Latest Makes

Hello all,

Hope you are enjoying your summer so far - this is my favourite time of year, not only as I love the sun but I was born in August too so BIRTHDAY! Woop.

This blog is mostly picture heavy as I expect the items I have been making to be pretty self explanatory, but I'll point out a few things. Enjoy. :)

Some more Tea Cup Pin Cushions

New materials used for the Mobile 'Phone Cases with Earphone Pockets

Christmas Bunting (I know) in Large Size, Double Sided, 8' Long

Christmas Bunting in Small Size, Double Sided, 4' 6" Long

A new style of Freehand Machine Embroidery Denim Purses

Cute Freehand Machine Embroidery Denim Pencil Cases

The next batch of Freehand Machine Embroidery Greetings Cards - always a popular choice

A Throw Cushion made using gorgeous Hemp and Linen Materials (made a while ago, just not photographed)

My Freehand Machine Embroidery Bottle Bags - such a good idea! (If I do say so myself)

My newest line of items - these are Cross Stitch Needle Cases, this one Pink and Red Ladybird theme

And this one is my Blue and Grey Butterfly Theme

These last two items I have to tell you about. There is a little company called Jammy Codgers who are two friends that work together making and retailing many kinds of jams, chutneys and pickles (that are delicious I might add) and who regularly attend the Bakewell Town Hall Craft Fairs I often tell you about. Well, Sue, one of the two, was making a quilt for a grandchild but never got around to finishing it - using an array of Cross Stitch patches. Now, as she doesn't have a use for them any more, she decided to give them to me to see if I can use them! How lovely! There are loads....and a bag full of other items too. So, the first thing I made were these two Needle Cases and I simply love them. PLUS, Iris, another Bakewell visitor, also had a huge bag of ribbons she no longer needed and she gave them to me - on the same day. How lucky am I?!! Needless to say, ribbons were also used to make these two and there will be many more...

I posted these onto Instagram yesterday and today, the pink one sold! Wow. Very pleased. So, I only have one now but I will make more.

That's all for today, I hope you like my items, they will be at my regular craft fairs or if you are interested in anything, please get in contact. This is my Instagram account and here is my Facebook page. I love you to follow me!

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2016.

Evening all,

Just a few pictures to show you folks, of things I have been making recently...so first up:

This is my Small Reversible Bag, made using denim and canvas materials, and adorned with a hand made flower brooch. I made these a while back and it wasn't long before they sold and when I saw the blue and white material the other day, a light bulb was lit to make more. So I did!

Next:

This is my new style of bag, I call this my Botanical Garden and Linen Leather Strap Bag. I think the clue is in the title! I simply love the Botanical Garden material and was fortunate enough to come across quite a lot of it, so here I have used it in a bag alongside other neutral materials. The lining is cream, it has a Botanical Garden set of pockets and I used a leather belt to make the shoulder strap, which is riveted and can be altered to the length desired.

And the next:

Similar to the above item, this is a Botanical Garden and Denim Wristlet. It is of the size that it can hold your mobile, your purse, your keys and a tissue or two so that you are ready to dash out the door in an instant and you know that you have everything you need - all secured and safe and held over the wrist.

And finally:

You may have seen these before, these are my Freehand Machine Embroidery Mobile 'Phone Cases with Earphones Pocket, decorated with really cute little birds. These are slightly different to the last ones (I think most things are remade better the next time) and are made to fit many mobiles, including the iPhone 6. I just love the floral materials used for the birds and the spotty interior. Cute!

So that's all for today, but before I go I would just like to say tomorrow (Monday) both my husband and I will be exhibiting at the Bakewell Town Hall, me with my items and my husband will have his RNLI Charity stall. We are actually supporting a charity ourselves by standing, namely the Goboka Rwanda Trust, as they hold a monthly cafe and craft fair in the Town Hall to help the charity and it is always such a great atmosphere with stalls, teas and cakes so if you fancy a day out, you know where to come. Plus, it's market day in town!

Thanks for reading,
Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2016.

Cushions and a Fair

Good afternoon all, I hope your weekend is going well so far...

Just want to show you these two cushions I have been working on over the last few days. Firstly:

This is a fabulous (if I do say so myself) Flower Vase Throw Cushion. It is based on a cream cotton material with envelope back and then I made the flowers in three different style, using a variety of materials and methods including hand and machine stitching.

It is a rather tactile cushion that I think would look great in many areas of the home, albeit a bed, chair or otherwise. It's pretty, it's attractive, it's a talking piece and it's a one-off. Sure, I could make another one, but no two would be the same, making it a unique hand made item.

The other one is this:

Although the photo is a little pale (poor lighting that day) I hope you can see this is my Vintage Doilies and Lace Throw Cushion. It has the same base as the one above and then I decorated it with a mixture of cream and white doilies, lace, cotton, ribbon and a vintage gold button. The doilies actually came from a rather cute shop in Bakewell and I knew I had to so something fun with them. You may remember I have made various bags with doilies before but this is the first cushion.

 

Click to enlarge

I enjoyed making this cushion and although it was fiddly, I think it looks fabulous. The doilies are so cute and I think they should be on show more than just as a base to an ornament! In this guise, they are. And yet again, it would grace any chair, chaise lounge or bed spread. This is most definitely a one off unique item as I have only a few other doilies in my store.

So what do you think?

I am not putting them in my Etsy shop as I have a fair on Monday that I want to take them to.

Speaking of, it is at the Bakewell Town Hall and this fair is being run for the Goboka Rwanda Trust by means of a Cafe and and Craft Fair. It is always a good event, usually there are around six quality stalls selling fabulous local photography, textiles and sewn items of many forms, my husband often has his RNLI charity stall selling quality vintage and antique items, there are hand made cards and children's items, hand made jewellery, there is a stall selling African coffee and other items and more, plus the Rwanda charity sells items made by the children of Rwanda to raise funds for their communities. The cafe is great offering a welcome rest from exploring the town and market, with refreshments at very reasonable prices. I can personally recommend the chocolate cake!

Doors open around 10am until around 3.30pm when the market in the town closes. Please pop along if you can.

Thanks for reading, share or comment if you like and have a lovely Valentine's Day tomorrow. <3

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2016.

New Facebook Page

Hi all,

Just a quick post to tell you that our good friend Shelagh runs Craft and Gift Fairs and Events at the Bakewell Town Hall in Bakewell, Derbyshire and she has just opened a Facebook Page about it. Posts include event dates and times, as well as who is attending, directions, photographs and products and all kinds of things. David (with his RNLI charity stall) and I regularly attend her fairs as they are so well organised, delivered and attended by the public. Stall holders have some fabulous items including crafts and gifts, art work, photography, textiles of many kinds, jewellery, candles, outdoor ornaments, glass art and many other things. Please pop on over if you get a second and leave a comment or a Like.

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

Chatsworth House and More

Good afternoon folks,

As promised in my last blog, I have made the 'made to order' order of Chatsworth House in Freehand Machine Embroidery and it has been packed very carefully and posted off on it's 16 hours flight to Birmingham, AL, USA :)

Here is it:

Click to Enlarge

It took what seemed like FOREVER to make, as I guess you'd expect (!) yet I loved every single minute of it. It has multiple layers giving a slight 3D effect, and made using subtle colours so that the main 'bit' pops - namely the house itself (complete with gold window frames!) It is in a 20cm x 30cm white frame and can stand or be hung. I hope my client loves it as much as I do.

The windows were fun to do

Here's a little shot of the making-of process:

Looks quite simple really...

The funny thing about this was that the evening I had finished it, and flopped on the sofa with a well earned cuppa, a program came on the TV about Chatsworth House and I had to turn it off - I couldn't look at the house any more! I had been 'Chatsworthed' out... ;)

And sew, sorry so onto my other items:

These are my latest design of Freehand Machine Embroidery iPad Air and iPad Air 2 cases, but this time, I have added a little pocket on the back to hold earphones.

I have a Kindle case and it has no pocket, so my earphones get stuffed in the pouch with the Kindle and it's not very good. At least with these cases, there's no chance of scratching or marking your devise.

They all have pretty interiors too. At my last fair I discovered that people will buy tablet cases for other devises and tablets even if they are a little too big - so that's an advantage I guess.

Next up:

Another batch of my Carrier Bag Key Rings after the last load went to quickly. The resounding noise was "oooh!" at the last fair when people discovered what they were. However one lady said they must contain very small carrier bags, but I showed her they are in fact full sized carrier bags, just flattened, folded and rolled. I still think they are brilliant! You always have your keys so you always have a bag. Simples.

And next:

Yep, another Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop in Freehand Machine Embroidery, ready for my stall at the my next fair. This is piece number 4 and while ever there is a demand for them, I will keep on making! I simply love these and while they take a long time to make, I enjoy doing so.

The penultimate for today:

Another re-do due to good sales and popularity - these are Rice and Lavender filled Hand Warmers. They are an ideal item for this time of the year and they smell delicious. As well as the rice, they contained French Lavender Heads, from Provence no less. My work room smells heavenly when I am making these... You just pop them in the microwave and then you have cold hands (or ears!) no more. Lovely.

Finally:

I showed you one of these last blog and so now I have made a few more, here they are. These are really fun and cute and yet are practical at the same time. I have several other styles lined up for these so watch this space.

So that's all for today, what do you think? Please let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts and share this blog if you like.

Thanks for reading,
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

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