It’s been a while since my last post. Mostly due to lots of work, and starting my day earlier to fit more in.

Since my last blog I’ve taken on an orphaned calf, a large soft furnishing order, I’ve designed my new spring range of bunting/garlands, and taken over the running of the Dumfries and Galloway Mumpreneur networking group (to name a few things).  I’m loving being so busy, but it does mean some things get missed, like my blog and down time!

I thought I’d get back in to my blog by introducing you to my Calf.

Name:  Buttons

Age:  3 months

Weight:  very  (according to toe calculations)

Here’s a wee video clip of me feeding Buttons this morning. He gets a little frustrated in between top ups of his bottle. It would probably speed things up if he gave up trying to find if I had udders!

http://youtu.be/NgRTrfuUdDs  (please click on the link)

And people ask why I spend my life in overalls and waterproof trousers!

It’s happy dance for us here at the farm. I have a fully fitted roof with beautiful new windows on my workshop.  Mark and Ben have worked 10 days solid to get a watertight roof. Working through severe frosts and biting winds.  They finished this lunchtime with a few hours to spare, as I look out across the hills to see the rain rolling in.

Regarding the happy dance, it’s probably just me dancing, as the boys are now frozen shells of their former selves and can’t move much to dance, but they assure me they are smiling on the inside.

Please behold my new roof.

Ta Da!   I have windows.

For those of you who have been following the slow progress of my workshop… As you know, being Farmers we have a small window (no pun intended) of time over the winter to work on non farming projects.

The boys have worked like trojans this weekend and have fitted 8 velux windows., giving me this incredible floodlit space. They are now back on the roof this morning to start the tiling.

With a bit of luck I could have a complete water tight shell by Christmas, and a plain interior box by the start of spring……

One of my handmade Lamb rugs to give away for Christmas.

All you have to do is subscribe to my blog.

The winner will be drawn on the 14th December 2012 in order to get it to them for Christmas. For an extra chance to win, click on the following link and like my facebook page and share the ‘xmas give away’ status…https://www.facebook.com/ginalillycropdesigns

The winner will be chosen by simply putting all the names in a hat, and those that have ’liked and shared’ on facebook will have their names in twice.

Good luck

Are you needing support with your business? Are you stuck in a rut and needing help to move your business forward and increase sales? Thinking of starting your own business? Then come and join our networking group and meet a wonderful group of Mums who support each other, share tips, ideas and networking skills

Our next meeting is on the 22^nd November at the Loch Ken Gallery in Parton from  7pm

I shall be leaving from Wigtown monument at 6pm for anyone who would like a lift from Wigtown

Please reply before the 21^st to let me know if you are attending, or contact me if you would like any more information.

Looking forward to seeing you

Gina

gina@ginalillycropdesigns.com

01988 860724

07816 197439

It’s coming to that wonderful time of year again, where we decorate our homes in beautiful coloured decorations.

Earlier this year I was introduced to a wonderful cutting machine for fabric and I began playing in my spare time…I call it spare, but I think you’ll find it was time borrowed from the laundry and vacuuming!

I ended up designing these decorative felt and fabric garlands for hanging in the home

 I would have liked it to have been November before I launched my new design, but seeing all the Christmas adverts hitting the screen, I got very excited and jumped on the bandwagon.

So introducing my Handmade Christmas Garlands http://www.ginalillycropdesigns.com/products-page/small-handmade-gifts/handmade-christmas-garlands-4/

And my ‘everyday’ Handmade Garlands http://www.ginalillycropdesigns.com/products-page/small-handmade-gifts/handmade-everyday-garlands/

I hope you like them

I’m delighted to announce that I will be running a children’s workshop at the Wigtown book festival next Sunday,30 Sept from 10am – 5pm in the children’s tipi. http://www.wigtownbookfestival.com

This year the book festival is celebrating the natural beauty of our unspoilt night sky, from star-gazing suppers to fantasies of the Arabian Nights.  Working with this theme I have designed small felt owl wall hangings for the morning session, and colourful felt pull-along fireworks and rockets for the afternoon. For those that don’t like getting their hands sticky there will be some colouring in projects too.  The projects have been designed with a wide variety of ages in mind

As a fully qualified Nursery nurse and soft furnishing designer, I think you can see why I’m looking forward to this workshop so much. There’s something very special about a child imagination and I can’t wait to see their finished results. So come along and spend some time with me on Sunday,  and hopefully we’ll see lots of colourful fireworks and rockets flying around Wigtown.

For Christmas My Husband and I bought a fancy camera between us for a joint present. A beautiful Nikon 3100 and I couldn’t stop opening the box before Christmas until Mark took it off me and hid it.

Christmas day came and I played with it all day until I depressed myself that I couldn’t actually work the camera in any setting other than Auto. (of which Auto is great, but I like to be in control).

I decided to enrol myself in the Open University digital photography course to learn more…. I’M LOVING IT

It’s a 10 week course and I’m half way through and thought I’d put up some of my photographs that I’ve taken so far. (these are photographs that have to be entered at the end of every week for critique)

Next week will be my biggest challenge yet as My Brother-in –law is getting married and has asked me to do the photography. Terrified is an understatement, but as he says the worst that happens is I revert to Auto!!!

Marks efforts to date!!!

Well, we survived the camping! It started like this…

and it ended ended like this…

The bit in the middle was fab, if a little cold. The only difference the thinnest of thin nylon sheets made between the outside and inside temperature, was to stop the wind. It couldn’t prevent the inside of the tent being 2 degrees.

Bedtime was as soon as dinner was eaten and as soon as you could get into your bed (fully dressed). As the night wore on we all warmed up and could start removing layers and eventually put on night wear.

The hardest, but one of the nicest parts of the day was when the dog wanted out at 6. Man it was cold, wandering on the moor while I waited for her to pee, but that 10 minutes alone in the breaking light watching the wildlife was beautiful.

We visited the Wensleydale cheese factory and museum, Ribblesdale viaduct, white scar caves (this was fab, a cave that you could walk half a mile into the hillside, with stalactites, stalagmites and fossils). And lots of walks around villages and Dales.

Alex didn’t expect to end up this deep in the snow.

Mark even helped with a bit of impromptu lambing

underground waterfall in Scar cave.

check out the rock formation from thousands of centuries of calcite deposits. Oh and the alien on the wall!

On the 11^th of March I had the great privilege of becoming a godmother (for the first time) to my cousins beautiful son Isaac. Having such wonderful godparents myself, I was aware of what a privilege it was to be asked, and I was very excited about the prospect.

I was christened Church of England, but I was very lapse in my approach to religion and apart from weddings and funerals there were very few other occasions when I had been to church.

However this was to be a wonderful day. I wasn’t quite sure of the procedure of a christening, but I took it in my stride. At one point the godparents were called to stand up at the front and face the congregation, whereupon we had to agree to renounce our sins. This made me feel slightly nervous, but for the sake of my beautiful godson, there’s not much I wouldn’t do. Except maybe give up chocolate!

It all went beautifully. Isaac smiled all the way through. I thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony. It was a beautiful and uplifting service and it made being a godmother feel more important and more real.

Oh and I didn’t go up in flames (even though Mark admitted to me later he’d hoped the candle burning behind me had just slightly singed my hair as a token gesture)

Beautiful Isaac

Alexander and Isaac