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Last Minute Holiday Wine Gift Bags

December 7, 2016 by Cindy Springer Leave a Comment

Giving a gift you know someone is going to like makes Christmas all the more fun. Wine is a great gift since it’s traditionally part of celebrating during the holidays. Create a custom wine label for your wine and then make a special wine gift bag for giving it. Included in this post are instructions and templates to make two different wine gift bags with just a few materials. These gift bags are for full size 750 ml wine bottles. They can also be used for Champagne bottles.

Newsprint Snowflake Wine Bag

The newsprint paper used to make the snowflake on the example bag was purchased at a specialty paper store. The name of the paper is Graphic Newsprint. It’s double-sided and comes 3 sheets per package. The sheets ares 21.3″ x 31.5″ and the price was $3.00 per package. If you aren’t able to find this kind of paper and are in a pinch, grab a newspaper and use the stock market pages for a visually interesting pattern. The wine bag was purchased at Cost Plus World Market. You don’t have to use the snowflake template especially if you’re a talented snowflake maker, use your own snowflake creation! This is a project anyone can make and the variations are endless using other mediums besides newsprint.

Snowflake Newsprint Wine Gift Bag Template and Instructions

Kraft Paper Wine Bag Topper

Kraft Paper Wine Bag Topper Template and Instructions

After you cut out the two kraft paper shapes, lay them flat and glue them together matching them at the fold line. Next, cut a slit slightly wider than the width of the handles along the fold crease, to allow it to slip over the wine bag handles. Add a ribbon or tie a hang tag to one of the handles.

Each one of these wine bags takes less than 15 minutes to make. We recommend adding a holiday wine label to your wine or a holiday hang tag to each bag. Some simple ideas for a stunning result.

If you need help with your wine label, hang tag, or wine gift bag please email us at info at bottleyourbrand.com or live chat with us weekdays 9 am to 3 pm Pacific time.

Holiday Drink Mixes to Make & to Give

November 4, 2016 by Cindy Springer Leave a Comment

Don’t you love drinking a steamy cup full of deliciousness when the wind is blustery and a nip is in the air? It’s the perfect time for some toasty coffee and tea drinks. Just holding a cup in your hand brings a feeling of instant warmth. Share the goodness when you make homemade gifts with these tasty DIY holiday drink mix recipes. It’s the perfect excuse to do some taste testing! These recipes are easy, inexpensive and sure to be enjoyed by all.

Make the Holiday Mocha Mix in less than five minutes. You’ll want to make some for everyone on your gift list. Packaged in small jars and labeled with love, this chocolatey concoction is sure to be everyone’s favorite. I found all of these ingredients at my local grocer in one stop.

Ingredients

1 cup instant coffee granules
2 cups instant milk chocolate drink mix
3 cups instant dry milk powder
1 T cinnamon (optional)

Directions

In a bowl, mix the coffee granules, chocolate milk drink mix, dry milk powder, and cinnamon until thoroughly blended. Store in sealed container.
To use, mix 2 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture with 8 ounces of boiling water in a mug; stir to dissolve.
Stir with a peppermint candy cane for extra deliciousness

TIP: Use a food processor to grind the coffee granules to a fine texture for even better mixing.

DIY Mocha Mix Recipe Card for Holiday Homemade Gifts

^Free Printable PDF Recipe Card^

Some of the ingredients you’ll need to make these homemade holiday gifts.

The homemade Mocha Mix in a jar is the perfect gift for friends or colleagues. Present the mix in a jar like this one and add a customized circle sticker for a polished look. Print the free PDF recipe card to give with the gift.

Ingredients

1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup instant chocolate drink mix
3/4 cup instant coffee granules
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

In a medium sized glass jar, combine the non-dairy creamer, chocolate drink mix, instant coffee, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well.
To prepare, place 2 tablespoons mix in a mug, pour in 3/4 cup boiling water, and stir

Mix two tablespoons in 3/4 cup of boiling water and stir for an instant drink for the morning or an break from work in the afternoon.

^Free Printable PDF Recipe Card^

Ingredients

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions

In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.
To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water.

^Free Printable PDF Recipe Card^

After you’ve made your holiday drink mix you’ll want to make sure it’s packaged prettily. Create a gift sticker online to add to your homemade gift. Circle stickers and rectangle stickers are available in multiple sizes. Start now to make yours.

If you have questions or need assistance please email us: info at bottleyourbrand.com or chat live on screen with us weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm Pacific time.

Woodland Animals Party Ideas

April 8, 2016 by Cindy Springer 2 Comments

Spring is in the air! Here in the great Pacific Northwest we’re shedding our soggy coat of winter-green mossiness and heading outside to enjoy the sunshine. One way to get your kids outside is to host an outdoor party and the perfect theme is Woodland Animals. What’s a kid’s party without some party animals? A woodland animals party is a theme almost any age child, boy or girl, will enjoy. There are so many furry friends from the forest to include in the festivities.

In this post you’ll learn how to make an adorable raccoon party favor bag. Included is a free printable PDF template, and we give you some easy treat ideas, plus show how to customize the colors on our Woodland Animals water bottle label (see photo above) with matching favor stickers. Voilà, all the elements for a successful party!

Materials List for the Raccoon Party Favor Bag:

Package of 1/2 inch sticky googly eyes
#9 kraft paper lunch bags
black & white construction paper and kraft paper
scissors
glue or glue stick

Click Here to Download the FREE Raccoon Favor Bag Template

GUIDE FOR CUTTING OUT THE TEMPLATE PIECES:

STEPS TO ASSEMBLE THE FAVOR BAG:

Cut all the pieces from this pattern except the tail stripes. Trace the pattern shapes on the corresponding colored paper and cut out the pieces.
Glue the black mask on top of the white mask.
Glue white paper inner ear on the black outer ear. Make two ears.
Now cut the corresponding kraft paper tail stripes and glue onto the full length tail.
Fold the top corners of the kraft paper lunch bag to meet in the center to form a point.
Fold over the point to lay flat on the front of the bag to form the face of the raccoon.
Glue the white chest on the center front of the kraft bag below the point of the face.
Glue the mask across the face and wrap under the fold.
Glue the black nose on the tip of the point.
Glue the ears behind the top fold of the face.
Glue the stripes on the tail. Then glue the tail face down on the back side at the base of the bag. Add the googly eyes to the face on top of the black mask.
To fill bags unfold the the face.

HOW TO FOLD THE FACE OF THE RACCOON:

Snacks don’t have to be fancy for this party. Simple ideas like these are inexpensive and easy; pretzel stick “twigs”, malted milk ball “pebbles” and “acorns” made from vanilla wafers, candy kisses and butterscotch baking chips take very little time to assemble but fit right in with the woodland theme.

To create healthy drink favors with a Woodland Animal theme, go to our site and visit this template. It’s our Woodland Animal favor sticker. Notice how the water bottle labels below are the same design but different colors. It’s very easy to change the color of the label to match your party colors. All we did with these two labels is change the background color and the text color.

Change the Background Color

To do this look below the text fields on the design page for the Customize More button. This takes you into the design studio. There you will find on your left the Background Color tool. Click on this and an artist palette pops out. When you click on the palette you’ll see a wide range of color selections.

Change the Text Color

To change the text color simply click on the text. The Text Options tool bar appears to the right. There is a little box next to the word Color. Click on that to change your text color. It’s that simple. The majority of our water bottle label templates allow you to change the background and all of them allow text color changes and font style changes as well. With hundreds of font styles and endless color choices you’re sure to find just the right look for your party favor labels.

Should you decide to customize one of our labels for your party, please send us photos from the event. We’d love to share on our Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest pages. We have so many customers who generously send us photos of labels they’ve created on BYB and we post them for others to get inspiration. We have customers who have been with us since we started BYB in 2003. We know them by name and look forward to emailing or chatting with them on their custom label projects. We’d love to have you join our family of customers too. If you need help creating the perfect label please join us on Live Chat or email us at [email protected]

Morning After Mimosa Kits: A How-to-Guide Including Step by Step Photos

February 3, 2016 by Cindy Springer 2 Comments

You’re getting married soon and you’re wondering how to wow your wedding party the day after the ceremony. You know, just a little something to say, “Thank You.” I recommend these simple to assemble “Morning After” Mimosa Kits. A perfect gift for that little pick me up the morning after the celebration. Included in this post are photos and a step-by-step guide to creating these inexpensive, yet gorgeous kits. Gift these to everyone who helped you on your special day. They’ll remember this gesture and trust me, they’ll want to steal “your” idea. Here’s what you’ll need.

STEP 1: Assemble Supplies

Champagne splits (187ML)
Mini Champagne labels
Gable Boxes 8″ x 5″ x 5″
Ribbon of your choice – I used one inch wide American Crafts Premium Ribbon
Orange juice 12 fl. oz. bottle
Washi tape
Wrapping tissue
Disposable Champagne flutes

STEP 2: Design and Order the Mini-Champagne Label

Check your Champagne bottle to figure out the size label that will work. There are two mini champagne label sizes we recommend to fit almost any bottle. These two sizes are a 3″ wide by 2″ high rectangle or a 2 inch circle. To be certain of the size, download our Mini Champagne Label Bottle Guide (also found at the end of the post) to see which label fits popular brands. For this kit we used Cook’s Brut Champagne Split and the custom label is the rectangle shape 3″ wide x 2″ high. To change up one of our templates start here. To create your own from scratch go to this page.

Step 3: Label and Embellish

With labels in hand and shopping for all of the supplies done, it’s time to get started. Either soak off the existing labels on the mini bottles or apply the new labels directly over the old ones depending on which works best. Make sure the bottle surface is clean, dry and at room temperature. Cut a length of ribbon about 18″ long and tie a bow on the neck of each bottle. Trim the ribbon ends with scissors.

Using Washi tape of your choice, wrap the stem and the top of the flute below the lipstick line.

Step 4: Assemble the Mimosa Kit

First, line the gable box with multi layers of wrapping tissue; certainly enough to prevent the bottle from breaking. Fill starting with the the heaviest items first. Start with the orange juice, then the Champagne split and last, the Champagne flute(s).

Step 5: Decorate the Gable Box

Using the Washi tape add several horizontal stripes around the box. Use two complementing ribbon patterns to give it a little pop; it’s easy to do. The decorative tape takes the box from plain to pretty with very little effort. Finish by placing the label over the decorative tape in the center of the box. Tie a bow to the handle with the ribbon you used for the mini bottles or for a bigger impact use some Tulle. The “Morning After” Mimosa Kit is complete! Pass out these kits the night of your rehearsal dinner with a note to save for the “morning after.” For out-of-town wedding party guests make sure the bellman places one in each hotel room. If you want to go a step further include a bottle of water with your wedding design on it.

Ready to get started? Find the Champagne split you plan on using and download with this handy printable guide.

Let us know how your kit turned out by sharing your photos with us. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll post the results on our social media.

How to Make This Witchy Halloween Treat Bag

October 20, 2014 by Cindy Springer Leave a Comment

Halloween is scary close! Are you in a panic for a brilliant Halloween idea? Our Witchy Halloween treat bag is perfect for party goodies or trick-or-treating. It’s absolutely spook-tacular! A big thanks to our friends at Packaging Specialties in Redmond, Washington for sharing this idea.

Your kids will have the cutest trick-or-treat bags anywhere when you send them off with this in hand. We added a custom circle sticker with a Happy Halloween message.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Download and print this FREE PDF template to make the witch’s shoes, skirt and pantaloons.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by assembling the materials.
Download and print out the template. Cut out the shoes, skirt and pantaloons.
To fill the acrylic treat bags that make the witch’s legs it’s best to use a straw to open the end of the bag and push the jelly beans inward. If the bag happens to split use tape to mend it.

Gather the skirt at the top and press pleats into the paper. Hold the pleats in place by using double-sided tape on the back side of the skirt top.

Cut a 1 1/2 inch wide strip of tulle for the length of the skirt hem and tape it to the backside of the bottom of the skirt leaving an inch showing below the skirt line.
Tape the skirt to the top of the bag with another strip of double-sided tape. You can also use a hot glue gun to hold in place more securely.
Measure the top of the skirt waist and cut a length of black ribbon to fit. Tape it or glue it to the waistband to cover the top of the pleats.
Using the double-sided tape, press the shoes onto the legs where the self-sealing seam is located. This allows the bag to be opened at the bottom for easy access to eat the jelly beans!

Tape each leg under the skirt. Make sure the feet are turned out and the legs are adjusted to make them different lengths.
Next, tape the pantaloons under the skirt over the top of the legs. This is a close up of how the tulle and pantaloons look.

Using a length of black tulle tie a bow on one of the handles.

To finish off the bag order one of these custom circle stickers with a Halloween message. If you’re giving a gift at Halloween this bag also makes an amazing handmade gift bag. Have fun making this craft project and when the kids bring it home filled to the brim, don’t let them know you’re sneaking the best candy when they’re asleep.

For any questions or assistance making this DIY Halloween project feel free to email us at [email protected]

Newsprint Snowflake Wine Bag

Snowflake Newsprint Wine Gift Bag Template and Instructions

Kraft Paper Wine Bag Topper

Kraft Paper Wine Bag Topper Template and Instructions

Materials List for the Raccoon Party Favor Bag:

GUIDE FOR CUTTING OUT THE TEMPLATE PIECES:

STEPS TO ASSEMBLE THE FAVOR BAG:

HOW TO FOLD THE FACE OF THE RACCOON:

Change the Background Color

Change the Text Color

STEP 1: Assemble Supplies

STEP 2: Design and Order the Mini-Champagne Label

Step 3: Label and Embellish

Step 4: Assemble the Mimosa Kit

Step 5: Decorate the Gable Box

FREE DOWNLOAD

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

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