March winners

Good morning Peeps, this is a scheduled post so fingers crossed Blogger posts it when I asked so I can announce our March winners from our The great Outdoors them which certainly did seem very popular with you all judging by the lovely entries we received. 

First of all I am thrilled to announce the winner who will receive those fabulous collection of stamps from Crafty Individuals...................drum roll..................it's Tales of the Riverbank by

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Fliss

Well done Fliss, please mail me with your full postal addy so I can get your prize off to you, but I am currently in Paris so please don't think I've forgotten you, I will get back to you on Tuesday.

And our Top 3.......

Audrey

Susan

Joanna

Congratulations to you all, well deserved wins, please grab out Top 3 badge to display on your own blogs.

Our new challenge starts Sunday so please do pop back then to check out the fabulous prize and what theme we have in store for you this month.

Fly on the wall time

A very good morning to you all, it's time for us to be fly on the wall of another of our DT members, this time it's Sally who is in the spotlight and sharing some of her crafty passions with us. She has also made another lovely card using an image form this month sponsor Crafty Individuals.

There is still plenty of time to join in this months 'The Great Outdoors' challenge, or if you have already entered why not make another card to double up your chances of winning the great collection of stamps from our sponsor, you can enter up to three times.

Using Crafty Individuals CI- 182 

 

So here is what Sally has to tell us:

Q) When did your love of stamping begin?

It was 1997 when I was on maternity leave after Megan was born, and I visited a newly opened craft centre with my Mum and Dad. A lovely lady called Sally-Ann demonstrated some heat embossing and I was hooked!

Q) What do you enjoy most about it?

I love to create something pleasing to the eye. I am not good at drawing but I do love experimenting with colour and using stamps is the best way I have found to express myself artistically.

Q) What is your favourite make of stamp?

Oohh that is a tricky one! I do tend to go through phases of using one stamp quite a lot! I am using the Crafty Individuals large elegant swirl (CI-182) on a lot of my work at the moment, and I love it! If I have to say one make, though, it would have to be Inkylicious, I think. Their stamps are great for making scenes with and they do lots of trees! Crafty Individuals comes a very close second, and I seem to own more stamps from these two companies than from anywhere else!

Q) What is your most used stamp/product and why?

My ink dusters are used on nearly every card I make, whether it is to create a scene, make a background or just bring out a bit of detail or embossing around the edges. I try putting them away, but they always end up back on my desk.

Q) What colours do you most enjoy working with?

Can I talk in terms of Adirondack shades? I love Peach Bellini and Eggplant; sometimes adding a bit of mountain rose, purple twilight and denim too. The spring distress inks are another favourite set of colours for me. If I am in vintage mode, then it is Tea dye distress ink all the way!

Q) What inspires your designs?

Nature mostly. Scenes from the countryside are a constant inspiration and regular walks provide further ideas, especially in the leaf and tree department! The 25 mile drive to my Dad’s through Sherwood Forest provides more inspiration with autumn and winter sun providing a warm glow and a different colour palette. I am also inspired by the amazing talent here in blog land, and love to find new ideas and techniques to try out. Whether I am playing with my new Gelli plate or using paints, sprays or inks to create backgrounds, I know I can always look on my favourite blogs, Pinterest or Youtube to get some ideas.

Thank you for sharing Sally.

March challenge

Hello to all you 'Crafty Individuals' and welcome to our March theme here at Stamping Sensation where we have a fabulous new sponsor and prize. 

Our theme for March chosen by Sally is..................................

********The Great Outdoors********

Oodles of possibilities here, from flowers to birds, garden scenes to sunny days by the beach and we can't wait to see your spin on the theme.

And just look at the fabulous prize on offer this month from our sponsor Crafty Individuals with this fabulous collection of stamps, who would't be happy to see this little lot arrive on their doorstep. They are a UK based company who design and sell a wonderful eclectic range of stamps so do go check our their web site.

Now for some inspiration from the Design Team and also this month we have two Guest Designers........why two you ask........well I think I made a bit of a boo boo and invited them both for the same month so I do hope they will both forgive me and won't mind sharing the spotlight, so first I would like to welcome......

Ruby

And an equally warm welcome to......

 Nancy 

Brenda

Using Crafty Individuals CI-367 Flowers and Butterflies

Francesca

Lynne
Using CI-276, CI-182, text from CI-209, CI freebie (no number)

Pinky

Ruth

Sally

using Crafty Individuals CI-191, CI-182,CI-234 and crafty masks - fabulous ferns

using CI-284, CI-182 and background papers book 6

Tracy

Happy crafting everyone, have fun with this months theme and we will be along to check out all your lovely creations.

February winners

Good afternoon and can I start by saying what a wonderful collection of entries to our Fur and Feathers theme, it really did grab your imagination and there were some great takes on the theme. So as you can imagine there were lots of entries on our shortlists, but as always we had to whittle them down to four and these are the lucky names:

Winner of the fabulous collection of essential adhesive products from Stix2 is...................

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Alison

Congratulations Alison, I think your lovely piece of artwork brought out the inner child in several of us. Please mail me with your full name and postal addy so I can get your prize off to you

And closely on the winners heels are our Top 3.....................

Dot

Jean

Henrietta

Our congratulations to you all, please grab the appropriate logo from our sidebar to wear on your own blogs.

I will be back on Sunday with our new challenge and a rather fabby prize as well.

Lynne's crafting story

This month it is my pleasure to introduce our DT Lynne who has made two more stunning creations following this months challenge theme of Fur and Feathers. Lynne is also giving us a little insight into her crafting passions and what get her into it in the first place.

Q.1. When did your love of stamping begin?

Over 20 years ago. Around 1992 I went to a craft sale where a woman was demonstrating stamping and heat embossing. It was just at the time when art stamping was being introduced over here from the USA. The demonstrator was simply stamping and embossing a picture on to a plain white card and colouring it with felt pens. I'd never seen anything like it before, and thought the embossing was magic! I bought my first stamp (which I still have and use) on the spot and was hooked from that moment! What a long way we have come, in terms of materials and techniques, since then.

Q.2.What do you enjoy most about it?

That even with a single stamp I need never produce the same design twice. I am limited only by my imagination. I'd soon get bored with my stamps otherwise. Oh, and the fact that I can produce an acceptable image without the ability to draw!

Q.3.What is your favourite make of stamp ?

I tend to look for stamps by theme, rather than by manufacturer, so I'm interested in any company which makes stamps suited to my favourite topics. However, a quick look at my collection reveals that topping the league are probably Chocolate Baroque, Crafty Individuals and Inkylicious. (Though not necessarily in that order. I haven't actually counted my stamps. I daren't!)

Q.4. What is your most used stamp/product and why?

Not counting tools, my most used product is probably my Versafine Onyx Black inkpad, closely followed by Distress Inks, both types because of their versatility. My most used stamp is the personalised "hand made by" one which I stamp on the back of all my cards. Apart from that, a classic "Happy Birthday" by (I think) Embossing Arts, which is one of the first stamps I ever bought and which I often still use on the inside of a card.

Q.5. What colours do you most enjoy working with ?

I prefer cool colours: blues, purples, or greens, but I also like autumn shades.

Q.6. What inspires your designs?

Anything nature-related. I have always loved the natural world, and now that I am lucky enough to live in beautiful countryside I am not short of inspiration. However, my mojo does go off on holiday now and then, and on those occasions a trip round Blogland will usually bring it back. The wealth of talent out there constantly amazes me.

Thanks so much for sharing that with us Lynne, I don't know about all of you, but I rather like being a fly on the wall of other peoples crafty space.

February challenge

Good morning and welcome and I hope you are all ready for our February challenge which has been chosen by Lynne and is..................................

********Fur and Feather******** 

It can be one of the other or even both together and I am thinking this gives you no end of scope from cute and cuddly teddy bears, sweet little critter to birds in flight, the options are endless.

We are so pleased to welcome Stix2 as our sponsor again this month who are offering our lucky winner another wonderful selection of crafting essentials, they are things that we all need in our everyday crafting and this little collection is going to keep you going for ages. Do spend a few minutes checking out their website here, I can tell you from personal experience their speed of delivery is fabulous.

The DT have worked their usual magic and created a wonderful selection of inspiration to set you on your way..............................................

Brenda
Fur................


.................and Feathers

Francesca

Lynne

Pinky

Ruth

Sally

Tracy

I really hope you will join us this month and myself and the DT look forward to looking at all your entries.

January winner

Here at last and rather belatedly with the winner and Top 3 from our January challenge, I'm really running on slow at this end so won't keep you waiting any longer other than to say thank you all for your wonderful Friendship creations. 

I am so please to announce our January winner of all those goodies from Stix2 is.....................

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Ruby

Congratulations Ruby, a lovely elegant card, please mail me with your full postal addy so I can get your prize in the post and don't forget to grab our winner logo.

And our Top 3 this month, it was really tough coming up with just three, but here they are.............

Cathy

Shaz

Viv

Well don all of you, please grab our Top 3 sidebar buttons.

I will be back Sunday with our new challenge.