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”
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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
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
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:
Crafts, Wine, and Happiness!
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.
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!
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:
Hope you have a great wine and craft 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).
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.
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.
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 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’ 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.
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:
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 I have now reached a point in my life where many of my friends and family members are starting to have babies. So over the past few years, I have made several projects for the expecting mother. This is a list of my 8 favorite handmade gift ideas that you can make for the next baby shower you are invited too.
One of my favorite items to make is college-themed newborn hats. I have a personal Etsy store (not tied to CraftEaze) where I sell these hats. They are probably one of the most popular items in my store. These hats are pretty versatile. They can be used as a photo prop for baby pictures. They also can be worn on game day.
Since I live in Ohio, I know many people who are Ohio State fans. So a perfect baby shower gift for a friend or coworker could be an Ohio State hat along with a set of Buckeye onesies.
Baby blankets are one of my favorite project to make. I like making baby blankets because they are so much faster then blankets for adults. You can also personalize the blanket to match a nursery or an interest of the parents.
I made a Hogwarts inspired chevron baby blanket a while back using this pattern that I sold on Etsy. Each house was represented in this blanket. You can see a picture of this particular blanket at the start of this section.
I made an extra special baby blanket for my friend from college that is a Mizzou fan last year that was tiger stripped. This pattern is fairly easy and has a very cute result. You can also use this pattern to make a zebra stripe blanket for a baby girl.
Maybe you are looking for a quick project to go with your favorite baby book, teething ring, or quilted baby blanket. Burp rags are the perfect project if you know how to sew. This pattern is very easy to understand. You can even use the scraps from a baby blanket to make a couple of
If you have time, a cross stitch/embroidery pre-stamped quilt may be the perfect gift. There are many cute options out there ranging from the alphabet to Noah’s arc to cars and trucks. These kits can take some time to complete, so you may need to start once you hear your friend or family member is expecting.
Another fun thing you can make for a baby shower is a crochet toy. My favorite crochet toy I have ever made is the baby octopus. The pattern I used can be found here. I like it because you can make it fairly fast. The head is also big enough that you insert a rattle noise maker.
Another idea that may take a little while to make is a baby mobile. The baby mobile can be made to match the nursery. I have made a couple of mobile in the past. One was an under the sea mobile that had several different sea animals hanging from the wooden structure. I also made the
If you like to embroider or cross stitch but do not have the time to make a quilt, a couple of baby bibs are the perfect gift. You can find bibs with so many different designs. Two of my favorites are this safari bibs and this frog and turtle bibs.
Another project you can make for a baby shower is a cute wall hanging for the nursery. You can make a wall hanging using a Cricut. There are so many options for these types of wall hangings. You can make one with the baby name listed or one that has an inspirational quote. The instructions on this blog post
I found this show on Netflix during the coldest part of January. It all started when my fiancé and I entered another dreaded Netflix show hole. We had finished Arrested Development and didn’t want to start The Office or Parks and Rec for the hundredth time. It also happened to be freezing and the ground was covered in 6″ of snow. Because it was so cold and snowy, the preview captured my attention right away.
Now this preview looked so warm. Like there was green plants in the preview and even a pool that looked so inviting. So I started the first episode. I was immediately drawn in.
So this is a reality show from Australia. There are ten couples who all rent their houses as Airbnb. They travel all around Australia to visit each other’s houses and they rate their experience. Some of the houses are near the beach, one is in the Australian wine country, and a couple of other houses were inland but had cool experiences.
The ten couples are broken into two groups. The first group of 5 couples travel to each others house and vote on the best house. The second group also consists of 5 couples who vote on the best house in their group. The two winners then compete in a grand finale which consists of two other couples from each group. So the couples who been to the house before can see if they made any changes to improve, which is balanced out with two couple (+ the other winner) who is seeing the house for the first time.
Each episode focus on a house. Each couple also leaves a welcome pack that contains activities in the area. Some of these activities include going to the beach, a crocodile watching trip, wine tasting, and a visit to a sewer treatment plant. Obviously, some activities are more appealing than others.
One of the coolest aspects of the show is that they are actual vacation rentals. Some of the houses have their own websites, others are on Airbnb or Bookings.com. This Distracify post
My favorite couple was the couple whose house was the focus of the first episode. I like how the outdoor area of their house was set up with an awesome pool and seemed very relaxing. My fiancé and I felt like we had the most in common with them and they were fairly kind to the other contestants. Like they would have been a great couple to go on a wine tasting adventure with. You can find their rental here.
There were two houses that really stood out for me. The first was the home in Barossa Valley. It was in the heart of wine country and was decorated in 1950s Americana decor. The second home was a houseboat. A brother and sister own and operate this houseboat. What is really cool is you can request wakeboarding lessons during your stay from the sister. She is a professional wakeboarder. You can also take the houseboat up and down the river during your stay.
Unfortunately, since this is a reality show some of the contestants are a kind of mean toward each other. Some of the couples are more villain like then a friendly travel companion. But this isn’t a huge deal breaker for me since it was so cool seeing a place I have never visited.
I noticed that they are currently working on a second season according to the Australian press. Hopefully, we will be seeing more episodes in the future!
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.
Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it. If you normally go out for Valentine’s Day, but this year you aren’t really feeling the crowds why not make a special dinner for your loved one at home. Or better yet, cook the meal together! This is a list of my favorite 8 romantic dinner ideas that will be perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Surf and turf is the perfect Valentine’s Day meal and this meal is no exception. The ribeye and shrimp can either be grilled outside or cooked in a frying pan (like this one) on the stove. The parmesan sauce is savory and adds a great flavor to the meal. My favorite part about this meal is that it can be made in less than 45 minutes. You can check out the recipe here.
One of my fiancé’s favorite meals is chicken parmesan. It was one of
So this is a meal I make a lot, but it would also be a great Valentine’s Day dinner. This meal is savory and slightly spicy. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can replace the chicken with shrimp. It also only use a handful of dishes, so there isn’t much cleanup. You can find our recipe for Bang Bang Chicken here.
If you are looking for a quick seafood meal to make for Valentine’s Day, then you should make shrimp scampi. This is a Red Lobster shrimp scampi recipe. You can serve the scampi with linguine and a glass of chardonnay. I normally use stemless wine glasses like these so I don’t break the glass when I am washing it. I was anti-stemless wine glasses when my fiancé first bought a set, but now I’m a convert!
One meal I made several times in college was chicken cordon bleu. I made it several times to thank a couple of my friends for being my test audience when I was practicing for presentations. Public speaking is something that I struggle with, so I would have to practice several times. I felt listening to me talk about removing residuals from scrap used for steelmaking deserved a nice dinner.
Chicken cordon bleu is the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner because it looks fancy and difficult to make. Even though it looks like it was difficult to make, it is fairly simple. You can find the recipe here.
Maybe you and your loved one are trying to eat healthier this year. If so, this pecan crusted salmon will be perfect for your Valentine’s Day dinner. It uses pecans as the crust, so it is low carb and perfect for the keto diet. The recipe is also very easy and quick to make. So you will spend less time in the kitchen preparing this meal, and so you can spend more time with your loved one.
Ok, so I know that this isn’t really a meal recipe, but it is perfect for Valentine’s Day. These strawberries could be made with any of the previously mentioned meals as dessert with a glass of champagne. And since it is made of strawberries, they can be considered healthy, right?
So according to my fiancé’s, this is the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner and I have to agree. One of the first years we were dating, we ordered Dominos for Valentine’s Day and watched the newest season of House of Cards (I think it was season 3). What’s great about ordering Dominos is you don’t have to cook, clean, or leave your house!
<3 Jamie
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.
Christmas will be here before you know it, and that means its time to go holiday shopping. I enjoy trying to find gifts for my friends and family members that I know they will love. I like to find everyone on my list a gift that they wouldn’t necessarily buy themselves, but something that they would use. For example, last year I got my mom a pi pie pan that had several digits of pi on the bottom of the pan. I also got my sister and brother-in-law a game to play with their friends on game night or at parties.
In this post, I will go over the 12 perfect gifts for the craft lover in your life. The reason that there are 12 gifts is the 12 days of Christmas. Unlike the 12 days of Christmas, this list consists of zero birds (unless you count amigurumi)!
A yarn bowl is the perfect gift for the crocheter or knitter in your life. This bowl will keep the ball of yarn you are using in a container that also feeds the yarn to you. The bowl can keep the ball of yarn from rolling all over the living room. It can also act as a holder for your project. You can find some really cute yarn bowls on Etsy like this Ravenclaw bowl.
I have crochet hooks and knitting needles scattered all over the 1st floor of my house. I’m sure other people have the same problem. A portable needle and hook organizer would be the perfect solution that not only looks cute but is also functional.
So on Black Friday, I bought a Cricut online from Wal-Mart. My only regret is not buying this months ago! It is so much fun to use and so far it has been easy to use. Last night my fiancée and I learned how to make vinyl stickers. I see us using this machine a lot in the future ranging from stickers to personalize our Yeti tumblers to making bumper stickers for our friends to wedding decor. I am really excited for my Cricut! It would be the perfect gift for the person in your life that like to scrapbook, make paper crafts, signs, or even things made out of felt.
Another idea for the person who loves to crochet would be a subscription to a monthly subscription box. CraftEaze has a special holiday subscription with 3-12 month option. The first box will be shipped immediately after purchase and the project will be gift wrapped. This way it can be placed right under the tree. We also have another year-long subscription box which is a corner to corner mystery project. You can find this project here and it will begin in January.
If the person you love already has a Cricut, you can always buy them accessories for their machines. There are some variety packs of mats. Until I bought my cricket, I didn’t know that you needed different mats depending on the material. Like fabric uses a different mat the paper. You can also get them a set of tools that they can use with the Cricut that includes scissors and a weeding tool. If they are wanting to learn how to make t-shirt, you can buy them an Easy Press.
Hope you are able to find the perfect gift for the craft lover in your life!
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!
