Messages from Mickey {2012 Edition}

One of our favorite magical memories from last year’s trip was Messages from Mickey.  We saved a bundle of money on souvenirs as whenever we passed a store we just reminded the littles that Mickey would be picking out a treat especially for them each day! 
 
Like last year, the littles will receive a note and gift from the world’s most revered mouse (tucked into their stockings this time) on each morning of our stay.  Now, if I do say so myself, Mother absolutely outdid herself on these stockings!  And to think I had planned to make them on my own :-)  (Thank goodness for that miscommunication, as mine were going to be constructed of burlap and fabric glue.) 


I sized the notecards at 4"x6" so that they'll fit right in our Disney memory books, and used the same Brady Bunch and Waltograph fonts from the signature books and matching game. 

Day 1 – Stuffed Mickey (to go on and get that out of the way), Mickey candy cane (box set at Publix) and Mickey juice bottle ($2ish at WalMart)

Day 2: Coloring book and sticker set ($1 at Party City), silly bands ($1 on clearance at Party City) and lollipop (left over from July 4th party)
 
Day 3: Mickey bubbles ($1 from Party City) and lollipop (WalMart lucky find)
Day 4: Giant Mickey cookie (not yet bagged because I just pulled them out of the freezer…I made them with leftover dough from the PCP’s bowling pin cookies), Mickey ornament (purchased set of 4 from Disney Store in July for $4) and hand warmers (Target dollar bin)

I painted their names on the back with white paint pen.
 
Day 5: Perry the Platypus PJs (clearance from Disney Store this summer) and Perry fruit snacks (can’t recall where I picked these up)
Day 6: Mickey lollipops (WalMart again) and deck of cards (Dollar Tree) – this is also the day the note will say they can pick out their favorite souvenir from the park

I’m beyond excited to be doing this again.  Alas, it does take pre-planning, but it was SO worth it to see the magic on their faces first thing every  morning!
xoxo

See all things DiSnEy here!

See Messages from Mickey {2011 Edition} here!

Disney Memory Books {2012 Edition}

I’d venture to say that one of the (many) highlights of the littles’ trip to Disney last year was meeting their favorite characters and loading up their memory books with signatures.  After our trip, they helped me choose pictures for the books, and we pasted in our Messages from Mickey and things like our Key to the World cards and Monorail Operator stickers.  I kid you not when I say that these are among the most looked at “books” in our house.  The baby falls asleep many nights a week with his clutched in his hands.  Sooooo, I pulled the file out of the coffers, made a few tweaks and have the 2012 edition ready to go!

 

I personalized a section for each park and special event during our visit.  When we told the PCP’s teacher that he’d be missing a week of school, she was excited and super supportive.  She said there was no way she’d send school work, but that she would love to have him write each day about what he did and saw.  Given that direction, I added a lined page (the lines are hard to see below) into each section that says “A magical memory from…”.  We’ll do our best to have him jot down a sentence or two each night.



The last pages in the book are for signatures.  Like last year, we'll have the characters sign on the page with the Mickey and then paste pictures on the facing pages.



Here’s how the looked after we finished them up last year…







And here's how I did it:
1. Created the pages in Printing Press and sized them at 5"x7" to leave room for 4"x6" pictures.  I created my own mouse head from three black circles.  I used fonts Brady Bunch and Waltograph throughout the book and dotted all the i's and j's with a scaled down version of my mouse head.  (Have I mentioned how giddy it made me that both my boys have a dot-able letter in their name?!?!)
2. Printed the pages and organized them in the way I wanted the books laid out.
3. Laminated the front and back covers.  I use Lakeshore Learning for laminating.  It's self serve and only $0.39 a foot.  So, the grand total for the four cover pages was $0.39.
4. Had them spiral bound with a ring larger than needed to leave room for pictures.  I used Kinkos for this.  They bound both books for $8.

THESE ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN MY ETSY STORE!

So, at the end of the day, my two signature books ran me a grand total of under nine dollars.  Not too shabby.
xoxo

See all things DiSnEy here!

See Disney  Memory Books {2011 Edition} here!

See Remembering Disney (finished books) here!

Great Minds...

'George Pal's Puppetoons' issue 15 from Fawcett Publications, published in September 1945 (featuring Punchy and Judy) versus DC's 'Hollywood Funny Folks' (featuring Nutsy Squirrel), issue 37 from August 1950.

Fawcett's comics were based on George Pal's popular animated series from the 1940's. Pal was an animation pioneer and worked with stop motion puppet animation in the 1930's and '40's. He became famous in Europe after creating several theatrical animated advertising shorts in The Netherlands for Philips Radio with producer Joop Geesink. When the Nazi's came to power, he immigrated to the US, where he was nominated seven times for an Academy Award for his animated shorts between 1942 and 1948, resulting in an Honorary Award for his 'Puppetoons' series in 1944. Later, he produced and directed several science fiction movies you might have seen, 'The War of the Worlds' in 1953 and 'The Time Machine' in 1960.

The Nutsy Squirrel cover was done by Rube Grossman, who had worked as an animator for the Fleischer studios in the 1930's and as a comic artist, also worked for Dell Comics/Western on titles like 'Hector Rooster' and 'The Mighty Hercules'. He also worked as a director (and animator) on the cartoon series of 'Mighty Hercules', produced by Joe Orioles between 1963 and 1966 (one of the animators working for the series was Grim Natwick).

128 Five minute episodes were produced by Adventure Cartoon Productions and Trans-Lux Television, who also created the animated cartoons of 'Felix the Cat' (where Grossman also worked on).

Oh Mickey, You’re So Fine {2012 Edition}

Y’all know how I adore a good themed outfit?  Well, Mother was a complete doll to sew up a whole week’s worth for our impending Disney World trip!!  I used fabrics left over from last year, drew up a whole bunch of ideas and Mother outdid herself (as usual) sewing them up.

My jaw dropped when she unveiled this positively precious shirt for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom.  O.M.G. it doesn’t get ANY cuter than this Santa Mickey!



And the Mickey Reindeer shirts are equally as darling.  I think they’ll don these on Epcot day when we are attending the Candlelight Processional!  *squeals with delight*



The PCP still fits in his shirt from last year’s trip, so Mother made a matching one for Whit (he wore a shortall last time).  I had a friend monogram them in the Disney font.  These are short sleeved so I have a black long sleeved tee to wear under if it’s chilly.



These were among my favorites from last year’s trip so I had to have them again in bigger sizes :-)  These are also short sleeved so they have long sleeved white tees to go under if needed.



The littles wore these outfits last year as well!  Mother had to make a new tee for the baby, but their shorts still fit if we have the weather for them.  I have red long sleeved tees to go under if needed. 



I ordered these over the summer when the Disney store was having some great online deals.  [HONEY STOP READING NOW!]  I bought one for each of us and cannot wait to wear them.  Honey is going to D.I.E. :-)



Alright, last up are fleece hoodies that I (yes, all by myself!) embellished with Mickey heads for the littles.  I used pellon iron on paper to adhere the heads.  Y’all, PLEASE keep your fingers crossed that these survive our trip and back home so that Mother can sew around them.  I figure these will come in handy as the nights will get cooler and we have plenty of plans to see a heaping of parades and holiday lights and such!

 
I have a slew of jeans and red converse for the boys…pretty much for every day.  Now, I must take a moment to wipe away a tear as I fear this will be the very last time I’ll be putting the PCP in appliqued shirts.

Oh Mickey, you’re so fine!!
xoxo

See all things DiSnEy here!

See Oh Mickey, You’re So Fine {2011 Edition} here!

3rd Annual Snowflake Breakfast: Scout + Mickey

Our friendly family elf, Scout, is back once again for the holiday season!!!  He flew in last night and worked his little elfin fingers to the bone preparing perfectly elf-sized portions of breakfast favorites for our third annual Scout's Snowflake Breakfast.  And this year, the jolly little elf teamed up with our favorite mouse to announce a grand surprise for the littles…




…we’re headed to DiSnEy WoRlD in SIX dAyS!!!!!



Scout donned his very own set of miniature ears for the affair and dazzled the littles with his requisite elfin sized eats.  All of the decor was left over from the baby’s Mickey Mouse birthday party so it was a snap to pull together and Scout didn’t spend a dime (hear that Honey??)!

 

Mother made the positively DARLING stockings for the littles.  We’ll use these for their “Messages from Mickey” treats while staying at the mouse house.





Mickey silhouettes dressed up mini fruit cups.



I used toothpicks to stick donut holes (Trader Joes) to mini powdered donuts (Publix).



Scout always brings tiny strawberry yogurt cups topped with granola and they are always a hit.  Mini apples were too cute to pass up when I spied them in Trader Joes.



Mini ego waffles were stuck together with toothpicks to make Mickey heads.  I ever so briefly thought about making mini Mickey pancakes, but quickly realized just how early that would require me to wake up and nipped that idea right in the bud.







 

To say the littles were excited would be an incredible understatement.  They came into the kitchen totally unsuspecting…





…and were still in disbelief even after we confirmed that he “read it right"!
 




I might as well warn y’all now that this blog is going to be busting at the seams with all things MICKY MOUSE for the next couple of weeks. :-)

SIX days, y’all!!
xoxo

  Check these out too:

The 2nd Annual Scout's Snowflake Breakfast

All things Disney

Flattered for the feature at Disney World on a Budget!