Jenna Lou Loves You

Weddings are Bliss

Wedding season is just around the corner and so I've had my hands full with orders for custom clutch sets. When I opened my email to find that my clutches had been professionally, and beautifully I might add, photogrphed I was speachless. Anna Page photographed this stunning wedding in Wisconsin and graciously agreed to allow me to share it with you. I love everything about this.... especially those amazing shoes the girls were rocking.

Custom orders are streaming in so if you are interested in a set for yourself consider planning to order early.

Are there anyother brides out there with wedding photos featuring Jenna Lou Designs clutches?? If so I would LOVE to see them!

To view more photos from this wedding you can see it featured on the Style Me Pretty Blog.

 

New Jenna Lou Designs: Scarves and Totes for Fall 2010

With only 2 days left until we pack up the shop and head up to Shakopee for the Autumn Festival, I'm in disbelief with the progress that has been made. I am so happy with the inventory I've been able to make in the past months and feel very confident that this may be my best show to date (fingers crossed and more importantly prayers said!).

And I know a lot of you are not from the area, so I thought I'd share my two latest creations that will be making their public debut at the show. Whatever is left afterwards will make it's way into the shop, but there are no garuntees so if you see something you have to have, please let me know and I will put it aside for you :D

The first is my new ruffled scarves. These ladies are so sweet to add to your fall and winter outfits. They can be worn lots of ways to either feel light and breezy or warm and snuggly depending on how many times you wrap her around. They are all sewn in a really great fabric called moleskin, but I can assure you the name comes from the texture, not the origin. They are so smooth and soft you'll want to wear yours everywhere. Price is $20 each.

My second new design is the Pleated Tote. These are made from sturdy heavy weight cottons, my favorite luxerious faux leathers, and hight quality hardware. The insides are fully lined with a large zipper pocket on one side and two big slip pockets on the other. It closes with a magnetic snap. Price is $60.

I'm not 100% set on the name "Pleated Tote" for this new design though because I usually prefer to choose girly names for my bags so I need some help chooseing. Any ideas? So far I'm already using: Ella, Amy, Mabel, and Gwen for my other current designs.

 

psst. Did you know that I offer special discounts to my facebook fans?? Become a fan to find out the latest news and get the best deals. Join here.

 

Happy Halloween

Hope you all had a great Halloween.

We carved pumpkins.

We wore our homemade costumes. John's took me 12+ hours to sew, but it sure was worth it to see how well it came together. He made the perfect Sherlock. Mine was much less involved. I bought the goggles, and sewed the cap.... the rest was just pulled together from my closet.

And I made a huge batch of monster cookies... the perfect treat for Halloween.

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!!

Introductions

I would like to introduce to you my new assistant. Her name is Claire. She's not much help around the office, but in the photography studio she really holds her weight. And with a one time salary of only $35, she was quite the find. 

Deciding on the work uniform was a bit of a challenge. I wanted her to be fashionable, but ageless. I still don't know if I really accomplished that, but I thought she looked pretty good, so for now it works.

 

 

Along with my new assistant I also am finally (almost a year in the making) having my online debut of upscale bags. You will see some old favorites like the Mabel Messenger newly adorned with a really nice faux leather and a new bag that I'm still swooning over that was inspired from years of feedback from customers and shopper requests called Gwen. Gwen has great storage inside with a zippered pocket, slip pocket, pen holder, and a clip for your keys. The four inch gusset is composed of luxurious faux leather that has an amazing feel and makes this bag really roomy.

 

 

More bags will be added to my shop in the coming days. And if you don't see a print that just sings your name I am happy to take custom orders with the fabric of your choice.

Spring Shows

I'm loving Minnesota today. I got Stella my scooter out of the garage for the first time today. Road her around, gassed her up, it was liberating to feel that breeze in my hair again... that one you only get while cruising around on two wheels. It was a nice half hour break from my sewing room. I'm still working away as the spring shows draw nearer and nearer.

In case anyone is in the area and would like to stop by and see me in action here is a list of my upcoming shows.

April 16th - 18th : Spring Festival
Canterbury Park - Shakopee MN
Over 500 artists from 30 States. I'll be in booth number 228 in the upper level by the escalators.
View Site

May 1st : Craftstravaganza
9 AM - 5 PM
MN State Fairgrounds - Fine Arts bldg - free admission!
Find me in the same spot as last year ( right inside the doors to the left!! )
View Site

June 4th - 6th : Edina Art Fair
Edina, MN over 375 Artist
View Site

I always try to post to let locals know about shows before hand, but I also added a "Shows and Shops" section to my website where you can always go to see whats on my calendar. If you make it out be sure to stop by and say hello.

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.

Best Friends Forever - My new industrial Juki

My whole obsession and jealousy and lust for an industrial sewing machine began when Allyson got hers. I'll admit it was on my mind for probably over a year before that, but I had always put it off and really my Bernina is such a dream most of the time that I never seriously flirted with others. But upon seeing Allyson's it got my gears turning again and I delved deep into a research period followed by about a week of knowing it would happen, but trying to decide how and when. Then like all great decisions in life I just jumped on it. 

And I couldn't be happier with my decision to get my Juki. My love. My soul mate...*clears throat" umm well... my friend and partner in crafting crime. She's model DNU-1541 and she's a gem. This girl rips through layers of heavyweight fabric backed with interfacing like none other and I'm hoping to spend some time in the next couple months becoming familiar with leather as a new medium. The absence of the sound of a steam roller plowing through our house every time I made a gusset in a heavy weight bag has both John and I amazed... the juki just hums. 

The Bernina still has a strong place in my heart too. Where the Juki has strength and speed, the Bernina can be delicate and has great precision and so she will always have a place in my craft room 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??