Christmas Items!

Good evening all,

I have been working hard, in preparation for my three days fair this weekend (details later), and I wanted to show you a few new makes. First up:

Click the photos to make them bigger

These are my Christmas Notice Boards! They are made using circles of cork, covered carefully using fabulous Christmas materials then 'hooked' and 'backed' ready for use. They look great against a wall and would make a lovely addition to your kitchen or lounge over the festive season. They could also be used as place mats if you like...

Next up:

The picture may not do it justice as it was later in the day that I took the photo, but it is another design in my line of Christmas mugs! This has a line running around the base of the mug with mini pictures of items relating to the festive season. I think it's really cute, what do you think? Just imagine it filled with steaming hot chocolate, topped with mini marshmallows. Mmm...

Thirds:

This is a new style of Freehand Machine Embroidery (FME) cards in a Christmas design - I also have stockings, puddings, stars and baubles on the go, but they will come when there are 25 hours in a day! This is a batch of FME Christmas Tree cards that I enjoyed making, in a rustic, country feel and I would love to receive one of these myself! An advantage of purchasing or receiving one of these cards is that they can be framed afterwards as they are little pieces of art...

And finally for today, a little teaser...

Not exactly on the Christmas theme, but these Button and Bead Earrings would make a lovely Christmas gift. I tried them as a little experiment and I actually quite like them and boy, the more I think about them, the more kinds I am thinking of making! As they say, watch this space :)

And as mentioned earlier, I am at the Bakewell Town Hall, this Saturday to Monday at a Craft & Gift Fair and it would be great if you could pop along and say hi. Now we are getting closer to Christmas, items listed here will be available (while stocks last) and there promises to be some great stalls with fab items, so go on, shop different this year, shop local, shop hand made and support the smaller businesses.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you wish or 'pass me on'.

Julie.
(C) FMN Crafts 2015

New Purses

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick blog to show you my new purses:

Click the picture for a bigger size

These are made using fab cupcake materials! They are different colours per side, have a complimentary interior and zip and a little ribbon to help opening and closing. They are just to right size for all you 'pursey' needs and look great.

Click the picture for a bigger size

You may recognise these...only they are a little different. These are my new range of Freehand Machine Embroidery Denim Purses. I made ones similar to this, only they had cream on one side and denim on the other and the other ones are decorated with flowers. These are made using firm denim on both sides and I really like them! Regular readers will know I love making items using freehand machine embroidery and these are just great for that. Like the cupcake ones, they are the same size and also hold a multitude of sins.

I have a fair coming up at the weekend and I will be taking them there - if there are any left I will list them in my Etsy Store afterwards. They make great gifts...

What do you think?

Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you like,
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015.

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

Too Early for Chrismas???

Afternoon everyone,

Yes, I am sure most of you are saying, it IS too early to be thinking of Christmas, but in the business world, it started months ago. In my business world it has just started. In my personal world, forget it! At least until the start of November.

However, I have had to start on the Christmas lines because I when I am exhibiting at fairs, most of my customers will see me only once before the big day, so I need to hit them with the stuff! I have a few things already made but I wanted to show you this:

This is Mini Burlap or Linen Christmas Bunting and I think that explains a lot (!) but I will add that it is made using really soft material that I have secured then frayed and adorned with cut little Christmas 'emblems' shall we say? The bunting can be hung anywhere, but would look really cute on a mantle piece or shelving unit. It is approximately 3' 6" long and has 12 flags.

So far I have made three sets and I will be taking them to my next fair - details coming soon.

Also on the Christmas theme, I was thinking parties and so have revived a line from the past:

These sold quite quickly the last time I made them and so I will make quite a few, Chalk Board Coasters. They are incredibly handy when entertaining as you simply write your guest's name on the coaster, so their drink doesn't become confused with somebody elses. They are also good for labelling food items that may be on the buffet, like nuts and sweets, so they are versatile and cute too!

Again I will be taking these to my next fairs and we'll see what happens.

This weekend I am going with my husband to the Bakewell Town Hall as there is a craft & gift fair on from Saturday to Monday, and he sells items donated to him to raise funds for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). He asks for and people very kindly donate unwanted goods including ornaments, vintage glass wears, jewellery, wood items, antique items and silver wears and he sells them at prices much lower then in a retail shop, making it that the people who donate the items are giving to a great cause, and the consumers are gaining an actual physical item for giving to a charity. It's a win-win situation! On Monday there is a cafe in the hall too which is in aid of the Goboka Rwanda Trust, and over the three days there will be an interesting array of crafts-people displaying, talking about and selling their goods. Also on Monday, it is Market Day in the town and there is always a great atmosphere. So, if you want to start early with your Christmas shopping, you know where to come!

That's all for now, thank you for reading, either pass this on or leave me a comment. Thank you.

Julie. :)

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

New Items

Evening all,

I have a few new creations to show you, so first up:

I still don't exactly know what to call these...I'm thinking 'Creatures' or 'Wonkies' or something else tacky so do you have any idea? I blogged about the one on the right last time and next to it is my next in line. Please see the previous blog for more details.I think they're great!

 

Next up:

This is my new design of shopper/tote bag, named the Large Linen and Vintage Materials Shopper/Tote Bag (funnily enough). The upper material was gifted to me by a friend and is so lovely in texture and colouring that it just screamed 'bag' to me! I teamed it with modern heavy weight navy linen and matching shoulder straps and used the upper material to make several integral internal pockets and a hanging mobile pocket too.

It has a large flat base so it gives a roomy internal section for all your shopping or goodies and on the above photo, you can see the different styles of pockets. And, this bag also is big enough to take a soft cover A4 folder so it could be used as a student bag. :)

I really like this bag! Do you?

And finally for this evening:

These are two really cute Hand Sewn Patchwork Coin Purses. I have been making quite a few hexxies recently and thought how nice it would be to make them in to a purse, so I hand made quite a lot, joined them and made fronts and backs, and made these padded, covered zip ends coin purse, which I am really pleased with!

 

 

If these don't sell at the next fair, I am DEFINITELY keeping at least one, I simply adore them.

That's all for now, thank you for reading and let me know what you think please :) And don't forget I have a Facebook page if you want to view it or Like it. Thanks.

Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015

Latest News

Hello all, long time no blog...hope you're all well.

It has been a busy summer - mainly working in the garden with renovations - but I have still been making and doing craft fairs. Here are a few of my latest items for you to view:

A lady ordered this through my Etsy site, she rescues Warren Chickens and wanted an iPhone 6 case that represents this, so I came up with this. As I don't have an iPhone 6, I looked up the measurements and made a dummy phone from card so I know it'll fit - as I do for all orders of mobile cases. What do you think? Well, in actual fact I made this one first:

Which is also very cute I think! But I damaged the zip right in the last stages of making (grr) so I had to start again. As I spend so long on the design and making detail, I needed to make a new design as I just couldn't spend another 2 days on the same one!

Theses cases, like all of the ones I make are padded to protect the phones, they have white canvas interiors and a pop of colour in the zips. Even though these are made to measure for mobiles, they could also be purses or pouches. Don't you just love the details? Click on the photos for larger sizes.

While I was at it, I made this one for my craft stall, in a design that my husband came up with. What do you think to this?

This is also an iPhone 6 case (as I know many people have iPhones now) and I just love the colours in this. Again, it took just about 2 days to make but I really, REALLY like them! Plus, it fits well with this being the 70th year since World War 2 ended.

Next up:

This is the second in the line of Vintage Materials and Doilies Sling Bags that I have designed and made, which sold the first time I put them out at a fair! The materials are so good and I simply love the doilies, which come from numerous charity shops. I make the straps 60" long so that they can be knotted into any position the owner likes, i.e. cross the body or as a shoulder bag of various lengths, I line them, add magnetic snaps to close and include two large internal pockets. So, not only do they look cute, they're practical! And, as they both sold the first time they were put out, I have to take that as a sign, I will make more...

Here is an order that was placed by a lovely lady at my fair yesterday in Bakewell:

She was looking at my Flat Based Make Up Bags and the Tissue Packs and really liked them, but she wanted them in matching materials and the bag to have an oilcloth lining, or at least wipe-out-able (new word). So she chose the materials, placed the order and I got cracking today. I am very pleased with how thay have turned out and I have made matching sets before - time to make more me thinks... These are packed up nicely and are ready to be posted in the morning. Isn't the material just great?! So funky.

And finally for today:

Well, it's called Creature (until I think of a better name, answers on a post card please) and he/she (?) happened quite late at night. Not that I couldn't see and that's why it came out wonkey - that was intentional! It's just that sometimes things come to mind and I simply have to go and make it right away. Look at 'it's' eyes! So cute and curious. My friend Jayne, who makes fantastic cards, said they would make cute items for small children or even babies to hold, so I could make them child friendly and promote as this... What I am going to do though is make a set or a family and see where the creativity takes me, so watch this space!

Ok, that's all for today, I'll try not to leave it too long before I blog again but in the meantime, take care and thanks for reading. If you like, please leave a comment or visit my Facebook page.

Julie.

P.S. I have just started knitting... hehe. :)

(C) FMN Crafts 2015.

Chicken Peg Bag!

Hi all,

Just a quick post and I think the clue is in the title, so...:

I have made this style of peg bag before, but not with this CUTE material! Look at the chickens! Oh so country. :)

It is a laminated cotton material, so although not as thick as oilcloth, it is still wipe-able and durable (and a lot easier to work with) and it can be left outside (usually like me, by mistake) without playing too much detriment, so it's all good.

And the bonus, these peg bags come complete with 12 free pegs! Boom.

Oh, and while I'm here, this weekend I am in Bakewell for three days (Sat-Mon) in the Town Hall, peddling my wares, so if you're in the area, you know what to do. If you need details, see earlier posts as I'm always there!

Thanks for reading, if you like my blog please leave a comment, or pass this on. Thank you.
Julie.

(C) FMN Crafts 2015