DIY Disney Travel Game

When I saw this idea on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to recreate it using the Disney ephemera I had collected over the years. I tend to be a pack rat - every now and again, this winds up being a good thing. It's nice when that happens! If you are a pack rat too, then this project is free to create. I know I love a budget friendly DIY.
I had an old sturdy tube from some Silhouette stencil vinyl that was just right for this project, perfect for outlining the shapes of some old Disney stickers I had lying around. (I believe these are from the 90s - when I was still paper scrapbooking. Disney had a terrific scrapbooking store back then; I'm not sure if it's still around today.) If you don't have any stickers, they are very easily obtained from the Dollar Store, or a craft store. And they are usually fairly inexpensive, especially if you have a coupon.

The idea here is simple. I removed the outer edge of the sticker paper, leaving the actual stickers on the page. Then I used the "blanks" as a stencil to trace the shapes of the stickers onto the paper tube. I used a fat Sharpie to trace them and then a fine point Sharpie to label the shapes. (I have a bit of a pen addiction as well. I love my Sharpies!) Happy isn't quite able to read yet, and I wanted Poppins or Doc to be able to help him if I wasn't available.  So now there are several Disney shapes and characters to match to the shapes on the tube. I figure this could last him a good 20 minutes if he takes to it! Stickers are generally a favorite for him. For our family, the trick is finding new and different things to keep the little ones occupied on our drive. It's a LONG way to Orlando from our cottage in the midwest! I'll let you know if this works for us. And if you try it, let us know how it worked for you!

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

Walt Disney's Favorite Chocolate Soda Recipe

I'm a fan of Ghirardelli chocolate. A HUGE fan. And I don't feel my trip to Walt Disney World is complete without stopping at the Ghirardelli store in Downtown Disney. (Incase you are unaware, they give out free samples! Worth the trip to Downtown Disney just for that, if you ask me.) I especially love their chocolate soda. It's not on the menu; you have to ask for it. Without a doubt, it's my favorite thing there. Except for the Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Squares; those are to die for. So I felt a kindred bond when I found out that Walt himself was a fan of the chocolate soda. So much so, that the Plaza Restaurant recreated his favorite Chocolate Soda.

Here's the recipe, perfect for bringing a little magic home:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup chocolate syrup
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 6 oz. soda or seltzer water
• Maraschino cherry

Directions:

• Pour chocolate syrup in the bottom of an 8-ounce milk shake glass.
• Smoosh in 1 scoop of ice cream.
• Slowly pour in soda water almost to top of glass.
• Perch another scoop of ice cream on top.
• Add a cherry and a colorful straw or two.

Now we don't do Maraschino cherries here (Doc has a sensitivity to artificial dyes), but we are happy to report that the cottage approves even without the cherry on top. Personally, I can't get enough! We used our Soda Stream to make as much soda water as we needed. (A seriously great product!) And, while we didn't have any Ghirardelli syrup in the cottage at the moment, we highly recommend Trader Joe's Midnight Moo. It's delicious!

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

Happy Memorial Day Mousekateers!

photo copyright Photos From The Parks

DIY Mickey's Kitchen Pot Holders

Some of us are a little more "out" with our Disney obsession than others. We have great friends with a Mickey themed kitchen. There are all sorts of gadgets and cookware that can give your kitchen a Disney feel. In fact, Disney has an entire store in Downtown Disney devoted to such things. And for those of us who can't get to said brick and mortar store, Disney has conveniently provided a virtual store for our every shopping need. Check it out here.

Today we feature a project that would be perfect for the Mickey's Kitchen devotees: pot holders. I love the size of these. They are perfect for holding a hot mug of soup or a bowl that's been zapped in the microwave. It's also the ideally sized for the tea kettle handle. And it's easy enough that older kids can help with this project.

You could customize this project for any Disney character's color scheme (red, white, blue & yellow for Donald; green, blue, orange & black for Goofy; etc.) - but since most of the Disney kitchen accessories are in a Mickey color scheme, we chose to stick with red, black, yellow & white.

If you don't already have a potholder loom, they are fairly inexpensive and easy to come by. I found mine at the local JoAnn's, but they are available online as well. Check out Amazon for a wide selection, or just google potholder loom & use the shopping link. I have had good luck finding the loops in the kid's crafting area of any major craft or education store. But if you are finding it difficult to locate some (or get out of the house!), you can purchase them here.

Experiment with color and pattern. Doc helped me weave these two patterns and we loved the way they turned out. After completing these two, we had a few helpful hints to pass along:

1. The last couple rows of weaving are tricky, as the loops will want to pop off the loom. Go slowly.
2. To finish edges we used an H crochet hook started in the top right hand corner. Pull first loop off and leave on your hook; pull the second loop off and single crochet. Continue around the entire loom, pulling the last loop all the way through so it sticks out.
3. The last edge of the potholder wanted to pull off the loom; try to prevent that by using your left hand to hold it down while you finish the edge (assuming you are right handed).

And that's it! We were able to make 2 of these in an hour. If it's your first attempt at using the loom, give yourself a bit more time. And most importantly have fun! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Sitting With Grandmother Willow: Tarynne Wise

Today we have a guest in the cottage! 


Please meet Tarynne Wise of My Wise Designs. I first met Tarynne through Instagram. There's a terrific Disney community out there if you just look for it! Tarynne makes some fabulous Disney wallets from upcycled materials. Jimminy Cricket would be proud. You definitely need to check her out!


Disney by the numbers (with apologies to Harpers):
# of trips have you made? Ohh boy, I couldn't even guess! Way too many! One week I went 3 days!
Date of your next trip? Hopefully next weekend!
# of Resorts stayed in? I actually haven't stayed in any! We live about an hour away.
Usual # in your travel party? 2.. whether it be me and the boyfriend (who lucky for him had a pass when I met him!) or me and one of my nieces.
Pairs of mouse ears in your cottage? Just one that I got when I was little. 

Are you a WDW or Disneyland visitor? Disneyland!
How do you usually travel to Disney? In a car!
Do you have any tips for trips? Rest. Even if its for 5 minutes, it helps! Bring food some park food is so expensive and bring a refillable water bottle!
Do you have a favorite place to eat while in Disney? Lucky Fortune Cookery in California Adventure. The coconut curry is delicious!
What is your absolute DON'T MISS attraction? Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain.
Stage shows, yes or no? No.
Parades, yes or no? Sometimes!
Best Fast Pass to get: Space Mountain.
Favorite park: Disneyland
One piece of advice you'd give a novice about Disneyland: if you're going to go more than twice a year, a pass is a must!!

Tell us about your blog and Etsy shop.
My blog is where I post everything creative that I make! Mostly cards and Project Life. My Etsy shop is where I sell my goodies! I have cards and Disney Wallets.
How can we connect with you? 
     Instagram: tarynne419
     Etsy: mywisedesigns.etsy.com
     Blog: alltarynne.blogspot.com

Thanks so much to Tarynne for stopping by the cottage! And until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Travel Mug

This project is so easy it almost seems like cheating! But I post it as a fantastic Tinkerbell Treasure idea - cheap and easy. That's how we like our crafts, not our Mousekateers! This is an especially good Tinkerbell Treasure idea for the men in your travel party.

On a recent trip to JoAnn's I found these Color A Travel Mugs in the bargain bins. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly how much they were, but if memory serves, they were about $2.00 a piece. Now these come with some pre-printed coloring pages, so if you want to hang on to those and give them to your kids as entertainment on the trip, you get bonus points for thriftiness.

To Disney-fy these, I simply traced the liner onto a Magic Kingdom map, cut it out, and slipped it into the mug. It was THAT SIMPLE. And wouldn't Jimminy Cricket give this his seal of Environmentality? I think so. It's a great way to upcycle those maps I just can help but bring home. And there are plenty of maps to differentiate your mugs: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, and any special events maps like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Since we tend to stay in the villas and make our own meals, we see these as our own refillable mugs! Enjoy this one Mousekateers, and until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Pressed Penny Push Pins

I am a self-professed pressed penny enthusiast. I always head to Disney armed with rolls of quarters and pennies. It's a great way to keep the littles busy while we wait for the thrill-seekers to to finish their attractions. I especially love to hit the penny machines in the shops on Sunset Boulevard in Disney's Hollywood Studios. The wait for The Rockin' Roller Coaster and Hollywood Tower of Terror can be LONG. If we didn't get fast passes and we've already finished the Disney Jr. show, this is where I go to keep the kiddos busy. Of course, there are penny machines throughout the entire Disney Resort. Some of the best pressed pennies can be had at some of the less-visited places. A pressed penny hunt can be a great activity for a non-park day.

And what's better than a 51 cent souvenir? This also means, however, that I have quite a collection of pressed pennies. And that I am always looking for something to do with them. It occurred to me that I could glue them to some flat head push pins to create a unique (and useful) souvenir. I LOVE a useful souvenir. I feel better about it taking up space in my house. So these fantastic little beauties were born! I used Gorilla Glue, but I think an epoxy or even Super Glue would do the trick.

So simple and so fun. I think they'd be the perfect stocking stuffer, don't you? Or perhaps a graduation gift? After all, the traditional graduation gift is money, right? Wrap these up in a sweet little box and include a couple of bills in there too. Voila! Thoughtful and easy - my kind of gift! And these certainly fall into the nap time friendly and budget friendly category as well. I just love these little gems. I see many sets in our future!

I hope you have fun making these, and until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Board Book

With two littles in the house board books play a huge part in our lives. We have them for every occasion and then some. So when I found this site that actually allows you to create your own board book, well, let's just say my fairy wand started to buzz. My Custom Story has great software and easy to follow directions that allow you to customize anything on your own schedule. I tried Pint Size Productions, but the software kept timing out on me. Granted, I have a lot of interruptions around the cottage, but it was driving me wild. My Custom Story was much easier to work with. And as far as pricing goes, I got more layouts for my money. It was around $30.00 to make and ship the book, and it was worth every penny! The book is a high quality product for sure. It would be an especially awesome Tinkerbell Treasure for the car or the plane.

For this book I used pictures from the amazing Photos From The Parks. I decided to do a color identification book for the first try. It's perfect for Happy right now, and Minnie will be able to enjoy it too. Here is a sample of what's inside:

I think the possibilities here are endless! I plan on making another one with numbers found around the parks. And for Doc (our tweenager), I think I could make a game of it for him to identify where each object is located throughout the Disney resort. Bonus!

In all, I am very pleased with the board book I created. I hope you try one out too. And if you do, please share it with us! We love to see what our readers are up to. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney's Dumbo Poster T-shirt & Pants

I'm a HUGE fan of the Dumbo ride. (And if you haven't seen the refurbished Dumbo ride & Storybook Circus, you are MISSING OUT! It's the best refurb to date.) I may have been accused of having more children, just so I have a good excuse to spend my days in Fantasyland. Not that one really needs an excuse; unless said person is dragging a tween boy around to all the "kiddie" rides. SO uncool. Nevertheless, this project was inspired by my affection for the lovable elephant.

For this T-shirt project, I originally used Transfer MAGIC's Inkjet Transfer Paper for Light Colored, Light Weight Fabrics. I still got a plasticy finish to the transfer, which I hate wearing, but the image looks perfect. Unfortunately, the design peeled off after one wearing in the Florida heat. I was so disappointed that when I got home I immediately made a new T-shirt using Lesley Riley's TAP Transfer Artist Paper. It's FAR superior to anything else I have used. And the transfer is just as sharp. I will be using this for the rest of my transfer projects for sure. You can see a close up in the bottom photo.

I purchased a series of vintage Disney poster images through Nukes at Etsy. These are top quality and big, so at a dollar an image, you can't go wrong. Because this is a jpeg, I used Photoshop to size and reverse the image for transfer. My Silhouette SD has trouble importing jpegs; perhaps the other models, or newer software has made this easier? I wouldn't know.

Fabric for these pants is from Spoonflower: Circus Elephants by pennycandy. And the pants pattern is Anna Maria Horner's Quick Change Trousers, because I truly can't get enough of them.

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