Journaling at Disney

I know what you're thinking, "Who has time to journal at Walt Disney World?" I mean, come on! There's already so much to do, and days are jam packed from morning to night, then you collapse in your room, only to get up the next morning and do it all over again. While this may be true, I still feel the need to write down what we did during any given day. After all, you may ride the same rides, or see the same shows, but no two days in Disney are ever the same. I want to make the magic last as long as I can, and if I plan to scrapbook any photos from our trip (which I do plan on doing) then I want to have some memories to go along with the picture! And I know there will be many. All I need is a composition notebook and a pen, or a computer works just as well.

 So given that magical memories can live on forever in one's mind by writing them down, and revisiting them later, I want these memories for my kids to have as well. So I put together a journal for my youngest. She's in Kindergarten, so just learning to read and write. For her, I felt it best to have a leading journal, instead of a total free one. One where she has a mixture of answering questions, and where she can write freely. I found a journal download online, at The Mouse For Less. You can find it HERE. It gave me the bones for the journal, and I made it my own.  Here's what I came up with:

This Daily Details page is printed for each day we are there (of course the date will change), as well as the free journal page and a character list (below).

To house these journal pages, I just bought a simple report folder with pockets.  And decorated with stickers.  I'm going to let my little one put some character stickers on, but here's how it looks so far:

Once we are home, I will likely add a few pages with some of her favorite photos of the trip.  This will be yet another journaling opportunity for her, as I will let her write about each picture.  She can take this to school to share with her class!  Maybe she'll get extra credit :)

So there you have it!  Good luck with your own journal, and don't forget to make it fun! 

Don't forget to share your creations with me!  I'd love to see what you've come up with!

~ Holly

Pre Halloween Activities, starring Jesse!

My youngest was very excited when I picked her up from school today, for she knew she got to go home and put on her Halloween costume for a special event!  Our local shopping center was holding a Trick or Treat event, where the kids in the area would go store to store, trick or treating.  What fun!  Full of excitement, she promptly ran to her room when we walked in the front door, and threw on that costume.. Oh that beautiful costume!

You see, being the over planner that I am, I have been consumed a bit with clothing for our upcoming trip to Disney.. Yes, I know what you are thinking, but hey, it's fun!  I found this cute little shop offering some great deals through Zuilily, and I bought two dresses from them.  One is a Minnie Mouse themed dress, and the other is a Jesse (from Toy Story) dress.  Let me tell you, this dress is ADORABLE!  So original, so creative, and sooooo cute!  Add to it a pair of cowgirl boots, a red Jesse hat (and jean jacket since it was pretty chilly out today) and there you have an adorable little Jesse wanna be.. minus the red locks.

Of course I will share with you the maker of this wonderful creation, and that's Diva Daze Children's Boutique!  We received so many wonderful compliments on this dress!  What drew me to it was it's originality.  It wasn't like any other Jesse 'costume' that I've seen out there.. which I like.  I KNEW that the chances were pretty slim to none, that another child would show up wearing the same digs.  Success!  

Can't wait to show this one off in Disney! :)

Countdown to The Happiest Place on Earth!

I know what you are thinking... SECOND post in ONE day!  Consider yourself lucky :)  I would have actually put this in my prior entry, but I didn't want to make it too long.  Besides it's easier to find each topic when they are separate.

To get my kids ready for our upcoming journey, because I am constantly hearing, "How many more days?", I decided to give mainly the youngest something concrete, that she could actually see and interact with.  This way, she can see for herself, how many days are actually left (And I can keep another small piece of my sanity).  Trying to figure out what to do was the hard part.  So I do what I always do, and search pinterest!  Never to disappoint, I quickly found the perfect countdown calendar to make (because all of my previous ideas included those adorable mickey head paint swatches that Home Depot so rudely no longer carries!  The nerve!!).

I actually found several versions of the countdown that I ended up making, so I adapted a few and put my own spin on it.

So here's what I used:

First, I went online and found a Mickey Head template (for the top part of the calendar).  You can find the one that I used, here.  Of course you can make it as big (or small) as you want.

Secondly, for the black links in the chain, if you want to do what I did, you need to make a template.  I don't have the capability to upload it here, but what I did was to go into Microsoft Word and make one using rectangles and circles.  You can see both the templates in this photo:  *note that I have no idea why it's sideways, for it isn't on my computer, and I can't seem to figure out how to get it to rotate here, so....

Just trace the cutouts onto your black paper and cut out.  

Here are the other supplies that I used:

Items in the picture are a paper cutter, card stock (black, white, red, yellow) - you can use whatever colors you want!, stapler, Circut cutter (for the numbers), Xyron Sticker maker (to make the numbers into stickers), ribbon (if needed to hang up), white out pen (or paint pen), and wall hangers (you could also just use tape), One direction folder - Sorry, my daughter left it on the table.  I did not use, but if you are a fan... *insert scream here*

The circut machine I used to cut out the numbers that go on the links.  You could just buy number stickers at a craft store, but this was cheaper for me (those stickers are expensive!).  I used the Xyron machine to turn them into stickers.

So here's what you do... First you need to cut out your two templates that we talked about above.  Then you need to cut out your paper strips for your links.  Figure out how many days you need on your countdown, and go from there.  *note that my white links do not have dates on them.  They were necessary so that the mickey heads would sit correctly in the chain.  I plan to use these white links as "special links" where my daugher will pull them off with the link above, and get a special Disney treat (could be an activity, or snack, or something to take with her on the trip).  

Once you have all of your strips cut out, draw Mickey's buttons on the red strips (in the middle) with your white out pen, and allow to dry.  You can also use a paint pen (I didn't have one).  Next, it's time to start assembling!  Starting at the top, staple your first white link onto the Calendar head ( I hid the staple with the little red mickey head - also made with the circut machine).  For the center circle, I just typed something up in Word, printed it out, and cut into a circle.  Glue on.

 Now attatch the first black strip.  *Note if you chose to make the black strips with the Mickey ears, fold the ears up before you start linking (makes it easier).  Now go on and make the rest of your chain.  

Once you are finished making your chain, now add the numbers!  I waited to do this last so that I could make sure I ended up with enough links... yeah, math isn't my strong suit ;)

Have fun!

Absentee

Well, once again I've been MIA.  I think I am just very easily distracted.  I have grand plans of blogging every day, or at least once a week, and then I forget.  Maybe I just don't have very many exciting things going on in my life, or interesting crafts that I'm making, or yummy foods that I'm cooking, to blog about.  Well, that needs to change!  I am making a prediction that I will be on here once a week from now until the end of November.  Surely there must be a reason, and there is.  WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!  Do I really need to say anything more?  There are many people out there, including my husband, who do not understand the draw to this magical wonderland, but there is an entire subculture of us who do.  I know that going to Disney isn't relaxing, and that you need a vacation to recover from your Disney vacation, but there's just something about the place.  Maybe it's the chance to throw yourself into a fantasy world, helping you escape reality and the stresses that go hand in hand with every day life.  Most little girls want to be a Princess when they grow up, and I was no different.  At Disney World, I CAN be a princess.  I can even wear a tiara, or blinged out Mickey Mouse ears, and NOBODY stares at me strangely.  In fact, I'm much more likely to get a smile or a compliment than an odd look. How awesome is that!?  Anyway, we are going and I'm extremely excited.  And, I'm planning....

My husband often asks me, "Can't we just skip all of this planning and just go and see what each day holds for us?"  Um... NO.  If we were able to go to Disney often, that might be an option, but it's not a place that our bank account smiles upon, so our trips are few and far between.  So yes, I will plan.  :D

Planning has begun, including making Tshirts a Countdown Calendar for the wee one, and Disney Tshirts for us ALL.  Yes, hubby will be sporting some homemade Tshirts as well.  Though he isn't thrilled about it! :D  Of course whatever crafts I end up making, I will share with you.  I'd love to take credit for all of the ideas, but more than likely I have found the ideas on Pinterest (love that site!).

So let's begin...  First, I have begun making some Tshirts.  My oldest daughter is VERY crafty, so we thought that we'd try our hand at some Mickey Head Tye Dye Tshirts.  I found the instructions on a Disney site that I frequent, called The Dis.  You can just follow the link above :)  Ultimately, though we really would like to make them, we have opted not to give them a go.. mainly due to time and $$.  The Tshirts I have decided to make are simple iron on transfers.  There are many images that you can find online that you can turn into an iron on transfer for your tshirts.  However, I purchased a few "Mickey Heads" on Etsy.  Go visit Michelle at Swirly Color Pixels on Etsy.  Her designs are the best I've found, and every single one I purchased from her printed AMAZINGLY.  Colors are vibrant and wonderful.   Here are some examples of the shirts I've made so far (I still have many to do):

These Mickey & Minnie Thanksgiving images were created especially for me.  Michelle at Swirly Color Pixels will work with you to make the perfect custom graphic!  Don't worry though, she also has a bunch of Disney creations already made and ready for purchase.  They are all very clever and cute!

Now for the question, "How did you do that?"  Well, first you download the graphic.  Then you have to get the image from your computer to an iron on transfer sheet.  I HIGHLY suggest using Avery transfer sheets for Dark Shirts.  The transfer sheets for Dark shirts hold the color much better, and print much more vibrantly.  I have an example in the picture below.  When I went to print this Mike W image on a black shirt, I had run out of the dark transfers.  So, I used a regular transfer sheet for the image.  I had to redo it on a transfer sheet for dark shirts, for you can see that the regular sheet barely showed up.  If you like the 'vintage' look, then go for it!  But we wanted bright colors :)

Avery's website has a very useful tool to aide you in the whole process.  Follow the directions that come with the transfer sheets, and it will explain everything to you.  Happy ironing :)