DIY Disney St. Patrick's Day Beer Sampler Set : Peace, Love, Mickey & St. Patty's Day

Let there be no doubt that we are a beer drinking cottage! We love St. Patrick's Day for so many reasons, but certainly the opportunity to drink some beer from across the pond rates high on our list!

And to celebrate such an auspicious occasion, I bring you the Disney St. Patrick's Day Beer Sampler! What better way to introduce your family to the tastes of Ireland than with this fun sampler set? And yes, it's simple to make if you have the right tools!

You may remember the Snuggly Duckling Beer Sampler Set from last summer. I found these blank sets in the $1 spot at Target. It was part of their Father's Day/Summer promotions. If they have them again this summer I'll be sure to pick up some more! The paddle was $3 and each glass was $1. It's one of the best deals I've seen from them.

I used my Silhouette SD to cut out each shape from stencil vinyl. I used this shamrock, this peace sign, this heart, and I created my own Mickey shape using the circle tool. Remember, to draw a perfect circle, hold the shift key and drag. After that I simply adhered the stencils to the glass and used etching cream. I set the timer for 15 minutes for these. I really like the way these turned out. They are big enough to see.

If you are in the mood for a beer tasting, you might try these four Irish draughts: Murphy's, Harp, Smithwick's & of course Guinness. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Guinness Stew from Disney's Rose & Crown

It's time to start thinking about your St. Patrick's Day plans, and this Guinness Stew recipe from Disney's Rose & Crown is the perfect addition to a St. Patrick's Day menu. It was simple to make and LOVELY on the cold winter's night we enjoyed it. It's hardy and filling and just the thing for your Irish soul. (We may have added a little more Guinness than the recipe calls for - it didn't hurt a thing!)

We paired our stew with a Liberté Cabernet Sauvignon which was delicious! We can usually find that at our local Trader Joe's. It's one of our go to bottles. Of course, you certainly could serve it with Guinness! We rounded out the meal with a loaf of crusty rosemary bread and some in season greens.

I found this delightful recipe at The Disney Diner, where there is a HOST of other recipes as well. If you had it in Disney and you want to try it at home, chances are Lisa has the recipe. Lisa also has her own YouTube channel too, so if you are like me and need to see it happen, this is a great resource for all you're Disney recipe needs! Let us know if you have a favorite of hers. We'd be delighted to try it out! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

King Brian of the Little People St. Patrick's Day Photo Bomb

Happy St. Patrick's Day readers! I've mentioned before that we love celebrating this Irish-American holiday here in the cottage. Several birthdays surround the holiday for our family and we are already in a very celebratory mood! Whats a little more Guinness? And as an added bonus, I will be traveling to Ireland with my niece at the end of the month!! I am so excited.

And as is our tradition here in the cottage, we will be watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People. The movie was made in the live-action heyday of Disney studios and is a quirky little gem. If you're REALLY a Disney geek, or grew up renting these tapes from the video store, then you know exactly what I mean, and you've probably watched this one yourself a couple of times. This movie is not your standard Disney fare of today. But the bonus material on the DVD almost makes watching it worth it - even if you do groan all the way through the movie.

One of the central characters of Darby O'Gill and the Little People is King Brian, King of the Leprechauns - although that term is a bit pejorative for the Little People. He's a wee devil and only shows himself to Darby. I thought it would be fun to make him into a little png file and have him photo bomb our family for St. Patrick's Day! I had way too much fun doing this! He should also come in handy for some of those Ireland pictures that are to come!

If you are interested in this King Brian png file too, help yourself. It's for personal use ONLY as I created it from copyrighted materials. Enjoy using it today to photobomb you favorite people. And if you do, use #KingBrian on Instagram so I can enjoy it with you! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney St. Patrick's Day Beer Sampler Set : Peace, Love, Mickey & St. Patty's Day

Let there be no doubt that we are a beer drinking cottage! We love St. Patrick's Day for so many reasons, but certainly the opportunity to drink some beer from across the pond rates high on our list!

And to celebrate such an auspicious occasion, I bring you the Disney St. Patrick's Day Beer Sampler! What better way to introduce your family to the tastes of Ireland than with this fun sampler set? And yes, it's simple to make if you have the right tools!

You may remember the Snuggly Duckling Beer Sampler Set from last summer. I found these blank sets in the $1 spot at Target. It was part of their Father's Day/Summer promotions. If they have them again this summer I'll be sure to pick up some more! The paddle was $3 and each glass was $1. It's one of the best deals I've seen from them.

I used my Silhouette SD to cut out each shape from stencil vinyl. I used this shamrock, this peace sign, this heart, and I created my own Mickey shape using the circle tool. Remember, to draw a perfect circle, hold the shift key and drag. After that I simply adhered the stencils to the glass and used etching cream. I set the timer for 15 minutes for these. I really like the way these turned out. They are big enough to see.

If you are in the mood for a beer tasting, you might try these four Irish draughts: Murphy's, Harp, Smithwick's & of course Guinness. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Guinness Stew from Disney's Rose & Crown

It's time to start thinking about your St. Patrick's Day plans, and this Guinness Stew recipe from Disney's Rose & Crown is the perfect addition to a St. Patrick's Day menu. It was simple to make and LOVELY on the cold winter's night we enjoyed it. It's hardy and filling and just the thing for your Irish soul. (We may have added a little more Guinness than the recipe calls for - it didn't hurt a thing!)

We paired our stew with a Liberté Cabernet Sauvignon which was delicious! We can usually find that at our local Trader Joe's. It's one of our go to bottles. Of course, you certainly could serve it with Guinness! We rounded out the meal with a loaf of crusty rosemary bread and some in season greens.

I found this delightful recipe at The Disney Diner, where there is a HOST of other recipes as well. If you had it in Disney and you want to try it at home, chances are Lisa has the recipe. Lisa also has her own YouTube channel too, so if you are like me and need to see it happen, this is a great resource for all you're Disney recipe needs! Let us know if you have a favorite of hers. We'd be delighted to try it out! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

A Disney St. Patrick's Day

We love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day here in the cottage; with several birthdays falling on the 17th, it's become a big celebration! But when it comes to Disney, it's a little trickier to find some Irish magic; however, not impossible. Now some of you may be tempted to go in the direction of Brave, the new pixar movie. And for those of us not familiar with the politics of the UK, we might get away with it. But let us not forget that Brave takes place in Scotland. And there is NO celebration of St. Patrick and his roots anywhere in Scotland. They have their own patron saint to celebrate.

That being said, there is an old and dare we say, obscure, Disney movie that IS quite Irish: Darby O-Gill and the Little People. This is a live action film from 1959, and a regular part of my childhood movie viewing. It was just the slightest bit scary (there is a banshee and a death wagon) and still full of enchantment. Exactly the sort of thing Disney was known for in our house. (Think Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) If you are interested in this little known, and often disregarded, part of Disney history, this is just the right thing for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations. It is available through Amazon, as well as on Netflix, but only as a DVD. And if the obscurity of it in not enough to convince you, this little gem has the added benefit of starring Sean Connery as a young man. You just never know what you're gonna get when the Walt Disney Studios gets involved!

Tomorrow we'll raise a glass to St. Patrick as we sing along with Sean Connery, Darby O'Gill, & the Little People. Perhaps you will too. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!