Fairs and New Products

Afternoon all,

I have been busy. As usual. Over the last two weekends, I exhibited at the Bakewell Town Hall for Craft Fairs and both were worthwhile. I had really good fun at each fair, made some more friends and made even more sales. A couple of people asked if I have a list of fairs and their dates that I am attending and although I didn't right then, I told them to look at my Facebook page every now and then, as I usually list up-and-coming dates on there. You can too...

Whilst I was at one fair, Verity, who runs Hedgerow Pickles and Preserves asked if I made Notice Boards. I said no. Then I thought about it and when I got home I planned it and then the following day I made these:

Tiny Blue Flowers with Cream Ribbon

Strawberries with Red Ribbon

I sent Verity an e.mail that day and she responded with "Oh my God, you don't mess around do you?! They're perfect!"

I was pleased. And so I made the strawberries one today. What's tomorrow you ask? Well, I ran out of some of the materials so I can't make any more until re-stocked. They are fully padded, the ribbons are taut and finished off with cute little buttons. They are ideal for sliding in business cards, envelopes, bills etc and you can also use fancy clips to attach things if you wish...

What do you think?

Leave me a comment if you like, Like me on Facebook too if you wish or pass this on. I'd love to hear what you think. There will be more styles, sizes and designs coming soon. I am exhibiting at one of Verity's Fairs in June so I may save them and make a stash for then...afterall, these were her idea ;) Thanks Verity!

Thanks for reading, have a happy week :)
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014.

Matlock Bath Craft Fair

Evening all,

Just a short note to say that tomorrow and on Sunday I am at Matlock Bath Methodist Church, in the beautiful Peak District, at a Craft, Gift and Food Fair. Doors open 11.00am - 5.00pm. Please pop in if you can, there promises to be some great products not usually found on the high street! For more details, see the organisers Facebook page.

Thank you,
Julie. :)

Miniatura and New Lip Salve Holder Keyrings

Hello all,

We have been busy.

You know how my husband and I have a business between us called Forget-Me-Not Miniatures, well two weekends ago we stood at the Spring Miniatura show at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and it was quite a weekend!

A view of the hall

We arrived on the Friday (as traders are allowed entry to the hall to set up), we set up, found the hotel, ate and drank with friends, slept, arrived at the NEC again first thing Saturday morning and got ready to sell. Well, David didn't sit down until about 2pm (the doors opened at 10am) and I sat down, for a pot noodle, at about 3pm-ish. IT WAS PACKED. We had a great fair which also ran on the Sunday (although a little quieter) and we sold lots of miniatures. Our neighbours were Karen and Ray of Ray Storey Lighting and we always have a laugh with them, but we hardly spoke that first half a day! Wow. It was a great atmosphere, just what we needed and really fun for all involved. If you don't know much about Doll's House Miniatures, you should click some of the links and explore - it is a facinating business. So, here's to Autumn Miniatura.

And so, on our return, needless to say we had a little re-stocking to do and so that is what we were doing for most of last week. I had totally ran out of Huntley and Palmer's Assorted Biscuits and so I have been making them, David has been cracking on with Tudor Furniture and he is also making us some new stands for the stall... Lovely. Here are the biscuits by the way:

Huntley & Palmer's Family Assorted Biscuits (approximately 30 of 9 sorts)

Over the weekend, I returned my attentions to Forget-Me-Not Crafts and started to replace stock from my last Craft Fair in Bakewell. One of my lines which I sold out of bar one was the Lip Salve Holder Keyring. So here is how my new batch started life:

 And this is how they ended up:

I really love these little things, they are so pretty and yet so practical. Just clip your keys on or attach one to your bag and you need never be without your favourite lip salve, lip gloss or lipstick again! What I have started to do is make each and every one of them in different materials, so that each one is unique and each customer will receive a unique item. I think it's a nice touch and certainly evades repetition too.

I will always try, wherever possible, to add my FMN Crafts tabs and this is where they go on these items:

All the lip salve holders come with a lipsalve and all of them are brand new, of course. They vary (strawberry, aloe vera, original etc) so a customer may either choose one or take pot luck!

They make really good gifts too... Find them NOW in my Etsy Store. More news coming later in the week...

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment or Like me on Facebook (I've got 60 Likes now!) Have a great day.

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014

Facebook

Hi all,

Excited - had to share this with you.

When I was on Twitter yesterday, I noticed @sewing_online posted that she was just two Likes away from reaching 8600 Likes on her Facebook page and I replied by saying I only had nine... I know, very sad, just 9, and asked if she (Kim) would Like my Facebook page please...

So, Kim tweeted about me to all her followers, and asked them to go and Like my page to get it up to 50 really soon...

This morning I had 9, now I have 48!!!! So excited! That means people have been looking at my pages, they will have seen some of my products and you never know it may even lead to some sales!

I love her Website, her Twitter page and her Facebook page; please click on over and take a look :)

If you read this, thank you, please Like me on my Facebook page, visit my Twitter account or leave a comment here. I LOVE the communication it brings. Thank you.

Julie.

The Great British Sewing Bee

Evening all,

OK, first off, I have to be REALLY careful with my spelling on this blog as my Mum slapped my wrist recently due to misspelled words…So, on wiht the bolg.

In fcat if you can raed tish wihtuot too mcuh truobel tehn yuor brian is wokrnig wlel; we can raed wrdos as usaul as lnog as the fisrt and lsat lettres are in the cerroct palce... I thnik.

So that must be it Mum - I was speed reading when proof-reading…baaaad.

Anyway, this is just a small blog this evening to say that I HAVE THIS:

Yes, I AM HOOKED with the Great British Sewing Bee, to the point that I record each episode whilst watching it and then watch it again the following day while eating lunch – sometimes I watch it the day after too! I really do enjoy the show and seeing that I haven’t made a single item of clothing in my life, I am learning by watching everything they do. And that’s what led to the book purchase – from my beautiful husband. He knows how much I love the show and he just had to buy me the book. What a gem. The book comes complete with 5 full sized clothes patterns too, so there is no excuse to just get going. I know that my experience with making things will help, I already have some skills, but making actual clothing will be a challenge I will rise to. Watch this space for completed articles!

The #GBSB is on BBC Two every Tuesday evening at 8pm – set it to record if you won’t be able to watch it. I implore you. 

Goodnight for now...

Julie.

p.s. Spot any mistakes? Let me know - before my Mum does! x

Black and White Stipes Brooch Flower Bag

Afternoon all,

I have been busy designing and making this bag and would like to share it with you now:

It is one of my absolute favorites, and no, I'm not bias, I am a realist and I REALLY like this! It is made of hard wearing canvas materials, inside, out and straps, it has pleated front and back sections, it has an internal hanging pocket and magnetic snap to close, but the best bit - it has four changeable flower brooches to decorate! Oh yes. Look:

One each of red, blue, yellow and pink so that your bag has a great chance of matching the outfit you are wearing, or you can match your outift or coat to the bag! They each have a brooch pin attached so you simply take off the former and add the one you wish.

A few details of the bag include these lovely little bits:

The internal pocket suitable for a small purse, your store cards or tissues and the magnetic snap; the detail in the pattern matching on the sides; the front pleats which are repeated on the back; the pleating that leads to a flat bottom base to give extra space for goodies yet has a beautifully rounded shape.

And as for sizing:

It is approximately 14" (35.5cm) across at the widest part of the base, 12" (30.5cm) tall and has 8 1/2" (21.5cm) handles. It fits really well over my shoulder and handles beautifully by myside too. Ohh, I can feel myself wanting to keep this more and more!

So, what do you think? I am just about to list it on Etsy, so if you want to get your hands on it, better do so quickly before I change my mind!

Thank you for reading,

Julie.

(c) FMN Crafts 2014

Bakewell Craft Fair

Afternoon all,

Just to let you know that tomorrow I will be exhibiting my hand made goodies at the Bakewell Town Hall Craft Fair, from around 10am - 4.30pm, so if you fancy a drive out to purchase some gorgeous items you don't usually find on the high street, do so! It promises to be a great fair. It's also Market Day, so the town will be buzzing. Go on, take a day off, get there early to park, stroll around the fair and the shops, have a nice pub lunch and drive on home when you feel like it... :) Sounds good to me!

Looking forward to seeing you there - make yourself known! And bring some cash ;)

Happy Sunday,
Julie.