Shop update & recent custom orders

My mini tote (itty bitty) with a cross body strap

My traditional iPhone cozy less the wristlet & added a lanyard

6 make-up clutches monogrammed & each unique

3 vibrant make-up pouches for the bridal party

A little of this and a little of that…custom design with satin embroidered flower, loop & button closure, magnetic snap & long straps

Can’t hightlight them all but these are unedited photos of the work I’ve been doing. I receive a lot of custom orders this time of year so the number of new items that I add to my shop does slow down. Be patient…new items will be added soon. I’ve been working hard on those too. Pictures must be perfect to list in my shop & then the most important part…the time to list them. So much to do and so little time.

xo, Jen

Slowly but Shirley…Surely

Hard to believe that I’ve been back for a little bit more than a month. Lets clean out the tumble weeds and get back to business.

It is almost Spring and this is my shops busiest time of year. The largest component of my Spring business is Bridal party orders. Brides are searching for unique gifts specific to each bridesmaids personality and hoping to find something they can use long after the wedding. It is also the time of year that we like to ditch our heavy leather bags and find something bright and cute! Something that says I am headed to the beach. I’ll be sharing my Spring themes with you in my next post.

Here are a few of the items I’ve been working on: Taxes – yep…someone has to pay the bills. Organizing my shop. Looking for ways to get help with my business that doesn’t involve me giving up the creative aspect or spend less time with my girls. Wishful thinking right? I’ll share these details soon too.

Here are some of my most recent custom orders until I have a few minutes to get to the writing.

Handmade Black Ruffle Skirt by Itty Bitty Bag

Handmade Black Ruffle skirt. I still have enough for one skirt to make, contact me if you are interested.

Chevron Stripe Handbag

Our most fashionable pattern this spring….Chevron Stripe. So bold!! I have enough fabric for one more bag.

Bamboo Handle Bag

Nothing says spring more than this mustard/neonish flower power bamboo handle bag. It is thick, stands on its own but is light weight. A fabulous one of a kind bag.

Zipper Clutch in Linen

Love love hand embroidery. Lavender is one of my favorite colors and flowers.

iPhone Wristlet Zipper Pouch by Itty Bitty Bag

And everyone is still excited about the one of a kind iPhone wristlets that actually fit your phone, credit cards, lip balm & cash. Completely hands free.

And I’ve been spending some time with my girls on the slopes. And this is what it is supposed to be. Dad is here…he is our anchor on the mountain & the best photographer. We have some great memories captured.

More to come this week.

xoxo, Jen

October is a busy month!

October is a very busy time in our house.

We have two daughters that had the same due date four years apart. One arrived late the other early.

This month I’ve been busy with my fall handbag line, stocking up for the holidays, custom orders and birthday planning.

I want to start this recap or week in review with a short story. As often as I can, I try to teach my daughters how wonderful it is to give than to receive. That we are so blessed and that it is important that we help others because we can. So this year both of my daughters have decided to forgo their birthday presents from friends and instead raise money for Shriner’s Hospitals for Children.

Before the day arrived we talked enough about it that the 4-year old didn’t even notice. She was not bombarded with presents from her family either. We’ll sit down tomorrow when we write a note to the hospital and at home we will share the story of the family who inspired us to select this charity. A family who is always doing for others and has had their fair share of trials and tribulations. You can read about how amazing they are on Lisa’s blog.

As a special thank you to her friends, along with the thank you notes (only because I ran out of time before the party) I made snack bags for all her friends. And love the idea of giving a handmade eco-friendly gift to say thank you for helping us raise money for children.

In addition to the snack bags as a custom listing in my shop, I’ve also been very busy with my Fall 2011 Handbag Line. I have already added several brightly colored handbags, wool and tweeds! So be sure to check them out in my Etsy shop!

I haven’t spoken much about them but I’ve also been working on several great custom orders.

This order came in for two burlap mini totes with a monogram. I wasn’t sure how I was going to monogram burlap but I love the mono on the button. I think it is super sweet and has a cute southern feel.

Monogrammed Burlap Mini Tote

This order came from my 7-year-old daughter from her friend. It was her friends birthday and she requested a handbag. The order arrived to me on a scrap of paper left on my studio desk. It was the sweetest thing ever.

Monogrammed Original Tote

I’ve made great progress on my inventory for the holidays. I’ve added many zipper pouches in sets of 3 at a reduced price. Instead of $8 plus shipping, all three are $20 and you only pay for shipping for one. These are great to keep on hand for gifts, gift cards, thank you gifts or to organize your handbag instead of using plastic baggies for all your small items that fall to the bottom of your handbag.

I’ve also added some wine gift bags, more custom mom planners in some fabulous colors and oh so much more! As I mentioned it has been busy, so I am sorry I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging. I’ve been so excited to get working after a long summer of construction on our home, both girls running around my studio even with the help of a sitter…lol. All I can say is I don’t know how I do it.

Hopefully I will stay on top of my blogging and try to get another article written for my Etsy Team blog too.

Until then…peace, love and happiness, Jen xoxo

Handmade Mom Journal Planner for Nancy

I have more details on the reasons behind the mom journal/planner in my post “Handmade Mom Journal” but I had to share the pictures of my last mom journal.

I love the scroll fabric, my intern named it lulu lime. It makes me smile. We decided to put the monogram on the inside it was just placed on here and then I attached it later. I didn’t add front pockets as the fabric was just too beautiful to cover or layer it.

This is the front inside. It has one pocket and a cute little owl page to write fun memories or events to remember.

Here are the planner & journal pages. The left side to keep track of your week and the right side to keep track of your to do lists, groceries, notes, work related items or projects and even a spot to remember to take time for you and your love. These pages were handmade by me. It is not permissible to copy them in any form. If you would like a journal similar to this one, please contact me and I would be happy to make one for you.

It includes a section for monthly events, birthday planning, holidays to get a big picture view of your month and items you may need to take care of earlier than the week they are due.

With my little ones, I always need pockets for forms to fill out, as you can see more cute pages for little random thoughts or notes that you don’t want to forget.

Nancy, thank you so much for always supporting me and all my ideas. It was a pleasure making this for you. As I mentioned before, this one came out even better than the first. Enjoy!!

JSJ

xoxo

This journal can be customized in my Etsy shop and the fabric can be selected from my Flickr Album.

Vegan Suede Messenger Bag

This vegan suede material is luxurious! It feels like suede but is synthetic or a man-made polyester, making this fabric eco-friendly and animal friendly.

It has machine embroidered butterflies throughout. It is very silky soft to the hand, as my 3 yo said, “mom, I’d like a pillow made out of that fabric.”

The dimensions of this messenger bag are: 12″ tall x 4″ deep and 15″ across.

The material is a brushed polyester exterior (vegan faux suede)

The inside has 4 interior pockets on one side and one iPad or Notebook computer padded sleeve on the other side.

It has D rings and a very long strap that can be tied to shorten.

It has a velcro closure as the material is so light weight that even a magnetic snap would be too much.

This was a custom order for Donna. I hope she loves it. It took me about 3 working mom days to complete this project, in between Tropical Storm (Hurricane Irene) clean-up and having school cancelled 3 days this week.

These items are only available by custom order. So contact me through my Etsy shop if you are interested.

http://ittybittybag.etsy.com

Here are some additional pictures including closeups of the bag.

Burlap Wristlet with a Vintage Monogram

I love how one great idea rolls into another fabulous creation.

Katie contacted me about making wristlets for her wedding bridal party. I became super excited when she told me that she is having a farm themed wedding and that she loved my burlap designs.

We talked about how we could incorporate the burlap, still selecting colors to match each girls personality and include the vintage monogram to personalize each bag.

 

 

We selected the corn colored burlap. Above you can see that adding the bias tape is the first step.

 

The next step was sewing all the pieces to the zipper.

After that was complete, I hand embroidered the vintage monograms. Each monogram one takes me close to one hour to complete.

The final step is sewing the monogram to the bag and making the bag & wristlet straps.

 

I love the color combinations and thank Katie and Todd for allowing me to be a part of their special day.

My best, Jen xoxo

 

Vintage Monogram Wristlets

I wanted to share with you my latest bridal order. These wristlets are chic and unique to each attendants personality. What a wonderful gift that can be used long after the wedding is over. I utilized a vintage technique to hand monogram each bag using embroidery floss.

I love taking someones ideas and working with them to create something very unique and special. Thanks Melissa. You were a peach and very patient.

Fabric Selection:

1. Black and Tan Paisley with a pop of color
2. Black and White Damask with Fuchsia accents
3. Blue Green Floral (Joel Dewberry) with Navy & Stripes accents
4. White Green Crisp Organic with accents of yellow and pink
5. Pinkalicious (Heidi Grace) with Apple Green accents

She wanted a make-up bag with a band of fabric. As we started talking she really liked the idea of a wristlet strap so that the attendants could use it after the wedding, as these bags are super practical. The monogram is a very endearing personal touch.

One concern I had early on was using a printed fabric and would the monogram be visible.

The design definitely had some back and forth which at times becomes the most labor intensive part of the process. Which direction would the stripe go, would it cover the whole right side, how big should the monogram be, are the fabrics the right color, and what colors would we use for the interior. The overall layout was the hardest part but I just love the end result.

On the monogram, machine monograms utilize a very quick stabbing process covering the material. Often times if it is not a “canvas” material, it can ruin quilting weight fabric. I also find that the machine versions tend to fray over time.

For this monogram, I didn’t wanting it floating out in space, so I decided a circle on the rectangle was a good eye-catching contrast. I also have done many uppercase letters but came across an embroidery site also demonstrating the lowercase letters and I fell in love. As this is not seen everyday, the uniqueness appealed to me. I used a back-stitch technique for the entire monogram.

Each monogram takes me 1 hour to complete one letter. If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know that I’ve been working on another special monogram project for my girls using a cross-stitch pattern. One letter M – has 100 crosses, Oh my, that letter took me 4 hours to complete.

I am happy to add personalization to any order but do understand that embroidery takes time. Keep this in mind when placing your holiday orders.

My best, Jen

WIR – Nautical Tote, Client Meeting and Puppy in Recovery

Another week and not as much productivity as I hoped for, even though my sitter was here and it was a busy shop week, it was also one of transition.

My girls are so happy with Liz our sitter, she is so much fun and full of energy. This is all great news.

My puppy came home from the hospital where he had surgery on his cervical spine to repair a disk that had ruptured and was pressing on a nerve. Needless to say his recovery at home has been very time-consuming. He is being crated for recovery and needs to be let out often, given medicine, monitored all the time, and the only time he can be out of his crate is to be in my lap full supervised. It has been similar to having a new baby.

I’ve also been communicating with builders to have some home renovations which I wish I could say are fun exciting but they are just boring need to get done kind of home improvement.

Back to shop news…

I spent a better part of the week creating a wedding pitchbook for a local bridal order. The bride lives out-of-town but the mother of the bride was very pleased with the final design. If I had more time, I’d show you the book. I’ll try to take a pic when it returns. Suffice it to say, it was a huge success!

The mom had also requested 4 of my burlap wine totes. We discussed the order and she had mentioned that she wanted Chartreuse satin ribbon but not the basic satin ribbon that is rough on one side. Alas, I couldn’t find this high quality ribbon. I knew in order to do it right, I was going to have to buy satin and make the ribbon. Again, this proved to be more exquisite than even I could imagine. The combination of burlap and this high quality satin is so amazing and unique.

I also finished one bag which was very intricate with the hand embroidered star but I just love how it came out. This is a one of a kind and even though the 4th of July has passed, it still says Nautical Americana all summer long.

Well I hope you enjoyed my recap and that you’ll stop on over to my shop. I know that I’ve been distant with all my family on-going but after all this is the reason I am home. The bag business was just an added bonus that was quite unexpected and has given me tremendous joy.

I won’t have another week in review until for two weeks as I will be taking some time to spend with my whole family. Which means a lot less shop and a lot more family. Happy Summer!!

My best, Jen  xxoo

Bridal Totes for Two Very Sweet Tween Girls

Turquoise and Red – such a great combination

This bridal order is very special. The bride ordered these for her tween girls. She is getting married and wanted to have a very sophisticated look for her two beautiful girls on her wedding day. One of the girls favorite colors is turquoise and the other is red. I think these two colors look amazing together. So each bag is distinct for both girls personalities but combined in such a way to show the amazing sisterly bond they share.

Thanks Kristin!!

WIR – Mom’s Birthday, New Clutches and Coffee Cozies

WIR – week in review

This past week was a struggle being a work at home mommy. I was busy in my shop and a ton of family to do’s as well. I actually accomplished more than I thought I would despite the little one being home on vacation. Any transition is tough and I really felt it this week. I was so comfortable in my routine of her being at school a few hours a day.  At the end of the week, my high school sitter came over to play with the girls for a few hours and that was a huge help. Of course, anyone with a 3 year old knows it is not always that easy. She has been going through lets just call it what it is, the irrational threes which is far worse than the terrible two’s. It is no secret that they are going through some massive growth at this age, both mentally and physically. I try to be patient but even the most patient will feel defeated from time to time.

Part of Thursday was a complete loss…waiting for the GE repair guy to come and fix my frigerator that was running hot. The mother board needed to be replaced on a 5 year old refrigerator. My mom’s ran for 20 years without fail. Why do so many things break prematurely and to repair is costly?

Yesterday while out running errands. I was so happy to make a local stop and pick up my local free range eggs from Crafty Farm Girl. I am so jealous of her mini-farm. Her puppy greated us over by the eggs. He was protecting them I am sure, as after they were gone he retired to the back yard. Little one loves him now and would like another animal at home just like him. I think 3 dachshunds is enough.

So now that you have my state of mind just what could I actually accomplish?

I am actually ahead of the game. I have my dress, shoes and clutch for next weekends lobster bake. My mom’s birthday is the middle of June and I even have her birthday present made. I’ve been so busy with custom orders that my shop inventory has also been depleated, so I’ve been working to replenish inventory. I have lots of zipper pouches cut and ready to sew and I finished a whole bunch of Key Fobs.

New Bag for Mom

This shoulder bag is made with a Tuscany Olive Branch fabric, hand embroidered flowers and a dove. Every week I try something new. So this week I wanted to try something new for the handle and did a braided handle. I used d-rings to attach the shoulder strap. This bag has a zipper top and a linen fabric interior and has one interior pocket.

White Wedding Clutch

I made two new white clutches this week. They both are one of a kind (OOAK) as I only had two pieces of the white fabric left. One of them sold (the anchor) to a local client but this one is still available in my shop. I love hand embroidery, I wanted to add something to make it special, and to allow this to be used for more than just a wedding. I’ve been trying some new techniques and really love how the anchor and bird came out. I used a back stitch, satin stitch and added beadwork.

Burlap Clutch

I mentioned in my last blogpost the burlap clutch that I made for myself. I also made this nautical burlap clutch. Great for the beach, a cookout, a formal night out…so many possibilities. This of course can be customized. I have other colors of the stripe grosgrain ribbon.

Custom Orders

I completed this Silk Dot Clutch, the custom order was for nautical (red white blue) and a longer style. This is a one of a kind as well.

I also had another order for coffee cozies. So although you may not see them in my shop during the summer months, they are still available by request. I have them in a lot of 3 in my online store (though you can have any number cozies made). They are not just great for hot coffee, they are also great for ice tea, and ice cream! They make great hostess gifts, teacher presents, birthdays and thank you gifts! I had an order for a set of three and she selected big daisy, green interlock, and thin mint fabric. You can see them on my facebook page.

I completed two nautical burlap wine bags, created listings for a couple other custom bag orders, and reached 600 Sales on Etsy in just over 2 years. Not a bad week after all! lol.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and thanks for catching up with me on my week.

My best, Jen