The “How to” is forthcoming…

Whatever shape or form your inspiration boards take, they are essential for a creative life. Here are mine. They are a series of 9 that I sewed then stretched across 12×12 inch cork boards. I use them daily to plan and be inspired.

The “Bossman” from Provo Craft and his lovely wife were in from Utah visiting family and we all went to dinner at the Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe. I ordered the Oatmeal Stout (of course) and the Fish ‘n’ Chips—they were excellent! I wanted to craft something fun for the occasion and in honor of our new partnership with the very nice people at Provo Craft.

I had been hanging onto a super boring denim skirt I bought at Old Navy (for, like, $2) and decided yesterday was the day to do something with it. Not only did I wear it last evening, but it became my first craft post on Mixology Crafts.

Now for y’all who missed the story on this: Cyndi and I fell into a great opportunity working with the crafting company Provo Craft (remember the crocheted owls in the 70s?). They needed a craft blog and we had the skills. I first met the fine people of Provo Craft in January at the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) trade show, and we have been forging a friendship ever since. The Mixology Crafts blog will soon reside on their home page (www.provocraft.com)—exciting!

Now back to my skirt…

Here it is all finished and ready to wear. I pulled out the Cuttlebug and the die-cutting dies—being careful to select the ones I use only on fabric(paper dulls the blades!) I backed cotton fabric with a stabilizer so it would cut better and chose the paisley die to be the birds’ wings and a fun flower to put in the tree.

A tight (.05) zigzag, set to a wide stitch (5) made the tree stand out nicely. Glossy embroidery thread helped the look adding sheen.

Details..details…here are the details…

I am sitting here listening to the most delightful music in the morning. After hearing Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (NPR) talk about his new CD I just had to have it for myself. It’s a mix of traditional Irish with traditional Mexican music. Check it out, it’s really spectacular >> The Chieftans featuring Ry Cooder “San Patricio” on Amazon.com. For you graphic designers out there, the (packaging) CD cover design is one of the most beautiful layouts I’ve ever seen.

Charming embroidery for fun tote bag

The little bee in me buzzes around to different things: screen-printing, painting, writing, sewing, scrap-booking, drawing, etc. etc. You get the idea.

Well, Grandma got me on the embroidery kick and I decided to do it up a little differently. I screen-printed stems onto linen and then hand embroidered the petals and bugs. Now I couldn’t just leave it at that, so I zipped up this little number on the machine.

In this pic, it’s hanging pretty on my studio door—a 1964 Airstream travel trailer. It’s time to head out to Michael’s for more thread—I’ll pack up my new favorite bag with my wallet and a list of colors I need.