Don't Be Such A Guppy Design in RedBubble Shop

So I have to be honest, The Little Mermaid was never going to be my princess. I'm not sure what it is, but she just doesn't resonate with me the way Merida and Rapunzel do. Maybe Ariel was just too love-struck for my taste. Or maybe I just wasn't a love-struck teen when this movie premiered. Who knows?

Nevertheless, this little gem of a design is one of my favorites! It is, perhaps, Ariel's best advice. Ever. And sometimes, we just need a little reminder not to be so timid! It worked for Flounder, mostly.

As usual, you can find this design in my Redouble shop, on a myriad of products; I am especially in love with the baby and kid-sized shirts! I also think this one is rather well suited to the tech products as well. Who couldn't use a daily reminder to be braver?

Until next time, dear readers, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Celebrating National Crochet Month Disney Style

If you don't crochet, you may not know that March is National Crochet Month. As such, I thought it would be fun to do a round up of all the Disney crochet projects I've done on the blog over the last two years! To get the story on how I made them and a link to the patterns, click on the caption. It will take you to the original post.

I hope you enjoy them, and may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Tangled Passie Clip

Disney Dress Up Crowns

Amigurumi Squirt

Adult Sized Mickey Beanie

Princess Wrap

Disney's Tangled Inspired Corona Flower Hand-Knit Mittens

I love these new Corona Flower mittens I knit as an homage to Tangled! At the very beginning of film, there is the story of Mother Gothel and how she finds the magic flower born of the sun. It sets the whole story in motion. When I saw this beautiful pattern, Lilyfiled Mittens, by Jennifer Coleman, I was immediately reminded of that scene and I knew they would be my next project.

The color choice was obvious, the flower needed to "glow" and purple is Rapunzel's color after all. I have become a huge fan of fair isle (or stranded) knitting in the last several years. I find it sort of magical! You simply follow a chart, knit each little square accordingly, and suddenly, this beautiful picture emerges on your fabric! And I have to say, this pattern was one of the most enjoyable to follow. EVERYTHING worked as it was supposed to. That never happens to me. I got gauge (barely, with US 0 needles), my tension was just right, none of the stitches require enormous floats, the cuff detail just happened on the first try, and the size is actually right! My hands are small, so this seems incredible to me. It's the magic of the Corona Flower. It has to be. Or Jennifer Coleman tested the heck out of the pattern before she published it (which seems most likely). Either way, I'm grateful.

And the timing of these lovely knits could not be better. I just lost one of my first hand-knit mittens last month, before the weather became incredibly cold! I needed a new pair pronto! And here they are, as lovely as a flower. And much more lovely than that first pair! I can't promise they will keep you young, but I can promise they'll get you noticed! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Princess Tutu

I think by now we all know I love a good bargain! I do my fair share of hunting. I love checking out Tuesday Mornings for all things Disney. They are usually a good spot for Tinkerbell Treasures at a good price. The toy aisle is always promising. But I was surprised last time I was in to find this Disney Princess Tutu Kit from Simplicity in the crafting aisle! For $3.00 I was sold!

Now, this is not really a sewing project; it's more of a wrapping tulle around an elastic band project. If you wanted to sew the elastic band together, I'm sure you could; but in all honesty, I just tied it in a knot. I'm fairly certain it will be staying in the dress-up box, and the littles don't care about a bit of elastic showing. And even more exciting, this project was simple enough that I was able to polish it off during nap time! I also think it's a great addition to your dress-up box. It's not going to win any contests, but it is a boat-load of fun. I chose not to use the appliqué that came with it, but there is a cute little rose for a future project!

If you can't find this kit anywhere, I think it would be simple enough to make this yourself. There were roughly 45 tulle strips about 4"x 24", a piece of elastic big enough to go around your daughter's (or your!) waist, and 4 strips of coordinating ribbon of the same length. That's it. And I've often seen spools of tulle in the dollar bins at JoAnn's. You could do a green and yellow one for Tinkerbell, a blue one for Cinderella, a purple and pink one for Rapunzel, the sky's the limit! I don't know how comfortable it would be to wear, but it also strikes me as a cute RunDisney accessory. Let me know if you attempt to make one of these for your cottage, and until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney's Cinderella Castle Night lights

This is one of the easiest DIY's I have found. All you need is a flameless candle, a printed picture of Cinderella Castle, a piece of clear tape, and a pair of scissors. SIMPLE! And it looks surprisingly pretty. I could see this in a princess room (or let's face it, MY room) as a lovely little night light. What sweet dreams your princess would dream watching the castle glowing as she drifted off to sleep! In fact, that's my favorite part about having a Magic Kingdom view at the Contemporary!

If you don't have a photo of Cinderella Castle that you like, simple search Google and you will find just what you need. Trust me. Once you have your image, you may need to resize it a bit. Measure the circumference of your candle base and be sure that your image is no more than a 1/4 inch larger than that measurement. You don't want a lot of overlap in the back. Alternatively, you can trim it down a bit once your print it out. Just be sure the main part of the image will be seen easily.

I like the contrast of the black and white image. Theoretically, this would work with a high contrast color image, but I haven't tried that. I recommend printing your image in black and white. And don't use an image that has print on the back (from a book, pamphlet, etc.) The print on the back side will show through when you turn the light on.

Once you have your castle printed, take your scissors and cut out the castle. It might be a little tricky, but be patient. It's worth it. Then simply wrap it around the candle, and tape the back side closed. That's it! Turn on your night light and dream sweet Disney dreams! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!