making kit in and shared it with me, and since then I've been addicted! For me, it has been something positive to focus on and take my mind off my illness. I started blogging 6 months ago, having spent hours looking at others' blogs, full of amazing creations. There's so much talent and inspiration out there, I'm always totally in awe of these masterpieces. It's still all so new to me - every time I make a card I learn something new, and I love that."

Irene

And Irene: "Hi, I’m Irene, mum to 3 and grandma to 5, and I am so pleased to have one of my cards in the spotlight. Thank you Brenda and the team.

I have crafted in one form or another, most of my life. My mum taught me to knit when I was 5, and I have dabbled in lots of crafts, but for the last 15 years cards have been my thing. I first started with stamping, but my colouring was awful, but after a water colouring class things improved, and then I was introduced to copics markers and they are now my first choice for colouring.

I  have had my blog for 2 years, and love visiting other blogs for inspiration, there are some very talented people out there, and I  am also a member of a couple of crafting forums, and have made some very good friends" .

Well done to you both, please grab out 'In the Spotlight' sidebar button to display on your own blogs.

June challenge

Welcome to our June challenge where it's a pretty open theme where you can do petty much what you like using..................

"All my Favourite Things"

The only restriction is that you must use a stamped image as the focal element of your work (remember strictly no digi images) and that you tell us what your favourite items are that you are using, how easy is that ? This challenge will close at noon GMT on 28th June.

We are delighted to have two new sponsors joining us this month Little Darlings Rubber Stamps and Classy Crafts, a warm welcome to both.

Classy Crafts have a comprehensive on line store and offer all new customers a 10% discount off their first order - use the code "first order" (no quotes) in the discount coupon box during the checkout process to claim your discount. (Offer excludes the Silhouette Cameo, and quotes for special orders).They are offering one winner a £10 voucher for an on line shop at their store.

Little Darlings was founded by Angie whose love of scrap booking and crafting saw a natural progression into the Little Darlings store which sells the exclusive range of Little Darlings stamps, along with beautiful dies, embellishment and crafting essentials. They are offering one lucky winner a $10 store voucher or any Little Darlings or Cutie Pie stamps of the winners choice

In case you missed the news, Penny Black have some fabulous new stamps which can all be viewed here, it's wise to sign up to their on line newsletter as you will get notifications of all new releases ahead of time. Three great prizes from them this month.............

And next we welcome one of our regular sponsors Crimson Cloud who are giving away another great prize to one winner...........

A mother/daughter venture - a way to indulge our joint passion of cardmaking and crafting. We only sell products that we have tried, tested and love using. We have developed our own exclusive range of digital stamps, svg files and "Make Your Own Card" kits which reflect our styles of card making - and hopefully yours too!

Last but by no means least Sir Stampalot who have a a great web site with super swift delivery of all in stock items and also have a fabulous spacious shop...............be warned if you visit allow plenty of time as there is so much to see. The brand new 'Delightful Celebration' Penny Black range is due in store any time now so keep your eyes peeled in the what's new section here. Here's the prize for the winner of the entry using a Penny Black image........

Now for some inspiration from the design team and it looks clear from all their fabulous pieces of work that they really enjoyed this challenge and I sense a distinct glitter theme coming through along with chocolate cake....are you thinking the same as I am.....more than just frosting on the cake !

Brenda
My favourite things: PB stamps especially their flowers and inspirational quotes, butterflies,
distress inks, masking suns and moons......and champagne

Clare
My favourite things: Christmas cards, Penny Black's "Snowy" and Glitter

Ellie
My favorite things: PB stamp, faber castell pencils, favorite colours


Linda

My favourites things: PB stamps, the critters, colouring with distress inks,
pink and green, punches/dies, chocolate cake

Lynn
My favourite things PB stamps, fashion, shoes, handbags, cocktails,
convertibles, and a touch of glitter

Mervi
My favourites are PB cute critter stamps and flowers too; ProMarkers
and just few embellishments

Shirley
My favourite things are:- Picnics, Summer flowers and
any kind of cake (especially chocolate)


Susan
My Favourite things:- PB Hedgies, poppies, spotty paper, embossing folders
copics & Prismas, Circle nesties

Tracy
My favourite Things:- This stamp, PB Critters, Red, Flower Dies

Good luck to you all and we look forward to popping along to visit you all and seeing all your lovely work.