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.

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.

Chatsworth House and More

Good afternoon folks,

As promised in my last blog, I have made the 'made to order' order of Chatsworth House in Freehand Machine Embroidery and it has been packed very carefully and posted off on it's 16 hours flight to Birmingham, AL, USA :)

Here is it:

Click to Enlarge

It took what seemed like FOREVER to make, as I guess you'd expect (!) yet I loved every single minute of it. It has multiple layers giving a slight 3D effect, and made using subtle colours so that the main 'bit' pops - namely the house itself (complete with gold window frames!) It is in a 20cm x 30cm white frame and can stand or be hung. I hope my client loves it as much as I do.

The windows were fun to do

Here's a little shot of the making-of process:

Looks quite simple really...

The funny thing about this was that the evening I had finished it, and flopped on the sofa with a well earned cuppa, a program came on the TV about Chatsworth House and I had to turn it off - I couldn't look at the house any more! I had been 'Chatsworthed' out... ;)

And sew, sorry so onto my other items:

These are my latest design of Freehand Machine Embroidery iPad Air and iPad Air 2 cases, but this time, I have added a little pocket on the back to hold earphones.

I have a Kindle case and it has no pocket, so my earphones get stuffed in the pouch with the Kindle and it's not very good. At least with these cases, there's no chance of scratching or marking your devise.

They all have pretty interiors too. At my last fair I discovered that people will buy tablet cases for other devises and tablets even if they are a little too big - so that's an advantage I guess.

Next up:

Another batch of my Carrier Bag Key Rings after the last load went to quickly. The resounding noise was "oooh!" at the last fair when people discovered what they were. However one lady said they must contain very small carrier bags, but I showed her they are in fact full sized carrier bags, just flattened, folded and rolled. I still think they are brilliant! You always have your keys so you always have a bag. Simples.

And next:

Yep, another Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop in Freehand Machine Embroidery, ready for my stall at the my next fair. This is piece number 4 and while ever there is a demand for them, I will keep on making! I simply love these and while they take a long time to make, I enjoy doing so.

The penultimate for today:

Another re-do due to good sales and popularity - these are Rice and Lavender filled Hand Warmers. They are an ideal item for this time of the year and they smell delicious. As well as the rice, they contained French Lavender Heads, from Provence no less. My work room smells heavenly when I am making these... You just pop them in the microwave and then you have cold hands (or ears!) no more. Lovely.

Finally:

I showed you one of these last blog and so now I have made a few more, here they are. These are really fun and cute and yet are practical at the same time. I have several other styles lined up for these so watch this space.

So that's all for today, what do you think? Please let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts and share this blog if you like.

Thanks for reading,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2016

Three New Items :)

Hello all,

Hoping you are well and not too caught up in Election Fever...

Today I would like to show you my latest works; I have been busy as usual. First up:

This is my Freehand Machine Embroidery Padded Flat Base Shoulder Bag. It has beautiful flowers on both sides that have been designed and sewn on using my favourite method, there is a floral lower band, and it also has a gazillion internal pockets. Yes, that's right.

It is made using sturdy denim materials in black and blue, the bag is lined in cream cotton with all the pockets in floral cotton, the handles are padded, the base is flat so the bag stands up by itself and the body of the bag is fleeced lined for extra padding and durability too. It sits nice on the shoulder or it can be held on the forearm, or it can be held at arms length.

I love it and it will be coming with me the the fair at the weekend; details about that later in the week.

Next up:

This is my Neutral Bunting and is so called because of the colour scheme.I am convinced it will fit into many homes and this is exactly why I made it using these colours and the materials - which are a mix of new and old. There are upholstery, curtaining, clothing and linen materials and they are bound with soft black webbing. Every other bunting flag has two buttons attached and each flag has a different front to it's back, meaning it is double sided, so it can be hung against a wall or across a room.

Each bunting flag is 8 inches tall, there are 12 flags per strip, it is 8 feet long and with it being made from these materials, it is long lasting. What do you think?

And finally for today:

These are my new style Tissue Packs, made using two different materials each and filled with 10 handy sized tissues. I changed the way I make them as I saw a lady with one like these recently and it got my cogs turning! I really liked the little strip on each side of the opening and once I worked out how to make them, I did. :)

They are just so pretty! They look good in any bag or even on the bed side table and they make great gifts...

That's all for today, thanks for reading and please leave me a comment if you wish.

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2015 

Freehand Machine Embroidery Mobile 'Phone Case

Good afternoon all,

This will be my last blog for 2014 and I would like to show you what I have just finished:

A freehand machine embroidery mobile 'phone case.

This fits my 'phone which is a Sony Xperia, it measures 5" tall by 2 1/2" wide and it fits well into the case. There is still some play width ways and a tiny bit lengthways, so I am sure it'd fit quite a few different mobile models. Of course, if there is a specific 'phone case you would like making, you can contact me and I'll do my very best!

This case has double interfacing and double padding to give stability and protectiveness to the mobile enclosed, it has a cotton lining for smooth use, an elastic closing and the best part - it's decorated using my favourite method... Do you like it?

 

 

See it in my Etsy store soon.

Thanks for reading, pass it on if you like or leave a comment. See you next year!

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2014