New Items and Shop News!

Good evening to you all,

Isn't it lovely to officially be in Spring? I just love this time of year, the winter has passed (officially!) and there are sunny days to come...being a Leo, this pleases me :) All the flowers are in bloom, there's the smell of freshly mowed lawns and the birds are nesting. Haaaaaa...

Anyway, back to business, as per usual, I have been busy, mainly with online and friend's orders actually but also with making things to stock a local shop with (eek! More on that later...) and stocking up for my up and coming craft fairs. This year, I have been able to secure at place at Newstead Abbey Craft Fair; more details about that later too.

So these are the items I have been making recently for the fairs. First up:

These are a new style of Freehand Machine Embroidery Toiletry/Cosmetics/Make-up/Wash Bags. They are made using a hard wearing duck material on the outside and a washable/wipe-able material on the inside so that you can wipe up the inevitable spills, drips and leaks that occur, making these very usable bags.

When my Mum and I were at the NEC recently for the Sewing for Pleasure show I picked up the felt balls you can see hanging from the zips and I think they are so cute! I think it's all the little bits that make a piece special and different from all the rest. I love these and am very pleased with how they turned out. They are quality bags that are really pretty! They can hold lots of products too, including extra deoderants and hand creams. :)

Next up:

My next batch (fifth actually) of mini Freehand Machine Embroidery Lavender Bags. These are always a good seller and they really are so sweet that they always bring a smile to people when they smell them. Except for some children I might add! I guess they haven't felt the need to smell the wonderful aroma of lavender yet... I took some of these into the shop recently and the lady who runs it commented a few days after how everyone was admiring them and that she thinks they won't be in there for long! They are small but they really pack a punch being filled with French lavender heads. Lovely.

And the next:

As we are now in Spring, I think it's a time to celebrate the new life, which means bringing out the bunting! I simply love these materials, Cath Kidston in fact and use them in many of my projects. They make for excellent bunting and this particular bunting has 12 flags, makes up to approximately 8 feet long and each flag hangs approximately 7". There are also approximately 22" worth of tie at each end so there will be no problem either pinning or tying to wherever it is needed. Plus, for bonus points, it is double sided so it can strung across a space or room and look beautiful from both sides. :) I will be making many of these are they are such fun, will last forever and are seemingly timeless.

And finally for today:

This is a new design of Patchwork Sling Bag, especially good to use in the Spring and up coming Summer. It has many features and plus points to it and I really enjoyed making it.

It is made using all different sized pieces of pink and white cotton patchwork pieces which have been interfaced, for strength and durability, then quilted onto fleece for padding and quality. The bag has an exterior pocket that fits a mobile phone, it has a magnetic snap closure with a cute flower covering, it has a long strap with one permanent end attached with hardware and the other end can be knotted to make it any length desired onto another piece of hardware. Internally it is lined with cream cotton, it has three pockets of different sizes plus a loop with a split keyring to add keys. The detail is beautiful with the lace, embroidery flowers and buttons and I am really pleased with how this turned out. It took two days mind you! I have decorated the front as this will be seen the most and on the back, I concentrated on the design instead of the decoration, so there is no risk of damage to it or to clothing.

 

 

 

 

This bag can be worn across the body or over the shoulder, simply as desired and it looks good in both ways. I know. I tried! I even patch-worked the strap too so it's all in-keeping. I am actually very tempted to keep it...but I know my Mum would say "you can't keep everything!"

Just while I am here then, I would like to announce that as I mentioned earlier, some of my goods will be going into a shop, well they are in and the shop opens on Saturday! It is called Two Little Magpies and is based in Beeston, Nottingham, which is just four miles from my home. It is a gift shop and showcases around 40 different local artist's work (including my own) and their end game is to increase the supply of hand made, hand crafted, locally designed and created items, instead of the usual store bought items that we have become accustomed to over recent years. They have a great attitude towards designers and creators and I am really excited for them. I have a really good feeling about the people and their project and when I went in a couple of weeks ago to take my stock, the shop was looking fab being kitted out with display units of all kinds, included map covered table tops, chairs mounted on the walls and old luggage trunks. Click on their Facebook page to see what's happening...

Well that's all for now folks, thank you for reading, please share this, leave me a comment or visit my Facebook page to see more of what's going on.

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2016.

New Year, New Items.

Is it too late to say Happy New Year? It feels like it, but anyway, I hope you had a great festive season and are now back into the swing of normality. My family and friends have been gallivanting all over the place, whereas our Christmas was relatively calm, so it's not been difficult for us to get back into work again.

And in saying that, I have a few new things to share with you, so without further ado:

 

You may remember that I made some of these Covered Notebooks last year, but this time I have added a closure and pen/pencil holder in one, to make it more user friendly. I looked at them and realised that it would need a writing impliment and yet there was nowhere to put it, so this is what I came up with. It's a lot better to have a pen with the book and hopefully they will be even more appealing to when it comes to sell.  I have found that if people don't need to think too much and items are 'convenient', they sell better! 'Tis true.

On a similar theme, I made this: 

This is actaully my diary, that I covered using the Freehand Machine Embroidery technique (which I love) and I used denim and cotton; an all time favourite combination of mine. This is an A5 size diary, whereas the notebooks above are A6 and I am really pleased with the outcome. I used a press-stud for the closure with a button sewn on top. I always use a pencil for my diary and so slotted one of them in using it's little clip and hey-presto. What do you think?

Next up:

The next in the line of Mobile 'Phone Cases, this one decorated using Freehand Machine Embroidery and this time I made a front pocket to house ear-phones. Like the book covers, it occured after thinking "where can I put...?" Like the cases before hand, these mobile cases are fully padded, made using quality materials and lined in smooth cotton to protect your 'phone and can be made to measure. There are many more to come in this style as they have had the thumbs up from those I have shown it to already....

Next up is a re-do:

These are the Mini Lavender Bags again using the above technique and filled with French lavender heads. My workroom always smells wonderful when I am working with lavender and I feel strangely calm... These are a re-do that will continue to be done as they always sell well at the fairs :)

And finally:

This was an order... Ceri, a great pal from the fairs who has a Phoenix Trading stall, saw a lady walking around a fair last year with a bag that had fury cats on it. Ceri, being a cat lover, came straight to me and asked if I could make something similiar. Of course I obliged! There was a bag already on my stall that she liked the style of and asked for it to be bigger, with a zip closure, internal pockets and fury cats. Ceri drew how she would like the cats to be designed which I copied with the material and we agreed it would look like they are sitting on a wall. Once complete, I took it to her and she liked it so much that she used it right away! What do you think? I really like it actually. And there is no other one like it in the world...

Just before I go, do you remember this?

This is The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop designed by myself and made using Freehand Machine Embroidery, well I have made a few and one lady from Birmingham in the USA bought one. She messaged me a few weeks ago saying that she liked it so much and that she would like a companion piece! She said she has visited the UK a few times and she was impressed with it's charm so after a few messages backwards and forwards about what she would like, she settled on Chatsworth House. Wow! I know it will be a challenge but as always, I am up for it and at present I am up to the drawing, colour/materials choosing and tracing paper template stage. Watch this space...

That's all for now, thank you for reading, please leave a comment if you wish as I'd love to know what you think and/or head over to my Facebook page for a more regular hello.

Take care,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Hello! New Items...

Hello all!

Wow, it's been such a long time, I've almost forgotten how to blog... Things have been a little busy in our neck of the woods and whenever I get a few minutes to blog, I just seem to find something else that needs doing!

Anyway, I have been busy making and selling, last week I completed three orders in four days, so that's good, all happy customers too I will add so all is well. I have made a few things I'll share with you here too, that have either sold at recent fairs or are going to a fair soon, so first up:

Click to enlarge

My latest Upholstery Material Throw Cushion (sorry about the poor light in the picture, it was a very grey day). This cushion has to be one of my favourite makes. I often make cushions as one-offs (if that's how you write it) and so this is no different in that respect, but what I love so much about this is that I made the piping using the same material as the cover and this is the first time I have done it with so much success! Sure, I have used piping before, in many pieces, but that was already made, this piping I made from scratch and I was very pleased with the result.

See what I mean? (Blowing my own trumpet here).

For the back I used a complimentary material, of the same kind, and I made an envelope back so there are no hard zip lines and it will be easy to take off to wash. I simply love the material and I have been fortunate enough recently to come into a lot of small pieces of materials, of many kinds, gifted to me by generous and thoughtful friends and so have a lot to get my teeth in to! This cushion sold at the first fair I put it out at - to a stall holder's Mum! Lovely.

Next up:

This is one of the orders I mentioned earlier, a Covered Diary made using the owner's Cath Kidston material of Stanley the Dog! This was for Ceri, a fab friend who often has a Phoenix Trading stall at the Bakewell Town Hall. She saw the dairies with covers that I had on my stall, thought of her own material and commissioned me to make one for her. It is such lovely material, and the interior material is a spotty red so goes well. It's so cute! The little covered elastic is to help keep it closed and she can also slide a pen/pencil in there too if she likes. Thanks Ceri!

And the next: (Another order actually).

This one has a story.

This is a Mini Shopping Bag with Matching Wallet. A lady came to my stall in Bakewell and admired the wallets I had, stating she liked them but would like a place for coins and a closure of somesort, so I went home, had a go at a few different designs but they all turned out too bulky - which went against the idea that the wallets are soft and sleek so they don't bulk in a pocket - so I ended up just making a velcro pocket on the inside that would hold a few coins, but not a closure. She came back the following week, saw them, liked them but still wanted a closure. AND a matching bag! She saw the toiletry bags I had in the material above, said she wanted that size but with handles to put it over her arm and so the items in the picture were born. The wallet has a coin slot AND a closure. And that's ok because it will be going in the bag and not a pocket... She's coming to the next fair and I really hope she likes it, she's waited a while... I'll keep you posted ;)

Next up:

Can you guess what these are?

Yep, these are Keyring Carrier Bag Holders! I know! I can't claim these as my own idea, they are the brain child of my step-daughter Tracie and I thank her for the idea, very much indeed :) She spoke to me about it, I made one the next day and she had the prototype, feeling very pleased with herself and so the day after that, I made the twelve you see in the picture.

Tracie said she just needed something to hold a single bag in, and that could clip to her keys so she always had a bag with her (as she would always have her keys) and didn't have to keep remembering to take one out with her. This is perfect. Of course, they can be clipped to hand bags, thrown into a bag or the car door, or whatever, but they are designed with the mind that you will always have your keys when you go out, therefore you will always have a bag (and not need to pay the 5p!) Simples.

And finally for today:

These are Covered Notebooks. I really like these, they are A6 size lined hard-backed note books that I have covered in some beautiful floral materials. They are lined with a complimentary colour and are a nice snug fit so there is no 'rolling around'. I used the same method as the covered diaries and now I have my method of working sizes perfected, I can cover just about any book - albeit hardback or otherwise. These are great for taking notes and they are quite thick too, so there are plenty of pages to go at. (I like them so much, I might keep one!).

So that's all for today, thank you for reading, pass this on if you like and/or leave me a comment below - I'd love to know what you think!

Thank you,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

New Purses

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick blog to show you my new purses:

Click the picture for a bigger size

These are made using fab cupcake materials! They are different colours per side, have a complimentary interior and zip and a little ribbon to help opening and closing. They are just to right size for all you 'pursey' needs and look great.

Click the picture for a bigger size

You may recognise these...only they are a little different. These are my new range of Freehand Machine Embroidery Denim Purses. I made ones similar to this, only they had cream on one side and denim on the other and the other ones are decorated with flowers. These are made using firm denim on both sides and I really like them! Regular readers will know I love making items using freehand machine embroidery and these are just great for that. Like the cupcake ones, they are the same size and also hold a multitude of sins.

I have a fair coming up at the weekend and I will be taking them there - if there are any left I will list them in my Etsy Store afterwards. They make great gifts...

What do you think?

Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you like,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015.

Latest News

Hello all, long time no blog...hope you're all well.

It has been a busy summer - mainly working in the garden with renovations - but I have still been making and doing craft fairs. Here are a few of my latest items for you to view:

A lady ordered this through my Etsy site, she rescues Warren Chickens and wanted an iPhone 6 case that represents this, so I came up with this. As I don't have an iPhone 6, I looked up the measurements and made a dummy phone from card so I know it'll fit - as I do for all orders of mobile cases. What do you think? Well, in actual fact I made this one first:

Which is also very cute I think! But I damaged the zip right in the last stages of making (grr) so I had to start again. As I spend so long on the design and making detail, I needed to make a new design as I just couldn't spend another 2 days on the same one!

Theses cases, like all of the ones I make are padded to protect the phones, they have white canvas interiors and a pop of colour in the zips. Even though these are made to measure for mobiles, they could also be purses or pouches. Don't you just love the details? Click on the photos for larger sizes.

While I was at it, I made this one for my craft stall, in a design that my husband came up with. What do you think to this?

This is also an iPhone 6 case (as I know many people have iPhones now) and I just love the colours in this. Again, it took just about 2 days to make but I really, REALLY like them! Plus, it fits well with this being the 70th year since World War 2 ended.

Next up:

This is the second in the line of Vintage Materials and Doilies Sling Bags that I have designed and made, which sold the first time I put them out at a fair! The materials are so good and I simply love the doilies, which come from numerous charity shops. I make the straps 60" long so that they can be knotted into any position the owner likes, i.e. cross the body or as a shoulder bag of various lengths, I line them, add magnetic snaps to close and include two large internal pockets. So, not only do they look cute, they're practical! And, as they both sold the first time they were put out, I have to take that as a sign, I will make more...

Here is an order that was placed by a lovely lady at my fair yesterday in Bakewell:

She was looking at my Flat Based Make Up Bags and the Tissue Packs and really liked them, but she wanted them in matching materials and the bag to have an oilcloth lining, or at least wipe-out-able (new word). So she chose the materials, placed the order and I got cracking today. I am very pleased with how thay have turned out and I have made matching sets before - time to make more me thinks... These are packed up nicely and are ready to be posted in the morning. Isn't the material just great?! So funky.

And finally for today:

Well, it's called Creature (until I think of a better name, answers on a post card please) and he/she (?) happened quite late at night. Not that I couldn't see and that's why it came out wonkey - that was intentional! It's just that sometimes things come to mind and I simply have to go and make it right away. Look at 'it's' eyes! So cute and curious. My friend Jayne, who makes fantastic cards, said they would make cute items for small children or even babies to hold, so I could make them child friendly and promote as this... What I am going to do though is make a set or a family and see where the creativity takes me, so watch this space!

Ok, that's all for today, I'll try not to leave it too long before I blog again but in the meantime, take care and thanks for reading. If you like, please leave a comment or visit my Facebook page.

Julie.

P.S. I have just started knitting... hehe. :)

(C) FMN Crafts 2015.

Canvas, Cushion and Cosmetics Bags

Hi all, long time no blog...

I have a few things to show you today, so without further ado:

I just finished this, about an hour ago, so we couldn't get more fresh, this is a Small Handled Multi-material Hand Bag. There will be a matching purse too but I so wanted to show you this, that I haven't made the purse yet! EDIT: See below.

It is made using different kinds of upholstery materials, there is a grey suede feel and beige, cream and brown stripe canvas exterior, a light grey interior and mixed grey handles. It is made with a flat base so it stands up easily and the materials have been interfaced for strength and durability. It stands so nice, doesn't it?

Plenty of room inside

Flat basde to stand easily

There is plenty of room inside for multiple items, and it just looks so cute!

Next up:

These are three pretty Flat Cosmetics Bags, similar to those I have made before with gorgeous cotton materials, covered zip ends and big enough for plenty of make-up items or toiletries. These bags go really well at the fairs and they seem to be a constant make of mine; they are lovely though, aren't they? You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Third today:

Here are three rather bold floral print Roll Up Shopping Bags. These, like the cosmetic bags, are a great seller at the fairs and the more people get into using their own bags instead of plastic ones, the more they are in demand. I came across a mass of this material recently and my first thought was shopping bags, so these developed.

The material is a strong duck canvas, the stress areas are re-enforced and it rolls up easily to be secured with a bobble, supplied with the bag as well as a picture of how to roll!

How to roll up!

They really are a thing of need and have masses of space to fill with groceries or otherwise, being 14.5 inches wide by 16.5 inches tall, plus the handles are of such a length that the bag can be worn on the shoulder or held at arms length. Perfect.

And finally for today:

This is my Upholstery Patchwork Throw Cushion made using some of the materials used in the bag at the top and other upholstery materials, plus some suede. This is an envelope back cushion, it is 16" square and is decorated with three little buttons and a hand made label. All the materials compliment each other and with the colours being neutral, it will fit into many homes. It's just a case of who buys it first...!

Button detail on suede

Hand Made tag

Envelope back

 What do you think?

I have two fairs coming up this weekend so all these items will go to them, details of which coming up soon.

That's all for today, thank you for reading and please leave me a comment below.


Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

EDIT:  Here is the purse I have now made to match the bag at the top of this post:

One side is the same as the top section of the bag

The other side is the smooth grey same as the bag

Plenty of room for change

The lining of the purse matches the lining of the bag

It first perfectly inside the bag with other goods

Cute hey? :)

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015