DIY Mickey tie dye shirt

Today we are at Walt Disney World. Since this week is full of Disney posts, I added this one.  

Part of our summer fun list this year was tie dye. Eve and I didn't know what to dye so we decided to make grandma a Mickey tie dye shirt for Disney World.

The kit that I bought was on the Dollar Spot at Target for $3. It came with pink and purple dye. The t-shirt is Danskin brand from Walmart, I think it was also $3. I wanted a nicer shirt and one with a women's style as opposed to the big baggy shirts that most people dye.

We followed the directions on the package for what to do step by step. Make sure that you put newspapers down on your surface, wear old clothes, and use the gloves they give you.

The first thing I did was to find a Mickey head online and print it to the size that I wanted. I figured out a good placement for it and taped it down. I then traced it with pencil. This was mistake #1, after washing twice the pencil marks are still there. After I did the shirt, I read online to trace the Mickey head with washable  marker so it would wash out. I recommend that you try that one.

After tracing, I did mistake #2. I went around the Mickey head with double thickness thread. I read later to use dental floss. Pretty sure that would have worked a lot better because I had all kinds of trouble. My thread broke when I was pulling hard on the thread to pucker up the head. Also, I didn't get very clean lines after the dying process was done. Anyways.....after pulling the thread dye the Mickey head with 1 color (we chose purple) and wrap it with plastic wrap.

Insert lots of random pictures:

We then did a spiral pattern with the shirt and wrapped a ton of rubber bands around it. We then used pink dye on the shirt.

We wrapped the shirt in plastic and put it in a Walmart bag for the allotted time (again, follow manufactures directions).

I washed the shirt, per manufactures instructions and got a good final product. To fix my earlier mistake (#2), I put the Mickey head over the shirt in the proper area (after putting cardboard between the layers of the shirt) and traced around the head with a bleach pen to clean up the Mickey head.

It really helped give me a better result. I let the bleach sit on the shirt for a bit and then rinsed it out. I washed the shirt AGAIN and the end result was good.

Grandma liked her shirt and we think it is the perfect Disney shirt.

There are tons of tutorials (video and blog) on how to do a good tie dye online. I'm certain theirs looks better than mine but we still had fun with the process.

Disney Thursday Three

Since I am at Walt Disney World this week, my Thursday Three is going to be Disney themed.

1.  Confession: I have been to Walt Disney World 25+ times and Disneyland once but have never done the following: Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of Presidents, and Tiki Room. I have no desire to do them either.

2.  Today's Truth:

3.  I love thrill rides where ever I go (The Incredible Hulk Coaster, here I come) but my favorite Disney attractions are more nostalgic:  Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover (Peoplemover to my family), Carousel of Progress, and Spaceship Earth.  I miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, World of Motion, and Horizons.

Have a magical day!!

Disney window decorations

Today, if all goes as planned we are at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This is usually a half day park for us because Eve doesn't like to watch shows (neither do I, really), so who knows what the afternoon will hold for us!!

Back in July when school was out and I was off work, I started working on decorations for our windows. If you remember, I have 2 value resort rooms for my 5 people so I have 2 windows to decorate.

In the past, we have bought Disney Halloween window clings to decorate the windows but I wanted this year to be something special. I scoured Pinterest and found some great free printables for window banners. Pinterest has so many choices. It was hard to narrow it down and not make the banners too busy.

To start, I will tell you that I printed everything on card stock except for the initials on our banners. If not for card stock these would all be floppy.

Up first is the banner. I got the banner pieces here and cut them out (obviously). There were pink ones for Minnie Mouse but I wanted mostly everything to be red and Eve doesn't like pink. I personalized them with our first initials, not full names because that's not safe for children, by typing the letters on Word with the font "Minnie" that I downloaded free online. I made them pretty big (175 size, I think) and printed, then cut them out. I glued them on the mickey head with just a glue stick. As for the bow for the girls, I got it here, cut it out and glued it on with a glue stick. 

The "girls" got these cute balloons. The boys didn't get them for 2 reason, one is that my boys don't really care for balloons and the other is that they were a b**** to cut out!! I even left the white in the middle because I was done cutting by then. I had to trace the strings with black Sharpie because they were kind of light. 

Girls also got Minnie Mouse circles that I found here.

The boys got these cute Mickey circles. One polka dot and one stripe for each boy.

I thought "body parts" would be cute. So, I searched on Pinterest and found Mickey ones here. I had a hard time finding the Minnie "parts" but finally found them using Google images. I searched "Minnie body parts." When I clicked the link, Minnie's parts weren't there, so I right clicked on the image on Google and saved it to my hard drive. I then printed it from there. 

The next images came from a sticker page that you can print at home. They are kind of tiny but super cute. They were meant to be printed on sticker paper but I printed them on card stock and cut them on the gray lines that surround each pic. I got the images here.

The last two items are Halloween themed. We will be going in October so we like to decorate for the holiday.

The first one is candy corn with Mickey Ears that I got here. These print blank so you have to color them in yourself. For yellow, I used a yellow permanent marker that I got at the Dollar Tree and the orange is from my daughters Crayola Markers. Black ears were colored with a black Sharpie. I am not very good at coloring, so you can see the lines but I really don't care.

The last one came from a Disney licensed poster. I saved the poster to my computer and then cropped out everything else but the pumpkin. Again, the poster is Disney licensed, here it is:

Here are the pumpkins:

And here is the final product. Aren't they super cute?

How to Pack the Perfect Disney Park Bag

Since this is my Walt Disney World travel week, I have decided to post only about Walt Disney World. Today is day 2 in the series. 

Yesterday, I talked about picking the perfect bag for Walt Disney World, you can read it here. Today, I will be helping you pack that perfect bag.

Packing the perfect bag depends on the person and/or family. I do not have small children so you will not find diapers, bottles, extra clothes, etc. in my bag. I believe in traveling light (to the parks anyway) because you don't want to be weighed down all day. The only thing that will accomplish is making you exhausted with the extra weight you are carrying, no fun in the Florida heat and long park days.

So, if you are a family, couple, or a single these are the best things to have in your bag:

1.  Cell Phone. I list this first because you are going to need it to view reservations, take pictures, change FP+, etc.

2.  Gum. DISNEY DOES NOT SELL GUM. If you are a gum chewer, like I am, then buy some at home before you leave and make sure you have it in your bag.

3.  Maps and time guides. Pretty self-explanatory. 

4.  First Aid Kit. You don't need much besides a few Bandaids. I carry a small tin (directions to make here) with Bandaids, Neosporin, and some Advil. Very lightweight.

5.  Wallet. I'm not sure why people seem to think that with the introduction of the MagicBand that you don't need your wallet anymore but this certainly isn't true. Why would you ever go anywhere without your drivers license? I carry a super small wallet with my ID, a credit/debit card, $40 or so in cash, and my insurance card. MagicBands fail, some vendors/carts only take cash.

6.  Snacks. I understand that we get 1 snack per day with the dining plan but I certainly don't want to waste perfectly good credits on pretzels when you can get cupcakes, ice cream, and candy. For this reason I order groceries from Garden Grocer and get pretzel sticks, peanuts, and Cheez-its. I then make everyone a snack baggie in the a.m. and they can eat whenever they need a snack.

7.  Ponchos. Buy from the dollar store, you never know when it will rain in Florida.

8.  Sunscreen. Even if it's raining, the sun in Florida is harsh.

9.  Anti-bacterial hand gel. Public bathrooms are gross, even the ones at Walt Disney World.

Also, some extra recommendations: Hair ties (try finding non-princess hair ties for a 10yr old girl with thick hair at DTD and you will understand why I add this), jacket (we go in the fall and the mornings are chilly), camera (we use our phones and Memory Maker but some carry cameras), and baggies (to keep phones dry during rain). 

What do you like to put in your Disney park bag?

How to pick the perfect Disney World bag

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Today is how to choose the perfect Disney World bag. Tomorrow is how to pack the perfect park bag.

Not sure how I would function at Walt Disney World without a good bag. I have read that people purposefully don't take a bag because there is nothing they need, especially with the introduction of Magic Bands. I couldn't handle this. First of all, my pockets would be full of junk (maps, money, ID, phone, etc.). Not sure I could handle that. I am a girl and I don't wear huge cargo shorts like men do.

I heard people argue that Disney has everything that you need. You can get free ice water at counter service restaurants, Bandaids at the Baby Care Center, and that your Magic Band does everything.

Here is my argument to those people:

Yes, I get the free ice water but I am also a dining plan person. Usually with my breakfast counter service meal I will fill my free mug up with soda or coffee and then get a bottled water or soda as my drink that comes with my meal. I then save that bottled drink for the park that day. I like having something with a lid if I am in line for a ride or if I am making use of Disney's free transportation.

Yes, Disney provides Bandaids, Tylenol, and whatever else at each of their parks. BUT what if I am getting ready to get in line at Space Mountain and find that I have hurt myself and am bleeding? I would have to traipse all the way over to the Baby Care Center to get a Bandaid and then go all the way back over to Space Mountain (probably missing out on a short line). If I had my tiny First Aide kit that I made here, then I wouldn't have to miss my short line, I could patch myself up and then ride!!

Yes, my Magic Band does everything. Yes, it is fabulous. The problem is this, to purchase some things you have to have your ID, as well. Also, there are some things that just require cash (balloons, food carts) and not something linked to my credit card. Because of this, I carry a small wallet to keep everything together and tidy.

Now on to my perfect Disney bag. I always have a bag. My kids are also told to carry bags because I will not carry their stuff. This may sound harsh but I am not Hagrid, I am not the keeper of the keys. If you want to bring it, you carry it. That includes your phone, money, maps, time guides, pressed penny money, etc.

Don't you just love Hagrid?

In years past, I have tried out several different bags. I carried a Vera Bradley backpack, which was great but was bothersome to put on/take off for rides and such. I have also used a cross body purse, which left horrid tan lines when I went one year in July and it doesn't hold much stuff.  I have used a tote bag, one of those Disney World spend ______ amount and you get the privilege of buying this item at this price (I am a sucker for those deals), and the tote bag seems to be the best option for ME. My mom prefers her backpack because the weight of what she is carrying is easily distributed on her back. My kids use those string styled backpacks (Xander has Adidas and Eve now has Thirty-One).

I used my Mickey Mouse bag last year but it is black and hard to find stuff that falls into the bottom. I liked having a tote, though. If we were riding a big ride (think Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) the kids could put their backpacks into my tote bag and then my mom would only have 1 bag to watch and it would be easier for her to meander around with 1 as opposed to 3 bags.

In 2010, I spent $20 so I could buy this cute bag for $19.95.

This summer I tried out my new Thirty-One Retro Metro Fold-over bag at the Indianapolis Zoo. I loved it. It is light colored and I can see things easily if they fall to the bottom. What is also nice is the 2 outside pockets, I used one for my phone and one for my water bottle. It is a cross body which like I said before leaves nasty tan lines but it also has tote bag style straps, so it can be worn either way.

 

I have decided that this bag is the best for me. I highly recommend it. It comes in several colors and you can have it personalized. 

When choosing the right bag for YOU make sure you try it out before your trip. Take it grocery shopping, to the zoo, or on a field trip with your kids. If it is easy to carry, not too heavy, you can find stuff easily, and doesn't make you crazy, then you found the best bag for you.

Thursday Three

Haven't done a Thursday Three in awhile so here ya go...

1.  Feeling: Lazy. I guess blogging takes too much effort!!

2.  I love fall because of sweatshirts, campfires, pumpkins, Halloween, and changing leaves. I hate fall because it's  too close to winter!!

3.  Quote by Me this week: "Those are the mommiest mom jeans I have ever seen." 

Ispy Glambag October 2014

I got my October Glambag yesterday. This months theme was Beauty Candy.

I LOVE the the bag this month. It is so cute, the only thing that could make it better is if it were pink or purple, but I will live with the pretty teal color.

Enclosed in this months bag was:

1.  Skyn Iceland Glacial Cleansing Cloths. I like cleansing cloths but mostly use baby wipes (if it's gentle enough for baby, it's gentle enough for me LOL).

2.  Doll 10 Highlighter in Champagne. I have never used highlighter but am willing to try.

3.  City Color Be Matte Lipstick in Cappuccino. I love lipsticks and lipgloss but I think I am getting to the point that I have received enough for awhile from Ipsy. I will have to look into how to stop them.

4.  Model Co Volumeyes mascara. I like mascara but I need length not volume, I will use it anyway.

5.  Figs and Rouge Hand Cream in Mango Mandarin. I like hand cream and was hoping for the other scent (rose berry). I don't like the smell of Mango, it smells like cat pee. Sorry if I ruined mango for you, it's a public service really, you don't want to smell like cat pee. Having said all that, this really doesn't smell like cat pee, I tried it and there is not lingering cat smell. It has potential. This was a full sized product.

Overall, this is a good bag, but not wonderful. I got my moneys worth but still not super excited about it.