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.

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

More Christmas Items

Good evening all,

This is a just a short post to show you a couple more of my Christmas items:
 

These are my latest Christmas Tree Decorations. I love working with felt and all types of hessian, and I also love making Christmas Decorations, so these were designed and made within one day! 

 

Of course, they don't have to be hung on the tree, they could be hung anywhere! I also have some other designs I am working on including trees, baubles, snowmen and Santas - more pictures to come later, so as they say, watch this space. :)

That's all for now, thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Too Early for Chrismas???

Afternoon everyone,

Yes, I am sure most of you are saying, it IS too early to be thinking of Christmas, but in the business world, it started months ago. In my business world it has just started. In my personal world, forget it! At least until the start of November.

However, I have had to start on the Christmas lines because I when I am exhibiting at fairs, most of my customers will see me only once before the big day, so I need to hit them with the stuff! I have a few things already made but I wanted to show you this:

This is Mini Burlap or Linen Christmas Bunting and I think that explains a lot (!) but I will add that it is made using really soft material that I have secured then frayed and adorned with cut little Christmas 'emblems' shall we say? The bunting can be hung anywhere, but would look really cute on a mantle piece or shelving unit. It is approximately 3' 6" long and has 12 flags.

So far I have made three sets and I will be taking them to my next fair - details coming soon.

Also on the Christmas theme, I was thinking parties and so have revived a line from the past:

These sold quite quickly the last time I made them and so I will make quite a few, Chalk Board Coasters. They are incredibly handy when entertaining as you simply write your guest's name on the coaster, so their drink doesn't become confused with somebody elses. They are also good for labelling food items that may be on the buffet, like nuts and sweets, so they are versatile and cute too!

Again I will be taking these to my next fairs and we'll see what happens.

This weekend I am going with my husband to the Bakewell Town Hall as there is a craft & gift fair on from Saturday to Monday, and he sells items donated to him to raise funds for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). He asks for and people very kindly donate unwanted goods including ornaments, vintage glass wears, jewellery, wood items, antique items and silver wears and he sells them at prices much lower then in a retail shop, making it that the people who donate the items are giving to a great cause, and the consumers are gaining an actual physical item for giving to a charity. It's a win-win situation! On Monday there is a cafe in the hall too which is in aid of the Goboka Rwanda Trust, and over the three days there will be an interesting array of crafts-people displaying, talking about and selling their goods. Also on Monday, it is Market Day in the town and there is always a great atmosphere. So, if you want to start early with your Christmas shopping, you know where to come!

That's all for now, thank you for reading, either pass this on or leave me a comment. Thank you.

Julie. :)

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Freehand Machine Embroidery Bag & Double Craft Fair

Long title, huh? Yep.

So, I'll get right on with it, here is the Freehand Machine Embroidery Bag I mentioned:

One Side...

...Other Side

Sorry about the 'not so good' pics, the light is poor here today...

As I have mentioned before, I simply LOVE freehand machine embroidery and for those who may not be aware of what is it, it's using your sewing machine like a pencil, like drawing onto the material. You drop the feed dogs - the bits that push the fabric over the plate - and so you can move your material in any direction you please. You also either remove the needle foot - the bit that holds down the material whilst sewing - to add to the freedom or use a machine embroidery spring foot which gives a little support (I do). And then, wow, once you've found the right thread tension and speed, you just go mad! You can use your imagination to 'draw' whatever you like, in any place, in any direction, any how you like.

This time I designed and made this bag which has many lovely features, nameley 6 flowers of different kinds (3 on the front, 3 on the back), sewn onto cream Romany style material, it has a sturdy denim material base that is boxed and detailed with pink piping, it has padded handles that give comfort to the user and have denim patches added for stability and durability, it is lined with cream calico, it has two internal denim pockets and an exterior key ring. It has a lot going for it! Plus, it is approximately 14" tall, by 13" wide and has 10" long handles. I just love it. What do you think?

Flat Base to hold lots of shopping

Pink Piping detail, perfectly aligned ;)

Internal Pockets for mobiles, cash or cards

I have a double fair this weekend and will be taking it to that where I hope it will go to a good home.

Speaking of which, the fair is Saturday and Sunday 6th and 7th December, at the Bakewell Town Hall from 10am to 4.30pm. If you fancy a day out to Bakewell in the beautiful Peak District, just do it as I know there will be festive cheer in the air and a great atmosphere at the fair. Plus, Saturday is Small Business Saturday and so it would be great for you to do just that and show a little love for the small businesses, like my own, who have had a testing year and would appreciate an easier Christmas.

This weekend there promises to be stalls of all kinds selling textiles, jewellery, photography, paintings, food items, cards and lots more. Craft Fairs are not just about knitting and tea-cosies these days... Come on, you know you want to.

Anyway, that's all for now, have a great weekend and leave me a comment if you wish. Remember I am on Facebook too if you would like to Like me :)

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014

Christmas Coasters

Evening all,

Just a little blog to show you my latest item:

A set of 6 Christmas Coasters that are double sided, one red and one cream, adorned with hoilly and berries. They all have towelling in the middle to collect any spills and are approximately 4" square. They are made of 100% cotton too, so will wash easily. And they are wrapped up in a little Christmas ribbon so make great Christmas gifts! And, at only £5.99, what's not to love..?

Because these take quite a while to make (I know, they don't look it) I am keeping these for the Fair on Saturday...which I will tell you about next time.

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think if you like and I'll see you soon.

Julie.
(c) FMN Crafts 2014

Make-Up Bags

Afternoon all,

After the slog (in a good way) of getting lots of items together recently to send to TOAST, as mentioned in my previous post, (thanks again for the info Carol) I have been busy on a plan of action for re-stocking and new-stocking (yes, it is a word) and so far...

This is part of my re-stock/new-stock section (yes, they combined, leave me alone):

These Flat Base Make-Up Bags are always a good seller and at only £6.99 it's no suprise really. They are all interfaced making them strong enough to stand up easily, they are all lined, they all have a flat base, they all fold down if needs be, they all have zip tags to add to the quality finish and they all have a little ribbon attached to the zip pull. And they are all made of cotton so can easily be washed (recommended by hand, and dried standing up if needed).

I make these with flat bases so that not only can you get a lot in them, the bag stands up when in use so it's easy to see the items inside :)

I will be putting them in my Etsy store soon... They are lovely as a treat for yourself or make even better gifts. Christmas is coming...

Thanks for looking, please leave a comment if you like or Like me on Facebook when you get a minute.

More soon...

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014

And oh yeah...

I finished this today (I made 5 of them actually):

A Mini Christmas Bag! It is made using a printed PVC material, like a laminated cotton and stands approximately 9" tall by 8" wide with handles about 7" high, with the cutest robins and Christmas puddings!

I designed this with the thought in mind that it can be used as a gift bag to hold Christmas presents - a gift bag that can be re-used, or as a bag for children, or even as a shopping bag for someone of any age!

I just fell in love with the material and knew I had to do something with it... Do you like it? Please let me know your thoughts. :)

Have a great day,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014

I have been busy!

Evening all...

I have been busy! Apart from exhibiting at a billion fairs recently, most of which I forgot to advertise on Facebook but there you go, I have been working really hard thinking up, designing and making the following items, I hope you like them:

Christmas Reindeer Cushion

Yes, I know, but it is only 81 (ish) days away! ARGH! Sorry. Anyway... I haven't made cushions before and so I thought I'd just experiment a little and I am really happy with the result! The material is cream cotton and the decoration is made of felt, beads and gold thread but the best bit is that it is made using freehand machine embroidery. I am really into that at the moment...more in a future blog.

Next up:

Hand Made Lavender Bags

As the title suggest, hand made lavender bags! These are made of a satin/silk material and filled with French lavender heads and closed with a beautiful lavender coloured ribbon. These are a true classic and always sell well at the fairs.

Pink Heart Divided Purse

Strawberries Divided Purse

Yet again the titles should say it all but to add to that, they have cute little aplique felt pictures on the front, they each have seperate pockets that fit cards and cash as well as mobile phones and so they are pretty, versatile and durable. Plus with an added keyring they are even more inviting.

And next we have...:

The Reversible Mini Shopping Bag

This is such a cute little bag that is made of strong canvas materials that has no pockets or closures that get in the way making it perfect for reversing. I only made a couple but one sold on the first fair they went out at.

You still with me? There's more:

Country Kitchen Print Tissue Box Cover (and tissues)

Olive and Black Tissue Box Cover (also with tissues!)

These are something I have been wanting to make for quite some time and get asked for the most, I had just never tackled them - until recently. They actually took me a long time (and multiple efforts) to make them to fit and each have ribbons underneath to tie around the base of the box.

And finally...

Upcycled and Vintage Beige Shpping Bag

This is one of my favorites that I have earmarked for me - I have said that if it has not sold by Christmas, I am keeping it myself! The material is a hesian/calico/muslin type (found at a market), the handle is an old leather belt, the doily is from a vintage shop in Bakewell that I have decorated with vintage beads and the metal findings came from an old leather rucksack that had seen better days. I made it with a cream lining and a hanging internal pocket that fits a mobile phone or cards/money, the belt adjusts to any length you like and it has a magnetic snap to close. I LOVE this, if I do say so myself...

You will find these items in the Etsy Store soon or if not, pop along to a fair I will be exhibiting at. I promise to try and keep my Facebook page up to date for these...

Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you wish :)

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014