Penny Black and More

Turquoise, white, blue

Shirley
Brown, black, blue

Tracy
Turquoise, brown and cream

Good luck to you all.

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January winners

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000Z

Hello all our crafty friends out there, what an absolutely fabulous January we had with you entering your wonderful Love and Hearts pieces of artwork by the hundreds. We were mega excited to see so many of you and extend our thanks to each and every one of you for helping make is such a great month.

I think you all deserve a prize for making us such happy bunnies this month, but sadly that's just not possible so I will tell you who Mr Random Org., has picked out of the hat.............I am so pleased he does all the hard work because it would have been soooooo difficult to choose, I've not even began to think about how we will whittle down our lists for this month 'In the Spotlight' feature which will be announced on 18th February. So here we go:

Winner of the stamp from Crimson Cloud is............................

Tirpuusen

Winner of the Sir Stampalot prize selected from the entries using a Penny Black image.......................

Keryn

And winners of the stamps from Penny Black....................

Joyce

Jane

Monica

Congratulations to you all, so well deserved, please all mail me with your full postal addys to brenda@ibas.co.uk so I can get your prizes off to you. And don't forget you can all pick up our winners button from our sidebar and wear with pride on your blogs.

Don't forget to check in on Sunday 5th for details of your new challenge and of course lots more prizes.

The London Collection

2012-01-23T07:55:00.003Z

A very Good Morning to you all.

I thought I would just pop in and give you a heads up in case your not up to speed, Penny Black have just launched the fabulous London Collection to help us celebrate the London 2012 Olympics. They are a fabulous collection of stamps and something to suite all tastes from cute right through to fabulous London landmark images.

You can find them all here, Penny Black tell me they are already shipping and you should be able to grab some any day now, or get your order in with your local PB stockist.

Have a good day everyone.

December Spotlight winners

2012-01-18T08:00:00.010Z

Good Morning crafters, it's the 18th of the month which means time to announce the two.................and I can tell you they are very, very happy crafters.............entries who are the winners of our December In The Spotlight Feature.

Again, some beautiful entries and a tough task for the DT selecting their favourites, but we came down to two eventually who are....................

Katherine

Some of the DT's comments: "beautifully details work", "clever use of images"
"a lovely blog to brows for inspiration"

Here is a little bit from Katherine about her crafting journey..................

"Hello. My name is Katherine. I live in the Philippines. I'm a single mother of two beautiful children, Kath 17 and Rein 11. My Mom lives with me. My favorite hobby is cross stitching in 1997 and became my business for over 9 years. I had a shop and sell cross stitch supplies. It was then closed in 2006 and shift and moved my business into a variety store located in front of our house.

Photography and making handmade cards became a hobby too (and a business also) and started blogging it in September 2009. I was first introduced in drawings and making digital images. Some of my blog friends using my digital images in their cards. I have a lot of drawings kept in my drawing book, hopefully they will be shared soon. Some of the images I drew are now in rubber stamps that I made them myself. I never thought I will be recognized with my creations and projects especially in making cards and this inspires me everyday. Thank you so much. And by the way I'm also a Bonsai Enthusiast."

And the second winner is.................

Paula

and this is what the DT said about her work.............. "beautiful bright and cheerful", "lovely overall design"

Paula has written this to introduce herself to us all.................

"Hello, I am Paula and first of all, I want to thank you Brenda and the Penny Black and More design team for this honour. I first got involved in stamping about two years ago, when I was searching about customize a box for my sister, in that moment I discovered a new world for me. Since then, I spend hours visiting blogs and watching online videos to learn new techniques.

When I have a few free time I take out my tools and stamps and I let my imagination run wild. I am a “stamp addict” and love all stamps. I don’t think I really have a particular style, perhaps I could describe most of my works as rather funny and coloring , but I always try to make something new and I love the shabby-chic style."

Please join me in saying well done to Katherine and Paula and I know they would love to have a visit from you, as always just click on their name above their work to go directly to their individual blogs. And don't forget Katherine and Paula, you can collect our special sidebar button and wear with pride on your blogs.

From the feedback I get, it seems everyone is enjoying our In the Spotlight feature and hearing about other crafters, how they got into crafting and what they enjoy doing. To be in with a chance of being selected next month just enter our January challenge 'Love and Hearts' and leave the rest to us.

January Challenge

2012-01-01T08:00:00.064Z

Happy New Year to you all !!

And what better way to kick it off than with a new challenge and this month our theme is:

Love and Hearts

A great opportunity to make a start on the Valentine cards and perhaps try out some of the new goodies Santa delivered.

Just a little reminder that you can use any make of stamp, although no digi images are allowed. All qualifying entries are eligible for selection for our 'In the Spotlight' feature plus entries using a Penny Black image will also be entered into an extra prize draw.

Lots of fabby prizes on offer again so let me introuduce this months sponsors and first up we have Crimson Cloud.............

"We are 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!" Here's the super stamp they are offering, check out further down the great card Mel made using the same image..................

Next Sir Stampalot, our regular sponsor of the prize selected from the entries using a Penny Black image...........

They have a super spacious store in Peterborough as well as running an on line store where you can shop 24/7. Yo will also want to keep a regular eye on the 'Specials' section where their Sale is in full swing and there are are always great bargains to be had. Here is the prize they are offering...........................

And next some more great prizes from Penny Black.................... don't forget to join the club so you are always in the know about new products.

Here are the three prizes from them..................

As always the Design Team have produced some wonderful inspiration for you along with this months two Guest Designers and first up is Mel from Crimson Cloud with this great creation......

Next is my lovely teami for Allsorts Nicola with this super piece..........

Lyn

Mervi

December winners

2011-12-30T08:00:00.083Z

Good Morning, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday time and enjoyed whatever you did, be it a quiet relaxed time at home or a hectic family affair.

It's been another great month here at penny Black and More and now it's time for some winners all selected by Mr Random Org.,................it would be sooooooo difficult if I had to choose the winners as there were so many fabulous entries........................but the DT do selected the entries who feature in our monthly 'In the Spotlight' feature, so keep an eye out in January to see who made it this month.

First up is the winner of the Restickable Tabs kindly donated by Scotch Tapes:

Alison

Next in no particular order are the three winners for the stamps donated by Penny Black:

Brenda B

Annie

Riti

Winner of the entry using a Penny Black stamp and the prize donated by Sir Stampalot:

Esther

Next up the winner of the ribbons and embellies:

Carol

And finally, winner of the prize for one of our new followers this month is:

Rachael

Congratulations to you all, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys so I can send your prizes. Any prizes not claimed by midday GMT 6th January will be re-drawn.

And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who joined us during 2011 and helped make the challenge so much fun. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2012.

In the Spotlight................

2011-12-18T08:00:00.020Z

A very Good Morning to you all, I am thrilled to be here to introduce our very first 'In the Spotlight' featre'.

With so many entries last month and with such high standards of work, choosing our favourites was really difficult. But we believe the system we have implemented where each of the DT who themselves have their own unique crafting style put forward their two favourites as the initial part of our voting process, all entrants are offered an equal and fair opportunity of being selected.

So I am pleased to introduce you to the final two, Amelia and Sharon together with a few comments from the DT as to why they selected their entries, plus a little bio about each along with their winning entry. I do hope you will take time to pop along and visit them both and see more of their fabulous work.

Amelia

A few DT comments about Amelia's entry: "beautiful, precise neat work", "so much attention to detail", "beautifully embellished", "beautiful colour scheme"

"Hello, I am Amelia Breytenbach. I am delighted to feature in the spotlight post on The Penny Black and More Challenge blog – it is such a honour. I am married for 27 years to my loving and supportive husband and we live in Pretoria, South Africa with our two dogs. I am a librarian at a large residential university for the past 32 years but when I am at home I keep myself busy with card making – I love creating, and stamping is my passion. I have been stamping for 8 years now but started my own blog and entered challenges since February 2010. Since blogging I met so many new and wonderful friends from around the world sharing my passion. I was on an amazing design team and along with talented card makers I did some guest designing for a few inspirational challenge blogs. I have a variety of stamps from several companies, local and abroad but am totally addicted to Penny Black stamps. I am also passionate about creating with die cuts and vintage scraps. My favourite colouring technique is watercolour pencils and I love to add detail to my cards, especially flowers and lace. My style has developed over time seeing all the beautiful cards from so many talented card makers and I would describe my style as a mixture of shabby, vintage and cute elements. My biggest dream is to turn my love for crafting into my job! Thank you Brenda and the Penny Black and More design team for this opportunity to share my passion".

Sharon
DT comments about Sharons entry: "beautifully coloured image which is complimentary to our theme", "beautiful colours", "lovely design".

"I’ve always been a crafter and dabbled in many crafting hobbies making homemade gifts and the like since I was very young. But I first got involved in stamping about nine years ago when I was invited to a card-making party. A few years later, a friend invited me into a stamp “club” that met monthly and my stamp crafting really took off from there. Now I’m totally obsessed with stamping – it really is the perfect creative outlet for me. My favorite creative styles are vintage cards with lace and pearls and lots of layers. But I dabble with the whimsical and playful images in cards with bright, fun colors and patterns too."

Our congratulations to you both, please grab our special 'In the Spotlight' logo and wear with pride on your own blog.

There is still time to join in our December 'Happy Birthday' challenge when you might be in our next 'In the Spotlight' feature which will be published on 18th January and of course be in with a chance of winning one of the great prizes on offer again this month.

We also have one other prize on offer that will go to one of our new followers this month, all you need do to be in with a chance of winning is sign up, simple as that.

Happy Christmas one and all.

December Challenge

2011-12-17T08:00:00.002Z

Good Morning everyone, I hope you are all OK and your Christmas preparations going to plan........not long now.................. after weeks of looking forward to it, it's almost upon us and if you are anything like me, the panic sets in because all of those things you planned to do weeks ago still need sorting.

We have a really fabulous month in November and it was absolutely wonderful to see so many of you joining in the fun and we so hope you will find time to join us again this month, it's a really easy theme..................

Happy Birthday

You can use any make of stamp for your entry, but no digi images are allowed.

And don't forget to keep an eye out for our special post on 20th December announcing our first two 'In the Spotlight' entries for November...........who will they be, it could even be you !!

Lots of lovely prizes on offer again and we are delighted to welcome a new sponsor this month .....................Scotch Tapes who are giving three sets of their new Restickable Tabs to one lucky winner which retail at £3.32 per pack.

These double sided tabs are easy to use, will stick to any surface, remove cleanly and because they are clear you won't see them when they are used for such things as hanging Christmas decorations. Best of all, when you are finished with them you can simply wash them in soapy water and they are as good as new.

And some more great prizes from Penny Black.................... don't forget to join the club so you are always in the know about new products.

And welcome again to Sir Stampalot, our regular sponsors for the special prize open to all entries using a Penny Black image. Their Peterborough shop and on line store really is a one stop craft haven and Freebie Friday is something not to be missed, their newsletter Smudges will give you full details of the latest giveaway every Thursday evening. And they have a huge selection of sale items here which is regularly updated and always a bargain to be had.

Here's the prize for that category..................

And some pretty ribbons, buttons and pins....................

And how about some inspiration and we have loads for you this month and first up is our December Guest Designer Sue who has created these stunning pieces of artwork for us

And Jill who until this week was one of my team members at Allsorts, but I am sorry to say she has just stepped down due to work and family commitments, but still made this lovely card for us..............

A very Happy Christmas to everyone from us all here at Penny Black and More.

Another winner, another candy

2011-12-05T08:00:00.029Z

Please add to your sidebar to help us spread the word

Typical me, I totally forgot yesterday to post the winner of the candy for our new followers in November, so apols for that, but at least it gives me the opportunity to give a huge welcome to all the new faces and offer another little candy for December's new followers......................please grab the cute stamp above and pop on your sidebar to help us let everyone know about our great challenge.

A name will be selected from all those peeps who join up between now and the close of this months challenge on 27th December.

And the winner from November is:

Kirsty-Anne

Please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with you full postal addy by 11th December so I can get you stamp off to you. Should the prize be unclaimed by that date it will be re-drawn.

November winners

2011-12-02T08:00:00.001Z

A very Good Morning to you all and a HUGE thank you to everyone who joined in our November challenge, we were overwhelmed by your fabulous entries and so enjoyed visiting you all.

As you can imagine we are going to have a big problem selecting our two spotlight entries this month which will be announced on 18th of the month, so do keep an eye out for that post.

Meanwhile I can announce the winners of all the super prizes on offer from our lovely sponsors, so here we go...........................

Winners of the prizes from Penny Black are:

Shelly

AliHdv

Mari

Winner of the stamp from Crimson Cloud is:

Cathy

Winner of the collection of ribbons and pins is:

And winner of the special prize from Sir Stampalot for entries using a Penny Black stamps is:

Liz

Congratulations to you all, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full names and postal addys and you can all grab the winners logo to display on your sidebar.

I will be back on Sunday with our new challenge.

2011-11-17T14:27:00.002Z

Please help us spread the word and add to your sidebar

Good Morning all, you certainly seem to be enjoying our new style challenge here and it is lovely to welcome so many new faces this month.

So to say thank you and make you feel extra welcome, we are having a little mid month candy giveaway................we will ask Mr Random Org., to select a name from our new followers who join up between now and the start of our next challenge on 4th December and that lucky person will receive this lovely Penny Black stamp............

PB 4127K Born Wild

The winners name will be announced in the new challenge post on 4th December.

The Design Team have been busy again with the second of the two challenges I set them. This one is called Merry Christmas and as last time I sent them all a kit........................

Here's the kit the DT all received: 3 sheets Echo Park DP (different designs from the same family), a coordinating piece of Bazzil, 1m red organza ribbon, 2 decorative pins, 12 red nailheads, 2 pieces MS punched holly, 2 Marianne die vellum roses and a card base cut with Grand Nesties 23

Again they all gave the challenge their own unique spin and have some wonderful inspiration to share............

Louise

As I explained the last time, this was a challenge for my super talented DT and is really all about them, but I thought it only fair I chipped in with a card as well.

November Challenge

2011-11-06T08:00:00.110Z

Good Monring Peeps, welcome to the first of our new style challenges here at Penny Black and More.

For those of you who missed the announcement last month, here are the important bits you need to know:

You can now use any make of stamp on your entry, although strictly no digi images. Every entry meeting the months challenge theme and requirements will be eligible for the general prizes on offer.
Those entries will also be eligible for our 'In The Spotlight monthly' feature, where we will be selecting two entries each month which stand out to us. Highlighted entries will be published on or about the 20th of the following month and I will be inviting those lucky peeps to write a short bio about their crafting journey to be publish along with their work.

The will be an 'Extra Prize' each month selected from all entries using a Penny Black image as the focal point of their entry (those entries will also be entered into the general prize draws)

Closing date for this months challenge is midnight GMT on 30th November.

So on to business and this months challenge theme which is:

All Creatures Great and Small

A pretty open theme and I am certain you will have no problem creating and sharing your lovely pieces of work with us.

And of course some prizes and do we have a mega collection for you this month or what...................

First up Penny Black themselves and most of our 'regulars' will be familiar with their web site and Blog, but as we are welcomong lots of new peeps this month I need to let you know about their insprartional web site and that you can sign up to receive updates and news about new products here. Here are the great prizes from them:

Next we welcome back Crimson Cloud.....................

"We are 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!" Here's the super stamp they are offering, just idea for those last minute Christmas cards..................

Our friends Sir Stampalot are also joining in our new look challeng fun and we are thrilled to announce that they will be our regular sponsors of the special prize for the winner chosen from the entries using a Penny Black stamp or stickeroo as their main image.

Sir Stampalot are a UK based one stop craft store who offer a speedy on line shopping facility as well as having a spacious store in Peterborough which is jam packed with stamps from all the leading manufacturers along with a whole range of other crafting goodies. Here's this months prize...............

The light brigade

And finally some really yummy ribbons and embellishments all available from Pretty Little Ribbons plus a few flowers and little beaded pins I made up..........

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop supplies ribbon, twine, embellishments, rubber stamps etc for crafters everywhere. Now stocking Catslife Press Stamps and fabulous new Pretty Little Ribbon Packs which are available in a variety of gorgeous colours and at a great value price.

Phew, what a list and after that you will be ready for some inspiration and first up we have two Guest Designers this month, my lovely teami Emma from Allsorts and Kat

Kat sent me two card so I could choose one, but they are too gorgeous not to share both.................

And here is Emma's lovely creation.................

And I would like you to join me in extending a very warm welcome to our newest Design team Member Lynn, please do pop over and visit her to check out her blog and say hello.

Brenda

Clare

Ellie

Louise

Lynn

Mervi

October winners

2011-11-02T06:50:00.005Z

Good Morning everyone, it's time for some winners, so here are the names Mr Random org., selected for us:

Winner of the lovely collection of goodies from Crimson Cloud is.........

Sue

And the stamps from Penny Black...........

Squirrel

Jack

Mueppi

Congratulations to you all, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys before 9th November when any unclaimed prizes will be re-drawn.

I will be back on Sunday with November's challenge when we start off our new look challenge, for those of you who missed what's going on you can check it all out here.

The DT's challenge

2011-10-23T08:00:00.026+01:00

Each kit contained 3 sheets Basic Grey DP (all slightly different but from the same family), 3m white seam binding, TH clock and hinges cut from Coredinations, 2 white flowers.

As promised I am back to share with you the work the DT came up with when I set them a challenge earlier this month. I sent each one a kit containing the above items and this is what they all came up with.

Ellie

I didn't think it was fair to expect the DT to all come up with a piece of work and not do something myself...................any excuse to play with those yummy DP's...........

.........but this post is really all about my fabby DT and showing you what a talented bunch they are, so please do pop along to their individual blogs and show them some luuuuuuuve.......

Don't forget you have until 31st of October to join in this months Autumn theme and our brand new look challenge will start on 6th November...................and my oh my, do we have some yummy prizes lined to kick start us in real style..........nobody will want to miss out on this one.

Some exciting changes

2011-10-16T08:00:00.015+01:00

Hello everybody, I did promise you we would have some exciting news for you later this month and at last I can share it with you.

There are going to be a few changes to our challenge, but Penny Black and the Design Team think they are going to make it even better than before and allow lots more of you to join in........................

We are opening up the challenge entry criteria and starting with our November challenge you will be able to use any stamp on your work, although strictly no digi images.

And we are changing the day of our challenges which in future will launch on the first Sunday of the month.

There will still be lots of prizes on offer and all eligible entries will go into the draw, plus there will be an additional prize each month for entries using a Penny Black stamp or stickeroo.

And as if all that was not enough, we will be having a “Who’s in the Spotlight” feature every month. The DT will be keeping an eye open as they go on their rounds and each month we will feature two entries which stand out to us. Those entries will be able to display our special logo....................and we will invite those peeps to write a short bio about their crafting journey which will be published on our blog. The first will be on or about 20th December based on November challenge entries.

There will be a slight change to our name to take account of these changes and in future we will be know as ‘Penny Black and more at Allsorts’.

Over the next week I will be making a few changes, updating the information on our sidebar and giving the blog a bit of a facelift. I will also be listing dates of the next few challenges so you can easily check what is happening when, but I can tell you now that the next one will start on 6th November and the current challenge will be extended until midnight GMT on 31st October.

Now you may wonder why we are making these changes and think we have fallen out of love with our precious Penny Black stamps, but nothing could be further from the truth and the DT will all continue to use them on their DT work. But we do realise that not everybody is lucky enough to own Penny Black stamps and has been prevented from joining in previously.

So we hope the changes will make it easier for more of you to join in the fun and also have the opportunity to win the stamps on offer from Penny Black and our other sponsors so you can start your very own Penny Black collection....................warning they are addictive.

I will be back soon with another post showing you some rather special projects the DT have made - I set them all a challenge earlier this month and I know you will want to see what they have come up with.

Note: Please grab our new challenge sidebar button and add to your sidebar to help spread the word.

Have a good week.

October challenge

2011-10-01T08:00:00.050+01:00

The first of October means a new challenge and as we look to be well into Autumn now, what better way to celebrate that a using the rich warm colours that Nature surrounds us with.

I found this beautiful picture as your inspiration this month, interpret it as you wish, be it trees and Nature or just those lovely colours on your favourite Penny Black critter image.

Before I tell you about the great prizes up for grabs this month, a little heads up that we will be making an exciting announcement in a couple of weeks time, so keep your eyes peeled so you don't miss the news.

Again we have some super prizes on offer and first up we are delighted to welcome Crimson Cloud, who have this fab prize for one lucky winner:

Next up Penny Black, our 'regulars' will be familiar with their web site and Blog, but for those who are new you can sign up to receive updates and news about new products here. Here's the three great prizes from them:

We have two Guest Designers this month, Linda who has created this adorable card for us and just look at the way she has cleverly created texture on the tree..........

And my teamie from Allsorts Helene, who has captured the colours of the inspirational photo beautifully.

Clare

September winners

2011-09-30T08:00:00.010+01:00

Good Morning everyone, are you ready for some winners ?

There were some really beautiful Christmas cards entered this month and I am so glad that it didn't fall on me to choose the winners and that Mr Random Org., did that bit for me, so here are the names he selected:

Winner of the Aquamarkers from Letraset is...............

Anne

Please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with you full name, postal addy....and telephone number (Letrasets courier won't deliver with out that)

Winners of the stamps from Penny Black are....................

Lil

Elanora

Sue

Please all mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your name and full postal addys so I can get your prize in the post to you.

Well done all of you and don't forget to pick up our Top 3 logo from the sidbar........all of you......and wear with pride on your blogs.

I will be back tomorrow with our new challenge.

September challenge

2011-09-01T08:00:00.027+01:00

Welcome to another challenge at Penny Black at Allsorts and this month we are inviting you to..........

"Get Ahead for Christmas"

If you are like me, desipe all good intentions eary year, it's a last minute rush to get your personal cards made, so we hope you will join us and share your Christmas creations and get ahead with those cards.

The style and colour choice is totally up to you and all we ask is that you use a Penny Black stamp or Stickeroo, so get making and join in, myself and the Design Team are really looking forward to seeing you creations.

Now for some prizes and a super collection again as always, first up is our regular sponsors Letraset who are offering another set of Aquamarkers to one lucky winner.........have you tried them yet ? The are fabulous, wonderful rich colours and work equally well direct to stamp, for regular water colouring and to create stunning backgrounds for your stamping projects.

Penny Black are offering some super Christmas stamps including a set of Betsy Bluebell ones. Don't forget it is free to join the Penny Black Club here, you will get updates of all new products and news about upcoming events.

And our third sponsore this month is Sir Stampalot who stock a fabulous range of Penny Black products as well as everything else you need to feed your crafty addiction...........................and watch out for a new weekly feature that Sir Stampalot are promoting, starting tomorrow. It will be called ‘Freebie Friday’ and details sent to you via their email newsletter so if you haven’t already signed up, you’ll need to sign up here or via the link on their homepage here.

Here's the prizes..........................

Now for some inspiration from the Design Team and this months Guest designer.............................

Doreen

We are thrilled to have Ellie back with us and I am sure you will all join me in welcoming her back into the fold.

Clare

Louise

Shirley

Tracy

August winners

2011-08-30T08:00:00.003+01:00

It's been another super month with some fabulous entries, our thanks to every one of you for joining in the fun.

And of course we have some winners to announce, so here we go.........

Sanna

Karen

Liz

Sue

And last but my no means least, the winner of the wonderful Aquamarkers from Lertraset..........

Sally

Well done all of you, please all mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys so I can get your prizes off to you. Any unclaimed prizes will be re-drawn noon on 6th GMT September.

August challenge

2011-08-01T08:00:00.036+01:00

Hello peeps, as I am writing this post I am keeping everything crossed that Mr Blogger will play fair with me and post this on the right day as scheduled as I should be in warmer waters on my hols.

Here in the UK the children are all on their school holidays and lots of you will be in holiday mode or taking a well earned break from work, so we are going with a nice and easy theme of:

********Free and Easy********

The only stipulation is that you use a Penny Black stamp or Stickeroo as your main image, after that it all down to you.

Have you been over to Penny Blacks web site lately and seen all the new goodie, as well as stamps they have some super cardstock and of course the Penny Black Club, if you are a member you will be one of the first to hear all the news about new releases. And over at the Penny Black Circle you can join in lots of fun.

Here are the super prizes you can win this month from Penny Black and Sir Stampalot..........who have a fabulous range of Penny Black products in the shop and on line store.

Our friends at Letraset are offering a set of Aquamarkers, their wonderful watercolour pens to another lucky winner......... these pens really have become my first choice for colouring and I can't recommend them enough.

Amelia - our August Guest Designer with a really gorgeous creation

More super inspiration from Debs my teamie from our sister challenge Allsorts

And the DT have again created some stunning pieces of work to help get your creative juices flowing and you can visit our Guest Designers and the DT by simply clicking on their names, so please do pop along and visit them all.

Clare

Louise

Maarit

Should Mr Linky go AWAL, you can leave a message with an html link to your post in the comments section.

July Winners

2011-07-31T08:00:00.016+01:00

Hi Everyone.

Our lovely Brenda is on a well deserved holiday, so I (Tracy) am announcing the winners for the July Challenge "Flower Power", and the entries were so gorgeous, thank you for joining in with this months challenge.

So if you find your a winner below you will need to e-mail me here ThmpsnTrac@aol.com with your address (Letraset winner needs Telecom too), and I will pass your details onto Brenda as soon as she has returned from her holiday. Please understand this might present a slight delay in receiving your prizes, but i'm sure Brenda will attend to it as soon as she can.

So Mr Random Org., has done his work and here are the names he came out with.............................

For the competition the winners of either a Penny Black stamp or the stickeroos are:-

Cheri Johnston

Cathy Tanner

The challenge winners are as follows:-

The winners of the 3 Penny Black Stamps are:-

Linda

Stephanie S

Sparkly Girl - Tina

The winner of the Crimson Cloud Penny Black Stamp is:-

Pauline

The Winner of the Letraset Aquamarkers is:-

Siobhan

(please include your Telecom when you send me your details)

Congratulations to you all, please grab out Top three logo (five of you I know, artistic licence) and wear with pride on your blogs.

Please remember that any prizes not claimed by 3rd Aug will be re-drawn.

Where have all the flowers gone ?

2011-07-13T10:59:00.004+01:00

So few flowers about this month it seems and there was me thinking it was an easy theme for you all.

But all is not lost as you still have more than two weeks to enter and be in with a chance of winning one of the seven prizes up for grabs including our special birthday quiz ones.............if the questions have you baffled it really is much easier than you might think to find the answers.......just pop over to Penny' Blacks web site.

And don't forget you can combine your entry with other challenges, all we ask is we can see a flower somewhere on your work and of course a Penny Black stamp or Stickeroo.

July challenge

2011-07-01T07:00:00.010+01:00

It's the first of July which means it's our first Birthday.................and to celebrate we have a little competition for you with extra prizes to be won, so please read down to see what you need to do.

First this months theme which is:

***********Flower Power************

So as with last month you can do pretty much what you fancy so long as we can see a flower on to somewhere - even if it's not the stamp itself, there are so many pretty floral punches and ready made flowers available and we all love flowers. The only other requirement is of course that you must use a Black stamp or Stickeroo as the main element.

So for our Birthday celebration we have a little quiz for you and a couple of extra Birthday prizes from the lovely guys at Sir Stampalot:

A collection of Stickeroos and cutie Transported Teddy wood mounted stamp. Sir Stampalot have a fabulous display of stamps from all the leading manufacturers in their Peterborough shop along with all things crafty to feed your addiction. And they have a super efficient on line store as well.

To be in with a chance of winning please mail my teamie Tracy who is holding the fort whilst I am away on my holibobs......... ThmpsnTrac@aol.com with your answers to these two questions and all the correct ones will go into the draw.

So here's your questions - it's not as bad as it sounds and quite simple really.......the answers are much closer than you realise if you take a moment to follow one or more of the links to our sponsors.......................

1) How many 'T for Transparent' sets do Penny Black have ?

2) How many 'Slapstick/Cling' stamps do Penny Black have ?

Now on to this months challenge............................

................and a few pieces of news from Penny Black who have lots of things going on at the moment, new stamps, a limited edition stamp set due out any time now and you will be amongst the first to hear about them if you sign up to the Penny Black Club and don't forget the Penny Black Circle with lots of inspiration to be had as well as competitions and prizes.

There are three prizes on offer from Penny Black this month...................

And the gorgeous Butterfly Suite from a new sponsor who we are thrilled to welcome.........Crimson Cloud..............

And Letraset are offering a set of Aquamarkers.................

If you have not tried out this fabulous colouring medium, you don't know what you are missing, they have to be the best watercolour system I have ever used.

So now for some inspiration from the Design Team who have really done us proud again this month, but first I have to tell you that Ellie will not be with us for a few months. We will really miss her, but totally understand as she has a lot going on at the moment and needs a break. Meantime, we will be having a Guest Designer each month from those who reached out DT call shortfall last month.

And this month we are pleased to welcome Katherine as our Guest Designer, thank you for joining us and sharing your lovely work.

And Amanda from our sister challenge Allsorts

Note about this months winners: As I mentioned earlier, I will be away on my holibobs later this month, so Tracy is going to announce the winners at the end of July as usual, but the prizes are all with me so I will send them out as soon as I can after I get home on 8th August.

June winners

2011-06-28T14:34:00.018+01:00

Hello folks, what's the weather like your way, yesterday is was so hot here in the UK Fens we were melting, today we are having a monsoon and the cardies are back out. Crazy weather or what ?

Anyway, you don't want to hear about the weather, you want the names of June's lucky winners, so Mr Random Org., has done his work and here are the names he came out with.............................

Cynthia, winner of a lifetime discount from PB Stamps, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your e.mail addy.

Adeline, winner of a set of Aquamarkers from Letraset, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addy and telecom (couriers need this to deliver).

Winners of stamps from Penny Black, please all mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys.

Jennie (unclaimed so re-drawn 3/7/11)

Gisela

Sam (unclaimed so re drawn 3/7/11)

Congratulations to you all, please grab out Top three logo (five of you I know, artistic licence) and wear with pride on your blogs.

Please remember that any prizes not claimed by 3rd July will be re-drawn.

June challange

2011-06-01T08:00:00.019+01:00

A very Good Morning to you all and welcome to another challenge where we have the theme:

Your My Favourite

That's right, use you favourite Penny Black stamp and create absolutely anything you wish, how simple is that ? And if you really can't choose..........I couldn't either..........then why not enter twice and double up your chances of winning one of the great prizes on offer again this month.

Have you visited Penny Blacks web site, if not what are you waiting for ? You you can join the Penny Black Club and be amongst the first to hear all the news about new releases. Plus you can even share your work with other Penny Black lovers at the Penny Black Circle as well as join in their competitions and win some super prizes.

Prizes from Penny Black include a set of the super new A Touch of Whimsy stamps and a super cute new Slapstick stamp........sorry about the rotten picture, don't you just hate trying to take shots of plastic wrappings.............

Dick from PB Stamps is again offering one very lucky winner a lifetime 15% discount off all purchases from their store which is like an Aladdin's cave so you will want to grab a coffee before your visit because there is so much to see.

And Letraset are again offering a set of Aquamarkers, their wonderful watercolour pens to another lucky winner. Letraset's website has loads of information about their products and links to ideas, inspiration and exciting new products, some of which will be appearing on Create and Craft this week, so do pop along and have a browse.

Next for some inspiration to set you on your way and the Design team have come up with some super work as always.

If you read my post yesterday you will know that Clare is joining the design Team. Clare will be sharing her lovely work with us next month but she has asked if she can start visiting some of you this month as she is really keen to get involved, so please join us in giving her a warm welcome.

May winners and our new DT

2011-05-31T08:00:00.002+01:00

It's time to announce our May winners and also our new DT member and I must say a huge thank you to everyone who entered both the challenge and applied for the DT spot.

First our new DT member............the standard of entries was fabulous and I found it extremely difficult selecting the person to joint the team, so I called on my trusty DT members and asked for their ideas which did make life a little easier for me.

And after much deliberating I am pleased to announce that Clare has agreed to join the team and hope you will all join myself and the DT in welcoming Clare in board.

After all that, asking Mr Random Org., to select this months winners was a breeze and here are the names he came up with..............................

Winners of the Penny Black stamps:

Would the above all mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with their full postal addys so I can send your goodies.

This months winner of the set of Aquamarkers from Letraset is Franze, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addy and telephone number (their need that for the courier).

Franz

And last but by no means least is the lucky winner of the lifetime 15% discount from PB Stamps, please mail me and I let Dick have your details.

Doreen

Congratulations to you all, each and every one well deserved.

I will be back tomorrow with our new challenge.

DT call

2011-05-11T15:04:00.002+01:00

Hello folks, just a little reminder that we have a DT call going at the moment.

I think you have all gone a bit shy on us, but honestly we don't bite and are a friendly bunch...........most of the time anyhow !!

So what are you waiting for, all to need to do is join in this months challenge and add DT alongside your name in Mr Linky and we will be along to visit you and look at your lovely work.

May challenge and DT call

2011-05-01T08:00:00.004+01:00

Hello peeps, time for a brand new challenge here at Penny Black at Allsorts and this month we would like you to:

"Shape Up"

Simple, anything you like providing it's not square or rectangle, other than that whatever theme you like........providing of course your main image is a Penny Black stamp or Stickeroo.

If you read my post yesterday you will know we have a DT call. We need one new DT and if you are interested please add DT alongside your name when you add your entry to Mr Linky. There are no specific requirements, other than a love of Penny Black stamps and be prepared to commit sufficient time to commenting on entries within a personable time frame of people entering. The successful person will be notified by 31st May and announced here the following day when the new challenge goes live.

Don't forget to pop over to Penny Blacks web site where you can join the Penny Black Club and be amongst the first to hear all the news. Plus you can even share your work with other Penny Black lovers at the Penny Black Circle and join in their competitions to win some super prizes.

And joining us for the first time as a sponsor we welcome Sir Stampalot who carry a great range of Penny Black stamps and products along with a whole host of crafty goodies. Keep an eye peeled here for the new Spring releases when they land in the UK.

So lots of prizes on offer again including two of the brand new stamps from Penny Black Spring releases which should be hitting the stores any day now................

Next up Letraset who are offering a set of Aquamarkers, their wonderful watercolour pens. You will find details of their full range of pens and markers on their website.

And last but by no means least, PB Stamps who are offering one very lucky winner a lifetime 15% discount off all purchases from their store. Click on their logo to go check out their store packed with all things PB, both old and new.

We are thrilled to welcome Emma as our Guest Designer this month. Emma was one of the founders of Allsorts challenge..........who celebrate their second birthday this month................and it has been lovely to work alongside her for two years now. Please do pop over to her blog to say hello.

April winners and a DT call

2011-04-30T08:00:00.006+01:00

Hello everyone, I nearly forgot to do this post with all the wedding excitment yesterday. I was only going to watch to see Kate arrive at the Abbey, but it was compelling viewing and I was glued from 9am onwards. Such a lovely day for them both and she looked wonderful.

So what happended in April, did we scare you all away with our colour theme ? Things were certainly a tad quiet but not to worry, we have a super new theme for you in May which I am sure will get your creative juices flowing.

Before I move on to announce this months winners, I am sad to say that Jules has decided to step down from the DT so this means we have a vacancy for a new Design Team member. If you are interested in joining us check back tomorrow when I will let you all know what you need to do to apply.

Now for this months winners:

Discount vouncher from PB Stamps - Doreensng

Aquamarkers from Letraset - Paula

Penny Black Stamps -

Cristina

Ruby

Hazel

Mini Aubum - Anne F

Congratulations to you all, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys.

April Challenge

2011-04-01T08:00:00.019+01:00

Good Morning peeps, the first of the month and a brand new challenge here at Penny Black at Allsorts and this month we would like to see:

"Black and White plus One"

The extra colour can be any you choose, so long and the main elements are black and white and your chosen colour (plus skin tones on images).

Lots of lovely prizes again:

3 Penny Black stamps - how fitting are those little cuties for April showers ?

A gorgeous spring mini album kit

Don't forget to pop over to Penny Blacks web site where you can join the Penny Black Club and be amongst the first to hear all the news about new releases. Plus you can even share your work with other Penny Black lovers at the Penny Black Circle as well as join in their competitions and win some super prizes.

PB Stamps who are offering one very lucky winner a lifetime 15% discount off all purchases from their store.

And Letraset who are offering a set of Aquamarkers, their wonderful watercolour pens.

We have two Guest Designers this month, first up is my teamie from Allsorts Fleur who has created this devine card:

And next Jenyfur from the Penny Black Circle who had created an equally lovely piece of work for us:

March winners

2011-03-31T07:00:00.000+01:00

What fabulous creations you all shared with us again this month, some really stunning Spring creations which were a joy to see and in case we needed reminding, confirmed what an ubber talented bunch you are and how you love playing with your Penny Black stamps.

So without further ado, here are this months lucky winners:

Stamp from Penny Black:

Lifetime discount from PB Stamps:

Cynthia - New Zealand

Set of Aquamarkers from Letraset:

Linda - Ontario

Congratulations to you all, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys.

March Challenge

2011-03-01T08:00:00.033Z

Welcome to our March challenge where we challenge you to "Welcome Spring".

The garden has been showing signs of new life for the last few weeks, a reminder of the wonders of Nature. I love this time of year and never fail to be amazed by by the fresh growth and colours that seem to burst forth as if by magic. The crafting possibilities are endless and we are really looking forward to seeing your take on this beautiful time of year.

As some of you might know, I have not been able to blog or craft for about six weeks now due to a relapse in my MS so am sorry I have not visited any of you this month. I think I am on the mend now, but would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my Design Team for their wonderful support during this time and ensuring the challenge kept running smoothly and you all got visited.....thank you girls, what a super bunch you are.

And I am afraid that I need to add a few words about the challenge rules.......I hate to keep reminding people but please, for the benefit of the majority of those who do comply with the rules, make sure you entry complies.....they are all listed on our sidebar and are pretty simple but these two are the ones that seem to get overlooked:

1) In line with all challenges, you must mention us in your post and link back to here........help in doing this is listed on our sidebar for those who are not sure how to do it.

2) Most important you must use a Penny Black image or Stickeroo as your main focal point on your work...........why else are we called Penny Black at Allsorts ?

Previously we have always tried to mail or leave a message to those with invalid entries, but this takes the DT a lot of time when they should be visiting valid entries, so in future I will just be adding a note alongside the name of any that do not fit the rules. So if you do not get any visits from our DT, it would be as well to check the rules.

Lots of prizes on offer again, first up four from Penny Black:

Don't forget you can join the Penny Black Club here and you can even share your work with other Penny Black lovers at the Penny Black Circle as well as join in their competitions and win some super prizes.

Next Letraset who are offering a set of their wonderful colouring mediums.

And finally, Penny Black Stamps who will give one very winner a lifetime 15% discount off all purchases from their store.

Our Guest Designer this month is Helene from Sweden, just look at this lovely card she has designed for us:

Helene

February Winners

2011-02-27T08:00:00.000Z

Hellp peeps, here with the list of winners for February, some wonderful entries again and our thanks for all your creativity which is a joy to see.

Apolos it is short and just a list of your names, but my first solo posting in six weeks after this enforced blogging lark, so keeping the time at the keyboard to a minimum:

PB lifetime discount

Aquamarkers

Penny Black Stamps

Congratulations everyone, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys (e.mail addy for Brenda B so Dick can contact you about your prize)

Spring 2011 releases and prizes galore

2011-02-09T07:32:00.010Z

Hi folks, in case the news passed you by, the new 2011 Spring release stamps were revealed at CHA last week and are all available to view here.

As usual Penny Black have not disappointed and there is a fabulous array of new designs so do check them out, I just know you will have lots of 'must haves', I know I do........no surprise there then ! They are shipping to your local stockist right now, so why not get ahead of the game and place your order so you are at the top of the queue.

And don't forget you can join the Penny Black Club here and you can even share your work with other Penny Black lovers at the Penny Black Circle as well as join in their competitions and win some super prizes.

It's lovely to see so many of you joining in this months challenge and as usual some really great artwork and of course there are lots of prizes up for grabs including the mystery prize for one of this months new followers of our blog. All details in the post below.

February challenge

2011-02-01T08:00:00.027Z

Welcome to another challenge here at Penny Black at Allsorts and a bright new theme:

Say it with Flowers

Just about anything goes here as long as we can see a flower or two and of course a Penny Black stamp or Stickeroo as your main image.

On that point, we have noticed a few creeping in with no Penny Black image so please make sure your entry fits the rules........after all we are not called Penny Black at Allsorts for nothing........... and who can resist their stamps anyhow ? We always try to leave a note for any who do not use a PB image but this takes the DT a lot of time when they could be visiting other blogs, so in future we will just add a note alongside the name on Mr Linky.

And a note about the closing date for this challenge, as it's February and a short month, the last time for entering will be Midnight GMT on 24th of the month, when Mr Linky will close.

January was a great month for us, we have lots of new followers and so many of you joined in our Blog Hop which was great fun, thanks to everyone for making it all such a success.

As usual we have prizes galore and are thrilled to have another new regular sponsor..............

.............Letraset who are offering a set of Aquamarkers to one lucky winner. AquaMarkers are a dual tipped water based, pigmented ink marker with the advantage of being water soluble. They can be easily blended, even when dried, giving the effects of water-colour paint but with the convenience of a marker. The water colour quality of the markers makes an ideal accompaniment to an artist's tool box, providing a clean and convenient alternative to water colour paints.

And our regular sponsor:

PB stamps who are offering a lifetime 15% discount for products purchased from their store, it you have never visited them you don't know what you are missing.................new stamps, old stamps and even discontinued stamps.

The of course our very own Penny Black who are giving away these four lovely stamps.....

And just the one more, to keep the momentum going we will again be selecting one of the new followers who link up as a follower between now and the closing date of this challenge and they will receive a mystery prize........you can bet it will include something Penny Black...........
This months Guest Designer is Debs from our sister challenge Allsorts and she has created this lovely card.......

The DT were mega thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with Aquamarkers.......for some of them a brand new experience......to create their work this month. They have thoroughly enjoyed using them and can't sing their praises enough, just take a look at the fabulous creations they have come up with to inspire you..............

Ellie

Jules

Louise

Maarit

Louisa - Little Mrs Bling

January challenge winners

2011-01-31T08:00:00.006Z

Time for some winners from our January challenge entries.

I have heard from all the Blog Hop winners and those in the UK should already have theirs, but I figure the others will take a little longer but rest assured they are all on their way.

As usual Mr Random Org has done his stuff and here is what he pulled out of the hat:

First up the winner of a fabulous 15% lifetime discount from PB Stamps........

Louise (Quebec)

Next the winners of the four stamps from Penny Black:

Jeannie
Lynda (New York)
Tracy (UK)
Netty

And last but not least our special winner selected from all our new followers this month..............all 77 of you, welcome on board and thank you for linking up............

Berni

Congratulations all of you, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addys' so I can get your prizes off to you, or in the case of Louise I need your e.mail addy to pass on to PB stamps.

Blog Hop Winners

2011-01-23T07:31:00.009Z

Wow what a blast that was and a really fabulous Blog Hop.

I know from all your lovely comments that you all enjoyed it as much as we did and I want to say a great big thank you to everyone who joined in.

I also want to say thank you to my dedicated Design Team for all their hard work in helping me make it all possible.

So without further ado, here are the winners:

Correct answer using the letters collected which of course spelt out "Great Stamps".............I was thrilled to see so many of your comments of agreement on this statement..........is:

And from the individual DT Blogs:

Brenda - Pat

Ellie - Ann

Jules - Tina

Louise - Karen

Maarit - Cathy

Mervi - Tiiti

Penny Black - Jenn
Shirley - Krassimi

Tracy - Julye B

Congratulations everyone, please let me (brenda@ibas.co.uk) have your postal addy's so I can get your prizes off to you.

And don't forget you still have a few days left to enter this months challenge.

Blog Hop

2011-01-15T08:00:00.020Z

Blog Hop Now Closed........

Welcome to our very first Blog Hop, it's going to be such fun with lots of prizes to be won and we are all really excited and hope lots of you are going to join in the fun.

The DT have all created a special piece of work which you will find on their blogs as you visit and you have from today until midnight BST on 22nd January to enter. And don't forget you can still enter this months challenge as well......the theme is "All You Need is Love".

For those of you who have never joined in a Hop before this is what you need to do:

1) Start from here and leave a comment on this post.
2) Visit all DT blogs and the Penny Black blog - nine in total listed below
3) Leave a comment on each.
4) Collect a letter clue from each.
5) Use those letters along with the ones already given in the grid below to make two words and mail you answer to me brenda@ibas.co.uk

Your starting point is here and each blog you visit will tell you where you should have arrived from and where you need to go next.....and of course the prize you can win on their blog......but if you get lost you can come back here and start afresh.............

Tracy
Jules

Brenda
Shirley

Penny Black
Louise
Maarit
Ellie

---A- -----S

Just to remind you that there is a prize up for grabs on each blog you visit and a winner will be selected from all those who leave a comment on each blog. Then a further prize pictured below will go to the winner selected from all correct answers mailed to me at the addy above.

Don't forget the challenge is still running until the 28th of the month as usual and there is an extra special prize as well this month selected from all our new followers.

So off you go to start hopping and have fun........................

January challenge

2011-01-01T08:00:00.020Z

Happy New Year from us all here at Penny Black at Allsorts. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday period and had lots of new crafty goodies that you are going to share with us this month.

I have so much news to share with you I am not sure where to start, so I guess prizes would be a good place as there are a few more than usual. As well as our regular four stamps, we have a new sponsor offering a fabulous prize every month, plus a special one off prize for a winner selected from all the new followers who link up this month....................and as you will know from my post a few days ago, on 15th January we are hosting a Blog Hop, lots of fun and excitement and more fabulous prizes to be won. So keep an eye on your dashboard so you don't miss a thing.........please lift our special logo from our sidebar to help spread the word

To kick off the New Year we have a fresh new challenge for you and would like to see your interpretation's based on the Beatles 1967 song hit:

All you need is Love

I have a feeling lots of you will be making a start of those Valentine cards and we are really looking forward to visiting you and seeing your fabulous creations.

There are six prizes in total up for grabs this month, four from the wonderful Penny Black

Penny Black 4027K Heart Garland

Penny Black 40-024 Rain or Shine

Penny Black 4051K Cupcake Glory

Penny Black 40-014 Lofty

Don't forget the new Amour 2011 stamps are now available....check them out here and just to tease you a little reminder that the Spring 2011 stamps will be available very soon so sign up here to be one of the first to get a peek at them.

Also an extra prize as well which I will tell you about shortly, plus we are thrilled to have a new sponsor PB Stamps

.........who are offering a lifetime 15% discount for products purchased from their store, it you have never visited them you don't know what you are missing.................new stamps, old stamps and even discontinued stamps..............I was ubber thrilled to find a really old one there a couple of weeks ago that has been a 'need' item for ages.

Now for an extra special bit, we will select a extra winner from those who link up as a follower this month. So many people keep telling us they are so surprised but excited to find us, so if you link up to follow us you will be the first to know about all that's going on.

And finally, some inspiration and firstly I would like to welcome our January Guest Designer, here is her lovely creation.......

January Guest Designer Amanda

And if you saw my post a few days ago you will know we have two lovely new DT members this month, Louise and Tracy. We are so pleased to have them on board and you can check out their work and blogs along with all the DT's creations by clicking on their names.

Ellie

Jules

Louise

Maarit

Mervi

Shirley