Blog Candy!

A warm Hello and Welcome to all my new blogging friends. I promised that when my total number of followers reached 100, I would give away some blog candy, and so here it is! No complicated rules, all you need to do to be in with a chance of winning it is to be a follower and leave me a comment to say you'd like to be included in the draw. If you'd also like to link to it on your own blog, that would be great, but not compulsory.

In the parcel will be a selection of unmounted stamps by Crafty Individuals, an Enveloper Pro for making your own envelopes, a Basic Grey 6"x6" paper pad (now retired, so you can't buy one in the shops!) an A5 notebook to alter, a mini book to decorate, 8 sheets of peel-off stickers, 12 chipboard tags, various sizes, and a pack of ribbons & fibres. Plus maybe a surprise or two!

I also have a few more Crafty Individuals stamps which I will give away as a second prize, with maybe a couple of extras. I'll post to anywhere in the world. The draw will be random, and you have until midday on Saturday April 28th BST to leave me a comment. Good luck everyone!



Amazing Blog Candy from The Stamp Man!

Jill is giving away either a complete set of the new Tim Holtz Distress ink pads (12 new gorgeous colours!) or the complete set of the 12 new re-inkers to two very lucky winners!

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning , hop over to Jill's blog for all the details. This really is a fantastic prize!

The winner!

The time has come to draw the winner of my blog candy earrings.

Mr. Random.org chose No. 7, who is.......

CRAFTIMAMMA (Lesley)

Crossing all your fingers and toes must have done the trick, Lesley, so congratulations! If you'll email me your address, I'll send them off to you straightaway.

A bit different, and blog candy!

Just managing to scrape in again for this week's Tuesday Taggers, where the challenge is to use a jigsaw piece in your artwork. I puzzled over it for some time, and then decided for a change to make some earrings. Long time ago, before I started cardmaking (ie. about 20 years ago!!), I was into jewellery making, but haven't done any for ages, so this project has definitely used old stash! The two pieces I used to make the earrings are from a real old jigsaw which was destined never to be made up again as it had many pieces missing. I've no idea what the picture was, as the remaining pieces were given to me in a plastic bag, but I'd guess it was an old countryside scene. The colours were quite dark, so first of all I painted them with a white Ranger Acrylic Dabber. Next I coloured them with Brilliance inks and overstamped with my current favourite Hero Arts flourish stamp. The backs and edges were covered with a black Promarker. I gave them a top coat of clear embossing to protect them before making them up into earrings.

They are displayed on an ATC stamped with the same Hero Arts flourish. The words are by Inkadinkado and Papermania, and the tiny butterfly is also by Inkadinkado. The butterfly jigsaw piece was made with a clear peel-off sticker over an image from the latest Crafty Individuals Miniatures book: "Nature's Beauty".

I didn't have a recipient in mind when I made them, so I have decided to give them away as Blog Candy. (I hardly ever wear earrings!) If you'd like to win them, please leave me a comment, (or even better, become a follower if you are not already, though that is optional!) before next Monday, Feb 8th. Mr. Random.org will choose the winner. Please note, if the winner does not have pierced ears, I can change the fittings to suit.

Now I'm off on Brenda's blog hop (see my previous post for details).

Special Challenge and Blog Hop!

On the first of  February, Brenda will be organising a Special one-off Challenge and Blog Hop! The main prize will be "mega" candy - not just any old candy, but a really serious piece of kit! Not only that, but as well as the main challenge prize, there will be runners up prizes and a Blog Hop with prizes to be won at each stopping point. Brenda will be giving sneak peeks of the prizes over the next three weeks, so hop along to her Blog to get all the details.

There will even be prizes for spreading the news, so to get yourselves in the draw for those, just put the links in your own blog - see Brenda's for what to do. The more people who join in, the more fun it will be!

(This post will - or should, if I've done it right! - stay at the top until the 1st of Feb, so please scroll down for new posts in the meantime.)

The Stamp Man Blog Hop, Candy, and Award Event

The Stampman Blog Hop, Candy and Award Event is now open! To join the fun, you need to visit each participating blog in turn, beginning with Jill's at The Stamp Man. You should have come to mine from Christine's (Ladylace's Crafting Space), and the next one to visit is

Pat's (Pats Card Making Passion).

There are lots of fantastic prizes to be won. If you haven't reached mine from Christine's, I'd suggest you go back to Jill's (The Stamp Man Blog) to start from the beginning. Each blog you visit will give you a code letter and tell you about about one of the prizes. You'll need to collect all the letters and at the end email your final answer to Jill. The last port of call will take you back to The Stamp Man blog which will tell you how to do that.

The code letter for my blog is  U

The prize is 400 ASSORTED ROUND BRADS.

To be eligible for a prize you will need to leave a comment on ALL the blogs in the hop.

Now about the Awards! These are to showcase everyone's best project from 2009! This is what it will look like! All the details are on The Stamp Man Blog, so hop over there to find out how to take part.


I think my own favourite project was the one I did back in June, where I made two cards using exactly the same design but with completely different colouring  and style. One was sweet and simple, the other grungy! It was really interesting to compare the effects. Most people seemed to prefer the grungy version. Here are the cards. To see how I made them, check out the post here.

Anyway, I'll let you go off and get started. The Event will end at midnight GMT on Sunday 3rd January. Don't forget to post your link on The Stamp Man Blog to your best project, and hop around all the blogs! I hope you have lots of fun on the way!

The Stamp Man Blog Hop, Candy, and Award Event

Jill at The Stamp Man is organising a post-Christmas Blog Hop, Candy and Award Event. It's going to be great fun, with awards and giveaways, and it will run for a week from Sunday 27th December to Sunday 3rd January. Read what Jill has to say about it by clicking on the link in my side bar, and please spread the word by posting the news on your own blogs, because the more people who join in, the better!

The main thing to remember for now is that it will all begin next Sunday, the 27th December  on The Stamp Man Blog, so make sure you check in there then to get all the instructions. Hope to see you all there!

The winner is announced!

Ok, it's time to reveal the winner of my Bloggerversary Candy! Random.org has selected
*

*

*

*

JUDITH (at Poppy Cottage)

Congratulations, Judith! If you'd like to email me (via my profile) with your address, I'll get your candy off to you straightaway.

I'd like to give a warm welcome to my new followers, and a big thank you to all of you who entered my candy draw, also to everyone who has supported my blog over the past year (and a bit!) with your comments and encouragement. Little did I know when I began this what a wonderful world it would open up, and what lovely people I'd meet along the way. Long may it continue for us all.

Belated Bloggerversary - and blog candy!

(This candy is now closed)

This past year has been quite an eventful one for me, for various reasons, and it seems to have flown by. Thus the anniversary of the starting of my blog, in October 2008, passed unnoticed! Not to worry, though, I can celebrate it now! To do so, and to say a huge thank you to all the lovely people who have followed the blog, left supportive comments, and generally made life in Blogland such a pleasure, I'm giving away some blog candy.



It includes unmounted stamps from Crafty Individuals and Joanna Sheen, a Crafty Individuals "Christmas" Miniatures book, Christmas stickers, paper flowers, Craftwork Cards button messages, Woodware Tag Board Book, a Memento Tuxedo Black Dew Drop inkpad, a photo frame (to alter??) and a hand made notebook.

To win all of those, just leave me a comment. If you also become (or are already) a follower, that will give you a second entry. Linking to this post from your own blog, if you have one, will gain you a third entry. (ie. Comment = 1 chance, comment+follower = 2 chances, comment+follower+link= 3 chances.) I will post the candy to anywhere in the world. The closing date will be Monday the 7th December, and a winner will be drawn randomly soon after then, so don't forget to check back & see if it's you!

Thanks again to everyone for your support and friendship, it is much appreciated.

Fab Stamp Man Blog Candy!

Jill at The Stamp Man is giving away some fantastic blog candy! The prize will be a choice from 3 of Kay Carley's recent designs, the gorgeous Aspects of Design Funky Flowers, Funky Frames, or Fancy Flourishes. Nip over to Jill's blog to stake your claim. These really are beautiful quality stamps (they're all on my Christmas wish list!) and Jill has some lovely samples using them on the blog. The closing date for the candy is midday on Tuesday, 15th December.

It's arrived!

My blog candy prize (the Elusive Images Damask Blocks) arrived this morning! Fortunately I had chance to play with them straightaway (couldn't wait!) and so here's the first card I've made. The background is from the Damask Backgrounds set, and the butterfly from the Artylicious Butterfly Bliss CD. All from Graphicus of course.



Very quick and simple, but isn't that damask shadow block utterly gorgeous?!

Blog Candy winner!!

That's me! I'm still pinching myself! I have won some Elusive Images candy from Graphicus! One of my favourite stamp ranges, no less. Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed my new blog header - made with Elusive Images stamps (by kind permission of Glenda - see copyright note on sidebar) in honour of the event! I've never won anything like this before, and I'm chuffed to bits! I don't know yet what my prize will be, except that it will be one of the new stamp sets being released this week. Can't wait to see them, as I think I will get to choose.

Watch this space!

Challenging!

Well, here's my entry for Phill's blog candy Challenge. This one certainly exercised my brain! The criteria seemed simple enough, except that no die cutting tools were to be used, although punches were allowed. So no Cuttlebug! Hmmm. It had to be square, use a Penny Black stamp, ribbons and fibres, matting and layering, and spring colours.

It's taken me until now, less than two hours before the deadline, to come up with something that (hopefully!) fits. The base card is one of the BIG 8" squares from Craftwork Cards. The bird is the Penny Black stamp, the tree and blossom are Elusive Images from Graphicus. The flowers are punched from pearlescent paper and overstamped with the polka dots. They have glitter glue centres. The die cut butterfly is also from Craftwork Cards (ie. not cut by me!) and the quote on the left was printed on to acetate via my computer.



The finished card turned out nothing like I had envisaged it to begin with, and it's unlike anything I've done before, but then I guess that's what a challenge is all about!

We have a winner!

The names have gone into the hat, the independent person has drawn one out and the winner can now be announced! The blog candy from my post on 22nd April 2009 goes to........

~*~MimiAnn~*~

However, since I have a few more papers & bits and pieces, and since all the comments were so lovely, I have decided to award three runner-up candies too! These will contain 10 sheets of 6" x 6" paper, an unmounted stamp and a couple of extras, and will go to...

Lesley,
Sally H
and
Go Canucks Go.

Please email me with your snailmail address and I'll post out the goodies asap. Thanks very much for entering and for all the lovely comments, much appreciated. Hope you enjoy the candy!

Pink! And blog candy!

Here's another card to go with my three previous ones. Same rules. Pink, I have to say, is not my favourite colour. But that was the colour of the papers I had to work with, and I must admit I'm actually quite pleased with the result. The sketch didn't seem the most exciting to begin with, but in fact its simplicity turned out to be its strength.

The flower stamps are Elusive Images by Graphicus. The word is by Starving Artistamps. The ribbon was a free gift, as were the papers.



Now for the blog candy! I'm going to give away some background papers. 50 random sheets of 6" x 6". I'll pick them from various manufacturers, eg. Papermania, Crafty Individuals, Basic Grey, K & Co, etc. I may throw in a couple of unmounted stamps as well, or other bits & pieces.

Posting a comment here will gain you one entry. You can get another by posting a link to a picture of a card you have made with magazine free gift papers! For a third entry, become a follower of this blog. (Current followers will automatically qualify for the extra entry if they leave a comment here.) If you'd care to put a link on your blog to this blog candy, your name will go into the draw for the fourth time. (NB. You don't have to do all of these, only those you'd like to!) I'll put all the entries received by the May Day bank holiday (May 4th) in a hat, get an independent person to make the selection & will post to the winner anywhere in the world.

More blog candy!

This time from Sally H on her blog Crafty Salutations. The goodies are stamps by Crafty Individuals, whose designs are fantastic and well worth trying to win. Leave Sally a comment on her blog to be in with a chance, or better still, become a follower to keep up to date with her gorgeous cards and ideas.

I'll be keeping my own fingers crossed, though lately I haven't had chance to do much crafting. If anyone is giving away spare time as blog candy, please let me know!

Stampin Up! blog candy

Jo, of Stampin 'n Stuff, is giving away one of the newest Stampin Up! sets as blog candy. The set is called Forest Friends, and has a deer, a rabbit, an owl and a tree, which would be lovely for a child's card. Pop over to Jo's blog here to see it and enter her giveaway.