Thursday, April 30, 2015

May 2015 Calendar

I can't believe we're heading into May!!!  Spring is finally here in Maine, and it's flying right by.  We've been in the 50's and 60's the past few days.  The forecast even has low 70's for next week!  (What?!?)  It's for us time to bring out the deck furniture!  To celebrate, here's my May 2015 Mickey and Minnie Free Printable Calendar!


These calendars are always some of my most popular posts!  I'm incredibly honored to share another year of calendars with you and to and bring joy to so many Disney fans!

Here's the link to download the May 2015 PDF version of the printable.

These calendars are perfect for trip countdowns or for teachers and their Disney themed classrooms.  They're also perfect for training calendars for runDisney events!


Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2015.  However, I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  Then, I'll send you the PDFs directly.  :-)

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Scrapbook Swap: Disney Easter Layout

I've received another swap package from my Disney Scrapbook Facebook group!  To date, I have participated in the Christmas in July Card Swap, the Christmas Layout Swap, and the Valentine's Day Layout Swap.  I really enjoy these swap events, and it's great to see the ideas everyone comes up with!


The process for this swap was the same as the Christmas swap.  For Easter, some of the choices included: Easter eggs, basket, chocolate bunny, peeps, carrots, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Pluto, photo mats, border, and a title.  I selected photo mats.  First, I found sheets of plaid paper.  (They reminded me of spring since they were fun and bright!)  Next, I found co-ordinating papers with small patterns and I used those to hand cut Easter eggs.  The finishing touch was adding Mickey ears to all of the eggs!


I included a message so everyone would know what to do with the Easter eggs.  The message read: "I hope you enjoy these Easter frames!  I've also included two Mickey Easter eggs.  I didn't attach the eggs so you can use them vertically or horizontally on your pages."


My swap package arrived the other day and I'm so happy with everything!!!  These are a few of my favorites from the swap!  I love the characters!  These are so cute and they'll be perfect for Easter!  I really love the Mickey Easter basket.  It even has a woven paper like a real basket!  The Mickey and Minnie Easter eggs are really cute too!  Of course, we have a special soft spot for Eeyore and Tigger in this house!


This was so much fun!  I've missed out on a few of the most recent swaps because I've been busy, but I'm hoping to do more in the future.  I'm also hoping to host one at some point.  Now I just need to find time to scrapbook with all this great stuff!!!  °o°

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Something Awesome This Way Comes

Oie, it's been two weeks since I last wrote.  I'm off to a horrible start in keeping up with my blog this year.  However, I'm going to give myself a bit of a break.  We've had a lot going on around here lately!  I can't spill all of the secrets yet, but let's just say there are a lot of things in development here at Casa de Cady.


Over the past few weeks, Eliot and I have been busy making a business plan for a new line of products that we're collaborating on.  There's been a lot of number crunching and product development taking place.  It's definitely taken up a chunk of our "free" time.  It's an awesome idea though.  It's totally going to be worth all of the hard work!


In Happily Ever Hatter news... I've been working on a few custom orders (stay tuned for photos) as well as continuing progress with making new designs.  I have enough fabric and materials for about 15-20 designs that I haven't even started yet.  I also have a few half finished projects waiting patiently for their turn to be finalized.  I'm going to be very busy with those in the near future.


Eliot's been busy with his Snowblade Creations shop.  He's been working on a few soap orders for customers.  In his spare time, he's been busy trading Vinylmations with people on Facebook.  We have quite the collection of them growing in our living room! Apparently, he's even inquired about having a custom one made for me.  I have no idea what it'll be... I'm sure I'll be pleasantly surprised!  In the meantime, my little Vinylmation collection is chilling out on my desk.


We had a pretty quiet Easter.  The Easter Bunny spoiled us with lots of Frozen goodies.  We had two happy little donkeys with bunny ears and new outfits.  (We really need a frequent flyer card at Build-A-Bear...)  Eliot and I met up with my Mom, Nana and Jeremy for a Easter lunch at one of the local restaurants.


Winter is finally transitioning to spring here in Maine!  It's so nice to have the snow melted!  We had one of Eliot's Vinylmation friends pick us up a few items from Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival since we aren't going this year.  We both fell in love with the Olaf garden statue.  I wanted to add Duffy to my collection and I couldn't say no to the Frozen Fever MagicBand.  (It's gorgeous!!!)  The guy was really nice and even sent us a free Flower and Garden Festival magnet!


Last weekend, we met up with Mom's family for my baby cousin Nadia's first birthday party!  Eliot and I got her a really cute Minnie Mouse shirt and little socks!  It was fun to see my cousins and to visit with them.  I'm so thankful that we're able to get together with them after these rough few months.


Finally, super sleuths might start to figure out what I've been up to by looking at my social media pages.  (That's the only hint you're getting!)  I've been busy with a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff laying the ground work for new things in store!  Blog followers will be happy to know I've also been preparing for more crafts and tutorials!  I feel like I've been at the craft stores as much as I've been home these past few weeks!  I love creating things and I've got quite the list of ideas.  So... I might not have been around here as often as planned, but it's because of all good things.  Promise.  °o°

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter at Walt Disney World

Happy Easter Everyone!  Today I'm remembering the most memorable Easter I've ever had.  Eliot and I were fortunate enough to celebrate Easter 2013 at Walt Disney World during our Honeymoon.  Seeing the Easter Parade in person on Easter Sunday was one of the big things I had on my Disney Bucket List.  What I didn't count on, was all of the other fun Easter things there were to do at Disney World!


In 2013, Epcot had an Easter Egg Hunt as part of Limited Time Magic.  In order to participate, you had to purchase a map and stickers.  Then you walked around the World Showcase looking for eggs!  Eliot and I didn't do the hunt, but we did find one of the eggs in Germany.  Looking back now, I really wish that we'd done it!  It sounded like fun!  In fact, Disney did the egg hunt in 2014 and again this year.  I'm assuming it has been popular enough to continue!  Maybe we'll do it someday!


Walt Disney World also had meet and greet opportunities with Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny at the United Kingdom in Epcot and on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom.  Eliot and I came across them at the Magic Kingdom and of course I had to get in line.  I was SO excited to get my pictures taken with them!  It was a dream come true!  If you're there for Easter, this is a must do!


While we were walking around the Grand Floridian Resort lobby, we stumbled across the Grand Floridian Resort Easter Egg Display.  Eliot and I didn't even know Disney did this.  The display of chocolate eggs was absolutely incredible!  I couldn't believe the entire display was made with chocolate and candy!


We also didn't expect any Easter magic at Pop Century.  However, Easter morning when we were on our way to the parks, Minnie Mouse surprised us by posing for pictures at the front of the Pop Century Resort Lobby!  She was in her spring dress and there was a little sign you could hold that said Happy Easter.  I had to get a picture!

  
Finally, the highlight of celebrating Easter at Walt Disney World is the Easter Parade at the Magic Kingdom.  I used to love watching the Easter Parade on television when I was a kid.  My brother Jeremy and I would sing the song for days after Easter.  I wish that Disney still televised the parade.  Instead of doing an entire Easter Parade, there was only a short pre-parade before the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade.


However, I was still incredibly excited to see it.  Eliot and I were lucky enough to see the Easter pre-parade twice during our trip.  The parade on Easter Sunday was a little bit different and it was definitely worth fighting the crowds.  There were pastel colored confetti petals that shot off during the parade and they swirled all around as the floats passed by.  (In fact, someone may have gotten a little teary eyed during the parade...)


In addition to the confetti petals, the Azelea Trail Maids also joined the parade on Easter Sunday.  The Azelea Trail Maids are a group of high school girls who are selected yearly to be ambassadors for the city of Mobile, Alabama.  I was so excited they were there!  (Insert tears of joy...)  They were the most memorable part of the Easter parade from my childhood.  I've always loved and wanted one of their pretty dresses since I was just a little girl!  I can still hear the music now:


"In your Easter bonnet, With all the frills upon it, You'll be the grandest lady, In the Easter Parade.  I'll be all in clover, And when they look you over, I'll be the proudest fella, In the Easter Parade.  On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue, The photographers will snap us, And you'll find that you're, In the rotogravure.  Oh, I could write a sonnet, About your Easter bonnet, And of the girl I'm taking, To the Easter Parade."  
Easter Parade-by Irving Berlin


The pre-parade also included other well known Disney rabbits: Thumper, Miss Bunny, Rabbit and the White Rabbit.  There were also dancing butterflies, hippos, ostriches, flowers and chickens!  The parade ended with Clara Cluck in the barn float waving from the windows.  It was an Easter spectacular!


This was definitely an amazing experience and I'm so thankful for these wonderful memories from our honeymoon!  Happy Easter!!!  °o°

Saturday, April 4, 2015

DIY: Mickey Easter Pom Pom Garland

Today I have a fun tutorial of a project I just finished.  Eliot and I haven't had the time to decorate the house for Easter and I confess that I'm scrambling around at the last minute.  (Although, I know I'm not alone judging by the people crowded around the Easter aisles at the store...)  Instead of going all out with our decorations, I wanted to add a little bit of pastel colors while showing my Disney Side.  The result?  This cute Mickey Mouse Easter Pom Pom Garland that took me less than 30 minutes to make.


Want to make one?  Here's how I made my Mickey Easter Pom Pom Garland!

Materials:
Pastel Pom Poms (I found a giant package with varying sizes at Michael's)
1/8" Ribbon
Hot Glue Gun


Steps to Make 
Mickey Mouse Easter Pom Pom Garland:


1.) Sort Through Pom Poms
Sort through your pastel pom poms to find sizes that will work for Mickey.  I chose some that were about 1" and 1/2" for his head and ears respectively.  This was honestly the most time consuming (yet fun) part of the whole project!


2.) Assemble Your Pom Pom Mickeys
Take your pom poms and dab a small amount of hot glue to the head and attach an ear.  Press firmly so they'll stick to each other.  Add the other ear and set Mickey aside to dry.  Do this until you've completed all of your Mickeys.


3.) Assemble Your Mickey Garland
Organize your Mickeys in the order you'd like them attached to the garland.  Cut your ribbon to the desired length and find the center by folding it in half.  Start there and arrange the Mickeys along it paying attention to the spacing.  (Try to make it as even as possible.  Use a ruler if necessary.)  Attach the Mickeys to the ribbon by gluing the "back" of both Mickey's ears and pressing the ribbon into the pom poms.  Attach all of the Mickeys along the garland.  Note: It's important that you glue the ribbon to both of Mickey's ears.  If you attach the ribbon to his head, the Mickeys will flop over.


4.) Allow Garland to Dry
When you are finished, let it dry for a few minutes before moving it.  If you'd like, make loops on the end to hook it up with thumb tacks or with push pins.


5.) Hang Your Mickey Garland Up
Hang your Mickey Easter Pom Pom Garland up and admire your work!  I used Scotch tape to tape mine above our kitchen cabinets.  The sun shines in through the kitchen window and the Mickeys cheer the whole room up with their bright pastel colors!  In fact, I'll probably leave it up for a few weeks as a spring decoration!


Enjoy your new Mickey Mouse Easter Pom Pom garland!!!  Happy Easter!!!  °o°

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

April 2015 Calendar

Happy April friends!!!  (How is it April?!?!?)  We're already 1/4 of the way through the year!  I better get a jump start on my goals for 2015!  While I'm busy getting my butt in gear, here's my April 2015 Mickey and Minnie Free Printable Calendar!


These calendars are always some of my most popular posts!  I'm incredibly honored to share another year of calendars with you and to and bring joy to so many Disney fans!

Here's the link to download the April 2015 PDF version of the printable.

These calendars are perfect for trip countdowns or for teachers and their Disney themed classrooms.  They're also perfect for training calendars for runDisney events!


Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2015.  However, I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  Then, I'll send you the PDFs directly.  :-)