Happy New Year and Items!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and are already getting into 2017... I had a lovely time relaxing and enjoying time with the family, but I am really ready to get back into work! So much so that I started 4 days ago... #cantresist

This blog is picture heavy and hopefully the photos are self-explanatory...I will apologise for the lighting in the photo as most of these were taken during bad weather...enjoy! Oh, and all of these items can be found on my Etsy store if you wish to make a purchase. Thank you for reading.

Large Doilies Shoulder Bag in Navy with Internal Zip Pocket

Doilies Cross Body Blue Bag with Internal Zip Pocket

Doilies Cushion, Large with Golden Button

Freehand Machine Embroidery Glasses/Mobile/iPod Cases

Three Piece Make up and Toiletries Set, Blue Floral

Floral Lined Scottie Dog Wool Coin Purse

Small Wool Plaid Cushion with Flower Brooch

Small Brown Chevron Wool Cushion with Flower Brooch

Small Wool Plaid, Denim and Brown Wool Chevron Cushion with Button Detail

Small Botanical Garden Cushion

Three Piece Make up and Toiletries Set, Blue and Pink Floral

Denim and Floral Mobile Phone Cases with Earphone Pockets

Three Piece Make up and Toiletries Set, Brown and Burgundy

Large Scottie Dog Wool Plaid, Brown Wool Chevron and Denim Cushion

(C) FMN Crafts 2017

Christmas Items!

Good evening all,

I have been working hard, in preparation for my three days fair this weekend (details later), and I wanted to show you a few new makes. First up:

Click the photos to make them bigger

These are my Christmas Notice Boards! They are made using circles of cork, covered carefully using fabulous Christmas materials then 'hooked' and 'backed' ready for use. They look great against a wall and would make a lovely addition to your kitchen or lounge over the festive season. They could also be used as place mats if you like...

Next up:

The picture may not do it justice as it was later in the day that I took the photo, but it is another design in my line of Christmas mugs! This has a line running around the base of the mug with mini pictures of items relating to the festive season. I think it's really cute, what do you think? Just imagine it filled with steaming hot chocolate, topped with mini marshmallows. Mmm...

Thirds:

This is a new style of Freehand Machine Embroidery (FME) cards in a Christmas design - I also have stockings, puddings, stars and baubles on the go, but they will come when there are 25 hours in a day! This is a batch of FME Christmas Tree cards that I enjoyed making, in a rustic, country feel and I would love to receive one of these myself! An advantage of purchasing or receiving one of these cards is that they can be framed afterwards as they are little pieces of art...

And finally for today, a little teaser...

Not exactly on the Christmas theme, but these Button and Bead Earrings would make a lovely Christmas gift. I tried them as a little experiment and I actually quite like them and boy, the more I think about them, the more kinds I am thinking of making! As they say, watch this space :)

And as mentioned earlier, I am at the Bakewell Town Hall, this Saturday to Monday at a Craft & Gift Fair and it would be great if you could pop along and say hi. Now we are getting closer to Christmas, items listed here will be available (while stocks last) and there promises to be some great stalls with fab items, so go on, shop different this year, shop local, shop hand made and support the smaller businesses.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you wish or 'pass me on'.

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2015

New Items and a Giddy Moment...

Hi all,

For today's post I would like to show you a few new items (there's never a dull moment here), first up is a small batch of Freehand Machine Embroidery Cards that I took to the fair last weekend:

Whenever I put these out at the fairs they go almost straight away (which of course is good!) but I can pretty much guarantee I will not go home with many... Those of you who are eagle-eyed will notice there are some similarities to ones I have made before, but you may also notice there are some slight changes in style and colours materials/used, due to natural evolution of skills and experience in making items...

The next thing to show you are these:

These are really cute little Linen Coin Purses! They have two different sides to each purse, a cute little zip and a cream lining and a snazzy little string pull. Even though they are really small, they pack a punch in the content they hold! These will be going out at my next fair.

And my third items today:

My Freehand Machine Embroidery Denim and Firm Linen Purses. These are slightly different to the ones I made last time in that they have a different front to their back, so it makes them even more interesting. I love the little birds design and the materials are so hard wearing, adding to durability. They look cute too and you can get LOADS in them. I made one a while ago for myself and boy, does it take some abuse! I am not a pretty handbag type of girl - in that the exterior will be lovely, but inside? Jeez. My Mum often comments on the amount of unnecessary stuff items I carry in my bag and asks how it all fits, so my purse does get bashed around a bit, but it still looks like new :)

And finally for today, I tweeted about my Freehand Machine Embroidery Bakewell Pudding Shop framed piece of art recently and the Bakewell Pudding Shop themselves picked it up; here's a screen shot:

Teehee! I was made up! I am so proud...

And on that note, I'll sign off, until the next time :D

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Post Fair News and New Makes

Hi all,

It's been a busy time of late what with preparations for the four days Craft, Gift and Food Fair at Bakewell, then the fair itself and then the full on action with designing and making afterwards...

However, I would MUCH rather be busy than sitting around, and so onto the fruits of my labour.

The weekend was a fun one, there were lots and lots of people through the doors and there was a constant buzz in the atmosphere. Many people were on holiday and then there were the day trippers; on Monday it was really busy throughout Bakewell as it's market day too. I had quite a few sales, a couple of orders and some lovely comments on my items so it was a happy four days and I am looking forward to the next event. 

And so on to that, here is the first thing to show you:

These are some really cute little Red and White Coin Purses, capable of holding change, notes and around 6 cards, just perfect for dropping in your bag, leaving as emergency in the car, giving as gifts or even for children to use.

As you can see they are made using beautiful red and white cotton materials in flowers, checks and paisley designs, they are all adorned with pretty red bows, have white cotton interiors and have white zips to close. They are sure to make you smile and although only around 4.25 inches wide, they are big enough to pack a punch!

Check Purse Front

Flowers Purse Back

Paisley Purse Ready for Action

Next to show you, some more of my favourites:

These Freehand Machine Embroidery Birds Purses are one of my best sellers right now! I almost sold out at the weekend and so have made these three so far to start re-stocking. Customers said they liked the colours and the technique and agreed that the bright interior will make them feel happy when diving into the purse. One lady bought two as gifts for her daughters as 'from my holiday' gifts, which I felt really honoured about.

As I mentioned in a previous post, these are really roomy and as I have one (yes, I couldn't resist it) I am able to hold loads of card, notes and coins as well as lip balm, shop vouchers and even a couple of tissues! Just ask my Mum, she knows how much rubbish I carry around with me... So, they are strong, durable and pretty at the same time. :)

And finally for today, I want to show you this:

A VW Beetle made using Freehand Machine Embroidery. If you are an avid follower of my Blog, you will know that I made one of these last week in green colours, and when I put pictures on my Facebook page, my step-daughter said she wanted one straight away! She used to have a real one in baby blue, it was gorgeous and so I can only guess that's why she wanted a blue VW cushion and here it is... It's 12" square and will fit perfectly in several areas of her home. I hope she likes it, she hasn't seen it yet!

That's all for today folks, please pass this on, leave a comment below or head over to Facebook to give me a Like.

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

FME Flowers, Denim & Cream Cushion

Evening all,

Today included treatment at the dentist (not nice, why do they call it 'treat'ment? It's not,) followed by some work in the sewing room. (Oh yes, now we're talking).

So with numb gums I made this:

A Freehand Machine Embroidery Flowers, Denim and Cream Throw Cushion.

It is pretty self explanatory but just so you know, I made this using a denim base and a cream cotton top section, there is pink piping between the two, I made a cotton covered polyester filled internal cushion and it has an cream cotton envelope back so it can be removed to be cleaned, but the best part is the decoration! It has four fabulous flowers of various sizes, with stems, thorns and leaves and two little birds in the distance.

This throw cushion is 16" square and would look great in many places of your home.

What do you think?

I will be taking this to Bakewell at the weekend, there is a four days fair as it's Easter; more details tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Another New Product :)

Afternoon people,

Back, no sorry made by popular demand (via Facebook and Twitter) here is my new design:

A Freehand Machine Embroidery VW Beetle Small Cushion...

After posting about the two VW Camper Van cushions yesterday there was some great feedback with people asking about Beetles and other cars and so today I came up with this. What do you think?

I made it using the subtle colours of greens and browns and mounted it onto my favourite background of cream cotton. I also made an inside enclosed cushion meaning that if needs be, the cover can be removed for cleaning. I also created an envelope back for it and it measures 12" square.

More designs to come...leave me a comment below if you like.

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Bakewell and New Makes

Hello all,

Just a short post today to say I had a really fun weekend in Bakewell, and to show you what I made today.

At Bakewell it rained a lot but the people still came out and it was great to meet with friends and make some new ones. I sold quite a few things, including my Headstone Viaduct Freehand Machine Embroidery Picture I made a few weeks ago:

A really lovely couple with a tiny baby in arms came to the stall, fell in love with it and bought it without much hesitation. I was so very pleased - not just for myself but for them; I simply love this piece of art and the techniques used and I could tell right away they felt the same. They have already sent a message saying it looks great on their wall, so I am even more excited about it. :)

Because I have sold quite a few things at recent fairs and online, I seem to have been non-stop in the workshop over the past few weeks and so today, I was back in there making these:

Small Freehand Machine Embroidery VW Camper Van Cushions.

I LOVE camper vans, especially pre 1967 split screen camper vans. In my opinion, these vans have a greater style than those of later dates but of course, this is just my opinion! I made a 'green theme' one recently that sold only on it's second day out and I have had many comments regarding them, so I thought I would make a few more.

These two in blues and pinks were fun to make and I am really chuffed how they turned out. I gained some new materials a few weeks ago and they work great for these vans so expect more... They are a really cute size and pack a punch at 12" square, they would also fit in many places of your home - or make great gifts!

What do you think?

I will be back in there again tomorrow as this coming weekend will be a busy one - I am in Bakewell for 4 days, Friday to Sunday so that will be fun! With it being Easter weekend, I am expecting lots of people coming through the door. If you fancy a day out, please come to the Bakewell Town Hall to visit the fabulous stalls peddling their wares. Doors open at 10am each day and if you don't know where it is, you will see signs for the fair all over Bakewell that say 'Follow The Sheep'. Can't miss them...

Thank you for reading, leave a comment if you like below or visit my Facebook page for more. 

Julie.
(c) FMN Crafts 2015

Latest Item and Craft Fair

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick one today to show you my last creation of the week:

This is my Freehand Machine Embroidery Cross-Body Bag. It is made from denim and cream heavy weight linen, lined in cotton with three pockets, zip closure and adjustable two tone strap.

This bag can be worn across the body keeping your possessions really safe or over the shoulder, or held in the hand as one so wishes. Of course, I have decorated it using my favourite method and the bag is different on each side.

Of course, I love it, and I will be taking it the fair tomorrow...

Which leads me nicely to say the Craft and Gift Fair is at the Bakewell Town Hall in the beautiful Peak District on both Saturday and Sunday. There promises to be some great stalls with local artists, creators, photographers, jewellery makers and so much more, plus my husband will be there with his charity stall selling quality bric-a-brac items, donated by wonderful people to raise funds for the fabulous Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Doors open at 10am so please, if you fancy a day out in a beautiful part of the work, pop in and say hi. Stall holders will appreciate your custom very much...

Thank you for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015