DIY Wedding Favours: Custom Matchboxes

I love crafty things, and as my wedding planning progresses I'm realizing more and more how much I want to do things for myself. Not just because it usually is less expensive, but I think I get a certain sense of pride when someone complements me on something I've made. That's why I've made a lot of the things for our wedding myself I think. Today I'm going to share with you the favours Andrew and I made for our wedding. I love how they turned out and I love how much money we saved by doing it ourselves.

For those of you who don't know, Andrew and I love fire. We live building campfires, lighting matches and playing with lighters. Basically, all the things your parents tell you not to do with fire, we do it. The first time I went over to Andrews house we sat in his backyard and he taught me how to flick matches. So naturally our favours are matches.

 I decided that I wanted boxes of matches, not books of matches, which unfortunately is more expensive, but totally worth it for ease of lighting the matches in my opinion. However, when I looked online, custom boxes of matches were a dollar per box plus shipping! I thought that was too much money, so I figured out a plan for how to do them for under $30 for 150. By doing it myself I saved over $120, which I think is pretty impressive. Here is how I did it:

You will need:

- matchboxes (I got mine at the dollar store for 6 cents each)
- paper(I got mine at Michaels for $5.00)
- glue(I got mine from the dollar store, $1.00 per pack and I used 3 packs)
- printer
- printer ink
- Microsoft Word or some other word processor
- ruler
- paper cutting device

Instructions :

Step 1: measure your match boxes with the ruler, you will need the length and width of the box.

Step 2: in Microsoft Word, create a text box the same size as your match box and fill it with the text you want. To resize the text box to be the size of your matchboxes, right click on the match box and then select the option that says "Format Object".

 Then select the "Size" tab and change the height and width to match the size of your box.

Step 3: copy and paste the text box so you fill the whole page with your custom text boxes.

Step 4: print out your boxes on your paper and cut them out

Step 5: glue the paper to your match boxes

Step 6: repeat steps 2-5 for the back of your matchboxes

Step 7: marvel at all the lovely favours you have just created!

I decided to punch our little hearts to glue to the front side of the boxes, since I already had the cute little punch. This whole process took me about 6 hours for 150 boxes. And I enjoyed making them so much!

Leave a comment if you have any questions!

Today is a Happy Day

Today is a happy day for many reasons, an I thought I would share some of them with you...

Today is a happy day because...

 it's Friday and I don't have many classes.

it's raining and a lot of the snow is finally melting around here.

I finally beat level 105 of Candy Crush.

I found out yesterday that my coop work term project is to make a blog about my experience, and I got to create a new blog and design it!

I get to see two of my most favourite people today. My best friend Katelyn and my wonderful Fiancé Andrew.

There are only 5 more school days left in this semester

I'm almost halfway done the school part of university

I only have one more assignment left to do

I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch

I made a particularly good cup of coffee this morning

And finally because....

I started working on some new design things for this blog today, and I'm pretty excited about them!!!!!

What are you happy about today? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tea of the Week-Wild Orange Blossom

The semester is seeming to wind down a little bit, but at the same time I'm going crazy with the amount of things I need to finish before the semester is over. But don't worry, I always have time to make a cup of tea! 

This weeks tea of the week is the second tea that my Mom and Dad brought back for me from their trip to Florida. If you haven't seen the first tea my parents got for me you can find it here. This weeks tea of the week is called Wild Orange Blossom, and it's made by Teavana. This tea smells absolutely amazing. It's probably one of my favourite smelling teas in the history of ever. I wish they made wall plug-ins that smelt like this tea smells. I would totally buy them. Anyways, what I like about this tea, besides the smell is that it tastes as good as it smells! It's sweet and fruity and all sorts of fantastic-ness. I'm sad because I only have a few cups left of it. Maybe I'll have to ask for more for my birthday! 

This is a super light, fruity and tasty tea that I have completely fallen in love with. I'm completely obsessed. 

What's your favourite tea this week?

Camp Girl in the Real World Turns One!

I started this blog exactly one year ago today. It's crazy. I remember when I started this blog I was too scared to share it with my family and friends and almost didn't tell anyone about it. A lot has changed in the last year. I finished my first year of University, started my first "real" job, and Andrew asked me to marry him (Spoiler, I said yes!), just to name a few major events. I thought a cool way for me to celebrate my one year of blogging would be to reflect on five of my favourite posts from the past year. So sit back, grab a cup of your favourite tea/hot beverage and follow me through this trip down memory lane.

My Favourite Puns

I wrote this post when I was having a downer of a day, and it cheered me up so much! I love this post because it shows my sense of humour, maybe I'll have to write a sequel to it sometime!

Our Story

This set of posts took a while to complete but it was so fun to write. I love telling people mine and Andrew's love story, it instantly puts me in a good mood. Also, hearing the story from Andrew's perspective was really interesting and fun!

My Summer Bucket List

I accomplished quite a lot this past summer. It was so fun to challenge myself to do more than just sit on the couch during my time off. I am definitely going to be doing this again this coming summer!

10 Things I Like About Myself

This was a challenging post to write. I find it really difficult to be proud of myself fully without degrading the skills I do have. I love this post. I am so proud of myself for actually publishing it.

5 Reasons Why I Hate Working In The Computer Lab

This post was really fun for me to write. I like poking fun at my program, and on the day that I wrote this I was pretty fed up with working in the lab, but it is better then not having any place at all to study!

Well there you have it! Five of my favourite posts from this past year! Leave a comment letting me know what some of your favourite posts I've written have been!

Tea of the Week-Youthberry

My parents and brother just go back from Florida and they brought me back tea from Teavana! They know me so well. I missed them so much while they were gone but now I'm excited to post about all the tea swag they brought me!

What I find really interesting about the tea they brought me back is that the two kinds can be combined together! I didn't know that was even allowed! So this weeks tea of the week is part of a three week "series" of teas. First I will tell you about both of the teas separately and then I will tell you about the teas mixed together. I'm pretty excited about it, I hope you are!

But first, I HAVE to tell you about the awesome tea infuser that my parents got me. I've seen things like it but I wasn't sure if I would really use it but now I'm sold! It's so exciting to use. It's the teavana perfect tea maker. It's a tea steeper (is that a word?) that is supposed to allow the tea leaves to unfurl and expand while the tea is steeping. And you know me, I'm all about unfurled tea leaves! ;) Basically what you do is you put the tea leaves in the chamber, add the water and let is steep, then you put the tea maker on top of your mug and the tea flows out into your cup! A-MAZ-ING! I've used it twice so far and I already love it!

And now, on to this weeks tea, Youthberry! Youthberry is a white tea with candied pineapple and mango pieces with Fuji, Golden Delicious apples, Red currant and açai berry. So far I haven't been a huge fan of white tea, I can't exactly put my finger on what I don't like about them but this tea is an exception. It's light and fruity and sweet. I love it, and I can't wait to see what it tastes like mixed with next week's tea of the week! As I am writing this blogpost I am trying it for the first time and I already know I am going to miss it when I run out of it. It's so delicious.

What's your favourite tea this week?

7 TV Shows To Watch As A Couple

One of mine and Andrew's favourite things to do together is watch a TV show. Tv shows are great because they are short, keep your attention and they eliminate the "I don't know, what do you want to watch?" back and forth conversation that inevitably happens when trying to pick out a movie. TV shows are also great because it gives you something to look forward to as a couple. When Andrew and I have a show we are in the middle of we can hardly wait to cuddle up on the couch and watch a bunch of episodes. It's even better if the show is available on netflix since it doesn't cost as much and you don't have to get off the couch to change the disk!

Andrew and I also find that when watching TV shows you get more immersed in the characters. We were both pretty heartbroken when we watched the very last episode of The Office. We love watching TV shows and  we thought it would be fun to recommend some of our favourite ones to you.

The Office

This is our absolute favourite show. It was the first one we watched together and it kept getting better as the seasons went along. We highly recommend this one.

How I Met Your Mother

This is a show that I didn't think I would like at first, but now it is one of my favourites! I love the way Marshall and Lily interact. It's so adorable and funny. Andrew really likes Barney and his ridiculous ways with the ladies.

The Big Bang Theory

I love this one because sometimes I actually understand what they are talking about. It really brings out my true nerd. We both love the nerdy science jokes and how socially awkward Sheldon is.

Modern Family

When I first told Andrew about this show he didn't think he was going to like it and actually refused to watch it with me for almost a year! When I finally got him to watch it he was killing himself laughing! He thinks Phil's bad jokes are so funny. "You can tell a lot about a person from his biography" -Phil Dunphy

Corner Gas

Andrew showed me Corner Gas. We like that you can watch the episodes in almost any order and you won't be confused. It brings out the country kids in both of us.

Community

I think part of the reason why we like Community so much is because we can relate to it and deep down inside we both wish school was more like how it is in this show. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to build a school-wide blanket/pillow fort?

Sherlock

This is the only show on this list that isn't really a comedy. Sherlock really gets us thinking. We are always curious how the criminal did it and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat. I like that this show isn't too intense or graphic.

Duck Dynasty

We love the ridiculous things that this family does. We also love how great of an example they are. This show always keeps us laughing.

There you go! Seven TV shows that we recommend you watch, or at least try out! Leave a comment if you have a TV show you think we should give a try!

Tea of the Week-Mint to Be

Warning: Typical university story about to take place.

This week has again been super busy. I have another huge assignment due on Friday. This semester has been ridiculously crazy. I'm so excited that there are only 17 more school days left in this semester, so just over three weeks. I can't wait to actually be able to do crafts and things for our wedding! Anyways, This week is crazy and thats why the tea of the week is late once again. I'm so sorry. So without further ado, here is this weeks tea of the week!

This weeks tea of the week is called "Mint to Be" and it probably has the cutest name for a kind of tea that I have ever heard. I got this tea from my mom for Valentines Day this year. I heard about it through David's Tea's email newsletter. When I read the ingredients I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, since it contains coconut and I'm really not a fan of coconut. I really like this tea though. It's minty and tastes a little creamy. It has Organic black tea, peppermint, blue cornflower petals, and coconut flakes in it. And it has become one of my favourite teas lately (do I say that a lot? I feel like I say that every tea is one of my favourites, maybe I just like tea a lot).

Anyways, that's my favourite tea this week, What's yours?

DIY: Easy Knitted Dishcloths

Even though Andrew and I are not getting married until June of 2015, I have already started making things for our future house/apartment. These dishcloths were the first of my future house craft making. I love the bright coloured yarn that Andrew and I found at walmart. I've been making these dishcloths for years now. I found the pattern on the wrapper of one of my balls of yarn and I memorized it. I love these dishcloths, so if you know how to knit and want a fast project you can do in one day, grab your needles and lets get started!

You will need:

• 1 Ball of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn
• 5.5 mm knitting needles

Instructions:

Step 1: Cast on four stitches

Step 2: Knit one row

Step 3: Knit two, yarn over, knit to the end of the row

Yarn over

Step 4: Repeat step three until there are 42 stitches on your needle

So many stitches!

Step 5: Knit one, Knit two together, Yarn over, Knit two together, knit to the end of the row

Knitting two together

Step 6: Repeat step five until only four stitches remain on your needle

Almost Finished!

Step 7: Cast off and marvel at your new lovely dishcloth!

There you go! An easy dishcloth that only took me about a day. Leave a comment if you have any questions!

Tea of the Week-Red Velvet Cake

This weeks tea of the week is one of the teas I got from my parents for Valentines day this year. David's Tea's Red Velvet Cake tea is delicious. It is part of their sweetheart collection, which I got about a month ago and so far it is my favourite tea out of the whole collection. You can find Red Velvet Cake tea here. It is a rich black tea that contains semi-sweet and white chocolate bits, red and white sprinkles and beetroot. It is a lovely combination. This tea is been in my travel mug for school so much recently. I absolutely love it. You might remember that I featured Birthday Cake tea a while back for tea of the week. Red velvet cake is similar, only a black tea and more chocolaty. So if you like birthday cake tea, I think you will probably like red velvet cake. 

What's your favourite tea this week?