DAY TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE - The start of another week

 

Good morning, woke up to a cooler day and very wet and soggy outside.  It is supposed to be raining all day today, oh well.  I saw the quote above and thought that this sums it up for this morning. 

My Sunday yesterday felt like a proper Sunday if you know what I mean.  A later and lazier start to the day, chores, visiting family and generally just catching up with things.  It was lovely to see mum again, I am going daily at the moment but wont pop in today.  She isnt the best as you would expect, if you didnt know she has Alzheimers as well as Vasular Dementia.  She has been given a sit up chair, with wings for her comfort as she tends to lean to one side a lot from Adult Social Services.  We are very lucky with the help she has been given by them as I hear some horror stories.  She has discovered that eating her meals with a spoon is far easier and she is so happy about that, a little bit child like if you know what I mean.  My sister and dad took her to the hairdressers last week and she loved it although it did take 2 days for her to get over it as it makes her so very tired.   

I was lucky enough to receive this wonderful handmade broch from my friend Ruth on Saturday.

 

Isnt she so very talented.  I am told that it is a Tracy Moreau design and it has been painted with acrylic paints with a uv resin on the top.  The details are amazing and the shine, wow. Its perfect for this time of year so I shall be wearing it with pride for the next few weeks. 

I am having a bit of an embellishment de-stash this week of lots of different Stampin' Up! retired goodies.  There will be a mix of full packs, half packs and a few bits in between, all looking for new homes.  If you would like to pop into the Craft Room and have a browse through what's on the dresser, just get in touch and we can arrange a time that works for us both.  Any excuse to pop the kettle on.  

 

 

Are you free for a Crafty get together on Saturday?  If you fancy joining us please do get in touch.  My contact details at at then end of this post.   

 

 I have a busy day today so off to make a start on it.  Thank you so much for having a read and I hope the weather doesnt spoil the start of your day.  Tracey x

 

Stampin' Up! news and offers

You can flip through the new catalogue online by clicking on the image below or even download a copy to keep. 

If you would like to collect a proper copy from the Craft Room then get in touch.  I do have a few that I will happily pass on to you. 

Click the image below to browse the full collection in the Online Exclusive range of products, look out for the "new" stickers to easily spot the latest additions.

 

There are still products available in the Last Chance section of the Stampin' Up! Website. If you click on the image below a new page will open up and you can have a browse.

 

 

 

 

Here is the latest Scrapbooking Brochure that was released in January.  At the moment it is only a digital brochure.  

 You can click on the image below and a new window will open up where you can have a browse through the shop. Please do get in touch with me if you would like any help.  My contact details are at the end of the post and I really am happy to help as much as I can.

This is a new Starter Kit offer from Stampin’ Up! that is the best I have seen.

You have a choice of one of the following  two great value options either 

Option 1 Get £130 worth of products for £35 

or 

Option 2 Get £194 worth of products for £99 

You can customise your Starter Kit by adding any  Stampin’ Up! products, including items from the November Online Exclusive pre-order, the newly refreshed Last Chance section and new kits in to your basket and pay the option that you have chosen.  Plus, your Starter Kit will be shipped to you free of charge and will include current catalogues/brochures.

Here’s more of what you can enjoy during your first 6 months:

• Early access to the January–April 2026 Mini Catalogue (PDF available in November, plus pre-order privileges).
• Pre-order perks for the 2026–2027 Annual Catalogue
• Option to register for OnStage (March 12–14, 2026) — a fun and inspiring Stampin’ Up! event!
• Access to the Quick Start Programme, offering extra rewards for new team members.
• Discounts on your own orders and/or commissions on orders that are placed by others as well as Stampin' rewards on qualifying orders. 
• Join our wonderful community of crafters where you will find so much inspiration, lots of ideas and whole bunch of new friends, worldwide.
• Get togethers in The Craft Room, Derby and / or online.

To learn more, click on the image below or get in touch.  You can always come along to The Craft Room, Derby on October 15th at around 6.30pm to find out more over a cuppa or join us at Insomnia Cafe, Shelton Lock on 17th October between 10.00am - 12 noon.  

If you would like to receive my newsletter and be added to my email list of friends do let me know.  I would hate you to miss out on all our get togethers and socials.  Always lots of new friends waiting to be met. 

If you would like to get in touch with me, here is where I can be found.  

 

 

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO - Stampin' Up! event, A Little Cheer, Impressions Abloom, Just a note Stamp Sets and 2025-2027 In Colors

 

Good morning and phew, its Sunday.  No rush to get dressed nor showered, I feel as though things are a little more relaxed on a Sunday morning.  I am sure I cant be the only one.

I can't quite believe how quickly this week has flown by. Today, I'm easing into a slower pace and soaking up some quality time with family. I've made a little promise to myself, Sundays are now my day. A whole day with no plans, just time to see loved ones, potter about, and do whatever makes me smile. Its a bit of a brave move.

I'm kicking things off by clearing my desks, I have one in the study where I handle all my correspondence and creative planning, and the other is my happy place,  the craft desk.  It shouldn’t take too long, and funnily enough, it’s actually something recommended in a training programme I’m doing. Fresh spaces, fresh energy is the motto. 

What a week it’s been, wonderful, but non-stop. On Tuesday, as you may know, a friend and I headed off to a Stampin’ Up! event, which was so much fun. Wednesday was all about getting creative with some kit making in the afternoon and friends over in the evening disucussing the new Stampin' Up! joining promoation and Thursday turned into a whirlwind of visitors and a trip to the hairdresser (which I thoroughly enjoyed).

Friday was a trip to our local Insomnia cafe with a lovely group of friends but the two hour visit turned in to four hours, opps and yesterday was an absolutely brilliant day out in a place called Port Sunlight. I have to say, it was the best craft show I’ve been to in years! The stalls were top quality, and while it was busy (with a bit of enthusiastic elbowing), it became much easier to browse in the afternoon as the crowd thinned out.

What really made the day, though, was the company, I honestly can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. So if you’re looking for a craft event to pop in your diary, I highly recommend the Port Sunlight Craft Show next October. You absolutely won’t be disappointed.

Here is the second card that I should have made at the Stampin' Up! event.  Mine is still a work in progress so here is a picture of the designers card

We used beautiful Stampin' Up! two-tone cardstock along with the adorable Sending a Little Cheer bundle which includes a stamp set and three mini punches. I can already tell these will be super handy for the festive season ahead.

 

One of my favourite traditions at Stampin’ Up! events is swapping cards with fellow demonstrators. It’s such a lovely way to share inspiration and connect with others, I really look forward to it every time! For my swap card, I decided to recreate an In Color design I had made with some friends earlier this year. It brought back such great memories.

.  

 

Well, I guess I ought to be making a move.  I really do appreciate you reading the blog today and it would be wonderful if you left me a comment.  Wishing you a smashing Sunday.  Tracey x 

 

 

Stampin' Up! news and offers

You can flip through the new catalogue online by clicking on the image below or even download a copy to keep. 

If you would like to collect a proper copy from the Craft Room then get in touch.  I do have a few that I will happily pass on to you. 

Click the image below to browse the full collection in the Online Exclusive range of products, look out for the "new" stickers to easily spot the latest additions.

 

There are still products available in the Last Chance section of the Stampin' Up! Website. If you click on the image below a new page will open up and you can have a browse.

 

 

 

 

Here is the latest Scrapbooking Brochure that was released in January.  At the moment it is only a digital brochure.  

 You can click on the image below and a new window will open up where you can have a browse through the shop. Please do get in touch with me if you would like any help.  My contact details are at the end of the post and I really am happy to help as much as I can.

This is a new Starter Kit offer from Stampin’ Up! that is the best I have seen.

You have a choice of one of the following  two great value options either 

Option 1 Get £130 worth of products for £35 

or 

Option 2 Get £194 worth of products for £99 

You can customise your Starter Kit by adding any  Stampin’ Up! products, including items from the November Online Exclusive pre-order, the newly refreshed Last Chance section and new kits in to your basket and pay the option that you have chosen.  Plus, your Starter Kit will be shipped to you free of charge and will include current catalogues/brochures.

Here’s more of what you can enjoy during your first 6 months:

• Early access to the January–April 2026 Mini Catalogue (PDF available in November, plus pre-order privileges).
• Pre-order perks for the 2026–2027 Annual Catalogue
• Option to register for OnStage (March 12–14, 2026) — a fun and inspiring Stampin’ Up! event!
• Access to the Quick Start Programme, offering extra rewards for new team members.
• Discounts on your own orders and/or commissions on orders that are placed by others as well as Stampin' rewards on qualifying orders. 
• Join our wonderful community of crafters where you will find so much inspiration, lots of ideas and whole bunch of new friends, worldwide.
• Get togethers in The Craft Room, Derby and / or online.

To learn more, click on the image below or get in touch.  You can always come along to The Craft Room, Derby on October 15th at around 6.30pm to find out more over a cuppa or join us at Insomnia Cafe, Shelton Lock on 17th October between 10.00am - 12 noon.  

If you would like to receive my newsletter and be added to my email list of friends do let me know.  I would hate you to miss out on all our get togethers and socials.  Always lots of new friends waiting to be met. 

If you would like to get in touch with me, here is where I can be found.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY EIGHT - Catching Up

  

 Good morning.  Today is all about catching up and I do have quite a bit of it to do but I will only get through what I can and not worry about what I leave.

First of all its the blog, as I have said before, I love doing this each day but find myself wandering off to do something else well, lets see how I get on over the next week.

We returned home last Saturday but it was a really long day.  We had a very big delay at the airport. It took 19 hours to get home and whilst it was an epic saga, it didnt bother us, we just got a bit fed up and stiff from all the waiting around.  The cause of it was due to the cone of the plane (the very front bit) struck a very large bird as it came down to land.  It wasnt just a little bump either, the nose was badly dented and the plane needed 6 hours of safety checks.  To be fair, it is exactly what you want when travelling at 30,000 feet.  To add to the drama, our seats got shuffled and we ended up in row.... 13.  Yes, really.  When we arrived at Heathrow we discoved that some of the tube lines were having engineering works so it was a bit of a treasure hunt trying to get across the city on a busy Saturday evening with all the shoppers.

On the plus side, we experienced a Saturday night in The Big Smoke with a lovely meal in a very crowded put.  East Midlands Railway can through for us like heros.  We had missed our train connection but a wonderful lady (Rita) at the EMR office took pity on us and swapped our expired tickets for the next available train.  An absolute legend.  

After all this, I still havent caught up on lots of things and my to do list is just getting longer and longer so today, its time to do as much as I can.  

I have had a few deliveries of Stampin' Up! goodies whilst I have been away and they are all sorted now so its just finding homes for everything.

Tuesday was an exciting day.  Myself and a lovely lady in my team took ourselves off to a Stampin' Up! event not too far from our home town of Derby.  Well, we got stuck in traffic at the top of my street and it continued for well over an hour.  Bumper to bumber for miles and miles but we made it with less than 5 minutes to spare.  It was a really nice day, we learnt quite a bit, had lots of crafting time and made some new friends.  I had forgotton how nice it was to go to something that was organised for you, I need to look for more of these events. 

 

This is one of the cards that was made.  It was created by a fellow demonstrator, Sara Sayers and its a great technique of stamping and then trimming card to create this wonderful layout.  The stamp set and punches that were used are called A Little Cheer. 

 We stamped on to the Two Tone Card and the presents were fussy cut.

Here are the details of the stamp set and punches.  I cant wait to get a little more creative with this set.    

We are having a cuppa, card and a chat tomorrow morning if you fancy coming along for drink or making a card or just a chat and see what we get up to. 

 

 

Thank you so much for having a read today.  I do hope to be able to catch up with everyone who is local to me very soon.  Please do feel free to leave a comment or two, its so nice to read them.  Tracey x

 

Stampin' Up! news and offers

You can flip through the new catalogue online by clicking on the image below or even download a copy to keep. 

If you would like to collect a proper copy from the Craft Room then get in touch.  I do have a few that I will happily pass on to you. 

Click the image below to browse the full collection in the Online Exclusive range of products, look out for the "new" stickers to easily spot the latest additions.

 

There are still products available in the Last Chance section of the Stampin' Up! Website. If you click on the image below a new page will open up and you can have a browse.

 

 

 

 

Here is the latest Scrapbooking Brochure that was released in January.  At the moment it is only a digital brochure.  

 You can click on the image below and a new window will open up where you can have a browse through the shop. Please do get in touch with me if you would like any help.  My contact details are at the end of the post and I really am happy to help as much as I can.

This is a new Starter Kit offer from Stampin’ Up! that is the best I have seen.

You have a choice of one of the following  two great value options either 

Option 1 Get £130 worth of products for £35 

or 

Option 2 Get £194 worth of products for £99 

You can customise your Starter Kit by adding any  Stampin’ Up! products, including items from the November Online Exclusive pre-order, the newly refreshed Last Chance section and new kits in to your basket and pay the option that you have chosen.  Plus, your Starter Kit will be shipped to you free of charge and will include current catalogues/brochures.

Here’s more of what you can enjoy during your first 6 months:

• Early access to the January–April 2026 Mini Catalogue (PDF available in November, plus pre-order privileges).
• Pre-order perks for the 2026–2027 Annual Catalogue
• Option to register for OnStage (March 12–14, 2026) — a fun and inspiring Stampin’ Up! event!
• Access to the Quick Start Programme, offering extra rewards for new team members.
• Discounts on your own orders and/or commissions on orders that are placed by others as well as Stampin' rewards on qualifying orders. 
• Join our wonderful community of crafters where you will find so much inspiration, lots of ideas and whole bunch of new friends, worldwide.
• Get togethers in The Craft Room, Derby and / or online.

To learn more, click on the image below or get in touch.  You can always come along to The Craft Room, Derby on October 15th at around 6.30pm to find out more over a cuppa or join us at Insomnia Cafe, Shelton Lock on 17th October between 10.00am - 12 noon.  

If you would like to receive my newsletter and be added to my email list of friends do let me know.  I would hate you to miss out on all our get togethers and socials.  Always lots of new friends waiting to be met. 

If you would like to get in touch with me, here is where I can be found.  

 

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE

 

Good morning and whoop whoop it is Friday, I do love my Fridays.  Sadly it is my last Friday with my daughters, son in laws and the grandchildren and a few friends.  A very sad day but, I will put a smile on my face, keep myself busy when I get home and count down the days until next time.

The weather has certainly improved today and my early hours visit to the beach was most pleasant.  Even though we were slightly later today, the 'gang' were there having their breakfast.

A few more 'committee' issues popped up after we got back from the beach trip, just some emails to send and a bit of head-scratching involved. Hopefully, we’ll have it all sorted within the next 12 hours.

The complex has security gates at the drive entrances that require key fobs to get in and out. After years of use, the gate motors were starting to wear out, so new ones have been installed. Naturally, that also means new key fobs for some residents—cue the inevitable dramas (which you can probably imagine).

To help manage any issues, a key press has been installed with mechanism keys inside. A few residents have been given access so they can open the gates manually if needed. However, not everyone has access to the key press, so it could get interesting over the next few days.

Did you grab something fun during the recent Stampin’ Up! kit sale? If not, no worries. There’s still a whole world of creative kits waiting for you. Whether you're crafting for yourself or gifting a little handmade joy to family and friends, there's always something inspiring to dive into.  Need a little spark of inspiration? I’m full of alternative ideas to help you get the most out of your kits!  Get in touch, whether it’s a quick chat online or a cozy catch-up in the Craft Room (kettle’s always on), I’d love to help you get creating!

To find out more about all the kits Stampin' Up! have, just click on the image below and a new page will open up for you.  If you have any queries, please get in touch. 

Here are some cards that were made from one of the Stampin' Up! kits and which I put together in Cyprus.  

Are you free for a couple of hours next Friday for a cuppa, chat and a bit of card making.  You are most welcome to pop in to see us and have a look at what we get up to.  

Stampin' Up! news and offers

You can flip through the new catalogue online by clicking on the image below or even download a copy to keep. 

If you would like to collect a proper copy from the Craft Room then get in touch.  I do have a few that I will happily pass on to you. 

Click the image below to browse the full collection in the Online Exclusive range of products, look out for the "new" stickers to easily spot the latest additions.

 

There are still products available in the Last Chance section of the Stampin' Up! Website. If you click on the image below a new page will open up and you can have a browse.

 

 

 

 

Here is the latest Scrapbooking Brochure that was released in January.  At the moment it is only a digital brochure.  

 You can click on the image below and a new window will open up where you can have a browse through the shop. Please do get in touch with me if you would like any help.  My contact details are at the end of the post and I really am happy to help as much as I can.

This is a new Starter Kit offer from Stampin’ Up! that is the best I have seen.

You have a choice of one of the following  two great value options either 

Option 1 Get £130 worth of products for £35 

or 

Option 2 Get £194 worth of products for £99 

You can customise your Starter Kit by adding any  Stampin’ Up! products, including items from the November Online Exclusive pre-order, the newly refreshed Last Chance section and new kits in to your basket and pay the option that you have chosen.  Plus, your Starter Kit will be shipped to you free of charge and will include current catalogues/brochures.

Here’s more of what you can enjoy during your first 6 months:

• Early access to the January–April 2026 Mini Catalogue (PDF available in November, plus pre-order privileges).
• Pre-order perks for the 2026–2027 Annual Catalogue
• Option to register for OnStage (March 12–14, 2026) — a fun and inspiring Stampin’ Up! event!
• Access to the Quick Start Programme, offering extra rewards for new team members.
• Discounts on your own orders and/or commissions on orders that are placed by others as well as Stampin' rewards on qualifying orders. 
• Join our wonderful community of crafters where you will find so much inspiration, lots of ideas and whole bunch of new friends, worldwide.
• Get togethers in The Craft Room, Derby and / or online.

To learn more, click on the image below or get in touch.  You can always come along to The Craft Room, Derby on October 15th at around 6.30pm to find out more over a cuppa or join us at Insomnia Cafe, Shelton Lock on 17th October between 10.00am - 12 noon.  

If you would like to receive my newsletter and be added to my email list of friends do let me know.  I would hate you to miss out on all our get togethers and socials.  Always lots of new friends waiting to be met. 

If you would like to get in touch with me, here is where I can be found.