Time to Cling!

You've probably noticed the new cling stamps - they're here, they're fantastic and, they will rock your crafty world!

Let's Talk About the Basics

• Cling stamps come with strong repositionable labels.
• These new labels cling to your clear blocks and won't fall off!
• Cling stamps feature the high quality red rubber you've come to expect and include a foam layer.

One Thing to Note

Some assembly is required.  You'll have to attach the printed labels to your stamps.  

Top Tip

Be careful when placing the labels; the adhesive is so strong you won't be able to peel them off once they're applied!

More Tips

These tips will help you get the best results with cling stamps.

• Make sure you use a clean and dry stamp before inking and stamping.  If the back of the stamp is wet, it will not cling to the clear block.
• Use Stampin' Mist and the Stampin' Scrub or the Simply Shammy to clean your stamps.  Avoid alcohol based cleaners; alcohol will damage the cling adhesive on the label.
• If your label gets dirty, clean it with water, Stampin' Mist, or a very mild detergent.  Avoid using cleaning/baby wipes because they will leave behind fibres.
• When removing the labelled stamp from the block, peel away starting on one edge rather than pulling the whole stamp straight up.
• After stamping, return the stamp to its case to prevent the adhesive from picking up lint, hair etc.

Watch a Stampin' Up! employee show you how to label your stamps!

Now that you've learnt the basics, it's time to have fun using them!

If you have any questions, or if you need any help mounting your new stamps just give me a shout!

Happy Crafting.

Susan xx

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me.

If you are local to me and can collect, I’m happy for you to piggyback one of my orders to save on postage.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to help.  You can email me susan_merrey@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 07905 403 823.

Thank you for shopping with me and supporting my business!

Needle & Thread - quick & simple

Hello, here are the details for our first project this week using a stamp set called Needle & Thread.

I knew that I would love using the Rectangle Stitched Edge Framelits as soon as I saw them in the new catalogue - a bit of a given as I use the Stitched Edge Framelits all the time too really!

We embossed our first background layer with the Tufted TIEF - it seemed an obvious decision to mix a quilted embossing folder with stamps that look like they have been embroidered  (to me at least anyway).

However, the rectangle framelits take things a step further as they not only cut out a rectangle with a stitched edge; they leave a stitched edge behind too!

We have used this to our advantage this week; the Night of Navy background is in fact a narrow frame that has been cut with two separate framelits.  The added bonus is that you also cut another Night of Navy rectangle to use on another project!

Another thing and there are many, that I love about this suite is that the leaves and the larger flower stamps are separate images and there are separate dies for each too! 

This allows you to adhere the flower with Dimensionals to add a bit of depth to projects which is something I do all the time.  Also, if you only put Tombow in the centre of the leaf die cut you can tuck all the leaves and flowers under the edges tocomplete the arrangement.

The inside of the card has been stamped with the same two images.  Its easy to align the flower so that it sits perfectly.

Here is the completed card and envelope.

I have two further C & C sessions this week, if you would like to join me to make this card and another, you can all find the details here.  Don't forget that if you place a £25 plus order on Thursday you can craft for free!

Details of the products I used for this project can be found below. 

Hope you can join me for a crafty coffee soon.

Susan xx

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me.

Here are the products I used today. All products are from Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased directly from my online shop by clicking the images below.

If you are local to me and can collect, I’m happy for you to piggyback one of my orders to save on postage.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to help.  You can email me susan_merrey@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 07905 403 823.

Thank you for shopping with me and supporting my business!

Needle & Thread for Coffee & Cards

Hello, this week we will be using a stamp and framelits bundle called Needle & Thread from the newly launched Needlepoint Nook suite of products.

This week we will be stamping, embossing, punching and die cutting using a lovely colour palette.

Balmy Blue

Berry Burst

Blushing Bride

Night of Navy

Old Olive

I have used Needle & Thread for several projects now.  I recently discovered the reason why the stamps and papers actually look like needlework.  After the SU designers came up with the idea, some really clever person embroidered the designs and then, these were photographed for us to use - genius!

Here are the projects we will be making - both with coordinating envelopes.

If you would like to join me, you can find me at the following locations next week.  

Please note - places are limited on Monday so let me know if you would like to join me asap. 

Monday - single project (shown on the left) or both!

Venue:   Peate Close, Godmanchester

Time:     10:00 - 12:00 pm

Cost:      £3.50 - includes all materials and tuition to make 1 project or

              £6.00 - includes all materials and tuition to make 2 projects.

Tuesday - both projects
Venue:  Bests Cafe, 7 Kings Hedges, St Ives (PE27 3XS)

Time:    2:00 - 4:00 pm

Cost:     £6.00 - includes all materials and tuition to make 2 projects.  

Thursday - both projects

Venue:    Bests Cafe, 7 Kings Hedges, St Ives (PE27 3XS)

Time:     2:00 - 4:00 pm
Cost:      £6.00 - includes all materials and tuition to make 2 projects.

I will be posting more details of these projects and the products I used to create them later this week.

Hope you can join me.

Susan xx

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me. 

All products are from Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased directly from my online shop HERE.

If you are local to me and can collect, I’m happy for you to piggyback one of my orders to save on postage.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to help.  You can email me susan_merrey@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 07905 403 823.

Thank you for shopping with me and supporting my business!

Stamp 'N Hop - Sale-A-Bration 2019

Hello and welcome to the first Stamp 'N Hop of 2019!  We are a group of Demonstrators from around the World who love to share our love of paper crafting.  If you are joining me from Mo at Crafty Rootes (Mo is a fellow team member and her projects are always so pretty), or are starting here with me - welcome, I hope you will find lots of inspiration as you hop around with us.

This month we are focusing on all things Sale-A-Bration (or SAB for short), using anything from the SAB brochure.

There are so many lovely new products in the SAB brochure that it was a very difficult decision as to which item I would use for my project.  However, after a lot of thought I decided I would use the Organdy Ribbon Combo Pack.

Perhaps not the most exciting item available during SAB but I do love ribbon!  This delicate ribbon, in 5 great colours is a dream to work with.

I've had an idea floating around in my head for a special project for a while now - all I needed were some twigs.

After waiting ages, the ones I ordered finally arrived this week.  Que a busy morning at Craftyducky HQ with a hack saw and some sand paper as the twigs I sourced were too long!

I used the Butterfly Gala stamp set and the Butterfly Duet Punch to create lots of pretty butterflies - stamped in Balmy Blue ink to coordinate with my choice of ribbon.  (The stamp and the punch are currently available as a bundle = a 10% discount).  I also punched out corresponding butterflies from Balmy Blue card stock.

I used my Stampin' Pierce Mat and Piercing Tool to carefully poke two holes in the top and bottom of each butterfly body.

Then I did something that I don't do very often - I got a needle out as I had the mad idea to sew the butterflies together.  I'm still not sure what came over me but it definitely won't happen again for a while I can tell you as I hate sewing!

I stitched the stamped and card stock butterflies together with some Silver Metallic Thread and then repeated again as I thought the thread would look pretty doubled up.

I then left a gap and added a further two sets of butterflies to each piece of thread before attaching to the twig with a double knot.  I also added a jewel to the head on the larger butterflies.

Once I had three threads attached to my twig I made a hanger with some of the Balmy Blue ribbon and tied two bows - one for each end.  I used red line tape to attached the ribbon to the twig and glue dots to attach the bows. (This lovely ribbons makes it easy to tie beautiful bows).

At this point I thought I was finished - how wrong could I be?  When I hung the mobile the butterflies would not hang straight, no matter what I tried.

I was so disappointed but, after sleeping on the problem I came up with what I hoped would resolve this.  Only problem is that I work on Friday mornings so I had to wait until I got home mid afternoon today before I  knew whether my idea would work or not. 

I stamped and punched out more butterflies and attached one to the back of each butterfly pair.  I used Tombow this time, taking great care to ensure that the thread hung vertically at the top of each head.  If I had known the butterflies would be unbalanced I would have stitched three of them together in the first place saving myself all this angst - hey ho!

TA DA - it worked - I was so pleased and very relieved as I had no time to come up with another project!!

Here is the completed mobile floating in the breeze from the hot radiator below.

It would also look lovely hanging on the edge of a shelf too as the butterflies would be able to move more freely or, perhaps haning in a window ...

Next month I am definitely not going to leave my project till the last minute (again).  

The Organdy Ribbon is so pretty; I can hardly believe that you get 5 spools in these gorgeous colours (4.6m each) for free with just a £45 order.  I love it so much that I've already ordered another set in case I start to run out!

I hope you enjoyed my project; I would love you to leave a comment to let me know what you think below.

Next up is Sandra - I can't wait to see which product she has chosen to use and her project.  Click the 'next' sign below to continue on the hop.

Thanks for hopping with us, hope you have a crafty weekend.

Susan xx

If you get lost along the way here is a list of hop participants this month.

Pia Gerhardt Scraproomboom (DE)

Vicki Hunter Australia

Mo Rootes

Susan Simpson - Craftyduckydoodah! (UK) – you are here!

Sandra Roberts (UK)

Vicky Wright - Australia

Jenna Watkins

Tracy Marie Lewis - Stuff N Thingz (US)

Jo Blackman

Rebecca-Jo Unwin- Australia

Laura Mackie (UK)

Cheryl Taylor - UK

Anastasia Radloff - US

Sharon Dalton - AUST

Jenn Charles - US

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me.

Here are the products I used today. All products are from Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased directly from my online shop by clicking the images below.

If you are local to me and can collect, I’m happy for you to piggyback one of my orders to save on postage.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to help.  You can email me susan_merrey@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 07905 403 823.

Thank you for shopping with me and supporting my business!

Geared Up Garage - stepped up

Hello, here are the details for our final project this week using Geared Up Garage.  When I first saw this stamp set last November it was the car image that made me notice this set.  My daughter Rosie has a bit of a thing for Mustangs; actually, she is saving up for one and has what she calls her 'Mustang Fund'!

Geared Up Garage has certainly appealed to my crafty ladies this week as it fills a gap in the market for male cards which can be quite tricky.

This week crafter's were able to choose which colour they wanted their car to be.  The most popular colour was the black version!

We used the Staampin' Blends to colour the images and then one of the coordinating framelits to cut it out.

A simple 'Z' fold card made from Basic Black card was the perfect vehicle (sorry) for this project.

We used some of the coordinating Designer Series Paper matted onto Real Red card for the first panel.

We used the Rectangle Stitched Framlits to provide a base for the car and added some stamped splodges too.  

A smoosh with the Smoky Slate Stampin' Blend (light) pen grounded the car.

A Whisper White layer provided an additional area to decorate.  You could write your message on this side but I prefer to add another 'secret' panel in the middle.  The larger panel also has two die cut corner cogs for a bit of added interest that have been cut from silver foil.

Here is the completed card and envelope.

Thanks to everyone who joined me this week - the Classic Garage Suite has proved very popular as several of my crafty ladies need to stock up on male cards. The most popular version of our first project was the dirty one!  Next week we will be using items from the Needlepoint Nook Suite.

I will be back tomorrow hopping for the first time this year with Stamp 'N Hop sharing a fund home decor project.

Hope you have a crafty weekend.

Susan xx

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me. 

Here are the products I used today. All products are from Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased directly from my online shop by clicking the images below.

If you are local to me and can collect, I’m happy for you to piggyback one of my orders to save on postage.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to help.  You can email me susan_merrey@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 07905 403 823.

Thank you for shopping with me and supporting my business!

Geared Up Garage - quick & simple

Hello, here are the details for our first project this week using Geared Up Garage.

We are also using a brilliant FREE Sale-A-Bration item that can be found on page 12 in the SAB catalogue.  Grapefruit Grove/Lovely Lipstick foil sheets.  You get to choose this item for FREE with a £45 spend - 8 sheets, 4 of each colour, 12" x 12".  

We used this foil with one of the dies in the Garage Gears Thinlits - look at the colours in the foil ...

Two simple die cuts adhered to a Whisper White base that was then adhered to the card blank with Dimensionals look simply stunning cut with this gorgeous foil.

We used one of my new favourite items; the Rectangle Stitched Framelits and one of the sentiments in this set.  A further die cut trio of cogs was placed to one side.  I used the 'waste' from the background sheet of Mini Dimensionals to cut tiny pieces from so that you can't see them.

Here is the finished card.

Did I mention that I really, really like the Classic Garage Suite?  Well, I do!  I decided to have a bit of a play and came up with another two versions of this card.

This one is the dirty version.  We used the splodgy/smudgy stamp to create a background panel before adhering the gears.  We used Smoky Slate ink that was 'stamped off' first.  

The inside of the card and the envelope were stamped to coordinate.

Then I used a sponge to add even more ink to the edges of the stamped panel and the sentiment.

This is the very dirty version!

Obviously, I like all three versions and can't decide which I prefer!

This morning I offered my crafty ladies the chance to change things around a bit and let them choose which version they would like to make.  They all choose dirty versions!  I'll keep a tally and let you know which was the most popular at the end of the week.

I have two further C & C session this week, if you would like to join me to make this card and another, you can all find the details here.  Don't forget that if you place a £25 plus order on Thursday you can craft for free!

Details of the products I used for this project can be found below. 

Hope you can join me for a crafty coffee soon.

Susan xx

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me. 

If you are in the UK, please click on the images below to go straight to my online store or for further information. 

Geared Up Garage for Coffee & Cards

Hello, this week we will be using a brand new suite of products called Classic Garage for our Coffee & Cards projects to make cards for the men in our lives.  I enjoyed using items from this new suite so much for a recent Tic Tac Toe challenge and, as I mentioned, I had so many ideas in my head I though I'd better use a couple of them before I forgot them!  

Here are the projects we will be making - we will be stamping, die cutting and colouring using the Stampin' Blends this week.

You will be able to choose which colour you would like your car to be; red, yellow or black.  I did have a look online to check the colours - unfortunately SU don't (yet) have a suitable blue but I will see if I can find a Pro Marker that is the right colour just in case anyone prefers blue.

If you would like to join me, you can find me at the following locations next week.  

Please note - places are limited on Monday so let me know if you would like to join me asap. 

Monday - single project (shown on the left) or both!

Venue:   Peate Close, Godmanchester

Time:     10:00 - 12:00 pm

Cost:      £3.50 - includes all materials and tuition to make 1 project or

              £6.00 - includes all materials and tuition to make 2 projects.

Tuesday - both projects
Venue:  Bests Cafe, 7 Kings Hedges, St Ives (PE27 3XS)

Time:    2:00 - 4:00 pm

Cost:     £6.00 - includes all materials and tuition to make 2 projects.  

Thursday - both projects

Venue:    Bests Cafe, 7 Kings Hedges, St Ives (PE27 3XS)

Time:     2:00 - 4:00 pm
Cost:      £6.00 - includes all materials and tuition to make 2 projects.

I will be posting more details of these projects and the products I used to create them later this week.

This bundle (= 10% saving) is my new 'go to' set for male cards and I hope my crafty ladies enjoy using it this week as much as I have been doing recently.

Hope you can join me for a crafty coffee!

Susan xx

Thank you so much for looking at my Blog today, if you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you live in the UK, I would love to be yours!  

If you need to order any supplies, simply use my “shop with me” button or click on the catalogue links on the right. Alternatively, contact me and I would be happy to place an order for you.

The Spring / Summer and Sale-A-Bration catalogues launched on the 3rd January.  If you would like copies let me know and I will pop them in the post for you.

Would you like to receive a FREE gift from me? 

All orders placed directly with me or online receive a handmade card from me as a thank you but did you know that all orders over £20 (excluding postage) will receive a gift from me too?  If you use the current Hostess Code I will pop something in with your order or post directly to you.  (Please remember to allow me to access your contact details otherwise I won't be able to contact you).

If your order is over £150 please don't use the code as you will receive your own Stampin' Rewards.  You will still receive a card and a gift from me.