Brr... It's Cold Outside

The nights are drawing in and Christmas is only 32 days away! Can you believe it? I haven't even begun to think about Christmas shopping yet.


Oh well. I have been in a crafty Christmas mood though. I have had my eye on Eskimo Kisses from Basic Grey since I saw them on the CHA sneaky peaks. They are even more adorable in real life.

I've had this project in my head for the last 3 months, so I've been dying to get my papers and get started. The plain wooden sleigh was painted with Gesso before being covered in patterned paper. It is obviously quite tricky trying to cut out the fret work so I created a little template first.

The snowman is is polystyrene craft balls covered in Gesso and glittered. You know I have a little soft spot for snowmen!

I really wanted to include two little dickie birds on a branch - these have been created with Fimo. I'm afraid I'm not very artistic, so my shapes have to be simple.

The adorable stocking hangs at the back of the sleigh complete with tiny pom-poms.

This project was surprisingly simple to put together - the papers all co-ordinate beautifully and such a dream to use. I do have some left over and I have my eye on another project for Christmas - so watch this space!

Remember all the latest products are available at the Ally Scraps store. I have my eye on some very pretty goodies for Christmas!

Thanks for dropping by.

Morag x

Prima Pick

Prima are doing some lovely blog candy featuring these HOT products. Yummy. So I'm a girl who is easily lead especially where pretty things are concerned. So head over to Prima's blog for more info.



I thought I'd share a little project I did for Scrapbook Inspirations magazine here in the UK. This little door hanger was so much fun to do, that I'm going to make one for each of us.

The snowman is made from a polystyrene ball cut into 2 before being covered in lots of sparkly glitter.

The chipboard shapes are from My Mind's Eye. The background paper isn't Christmas at all , but I did love the silver finish. You can find more Pink Paislee in the Ally Scraps store.

Of course, there has to be a sign so that Santa knows where to stop. After printing the words onto stiff card (the font is Almonte Snow), I applied lots of ink to give it a wooden feel. Top off with a Snow Writer and more glitter for a fresh sprinkling of snow.

I hope that you've enjoyed this project. We have lots more to share with you in the next couple of days, so I hope that you'll pop back.

Ally Scraps has loads of the latest goodies in the store and can all be found here.

I'll leave you with a sneaky peak of another project that I've done for Ally Scraps. Yes, another snowman (they're really addictive).

Pop back on Friday for more pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

Morag x

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's that time of year again, when those of you who are PTA's up and down the country will know what I mean by busy! Although I was going to step down from our committee this year, I ended up being chair person or we wouldn't have any continuity. Thankfully, the rest of the new committee are all lovely and enthusiastic so I'm hoping that things go well despite me being in charge.

So I'm sharing a couple of projects from the past couple of weeks in no particular order. The first is from a trip we made to a local National Trust property. One of those rare occasions when my two little monsters posed for the camera. They posed beautifully one minute, then acted up the next. Very typical behaviour.

It did give me chance to dust off a Buzz and Bloom spinner I had been hoarding. Do you know those things that are just too precious to use? This is one of them. I've covered mine in paper (all My Mind's Eye). The journalling is Naughty, Nice, Nicer.

I have gone a little mad over masking recently, so I've masked circles and stuff onto my background - I just love this technique.

Did I mention that the papers are the lovely Stomp! collection from My Mind's Eye? I just love getting boys stuff in my stash - there just isn't enough of it out there.

Speaking of boys stuff, I'll share a layout I did for the AllyScraps blog last week.

I love the cool graphic images of the Oh Boy! collection from Fancy Pants. I wish I could doodle in the same way. The really cool thing about this paper is that all the hard work is done for you. All that is left to do is to add your photos and some fancy bits (if you really need to).


I added my favourite bit of magic mesh and added rub-ons here and there.

Before I go, AllyScraps are participating in the Adornit Blog Hop this Friday. As I'm guesting on the blog, I get to play along too! Yippeee!

As the theme is Christmas, I'll leave you with a sneak peak of my contribution. Be sure to pop over to AllyScraps blog this Friday to find out what we've been up to.

Thanks for stopping by.

Prima Build a Page

I entered Prima's monthly Build a Page last month - I haven't done a comp in ages. I have loads of photos to scrap from the Summer, so it was a good excuse to scrap some.



Well, what do you know, I didn't win! LOL. I did get a mention though. Wow. That's good enough for me.

I used a broken locket that I inherited from my Auntie last year. It's hard to see, but the glass is broken - just adds more charm in my opinion.

The title is cut from the patterned paper and layered onto another copy. I've wrinkled them up for a bit more depth.

Well that was my five minutes of fame. Wait. I think you missed it!

Thanks for stopping by.

All that Sparkles

I thought I would enter Simon Says Stamp Challenge this week - the prompt is All that Sparkles.


I love the Fairy Doodle stamps - they are just so delightful to colour. I like mixing the pinks and reds together so I'm afraid they just have to be in this colour combination. The sparkly background papers are Amy Butler (K&Co) - it has been so hard to actually cut up and use! *sigh* why do they have to make something so pretty?

The fairy has sparkly shoes, hat and wings (although hard to see in my photo).

Thanks for dropping in.

LO Share

We had a wonderful fortnight in Cornwall this summer. Untypically, we had fabulous weather for most of it. We've wanted to visit for such a long time, but as the journey down is so tedious we've put it off. Well it was well worth the tedium. Cornwall is one of the prettiest places in Britain (and we do have a lot of beautiful places).

Land's End is the furthest most tip of England and the day we visited was glorious. Clear blue sky - really picture-perfect. I've taken a ton of photos which will appear in other layouts, but whilst my printer is on the blink, I'm making do with photos I'd printed out before going off for repair.

Lauren loves the Zip wires and this is my favourite dress that she wore (looks like almost every day this summer). I love these new stitched mulberry papers from Prima - they are so luxurious - they really have taken paper to a whole new level.

I love to layer flowers, ribbons and crystals if I can get them. These gorgeous crystals are ZVA. I've looped them slightly so they stand off the page. That velvet flower is of course Maya Road.

I'm now trying catch up posts with all the projects I managed to photograph the other day, so I'm sure there will be lots of posting going on over the next few days.

Just before I go, I'd like to say a massive HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Cathy Phillips who is the wonderful owner of Ally Scraps. I've been on Cathy's DT for the past 2 years and she is the most fabulous person to design for. Hope you have a great day Cathy!

Craft Room Door

I'm lucky enough to have my own little craft room so that I no longer reside under the stairs (like Harry Potter). It's small, but it's mine (mostly).

So I'd bought this fabulous masquerade mask and needed to do something with it. I hit upon the idea of making a plaque for my door - I'd made them for the kids in the past. I've recently bought Laundry Line pad from My Mind's Eye (*swoon*). The papers are all glittery and gorgeous.

The picture is a little difficult to see (click on it for a bigger one), but the mask has been glued to the corner before being adorned with a crystal swirl, roses and ribbons.

I love tucking things in behind other stuff such as flowers - this beautiful one is from Prima (of course)
I've layered stamps (Inkadoo and Prima) around the edges - don't you just love those chandeliers?

Well at least you can find my room now if you pop round! Have a great day and drop in again soon.

He's Making a List

Santa that is. I know Christmas seems to be miles away, but Lauren has been planning her list for months already. She has added and subtracted dolls, bikes, a DS amongst other things. She has been reasonable and pushed some things aside and others to her birthday but it is hard to keep track!



So in order to have some idea of what it is she's after, I've made this wish list holder. She can keep a list for Santa (we can post it outside her door on Christmas Eve) and also cut out pictures. That way, Daddy and I know what she's on about.



The office clip can be used to hold the list on the left. Whilst I've created pockets on the right for those important notes and pictures.I hope that Santa likes it and leaves Lauren a lovely present or two.





Papers - Bo Bunny, Imaginisce, K&Co. Gorgeous crystals - ZVA Creative Letters - American Crafts Sticks - K&Co Calendar - Jenni Bowlin



Thanks for stopping by.

Brrr Winter is on it's way

Feeling very chilly today. The weather has finally caught up with Autumn and may even over take to feel like winter.

I thought I'd share a bit more of a workshop we're running in November. It features the most wonderful papers from My Mind's Eye (who are just my favourite).



The cute lil' snowman adorns the top of the keepsake box. He's all frosty with glitter, a carrot nose and rosy red cheeks.

We'll be covering the box and making the album to go inside. The album contain 6 pages including some lovely ledger shaped pages and a window page.

The class is running on Wednesday, 4th November and Sunday, 22nd November and is a whopping 5 hours! At just £35 it is really a bargain with all those lovely papers and embellishments. Kits are also available including all the materials and detailed instructions. If you'd like to know more then just email me moragcutts@freeuk.com or visit our website www.Whathousework.co.uk

I hope you enjoy your weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

In Need of better light

That way, I'll be able to take some photos of my pile of projects and layouts that I have mounting up. The only things i've manage to photograph recently have been cards - even though I don't make cards! LOL

So I'll share my projects that were in Scrapbook Inspirations last month. I'm not normally a huge fan of Halloween, but after making these projects I kind of got the bug.



The cute lil' pumpkin is a polystyrene ball carved to a pumpkin(ish) shape. Coloured and glittered with glass and ultra-fine glitter. Unfortunately, the detail doesn't really show in my photo.



For the base, the box is covered in digi-papers (Two Peas) and black rhinestones.

I also did a 'Spooky House' because I'm a sucker for cute little dwellings.



The owl (October Afternoon stamp) perches on a sign (McDonald's stirrer!). The cobwebs were created using hot glue (completely by chance).



The cardstock house has been stamped and embossed with black glossy embossing powder before adding a little more bling.



I have new costumes for the kids this year, so I'm hoping for a bumper crop of photos to scrap!

Hope your week is off to a good start too. Thanks for stopping by.