New Items!

Good evening all,

So sorry for the absence, I have still been busy making but I have been a little preoccupied with Craft Fairs and (ssh, don't tell Blogger) Instagram. It's brilliant! If you fancy a look at my stuff on there, click here.

For today I want to show you a few things and I'll do so like before, in photo form. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or head over to my Instagram or Facebook page. Thanks!

Vintage Doilies and Handkerchiefs Small Lined Cross Body Bag with Internal Pocket

Linen Vintage Handkerchiefs and Doily Small Envelope Back Throw Cushion

Small Framed Freehand Machine Embroidery Tea Cups Wall Art

Vintage Doilies and Handkerchiefs Large Lined Shoulder Bag with Internal Pocket

Lovely Denim and Floral Cotton Mobile 'Phone Cases with Earphone Pockets

Small Tea Cups Linen, Cotton, Chiffon and Lace Envelope Back Freehand Machine Embroidery Cushion

Linen and Vintage Handkerchiefs Wristlet Bridesmaid Pouches, Set of 3

Small Botanical Garden Envelope Back Throw Cushion with Removable Brooch Back Flower

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.

Gardening and Tea Cups!

Hi all,

Just a short blog today just to tell you I haven't fallen off the face of the earth - it's just been rather busy here. I have been re-stocking and adding things to the shop my items are in, Two Little Magpies in Beeston, Nottingham and I have been making lots of things for my craft fairs too.

And I have been gardening. Oh yes. I know all about weeds now...

Not that I didn't before, well, I knew a bit but my husband is the gardener here. We are fortunate to have a large back garden and the front is quite large too so it's all go to keep them up to standard. And I have been helping :) We actually get quite a lot of lovely comments form the neighbours as they walk past so it makes all the hard work worthwhile (mostly David's). :D

Here's a picture of part of the front garden taken a week or so ago:

And here's a picture of the bottom of back garden from my shed, about 4-5 weeks ago:

 

Here's a picture of another part of the back garden from my workshop (spare room) window (yes, I am blessed working here and yes, we're soon to replace our little fence!):

 

And this picture shows the garden from the top patio area, earlier in the season before hanging baskets appeared everywhere and climbers started climbing etc. The canopy is still off the swing chair too, so spring/summer was just beginning:

I'll bring more soon.

But anyway, I haven't got many pictures to show you of new items as I have been re-stocking, as mentioned, but I have done these I'd like you to see:

These are my Tea Cup Pin Cushions. How cute are these?! I just love florals, I love China tea cups and saucers and I love sewing, so these hit the spot (much like the tea would)!

 

A few of these are for the shop and the others (with more to come) will soon be available at my craft fairs.

So that's all for now, see you soon,
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.

Shiny New Items

Evening all,

I decided I would make this blog a photographic one with small descriptions, letting the pictures do most of the talking, so without further ado I'd like to show you my latest makes... (Click on the pictures to enlarge).

My new range of Mini Buntings. Each measure approximately 4' - 4' 6" in length, have 12 flags and are double sided so they can be viewed from either side. They are absolutely gorgeous (if I do say so myself) and look great in many spaces, especially along shelving, fireplaces, window ledges and more. I think the small print of the cotton fabric is what makes them so attractive...what do you think?

These are the latest in my line of gift sets, namely Three Piece Toiletry/Cosmetics Cases. I am making them in a range of fabrics but the concept is the same, there is a flat based wash bag that is lined with either PVC or oilcloth (colour matching dependant), a smaller flat cosmetics bag that is cotton lined and a roll up brushes holder with ties. Of course they can be purchased for yourself, but they make excellent gifts for any girl of any age. :) Again, it's the fabric that is so appealing, to me at least, I simply love delicate florals. There will be more of these too.

You will have seen something similar to these before, but these are my new Freehand Machine Embroidery Padded iPad Cases in portrait style. They are all decorated using my favourite method, are fully padded with fleece and interfacing, have cotton linings with nothing to scratch your devise and have an envelope closure with button and elastic. These cases fit the iPad Air 2 and the 9.7" iPad Pro. Of course, you can try your own devise if on hand at a craft fair or place an order to have one custom made.

These are my latest design of 'Bag for Life' made using a fabulous firm duck type material in a gorgeous print called Botanical Garden. As soon as I saw this material I had to have it and knew it would work great as bags. These roll up and are held with an elastic, and I am also going to make some with their own pocket so instead of rolling, they'll fold flat and will be encased - a pocket that is integral to the bag. These bags are the perfect size to drop in you bag or to just grab and go.

And finally, I have managed to make a small range of Fat Quarters for my stall. Some of the fabrics in the bundles are what you have already seen in this post. I just love them, as if you haven't guessed already and so I wanted to share them with you. These are in sets of three and are 18" x 22" a piece, they are a mix of cottons and poly-cottons and there is even some Egyptian cotton throw in for good measure. They have all been measured, cut, pressed, folded and bundled using lengths of cute ribbon. They cost just £4.99 for three and will be available at my craft fairs - while stocks last.

So that's all for today folks, hope you enjoyed a look and to read a comment or two if you'd care to leave one. Thank you!

Julie.
(C) FMNCrafts 2016.

Just a Quick One...

Evening all,

Just had to share my excitement with you - you may have read in the last post that my items have gone into a shop in Beeston, well it was their opening day yesterday and it was a great success. I have just received and e.mail from the owner, Lucy, to say that some of my items sold - on day one! Well chuffed! I have now got to get making up the same stock again to re-stock during the week...

David and I popped in and the place was heaving. It had such a great atmpsphere and the items in there were beautiful. Nottingham has some very talented creators! The best part was that each designer's items are spread around the shop, so it's not a 'one-shelf-per-person' set up; hubby and I were Forget-Me-Not Crafts hunting! I had one item in the window display which looked fab and my cute little carrier bag keyrings were on the counter, the rest of my items were all over the shop. Brilliant.

The shop is called Two Little Magpies and is labelled as a Gift Shop and Studio. From what we could see amongst the hussle and bustle was many people already in the studio having a go at crafts of many kinds and at some points you could hardly get the the items. The buzz was wonderful and I wish them all the very best. This is their logo on Facebook:

Keep and eye on their page, I have a good feeling about this place...

Thanks for reading, have a happy week. :)

Julie.

New Items and Shop News!

Good evening to you all,

Isn't it lovely to officially be in Spring? I just love this time of year, the winter has passed (officially!) and there are sunny days to come...being a Leo, this pleases me :) All the flowers are in bloom, there's the smell of freshly mowed lawns and the birds are nesting. Haaaaaa...

Anyway, back to business, as per usual, I have been busy, mainly with online and friend's orders actually but also with making things to stock a local shop with (eek! More on that later...) and stocking up for my up and coming craft fairs. This year, I have been able to secure at place at Newstead Abbey Craft Fair; more details about that later too.

So these are the items I have been making recently for the fairs. First up:

These are a new style of Freehand Machine Embroidery Toiletry/Cosmetics/Make-up/Wash Bags. They are made using a hard wearing duck material on the outside and a washable/wipe-able material on the inside so that you can wipe up the inevitable spills, drips and leaks that occur, making these very usable bags.

When my Mum and I were at the NEC recently for the Sewing for Pleasure show I picked up the felt balls you can see hanging from the zips and I think they are so cute! I think it's all the little bits that make a piece special and different from all the rest. I love these and am very pleased with how they turned out. They are quality bags that are really pretty! They can hold lots of products too, including extra deoderants and hand creams. :)

Next up:

My next batch (fifth actually) of mini Freehand Machine Embroidery Lavender Bags. These are always a good seller and they really are so sweet that they always bring a smile to people when they smell them. Except for some children I might add! I guess they haven't felt the need to smell the wonderful aroma of lavender yet... I took some of these into the shop recently and the lady who runs it commented a few days after how everyone was admiring them and that she thinks they won't be in there for long! They are small but they really pack a punch being filled with French lavender heads. Lovely.

And the next:

As we are now in Spring, I think it's a time to celebrate the new life, which means bringing out the bunting! I simply love these materials, Cath Kidston in fact and use them in many of my projects. They make for excellent bunting and this particular bunting has 12 flags, makes up to approximately 8 feet long and each flag hangs approximately 7". There are also approximately 22" worth of tie at each end so there will be no problem either pinning or tying to wherever it is needed. Plus, for bonus points, it is double sided so it can strung across a space or room and look beautiful from both sides. :) I will be making many of these are they are such fun, will last forever and are seemingly timeless.

And finally for today:

This is a new design of Patchwork Sling Bag, especially good to use in the Spring and up coming Summer. It has many features and plus points to it and I really enjoyed making it.

It is made using all different sized pieces of pink and white cotton patchwork pieces which have been interfaced, for strength and durability, then quilted onto fleece for padding and quality. The bag has an exterior pocket that fits a mobile phone, it has a magnetic snap closure with a cute flower covering, it has a long strap with one permanent end attached with hardware and the other end can be knotted to make it any length desired onto another piece of hardware. Internally it is lined with cream cotton, it has three pockets of different sizes plus a loop with a split keyring to add keys. The detail is beautiful with the lace, embroidery flowers and buttons and I am really pleased with how this turned out. It took two days mind you! I have decorated the front as this will be seen the most and on the back, I concentrated on the design instead of the decoration, so there is no risk of damage to it or to clothing.

 

 

 

 

This bag can be worn across the body or over the shoulder, simply as desired and it looks good in both ways. I know. I tried! I even patch-worked the strap too so it's all in-keeping. I am actually very tempted to keep it...but I know my Mum would say "you can't keep everything!"

Just while I am here then, I would like to announce that as I mentioned earlier, some of my goods will be going into a shop, well they are in and the shop opens on Saturday! It is called Two Little Magpies and is based in Beeston, Nottingham, which is just four miles from my home. It is a gift shop and showcases around 40 different local artist's work (including my own) and their end game is to increase the supply of hand made, hand crafted, locally designed and created items, instead of the usual store bought items that we have become accustomed to over recent years. They have a great attitude towards designers and creators and I am really excited for them. I have a really good feeling about the people and their project and when I went in a couple of weeks ago to take my stock, the shop was looking fab being kitted out with display units of all kinds, included map covered table tops, chairs mounted on the walls and old luggage trunks. Click on their Facebook page to see what's happening...

Well that's all for now folks, thank you for reading, please share this, leave me a comment or visit my Facebook page to see more of what's going on.

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2016.