Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts

Monday, November 18, 2024

Dollar Tree Snow Globes and Ornaments

 


I feel like I lost a month because I lost a month being able to be in my craft room because of my knee injury. So, it was great to spend some time in my craft room this weekend getting out my Christmas stash and having a chance to play. 

Over the Summer, I found these Disney, Pixar, and Sesame Street figurines at Dollar Tree. I knew from years past they made snow globe ornaments and was stalking them waiting for them to re-appear. 

Years ago, my Mom had given us a wonderful set of Disney ornaments. My main tree is more formal. Call it my Martha Stewart personality disorder. Even as a child, I had thoughts of the kind of tree I wanted when I had my own but when our son was born, I also wanted him to have a very kid-friendly tree. 

Mr. Chocolate and Son were in charge of this tree while I tended to my other three "frou-frou" trees with one stipulation: "Hands off our tree fancy pants". But kids grow up and he's lived on his own for a while and it's a conundrum. He doesn't put up a tree because of his dog who's a bundle of energy and while he was in grad school, his schedule allowed him to come home and trim the tree with Dad. For the last couple of years though, reality has set in and he won't always be able to do that. I FINALLY convinced them that I could honor the tradition of the tree but "spruce" (pun intended) it up a bit. I bought new lights and made a few ornaments to honor our continued love of Disney, Pixar, and Muppets. 

Supplies:

  • Mini Character Figurines
  • Snow Globe Ornaments
  • Hot Glue and Glue Gun
  • Epsom Salt
  • Coordinating Glitter,Sequins, Ribbon,Pipe Cleaners

These are super easy and fun to make.


Some of the figures sit on a base like Jack Jack here. Learn as you go. While it fit within the circumference of the lid (bottom) I realized after I glued it in that the lid didn't quite screw on correctly so I had to glue it in. The process for all of these is the same.

Make sure your figure will fit through the opening and the lid will close. Glue the figure either directly to the lid or as I'll show, to something to elevate it a little. Then, use a length of pipecleaner and hot glue around the top of the ornament. This will create a seal because otherwise the filler may spill out. What goes inside is up to your imagination!


I used epsom salt and various sequins along with other small things like pom poms as my filler. Once you've "sealed" the top of your ornament, load it up with your filler then screw on your lid with the figurine attached and you can be done now, or do as I did and wrap the base with coordinating ribbon,


Your only limit is your imagination. The hardest part is if you are looking for a specific character. No guarantees that every store has what you want but then you just go from store to store, right? 


Jack Jack is Mr. Chocolate's favorite character so I was ecstatic to find him. I'm still looking for Edna Mode! 



I mentioned above that some of the figures don't come with a base like Jack Jack did. These, I was able to elevate a little higher using some wood blocks (Dollar Tree) from my stash. I glued the block to the lid, then the figure to the block. Since these ornaments are tall, there's room.


I did this with Oscar and then followed the same steps using coordinating colors. 


But wait...there's more! Some of the figures are just too big for the ornament opening. Solution? The Snow Globes that they also sell at Dollar Tree!


Sully's arms were too wide for the ornament so I made him into a snow globe! Same overall process...fill with coordinating sequins and/or glitter and epsom salt and wrap with ribbon.



I threw some sparkly pom poms in here along with some sequin snowflakes.





I'm really happy with how easy and fun these were!








Sunday, November 13, 2016

Jazz Loves Disney....And So Do I !

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This is a sponsored post through partnership with One2One Network, Disney Music and Verve. Opinions are mine. 

I recently had the opportunity to review the album "Jazz Loves Disney". It was perfect for me since we  are huge Disney fans. 

The first thing most people think of when it comes to Disney (well, after Mickey Mouse) are the parks and the rides. But for me, it's also the music. Every attraction has a theme song increasingly tied into the movies. 

To say that we are Disney fans is an understatement. We've been to the parks for so many of the special occasions in our life starting with our honeymoon, to  childhood trips with our son including while dropping him off at college and then celebrating his graduation. Most recently we celebrated our 25th Anniversary there.  

On roadtrips there and back, Disney music was  part of our travels. When not there? We've celebrated birthdays and other occasions with Disney music. One of my favorite memories is from when our son was little and we staged Disney parades marching  to Disney music throughout our house. 

You get the picture of why I jumped at the chance  to review this album. This is Disney for grown ups. These are some of the classic Disney songs done in mellow and memorable ways that will have you humming or singing when you're not thinking about it. Not in that eyes glazed over because your kids want to listen to things over and over ( been there, done that and no offense to some Disney tunes but you know what I mean!) but because you enjoy the music. 

You can download from iTunes or Amazon and here is the full track listing: 

Track Listing:
1.  Jamie Cullum – "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat" – from The Aristocats
2.  Melody Gardot – "He’s A Tramp" – from Lady And The Tramp
3.  Stacey Kent – "Bibbidi Bobbodo Boo" (French version) – from Cinderella
4.  Gregory Porter – "When You Wish Upon A Star" – from Pinocchio  
5.  China Moses – "Why Don’t You Do Right" – from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
6.  Raphaël Gualazzi – "I Wanna Be Like You" – from The Jungle Book
7.  The Rob Mounsey Orchestra – "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" – from Cinderella
8.  Hugh Coltman – "You’ve Got A Friend In Me" – from Toy Story
9.  Anne Sila – "Let It Go" – from Frozen
10.  Melody Gardot & Raphaël Gualazzi – "The Bare Necessities" – from The Jungle Book
11.  Laika – "Once Upon A Dream" – from Sleeping Beauty
12.  Nikki Yanofsky -"Someday My Prince Will Come" – from Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs
13. The Hot Sardines – I Wanna Be Like You (French & English version) – from The Jungle Book (US release only)
I didn't think anyone could sing "Let It Go" from "Frozen" as well as Idina Menzel, but Anne Sila's rendition is wonderful. I  also love Melody Gardot's "He's a Tramp" from "Lady and the Tramp" but honestly, there isn't a song on here I didn't enjoy. 

This quote from Stacey Kent who did "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" sums things up for me: 
The song BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOO, speaks to the child in us all, that still believes - or would like to believe - that we can do magic. As we grow up, we are at the risk of losing that sense of possibility but music has always had the power to transform the world and make it a better place; If that’s not magic, what is?”
I need a little magic in my life right now and for me, nobody does that better than Disney.