As wedding season approaches, couples are looking for unique ways to personalize their big day. Among the many options available, custom wedding koozies have emerged as a popular choice. These practical and fun favors not only keep drinks cold but also serve as memorable keepsakes for guests. Here’s a look at the most popular wedding can coolers for the 2024 – 2025 wedding season.

Monogram

Monogram Can Coolers showcase the couples last name and wedding date.

For the couple that met on Tinder and found love at first swipe! They swiped right and now we’re at their wedding night.

It’s about damn time they’re getting married! If you’re looking for a funny twist on your nuptials, these wedding favors will make the statement.

All you need is love…..and a cold beverage! These give a sweet, floral sentiment along with a funny tagline.

For the love story that began over a couple of brewskis…or drinks…or wine – It All Began With a Beer koozies

I’ll Drink to That – Wedding Slim Can Cooler – Custom – Wedding Favors, Beverage Insulators, Beer Hugger, Wedding Favor, Beer Holder, Skinny Koozies Slim

I have found the one my soul loves – Song of Solomon 3:4 bible verse on one side and Jesus spelled out in a cross with your wedding date and names. This can cooler makes a perfect memory for a Christian wedding.

Let’s party til the cows come home! When you’re just hitched and having a barn style wedding or getting married on a farm or maybe you live on a farm and like to party till the cows come home

What happens at the reception stays at the reception.

Floral Monogram wedding koozie can coolers

If you are brand new to digital planning, here is a 5 step beginner’s guide to digital planning.

Digital planners are a great way to organize your life and stay on top of important tasks. They allow you to create lists, set reminders, and capture notes with ease.

Digital planners can be used on any device, but iPads seem to be the preferred method. They feel the most like an original paper daily planner – except you can erase any mistakes you make, move items around easily, copy and paste tasks you repeat each week or day and you can block off times in many different colors without picking up different pens and highlighters!

Digital planning is awesome and here is your 5 Step Beginner’s Guide to Digital Planning.

Step 1
Download GoodNotes

The first step in digital planning is to download a note taking app. GoodNotes is available in the App Store and is free for the first 3 notebooks you create. This makes it perfect for getting started with a daily planner at no cost. And, GoodNotes was named Apple’s iPad App of the Year for 2022, which means it’s pretty dang good.

Here are some of the features I find the coolest – you can turn messy handwriting into any font you want, you can search your planner for any words or text you’ve written over the year, choose which layers to erase from a page, scan and import paper notes or documents. There is a whole lot more – which is why I’ll be doing tutorials to get you started, so be sure to follow me on social media.

Step 2
Download a Digital Planner

Next, you’ll need to download a digital planner. There are tons of digital planners out on the market but I created my own because I am often up working at wee hours of the morning and I needed a planner to show a full, 24-hour schedule. I also like to track my sleep (because I often don’t get enough) so I wanted to see a full day schedule for each day. (I don’t know why so many planners don’t have a full day and it drives me nuts!)

You can get my first quarter of 2023 digital planner for FREE here (January – March). I do ask for an email address so I can send you a notice once the next quarter becomes available to download.

Step 3
Import Planner into GoodNotes

Once you’ve downloaded a planner, open GoodNotes and click on the plus sign and click import. Then find the planner in your folder on your iPad to import.

Step 4
Time to Learn the Basics

Now it’s time to start learning the basics of planning in GoodNotes. It’s easy but it will take a little practice to get the feel for it. The hardest part is remembering that links to other pages don’t work in writing mode. And you can’t write or use the other tools while in reading mode.

I’ll be going over the basics in tutorial videos so be sure to follow along but this article outlines the toolbar and basics for you.

Step 5
Start Planning Your Day, Week and Year!

Now it’s time to start planning!

Plan your days, weeks and important dates and tasks throughout the year. Set an hourly timer for the first few weeks and write down what you’ve done that hour in your schedule. This will help you stay focused and on track. But most of all, have fun while planning.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITES:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases.

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 10-15 servings)

• 1 pound box thin spaghetti
• 1 and 1/2 sticks butter
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 large eggs – beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 and 1/2 lbs of shredded Sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Break spaghetti in half (or buy in box already halved) and cook as directed
2. Microwave butter in a measuring cup until melted
3. Drain spaghetti.
4. To spaghetti, add melted butter, 1 lb of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, cream cheese and eggs. Mix together until cheeses are melted
5. Add salt and pepper to taste (usually 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp each)
6. Add evaporated milk and stir
7. Pour into greased pan and add the remaining 1/2 pound of shredded cheddar to the top. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until slightly brown on the top

This is delicious with a little gravy on top too. Enjoy! (Printable recipe version below).

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITES

Craving some Louisiana Cajun comfort food? Here’s our recipe for some delicious Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice!

PRINTABLE VERSION:

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITES

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 20-25 servings)

• 6 – 12 oz packs of frozen yellow squash or 9 cups fresh squash – unpeeled
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 medium onions – chopped (I use this chopper for easy dicing)
• 2 bunches green onions
• 1 1/3 cups celery – chopped
• 1 jalapeño chopped (or use Mexican Velveeta)
• 2 bell peppers – chopped
• 4 teaspoons Tony’s Creole Seasoning
• 10 ox evaporated milk
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 16 oz Velveeta cheese (or Mexican Velveeta if you aren’t using jalapeño)

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Sauté butter, Tony’s Seasoning, onion, green onion, celery, bell pepper and jalapeño (if using) until wilted and veggies are soft (about 20-30 minutes)
2. In large pot, cover squash with water and bring to a boil. Let boil 20 minutes, until squash is soft, not crunchy
3. Drain squash
4. Add sautéed veggies to squash and mix together
5. Add evaporated milk, bread crumbs, eggs and Velveeta and mix all ingredients together into the squash. Note: Do this while squash is still hot so Velveeta will melt.
6. After mixing well, place in casserole dishes and sprinkle top with additional bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese
7. Bake at 350 degrees until slightly brown on the top

This is for a large gathering but you can half the recipe for smaller groups. Enjoy!

SHOP LISA’S Favorites

Looking for a more traditional side dish? Here’s our recipe for Grandma’s Spaghetti Mac n Cheese

Grandma’s Baked Spaghetti Mac n Cheese is a crowd pleaser. Adults and kids alike will love this side dish at your Thanksgiving or Christmas feast – and all year round

PRINTABLE VERSION:

Losing a loved one before your wedding day is an emotional event. Therefore, finding a beautiful way to honor their memory can be comforting. However, “the perfect way” to do this depends on your personal style and what you envision on your special day. Here are Five Wedding “In Memory of” Memorial Ideas for your wedding.

Idea 1
Create a Memory Table

A memory table is a perfect place to display your favorite photographs that remind you of your loved ones. Additionally, this table can be setup at the wedding ceremony venue or reception venue, and is an elegant way to honor the memory of someone on your wedding day who has passed away.

In essence, all you’ll need are some photos and memorial signs, along with some flowers or candles that match your wedding color scheme. These are a few memorial signs that can be placed on the table.

As seen above, this shop has unique poems that include custom drawings of the bride or groom with their deceased relative. Additionally, the poem can be edited and the drawings are handmade from photos submitted to the shop. This makes a touching piece to be displayed on a memory table or chair. And, because it can be brought home to keep forever, it also makes a good gift.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE TABLE SIGNS

The signs above are also popular items for a memory table. Add a few photos along with some flowers and your memorial table is complete!

Idea 2
Leave an Empty Chair

If you’d like to honor your loved one at your ceremony, many people choose to leave an empty chair or seat reserved just for them. Decorate the chair with your favorite photos, a personalized reserved chair sign or a small plaque.

For a mother of the bride or mother of the groom who is deceased – you could bring their favorite flower. Then, place it on the chair or reserved seat. This can be a very meaningful way of remembering someone important on your special day.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE CHAIR SIGNS

Idea 3
Boutonnière Charm Pin or Bouquet Charms

If you’d like a more intimate approach, you can use charm pins. For the groom who has lost a mother, father or other close loved one, a boutonnière safety pin with a locket or a charm containing a photo can be pinned to the boutonnière, or inside his jacket or vest. This is a personal way to pin them close to your heart on your wedding day.

Similarly, if the bride has lost her mother, father or other loved one, photo charms can be pinned inside of her dress or wrapped into her bouquet for her wedding day. These examples are a more discreet way of honoring the memory of the deceased at your wedding.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE MEMORY CHARMS

Idea 4
Memory Candles

Memory candles lit at your wedding ceremony or reception in memory of a loved one are another nice way to honor them. Generally, this has a more dramatic effect at a night wedding as opposed to day, due to the evening ambiance.

Also keep in mind that wind could play a factor at an outdoor wedding. In that case, flameless candles or lanterns that block the wind would work well.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE MEMORY CANDLES

Idea 5
Including your loved one in your Wedding Program

Many of your guests may not even know that the bride or groom lost a mother, father or other family member before their wedding day. Especially if they have been gone for sometime.

Including the loved one in your wedding program may help with any confusion for guests and is another way of keeping their memory alive for your wedding day. You can include a personal note or state “in honor of the late (name, relation)” in the program.

And those are five wedding “in memory of” memorial ideas to include your loved ones that have passed away in your wedding day. Those we’ve lost before our wedding day were often there for some of the most meaningful times in our lives. Therefore, it’s a beautiful idea to include them in the biggest day of your lives as well.

Need Last Minute Favors for your wedding guests? Get them here

As an Amazon Associate I may earn a small commission from qualified purchases.

Get out your slow cooker and get ready for some Cajun red beans and rice! After some trial and error with different recipes, this mixture was by far the best! It’s our Louisiana traditional Monday night dish made easy and oh so good.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 6)

• 1 lb (16oz) package of red kidney beans
• 6 cups water
• Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners (if you want easy clean up!)
• 1 package of Cubed Ham (Chisesi’s is best – if you know, you know! It’s a New Orleans thing though) You can also ask the deli to cut a thick slab of ham and you can cube it at home.
• 1 link of Smoked Pork Sausage or Andouille Sausage
• 1 cup diced onion – (I use this chopper for easy dicing)
• 1/4 cup diced celery (or 1 stalk of celery)
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 small bay leaves or 1 big leaf
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon for spicier)
• 1 tsp salt or to taste

SHOP MY FAVORITES

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Rinse red beans and add them to the slow cooker. I like to add a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner because I can throw it away when done and it makes clean up easier.
2. Add and 6 cups of water (you can soak beans overnight in the crockpot if desired)
3. Cut the seasoned ham and smoked pork sausage into bite-size pieces. (I like to fry the ham and sausage for about five minutes for added flavor but if you’re in a rush, just add these right into the slow cooker from the package.)
4. Cut the vegetables- my favorite chopper … Makes my life so much easier!
5. Add chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, cayenne and salt Into the slow cooker
6. Set slow cooker to high for six hours or low for 8 to 10 hours, depending on your schedule. It tastes delicious on any of these settings and the slow cooker will do it’s job even if you are not home. So easy right?
7. Once cooked, mash the beans on the side or bottom of the crockpot while stirring to thicken up the gravy. Cook a pot of rice and enjoy!

SHOP MY FAVORITES

Craving some more Louisiana Cajun cooking? Here’s our recipe for some delicious Crawfish Étouffée!

PRINTABLE VERSION:

Let’s DIY some Wedding Welcome Bags

Wedding welcome bags are a big thing for weddings. But they are especially popular for destination weddings. They are a way to thank your guests for taking the time (and usually spending money) to travel to your big day. And they also make your guests feel appreciated for their efforts – and for being the most special people in your life.

Wedding welcome bags can be expensive though, unless you DIY part of them. If you’re on a budget, you can easily order regular gift bags, tissue paper, snack bags, etc. and print and cut the design elements. This way you can save money and put them together yourself for your guests. Here’s how to make wedding welcome bags.

What to include:

First, you’ll need to decide what you want to include in your welcome bags. You can go to Pinterest for thousands of ideas. Dollar Tree also has some items you can include, such as tissues, lip balm and even tissue paper for your bags. Then you’ll need to narrow it down to your favorite items. They all have to fit in the bag, of course!

Our Wedding Welcome bags included:

• a welcome letter
• a weekend itinerary
• hotel door hangers
• homemade bath bombs
• fire cracker snacks, (recipe here)
• koozies
• water bottles with a custom label and
• a local travel magazine

I received the magazines for free by calling the local travel office for the city where we were getting married. They gladly sent me as many as I needed and even shipped them to me for free!

What to Buy

Once you’ve narrowed down the items you want to include, you’ll need to order your bags, tissue paper and any other supplies you’ll need. I highly recommend Nashville Wraps because they have high quality supplies for a reasonable price. They are the company I used to order my gift bags and tissue paper, snack bags and cellophane bath bomb bags. Currently, the bag size I ordered costs $6.90 for 10 bags. That’s only .69 cents per bag! (No, this isn’t a sponsored post, I just really liked their stuff)!

What you can make

I created my own welcome bag stickers and cut them with my Silhouette Cameo. The design I used for the outer sticker on the bags isn’t for sale but I have created some destination wedding themed free labels that you can print and cut by hand or import into Cricut or Cameo machine software to cut out for you. Canva is another free app that has thousands of design templates for labels and tags and all sorts of stuff. If you’re not the design or techie type, or you want a different design or color, you can contact me at my LisasLifeTips Etsy shop and I can create a custom one for you to print and cut for $15.

In future posts, I’ll go over how I created the water bottle labels, koozie design, hotel Do Not Disturb signs, homemade bath bombs, welcome letter and weekend itineraries. And I’ll be throwing in some freebies for matching designs then as well! So be sure you’re subscribed to this blog and you’ll get notified when those posts come out.

Wrapping Them up

Narrowing down what to include in our bags was, by far, the hardest part for me. I found so many cute things I wanted to include from Pinterest but I couldn’t include them all. Of all the items in our welcome bags though, I’d have to say the most talked about and liked were the Cajun Fire Crackers. They should call them Crack Crackers because everyone loved them and many guests even contacted me for the recipe after the wedding was over! I have the recipe here if you’d like to try them. They are great for Christmas treats and parties as well. Don’t blame me when you’re asked for the recipe though!

Once you have all of your supplies at home and have printed your labels, welcome letters, etc., its time to put the bags together. For couples, I put 2 of each item in one bag and gave them a couples bag. This saved on bags, letters, itineraries and labels. Once everything is in the bag, stuff a couple of tissue papers into the top, and voilà, you’re done!

With 4th of July and Labor Day celebrations coming up soon, it’s time to get festive with some free patriotic printable sparkler tags and food flags!

Freebie 1
Party in the USA Patriotic Food Flags

If your BBQ needs a little patriotic flair this year, these Party in the USA food flags will do the trick. If you have printable sticker paper sheets, just print, cut, fold and stick to toothpicks. But you can also use cardstock or regular printer paper and tape or glue too.

As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualified purchases with no additional cost to you.

Supplies Needed for Patriotic Food Flags

• Printer
• Sticker paper or copy paper
• Scissors or a cutting machine
• Glue or tape (unless using sticker paper)
• Toothpicks

Instructions

Download and print Party in the USA food flags. Cut two squares in a row together for one flag and fold down the middle to create a double sided flag. Place toothpick in the centerfold and stick, tape or glue to toothpick. Repeat process for all 12 toothpicks and print more if needed.

Freebie 2
Fun & Fireworks Sparkler Tag Holders

Sparklers are a great addition to patriotic holiday parties and these tags will dress them up with fun! Easily print these on 8 1/2 x 11” white cardstock. Each sparkler tag holder measures 3×3”.

Supplies Needed for Patriotic Fun & Fireworks Sparkler Tag Holders

• Printer
• Letter 8 1/2 x 11” cardstock
• Scissors, paper cutter or cutting machine (Cricut or Cameo, etc)
• Standard hole punch or scissors
• Sparklers

Instructions

Download and print Sparkler Tags on white cardstock. Cut each tag as a 3×3” square. Then cut a small slit with scissors or an x-acto knife at the top and bottom of each tag for the sparkler to fit (see photo above for slit placement). If you’re using bigger sparklers or want to put more than one sparkler in each holder, a hole puncher can be used.

I hope you enjoy these Free Patriotic Printable Sparkler Tags and Food Flags and enjoy your 4th of July and Labor Day festivities. Be sure to sign up below for more freebies coming soon!

Supplies Needed to Create a Photo Booth for your party List:

All celebrations should have lots of photos to create lasting memories. Why not add an affordable DIY photo booth to your party this year? Check out this post on how to do it

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases.

With inflation rising steadily, we are all looking for ways to cut costs. An average bottle of laundry detergent can cost .20 cents per load. Here’s a recipe for making your own laundry detergent that costs less than half that amount. At around .06 cents per load, you can save over $100 a year!

• 3 bars of Fels Naptha soap
• One 36 oz. box of Borax detergent
• One 3lb box of Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster Super Washing Soda
• 2 cups of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
• 1 of the 3 lb tubs of Oxi Clean
• Scent Beads (any scent – optional)

If you don’t like these brands for any reason, here are other options:

• FOCA detergent (instead of Borax and Arm & Hammer)
• Castille or Zote Soap (instead of Fels Naptha)

Directions: Grate or chop in food processor all bars of Fels Naptha soap. Add box of Borax and box of Super Washing Soda, 2 cups of baking soda, 3 lbs of Oxi Clean and optional scent beads into a large container or clean plastic trash bag and mix all ingredients together well. Use 1 tablespoon per small load or 2 tablespoons per large load.

NOTE: I have heard that the Fels Naphta may not disintegrate unless finely chopped in a food processor or melted by using hot water in your washing machine while washing clothes.

Want some Free Printable Laundry Labels to put on your jar of detergent you’re making? Get 12 Free Printable Labels here

Q&A

Is this safe to use in HE washers?

Check your owners manual but yes, it is safe to use in mine and should be safe for most if not all HE washers due to the low suds quality of the detergent. If you want to be safe, fill up washer first and add to water

Does it get your clothes clean?

YES! It gets out grass, mustard, ketchup, mud stains, etc and works really well

What about sensitive skin?

As always, test first if you have sensitive skin and research ingredients but we have a person with eczema in our household and have no issues.

Let’s face it, doing laundry is a dirty job but we’ve all got to do it. And, we spend a good bit of time in our laundry rooms each year. So why not make them pleasing to our eyes while we stand there to wash, dry and fold. Here’s how to makeover a laundry room in one weekend.

Step 1 – Assess The Laundry Room

The first step in making over your laundry room is to think about functionality. Where are your dryer sheets, laundry detergent, bleach, stain remover, etc. currently stored? Where are they going to be accessed most easily? Do you have them in cabinets or on a shelf? Or, do you have them sitting on top of your washer or dryer? If you have them on a shelf, do you like the shelf style currently? Or do you want something different?

Do you have a place to fold and hang clothes? If not, do you want one? Many people like folding and hanging their clothes in the bedrooms. Others prefer doing it in the laundry room, then taking them to the bedrooms and bathrooms. Just take some time to think about how you prefer to do your laundry and what makes the most sense for you.

If you have cabinets, do you like the current style and color of the cabinets? If not, do you want to paint them? Would adding cabinet knobs or pulls update them? I personally prefer cabinets because I can keep my washing products in their original packaging and store them out of sight. However, many people prefer open shelving and storing their products in jars and bins with pretty labels (I have free printable 3×3” labels below). A word to the wise though, glass jars are heavy once filled with bleach, fabric softener or liquid detergent. Therefore, plastic carafes are more practical for these cleaning products unless you choose the glass ones with pumps.

Step 2 – Find Your Style

The next step in your laundry room makeover should be completing a little research to find your style. I’m talking about the fun kind of research – lookup laundry room makeovers on Pinterest and Google Images, watch a few YouTube videos and pin down the style you’re going for in your laundry room. You’re already doing a great job on this first step because you’re doing a little research by reading this article!

Step 3 – Complete any renovations

Once you’ve decided your laundry room layout, I recommend completing any renovations such as painting walls or hanging cabinets, shelving and clothes racks first. You wouldn’t want your new, cute signs or baskets to get paint on them! And, as a result, you’re more likely to be successful with your overall vision of how decorations fit into the room once you’ve completed your renovations.

Step 4 – DECORATE!

Now comes the best part – time to decorate! In other words, shopping, crafting and/or creativity. Along with plants, baskets, jars and canisters, there are cute signs, rugs, and they even have magnetic lint boxes that stick right to the side of your dryer. But don’t overdo it. Choose a few of the things that you can’t live without in your design and go from there. And it doesn’t have to break the bank either. I will be doing another blog in the next couple of weeks and giving away a free SVG laundry sign design and you can download my free printable labels for your jars, jugs or canisters below. If you want to save more money, check out my recipe for laundry detergent that can save you $100 or more per year!

Step 5 – Download & Print Free Laundry Labels

For my Free Printable Laundry Labels I suggest using waterproof printing labels otherwise your labels will get ruined when water, bleach or liquid detergent get on them. You can buy waterproof labels here. You can also print on paper and use clear packing tape as an overlay. The labels are 3×3” but can be cut down as small as 1×3”. Labels Included are:

• Laundry Detergent
• Liquid Bleach
• OXI Clean
• Dryer Balls
• Stain Remover
• Fabric Softener
• Scent Booster
• Laundry Powder
• Dryer Sheets
• White Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Detergent Pods

Vision Board of Supplies you may NeeD:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.