Princesses and First Post in Forever

I know I haven't been posting.  I could give you a hundred reasons why: I'm pregnant, sick, we're redoing our basement, my house is a disaster....but I'll just say this.

I'm sorry.

Sorry I haven't given you any updates, crafts, Avery stories, home tours.  I've just been so overwhelmed and exhausted to even think about blogging.  But I am still here, I do still love blogging very much, and I promise to update you more (plus, for Christmas, I'm getting my very own laptop!! No more having to borrow Marty's work laptop to hurriedly hash out a blog post!).

I thought as an apology, I'd dive back into the blogging world with a craft post!

It's no secret that Avery and I are Disney fanatics.  Marty, I think, is starting to come around.  He mentioned to me about a month ago about when we'd visit Disney World again. Convert?  I hope so!

So, with Christmas coming, I thought that it was a no-brainer for us to have some Disney-inspired Christmas decor in our house!  I had to reach wayyyyy back in my memory and dig up these amazing Disney Princess Dolls from Taija's Drawing Board--a Tumblr account where one woman posts her AH-MAZE-ZING works of Disney art.  I'm obsessed.  I currently have one of her drawings of Ariel as my phone background.  That's beside the point.

These are the beauties I'm talking about today:

I know they're not overly Christmas-y, but if you look close (and my apologies for the terrible picture and all the ones to follow...it's going to be a goal for 2015 to learn how to take better iPhone pictures) Tiana is holding a gift, Pocahontas is holding a snowball.  In our house, however, these aren't going to be used for Christmas decor.  We're hanging these from Avery's bedroom ceiling.  She's close to exploding with excitement.  Want to learn how to make your own?  Well, then I'm so glad you're here!

Materials Needed:

• string
• scissors
• glue or tape
• cardstock
• crayons/colored pencils/markers
• tissue paper
• string

How to assemble:

1.  Go to Taija's Drawing Board Tumbler page and print off the Princesses.  For me, it was little complicated to do.  When I just right clicked the picture to print it, it was attempting to print the entire Tumblr page.  So, I had to save the JPG image to my computer and then print the picture off.  

You should have 5 pages when you're done, 10 Princesses total. 

2.  Once you have your Princesses printed out, color 'em! 

I printed off 3 copies of each page, two for me to color and one for Avery.  Yes, I'm OCD when it comes to crafts and wanted some of them to look good.  So sue me. 

3.  Once they're colored, cut each Princess out.  You also need to cut a thin rectangle shape out in the middle of the body for the tissue paper to go.  Taija's already made that easy for you and has the lines where you need to cut.

4.  Choose whatever color tissue paper you want for each specific Princess and fold a long piece of tissue paper into an accordion-style.  Make sure you don't have the folds too wide to fit into the rectangle that you cut out of the middle of the Princess. 

5.  Insert the folded tissue paper into the cutout you made in the Princess.

6.  Open each side of the folded paper and tape or glue the ends together.  Add string to the top and you're done! 

The beauty of these little beauties is how versatile they can be.  Hang them from a present for a unique addition to your wrapped box: 

Or make a loop at the top with your string and turn them into ornaments.  Or, do as the Gaddies are doing, and use them as decor in your Princess obsessed child's room.  So many options! 

You can do two colors of tissue paper, cut one in a design and create a layered dress.  Make the dress longer.  Or shorter.....

Add texture to mimic the Princesses real dresses from their actual Disney movie,,,

The possibilities are endless! And the cool thing about the artist that made these is that she has included little tips to the side of each Princess for you to personalize them any way you'd like.  She even teaches you how to make a real paper flower or how to jazz a Princess up with some glitter.  

So, these Princesses are pretty cute, right?  Am I forgiven for not blogging in forever??

Disney Love.

The Internet is a wonderful place.  It has Pinterest, it has shopping, it has news, it has videos of people that are obviously way funnier than I.....it's just a great place (most of the time)...and it has a variety of awesome Disney things that make my little Walt-loving heart oh-so happy.  In honor of the Internet and it's wonderful Disney offerings, I thought I'd round up my favorite Disney things on the World Wide Web in a list for you to peruse and enjoy. :)

In no particular order:

1.  This video, of two parents singing "For the First Time in Forever" from Frozen.  They also have another video on their YouTube channel where they sing "Love is an Open Door" (also from Frozen).  It's equally hilarious.

I can't decide what's funnier.  The fact that they're doing this, or that their child in the backseat has no idea what's going on in the front.  Wonder if I can convince Marty to do this.....

2.  These candles from Walter and Rosie on Etsy.  Disney-inspired scented candles.  I need them ALL.

 

3.  This picture from AnastassiaArt on Etsy.  It's expensive.  I'd never be able to justify a purchase like this, but I'm dying to have it for Avery's room.  It doesn't match the colors in her new "subtly Princess/Disney movie" themed room I'm very, very slowly working on, but I love it so much.

 

 

 

4.  This CD of music from the Disney Parks.   Problem:  the CD is $36.90 on Amazon and $19.99 on iTunes.  But it's a full two disc CD of music from Disney rides and attractions.  I want it.  BAD. 

 

 

 

5.  This Winnie the Pooh inspired umbrella pin on Pinterest (originally from madincrafts.com). 

 

 

I've been looking for a Disney umbrella for awhile.  But I want a subtle Disney umbrella, not an "in-your-face, Mickey is plastered all over the place" umbrella.  To find a subtle Disney print, adult sized umbrella is virtually impossible.  This pin is inspiring me to make one of my own.  In my creatively overloaded brain, I'm picturing hundreds of different options.  How can I ever choose??

 

 

6.  This webpage that has all the theme songs from the Disney shows of my childhood:  http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2013/03/09/disney-theme-songs-to-make-you-miss-your-childhood/

 

 

 

I now feel REALLY old and really nostalgic.  Someone go find me an episode of Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers to enjoy.  To the kids of today:  your TV has NOTHING on the kid's shows from the 90s.  Thanks for trying, though.

 

Just a little Disney magic to brighten your day!

Find of the Day.

You know when you find something just amazingly amazing, you feel the need to tell the entire world about it?

That happened to me just now.

Find of the day?  DISNEY PRINCESS PAPER DOLLS.

I don't know about you guys, but my mind was blown when I found these.  

Wanna know the best part?

THEY'RE FREE.  As in, no money for you.  As in, all you have to do is buy the paper to print them on.  

They're from the brilliant mind of Paper Dolls by Cory on Facebook.  Check out his photo albums under his page and you can see all the characters he's done so far.  Click on the picture you want, then hit "Options" at the bottom of the page, and then "Download."  Simply print on cardstock, cut out and you have brand new, FREE dolls for your little to play with.  

Since Avery is only 2, I'm playing with the idea of putting these on magnets.  Avery wouldn't fully appreciate the idea of a paper doll whose clothes you attach with paper flaps.  Plus, I can see those little flaps getting ripped off pretty quickly.  Magnets would be so much more durable.  I'm honestly picturing something that can go in a book and travel with us.  Details aren't entirely clear yet.  Or, if you wanted to go the paper route and wanted them to last longer, laminating is probably a good idea.

Anyway.  Hop on over to Paper Dolls by Cory, download your own princesses/characters and show the creator some love.  

You're welcome. 

Avery's Room Overhaul

There's one room in our home that I haven't even attempted to decorate. 

It's not because I don't have anything to decorate with, or I don't have the time......

It's because I HATE the color that the room is painted.  It sounds silly, but it's true.  Avery's room doesn't have a single thing decorating-wise in it because I hate the color of the walls.  When we moved in, I wanted to paint three of the walls a white color and then one wall a light red.  I was imagining Avery's room to be like this:

I was picturing a subtle Minnie-themed room.  But our painter, who was retired and was painting our house out of a total favor, told me that he really despised painting the color red.  It was a headache, it needed multiple coats, and if I wasn't married to the color, he would really like it if I would pick a different color.  Since he was painting basically our entire house because he'd known Marty since birth, I decided to go with a different color. 

When we lived in Bardstown, Avery's room was painted a purple color.  Her nursery was a light lavender with black and white accents.  When the painter told me I needed to pick a new color, I thought I would just keep some consistency in Avery's brand new room and paint it the same color as her old room. 

I was wayyyyyyyy off on the color. 

I know it doesn't look that bad from the pictures, but in person, it's overwhelming.  As my sister put it once, it's a "teeny bopper purple."  It's in your face.  And I despise it.  Anytime I've gotten a little bit of inspiration, I go into her room and turn right back out because I just don't want to decorate around that color.

So.  New room for Avery!  Yes, we just moved into this house in March.  But I'm SO unhappy with this color and I really want to give Avery a cute room. 

Inspiration!  I'm planning the entire room around this one print I found on Pinterest.

I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS.  I found it on Pinterest and it took me to a Tumblr site of a girl who makes some brilliant artwork and doodles of Disney characters.  I resized it an 11x14 and I'm going to put it above her bed. 

That's as far as I've gotten.  I want it to be Disney/Princess themed without being in your face Disney.  I don't want Disney sheets on the bed, Disney stickers on the wall, none of that.  I want to find pieces from different sites and put it all together to be Disney/Princess-inspired.  Everything I'm finding on Pinterest is just falling flat in my opinion.  Until I can find more options for décor, I'm focusing in on paint colors. 

I made a mistake once....one I won't be repeating soon.  I will not be picking something so in your face for my kid's room (at least until she's older).  I'm not afraid of color....I painted my old office a BRIGHT turquoise for goodness sakes.  I just want something more calming.  More importantly, I want something that's going to last.  Something that I can change the décor around and not have to paint again. 

Options:

Starting at the top, I still like the idea of Avery's room being purple.  When I asked her what color she wanted her room to be, she said "Purple!!"  Thank goodness it wasn't pink. 

I love the idea of doing a yellow.  It's so bright and fun and sunny and it's the first color I see whenever I look at the Princess print.  But is it a color that will be easy to decorate around and switch out themes? 

Then there's the blue.  I love it with the print, but I'm just wondering what it'll look like in Avery's room.  She's not really a blue person anyway.  

On top of the print, there's another factor to consider.  Her rug.

I bought this a couple of months ago on a trip to IKEA.  It was back when I was on a kick to finally decorate her room and I thought this rug would be the key to making those purple walls work.  Well, it didn't.  I still love the rug, but it didn't inspire me to decorate around it.  I still love the rug, I just don't know how it'll work with the new plans for her room. 

Ugh.  Too many decisions.  How much do interior decorators cost again??

Disney World as a Mom

Is there anywhere in the world that's as magical as Disney World (hint: the answer is no)?  The Disney Channel may be a complete disgrace to Walt's memory, but when you walk into the parks, you can clearly see his imagination, motivation and sheer determination to make families happy everywhere you look.  I LOVE Disney World.  If I had the choice, I would live there year-round.  I would take out a hotel room, turn it into my house and then visit the parks whenever I wanted.  Since that's not an option, I treasure every visit I do get to make to my favorite place on Earth.  At the beginning of the month, we had the chance to take our Avery to Disney for the first time.  Let me start by saying that NO, 14 months is not the ideal time to take your child to Disney for their first trip.  There were a lot of naptimes, snack breaks and diaper changes.  I know she won't remember our trip, but I will.  Disney is so great as a child and as a young adult, but it doesn't compare to Disney as a parent.  No, I didn't get to ride Splash Mountain (my faaaaavorite ride in the history of ever) and I didn't get to spend as much time shopping on Main Street as I would have liked and yes, it was a lot of work having her there, but that didn't matter because it meant I got to spend time at Disney with my little girl. 

There were crazy moments (like her very first haircut):

There were some family moments (on It's Small World):

There were some sleepy moments:

There were some snacky moments (discovering ketchup for the very 1st time at Pecos Bills):

There were some special moments (Avery, her "Gaga" and her cousins):

There were some absolutely magical moments (meeting Minnie Mouse):

There's also some little hidden secrets at Disney for parents that "regular" people don't know about.  Disney World thinks of EVERYTHING.  Even the comfort and convenience of those of us with little babies/toddlers at Disney.  They have this little gem called the Baby Care Center.  At first, I thought it would just be a room for parents to change diapers.  It was so much more than that. 

Although I didn't get pictures of the whole thing (I thought people might not like it if I took pictures of their kids), I can describe it to you--and you can look at pictures here.  There was a room full of everything you would need for a baby that you might have forgotten to pack for a day at the parks:  Infant Tylenol and Advil, Desitin, diapers, baby food, teething gel, baby toys, snacks, high SPF sunscreen, Infant Benadryl...everything.  Of course, you have to purchase them, but they're there for your use.  The next room had chairs for breastfeeding moms to sit in and feed their babies in private, along with highchairs, books, toys and a TV playing none other than a Disney movie (the selection of the day was Tangled).  The next room had changing tables everywhere, complete with fiberglass Disney characters hanging on the wall for the babies to look at.  It. Was. Genius.  To you, it may not seem like much, but to me, as a parent with a baby that needed to be changed 15 times while we were at Magic Kingdom (that MIGHT be a slight exaggeration), it was a Godsend.  And just proves that Disney goes the extra mile to provide excellent service for their guests. Just another reason for me to love Disney World. 

It was amazing to discover Disney World all over again through the eyes of a mom.  And through the eyes of my little Avery.  I hope to go again soon.  Very soon. 

Avery's First Haircut.



Hi, my name is Devan and I have a slight obsession with all things Disney.  I know every single word to The Little Mermaid movie (not a joke).  I worked at the Disney Store through college and loved every day I got to go to work.  I am a whiz at Disney trivia.....seriously.  Try me. I become infuriated at myself if I miss a question on Disney Scene-It.  One day, I WILL work at Disney World.  So, when the opportunity arose to take Avery to Disney World last week, I giddily jumped at the chance.  So far, I've done a pretty good job of brainwashing encouraging her to love Disney and Mickey Mouse like I do.  I could just picture her meeting Mickey and Minnie and the memories we would make.  But, while I was planning our trip to the most magical place on Earth, I discovered a hidden gem.  Since I like you guys, I'll share it with you too....in the Magic Kingdom off to the side, there's a little shop called the "Harmony Barber Shop."  You can get your haircut at Disney World for a small fee.  Big whoop, right?  Wait.  This little barber shop specializes in BABY'S FIRST HAIRCUTS.  When I read this, I almost died.  I knew Avery's first haircut just HAD to happen at Disney World.  How many kids can say they got their first haircut at Disney World??  I almost peed my pants with anticipation over this haircut.  Like most things in life though, the reality of my baby's first trim was so, so, SO different than I imagined.  Would you like to see the pictures?

Last, but not least:  the picture that sums up the chaotic moment.

Wait.  There's a video.

 

Good thing was though,  they gave her a set of Mickey ears (which I quickly had her name added). 



Looking back, it was still a magical moment.  Avery got her first haircut at Disney World--my very favoritest place in the entire world.  She wasn't perfect, but when is life ever perfect?  I made a memory with my sweet girl that I'll treasure forever.  I just hope she doesn't look back at the pictures and think that we tortured her. :)