One yarn that caught my eye recently was the Bernat Velvet yarn. I used it to make a two different projects, a Christmas stocking and scrunchies.
Bernat Velvet Yarn Review
Author: Jamie
I'm the owner and founder of CraftEaze. I took three of my favorite things (crafts, Netflix, and wine) to develop this site.
Advent Wine Calendar 2019 – Part 1
It’s that time of year again where everyone is getting ready for Christmas. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by finding gifts for your friends and family members, decorating your house, and planning holiday parties. But it is so important to find a way to remember to do something for yourself during this busy time. One way that you can do this is by having an Advent calendar. My personal favorite as an adult is a wine Advent calendar.
9 Blanket Patterns To Make This Weekend
Last night clocks fell backward as Daylights Saving Time came to an end. My favorite way to keep warm in the winter is working on a new blanket.
Hogwarts Inspired Infinity Scarf – Free Crochet Pattern
Disclosure: CraftEaze is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Fall is just around the corner. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, there is football, apple cider, bonfires, and boot and scarf season officially begins! This scarf is perfect for the fall season!
This scarf is inspired by the Hogwarts Houses in Harry Potter. It can be made in a weekend easily for a Halloween costume. This scarf uses a primrose stitch. This video gives a short overview of how to make this stitch. I think it gives this scarf a feminine touch and also makes it a little different from the other Hogwarts inspired scarves so you can wear it all fall and winter long.
You can find a printer-friendly version of this pattern here. We also have kits for sale for this project. You can select your favorite house or take a chance with our magic sorting hat option.
Just as a reminder, here are the Hogwarts house colors.
- Gryffindor – Red and Gold
- Slytherin – Green and Grey
- Hufflepuff – Gold and Black
- Ravenclaw (Movie): Navy and Grey
- Ravenclaw (Book): Navy and Bronze
Materials
- 1 skein Caron Simply Soft Yarn- Primary Color
- 1 skein Caron Simply Soft Yarn – Secondary Color
- I-9 US (5.50 mm) Crochet Hook
Stitches Used
- Chain – ch
- Single Crochet – sc
- Half Double Crochet – hdc
- Double Crochet – dc
Pattern
Chain 29 using the primary color.
Row 1: Work [1 sc, 2 ch, 1sc] in 3rd chain from hook. *skip next 2 chains, [1 sc, 2 ch, 1 sc] in next chain. * repeat across ending with 1 hdc in last ch. Turn. (9 sc 2 spaces).
Row 2: Ch 3, *3 dc in the next ch 2 space* . Repeat across ending with 1dc in the top of the turning chain. Turn. (9 shells of 3 dc).
Row 3: Ch 2 (counts as the first hdc). *[1 sc, 2 ch, 1 sc] in the 2nd dc of the next shell (middle dc of the shell)*. Repeat across ending with 1 hdc in top of the turning ch. Turn.
Rows 4-17. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the secondary color.
Rows 18-33. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the primary color.
Rows 34-49. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the secondary color.
Rows 50-65. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the primary color.
Rows 66-81. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the secondary color.
Rows 82-97. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the primary color.
Rows 98-113. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the secondary color.
Rows 114-129. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the primary color.
Rows 130-145. Repeat rows 2-3.
Change to the secondary color.
Rows 146-161. Repeat rows 2-3.
There should be 5 primary color sections and 5 secondary color sections. You will join the top and bottom to form an infinity scarf using a needle. Fasten off.
Hope you enjoy making your own Hogwarts inspired infinity scarf! What House did you choose?
Movie Review – Always Be My Maybe
If you have been reading the CraftEaze blog for a while, you probably have noticed I have a soft spot for Netflix movies. Earlier this summer Netflix came out with a new movie that I thought was great. This movie was “Always Be My Maybe”
DIY Bride – Welcome Bags
Disclosure: CraftEaze is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites.
Welcome bags are a nice treat for your out of town wedding guests. Since my husband and I got married in the city we currently live in, almost all of our guest were from out of town. Some of our friends that lived around here also stayed at the hotel that night so they could go out with us after the reception. Welcome bags are appreciated in both cases, especially if you add bottles of water and snacks!
My mom, sister, grandma, and I made the welcome bags during the week prior to the wedding. We even formed somewhat of a convary line to do it (my sister and I are both engineers). They were a lot of fun to put together.
I made a couple of insert for the welcome bag in Microsoft Publisher. Each insert had a different purpose. The first one had a “welcome note” with a timeline of events on the front and a direction/map from the hotel to the church on the back. The second insert was really more for the out of town guests. One side contained a few of our favorite places to eat and drink. The other side contained a list of things to do in the area.
Bottles of water and food are also great for welcome bags. Avery labels actually make a water bottle label. I used them to make personalized water bottles for welcome bags. They were super easy to use and Avery has many templates that you can use as a starting point. All you have to do is modify the template and it saves it as a PDF. I highly recommend these labels. You can also use them for fundraisers, family reunions, or even events at your child’s school.
We included several food items in the bags. We want to provide both sweet and salty items along with something related to the area. Other items are related to my husband and me. Below is a list of items we included
- Bag of Pretzels
- Harry London Buckeye – Since we live in the Buckeye State and I love buckeye candies!
- Twizzlers – My husband’s favorite road trip candy.
- Slim Jim’s Snack Stick
- Peppermint Lifesavers
We also included a fun tag on the bag. The tag had a cutout of the state of Ohio in the middle. This tag said, “Welcome – Canton, OH” along with our names and wedding date. My sister was excited because it was another chance to use the Cricut for a wedding project. The final addition to the bag was a custom door hanging. I created this door hanging in Microsoft Publisher. This was one of my favorite wedding projects. I received many compliments about how cool this door hanging was.
To complete the bags, we put all of the items in a small brown paper gift bag that had different designs in cream on them. We added the tag to the handle using a piece of purple or mint ribbon. We also fluffed some light purple and blue tissue paper on top to complete the bag. And just like that, the bags were ready to go to the front desk at the hotel.
If you liked this tutorial, be sure to check out some of our other wedding related tutorials.
Peace, Love, and Crafts ~ Jamie
La Vieille Ferme Rosé Wine Review
Some links posted below may be affiliate links which means I’ll earn a tiny commission if you purchase through them.
Rosé is a wine that is very drinkable in the summer. I think it is because it is great to drink chilled. It is the perfect wine to drink while laying by a pool. Can’t you imagine an extremely attractive man bringing you a glass of rose while reading the latest summer fiction bestseller laying by the pool? I sure can.
This rosé is no exception. I was drawn to this particular bottle tonight because of the chickens on the label. When a bottle has a fun label, I am always willing to try it. I purchased it at my local grocery store, but according to Google, you may be able to buy it at Target. So next time you are roaming around Target, check out the wine section to see if they have this wine! You can also purchase a bottle of this wine from wine.com.
I enjoyed this wine. It had a strawberry flavor and was very drinkable. It was a little on the dryer side, but I think it would pair well with chickens or a Caprese salad. When I think of a poolside cabana, this is the type of wine I imagine that I am drinking. However, tonight I drank a glass in my stemless wine glass while watching an old episode of Greek. There is no pool nearby, but I hear there is a lot of flooding going on since it won’t stop raining!
If you found this wine review helpful, you should check out our other wine reviews:
- Prophecy Rosé
- Winking Owl Moscato
- Bartenura Moscato
- Middle Sister Moscato
- California Roots Moscato
- Von Wilhelm Haus Riesling Spätlese
- Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling
- Our Advent Calendar Wine Special Series
Crafts, Wine, and Happiness!
DIY Bride Takes on Wedding Place Cards
Disclosure: CraftEaze is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites.
So life has been crazy for the last few months! But I really have a good excuse, I got married! So the few months leading up to the wedding I didn’t really have time to put towards CraftEaze. Also, I was working on some cool projects during this time period, but I didn’t really want to post on Facebook or Instagram so my friends and family would be surprised when they saw everything at the reception.
However, the wedding is over and the thank you notes are in process. So that means I have time for CraftEaze again and also I can share the different projects I worked on for the wedding. We made a lot of decorations for the wedding/reception. My husband even designed a coozie that pretty much described the wedding planning process for us. Today, I am going to write about a project I enjoyed making and am excited to share with you all!
So for my wedding place cards, I knew I wanted to use wine corks. I had been saving corks for almost 2 years for a special project, and this seemed like the perfect project. But I didn’t really want them to look like every other wine cork escort card. After researching how to cut a cork, I became a little overwhelmed by how long it would take to cut all of the corks. So I came up with another way. The following instructions document the process that I came up with.
Materials Needed
- Spray Paint In Accent Color Of Your Choice – I used light purple.
- Poker Chips – I like these because they are on the thicker side and as a result a little more stable.
- Wine Corks – You can either buy wine corks from Amazon or another craft supplier or you can save them. My husband is convinced the wedding was just an excuse for me to drink wine.
- Floral Wire
- Wire Cutters
- Hot Glue Gun With Glue Sticks
- Card Stock In Accent Color– I used teal.
- Cream Card Stock – You will want this card stock to be a size that can fit in your printer.
Instructions
Step 1. Lay out the poker chips.
Step 2. Spray paint the poker chips.
Step 3. Let the poker chips dry. I spray painted my chips in the yard and then left them to dry under my covered front porch for a night.
Step 4. Using the hot glue gun, glue the cork to the painted poker chip. Since I had corks from a variety of different wineries, I tried to glue them so the name of the winery or design was easily displayed.
Step 5. While you are waiting on the hot glue to dry, you will form the wire loop which will hold the card. Cut the wire to be ~7″ in length. After cutting the wire, you will form a loop on one end. I found making 3 loops works the best.
Step 6. Using a needle poke a small hole in the cork. I found this made it easier to put the wire into the cork.
Step 7. After poking a small hole, insert the wire that you had made the loop with. You will put the straight end into the cork.
Step 8. The holders are now complete, and it’s time to start making the actual cards. I made the name cards (which are printed on cream cardstock) in Microsoft Word. In Word, I made a table with 3 columns where each cell had a width of 2.5′ and a height of 0.6″. I typed the names each cell using Lucida Handwriting font 13. My husband also had a few young cousins attending, so I used Kristen ITC font 14 for their cards. I thought this font looked like something a little kid would write.
Step 9. Print the Microsoft Word document on the cream card stock. After printing, you will cut each name card out.
Step 10. Next, I used my Cricut to cut out the accent color portion of the place card. I made a table in Microsoft Word that I snipped and saved. If you are interested, I used the image below for this project. I imported this image to the Cricut Design Space. You will expand this so it will be approximately 12″ wide. You want it to fit on the 12×12 mat.
Step 11. Cut the card using the Cricut. After cutting, you will remove the accent color portion of the place card from the mat.
Step 12. Using a glue stick, glue the cream cardstock name plate to the accent card in the middle. You will want to try to place the cream cardstock in the exact middle of the accent cardstock.
Step 13. Once you have your table assignment complete, you will need to write a table number on the card. I used a purple Sharpie pin to write the table numbers, but you can use any marker of your choice.
Step 14. You can then place the name card on the poker chip wine cork holder using the loops. The image below shows an example.
The place cards are complete! I received many compliments on these place cards. Hope you can use this tutorial for your own wedding escort cards!
If you liked this tutorial, check out our other wedding decor tutorials:
Happy Crafting!
Bartenura Moscato Wine Review
Some links posted below may be affiliate links which means I’ll earn a tiny commission if you purchase through them.
It’s Wednesday night, which means it is wine and craft night! Tonight I am drinking Bartenura Moscato while working on a baby blanket for my Etsy shop. I am using the leftover yarn from my cousin’s baby blanket to make this blanket. I am using the same pattern that I used in the past to make my mom a baby blanket for one of her friend’s daughter’s baby shower.
Bartenura Moscato is a sweet wine from Italy. I am wanting to use wine corks for a project for the wedding, so I have been trying different wines that have a cork to add to my collection. I picked up a bottle at my local Walmart when I dropped by after work today to get new king-size pillows and some other necessities. In the past, I have seen this particular wine at my local grocery store in the past. According to what I read online, you can also find it at Target. If you are not wanting to go to the store, you can buy a bottle from Wine.com.
This wine is very refreshing. I love the bubbles. It makes me feel fancy even though I’m just watching Hulu and drinking wine in my sweatpants. I taste melon and tangerine flavors. I am also thinking that this wine would be great in the summertime. It would be perfect to drink this wine on the front porch reading a book. Or you could take it over to a friend’s house for girls night. I also think this would be a good wine to drink with a dessert.
If you enjoyed this wine review, you should check out our other wine reviews:
- Prophecy Rose
- Middle Sister Moscato
- California Roots Moscato
- Von Wilhelm Haus Riesling Spätlese
- Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling
- Winking Owl Moscato
Hope you have a great wine and craft night!
6 Movies to Watch For A Low Key Friday Night
Disclosure: CraftEaze is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites.
Sometimes it is nice to have a Friday night at home. It could be that you had a long week and you don’t really want to be around a crowd tonight. Sometimes it can be because you aren’t feeling 100%. Other times it can be nice just to hang out with your significant other on the couch relaxing.
Tonight is one of those type of Friday nights for me. I have been battling a nasty cold the second half of this week so I decided to have a laid back night since my fiancé is also out of town. So I have my Yeti 30 oz tumbler full of water, Hulu/Netflix on the TV, and Panera’s tomato soup to help me bounce back to normal.
The following movies are perfect for a low key Friday night. All are currently on Netflix (as of March 15, 2019).
Legally Blonde
So this was actually the movie I watched this afternoon once I got home from work. This movie is the perfect low key Friday night movie because it is lighthearted and you have probably seen it a hundred times. So if you fall asleep during the middle of it, you can easily know what’s going on when you wake up.
I enjoy watching this movie because Elle Woods breaks all sorts of stereotypes. In the beginning, everyone thinks she is just a dumb blonde that decided to go to law school on a whim. As the movie progresses, she grows more sure of herself and proves everyone wrong.
Fyre
Have you heard of the Fyre festival? If you haven’t, here is a quick rundown. Billy McFarland came up with this idea for a music festival on a Carribean island. He used social media and influencers to promote this music festival, but it was all too good to be true. This documentary tells the story of this failed festival from the start to the disastrous end. After you watch this documentary on Netflix, be sure to watch the other Fyre documentary on Hulu. It gives a slightly different perspective.
It Takes Two
Maybe you want to relive a part of your childhood this Friday night. Did you know that It Takes Too is on Netflix?? This is the perfect movie to help remind you of a time when your biggest worry was what to put on your birthday list and a time when Mary-Kate and Ashley were the twins you wish you were friends with.
This movie is about two girls who are identical that switch places. One girl, Alyssa, has a rich dad who is engaged to a terrible lady. The other girl, Amanda, is an orphan. The two girls switch places to stop Ashley’s dad’s wedding. In the process, Ashley’s dad meets Amanda’s caseworker. Will it all work out for the two girls? Will everyone live happily ever after?
National Treasure
National Treasure is a great movie to watch as a family on a Friday night. It may not be historically accurate, but it is fun watching the characters travel through our nation’s capital, Philadelphia, and New York City trying to find a treasure. Be sure to eat some popcorn with this movie.
Dumplin’
Dumplin’ is a Netflix original movie that came out last December. It was aimed more towards teens, but I found it enjoyable. Willowdean is the plus-size daughter of a former beauty queen (Jennifer Aniston). Her mom also happens to be the director of the local pageant. Willowdean feels that her mom doesn’t understand her. She along with a few other outcasts sign up for the pageant. As the movie progresses, Willowdean becomes more confident in herself and the relationship with her mother improves.
This movie is a good movie to watch on a girls night while drinking wine. I like to drink wine out of a stainless wine glass like this. It keeps the wine nice and cold throughout the movie.
Behind the Curve
So this is a documentary that is a little out there. It is about the flat earth conspiracy theory. This documentary talks to some of the most influential people in the movement. There is a guy on this documentary that makes some really cool woodworking projects including a motorcycle made of wood. Now, I just have to clarify that I do not believe in the flat earth conspiracy. I just find the movement fascinating and could see how some people can be convienced that the earth is flat.
If you enjoyed this list, be sure to check out our other movie lists including:
- 7 Movies that are Out of This World
- My 8 Favorite Book to Movies Adaptations
- 7 Movies For A Girls Night In