Craftaluma 2010: "The Usual Suspects" Holiday Show!!

(Reposted from the Petaluma Craft Mafia Blog by Moxieville.)
Happy Holidays from the Petaluma Craft Mafia! Folks, we are not in the habit of taking candy from a baby, nor nicking the smiles from your bright and shiny faces. Life has us all busy and spread thin, and isn't always roses and red meat - some days it's green salad and scrambled eggs. However, have had so many requests about when our next show is going to be, we could not let you down! No siree.
So Craftaluma, the much anticipated craft show of the year hatched here in Petaluma is ago with the choicest, freshest talent in Petaluma and beyond. We get so much supportive feed back on our shows, vendors and music talent so you my dear friends, could be clinically inspired and happily sated by the crafty Indie vibe you have become accustomed to at Craftaluma. (Not to mention getting your last minute shopping done). And if so inclined, pick up a little something wonderful for yourself for the holidays - hey, what happens at Craftaluma, stays at Craftaluma. We didn't see nothin'!

Our fifth annual show, Craftaluma's "Usual Suspects" Holiday Show is chock-full of crafty DIY wares so meaty in creativity, you'll need a machete to wend a swath through our talented vendors to help you with your shopping list and be creatively inspired.

This year the Petaluma Craft Mafia is teaming up with the amazing Petaluma Art Center for Craftaluma. The venue is centrally-located and beautiful. The team at PAC is having it's annual staff salon show for craft shoppers to oggle as well. We think Art and Craft make a beautiful team.
So please join us for the best craft for miles around, fantastic music to groove to, cupcakes and friends.

Do you prefer your craft rare or well-done? Craftaluma has you covered. Pass the horseradish.

**Vendors: Please email me at cheryl@petalumacraftmafia.com for more info. Our website is being updated and we will have online applications shortly.

Please drop by and say "howdy" to our "Usual Suspects" the creative team in the Petaluma Craft Mafia. See you all there! ;)


CRAFTALUMA "The Usual Suspects" Show
December 12, 2010 from 11-5
The Petaluma Art Center
230 Lakeville Street
Petaluma, CA 94952

It's a Spring Fling NLP!!

So much going on over at Moxieville. First off, I want to tell you all about the Naked Lady Party we are having over at Petaluma Craft Mafia. Take a looky here: looky here

A Cocktail with Moxie

Groundhog day. It rates right up there with National Buttercrunch Day on the holiday yawn-fest barometer. Since February can be such a 'blah' month, even with this year being a leap, why not celebrate the dickens out of it? Give it some bling, a shot of Angostura bitters, a maraschino cherry tiara. Va-voom, Feb, you've got style! I'm a hipster flunkie, but I do have 'moxie' and what do folks who have moxie do when the days are sooty and short, and a Naked Lady Party is looming on the horizon? You guessed it, invent cocktails!

So, I figured, what better month to be experimenting with cocktails for the Naked Lady Party we are having with our Petaluma Craft Mafia famiglia. Winter's end requires all the extra glow you can muster. They just beg for cocktail experimentation, don't you agree? Make it a party, invite friends to help with that book, "DIY cocktails." Heck, pull out your game of "twister," all the hep-cats do it. I won't tell anybody.

Though, not in season, peaches and strawberries have been on my mind. It's deep winter, and I'm craving the taste of summer fruits. Usually a big, fat glass of zin is my favorite winter libation and my favorite cocktail stand-by is a cranberry vodka, with cointreau and twist of lime. My mother perfected the art of the cranberry cocktail, and I adore them. But, with Spring blooming, I'm ready to move on and give my cocktail a new party dress. And really, who could disagree that crafting and cocktails don't make a beautiful pairing? I'm sure our sultry vixen header would agree, and volunteer to play bartender.

Okay, right. Peaches. I keep coming back to peaches, and after taking a peek over at Jesse's blog, "bread baby," right here, and coming across this heavenly sounding peach, cardamom cobbler, I knew peaches could hold the answer for what to drink for our Naked Lady Party.
And if you are not a peach lover, you know what they say, "if'n you don't like the peaches, don't be shakin' that tree"... or something, like that. Try another fruit, mango, for example.

I'm still in experimentation mode, but insofar, this beta-test version is coming up a winner! I also think it might be nice to switch it up and replace strawberry puree for the cranberry juice. But were talking peaches here, and I'm calling it a "Naked Lady Blush." It pairs nicely with just about any appetizer from goat cheese on toast points to cheeze whiz on celery. But, I just know you gourmands can put the spread on, and do better then that.

A word of warning: This is a woman's drink, not a little girl's. It's got warmth of a cracklin' rosy fire, depth and body, and is refreshing at the same time, thus incredibly easy to drink...just saying. You might say this cocktail's got "moxie." It goes something like this:

Naked Lady Blush

1 oz of your favorite Vodka (I like Tito's Handmade Vodka)
1/2 oz presecco wine (optional)
1/2 oz Cointreau orange liquer
1 lime wedge
1 splash cranberry juice
1/2 ounce peach puree or juice (preferably white peach)


Pour vodka and cointreau into a shaker. Squeeze in the juice of one wedge of lime. Add peach puree, a splash of cranberry juice, (your Naked Lady, is going to blush now), and shake it, baby , shake it. Strain into a cocktail glass. Mmmmph. Ya'll, February doesn't scare me. Cheers!

Craftaluma 2010 "Craftyville, The Usual Suspects"

Yawwwn, s- t- r- e- t-c - h..... Late winter; time to shrug off the insulating attitudes, peel back the cocoon of winter layers, allow the imagination to roam along the dreamscape that meanders down the cool, blue path to tangerine sunsets. Butterflies, zebras, moonbeams, it's time to plant bulbs for spring fragrance and harvest summer crafty magic, like only the Petaluma Craft Mafia can. Get ready to make a journey to "Craftyville," join the usual and some unusual suspects for Craftaluma 2010!!

The talented creatives that make up the Petaluma Craft Mafia are busy planning our next show! We've got CRAFTALUMA 2010 penciled in on the PCM calendar for JUNE 19th, 2010!! Yaay!

Have you seen the usual suspects of Craftaluma's Craftyville? There's the Church of Craft, spreading the Crafty gospel, (and you know, as the Petaluma Craft Mafia, it's well infiltrated), then there is the river, well, that's where all of our crafty secrets go for a swim. More on that, later. Yes, in Craftyville, your Petaluma Craft Mafia is involved, fighting for craft and giving it a voice. Your crafty famiglia is here, committing craft, living and working in our community, and creating the best craft show in the world. Yes, Craftaluma 2010 is on it's way, and we've got the keys to the town.

Stay posted, stay tuned, and most of all, stay crafty.