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.

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

Afternoon all,

Hoping you are all well...

So here are my latest items, the first of which was a teaser in the last post:

It's so cute! Sorry, I should tell you what it is. It is a Freehand Machine Embroidery Lavender Bag. :) It measures a tiny 2 1/2" across at the base and is about the same in height. I made this out of cream calico, decorated the front using my favourite technique (backed with interfacing), made a channel for the ribbon, packed it with some beautifully aromatic lavender heads all the way from Provence and tied it up in bow. My workshop smelt devine...

I made four of these in this design and have many more lined up. They are small enough to fit anywhere, but boy, do they pack a punch! And the best thing about these is that if the lavender aroma starts to fade, they just need a squeeze to crush some of the lavender heads and the aroma is released again. Lovely. What do you think?

Next up:

My small Reversible Denim, Blue & White Canvas Bag complete with Removable Rose. This is a slight change to one I made a while ago which, although reversible was made with a plain white canvas as well as the blue and white mix you see above.

I really like this bag as it is small enough to not get in the way and yet big enough to get in all your essentials. It can be used as a day bag or as a sewing bag, a toiletries bag or whatever bag you like! I made a red flower for it as it adds a great pop of colour and as it is removable it can then be placed on the outside, when the bag is turned inside out. (Or is that outside in?)

I really like working with these materials and have interfaced the blue and white not only for stability, but also for durability and quality of the finish. Plus, with having a flat bottom, it stands up by itself. Ta-dah! What do you think?


Well that's all for now, thanks for reading, please leave a comment below or Like me over on Facebook.

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2015