DIY Disney Inspired Aurora Capelet

I love to knit. You know this by the number of projects I show you here! So when I found out we were going to Monaco (I still can't believe it!) I knew there would be some knitting involved! We have been invited to a 007 Gala at the Casino Monte Carlo. Be still my heart! It's not every day your get to play at being a secret agent in the actual setting of Golden Eye! I wanted my attire to fit the bill. I found this incredible dress on Mod Cloth (my favorite place to shop!), but knew I would need a wrap of some sort as I am bound to get chilly at night.

My inspiration was this Summer Rose Capelet pattern. My only hang up was that it didn't open and close in the front the way I wanted it to. And me putting anything over my head at a formal even is a recipe for disaster. I at least know that much about myself! So I decided to try and tweak it to make it a wrap with a clasp. If you are a knitter and into all the details of how I did that, you can hop on over to my Ravelry page and take a look at the notes. I tried to document and give resources for how I tweaked the pattern. As it turned out, the roses were just a bit much once I had finished the capelet, so  I decided not to use them, much to my dismay. But the finished product is better than I imagined it would be!

I named it the Aurora Capelet, as it reminds me so much of Aurora's pink dress, as since it was originally going to have the Roses, and her fairy name was Briar Rose, it seemed perfect. Still, the capelet is fit for a princess and I am sure I will feel like one as I walk into the Monte Carlo Casino! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust.

Disney's Haunted Mansion DIY T-shirts

This post originally ran in 2013. I love these t-shirts and wanted to remind you (and me!) about them! Enjoy!
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Last year, most of our kids were old enough to know that Tinkerbell is really me, so to speak. So instead of doing a daily gift, I made a sort of Disney care package. Something to get the vacation off to a magical start. And nothing is better than a one-of-a-kind Disney souvenier to pump the excitement level up another notch.

We usually travel in the fall, with a crew of boys and girls; the bigs are between the ages of 12 and 9 and the littles are still toddlers. It can be tricky to make something that appeals to all ages and both genders, but with a little tweaking, it can be done.

T-shirts are the great equalizer. All kids need shirts and most of ours are trashed by the end of our vacation (Mickey ice cream bars, those sharpies in Epcot, turkey legs, and ketchup do a number on our kids' clothes). An additional T is always welcome. 

I like to reference Disney without using the licensed images when I can. It fosters creativity and is almost always cheaper. Here, I used my Silhouette SD, design id #12940 (bat flourish) to reference the Haunted Mansion. I then added my own monogram using Ravenscroft font. You can certainly find commercial iron-ons and patches, but I like to make our Ts something that no one else in the parks will have. It's especially satisfying when a complete stranger asks where they can get one of those Ts! For these, I used Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Paper for the T-shirt on the left, and inkjet transfer/iron-on paper (which can be found at any office supply or craft store) for the T-shirt on the right. 

The trick is remembering to reverse the image before printing or you will get a mirror image of the original design. As you can see, I forgot to do that for the T-shirt on the right! Fortunately, the image was fine both ways.

One criticism I have of the Silhouette heat transfer paper is that it only lasts about 4 washes before the image starts to peel right off. It helps to wash the shirts inside out. Otherwise, these were perfect for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. And If you've never been to this special ticketed event, our family highly recommends it. The lines are super short, the parade and fireworks are more magical than ever, and they are giving away candy all over the park. We've attended the Party two different years, and we've been delighted both times.

You can expect to see lots of custom T-shirts featured here in Merryweather's Cottage; as I said, we can never have too many! Stay tuned for more great designs, and until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Time for a Reboot!

Hello Mousekateers! It's been a while since I've posted on the blog, but since it's February and that's when the blog was born, I thought we'd give it a facelift and a new life! Those of you who've been following for a while will know that I have used a cloud based file system called Copy to share files with you. Unfortunately, they are shuttering that section of their business. So in an effort to keep all my files available to you, I will be rerunning those posts with new active links so you can still get your hands on all that DIY goodness!

And intermittently I will be sharing about our Disney vacations this year and how you can take your best Disney vacation with me as your guide! As many of you know I am a certified Disney Travel Planner. I can plan and book your trip AT NO ADDITIONAL COST. Disney pays my commission, so when you book with me you get my expertise for free!

So expect some fun new ideas, so terrific oldies but goodies and some travel news, all in one easy to find place! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Gone To Disney!

Our family is off on another Disney adventure! We will be in Walt Disney World this weekend - stop and say hello if you see us! Then we are off for the idyllic Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort! It's one of our favorite places.

I'll be back to the blog in a couple of weeks; until then, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort Trip Report

Since we are gearing up for another fabulous vacation at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, I thought I would rerun this trip report post from last year's amazing trip. Disney does vacations right! If you want more information on this resort, or would like to book a trip, contact me at amy@wishdrawals.com and let me set it up for you at no additional cost! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Let me start by saying this was quite possibly the best Disney vacation Mr. Photos From The Parks and I have had since the kids have arrived in our lives. I actually felt like I had a vacation. It's been a couple years since I could say that! Why was it so great? I think there were several things that made us wish we had bought into this resort at the beginning.

From our very arrival, we loved the atmosphere of this resort. Mr. Photos grew up vacationing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and it immediately felt very much like home. As many of you know, I grew up vacationing in Fort Wilderness, before there was anything more than the Magic Kingdom & River Country (and eventually Epcot). This resort took me back to how it used to feel spending our days as a family at Fort Wilderness. There was lots of down time and plenty to do if you weren't in the parks. We did most of it then and loved it. Hilton Head brought all of that back for me.

The pace of this resort also made our stay wonderful. We are used to our Disney vacations being of the fast-paced, non-stop, I'll-sleep-when-I-get-home variety. It's just not possible to do that here. The pace on the island was easy. If we slept in, no matter. If we missed the storyteller, he'd be back in an hour. If we wanted to eat later, no ADRs to worry about. The kids did as they wished and no one bothered to worry about it. It was such a delight!

Additionally, this resort is small, roughly 15 acres. To give you are reference point, Disney's Boardwalk Inn Resort encompasses 45 acres. The entirety of the Hilton Head Island Resort has roughly the same footprint as both areas of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. That's it. There are only 31 cottages here (with extremely spacious units), one pool and central activities area, as well as a few things to do at the check-in area. It's incredibly walkable with plenty to do without ever leaving the resort. But it's also easy to walk all around the Shelter Cove area, visiting several shops and restaurants.

The units were undergoing a major rehab while we were there. The color schemes were all updated to much more soothing blue/taupe/white theme. We had all new appliances as well as a full-size washer and dryer. This is the view of our main living area in the 2-bedroom villa. We had plenty of room to spread out even with all our baby/kid paraphernalia! There were several full sized closets as well as a mudroom for all our jackets, shoes, hats and stroller! That alone was a selling point for me! And although we didn't need it, both of these sofas fold out into beds. We could have easily slept 4 more people in our villa. It was more than enough room for us.

Disney also has a beach house and private beach area that is quite easy to get to. We drove, but Disney offers transportation, and there is also a very nice bike path for access. We had cool weather while we were there, but it didn't keep us from enjoying the beach and the amenities at the beach house. With the arcade and the beach, we were happy to spend the afternoon playing.

So, should you stay at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort? I say absolutely! If you are looking for a relaxing place to get away from it all, this is just the place you are looking for. Less hustle and bustle but still all the comforts of Disney you've come to love and expect. And for those of you who like seeing it all in one place, I've created a PDF fact sheet for the resort. Enjoy!

Scrapbooking Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

My regular readers will know that my family LOVES Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. It is one of the properties where DVC members can use their points, but you DON'T have to be a DVC member to stay there! We had one of our most enjoyable family vacations there for Spring Break 2014. . . . and I finally got around to scrapbooking it! I wanted to share these pages with you as inspiration for your own scrapbooking or as inspiration to go there! If you want to book a trip through me, your independent earmarked Disney Travel agent, feel free to contact me at amy@wishdrawals.com

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

Bringing Honor To Us All Mulan Inspired Design on RedBubble

I have a soft spot in my heart for the story of Mulan. She is not one of the well-loved Disney Princesses but her story is every bit as brave as Merida's and spunky as Rapunzel's. She was just a bit ahead of her time.

This new design, now available on RedBubble, was inspired by Mulan. I think it's fun and functional and looks great on so many of the great products at RedBubble. And now they are featuring laptop sleeves as well as all the other great stuff they carry! Head on over for a quick look.

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

DIY Disney T-shirt Quilt | Phase 5: Finishing

I am so excited to present my completed Disney T-Shirt Quilt! It was a long time in the making and a very big undertaking, but alas, I have persisted and completed this project!

I backed this with an old twin size duvet cover that the teenage had decided was too complicated to use. I also found this fun black and white polka dot fabric in my stash that was given to me a while back. I used it to make my own bias tape for binding.

So by the end of this project, the only cost that went into it was the bolt of iron-on Pelon I used to back the t-shirts. I'd say that's a bargain! Not only did it give new life to t-shirts we had outgrown, but also now is the coveted blanket for movie night!

I could not be happier with this quilt. It embodies all the qualities of love for a great DIY: reused items made into something useful and lovely. It is not going to win any awards for the construction, but it is definitely a family treasure, and that is better than any perfectly constructed quilt I could buy.

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

Disney DIY Envelopes from Calendar Pages

Like many Disney fans, I have Disney calendars in the cottage. I love watching the months change throughout the year. And then, just like that, the new year is upon us and I have an old calendar with pictures I love but have no idea what to do with.

It occurred to me recently that these calendar pages would make great envelopes! They are fun, brightly colored and easy to make. All you need is a little glue or tape for the back flaps and you are all set! And being such an good environmentalist will certainly earn you your Environmentaility Badge from Jiminy Cricket!

These are easy to make, just follow these simple instructions for folding an envelope:

And you are all set! You can actually post these, or use them for teacher notes, hand delivered sentiments, enclosed in a gift, or for gift cards or certificates! They are a handy little way to put just a bit more Disney magic into the world.

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