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.