My father and I have this standing date for 3am coffee and game plan huddle on Black Fridays.  We usually scour the ads in our post-Thanksgiving meal comas and decide the night before who's getting what and how we're going to get it.  The nice thing is that we usually don't have a specific need to get any certain item, so if a store looks scary (ahem...ahem...Kohl's), we laugh and point at the people in line and then continue on our merry little way...

With Black Friday shopping, one usually makes sacrifices in sleep and personal bubble space in order to find that special gift for loved ones at a whopper of a deal.  This year, well folks, this year, I sacrificed my sleep and my personal space in order to get something...for me.  :)  

This is what I bought...

You may be thinking, what the hell is it?  A printer?  It is a Cricut Expression.  While usually retailing for around $450, Walmart had these babies on sale this morning for $188.  Yippee!!!

You may have heard of this coveted craft machine during a lovely infomercial that airs around 4am on HGTV.  Maybe not.  Basically this is your really cool die-cutting machine which means it will cut out anything in any size in any number for you.  I plan on using it for all things DIY paper related including some really cool upcoming wedding craft projects.  More on that to follow...

The issue lies in that I've never used one or even seen on in real life, and I'm not sure where to start.  Probably the manual, right?  

Have any of you QCA bride or grooms used a Cricut?  What about other essential crafting gadgets?  Leave a comment below, and tell me about your favorite gadget or experience using the Cricut!

I am always amazed when I hear about things that brides and grooms and their families have put together all on their very own.  DIY (do-it-yourself) projects have become huge especially recently as budgets are tight.  Even if someone is not creative, there is an abundance of help and guidance to be found if you want to tackle a particular project on your own.  

I was contemplating making my own envelope liners to add to my invitations because I had fallen in love with images such as these...

photo via Audrey Arp Design

photo via Wedding Paper Divas

photo via Casanova Wong

The price tag that accompanies order envelopes with liners can sometimes throw off a budget, but that's no reason why we can't make our own, right?

There are all sorts of things out there to help a crafty bride or groom cut an envelope liner to the right size.  Being a penny pincher, I of course went looking for the free online templates and found the jackpot mother-load of cool downloadable (free) templates.  Check out the Mirkwood Designs website (http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/templates.htm) where I not only found envelope liner templates, but also templates for all sorts of things including boxes of all sorts, different types of cards, cd labels, library pockets, iPod holders, and more!  Anyone can take advantage of these freebies to make something cool and personalized (and inexpensive) for their wedding!  All it takes is a little paper, some patience with the scissors, et voila!

Do we have any DIYers out there who have made some really amazing wedding products all on their own?  We'd love to see pictures of them or hear how your process went!

UPDATE:  THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED...KEEP TUNED FOR OTHER CONTEST ALERTS DOWN THE ROAD!  :)

What cookware do you have on your registry?  Did you dare go for the bling?  Le Creuset?  Yummy.  Well here's an opportunity to avoid the guilt of registering for million dollar pots and pans...

Get your cute lil' behinds over to the Pioneer Woman webpage to enter today to win a set of Le Creuset cookware!

You've all got until 10pm tonight to enter by leaving a comment stating what you had for dinner last night on the Pioneer Woman blog post linked above!  Good luck!

There has been a lot of discussion lately on the message boards about brides who are thinking of creating their own or looking for inexpensive Save The Date stationery ideas.  

Save the Dates are so much fun because they can be really anything.  They can match the "theme" of your wedding or be something totally off the wall.  Each of us has seperate tastes, and so the perfect Save The Date depends on the bride.  

Me?  I'm a sucker for anything vintage, and being a librarian student, I have an unhealthy addiction to books and anything library related...

So my dorky little heart did a hop, skip, and a jump when I saw the Save The Dates pictured below featured on the DIYBride blog.  Hop on over to her blog to find the library card online generator where you can play around.  I made a Save The Date for the Fall Bridal Fair!  Check it out!

I could definitely make something like this for my Save the Date cards and print them out very inexpensively!  What do you think?

DIYBride also has some templates for library card pockets and check out cards.  What?  You don't like to stamp a due date on a card when your friends borrow a book?  :)  Kidding...

I may have mentioned before that our engagement is possible one for the records.  Okay, maybe not, but it is longer than average at a little over two years.  I am finishing school, and we were both wanting to save money.  So it made sense for us to pick a date in the future.  At first it seemed silly to talk of our plans and to make reservations, but all of a sudden, I looked at the calendar and realized that we are encroaching upon our "minus one anniversary".  A year away...and honey, we have lots to do!

I am a list person...type A...slightly to majorly obsessive depending on the situation.  This is our wedding we're talking about folks, so I'm leaning toward obsessive rather than slight. 

To keep my sanity (and thus my fiance's as well), we have been keeping up with a check list of things to do each month up to the day of and beyond a wedding.  The following is the most basic of basic check lists that it most weddings.  If you look, there are a gazillion wedding checklists out there from the most basic to the very complex.  If you have a wedding planner, they've got the mother of all mother of check lists that help to keep you on target. 

12+ Months Out

Pick a Date
Get Organized
Build Your Budget
Get the Guest List in Order

Select your Location(s)
Wedding Registry Time

8+ Months Out

Start Shopping!
Consider Your Colors
Get the (Bridal) Party Started!
Interview Vendors

Dress your Wedding Party

6-7 Months Before Your Wedding

Finalize the Guest List
Invitations
Arrange Accommodations

4+ Months Before Your Wedding

Taste the Cake!
Time to Plan the Honeymoon
Review Marriage License Requirements and Apply

3+ Months Out

Send Your Invitations
Set the Schedule
Order Wedding Favors
Shop for Bridal Party Gifts

2+ Months Out

Create a Perfect Playlist

Plan Rehearsal Dinner

Plan Wedding Weekend
New IDs and Documents with New Address 

1 Month Before

Program
Primping Practice Run

2 Weeks Out

Final Guest Count
Seating Charts

1 Week Out

Make any last minute seating arrangements/adjustments.

Confirm honeymoon reservations and pack!

Confirm rehearsal and wedding day plans with attendants.

Have a relaxing massage

The Day Before

Get a Little Girl Time
Pay Attention to Details
Run-Through
Get a Good Night's Sleep

Your Wedding Day

Eat

Primp  
Smile and Have Fun

So there you have it...I've got some work to do.  Ladies and Gents, where did you find your wedding check list?  Let us know!  :)