Jenna Lou Loves You

2010 shows

2010 was a really crazy year for me. I took on a ton of new shows to try to "get out there" and it seems to have worked. I'm more busy than ever before and things are just buzzing along. As a result my blog has suffered, but I know that those of you who stop by from time to time understand. This place has never really seen regularity and I'm guessing that it will continue that way as I focus on both keeping my shop up to date and making new products not to mention trying my very best to have a life away from the computer too.

So for those who didn't get to see me in person this year here are a few shots from my 2 most recent shows.

 ( Fall Festival 2010)

 ( No Coast 2010)

No Coast Craft-O-Rama 2010

Yes it is that time of year again. The first weekend in December and I'm lucky enough to be participating for my 4th year running in one of Minneapolis' finest craft fairs: No Coast Craft-O-Rama.

Come see me and about 100 other amazing artists this weekend Friday 3-8, and Saturday 9-5. I promis you will not be dissappointed. I'll be in the mail hall in booth D-11... same place as last year!

Hope to see you there!!

The Creative Connection Event

I hope you will be able to join in the fun this week in Minneapolis where loads of crafty folks are meeting up for a fabulous event called The Creative Connections. There are going to be classes, speakers like Amy Butler and Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman, lunches, book signings, and a handmade market over order 100 exhibitors from around the US.

And I'll be one of them!! The handmade market is open Wednesday - Saturday the 18th and promises to be great fun. 

For more info please visit the site and have a look around.

Hope to see you soon!

Hello Gwen

{Closure pieces}

Wow... I've had the best week ever.

I got SO much work done and the job of restocking my shop and inventory after the spring line-up of shows is well on its way. I'm adding a bunch of new Gwen bags to the shop and thought I'd share a few of the "during" photos as well as the "finished" ones too.

I like to work in a factory style making 10-20 bags at a time. I usually do 2 in each fabric so although I don't make too many one of a kind.... they are always VERY few of a kind.

 

{linings with zippered pocket installed}

 

{Gwen in Kelly Giraffe}

{Gwen in Chocolate Butterfly}

{Gwen in Mocha}

{Gwen in Rust Tiles}

{A look at the inside}

HOPE YOU ENJOYED!!

The Story of a Creative Community

 

A couple weeks ago I received an email notifying me that a copy of Craft Corps was being sent to me. It was to my delight that I learned that my profile was included in this fun and inspirational compilation of artists stories. I had submitted the original piece what seems like years ago... although you could probably remove the plural there it was a long time since I remember writing and them submitting photos. And then when I didn't hear back I just thought I hadn't made the cut. 

So it was a surprise and a lovely one at that.

My mini-bio is on page 21 following an interesting interview of Amy Butler. I know I'm reading into it way too much, but following Amy is an honor to me as she was one of my first inspirations to pursue sewing and designing as a full-time career. Let a girl dream right?

I've only had the time to read into the book a little bit, but it contains lots of inspiration and tips from a very wide range of creative types.

You can checkout more about this continuously growing project here.

Frame Clutch Guttermann HT2 Glue Alternative

Since releasing my first Frame Clutch Pattern I've had so many emails about the glue I recommended, Guttermann's HT2 Creativ. It's hard to find. Virtually impossible to purchase from within the United States. And costs an arm and a leg (I pay almost $10 per 30g tube). It works perfectly for frame bags, but waiting a week or more for it to be shipped in from an international seller puts a cramp on the creative juices.

So I've been researching and testing and finally have found some results that I'm really excited to share. I had so many gluey, stinky, almost teary-eyed messes to come to this conclusion that I when I say this is "IT" I mean it.

And the winner is...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Aleene's 7800 Platinum Bond!!!

My first clue that this might be "the one" was the instructions. They read very similar to the HT2 instructions, the key part being that it should dry for about 5 minutes before putting the two surfaces together.

There are both pros and cons to Aleene's 7800, but if you ask me this is as good as it gets to a domestic version of HT2. Here is what I found through my testing and usage of Aleene's 7800.

PROS : That's right... the good stuff!!

:: BIGGER TUBE  Aleene's 7800 comes in a 2 US Fluid Oz container. About double the size of HT2!

:: COSTS LESS  I paid about $2.50 for mine... that's vs. $10.00 for HT2

:: INSTANT GRATIFICATION  For all those who want to start right away this stuff isn't hard to find. I found some in my local craft shop, but it's also available online and in discount prices if you buy lots! 

CONS : Ok... some parts aren't so hot.

:: SMELLY  Well nothing new here. It's very comparable to HT2 in smell. I wish they could find a way to make this stuff less toxic smelling. Just please remember to NOT do this in a closet or a dingy dark basement.... open the window and save some brain cells.

:: LARGE ADAPTER  The tube comes with an adapter that screws on the end so you can have a more refined bead of glue... only problem is that it's a little too big for my liking. HT2 has a really small point that helps guide the glue into just the right spot. At first it was a little messy, but by the second one I was getting the hang of it. Just be sure to only cut off the very tip of the adapter and you'll be golden after a line of practice. In my opinion this is the worst drawback, but it's in no way a deal breaker... just a new way of doing things.

::NO CLOSURE CAP I'm not sure what they were thinking by not including a closure cap to save the adapter from drying and being ruined between use. My easy and cheap-o solution to this minor annoyance was to take some cling wrap (like you use in the kitchen) and wrap it around the top. Then I just placed a rubber band around to hold it in place. No-Biggy.

For me the pros totally outweigh the cons here. The price difference alone had me, but the results of using Aleene's 7800 was identical to Guttermann's HT2. A nice firm hold and easy to work with.

Lastly I just have to say that this post was NOT sponsored by anyone. These results were found after testing lots of different types of glues and different brands as well. If you'd like to share this information with other crafters feel free to do so, but please provide a link back to this original post. And if anyone finds another comparable glue I'd love to hear about it so I can check it out too.

Happy Crafting!!

Stacks for Shows

I've been turning stacks of fabric and interfacing and pleats and pins into this:

And I'm not done yet. With just over one month left until my next big show things are heating up once again. Bye for now... my machine is calling me.

Crowded Sums It Up - No Coast 2009

No Coast was AMAZING this year. So MANY shoppers. I was just amazed. In the past two years that I've done this show there was always lulls in the crowds providing five minuets here or two there to get a drink or grab some lunch and just generally take a breather, but this year was nonstop crowds from before the show officially began until after it was closed. I'd say if one word could sum up this show it would be crowded. And that's a GOOD thing.

 

John was kind enough to be my camera man this year and managed to capture the scene perfectly. 

As you can see I started out with a booth overflowing with goodies. We were so hungry and tired at the end of day two that we forgot to take afters, but it was quite a dramatic difference. Thanks to all the shoppers who came out to support handmade and also to the people at Crafters Local 612 who put on this amazing show each year. 

Stop in tomorrow to hear about my favorite finds this year and a GIVEAWAY too.

The Reveal

Wow... What a process. The room was our first official home improvement project and I'm happy to say we did about 99% of the work ourselves.

I think that in size my new studio is quite comparable to my old one. It's small and that's that. But this room has a closet and WALLS! Before I was surrounded on 3 sides by huge windows. It was so great for sunlight and I can hardly remember ever having to turn a lamp on during day hours... but it was lacking in wall space for things that are tall like shelving and it just really wasn't very great for storage.

So here is my new room. It's still missing the wall shelving that will be above the Bernina... and if you look closely you may even notice a couple small pieces of base trim missing from where we decided to install the cube shelving... and I know there needs to be a couple touch ups on the paint... and the fabric for window treatments is on order, but really it's done in the sense of I'm in and it's working and today I sewed for 6 hours on my new Juki (more on this little girl tomorrow). And I can't tell you how relieved I am! After months of pushing a honey-do list on my honey and feeling like a jerk about it, and tears over paint colors and carpet men who wouldn't show up I'm just so darn happy it's done.

 

Ps. Remember what it used to look like??

Studio Inspirations

We had a really great weekend and spent hours in the new room. The paint is on, new light fixtures are up and the outlets are once again covered. Pretty much the only thing holding me back from an all out moving/reorganizing day is the carpet. We are still waiting on that, but once it's done I'll be sharing some photos. I'm really excited guys.... really excited for this!!

So today I bring you more inspiration I found around the web. Thanks to flickr I've been able to waste away many hours in a dreamy state over the past couple weeks drooling over these really fabulous craft studios.

 

credits patty young

credit pink loves brown

 

credit holdjaneshand

 

credits Lovely Design