(all photos courtesy of  Heather Crosby of YumUniverse)

My friend Heather Crosby from YumUniverse and I were two of the lucky 450 (!) to attend Martha Stewart’s Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations book signing and on-stage interview with Susanna Negovan at the Standard Club in Chicago. The venue was posh and very Martha from the pomegranate martinis and delicate desserts to the silver glass lanterns and organic centerpieces.

We all received a copy of her new Entertaining book, signed individually (and lightening quick) in front of each of us one-by-one by Martha herself. Martha’s staff apologized in advance that she didn’t have time to personalize the books which was definitely a little bit of a bummer but with 450 eager admirers I get it. So there I stood while she elegantly wrote her name in the front of my new book, kind of surreal.

I had also brought along my 1982 copy of Martha’s original Entertaining book. This was her very first book that started it all, the 70+ books, the magazines, the TV shows, the retailing empire:

GET THE REST OF THE STORY: Meeting Martha Stewart at the Entertaining book signing in Chicago –>

I love the handmade and accessible tone throughout the book. I mean, look at these pictures and think about how her style has changed over the years:

Sadly my almost 30-year-old book got confiscated in the autograph line by an overzealous event organizer (don’t worry, I got it back). With my conversation starter nixed, I sort of kicked myself for not saying as much to Martha as I had wanted when I had the chance.

But then at the end of the evening as Heather and I were standing near the elevators to leave, we noticed Martha and her staff coming our way. Ack! With Heather’s encouragement as she walked past I asked Martha, as casually as I could muster, if she would consider signing my book? She stopped, looked right at me smiling a sincere smile that took me by surprise, and said charmingly, “You know, that book is from 1982.” I replied and she warmly personalized the book for me:

And yeah I know Martha meets hundreds of admirers each week, something anyone would probably numb to over time. But I like to think that maybe at that moment, on her flurry of a cross-country book tour, that seeing an original copy of her very first book — published almost 30-years ago well before she became Martha Stewart The Brand — perhaps brought her a moment of unexpected delight. A little reminiscing is a good thing.

As a crafter like me you are probably doing one or more of the following things right about now: (1) making handmade holiday gifts for friends and family, (2) looking to buy creative and budget-friendly gifts, or (3) making your own list to give to your family. Well, the MerrimentDesign.com Crafty Holiday Guide is here to help with all the above!

My take is to pick craft supplies that are fun, useful and versatile for making all kinds of crafts on MerrimentDesign and elsewhere. I’ve even included a selection under $10 for stocking stuffers or group gift exchanges.

So what’s tops on my Christmas list? This. I promise that I’ve been very good this year so I’m hoping Santa will pretty please bring it my way :)

Start shopping the Crafty Holiday Guide.

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!

Whew! I finally edited and posted our episode of ‘Amazing Wedding Cakes’ that first aired June 2009 on WeTV …right after Bridezillas as a part of WeTV’s We Go Bridal night. Check it out below…

The background: While on the road in Austin for SXSW, I got a call from Mary Maher from Cakegirls. Cakegirls is a super creative bakeshop extraordinaire owned by two Chicago sisters, Mary and Brenda Maher. Cakegirls has garnered awards and press galore for their luxury cakes, wedding cakes and specialty cakes. Mary wanted to feature our poppy wedding cake on season 2 of ‘Amazing Wedding Cakes’, a nationally broadcasted reality cake TV show starring the Maher sisters and three other US cake creators from coast-to-coast.

After a little begging with Shane, we stopped by The Cake Girls’ Belmont Avenue shop on a cold winter day to film our segment. I brought along my wedding inspiration – a swatch of retro-poppy fabric – that we used as the central theme throughout our wedding, from our sewn fabric invitations to table numbers, guest towels, ring bearer pillow, place cards, sewn zigzagged programs, menu, reserved signs, whimsical flower garland “altar” and bridesmaid’s handbags.

I probably should have thought to brush my hair or put on a little makeup before going on national TV :) but overall it’s so much fun to see our cake as a part of the show. And I’m secretly relieved that I don’t come off too much like a Bridezilla…

Za Vas! Heather Crosby and I continued the Upper Crust Social Club event series by co-hosting a Russian-inspired vodka infusion party.

Guests brought their own homemade vodka infusions …such a range of tasty concoctions from Watermelon Rosewater Vodka Infusion to Skittles Vodka to Cucumber Mint Vodka Infusion to Bacon Maple Vodka Infusion to Apple Cinnamon Vodka Infusion and more. (You should make your own. It’s easy.)

Each guest received a vodka tasting packet and voting tokens to reward their favorite creation. The winners, Matt and KC MacQueen, got bragging rights and a very fancy Vodka Infusion Champion trophy for their popular Habenero/Orange Peel/Peppercorn vodka infusion.

For decor, we kept things white and red with Russian accents …white tablecloths, white & red flowers, assorted Russian books and jewelry from Alex (our favorite Russian), cutey-pie Russian matryoshka nesting dolls…

…dolly handmade signs reminding guests to “fill your belly,” “cleanse your palette” and “clean your glass”…

…signs of tot-holding old school Russian-esque lasses…

…and super fun individual tasting booklets with enclosed voting tokens.

Now take note: This is a vodka *infusion* tasting party theme which means mixers like 7up are definite no-nos. Because guests sipped straight vodka after vodka we supplied ample pitchers of water, dumping buckets for extras, a crunchy tater tot bar with five dipping sauces to help soak it up, orange slices for palette cleansers …and our special top secret “Morning-After Hangover Cure” party favor (free template and instructions below).

The vodka infusion theme would be perfect for bachelorette parties and birthdays. And a collection of vodka infusions in nice glass jars would be a great gift. Our excuse was to gather our friends and festively warm everyone up from the inside. It worked.

You’re welcome to use these instructions and templates for free for your own personal use. Anyone using the template simply post a comment below or email me to track its usage.

Free printable party templates: (thanks, Heather!)

• Free Russian nesting dolly signs template (PDF)
• Free tater tots Russian girls sign (PDF)
• Free voting token template (PDF)
• Coming soon: I’ll post the super cool tasting booklet along with a video on how to properly fold it

Hangover Cure Favor Supplies:

• Heather’s free template for the hangover cure label (PDF)
• White printer paper
• 1/2 inch Black Electrical Tape
• Test tubes (we used the 18×150 glass ones but you could go smaller or get plastic)
• Test tube corks (we used size 6; be sure to match your test tube size)
• Emergen-C packets (one for each guest, choose your flavor)
• Pop Rocks (1 packet = 3/4 guests)
• Scissors
• Xacto basic knife set, Ruler and Self-healing cutting mat (strongly recommended for straight cuts …otherwise, use scissors)
• Computer and printer (or send to FedEx Office)
• White paper bags (optional, one per guest)
• Pretty stickers OR 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets of sticker paper from an office supply store to make your own custom stickers on the computer like we did (optional)
• Red tissue paper (optional)

Carefully pour one packet of Emergen-C into the test tube. Poor about 1/3 packet of Pop Rocks on top in a contrasting color. Top with one cork; avoid pushing too hard which might crack the test tube.

Print the free template and cut into strips using your Xacto knife, ruler and self-healing mat. Fold each strip in half lengthwise. Fold the strip over the cork, making one end longer than the other (see the picture). Cut a short piece of electrical tape and wrap it around the label and test tube to seal.

Try not to shake the test tubes; they look nice layered.

Place a test tube into a white shopping bag with red tissue paper. Place a sticker on the front. Na zdarOv’ye!

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use this theme and templates for your own personal use. Please post a comment below or email me if you use this project so I can smile when I see that it’s being used. Craft and pass it on!

Mary and Brenda Maher of Cakegirls are two of the most talented and inspiring self-taught ladies I’ve ever encountered. Their cakes are not only totally original and visually arresting but taste delicious too (I’m a sucker for the chocolate fudge cake with chocolate mousse).

So when Mary called me last week while I was in Austin for SXSW to see if we were available to film a segment for their reality TV show, Amazing Wedding Cakes on the WE tv network, I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough. Oh, and I was able to convince Shane too :)

As you know, Cakegirls made our bold and tasty poppy wedding cake based on a swatch of retro poppy fabric that we gave them. The cake they created added edible flair to the poppy theme that we also used on our sewn poppy fabric invitations, sewn return address envelopes with custom stamps, table numbers, ring bearer pillow, place cards, sewn zigzagged programs, menu, reserved signs, whimsical flower garland “altar” and bridesmaid’s handbags.

The entire Amazing Wedding Cakes crew was so friendly that they made the whole process seem like a piece of cake (oof). And it was super fun to get a little glimpse into the television show making process.

So set your TiVo for Amazing Wedding Cakes on the WE tv network (find your local airtime). And Chicagoans, be sure to check out Cakegirls in Roscoe Village for your weddings, baby showers, birthdays and other special events. Their cakes are the best.

My ever-so-creative friend and frequent partner-in-crime Heather Crosby came up with a festive idea that encapsulates the two things we like best — making things and spending time with friends — by creating the tongue-in-cheek Upper Crust Social Club.

The UCSC is all about hosting a series of varied themed soirees that I’ll feature here to hopefully jump-start your own gatherings. First up: An Alice-inspired night-time tea party for some of our favorite Chicago ladies that kicked off the UCSC concept in style.

Today’s tea party post features the overall decor, whimsical details and creative ways to set your tables and food display. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share more posts with free templates and step-by-step how-to instructions to make all of our tea party goodies: Shrinky Dink rabbit’s foot napkin holders that convert into keychain favors, super fancy tea sandwiches, handsewn tea bags for loose teas, magical “Drink Me”colored champagne bottles, edible flower ice cubes, homemade cake/sandwich stands, and more.

An all-white base for tablecloths, napkins, flower and candles ensured that the colors really popped from mismatched tea cups, teapots, rabbits feet, “Drink Me” bottles — and of course the yummy food and “leaded” and “unleaded” teas.

Each guest’s placesetting had a handmade Shrinky Dink rabbit’s foot napkin ring that converted into a keychain favor. I’ll post the free DIY instructions and templates soon.

On the menu was a variety of proper tasty tea sandwiches (taken in the candlelight so sorry the photo is so dark): Fancy Almond Butter & Blueberry Jam, Carrot Ginger, Chicken Curry, Traditional Cucumber, Egg Salad, Pear & Stilton and Smoked Salmon & Wasabi. We cut them into triangles, squares, long rectangles, hearts and circles and lit up the evening buffet with dozens of tealight candles.

Using children’s alphabet cookies, we spelled Alice-inspired phrases on serving plates including Eat Me, Pretty, Hearts, Rabbit, and Sassy.

We created cheap and chic makeshift homemade risers on the fly for the sandwiches by spontaneously combining Heather’s own collection of vintage tins with her delicate bone china plates (again, taken in the candlelight so sorry the photos are so dark).

Every hostess needs to save time, so we “outsourced” our desserts to my neighborhood Alliance Bakery including bite-sized fresh fruit tarts, key lime tart, iced chocolate cookies, and hazelnut and pistachio thumbprint cookies.

We pooled all our “leaded” and “unleaded” loose and bagged teas and all types of sweeteners…

…and made handmade tea bags for loose tea from fabric remnants from my living room curtains and Heather’s handmade tea labels with the UCSC logo on the front. Follow the free teabag instructions to make your own for favors or gifts.

“Magical” Drink Me bottles filled with champagne, sugar cubes and food coloring in recycled bottles provided adult breaks from the teas.

And the dazzling Alex Pruner hosted a super fun tea party game we made up based on her vintage feminist-slash-manners book crossed with a household favorite board game, Wise and Otherwise. The winner received this soy tea cup candle made by local Chicago crafter Marcie at Something Beautiful.

Like this nighttime tea party theme? Check out the free DIY templates for Shrinky Dink rabbit’s foot napkin holders that convert into keychain favors and lovely handsewn tea bags for loose teas …instructions for fancy tea sandwiches, “Drink Me” bottles of brightly colored champagne and edible fresh flower ice cubes to come soon. In the meantime, see more party photos at Inspired by Everything’s post and Flickr album.

Holy smokes! This invitation by Nick and Nikki Lo Bue is one of the most amazing wedding invitations I’ve ever seen.

Nick and Nikki had a charming story behind their relationship which inspired them to make this stunning book as their wedding invitation. Making the wedding book gave the couple a fabulous opportunity to tell their story to friends and family as well as give guests a cute keepsake.

They asked a dear friend who also happened to be a copywriter to write their story and worked closely with their friend Stacey Stern at Steracle Press to help bring their wedding book concept to reality.

Nick’s friend Jeff Carlson drew the super cute color illustrations such as the couple’s daily Starbucks runs at work where they met, the home-y Chicago skyline, and more.

The wedding book begins with the story of how Nick and Nikki met at a Chicago design firm, followed by the unique story behind their relationship including daily Starbucks runs and a move for one to Austin and back, and Nick’s proposal, ending with the formal wedding invitation/details.

Nikki included a perforated and stamped RSVP postcard at the end of the book for guests to tear out and mail.

Wherever possible, Nikki used archival paper/elements to create the book to ensure that it will last a long time without yellowing or showing signs of age. Suppliers are listed later in this post.

Not only did Nikki make the invitations but also the lovely letterpressed fabric book jackets, mailing labels, belly bands around the boxes as well as the ‘nikki & nick’ tags on the cloth drawstring book bags.

Nikki has kindly documented free step-by-step DIY instructions and supply lists after the jump. We request that if you use this idea or instructions, please post a comment below. Enjoy making your very own smythe sewn book!

NOTE: The instructions that follow are not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, graphic designer Nikki is available to provide her services to you. Feel free to contact Nikki at Caliente Creative. Lucky you!

How to Make Book Pages

• 8.5”x11” sheets of paper for book pages (we used Crane’s pearl white wove unwatermarked paper, which is an archival sheet and ordered it through Lewis Paper)

Use a page layout program to design/layout your book pages; a page layout program such as Adobe InDesign or QuarkXpress would be best, but Microsoft Word could work if you do not have access to a page layout program. Layout your book pages in reader’s spreads in landscape format, knowing that the finished size of each page will be 5.5”high x 4.25”wide when the page is folded. Allow 1.125” margins on the right and left edges of your document (you will need the extra width when the pages are folded and stitched so that the content of your book is far enough away from the spine). Allow at least .375” margins on either side of the center of your document. A good margin to use for the top and bottom is .75” or 1”.

After you have completed your layout for your book, you will need to imposition your document pages, meaning you will sequentially reorder the pages by shifting each page one page to the left in your document (so your document pages will no longer be in readers spreads, but once you fold the printed pages and put them in sequential order, they will be in readers spreads once again). After you have prepped the pages, you may want to print out a copy of your book and make a dummy to make sure all of your pages are appearing in the correct order.

Once you have imposed your document and prepped it for printing, you can print the book pages yourself if you have the capability, or have someone else print them for you.

Fold your printed pages in half to be 5.5”high x 4.25”wide. To make a really crisp edge, press a Teflon Bone Folder along the folded edge. Sequentially order your folded book pages and set them aside.

How to Make Letterpressed Front and Back Book Covers
Choose a cover weight paper for the front and back covers of your book, and create your design. You can print the covers yourself if you have the capability, or you can send them out to be printed by someone else. We designed our front and back book covers and had them letterpressed on Crane’s Lettra Pearl White 110# Cover stock, which was an archival paper made specifically for letterpress printing; it also matched the paper stock we used for the pages of our book.

If you choose to have your book smythe-sewn, check with your binder to find out what size they would like to covers to be – they will likely want them to be larger than what the finished size of the book will be, because they will line up the pages of the book and trim off any excess so that the finished edges of the book pages will all be flush. Our book covers were 4.375” wide x 5.75” high before sending them out to be smythe sewn and trimmed.

If you will not be having your books smythe sewn, you can make the document size for the covers to be the finished size of the books – 5.5”high x 4.25”wide.

Once you have your front and back covers, you can send them out along with your book pages to be bound.

Optional: Make perforated RSVP card
Since our books were also our wedding invitation, we included a perforated and stamped rsvp postcard at the end of the book, which our guests could tear out and send to us. The front of the postcard asked the usual rsvp info (name, how many guests would be attending, meal choice, etc.), and on the backside we included an area where the guests could write us a note if they wanted to.

We had our rsvp card letterpressed printed, and so our letterpress printer perforated the cards for us after they were printed. We worked with our smythe sew binder to determine what the size of the card should be, and how far away the perforation needed to be from the spine. Our rsvp cards were 4.375” wide x 5.75” high before sending them out to be smythe sewn and trimmed, and were perforated .75” away from edge of spine on the long side of the book (the 5.75” side). The cards were letterpressed on the same paper stock as our front and back book covers, using the same ink colors.

Smythe sewn book binding
If you have a really thin book you could probably try and stitch it yourself by hand or on a machine. If you have a thick book like we did, you will need to send out your book components to be professionally bound. Research book binders in your area to find a vendor who can smythe sew (stitch bind) the books. It may help to go through a printer – chances are they will have the capability to bind books in-house or will have a trusted vendor that they use. Ask the binder to see some thread samples so that you can decide which color you would like to use. They can also advise you on various details such as how far away the stitching will be from the spine, and how far apart each stitch will be. When you have all the book components ready (front covers, back covers and interior pages), you can send the components out to be Smyth sewn and trimmed. Check with your binder first to find out how they would like to receive the book components – if they have the capability to trim the books after they have been sewn, they will most likely prefer the covers and interior pages not to be trimmed to size because they will do it themselves, which will affect the size of all the book components.

How to Make Letterpressed Fabric Book Jackets
What lovely green fabric book jackets covered the books.

Supplies:

• Good iron like Rowenta
• X-Acto knife
• Pencil
• Large cutting mat
• Ruler
• Teflon Bone Folder
• Wax paper sheets
• Book fabric (Rainbow Ecological Fiber – we used Rainbow Brillianta 4250 Lime, which came in a 52.5” yard roll)
• Oversized text weight paper (we used 26” x 20” sheets of solid paper from Paper Source)
• Fusion 4000 acid free adhesive (comes on a 40.5″ x 30” yard roll from Talas)

Turn on your iron to the heat setting specified in the directions that came with the Fusion 4000. Using a pencil, ruler and an exacto knife, trim the book fabric and Fusion 4000 into 26” x 20” sheets to match the size of the Paper.

Next step is to iron the book fabric, Fusion 4000, and paper together; heating the Fusion 4000 activates the adhesive, which will seamlessly fuse the book fabric and paper to make your jacket. For the best results, follow the instructions that came with the Fusion 4000 and do some test runs until you get the hang of the method. If you would like to have a design letterpressed onto your book jackets, it would be a good idea to save some of your imperfect jackets so you can give the samples to your printer. They can use the jacket samples to do some test prints to make sure the printing process will produce desirable results.

The order of the layers should go (from top to bottom): 1 large sheet of wax paper, book fabric, Fusion 4000, paper. Place your iron on top of the stacked elements and quickly and thoroughly iron all areas of the sheet, moving the wax paper with you as you iron (using the sheet of wax paper will allow you to move the iron more freely over the element, while protecting the elements from being burned by the iron, or having any of the Fusion 4000 adhesive accidentally getting onto your iron).

When you are finished ironing, let the jacket cool and then use magazines or books to weight it and keep it flat – this will help prevent warping and curling.

If you are not going to have a design printed on your jacket, you can trim the jackets down to their final size with an exacto knife, ruler, and a cutting mat. Be sure to use a sharp exacto knife blade when you are trimming; using a dull blade will cause the fabric to fray as you trim. The final size of your book jacket will depend on the height width, and thickness of the finished size of your book. To determine what the (flat) length of your jacket should be, add the width of the front and back covers to the width of the spine, then add 1/8”. Try making a test jacket and fitting it on the book first to be sure it will fit before trimming down all the rest of your jackets.

Place the fabric side of the jacket face up, and measure the width of your book. Then, in the center of your jacket, lightly mark the width of the spine at the top and bottom of the jacket with a very sharp pencil. It may help to center the spine of your book face down in the center of the jacket and use that as a guide to place your marks. After you have marked the width of the book spine, work your way out to mark the next set of score marks, which should be the width of the book cover +1/16”. Take that measurement and mark the width on either side of your spine marks (these are the score marks that will enable the jacket to wrap around the front and back covers of the book). After you have finished making your marks, line a ruler up to the corresponding marks at the top and bottom edges; and, with the end of the Teflon folder (whichever end you feel most comfortable using) press a line into the jacket.

Optional – printing:
If you choose to have a design printed on your jackets, you will need to do a little research and find a printer (I recommend using a letterpress printer) who has the ability to print on the book fabric you would like to use. Once you find a printer, you can work with your printer to find out what size the book jacket sheets need to be before they can be printed on – sizes will vary depending on the size of their letterpress.

Layout the design for your book jacket, and include crop marks to indicate the final (flat) trim size of the book jacket. If possible, ask you printer if you can approve a print so that you can know what to expect to see in the final product,

Once you receive the printed jackets back from the printer all that will be left to do is to score, fold, and wrap them around your book.

Optional finishing touches…

Boxes, bags and padding
A nice way to protect and contain your book is to place it in an appropriate-sized fabric drawstring bag (you may want to iron the bag first to remove any wrinkles).

Supplies:

• 5” x 7” cloth drawstring bags from PackCo
• 7” x 5.5” x 1” kraft jewelry boxes from Uline
• Peat Moss, crinkle paper, or tissue paper for padding

If you are going to mail your book or give it someone as a gift, you can place the book into a lined box (such as 7” x 5.5” x 1” kraft jewelry boxes from Uline). Unless the book fits snugly in the box, you will need to use a material to pad the box to protect the book from moving around and potentially damaging the book. A few ideas for padding are: peat moss, crinkle paper, and tissue paper. Line the box with your desired material, place the book in the box and close the lid.

Tags
As a finishing touch on the bags, you can tie a personalized tag onto the end of one of the drawstrings of the bag.

Supplies:

• Good iron like Rowenta
• X-Acto knife
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Large cutting mat
• 1/8” round hole punch
• Paper to print the tags yourself, or a design file with crop marks (to indicate final tag size) to have someone else print them for you

We designed 3”high x.75”wide tags to tie onto our bags. The tags were letterpressed with our names and wedding date, using the same paper stock and ink colors as our letterpressed book covers. Personalize your tags with your desired design and then either print them yourself or have someone else print them for you. Once you have your printed tags, use a cutting mat, exacto knife and a ruler to trim them down to size (be sure to include crop marks in the print file so that you can use them as your guides).

After the tags are trimmed, use a 1/8” round hole punch to punch the tops and turn them into tags. Loop one of the drawstrings on the bag through your tag, tying a knot at the end of the string so that the tag will not fall off. Place your book inside the bag, cinch the top closed, and tie the drawstrings into a bow.

Belly Bands for your boxes
For a finished look you can apply a bellyband and a label to the box to firmly secure the lid.

Supplies:

• 26” x 20” sheets of solid text weight paper from Paper Source
• X-Acto knife
• Pencil
• Large cutting mat
• Ruler

To create the double-banded belly bands, use two complimentary sheets of oversized text weight paper (we bought two colors of 26” x 20” sheets from Paper Source, but you can use any paper you want as long as the paper will be long enough to allow you to wrap it around your desired box with a little bit of overlap where the ends meet).

Decide which color you would like to use for the top of the bellyband, and which color you will use on the bottom. Using a ruler, exacto knife and cutting mat, trim the paper you would like top use as the bottom of the bellyband into 4.25”wide x 14”long strips. Trim your other paper stock into 3.5”wide x 14”long strips. Center the top strip on the bottom strip and use a glue stick to glue the top strip to the bottom strip to create your double-banded belly band.

Put your bellyband face down on a flat surface, and place your box right side up and centered within the middle of the bellyband. Loosely wrap the bellyband up and around the edges of the box – the ends should meet as close as possible in the center of the top lid of the box. Once you like the placement of the bellyband, use a glue stick to apply some glue to the bottom area of the box where the bellyband will fall and press down firmly so that the bellyband and box stick together. Tightly fold the edges of the belly band up and around the top lid of the box, using a glue stick to glue the ends of the strips where they overlap (you can also use a small piece of clear tape to hold the bellyband in place). If you are applying a mailing label, apply your label to the top of the box and over the bellyband, covering up the seam where the bellyband ends meet. Press firmly to secure the label to the bellyband and the top of the box.

Mailing labels

• 8.5” x 11” label stock sheets (you can get this from almost any office supply store)
• X-Acto knife
• Pencil
• Large cutting mat
• Ruler
• Rounded corner punch

We created 5.3” x 2.625” labels to use on our bellybands and boxes, but you can create your own custom mailing labels by using 8.5”x11” label stock and trimming the labels down to your desired size. To make your own oversized labels, find some 8.5” x 11” full sheet label stock that you can run through your printer, or stock that your desired printer can print on. Determine the size you would like the labels to be, create your design (with crop marks) and then print your design onto the labels (if applicable, include name and/or mailing address if you do not want to handwrite it). Once printed, trim the labels along the crop marks using a ruler, an exacto knife and a cutting mat. You can leave the label edges square or use a rounded corner punch to round each of the corners of the label. After you are finished trimming, peel off the label backs and apply the labels to the top of the bellyband and box.

Resources
Letterpress printer:
Stacey Stern at Steracle Press in Chicago, IL or stacey[AT]steracle[DOT]com

Smyth sewn book binder:
Greden, located in (suburbs?) Chicago IL

Heat-activated adhesive sheets to fuse book fabric and paper together:
Fusion 4000 (40.5″ x 30 yard roll) from Talas

Book Fabric:
Rainbow Ecological Fibers – http://www.ecofibers.com
We used Rainbow Brillianta 4250 Lime, which came in a 52.5” yard roll

Archival paper for book pages:
8.5” x 11” sheets of pearl white Crane’s wove unwatermarked paper, ordered through Lewis Paper

Paper for belly bands and interior of book jackets:
26” x 20” sheets of solid paper from Paper Source

Boxes:
7” x 5.5” x 1” kraft jewelry boxes from Uline

Peat Moss for padding the boxes:
Can be purchased through a florist (it usually comes by the box)

Labels:
8.5” x 11” full sheet label stock (you can get this from almost any office supply store)
Rounded corner punch (you can get this from almost any fabric/craft store)

Cloth drawstring bags:
5” x 7” cloth bags from PackCo

Anyone who works in the Fulton Market area on a windy day can attest that Chicago’s long standing candy and chocolate history is still thriving. For his sister’s recent Chicago weekend visit Joseph Dombroski planned a sweet creative activity: a self-guided tasting tour of top downtown Chicago chocolate emporiums.

Supplies:

• Free chocolate scorecard template (rate by appearance, taste and texture)
• Roughly $30 per person for a taste at each place
• Something salty or savory to snack on when tastebuds need a break
• Bottled water
• Walking shoes

Print copies of the free chocolate scorecard template and choose places to visit. Joseph created a downtown tour but there are many small neighborhood venues to consider as well (Coco Rouge being one of my personal craves).

With the exception of Blommer’s it’s a fairly short walk between the places listed below (Prefer to outsource? Chicago Chocolate Tours provides guided tours for individuals and groups).

Blommer’s, 600 W Kinzie
Leonidas, 231 S La Salle
Hannah’s Bretzel, 180 W Washington
Macy’s (for Frango’s), 111 N State (lower level cash registers)
Fannie May, 343 N Michigan
Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge, 520 N Michigan (1st floor)
Vosges, 520 N Michigan (2nd floor)
Teuscher, 900 N Michigan (5th floor)

Once at a location select your chocolates, nibble and rate your finds. Colorful commentary from Joseph’s tasting highlights and low points after the break.

Places Joseph and his sister visited

• Blommer’s, 600 W Kinzie
  • Had samples in small buckets
  • Good for bulk chocolates or chocolate-covered treats
  • Chocolate-covered cookie dough balls (doesn’t taste like cookie dough immediately)
  • Toffee-dusted pretzels (only a slight hint of Toffee), chocolate is decent
• Leonidas, 231 S La Salle
  • Casaleo: delicious, nutty flavor; soft chocolate praline inside; similar to Kinderjoy
  • Delice: like a gourmet Almond Joy with smoothness that sticks to your teeth
  • Irresistible White: good white chocolate, but strawberry cream is somewhat overpowering
• Hannah’s Bretzel, 180 W Washington
  • Chocolate-covered graham crackers have a hint of honey
• Sweet Factory, 100 W Randolph
  • Not worth visiting again
  • Chocolate-covered raspberry gummy bears taste just like they smell—bad
• Macy’s (for Frango’s), 111 N State (lower level cash registers)
• Fannie May, 343 N Michigan
  • Toffee Bark is good for nibbling
• Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge, 520 N Michigan (1st floor)
  • Cool place to relax after walking around downtown
  • Tea-flavored chocolates are a specialty
  • Chai spice was wonderful wintry warmness with a cooler inside bite
• Vosges, 520 N Michigan (2nd floor)
  • Friendly service: small glass plates for in-store tasting (asked if we wanted them for here or to-go)
  • Barcelona Bar has hickory smoked almonds that add a bit of savory
  • Saffron pralines have spiced endnotes, but the sugar crystals are what sets the texture of this chocolate apart
• Teuscher, 900 N Michigan (5th floor)
  • Friendly service
  • Champagne truffles are unique and light

Places not visited, but considered

• Hershey’s, 822 N Michigan
• Ghirardelli, 830 N Michian
• Lindt, 845 N Michigan
• Godiva, 845 N Michigan

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be at Chicago’s Renegade Craft Fair on September 13-14, 2008.

“Craft and pass it on” is the new MerrimentDesign.com motto that came to me while I was trying to describe the purpose of the site to my friend Renee. Merriment is all about creating things for special occasions and everyday. It’s about commenting and sharing new ideas and instructions with each other. It’s about building a supportive crafting community.

I’ll be featuring chalkboard pillows and applique onesies at my booth that you can either make for free or buy from me. And I’ll be passing out these cute buttons designed by YanYan Zhang.

Site visitors who add comments to the site or email me ideas in the months of September and October are eligible to win a $40 Joann Fabrics gift certificate from Merriment.

I’m historically not very good about asking for help and getting ready for Renegade has been a ton of work. So I’d like to send a special thank you to Renee Schultz, YanYan Zhang, Susan Curtis, Brenda Strong, Krista Beymer, Liz Meitus, Jen Martensen, Tamara Bohorquez, Debbie Hawickhorst, Heather Crosby and of course Shane. The fair is coming up soon and I’m excited to meet people and promote crafting. Pass it on!