Monday, August 31, 2015

September 2015 Calendar

The end of August is officially here!  I'm so excited for all of the fun in store for Eliot and me this September!!!  It's going to be a very busy month!  To start it off right, here's my free Mickey and Minnie printable calendar!


My printable calendars are always 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 September 2015 PDF version of the printable.


These calendars are perfect for trip countdowns or for teachers and 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 2016.  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.  :-)

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Most Magical Month

The end of August is here... and that means Eliot and I are gearing up for the most magical month of our 2015 year!!!  (Haha... that rhymes!)  In fact, this might shape up to be our most magical month ever!!!  Not only are we leaving for Disneyland in a few days, but we also have plenty of other fun events and surprises in store!


Eliot and I will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary on the September 20th.  Our Disney Wedding was incredible; I can't believe it's already been three magical years!


Towards the end of the month, we head for Universal's Orlando Resort where I'll attend my second KeyCon conference with Key to the World Travel!  I'm pumped to see my fellow travel agent friends again!  I'm also pretty excited about all of the new Harry Potter magic there is to see in Diagon Alley!


The last day of September, we head over to Walt Disney World for a few magical days at our favorite place!!!  It's going to be a blast!  In fact, we leave for Disneyland on September 4th and our last day at Walt Disney World is October 4th.  It really is going to be the most magical month ever!!!  °o°

Friday, August 28, 2015

Disneyland Trip Prep

Our trip to Disneyland is one week away!!!  I'll be in Disneyland one week from this precise moment!  I can barely contain my excitement!  Like usual, I'm working hard on last minute trip preparations, projects and packing lists!!!  This trip is extra fun filled with Disneyland's 60th Anniversary and that's definitely keeping me busy!

Photo Source: Disneyland Facebook
I had to order some stuff earlier this week so I would get it before we leave.  I'm working on a few special outfits for the trip!  I also had to order a supplies for some last minute projects!  Hopefully everything arrives in time!  I'll be sure to share pictures!  I haven't decided if I'm going to Disneybound yet.  I have a few characters in mind; we'll see how that pans out!  I've also ordered a few buttons online!  I'm a total sucker for the custom buttons.  I'm so excited about the ones I've ordered!


Of course, no trip would be complete without a few new Happily Ever Hatter ear designs.  I'm working on a few designs for me and Eliot.  I can't wait to show off my version of our new Disneyland 60th Diamond Anniversary IllusionEars!  They're dazzling!  I have a few other top secret designs I'm working on as well.  Fun!

I'm busy working on my packing list.  With all of these special outfits and accessories, it's going to be too easy to forget something.  I'm planning to pack ahead of time, so I'll need that packing list in the next few days!

Finally, I'm finalizing my Disneyland Trip Bucket List!  I've been working on it for a while now; it'll be nice to see the final result!  I'll be sure to post it in the next few days!  °o°

Monday, August 24, 2015

Splendid Scents of Snowblade Creations

The other day, our house smelled like Christmas and it was fabulous!  Eliot has been super busy with soaps orders lately.  I think he's actually gotten about five or six new orders in the past 2 weeks!  It's been crazy, but a good crazy!


I shared Eliot's Snowblade Creations Etsy shop when I first started my fun find features.  Back then, his shop was Disney pin jewelry, Mickey silhouette soaps and Vinylmation soaps.  A quick look at his shop today will yield the same results, but there's something that's taken over the majority of his orders: the Mickey Soap Set.


Recently, the Mickey Soap Set has been the most popular product he sells.  It's perfect for birthday party favors, for wedding favors and as Disney Cruise Line fish extender gifts.  In fact, Eliot's gotten orders for the soap set for all of those purposes!


The most popular purpose is for customer's orders for DCL fish extender gifts.  Eliot's made so many he's probably lost track at this point.  It's not hard to see why they're so popular: they're nice gifts you can use, they're small and they're fun Mickey parts!


Eliot has a wide variety of fragrances available.  He's got anything from Jamaica Me Crazy, Citrus Splash and Cucumber Melon to Lavender, Calming Water and Purely Peppermint.  Popular fragrances with the kids are Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy and Watermelon Mania.  My personal favorites are Cinnamon and Balsam and Bubble Gum.  The Cinnamon Balsam is Christmas perfection in a scent.  The Bubble Gum scent makes our house smell delicious!


Eliot's also made a few other designs.  The Haunted Mansion bats and Olaf soaps are newer to his shop.  And we've got a lot of new ideas coming!  For more information, check out Eliot's Snowblade Creations Facebook page!  If you're ever in need of a small gift, now you'll know somewhere you can find a great one!  °o°

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Weekend Shopping

Last night, Eliot and I took an impromptu trip up to Portland to go shopping.  It doesn't take much for us to hop in the car to go for a quick shopping trip, especially when we both run crafty businesses and are always needing supplies.  In fact, I actually needed a few things from the craft stores and we also had some coupons.


On the drive up, my car's service light turned on.  We ended up going to Wal-Mart to check the oil just in case.  It needed some, so we went to Wal-Mart, which wasn't on our original to do list.  Of course, while there, we poked around a bit.  Eliot found Toy Story and Lion King pj pants for me and we decided to get them.  I don't have many pants in the thinner material.  These are so cute!  They'll be perfect this fall.


After Wal-Mart, we ran a few errands before heading over to the mall.  I wanted to see if Hot Topic had their new Dumbo bow.  I wanted to get one since Eliot's running the Dumbo Challenge next month!  Unfortunately, they didn't have it.  Instead, Eliot bought two of the Inside Out Mystery Minis by Funko.  I opened up Fear and he got Joy.


We walked through the mall over to the Hallmark store.  Before Eliot left for California, The Paper Source had all of the Inside Out itty bittys.  I was curious what they had in stock now.  Eliot went to another store while I looked around.  I realized they only had one Disgust left.  They also had two Rapunzel plush, but one looked a little wonky.  I decided to purchase those two since I was trying to behave myself.


I went to meet up with Eliot.  He saw my bag and asked what I got.  I showed him Disgust and Rapunzel.  He asked why I only got Disgust and I told him how there were plenty of the other Inside Out itty bittys left.  He then asked me how much each of them were.  Before I knew it, we were walking back across the mall to Hallmark!  Eliot had cash on him and he bought me Joy, Fear, Anger and Sadness!  He's the best husband ever!  My little itty bitty collection is slowly growing!


We had dinner at Chipotle before heading to JoAnn Fabrics.  I needed blue sparkly fabric for one of the Disneyland projects I'm working on.  I had a few great coupons to use so the timing was perfect.  After seeing the coupons, Eliot disappeared for a few minutes and came back with the Olaf fabric he's been admiring for a while.  He got four yards at 60% off and it was a great deal!  He's got a special project in mind for it that we'll try to work on sometime this winter.  I'll share photos once it's completed!


All in all, it was a great spur of the moment shopping trip!  Now I have a few more craft supplies to keep me busy with projects for our upcoming trips!!!  °o°

Friday, August 21, 2015

Fun Find: Disneyland 60th Merchandise

Only two weeks until Eliot and I fly out to Disneyland!!!  I'm so excited!  To celebrate, I thought I'd share some Disneyland 60th merchandise!

Photo Source: Disney Store
The Disney Store just put a bunch of Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration items on their website.  Now, you can get some of the special merchandise even if you aren't able to attend the celebration in person!  Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Photo Source: Disney Store
One of the first things I noticed, were the Alex and Ani bracelets.  I don't have any Alex and Ani bracelets yet, but there are a few on my wish list.  They're a great way to show your Disney Side!  I'm hoping to at least get the Disneyland 60th Anniversary Sleeping Beauty Castle bracelet during our trip to California!

Photo Source: Disney Store
The Diamond Celebration autograph and photo book is adorable and perfect for a 60th anniversary trip!  I love the foil accents and gem studs on the front cover.  It gives the book a little extra dazzle!

Photo Source: Disney Store
This diamond photo frame is perfect for Disney memories!  I love how the photo will literally be sparkling from inside the diamond!  Shine bright like a diamond!

Photo Source: Disney Store
This picture frame looks more like the others I have at home.  I admit that I have a serious addiction to Disney picture frames.  I love how this one has all of the rides along the outer edge!

Photo Source: Disney Store
Those who follow me know I love, love, love scrapbooks.  Unfortunately, I haven't seen any specifically for the Diamond Celebration.  This is a cute photo album.  It's not a scrapbook, but it's still great for Disneyland memories!

Photo Source: Disney Store
These little Mickey and Minnie figurines are adorable!  They are handprinted and feature crystal gem accents!  I love how detailed they are!

Photo Source: Disney Store
Of course, I can't post my favorite merchandise without including the plush!  Mickey and Minnie are dressed to impress!  Mickey wears a velour suit with glittering lapels, bow time and trim.  Minnie's dress has two layers of skirts.  She also has metallic lace, glitter accents and iridescent foil!  Dazzling!

Photo Source: Disney Store
Duffy can't miss out on the 60th anniversary fun!  This cute outfit ensures Duffy is dressed in his very best!  Eliot and I already have this costume... in fact, we've got two of them for our furry friends... stay tuned!

Photo Source: Disney Store
The Sleeping Beauty Castle Play Set is a gem, literally.  Eliot insisted his parents get one for us, so this is currently hanging out in the other room.  I have to admit, it's really cool!  I didn't know it lit up!  We don't have kids, but if we do someday I'm sure they'll love this!  In the meantime, this is a cute play set we can display.  The Mickey and Minnie 60th figurines are really cute!

Photo Source: Disney Store
I've saved my favorite find for last!  The Disneyland Railroad Train Set is limited availability and it's perfection.  It's currently sold out online and it's not hard to see why! The train set has a chrome finish on the cars.  It has a lit up diamond smoke stack and working headlights.  Four figurines and 18 feet of track come with the set.  This is a beauty and well worth the $130 price tag.  Eliot and I currently have one his parents grabbed over the 24 hour party.  We're hoping to use it with our Christmas tree!

Photo Source: Disney Store
This is just a small excerpt of the full collection of 60th anniversary merchandise.  So to recap, only two more weeks until Disneyland where my wallet is going into hiding... °o°

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Disney Descendants Movie Review

As I'm sure many of you with teenagers and pre-teens know, Disney released a Disney Channel original movie at the end of July called Disney Descendants.  I've watched Disney Channel original movies since I was in middle school.  I've seen most of them... dating back to the Brink and Smart House era.  This was another movie in a sea of Disney Channel movies, but I have to admit,  I was really looking forward to this one.

Photo Source: Disney Wiki
This movie seemed like a bigger deal than usual.  It was the first time Disney has created a featured film based off the canon of multiple movies.  Second, it had a book released before the film which was a preface to the actual movie.  While I didn't get a chance to read it before seeing the movie, it was a genius way to get kids hooked before the movie's release.  (I still plan to read it eventually.)  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was impressed with the film.  I've seen it 3 times now and a few things have stood out to me: the storyline, songs, and nods to other Disney films.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants
The storyline was fairly predictable, but it was still cute.  Belle and the Beast's son wants his first act as king to bring the banished kids of famous Disney Villains over to Auradon so they might have a chance at "normal" lives.  Four children are selected and they attend school with the heroes' children.  The kids eventually start to fit in and realize that they like their new school. In the end, they have to choose between being good or following in their parents footsteps.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants
The songs were pretty good.  I didn't realize the movie was directed by Kenny Ortega- who also directed High School Musical.  If I had known, I would have expected the catchy songs and the detailed choreography.  Days later, I still randomly catch myself humming "Rotten to the Core" which introduced the villain kids and had amazing choreography.  I enjoyed the upbeat version of "Be Our Guest" sung by the heroes' kids.  The final song of the movie, "Set It Off" was also easy to get stuck in your head.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants
The nods to the other Disney characters was what I enjoyed the most.  The viewer could tell who each kids' parent was without being told.  This was conveyed through the style and name of the character.  I was really impressed by the costumes.  The villain kids clothing easily depicted who their famous villain parent was.  The colors of the costumes matched their parents.  Their clothing also featured symbols on the back to match.  I loved Mal and Evie's outfits.  Mal, Evie and Carlos also had hair symbolic of their mothers.  Carlos' tourney uniform had the jersey number 101 on it.  Fairy Godmother and her daughter were often seen in blue outfits with pink bows.  Doug wore a lot of purple and green like Dopey.  Finally, Auradon Prep's school colors were yellow and blue, reminiscent of Belle and Beast.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants
Disney Descendants was a cute movie and I enjoyed it.  There's a hint at the end of the movie that this might not be the last we've seen of Auradon.  I guess we'll have to stick around to see if there's more to the story!  °o°

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

D23 Expo Merchandise

It's been another few busy days here.  I spent the weekend visiting my parents and Nana.  My cousin's little boy had his second birthday party Sunday so we all went to that.  It was a great weekend!  Eliot's back from his California trip... only to leave again for a business trip.  However, I can't complain too much.  I was able to see him for about 30 minutes yesterday before he had to go again!


I'm glad I could catch him for a quick visit.  It was clear to me when I talked to him on the phone that he really wanted to see me even if it was for a few minutes.  It puzzled me since we had planned that I'd see him when he gets back on Thursday.  When I arrived home, he was like a kid in a candy store.  After putting his hands over my eyes and leading me to our bedroom, I discovered why.  He set up all the stuff he got me on my side of the bed and he wanted to see the look on my face when I saw everything.


I knew Eliot had found a few things at Wal-Mart before he went to the D23 expo.  (He called to ask me what size pj pants I wore.)  He also told me he found Disney socks.  I have to say that I didn't expect to get Elsa, Olaf and Finding Nemo socks!


Eliot also made sure to bring a few extra D23 Expo guides and schedules for me.  He knows how much I love that sort of stuff.  I can't wait to sit down and read through them!  It'll give me an idea of how to plan for D23 Expo 2017!!!


I have to admit I was most excited about the plush.  They're a weakness of mine to begin with.  Eliot and his dad were able to get a few sets of the D23 Expo Limited Edition Cinderella and Prince itty bitty's from Hallmark!  I was so excited!!!  They're perfect to display with our Disney Wedding stuff!


Eliot was also able to get a few sets of the Mickey and Minnie Steamboat Willie Limited Edition tsum tsums!  The only other one I really wanted was Sorcerer Mickey, but two out of three definitely isn't bad!  I'm thrilled he was able to get any of them!


Eliot also got a few things from the Build-A-Bear store in Downtown Disney.  He wanted his own Disneyland 60th bear so he built one to bring home.  He also got Eeyore and Brother their 60th Anniversary outfits for our upcoming trip!  Our little donkey friends will now be able to show their Disney Sides!

Finally, Eliot also got me one of the Olaf figurines from D23, a light up Halloween necklace and a Halloween ear headband from Disneyland, but he ran out of room in his bag.  We'll get everything else when we go out to California in a few weeks!  I love my new Disney merchandise!  Eliot definitely wins the great husband award!!!  °o°

Saturday, August 15, 2015

D23 Expo- Cool Confusing Chaos

D23 Expo weekend has been crazy, and I'm not even there.  Eliot's been sending me messages throughout his past two days there and I can tell how crazy it is.  There are approximately 65,000 people descending upon Anaheim for the bi-annual event.  A few words to describe my impression from the outside looking in: cool, confusing, chaos.

Photo Source: D23 Expo
The D23 Expo is obviously a huge event for Disney.  They've made huge announcements there over the weekend regarding their theme parks, future movies and other projects.  They release limited edition merchandise exclusive to the event.  They also have displays of tons of Disney memorabilia, historic items, even merchandise from their other theme parks around the world!  It's so cool to go to one location with all of this wealth of magic.

Photo Source: D23 Facebook Page
However, according to Eliot, it's been very confusing and more unorganized than one would expect from Disney.  Disney runs it's theme parks like a well oiled machine.  They have crowd control and traffic patterns down to a science.  D23, it seems has been incredibly confusing in comparison.  Eliot's told me cast members don't know how to give directions.  There is a lack of signage leading you to desired destinations.  It's not what you'd expect from an event coordinated by Disney.

Photo Source: D23 Facebook Page
Leading to my final impression- it seems D23 has been chaos.  Honestly, I do expect some chaos when you're cramming 65,000 into one event, even if the venue is huge.  However, some of this seems like it could have been controlled.  Eliot said they had two doors open yesterday when he was one of the approximately 20,000 people waiting outside to get into the event.  There wasn't water for those people in the hot sun.  There wasn't even water available for sale.  This isn't what Disney is known for.  Disney is top of the line guest services, with water fountains in ride queue lines to make sure guests stay hydrated.

Photo Source: D23 Facebook Page
I've got to say that I'm a little bit disappointed.  After having three of these events prior to this one, I'd think they would have ironed out a few of the kinks.  It seems like there's still plenty of room for improvement, but that won't keep me from attending D23 in the future!  In fact, Eliot and I are already talking about the possibility of D23 in 2017!!!  °o°

Friday, August 14, 2015

Fun Find: Inside Out Emojis

It's time for another Fun Find Friday!!!  Today, we're taking a look at Inside Out Emojis!

Those of you who use Facebook Messenger are probably well aware of the stickers you can send to your friends.  If not, I'm about to blow your mind.  You can "download" stickers to send to others on Facebook.  (Read more about how to do that here.)


A lot of movies have designed stickers to promote their movies.  I've also downloaded stickers from Hunger Games, Minions, Frozen and Disney-Pixar.  However, my newest obsession are the Inside Out emoji stickers.  I've actually had these on my Fun Find list for a while.  They've been available since before the movie was released!


Since the characters in the movie are based on emotions, these are perfect.  Eliot and I use them regularly now.  In fact, we can have entire conversations just in emojis.  Our wallets crying like Sadness seems to be a regular trend.  (Disney, will you stop with all the cool merchandise already?!?!)  I'd also like to note that in both these examples, Eliot's sending me links to cool merchandise.  He's clearly an enabler.


Aren't these fun?  In the second conversation I can picture Eliot rolling his eyes at me like Disgust while I'm saying "you know you love me!"  The best part is that there are multiple images of each character.  Here's what the entire collection looks like.

Image from Facebook
If you like them go download them to your sticker book before they're no longer available!  I've heard that people who didn't already get the Frozen stickers can't get them now!  (Which is a tragedy- ecstatic jumping Olaf is another personal favorite sticker of mine!)  Have fun expressing your thoughts and emotions.  °o°

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

New IllusionEars for D23

Hi friends!  We've been busy around here as usual.  I find the days flying by without time for me to even think about writing.  I'm holding the fort down while Eliot's away.   He's been home in California all this week.  A good family friend passed away unexpectedly last week and he went out for his memorial service.  Since Eliot was already flying out Thursday for D23 this weekend, he just stayed the entire week!


In the meantime, I've been keeping myself busy.  My friend Shelly's baby shower was this past Sunday.  It was so nice to see my Wentworth girls again!  Lately, I've only seen my college girlfriends once a year and this was really special.  Shelly's sister did a great job with the storybook theme!  I was right in my element with the little Disney touches.  Shelly's niece was stunned when I told her I "borrowed" Cinderella's coach for our wedding.  She was so cute!


The shower was a lot of fun.  I love the cute baby outfits!  Of course, I had to spoil her little one with lots of Minnie Mouse stuff.  We had a great time and it was so good to reconnect with my friends!  Hopefully I'll see them again sooner rather than later!


It was right back to work after the shower.  Since Eliot had to leave early, that left me finishing the new IllusionEars for D23.  Thankfully, Eliot finished the designs before he left.  I've been putting the finishing touches on them and mailed them out earlier today.


Eliot's sisters agreed to be our models for the weekend.  We had them choose their themes- illustrating the sky is the limit when it comes to designs for IllusionEars.  Elissa wanted Inside Out Anger ears and Sara wanted a Lion King design.  Eliot ended up designing Simba ears for her.  They came out pretty cute and they also show off two more design options for our IllusionEars: painted one color or two colors!  (I'm currently working on a set of Disneyland 60th ears for myself with other options.)


If you're at D23 or Disneyland this weekend, keep an eye out for the IllusionEars!!! °o°