Thank you Grace for letting me spend the week here! For my last post I
decided to make an ABC birthday card with a PDF you can download and
make yourself.

We have a birthday tradition in our family we’ve been doing since we
were kids. We go around the dinner table and each person takes a letter
of the alphabet, and we say something nice about the birthday girl/boy.
A is for Artistic! B is for the Beautiful! We go around and around the
table until we get to Z (which can be a difficult letter, you have to
get creative). You can mention a favorite memory, or something that
reminds you of that person, but it has to involve your letter.

My family is now scattered across the country. So I thought this ABC
card might be a nice way to keep our tradition going, even when we’re
apart for birthdays. Coming up with 26 things on your own can be tough,
so I only recommend making this card for people you know quite well!

To get started: Download the PDF which includes
all 26 letters. For each card you’ll need seven sheets of cardstock.
Print your cards on a color printer. Cut each page into 4 cards by
following the trim marks. Write one special trait or memory for each
letter. Wrap with ribbon and mail to the birthday boy/girl in a sturdy
envelope. It’s almost as good as being there in person.

Here’s an easy way to wrap gifts that look great but take just a few minutes. First you’ve got to have a few things on hand (I try to keep these stocked at all times): tissue paper in good colors, seam binding (I love the colors at Purlsoho.com), alphabet stencils (available at any office supply store), metal ring tags, candy dots, and rub on letters or alphabet stickers [available in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store].

First wrap your papers in white tissue paper, then a second layer of colored tissue paper (the white tissue makes the colors more vibrant). For the gift on the top left: Pick an alphabet stencil that is the first initial of the recipient, back with white paper and attach it to your gift with double sided tape. Then cut two lengths of seam binding and wrap each around the top and bottom of the stencil, taping the ribbons ends together at the back. For the gift on the top right: Take a metal ring tag and spell the recipients name with small rub down letters (I used these from Martha Stewart Crafts in brown. For the gift on the bottom right: Cut out the first initial of the recipient out
of candy dots (some letters are definitely easier than others, but you can also do numbers!) and attach to the gift with double stick tape. For the gift on the bottom left: Spell out the name of the recipient with small alphabet stickers on a simple white tag (you can also cut your own tag if you don’t have any on hand).

These cards work for adults and children alike, and you can change the color scheme to suit almost any occasion.

Alphabet posters are everywhere, it seems every designer and etsy store is coming out with their own. Though there are a plethora of alphabet posters available, it can still be hard to find simple, beautiful ones. I have taken upon myself the task of sifting through the billions of posters and sharing with you my favorites.

from Enna

from Robin Rosenthal

from Bold & Noble

from Creative Neesh

CLICK HERE for the rest of Brooke’s post after the jump!

read more …

I wasn’t allowed to watch a lot of television when I was a child, but I do remember watching Sesame Street. When I think of the ABC’s, I immediately remember the old stop motion animated clips they used to play on the show. Thanks to You Tube, they are still available. I’ve been playing them for my kids all week and they’re begging for more.

Jazzy style alphabet.

Ray Charles sings the ABC’s.

Dig that crazy alphabet.

A folky version.

The incomparable Patti Labelle.

While working as an art director at Martha Stewart Kids, I became a paper gatherer. Just little bits here and there that we would collect for shoots. All kinds of paper, but I loved writing paper the best. College-ruled paper. Lined paper. School writing paper. Grid paper. Graph paper. You can get a decent collection started just by visiting an office supply store. Explore the reams of paper, index cards, notebooks, lined journals, business ledgers, and memo pads and you’ll be off and running.

Then you can do fun projects like these:

Make speech bubble thank you cards.

Or rocket ship birthday invites.

Or use your paper scraps for a “magical thinking” jar.

Alphabet books come in a wide range of subjects and styles. Book stores and libraries are literally full of these types of books, but it can
still be a challenge to find one you want to take home and keep. I head
for the ones that are simple and well designed, but in this case a
pretty book is not enough, it also needs to teach the alphabet in some
way that clicks with my child. Here are a few that have been favorites
with my kids, Bee and C. (For more of our favorite library books, visit
inchmark)

Bruno Munari’s ABC

How to Build an A by Sara Midda. (This book comes with a mesh bag of
alphabet shapes which you use to build the letters in the book).

CLICK HERE for the rest of Brooke’s post after the jump!

read more …

Hi. I’m Brooke Reynolds from the blog “inchmark” and I’m so happy to be posting here all this week. I’m a graphic designer and art director by trade, so I spend my time designing books, and doing work for great clients when I’m not at the park
with my kids.

My 5 year old son C started kindergarten this Fall and we’ve been spending lots of time sharpening pencils and practicing his handwriting. I love seeing him hunched over his paper, trying to get the letters just right. So I thought this week we could spend some time with our ABC’s. Each day I’ll focus on a different subject, today is all about ABC flashcards. I’m a bit of a sucker for a well designed set of ABC cards, which is why we have about 12 sets. Here are my favorites:

These animal cards hang in my daughter Bee’s room. From eeBoo, illustrated by Melissa
Sweet.

This set was originally designed for Martha By Mail, and I regretted not buying them when the catalog closed its doors. Luckily they were brought back as part of the Martha Stewart Crafts line.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Brooke’s post after the jump!

read more …