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Merriment Design

DIY projects, crafts, free sewing patterns and printables that look handmade, not homemade

Home / About Merriment Design

About Merriment Design

About Kathy Beymer of Merriment Design
Welcome, friends!

I’m Kathy of Merriment Design: Maker of things and Chicago mom. I like helping people make simple and clever DIY craft projects that look handmade, not homemade.

I’ve collaborated with lots of great brands and appeared in popular DIY books, magazines, and publications. My crafts are featured at DIY Network, HGTV, Rachael Ray Everyday Magazine, design*sponge, Apartment Therapy, Kitchn, Cool Mom Picks, Huff Post, Make:, CountrySampler Magazine, Red Tricycle, Daily Candy Kids, Style Me Pretty, Parents, JOANN Fabric & Craft Stores, lifehacker, WeTV’s “Amazing Wedding Cakes” reality episode for Cakegirls, The Knot Magazine, Time Out Magazine, and more. Merriment Design was named one of the Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs by Babble.com and 10 Crafty Chicago Moms You Need To Know by Red Tricycle.

Top brands collaborations include VELCRO® Brand, Disney, Martha Stewart Crafts, HP, LEGO, Elmer’s, Plaid (Mod Podge), minted, Procter & Gamble, Michael’s, Keebler, AirWick, WBEZ 91.5 Chicago, and ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers.

Book contributions include Washi Tape Crafts, Little One-Yard Wonders, Wedding Planning Made Easy, and the 2010 Sewing Day-To-Day Desk Calendar.

My crafts appear on retail packaging for VELCRO® Brand products sold nationwide at stores including Target, Jo-Ann, Home Depot, Michael’s, and Amazon.

See My Portfolio

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Here are five things about me and Merriment Design:

1. My motto is handmade, not homemade.
I try my best to help people make things that look handmade, not homemade. It’s a subtle but important difference. Handmade things are more special.

2. I like making All The Things.
Since my old 4-H days I’ve always liked making a variety of things from cookies to clothes, embroidery to Shrinky Dinks, Mod Podge to latch hook. My top projects are sewing projects, printables, birthdays & parties, DIY gifts and easy cakes. Here are some of my very favorite DIY projects:

    • Watercolor Paint Box Halloween Costume for DIY Network
    • Kid’s pillowcase with a secret pocket for nighttime treasures
    • Mermaid cake for Elise’s 9th birthday
    • Felt no-sew flower bracelets (and easy Halloween bracelets, I have a thing for bracelets)
    • Spiderweb trick-or-treat bowls for Halloween candy for Martha Stewart Crafts
    • Festive holiday cookie lid decoration for VELCRO® Brand
    • Geometric dinosaur birthday party for ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers
    • Winnie The Pooh and friends printable popcorn boxes for Disney

3. I’m a city girl with a country core.
My design aesthetic mixes my small-town roots with big city inspirations. I grew up in Indiana, went to design school in Sydney, Australia on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, and built an international career in digital user experience strategy and design for clients like United Airlines and Craftsman. I’ve lived in Chicago for the past 20 or so years, and my kids and husband and I live in a condo building with a skyline view.

4. I like to combine materials in playful, unexpected ways.
I have a knack for creating clever crafts that combine materials in unexpected, special ways. I’ll think, what can I do with this roll of VELCRO® Brand fasteners or this egg carton or extra chopsticks or whatever? Most of my ideas come from need and my projects have a purpose. I’m not really one for knickknacks — that’s just too much stuff.

5. My kids inspire my best DIYs.
Most of my best DIYs are for my kids. My daughter Elise is my best girl and frequent crafting assistant. Liam is my smiley daredevil bull-in-a-china-shop who likes to draw with his momma. I sell personalized birthday printables from my kid’s parties and other goodies at my Etsy shop. I love my family to bits.

Elise, Liam and Monkey

I started Merriment Design after The Knot Magazine printed a two-page national spread about our handmade wedding including my sewn fabric invitations, sewn programs, bathroom guest towels, bridesmaid’s handbags, and table numbers. I decided to start sharing crafts as a nighttime creative outlet from my day job.

Kathy and Shane at A New Leaf, Chicago, IL :: Photograph by Pen Carlson

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Come chat with me – you can find me most often on Pinterest and Instagram these days. Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Pinterest  |  Instagram  | Facebook
Etsy shop  |  Zazzle store

Kathy Beymer from Merriment Design
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Visit my etsy store

  • Ashlee Taylor, etsy purchaserAshlee Taylor, etsy purchaserPhoto Props Editable Sayings Bubbles and Ages Printable

    "Great deal! I was able to custom it and when I had any question, she responded instantly to my messages. You can also use the print outs for other things like the photo booth characters, which is just the cutest idea ever! I highly recommend this shop!"

  • Shannie Lou, etsy purchaserShannie Lou, etsy purchaserPersonalized Frozen-inspired Snowflake Birthday Banner printable

    "Easy to personalize and wonderful crisp image"

  • Melissa Rassi, etsy purchaserMelissa Rassi, etsy purchaserStar Wars Parody Opening Crawl Stair Risers Signs

    "This item is so clever! I knew I had to have it for my son's Star Wars birthday party. The download was simple and easy to modify with my own text changes. The instructions on how to get it printed at FedEx Office were easy to follow. Thank you so much for this great item! Easiest party decoration I ever made!"

  • Monica Mora-Handlos, etsy purchaserMonica Mora-Handlos, etsy purchaserPrintable Super Hero birthday banner and iron-on

    "This was just what I needed to make a superhero shirt for my husband's birthday party. He loved it!! Thanks for the great digital file!"

  • Emma Wilson, etsy purchaserEmma Wilson, etsy purchaserpersonalized construction t-shirt iron on printable PDF

    "Thrilled to bits with my boys personalised birthday party t-shirt! Fantastic design and very clear instructions, thank you."

  • Jen White, etsy purchaserJen White, etsy purchaserpurchased personalized milestone postcards

    "I don't think there is a nicer person in the world to work with! Such a beautiful job and everything explained in detail! Thank you!"

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xo Kathy
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