Hallmark Movie Review: You, Me, & the Christmas Trees

October 23, 2021October 23, 2021 ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

The NEW 2021 Hallmark Christmas Movies have begun, and I am here for all of it!

If you’re new to my blog/website, you may be wondering “Why in the world is she talking about Hallmark movies when I came here for crafts and sewing projects?!?” GREAT QUESTION! Simple answer: I have many interests….so instead of making multiple websites, you get all of me here.

I’ve been so busy, that I haven’t taken the time to review the “off season” movies as much….but I will NOT miss out on Christmas! So let’s get our Merry On, shall we?

First up this season, we have Danika McKeller & Benjamin Ayres starring in You, Me, & the Christmas Trees

I wanted so badly to LOVE this movie.

Look. I AM a scientist. 👩‍🔬 I SUPER appreciated the gigantic nod to science, the scientific method, the fact that science (and experiments in particular) 🔬 can take trial & error AND longer periods of time….so yay! Real Science REPRESENT! However, that leaves very little room for the MAGIC of Christmas and the MAGIC I’ve come to love from my Hallmark movies. Also, I never claimed that lab work was romantic….so not a huge surprise it fell flat there as well 🤣

Another REALLY REAL aspect I just LOVED: REAL TREES!!! My kind of Christmas trees! They weren’t perfectly shaped or colored…and I LOVED IT!

So here’s how I break it down:
5 categories, 5 hearts possible in each:

CHEMISTRY (between the leads)❤️❤️❤️ I feel like I’m being generous with 3 hearts here. Jack and Olivia had their moments, but if I’m being honest, I just wasn’t feeling much between the two of them. It was just meh for me. I love both Danika & Benjamin, so I’m so sad this combo didn’t work for me….

STORYLINE (overall plot of the movie) ❤️❤️❤️ Here’s the deal. I loved what they were trying to do with this. Real scientific method. A laboratory mystery….but, did you all notice that we ended this movie WITHOUT EVEN AN ANSWER?!?! We still don’t know what was wrong with the trees!!!! Did this bother anyone else? And the big conflict between Jack & Olivia just didn’t make me care at all. This seemed like a fight that a couple that had been together for years would have, not one that a newly dating couple would let halt their romance.
SUPPORTING CAST❤️❤️❤️ I was so excited for the Wonder Years reboot….but…..I’m sorry, was Kevin’s older brother much better to watch when he was younger? Sorry DuWayne…my bar must have been set much lower back in the day…. I’m giving 3 hearts to one person specifically, and that is Jack’s mom. She might have been my favorite character in the whole movie. She sounds like a fun time, and I’d love to hang out with her someday at her new senior living pad.

FEELS❤️❤️ The absolute only thing that gave me the feels this entire movie: Danika’s (sorry, Olivia’s) monologue to her parents. I’m not sure what Danika’s childhood was like…but it really felt like she pulled from a very personal space for that scene. I almost cried right along with her. Best scene of the entire film.

HALLMARK SURPRISE ❤️❤️The big surprise for me was the commitment to the REAL tree throughout. It was quite a refreshing change to almost all Hallmark Movies and their Balsam Hill ads. Also….the flatness of the whole story until Olivia sees her parents face to face. Oh, and one more thing …..was there an unusual amount of alcohol in this movie? Even morning beverages? Hmmm……no judgement….just surprising…

NEW (ungraded) CATEGORY no hearts given, but I feel like some of the “traditions” or decor in these movies NEED a little spotlight. I mean…

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?!?!

Cocktail Competition….not sure I want to participate, but I’d definitely be a judge!
Bake an ornament inside a Yulelog…and the first to find it gets to hang it and light the tree!

13/25 Oof! Not the way I thought we’d kick off the Countdown to Christmas Season….but I don’t think I could sit through this one again…I would probably rather sit in my couch all night and watch Christmas needles fall off my tree…

DIY Eye Glasses Rack

October 4, 2021 ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

I was going to start this post out with apologizing for being MIA for so long again… But at this point it seems like that’s becoming redundant.

So I will just jump right in because I know you’re busy, just like me….hence why you haven’t heard from me in a while.

I’ve been wearing glasses since I was in fifth grade, and although I do wear contacts from time to time… You will mostly see me in a pair of spectacles.

I love love love the availability of affordable glasses these days. I have started accumulating quite a collection, which makes wearing them much more fun!

For months now, I have been trying to find a good way to store them to make them easily accessible while I am getting ready in the morning….

This idea actually came to me by accident waking through the cookware aisle…..

I saw this brushed gold cookie cooling rack for under $4 and snatched it up hoping it would work

It turns out to be the perfect size of a frame that I just found while deep cleaning the boys’ closet.

I’m not really going to Give you a step-by-step tutorial, because you don’t need it. I simply painted the bare frame To match my Decour. And used an industrial staple gun to staple the cookie rack to the back!

The little feet bring it out just far enough from the wall to allow the frames to slip through!

How fun is that?!?? I mean, even if you don’t wear glasses, this could work for Sunglasses too!

Crafts & DIY · Sewing

Disney Lanyards: Pin Swapping Fun

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021 ladybeezdesignsLeave a comment

This is a NEW TO US Disney Activity!

The last time we went to Disney was December of 2013, so were were a family of 5. Our kiddos were ages 6, 3, 1.5, and I was 5 months pregnant.

I never said we weren’t crazy.

At any rate, collecting/swapping pins was NOT on my radar. The kiddos LOVE meeting the characters and collecting autographs though….and since that isn’t currently possible with the COVID protocols, they do still have a system in place to keep pin trading alive. I found this explanation of how pin trading works SUPER helpful.

Of course, due to the pandemic, things work a little differently, so THIS breakdown is how we will have to go about our trading. If you don’t want to click it….it basically says there are trading “posts” set up at the different parks and you can look through the boards, choose which pin you’d like to trade for, and a cast member will get it for you.

In order to save time/money…..I made us our own lanyards to carry/display/keep our pins!

Here is a quick measurement guide:

Cotton fabric: 4” x 37”

Fleece for batting: 1” x 34”

Then it’s just ironing the strips of fabric around the fleece and sewing them up….attach clip on the end and Viola!

Is this free? Maybe not for the average Disney goer….but I have all these supplies already, so for us IT IS!

I also wanted to have the kiddos start off with some pins, of course……so I looked and looked and looked….after reading lot sof great reviews, I decided this was the company I wanted to go with to not be scammed. 🙂 I bought a lot of 50 pins. We divided them up: 10 for each kiddo and 10 for Mom & Dad.