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.

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

Next New Item...

Evening all,

For today's blog, again another little one, I'd like to show you these:

These are Linen Needle Cases, in two different designs made from the same batch of materials that I bought on Monday.

The stash of four made so far

The interior containing four leaves for needles and pins

Two cuts of the materials made so far

Beautiful French print in a sewing theme

Just over 3.5 inches wide

Just under 5.5 inches tall

My FMN Crafts tag, as always, sewn with pride :)

The material is so lovely to work with and I love the print - very appropriate to the item. I teamed it with cream cotton, and the felt pieces inside for the needles and pins compliment the exterior in cream and black colours. They are finished with cream ribbon to close.

What do you think? They would look great with any sewing kit and would make great gifts too.

An example of use

These will be coming with me to my next fair and I will be making more soon.

Thanks for taking a look, please leave a comment if you wish :)

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2015

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

Busy Times and New Items

Hello all,

Wow, what a busy, busy time it has been of late...and it is still, so this blog will be short. I just wanted to let you know that I have been busy exhibiting, mainly at the Old Methodist Church in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, but also at the Bakewell Town Hall in Derbyshire too. All have gone quite well with sales and orders made, so mustn't complain!

These are a few of the items I have been making recently in between fairs:

 

These are Purses or Mobile Phone/iPod Cases in the Bunting Theme range of items I make. The patterns on the exteriors have been made using a tequnique called 'Freehand Machine Embroidery' and you don't need a fancy machine for it, just an embroidery foot if you like, or an ordinary foot with some quick moves, or even no foot at all with a lot more skill (this does need a good machine though and some other equipment).

For these, I used a regular foot and manouvered in straight lines whilst concentrating on giving a childlike, naive kind of look - which I have absolutely fallen in love with recently. 

The purses are made using cream coloured calico material, they are lined in felt and have a complementary zip and key ring attached. I think they are great and they have been selling well... You can find them in my Etsy Shop now.

Next up:

Two new styles of Children's Bags. These are great little bags and I have been selling quite a few of the Owl Print ones recently, so I thought I would make a couple more designs. The pink one above sold the first time it was out as I only had enough material to make the one...

And next:

 

Cupcake Drinks Coasters! I saw this material and knew exactly what I was going to do with it. They have a yellow background on one side and a blue background on the other and are covered in fabulous cupcakes. They are flanned lined too, so they will soak up any dribbles easily and as they are cotton, they can be washed as many times as you like. I have only one set of these left at the moment too... (hotcakes!)

Anyway, that will do for now, please leave any comments below, share this or Like me on Facebook please. Thank you.

Coming up: Map, Music and Cupcake Bunting, Embroidered Cards and Tissue Box Covers... Watch this space!

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014

Finger Puppets for Children

Evening all,

I want to share with you a little project I have been working on; Finger Puppets:

I have wanted to make some for a while and finally managed to do it. But these are a little different in that they are kits for children to have a go at making. But first, let me tell you about them.

This is Paula Pig:

Paula is very cheeky and loves to roll about in mud to keep her skin soft

This is Eric Elephant:

Eric is very funny and he loves to splash around in water

This is Crystal Cat:

Crystal is a glamor-puss and loves cream

This is Derek Dog:

Derek is friendly with everyone and loves to run and run

Cute or what? The kits come complete with all the components needed to make the relevent finger puppet including felt body pieces, noses, googly eyes, ears, mouths, threads etc along with a simple instruction leaftlet that I compiled for each one. All that is needed is an embroidery needle, some PVA glue, some safety scissors and a grown-up's help (where needed). They really are fun and will keep your little ones occupied for quite a while.

This is the pack and instructions for Paula Pig

What do you think? They will be available in my Etsy Store soon. I am exhibiting at Baslow Village Hall this coming weekend so I will take them there, and see how they go!

Thank you for reading, please share this if you like, or Like me on Facebook. Have a great week.

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014