Ice Cube Decor

With winter well on its way, and the season for celebrating here, I couldn’t resist but to post this article with a winter twist.

Decorating, food, and gatherings play such a large part of the holiday season. Everyone takes such great care in creating a home that is inviting.

To add a special touch to your culinary décor, freeze ice cubes with leaves, rosebuds, and cherries – anything that gives colour, and is reminiscent of the season.

You can use these icecubes to to chill drinks, or add them to your drinks. Just be very careful, as foods and flowers may contain chemicals and pesticides.

Imagine what your guests will think when they see that perfect bottle of wine chilling in a bed of “frozen” roses. And by the way, what a great way to add romance to a winter themed wedding, or an intimate New Year’s Eve celebration.

The Revolution

I recently joined the revolution – The Quickutz Revolution that is. It was a long time coming, and I wasn’t even sure if I’d make the leap, but after hearing so much about this product, I thought it would be well worth it to at least investigate.

To be quite honest, I never had any intention of purchasing a die cut system. I didn’t even really know what a die cut system was. In my mind it was somewhat of a glorified punch. Then one day at a local craft store, I saw this machine that resembled a pasta maker. In curiosity I looked at it and saw a huge price tag of $164.99. I walked away not even knowing what it really was. I kept browsing through the store however, and overheard a conversation about The Revolution. Another shopper was asking what system the storeowners liked and why. I didn’t pick up to much other than, the preferred system was the Revolution. Then in some bizarre twist of fate, I ended up talking to the same shopper. As it turns out, we both love paper and I told her that I was an avid card maker. She suggested that I use die cuts to embellish my cards. I told her I wasn’t really interested.

I continued onward in my browsing and found some samples of cards that had been made. I fell in love with them. And the common denominator amongst all of them - they were created using die cuts. Darn it! Wasn’t I the girl that just said that I wasn’t interested?!

When I got home I decided to power on my trusty computer and started to do my research. I looked at a lot of the die cut systems available and found that they really looked childish. Now I know this may not be important to others, but if I’m going to spend some money, I’d like it to look solid, or at the very least, grown up. I finally came across the Revolution – and to my surprise, it was the pasta maker that I had seen earlier. I thought it was still too pricey. I kept researching however and found a store in the GTA that was selling it for about 2/3 of the price I had originally seen. I took this as a sign.

I got in the car a few days after and bought the Revolution. I love it. I purchased a few die cuts to get me started, but I’ve found that if you do your research, you can easily find stores that provide really great deals on the dies. In addition to that, I’ve also found that dealing with the Quickutz Customer Service team was incredibly pleasant.

As someone who was not a believer, the Revolution has definitely changed my mind. It’s a fantastic system that looks sleek and stylish, and offers a great wealth of craft functionality. You can use dies for almost any craft project to add texture, design, and character shapes. I feel like the creativity in me has reached a new limitless boundary. So for anyone who is thinking about joining the Revolution, all I have to say is, do your research, and you will no doubt fall in love with the new Revolution.

Unique Engagement Photo

Engagement photos have become a staple in wedding photography. They’re used to add personal touches to bridal showers, and to the wedding itself. It’s a great way to capture some special moments of the bride and groom before their big day, in a casual fun way. Unfortunately, engagement photos have also become very predictable. The “spontaneous” poses have become rehearsed and all the engagement photos I’ve seen now look all the same. To create an engagement photo with a new twist, try this.

Have an engagement photo taken as you normally would. Then collect as many photographs as you can of your family, friends, and of yourselves and the special moments that you’ve shared, old and new. This can be quite a fun project to do. It’s a great excuse to bring along your camera to every occasion and become the designated photographer. The more pictures you have, the better. Once you’ve done that, use the Foto-Mosaik program. This program allows you to choose a photo you want (your engagement photo), and have it rebuilt using smaller photos (these are the pics that you’ve gathered). I guarantee that it will be a showstopper at any wedding. For added effect, have your photo framed and displayed with an engraved caption to read, “Because you are a part of us”. Your guests will have a great time trying to find themselves in your photo. It’s a great way to add a new twist on the engagement photo.

Dressing Your Candles

Very few things in this world are both beautiful and functional, but candles are just that. They give us light, they symbolize hope and unity, they provide warmth, create intimacy, and are used during almost every holiday season. For its many uses, it’s no wonder that candles come in so many varied forms. Candles have even become works of art. Just take a look at these.


Most candles however, come pretty plain. So here are a few ideas to dress your candles for any occasion.

1. If you have candles that are thick, by thick I mean their circumference is large, they can easily be dressed by taking some decorative paper and just wrapping it around the candle. Tie a coordinating ribbon around it, finished with a bow for a beautiful finished look.

2. Place your candles in beautiful organza bags. This is perfect for gift giving or wedding bombonniere. They add a simple elegance that is perfect for saying thank you.

3. When you’re using floating candles, take some simple cylinder vases and fill them three quarters of the way with water. Then pick some bright beautiful flower blooms. Using just the blooms, immerse them in the water. Then take a simple floating candle and set it on top. These are absolutely stunning; they can be used as elegant wedding centerpieces, or add some style to a beautiful dinner.

4. If you’re using tea lights, you can easily dress them up by adding messages to the outside of the tin they come in. You can use a label machine to produce these, or you can use decorative paper and handwrite your own messages. These are a great way to personalize table settings.


The possibilities really are endless, but hopefully these ideas will help you to make the best and brightest use of your candles. Enjoy!

Great Use For Your Extra Paper

I know every paper crafter, scrapbooker, and card maker out there has come across this scenario. You are in a store and have just come across the most fantastic paper; you just have to have it. So on an impulsive whim, a purchase is made, but it’s okay, you tell yourself, because even though you don’t have a specific use for it now, you’re sure that a project will come along that will definitely need it. Well weeks go by, then months, and your beloved paper is still unused.

We’ve all come across this. We have some great paper that just wasn’t right for anything that we’re currently doing. ‚We may also have extra paper which came from a scrapbook block that was purchased some time ago. Whatever the case, you’re stuck with it until you use it, so here is a great way to use it up.

Create some personalized envelopes. These days, card and stationary envelopes are just as pretty as the cards themselves. Use your extra paper to create some pizzazz. After all, the envelope is what you see first, and what a great way to make a first impression and introduction to your card.

Use an accent colour on your card or stationary to coordinate your envelope. On the outside, you can use a plain colour, and use a patterned sheet to line the inside. But don’t get stuck thinking only inside the box, or in this case, the envelope. Don’t forget, if you’ve got all this beautiful patterned paper, why not use the designed side to be on the outside. Then use a plain paper to line the inside. It’s a great way to create some contrast and visual appeal.

“A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet”

The process of getting married involves a lot of things; purchasing a wedding gown, gift registries, centerpieces, etc., but what no one ever talks about are the serious things. Things that need to be attended to before your wedding so making a transition into “couplehood” is easier.

First and foremost, while this doesn’t have to happen before your marriage, it should be something that you decide upon as soon as possible. I’m talking about the age old question, “should I change my name, or keep my name?” As a modern bride, several options are open to you.

1. Keeping Your Name: You can choose to keep your name as it is and not worry about changing your identification. The problem with this is that you may also have to carry around a copy of your marriage certificate to prove that you are married. Problems or difficulties may arise when you have children who have a different last name than you.

2. Legally Changing Your Name: If you choose to legally change your name to your husbands, you are giving up your identity legally. Now sit down for this one girls, because I was shocked to find this out. If you decide to legally change your name, the person you are now will cease to exist. A new birth certificate will actually be given to you with your husband’s last name. And of course, if anything should go wrong and the marriage dissolves, you will once again have to go through a legal process to become who you once were.

3. Hyphenating: Some women choose to have both names to identify their married name, and their maiden name. This can sound great at first, but keep in mind that you still need to change all your identification and paperwork, and when your signature is required, you’ll have to sign using both names.

4. Using Your Maiden Name Instead of Your Middle Name: Choosing this option to keep your name is one that is not used quite as often, but it does allow a bride to keep both names. Using your maiden instead of your middle name can provide you the opportunity to keep both your identities.

5. Assuming Your Married Name: This option allows new brides to be able to take on their husband’s name, without legally having to change their own. This still requires that all identification and paperwork be changed, (except your birth certificate), but you do not change who you are legally.

Whatever you decide, make sure that it’s something that you will be comfortable with. Remember, in the words of William Shakespeare, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Personalize Your Wedding

There are so many ways to make a wedding memorable. You can make it the biggest and most grand wedding anyone has ever seen with a fireworks display and all; you can do something completely unconventional; or you can opt to make your wedding a great one by adding personal touches.

While the sound of grandeur is alluring, it’s probably not in the budget for most couples. Unconventional can be fun, but most couples usually want a mix of both traditional and new. Adding personal touches is a classic way to make your wedding day memorable for everyone. Here are a few ways to add that style and elegance to your big day.

1. Get some personalized ribbon. Never before in my life had I used so much ribbon for one event. I used it to decorate, to wrap bomboniere, to hold flowers; the uses were endless. Why not pick a ribbon to match your colour scheme and have a message printed on it. Your names and the date of your wedding can run continuously on the ribbon. Creative Bag is a great place to get your ribbon if you’re in the Greater Toronto Area.

2. Decorate your aisle runner. There are so many ways to do this, but a simple way to personalize is to add your initials to the runner. You can use fabric paint to paint it on, and make this a project for the bridesmaids. If you don’t want to use traditional fabric runners, don’t be afraid to use paper instead. If you want this professionally done, places such as The Original Runner Company can do it for you.

3. Give your wedding meaning. Choose a charity or two and make a donation to them on behalf of your guests. I’ve always loved children so I chose to make a donation to a local hospital, “The Hospital for Sick Children” for my wedding. My husband chose cancer research and made a donation to “The Canadian Cancer Society.” So many of our guests were touched by the gesture and truly appreciated the gift.

4. After your wedding, make a genuine attempt to hand write a thank you note to your guests. It’s so easy these days to sit yourself in front of the computer and type a generic message, and press print 300 times. Sit down and consider why it was important for you to have these people share your big day. If you listen to your heart, it will tell you exactly what to write. It will warm the hearts of your guests to know that you’ve put into words why they are important to you.

5. Create a family tree. I’m not talking about a regular “blood relative” family tree. I’m talking about the circle of life, your life. The people that you’ve chosen to surround yourself with are your family. Take photos of everyone coming to your wedding. Arrange your photos in such a way that you are in the centre. Then start adding links, explaining who they are and how they’re related to you. Before you know it, you end up with a huge web. Display it at your wedding. People will have a great time trying to figure out where they are. Who knows, you may even find a long lost relative.

6. Create a memory book. When you’ve compiled your guest list, start remembering things about them. Get nostalgic and write down your favourite memories of them. You’ll be astounded by the emotions that come flooding back to you. This is a long process so take your time. You may even want to get together with family and friends to remember “the good ole days.” When you’re done, take your memories and put them in a booklet. Give these out at your wedding and people are sure to have a good laugh, a good cry, and a good time.

Weddings happen every day, but yours only happens once in a lifetime. Make it the most extraordinary day possible. Remember, your love is a personal thing, so make the day when you celebrate it, a personal one.