Wednesday 23 November 2016

My name is Ruby....

Hello everyone - my name is Ruby! I'm 5 months old today and just wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying ruling the roost at home now.

I've got lots of hobbies and interests, including:-

Checking that the household jobs are getting done properly....

Re-arranging the soft furnishings....


Getting belly rubs from Dad ....

Watching David Attenborough on the television - all those animals are so fascinating but when I try to get closer and have a look behind that box thing I can see them on, there's nothing there! Spooky! 

And after all that activity, a girl needs to have plenty of naps, preferably with my special crochet blankie that Mum made...

I try my bestest to keep Mum busy - although she does occasionally have a moan that she can't get on with crafting!  I'm only trying to help sort the yarn out when she's crocheting - you just can't please some people....

And I know that this Blog-thingy is called Tilly's Crafts (and Mum has shown me pictures of Tilly - who did look a lot like me!) - but I'll keep making a little appearance, just so that you know I'm keeping an eye on things and helping Mum with her crafty thingys!

Back soon,
Ruby xx




Sunday 20 November 2016

Autumn & Hedgehogs!

Hello all, I hope that your November has been going well.  We've definitely seen the autumnal weather this last week or so, with a mixture of icy cold or wind & rain. And I seem to have the usual busy few weeks, with work, family birthdays and a craft fair to get things ready for! I'm sharing a craft stall with another 'crafty' friend and I've been busy getting crocheted things ready, not to mention glycerine soaps, bath bombs, etc - at least the house smelt lovely yesterday whilst I was cutting and wrapping soaps! Not to mention the fact that it's an extra challenge trying to get anything done with a lunatic puppy dog round your feet all the time! And last weekend was a very special party for our little granddaughter's 1st birthday - can you believe that she's one year old already?! So I made some food & cakes as a contribution and we headed off to a lovely little party!  And the day of the party coincided with my eldest stepdaughter Charlotte's birthday which was an extra treat, as now they're all grown up and live away, its not often that we can see them all on their birthdays.  So I thought I'd share the card I made for Charlotte


 Apologies for the rather dark and dreary pic - the grey autumn days are definitely not helping the photography!  I treated myself to a few of the LOTV digi stamps - and they are gorgeous.  This is one of the new ones featuring these oh-so-cute hedgehogs


I've coloured the image with copics and pencil.  The backing paper is also from LOTV (I'll be a bit lost when I've finished up my stock of these!) and the flowers are from WOC


The sentiment is also from LOTV. 
Hope you like it.

And I mentioned it was my little granddaughter Isabella's 1st birthday - so I thought I'd share a little pic of Bella the Party Girl to show you what a cutie she is! 


Thanks for looking! 
Back soon,
Kim x




Sunday 30 October 2016

A bit of cosy crochet!

Hello all and I hope that you've enjoyed your weekend - and are getting ready for Halloween and Bonfire Night!  It'll be Ruby's first experience of both of course, and hopefully she'll cope well with the fireworks, etc.  I think she'll get more excited if any of our local children call tomorrow for Halloween - or she'll be trying to pinch any sweeties!  Here in North West Lancashire our half term break seems to be different from the rest of the UK (typical!), so we're actually on our week off this coming week and I am soooo looking forward to a break.  There's nothing exciting planned apart from a couple of arrangements with friends to meet for coffee and cake (always a welcome trip!) - and I'm hoping some crafting time too, as it feels as though that has been in very short supply lately!  And in a few weeks I'm sharing a craft stall at a local Christmas fair with a friend, so really need to make some 'stock'!

Thinking about what things might be popular at a Christmas fair, I decided to make some snuggly, cosy crocheted hot water bottle covers (with the hot water bottle inside of course!).
 

There are many examples and ideas on the internet for these, but I decided to make up my own pattern to fit the bottles I'd bought! 



I love the candy colours for this one - and used the 'cosy stripe' pattern that Lucy uses for blankets on her Attic24 blog (a fabulous colour and yarn fix on grey days!)

I'm hoping that they might be popular on our Christmas craft stall - but they'll make great little gifts for family and friends.  What's not to love about a cosy, cuddly hot water bottle on a cold winter's evening? I've also added a couple into my Etsy shop HERE.

I'd love to know what you think!
And thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my last post - when you've been missing for quite a while, you do think that people will have forgotten all about you and your little corner of Blogland.  So thanks again for remembering me! 

Kim x





Thursday 27 October 2016

Back once more....!

Well, what can I say?  I haven't packed up and emigrated, or got lost, or forgotten how to use the computer. And most importantly, I haven't stopped crafting!  But sometimes life just speeds past, with lots going on when you have jobs, family, pets, etc. - definitely pets!  As I mentioned in my last long-ago post, we have now acquired a puppy, Ruby, who is 18 weeks old today.  She's adorable, a sweetie and full of puppy naughtiness - it's just like having a toddler in the house again!  So the combination of that, and a very long and busy term at school, has meant that computer time has been a bit restricted to the essentials - especially because I'm using one most of the day at work!  But I am still crafting and have some crochet bits and pieces to share with you soon.  But, as anyone who has had a puppy or kitten will know, the lure of yarn is irresistible to them - not to mention the fact that they have this innate ability to know that your attention is elsewhere (so they will either pester you until you put your toys down and play with them - or they will go off and find something to play with that they definitely shouldn't!).  So crafting and crocheting time is restricted to Ruby's nap-times! I must warn family and friends not to expect fancy handmade cards this Christmas....

Anyway, I do have a card to share with you today that I made quite a while ago - and using one of my favourite LOTV stamps.  I haven't tried any of their digi-stamps yet - I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried them and what they are like!


I love using the lilac and aqua colours - they always seem so fresh and bright! 
I coloured the image with copics, Graphit pens and a little pencil.
The backing papers are from LOTV and flowers from WOC. The butterfly dies are from Joanna Sheen.


Hope you like it! 

And just a few pics of the fast-growing Rascally Ruby!

Enjoying sunshine on the promenade (& ice cream!)
Trying to work out what's going on in that stupid machine....
Me? Naughty? I think you must be confusing me with some other hound....
(She's gradually growing into those ears and feet!)
All that activity takes it out of a girl. Time for a nap, cuddled up in blankie...!

Thanks for looking
Kim x 






Thursday 18 August 2016

I haven't vanished really....

Hello, and just wanted to say that I haven't vanished from the face of the earth! I can't believe it's been so long since I last did a blog post but sometimes life just gets in the way.  I hadn't been feeling too good, having some pretty grotty side-effects from new medications, and the 'relaxing' summer holidays have turned out to be a mixture of either feeling c**p or busy with other jobs!  Sigh.

But I wanted to share a little piece of sunshine that arrived in our house today in the form of an 8 week old puppy called Ruby!  As you can possibly remember, we lost our beloved Tilly (who the blog is named after!) over 2 years ago.  By chance, and 2 days after the anniversary of saying goodbye to Tilly, I found out that the lady we got Tilly from now had another Staffie and was letting her have one litter of pups. We had a lovely catch up, and as we knew what a lovely family Tilly came from, and they knew how loved and spoilt our Tilly was, we were added to the list for a pup.  So today we collected the gorgeous Ruby - who is adorable! She's full of mischief and lots of licks and cuddles and will no doubt keep us all busy for a while!





Such a cutie! 

So I hope that you'll forgive my absence - and I'll try to make more of an effort to keep a bit more up to date with blog posts! 

Back soon,
Kim x 




Friday 8 July 2016

A busy birthday month

I am soooo glad that it's Friday! Work has been busy on a ridiculous scale - thank goodness it's the end of term next Wednesday! I'm just trying not to think of all the things that I need to get done at work before then. And the usual comings and goings at home - with a teenage boy at home there seems to be a constant stream of bodies in and out of the house. But he's also busy looking at university courses and prospectuses and thinking about what he wants to do when he finishes his A levels next year. I can't believe that he's only got one more year at school - when your children are little the time doesn't go quite as fast. But as they get older (or as we get older?) it seems to speed past so quickly. I know that it's part of the job description as a parent that you help prepare them to stand on their own two feet - but part of me is dreading it when my 'baby' has flown the nest (sob!).

Anyway (stop being so miserable Kim!) - July is a busy month for us for birthdays for family and friends, so expect quite a few cards appearing on my little corner of Blogland over the next few weeks!

On Tuesday this week was my stepdaughter Lucy's birthday and so I used one of my old favourite stamps by Sarah Kay 'First Kiss', which is such a cutie!


I've coloured the image with copics and pencil, and a touch of white pen
The papers are from LOTV and I've used dies from Memory Box (hanging hearts) and DooHickey (doiley flower). The sentiment stamp is also from LOTV. 


Hope you like it! 

And as the weather forecast is not looking too sunny tomorrow, I'm hoping to catch up with Blogland, some more cards I need to make and some tv programmes that I've missed or been too tired to watch this last couple of weeks!  I think a day of general 'me time' is definitely overdue! 

Hope you enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned. 
Back soon,
Kim x 





Sunday 3 July 2016

July? Already?

Where did June go then? I'm sure someone must have pressed a 'fast forward' button somewhere and the month just whizzed past in a blur. And it was the usual blur of family, work, etc. - sometimes the flotsam and jetsam in life just takes over and before you know it the days and weeks have disappeared! And thank you for all your lovely comments - and sorry for my rather prolonged (and unplanned) absence.  I have still been doing my crafting in between all the usual jobs but the blogging time has been in short supply. But I will definitely make more of an effort to get back up to speed again - and we break up from school in less than a fortnight and I am soooo ready for a break!

I've kept busy with the crocheting, and recently made a cute baby blanket for a friend who has recently become a very proud grandma.  However, I had a bit of a rush job to get the blanket finished as Baby Lily put in a rather early appearance and surprised her mummy and daddy (and all her family!) by appearing 6 weeks early! She gave everyone a few scares but she's doing well and her mum popped into our office with her last week and she is such a little cutie!


I used a lovely corner-to-corner pattern and Stylecraft DK acrylic in scrummy soft pastel shades. It's great for blankets, soft but pretty hard wearing and easily washable! (Very important for baby blankets!)



I hope it comes in useful! 

And I've been busy making some cards - and when the certain birthdays have passed I'll share the cards on here! But this was one 'for the box' using some of the rather large stash of scrapbooking papers I've got! 


The papers are from K&Co. I've used a Spellbinders edge die, a Sizzix flower die and an LOTV sentiment stamp


Hope you like it! 

And thank you for all your good wishes about the wedding. My step-daughter's wedding was a magical event! We all had a wonderful time in a fabulous setting. Dubrovnik is a beautiful city, we had lovely weather, a great group of about 30 family & friends and made some fab memories! They married in the Sponza Palace, we walked down to the harbour (amidst clapping tourists!), had an hour's cruise round the islands, then a lovely reception/party (overlooking the old city) with good food, dancing and lots of laughter!

Lucy & Jon - our happy couple! 

The happy couple!

Proud Dad with Lucy

Son Jack with our gorgeous granddaughter Isabella! 

What a wonderful setting for the top table! 

Our 4 beautiful offspring!  

Relaxing on the boat - a beautiful part of the day! 

Thanks for lasting through a rather long & rambling post - and apologies for all the pics! Hope you liked them! 
And I promise to be back soon! 
Kim x 






Sunday 22 May 2016

Wedding fast approaching....

Hello all and I hope that your May is proving to be a good one? I think it's been quite good so far, but it's passing so fast that I can't be certain!  Life seems to be a fast-moving treadmill of work, home, teenagers, work, home.....etc!  It's a busy time at work and I confess that my crafting time has been limited to a bit of therapeutic crocheting in an evening to 'chill out'. Not to mention that when I arrive home it sometimes feels like my house is an outpost of the Sixth Form centre at school, with various (& often numerous) teenage boys lolling about the place - mind you, much as I might complain it's only half-hearted really as I know I will miss it terribly when youngest has left/gone to uni/wherever!

Anyway, my step-daughter's wedding is fast approaching and we're all heading off to Dubrovnik for a big family gathering and to celebrate Lucy & Jon's nuptials! Outfits have now all been purchased (a pain for me - clothes shopping is definitely NOT on my 'favourites' list of activities) and we had a 'dress rehearsal' so that I could check we would all pass muster.  I will take plenty of pics (although youngest is on photo duty as he's got the best camera!) and share some when we return, as I probably won't get chance to blog again before the wedding.  But I thought I would share some pics of the wedding invitations that I made for Lucy and Jon. They wanted a sort of 'shabby chic' theme, so after looking at some samples and getting lots of ideas from pinterest (!) we came up with these






It was a bit like a production line in the Tilly's Crafts crafting room! But it was lovely to do them and I was thrilled to be asked! 

And I've been busy making fabric bunting for the reception tables, with gorgeous Tilda fabrics, so I'm hoping that it will all look just right - the happy couple don't deserve anything less as they are such a lovely couple! 

So happy crafting time to everyone, and I look forward to some time to 'Carry On Crafting' when we return from Dubrovnik! 


Back soon(ish)! 
Kim x 



Monday 2 May 2016

A finished product!

I hope you've been enjoying a relaxing Bank Holiday weekend - well, for those of us who've got one!  I must admit that it's been so nice having an extra day (even though it still seems to get filled up with doing "little jobs"!).  Sadly the weather hasn't really played along nicely, with rain and chilly wind, but this afternoon things cheered up a bit here in the north west UK and we were even able to sit with a cuppa outside! I've also been busy with crafting things - I had a happy time browsing in a local fabric and yarn shop for some fabrics to make bunting for my step-daughter's wedding, and somehow ended up buying some yarn too..... I don't know how that happened!  The wedding is drawing ever closer - it's 4 weeks tomorrow - eek! We fly out to Dubrovnik (where the wedding is!) in just over 3 weeks and I'm so looking forward to us all being together - and getting baby cuddles with our gorgeous little granddaughter again lol!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a 'finished product' with you. I shared some pics with you last week of 'works in progress' when I'd been doing some colouring, so I thought you might like to see one of the finished cards



The stamp is from LOTV of course, as is the sentiment stamp and backing papers
I've used a Joanna Sheen ivy corner die, the LaLaLand banner die, and a little wooden heart from stash! 

Hope you like it! 

Well, it's back to work tomorrow - and a really busy few weeks ahead. And I need to get a Knitted Knockers order finished and then start on the bunting, not to mention upcoming birthdays, a baby blanket to finish for someone, ........etc........!  No chance of getting bored then eh?
Hahaha! 

Thanks for looking (and reading the waffle) and for all your lovely comments - they mean such a lot!
Back soon,
Kim x



Monday 25 April 2016

Did ya miss me? ....again!

Oh dear. Over 3 weeks since the last blog post. I can only blame the usual suspects of work, family, jobs to do, etc - in varying order and varying degrees!  My hours at work have increased a bit due to some changes in our school office and that's definitely keeping me busy - and I promise I haven't increased hours on purpose just because husband has retired!  And family always keep me busy - it's strange how we always seem to be busy and preoccupied, even with the offspring who've left home!
But I promise I have also been busy crafting too - well, how else would I keep my sanity.....

I was pleased to finish a crochet baby blanket and I'm loving the mix of blue and sage shades, mixed with some silver grey and soft parchment colours


It measures approximately 42" x 28" or in metric, 106cm x 72cm! And I love the blues with the soft ripple pattern


I'm quite pleased with it and I think it makes a very cute baby boy blanket! 


And of course I've still been busy with the crocheted Knitted Knockers!  It's been very rewarding to be able to do something I really enjoy and know that it's going to help bring some comfort to another woman somewhere - and I love the line on the registered charity name "Made with Love, Filled with Hope".  If you're not sure what I'm wittering on about (nothing new there!) please take a look at their website and spread the word! Knitted Knockers UK

But in the last few days I've also enjoyed doing a bit of colouring again - and am going to have a card-making session.  I've been digging out and using some of my older stamps and I'm determined not to buy any more stamps until I've made good use of the ones I've got! (How many times do crafters say that to themselves?)


What does your craft desk look like?  And how do you prefer to work? These days I tend to pick the stamp first, then the papers and then colour the image to match - but just occasionally I'll colour the image first (and then have a root and scrabble through all the paper stash to try to find matching papers!).



A couple of oh-so-cute LOTV stamps and then one of my old favourites, a Sarah Kay stamp

And one bit of good news on the home front is that our youngest Jack passed his driving test 2 weeks ago - first time!  So a proud mummy moment for me - even though we've not seen much of him since lol! He's definitely enjoying his new-found freedom of mobility and even gives me a lift to work in a morning (a bit of a strange reversal when your child takes you to school...).


So apologies for the absence and then the rather long, rambling post - but yes, I have been busy!  
But, I will try to get time to finish these cards off - and have a browse around Blogland and catch up with what everyone has been doing!

Back soon (hopefully!)
Kim x