Dear readers, would you please vote for me in the UncommonGoods product design competition on Facebook? It will take no more than 2 minutes with the instructions below.

All you need to do is (1) Become a Fan of UncommonGoods on Facebook and (2) click “Like” on the Chalkboard Pillows photo album. The product with the most “Like” tally wins. Voting ends EOD Sunday March 14th.

I’m a finalist, and the winner will get a trip to NY to meet with UncommonGoods to discuss being part of their whimsical product line. I’m dying to win and I need to amass hundreds of votes before EOD Sunday, March 14.

So Facebook users, please take a moment to contribute to the karma pool and vote for me. Pass it on!

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Detailed Voting Instructions:

To vote you must have a Facebook account. If you don’t have one, please pass this along to friends and family who do.

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/uniquegifts

2. Click the “Become a Fan” button (you will need to log in to your Facebook account)

3. Go to the Chalkboard Pillows photo album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153343&id=44340057816

4. Click “Like”

5. Please pass along to your spouses, family, friends, coworkers. Even one or two people voting along with you will help tremendously!

(NOTE: Later if you’d like to stop being a fan of UncommonGoods you can do so, just please do it after March 16th when the contest is over. Thanks!)

My baby Elise is four months old now. She can hold her toys in both hands and sit up assisted. I think this big girl is ready for some colorful jingly oversized 5″ x 5″ baby blocks!

I am really loving the colors that I chose …which sort of was a fluke. I just went through my fabric stash, cut squares and grouped them afterward. And well I think even my graphic designer friends would approve :)

Block 1 – Fresh: Three shades of blue, one shade of green, with yellow and gold on the ends

Block 2 – Warmth: Light pink, hot pink, burgundy and red with tan and black on the ends

Want to make your own? :)

Step-by-step tutorial instructions and supplies for the baby stacking blocks after the jump –>

Supplies:

• Six 6″ x 6″ squares of colored fabric for each block
• Six 6″ x 6″ squares of craft weight fusible interfacing for each block (optional but recommended for thin fabric)
• Thread
• Good fabric scissors
• Hand-sewing needle
• Pillow stuffing (you could make these blocks with foam but I had a lot of extra stuffing in my craft closet)
• Jingle bells
• Rotary fabric rotary cutter, self-healing gridded rotary mat and clear fabric ruler
• Good iron
• Ironing board
• Sewing machine

Cut your 6″ x 6″ squares of colored fabric and iron-on interfacing using your rotary fabric rotary cutter, self-healing gridded rotary mat and clear fabric ruler.

Iron your colorful squares to remove all wrinkles. Then iron the interfacing on to the wrong side of the colored fabric. Trim any extra interfacing from the edges as needed.

Take two pieces of colorful fabric and place them right sides together. Sew one side together using a 1/2″ seam. Repeat until you have four squares sewn together in a straight line.

Bend the first square and the fourth square so their right sides are touching. Sew. It will look like a sewn box like this…

Press the seams open.

Now you’re going to put on the two end pieces. Here’s a trick to easily center your pieces. Fold one side of end piece in half; do the same on one side of your sewn box. Now I don’t usually use a lot of pins when I sew but this is one case where you do want to put in a pin here to hold the centers together.

Repeat on the opposite side.

When you have all four sides pinned it will look like this. Notice that I’ve put the pins in from the outside; this is because you’re going to sew the end piece on the bottom as you’ll see shortly.

Flip your box so the end piece is on the bottom. Sew each side from corner to corner, stopping at the seams.

Repeat on the other end piece with one important difference: Leave about a 4″ opening on one of the sides. I mean, sew from the corners about an inch on each side, but then stop and backstitch. Turn the block right-side-out.

Here’s what mine looked like …pay no attention to the fuzz …I rolled that off after stuffing and sewing :)

Stuff the block tightly with pillow stuffing, making sure to really pack it in on the corners. Slip a handful of holiday jingle bellsinside …I had small ones already in the house but with the tight stuffing I would recommend buying larger bells for a louder jingle.

Hand sew the opening shut.

At the risk of dating myself my sisters and I used to play with embossed label makers when we were kids. With the new “improved” models and computers that came out in the 90s, manual embossing label makers all but disappeared from use.

I saw this Dymo retro embossing label maker while walking through the crafts department at Wal*Mart. I just had to have it, not quite sure at the time what I’d do with it.

Recently I put it to use when writing thank you notes for Elise’s baby gifts. I love how they turned out, such a simple yet personal sentiment with a cheeky, throwback edge.

Step-by-step tutorial and supplies for the retro embossed thank yous after the jump –>>>

Supplies:

• Retro embossing label maker
• A4 size cards, flat or folded (I used white)
• A4 size envelopes (I used yellow)

Use your label maker to spell out your thank you message in raised, tactile letters. Peel off the back adhesive and stick onto the front of the card.

I’m a fan of placing the words so they’re not aligned; I think it looks more handmade and energetic. Write a personal note inside and add a colorful envelope. Long live the 80s!

Hearts is the theme of two easy Valentine’s Day gifts perfect for spoiling the sweet toddler and tween girls in your life.

First is a teeny pouch bracelet perfect for storing candies or tiny love notes.

You can make it with either heart-shaped velcro and button closures.

Next is a cute and simple mini-purse…

Like the bracelet the flap is actually a heart! Here it is shown open and turned over…

…and here it is open…

This is an easy and quick Valentine’s Day project.

Step-by-step tutorial and supplies list for the Valentine’s Day heart bracelet and mini-purse after the jump –>>>

Supplies:

• Kathy’s free template for the heart pocket bracelet and mini-purse for kids (PDF – this is for teeny toddler and tween wrists …to make this for larger wrists, just enlarge it on a copier or lengthen the straps)
• 1 square of red felt
• 1 square of dark pink felt
• Button (for mini-purse, optional for heart pocket bracelet)
• 6″ grosgrain ribbon for mini-purse handle
• Embroidery thread
• Good fabric scissors
• Thread
• Fabric glue
• Sewing machine (or you can just hand-stitch or use fabric glue)
• Velcro (for bracelet)

How to Make a Heart Mini-Purse
Cut out my free mini-purse bracelet template. Lay the rectangle pattern onto the felt and cut (you can pin the pattern to the felt first if you’d like).

Fold the rectangle together. Fold your ribbon in half and slip inside the layers on one side. Sew the left and right sides together using a zigzag stitch, leaving the top open.

Cut out the heart pattern and fold it in half. Place it on a folded felt square that’s slightly larger than the pattern. Cut and open your heart.

Notice the line on my heart pattern? The area above the line is the part that will be on the back of the heart. Put fabric glue onto the back of the heart above that line and affix to the mini-purse. Let this dry completely. I recommend putting it under a heavy book to ensure a good bond.

Cut a small buttonhole slit in the heart just large enough for the button to fit through. Careful, not too big!

Fold down your heart top and mark where the button will need to be placed to fit through the buttonhole. Sew on the button.

How to Make a Heart Pocket Bracelet
Download my free heart pocket bracelet template. Note that this pattern is sized for a 3-4 year old, so increase the size as needed by increasing the band size or enlarging the pattern on a Xerox machine before cutting. Pin onto the felt and cut out.

Fold the pocket in half, matching sides together. Sew the left and right sides using a zigzag stitch.

Cut out my free heart pattern. Fold the heart template in half. Fold the felt in half so that you just have room to fit the template. Cut out your heart.

Notice the line on my heart pattern? The area above the line is the part that will be on the back of the heart. Use fabric glue to affix the top of the heart onto the back of the bracelet. Let this dry completely. I recommend putting it under a heavy book to ensure a good bond.

Cut out hearts from your velcro. I fold the velcro in half and cut. Peel back the adhesive and place on the band of the bracelet.

You can sew a few stitches in the velcro heart like I did to ensure it stays secure.

Cut a small buttonhole in the heart flap.

Close the heart flap and mark where you should sew your button for the pocket to close. Sew the button and fill with sweet surprises.

My friend Amy and I met in the second grade on the DeVaney school playground. She was the new kid and I asked if she wanted to jump rope. We’ve been friends ever since. Last weekend I was giddy to stand up as a bridesmaid in Amy’s Greenwich Village wedding to Jeff Hock. I needed to gift wrap a USB drive filled with music that I bought them to enjoy on their honeymoon flight to South Africa. And I needed to take the wrapped box through airport scanners.

Years ago I bought a vintage kissing couple pendant at a Manhattan summertime flea market. I wore the sweet thing ad nauseum, which you can see here in this summer cider and berry smoothie post that includes this photo of me fawning over Stephanie and Dale at the Green City Market. But then the clasp on my pendant broke …and I was heartbroken. Since then I’ve kept my broken pendant in a ceramic bowl on my dresser. Then it occurred to me to give it a new life by scanning and enlarging it to make this romantic package decoration.

WANNA MAKE IT? Get the full supplies list and step-by-step tutorial for the kissing couple >>>

Supplies:

• Kathy’s free kissing couple template with inside lid message (PDF) – includes message that fits the lid of a 3.5″ x 3.5″ size (TIP: Download a trial version of Adobe Illustrator or rent computer time at FedEx Office to customize the inside box message for your recipient). If you have a larger box use this template that contains three different sizes of the kissing couple (PDF).
• Eggshell blue wrapping paper
• Empty recycled jewelry box – mine was an old 3.5″ x 3.5″ Banana Republic box
• 1 sheet white card stock
• USB drive
• Amazon.com MP3 downloads (keepin’ it legal)
• Xacto knife (this is my kit), metal edge ruler and gridded self-healing rotary mat OR good paper scissors
• Foam mounting squares (I used gray because I had it in the house; you could also try these 3-D foam adhesive dots)
• Scissors
• Tape
• Rubber cement
• White tissue paper
• Computer
• Printer

Make your mix on a USB (burning a CD-ROM is so 2000)
Purchase MP3s from Amazon.com and move to your recipient’s USB drive. I included a couple old romantic favorites: “This Old Love” by Lior and “Reminiscing” by The Little River Band.” Wrap your box TV-style Ever notice how on TV gift boxes are never wrapped closed? Well, that’s kind of what I needed to take on the flight just in case TSA needed to search my carry-on baggage. And as a side-bonus it keeps the presentation intact after unwrapping. Wrap the lid and the base of your box separately, ensuring that the blue wrapping paper fully covers the inside sides.

Download and print my free template of the inside box message. I have included a blank version on the template that you can use as is, or if you’d like to customize it, just download a free trial version of Adobe Illustrator or rent time at your local FedEx Office.

Affix your heartfelt message on the inside lid of the box using rubber cement.

Add the kissing couple
Print my free kissing couple template on white card stock and carefully cut out the shape using an Xacto knife and self-healing mat.

Cut foam mounting squares into smaller squares. I used gray removable squares that I already had but I recommend buying white for this project.

Peel off the backing and stick on the back of the kissing couple and heart.

Affix to the box for a slight 3D effect. Put the USB drive in the box and close. Forever kisses, forever bliss to Amy and Jeff!

My niece Madison is universally and deservedly spoiled by all members of our family. I try to make her special handmade Christmas and birthday gifts like this one and that one.

With our cross-country family — Madison in Arizona, me and Shane in Chicago and the grandparents in Michigan — I decided to make Madison a family-themed coloring book paired with a new box of crayons, lots of stamps and ink and other fun art supplies using my Amazon.com application on my iPhone (addicted).

To make the book I gathered a bunch of photos and followed Jennifer Apple’s free Photoshop tutorial with a few slight additions that you’ll see below. These instructions will help you turn a photo like this…

…into a black & white sketched coloring page like this one of Uncle Shane…

…and these of Madison’s grandparents lovingly dubbed Mammy and Papa.

Supplies:

• Kathy’s free cover templates – you can print a generic one that says “My Family Coloring Book” (PDF – be sure to sign your name after the “love”) or edit my source Adobe Illustrator cover template to customize the name (TIP: if you don’t have Illustrator on your computer, just download a free trial version or rent computer time at FedEx Office)
• Color digital photos, preferably ones taken without a flash
• Adobe Photoshop (if you don’t own it, just download a free trial version or rent computer time at FedEx Office)
• Adobe Illustrator (optional if you’re customizing the cover, see Photoshop tip above)
• Cheri Liney font (free!!)
• Legal size white paper (8.5″ x 14″) for coloring pages
• Two sheets of white cover weight paper for coloring book front/back
• Sewing machine
• Turquoise blue thread
• Computer
• Printer
• Crayons

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS >>>

Create your cover
Download and install the free Cheri Liney font. Open my free cover template in Adobe Illustrator and change the name as needed. The Cheri Liney font overlaps the letters a bit. If you don’t want the letters to overlap, do what I did to space them out a bit manually:

• Select the type box using the arrow tool. Go to Type > Create Outlines
• Go to Object > Ungroup. Now the letters are all individual objects.
• Use the arrow tool to select and move the letters around left and right as desired

Create your coloring book pages
UPDATE: Patricia from Crafty and Artsy Giveaways pointed me to Crayola’s Facebook application that makes coloring pages from photos. While not quite as good of quality as the process posted here I think it’s a super (and quick!) alternative to use if you don’t want to go the longer Photoshop route.

Follow Jennifer Apple’s free Photoshop tutorial to turn your photo into a sketch (steps 1-6). Then follow my additional steps 7-10.

Step 7: Flatten your artwork into one layer (Click the icon on the upper right of the layers palette and go to “Flatten Image”).

Step 8: Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Move the arrow on the far left over towards the right to darken the sketch as desired.

Step 9: Type the name using the type tool. (Advanced instructions: OK, here’s where I do a few extra steps because I’m a perfectionist. I went into Illustrator and typed the names with a stroke of 1, then changed it to outlines and manually moved the letters apart as described above.)

Step 10 (optional): If you have background behind the letters then use your Magic Wand tool to select inside the letters. Then switch to your background layer and hit “delete” to delete out the image from behind the letters.

Bind your coloring book
There are a lot of more qualified people out there to bind booklets the “right” way. I just did what I usually do: added some room on the left margin and sewed it together on my sewing machine. My book was about 10 pages so I was able to get my machine to get through it with a fresh denim needle.

Sandwich your coloring pages between the cover and a blank piece of paper for the back.

Sew down the left side using a brand new denim needle and a fancy sewing machine stitch if your machine can do it. Note: If you have a lot of pages you may want to use a hole puncher and yarn instead. Color away!

I’m crazy excited to be a part of the Sewing 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar edited by Megan Smith. One hundred simple sewing projects organized in three-day increments fill this crafty calendar of the new decade.

Featured MerrimentDesign.com projects include sewn poppy fabric invitations, bridesmaid’s applique handbags, Thanksgiving felt leaf placecards and napkin rings, and Chicago flag passport cover …and surprise! The back of the calendar box features my guest bathroom towels project.

As you can see the calendar folds into a stand that props up the instructions while you work. My top favorite projects from co-contributors include a bunny pocket pillow and tiny little loveable rag doll by Missy at CraftyCarnival.com and a tin can cover by Meg Spaeth at ElsieMarley.com.

It’s pretty bizarre that it’s almost 2010. Two Thousand Ten!! A new decade. Think of all the things that have happened and changed in our lives and in the world in the past ten years. Sigh. Well, be sure to order your copy of the Sewing 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar before the ball drops!

When Shane told me that he wanted to host our sixth annual Thanksgiving dinner I didn’t quite know what to say. Baby Elise was born on October 20th and I was crazy sore and beat.

Flash forward a month and we’re all starting to get the hang of things as a family. So what better way to celebrate than to have everyone together for Elise’s first Thanksgiving? Ah, once again Shane was right…

I saw this Dymo retro embossing label maker this summer and I just had to have it, not quite sure at the time what I’d do with it. It was just like the one I used to play with when I was a kid :)

Being none too mobile right now with the new baby I made these placecards out of materials I already had in the house — the embossing label maker, pre-cut placecards left over from our wedding, and pearlized copper shimmery paper that I got as a gift years ago.

Supplies:

• Kathy’s free leaf template (PDF)
• Retro embossing label maker
• Rubber cement or glue stick
• Pearlized copper shimmery (or other metallic) paper
• Thick black paper
• Pre-cut placecards
• Paper cutter

Start by spelling your guests’ names using your label maker. I used black label maker tape but it does come in several colors.

Using your paper cutter, slice squares of the bronze pearlized paper that are smaller than the pre-cut placecards. Don’t worry about making them the same size; it adds to the handmade feel.

Put a little rubber cement on the back of the pearlized paper and affix it to flush left on the placecard. There should be some orange on the bottom and the right side like in the above photo.

Use my free leaf template to cut leaves out of your black paper. There are two leaf shapes so you can either choose one or make a mix like I did. Be sure to put the trace lines face down on your final placecards.

Peel the backing off of the name stickers. You’ll be placing the names on the seam of the pearlized paper with a little overhang on the right like in the photo above.

Now before you stick the name down, slip a bit of the bottom of the black leaf under the sticker. Now you can stick it down. Notice that the rest of the leaf is loose; this is intentional and adds to the feel.

Happy first Thanksgiving, sweet baby Elise, from your family!

Along with homemade egg noodles, chocolate pie and fresh-off-the-vine concord grape juice, rice pancakes were my Grandma Beulah’s specialty.

My parents were in town to help us take care of new baby Elise and treated us to a massive amount of Chinese takeout. Seeing the small mountain of leftover rice after dinner was over, I remembered Grandma’s rice pancakes and asked my dad for the recipe.

These things are seriously hearty so eat just a couple and you’re good to go.

Ingredients:

1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
1 cup leftover cooked rice (one day old is best)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup flour
Oil or spray for griddle
Real maple syrup
Bananas (optional)
Cinnamon for dusting (optional)

Other supplies:

• Mixing bowl
• Turner
• Griddle

Fire up your griddle so it starts to get hot. Mix all ingredients; it’s OK if some of the rice is clumpy but break up any really big pieces. Once mixed let rest for 5 minutes.

Lightly oil your griddle and pour batter onto the hot griddle.

Flip when they bubble. Notice how thick they are!

This recipe makes 6-8 pancakes that can be frozen and thawed later in the toaster. You could easily double or triple the recipe depending on how much leftover takeout rice you have. And next time you order Chinese takeout, you might purposely add an extra side or two!

My coworker Danielle recently came back to work after the birth to her first child, son Otto James. We work together at a web design company in an industrial part of Chicago near Oprah’s TV studio and the legendary Chicago meat markets. So I thought it would be fun to make a book for Otto called “Where My Mommy Works” using photos of objects both inside our office as well as around our unique neighborhood, spelling out the words using Scrabble board game pieces.

I was inspired by others who have made personalized word books in the past (like this one by Non Dairy Diary and oh! look at that one from Party Perfect!). The fun twist with my project is that it’s all about mommy’s workplace …the place that she goes everyday that Otto never sees, giving Danielle a chance to talk with Otto about where she goes during the day. And it uses Scrabble letters game board pieces rather than typed words or vintage lettering, making it a word book that *anyone* can create!

I recruited my talented coworker, part-time photographer Megan, and we set out around the office and into the neighborhood to shoot photos. Megan’s got such an eye as I’m sure you can see by the photos.

From Danielle’s plant on her desk…

…to the Metra public transit tracks that we cross to and from to get to work and lunch everyday…

…to the meat, eggs and bacon trucks that line up near our front door…

…and our website client and neighbor Oprah Winfrey…

Danielle loved the gift and we had such a ball making it for her. What kind of word book will you create?

Supplies:

• Digital camera
• Scrabble board game
• Computer
• Blurb (recommended), Shutterfly or other book making software

First, take photos of your workplace. We shot photos like Danielle’s clock…

…and ceramic lion.

Next, spell words using Scrabble tiles. We shot photos on the concrete floor in our office.

Next, bring the photos into your book making software and assemble your pages, adding a front and back cover, and order your book. Now you can sit down with your book and tell your child about your day!