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!