So today is my adorable niece Madison’s second birthday. I made her a super cool gift that I’ll post in a few days with instructions once she’s unwrapped her gift. In the meantime here are instructions for her cookie jar wrapping paper. Supplies: Kathy’s cookie jar template (page 1, page 2, page 3) Avery White …

AT&T delivered piles of telephone books to my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. Not needing ours but cringing at tossing the stack into the trash I decided to find some crafty uses for them. So I wrapped my sister Karin’s birthday gifts with birthday-themed yellow pages. Supplies: Telephone book (preferably yellow pages) Tape Scissors …

Here’s one of my favorite it’s-a-rainy-day-and-I-am-low-on-groceries recipe: Green pea soup with toasted baguette slices. It’s a healthy, low fat, non-dairy recipe from Ellie Krieger, one of my favorite Food Network chefs. 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 large onion, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon (I subbed …

I made these three kitschy CD mixes to thank my friend Amy for letting me stay at her place for the first few days of my week in NYC. Back when I was a kid, my dad handmade wonderful miniature farmland model worlds. I can still remember him individually painting figurines and gluing on grass …

I’ve spent the week exploring New York City and Brooklyn. The crafty clothing, accessories and home stores here in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill are inspiring …and many of them are online. One of my favorites is Cog & Pearl, a collective of various Brooklyn crafters and designers. Check out the …

We customized the envelopes for our wedding invitations using a couple of easy tricks: Sewing our return address on the back of our envelopes and adding custom photo stamps from PhotoStamps.com. Supplies: A7 size (5 1/4″x 7 1/4″) chocolate envelopes 8 1/2 x 11 luxe cream 210g text paper (or other heavy paper) Yellow thread …

After a brutal Chicago winter I’m aching for spring. So today I planted vegetable, herb and flower seeds for our back deck garden. Now I’ve tried planting seeds many times before with mixed results …I’ve learned that using professional seed-starting germinating mix rather than regular soil makes a big difference. Give it a try. Supplies: …

I visited my parents in Indiana this Easter weekend and it felt like Spring outside! The crocuses are even coming up which is a sure sign of hope. I made this garden mosaic stepping stone for my Dad’s birthday. My dad’s a huge gardener and hummingbird fan but you could use the glass pieces to …

Friday was my last day at work. So this week, inspiration’s coming on a Monday 😉 I love this lace tape over at Willow. Owner Amy Doehla seems to find the most unique things. Typically I’ve purchased “finished” home accessories there yet this two-inch-wide lace tape has oodles of crafting possibilities, from unique birthday wrappings …

Our wedding photographers, Kiri and Brett of PenCarlson Photography, hosted a bright and cheery open house on Sunday for their new Chicago photography studio. Height is always good with buffets but I’ve never seen anything like these innovative ‘flowers enclosed in glass cylinder’ food risers. This detail would work particularly well for weddings or showers …

This easy chicken pot pie recipe is my favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I started making this homemade chicken pot pie recipe as a St. Patrick’s Day dinner tradition but it tasted so good that I ended up adding it into our winter dinner rotation. I like making individual mini chicken pot pies …

++ UPDATED: I have evolved this craft considerably and posted a MUCH better way to make them. Please go to https://www.merrimentdesign.com/chalkboard-pillows-for-kids-and-adults-redux.php instead. And enjoy!! ++

So my friend Renee and I decided to browse through Anthropologie after having afternoon tea at Julius Meinl. It’s no surprise to anyone that Anthropologie has some of the most crafty, creative, seasonal store decorations out there. But this one made me giggle. I remember back in Girl Scouts making ‘vases’ from bell jars, masking …

We co-hosted a couple’s BBQ last July to celebrate the engagement of my friend Heather (H) and her fiance Noah (N). Our co-hostess Michelle Platts scored by bringing these festive romantic sugar cookies that she baked with her daughter Vivian. I think this is such a cute idea not only for engagement parties and couple’s …

My first custom Blurb.com hardcover book arrived in the mail and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. My coworker Mandy first told me about Blurb.com’s powerful, professional bookmaking software publishing service. While I’ve used Shutterfly’s custom books in the past I was intrigued by Blurb’s promise of bookstore-quality books and affordable …