Today, many kitchens are filled with families preparing for Easter by dying hard-boiled eggs.
Yesterday, my children and I followed the tradition of decorating eggs, but this year we decorated eggs two different ways, of course both showcasing our #DisneySide. For our usual way of decorating eggs, I purchased a packaged dying & decorating kit to use at Grandma’s house for some hard-boiled egg fun. I purchased this Monsters University Easter Egg Dye Kit at Target for $3 US.
Gavin’s favorite part of the kit was the little blue hard hat that he used for his Mike egg. I’m thrilled to report that he made this adorable egg for his Mommy!
As with previous years, the kids and I had a blast dying eggs with Grandma. It’s a shame that despite all the hard work that went into decorating the eggs, they will be gone in a few short days. So this year I scheduled an additional egg decorating activity for the kids to make eggs that we will be able to keep for years. I purchased these craft eggs at our local Michael’s Craft Store. I laid out some newspaper, wax paper, paint and Q-Tips and let the kids have some fun. Having small children work with non-breakable eggs really is a great idea. The eggs fell on the floor a few times and it saved quite a few tears when my son saw that they had survived the multiple falls!
This Q-Tip project is perfect for young children, like my 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
Here are the reasons that I love to have my children paint with Q-Tips. First, LESS MESS. Painting with kids is messy. Giving a child a tiny little cotton swab to use for painting alleviates the potential mess that could come with having a regular paint brush in the set of destructive little hands.
Second, painting with Q-Tips allows for QUICK CLEAN UP…if there is such a thing with kids. Once the kids were finished, I simply picked up the Q-Tips and threw them away. I enjoyed not having to clean the brushes after the project was over. Take a glimpse of just some of the Q-Tips that were used in decorating six eggs!
Have you figured out what characters we’ve modeled our painted eggs after? Victoria worked on a pretty Sophia the First purple egg. She tried her best to draw the white on her dress, so the other purple dress is my attempt to make a Sophia dress design. Gavin’s red and black egg is a Mickey Mouse inspired egg. Any guesses as to whom the silly one in the middle is themed after?
During the last few months of winter, the kids and I have been digging into the movie drawers in our living room. Each weekend we take one evening to have a Disney movie night. Sometimes we watch a newly released Disney film, but most of the time I like to recommend three movies from the Disney vault and let the kids pick which one they want to watch. During the month of April the movie Bambi is at the top of my must view list. From the “Drip Drip Drop” of the “Little April Showers” outside, to the celebration of rebirth, I think this movie is a perfect choice to welcome in Spring. As an added bonus, it stars one of Disney’s most famous bunnies, Thumper! I used these two Thumper books as references for making these pops look a bit like his feet. The books really get a work out during the Easter season in our house. On a side note, if you have a toddler in your house, I’d highly recommend the “Disney Bunnies” books! You can find three of the “Disney Bunnies” books by clicking on the Disney Store logo on the side bar. It will take you to the Disney Store site. Once you’re there search for toddler books and you’ll find them.
To make our movie night extra special, I like to make the kids a themed treat. These bunny feet cake pops were inspired by Thumper’s oversized thumping paws. As with all of the treats I make, these are super simple to make. I have to warn you, they’re packed full of sugar so I’d only recommend them for a special treat and not an everyday snack. If you’d like to make them for your little bunnies, here’s how!
Supplies:
bright white Wilton candy melts
vanilla candy melts
black food coloring
cookie pop sticks
pink jelly beans
Tastykake Dreamies Crème Kakes
Melt bright white Wilton candy melts in a shallow microwave safe pan. The pan that I used is a Pampered Chef melting tray. Once melted add some black food coloring to create the light shade of gray for the top of Thumper’s feet.
Tilt the pan so that all of the melted chocolate is on one end. Place the rounded top of the Crème Kake down into the corner of the pan. Roll the top of the cake back and forth to cover the top and half of the sides of the cake with gray chocolate. Insert one of the pop sticks half way through the cake. This will help you take it out of the pan. The photo below shows you what the end result of this step will look like. Allow the chocolate to harden before moving onto the next step.
Once the chocolate on the cake is hardened, add vanilla candy melts to your remaining gray chocolate and melt the combination. The yellow color of the vanilla melts will give the gray chocolate a brown tint for the bottom of the feet.
Holding the top of the cake, dip the bottom of the foot and the bottom of the sides in the brown tinted color chocolate. Next, lay the bunny feet top side down on wax paper, so that the bottom of his foot is facing up. While the chocolate is still warm, add the jelly beans to create the paw effect. Allow the jelly beans to harden on the chocolate and you’re done!
If you’ve made these for a later date, be sure to store the pops in an air tight container to keep their freshness or if you’re giving them away for an Easter treat, wrap the pops in plastic and secure with a bow.
Have you made any bunny-inspired treats this spring? I’d love for you to share them! If you’re a blogger, feel free to add the link to your bunny-inspired treat in the comments section below.
I love all of Thumper’s little statements in the film Bambi. Today, I’ll leave you with these wise words that Thumper learned from his father:
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”
When I think of Spring and the Easter season, I think of my favorite Disney bunny, Thumper. His thumping feet, big fluffy tail and twitching pink nose made me fall in love with him as a little girl. He’s so adorable! Couldn’t you just squeeze him?
I’m not the only bunny fan in our home. My daughter, Victoria, loves rabbits, aka “Hop Hops”. She has a couple Thumper books that we enjoy reading. Our favorite one is a sweet “Touch-and-Feel” board book, called Thumper’s Fluffy Tail. To say the least, she’s pretty taken by Thumper too. Today I decided to make Victoria a “Thumper-Inspired” Easter garland for her bedroom. Her room is filled with a variety of pinks and whites. I thought the brown of burlap and the gray and white of Thumper would coordinate nicely in her room and I knew she would love to see little bunnies hopping across her window!
This garland is an easy, quick and inexpensive way to add a touch of spring, Disney-Inspired of course, to any room of your house. Here’s how I made it!
Supplies
You’ll need burlap toile, a marker, black and white paint, a Wilton bunny cookie cutter, adhesive, and ribbon. I used Fabri-Tac for my adhesive and a 5/8 inch grosgrain stitch ribbon for my garland.
Iron the burlap, measure, mark and cut out five triangle flags.
The burlap toile that I purchased was 18″ x 24″. I had enough material to cut all five, 8″ wide, triangles and have material left over.
Using a rabbit cookie cutter for a template, paint the gray-bodied rabbits onto the burlap.
This cookie cutter is a Wilton cookie cutter. Wilton sells at least one other rabbit cookie cutter. I chose this one because it reminded me of little Thumper.
In addition, when you’re looking at my photo you can see I used wax paper underneath the burlap while I was painting. Just a bit of hard knowledge that I learned, double up on the wax paper because the paint can seep through onto your work surface.
After the gray paint has dried on all five flags, add Thumper’s white tail to each.
I have to tell you that I got a bit impatient and brought out the blow dryer to move the project along.
Once the paint has dried, glue ribbon to the top of each flag to create your garland.
It’s that simple!
I’m really pleased with the results, especially for the minimal amount of effort it took to complete this craft. It looks great in my daughter’s room and I think it would work perfectly in a baby’s nursery and especially on a dessert table for Easter! Don’t you agree that there’s something about a dessert table that screams “I need to be decorated!”?
Thanks for stopping by the blog today and remember, “Eating greens is a special treat. It makes long ears and great big feet.”
Vacationing at Walt Disney World isn’t cheap. It’s nice to know that there are things you can enjoy in your down time from the parks that won’t add to your vacation expenses. Today I’d like to share with you and your family our family’s top five things to do at The Walt Disney World Resort that are free for all guests to experience.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
1. Disney’s Boardwalk Entertainment
Varying from day-to-day, you will often find jugglers, magic shows and other street entertainment while walking along the Boardwalk. Our favorite time to visit Disney’s Boardwalk Resort is in the evening. When Epcot’s world-famous “Illuminations” show fills the night air with a beautiful display of fireworks you can see the fireworks from the Boardwalk. If you’d like to explore Disney’s Boardwalk, and you’re staying on Disney property, you can get there by taking a bus to the Disney Hollywood Studios. To the right of the park’s entrance you’ll find a boat launch, which can take you to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. If you’d like to walk to the resort instead of taking the boat, there is an illuminated path to stroll along. If you’d prefer to drive there, you’ll find Disney’s Boardwalk Resort located in the Epcot Resort Area. At the security gate of the resort, let the officer know that you’d like to check out the Boardwalk’s entertainment and he will tell you where you can park.
2. The MONORAIL
Riding the monorail does NOT require a theme park ticket. We love taking a ride on the monorail simply to enjoy the sights. The monorail track has two different routes. In the Magic Kingdom Resort area the Resort Monorail will stop at The Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, The Transportation and Ticket Center, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. If you get off of the monorail at the TTC you can hop the rails over to the Epcot monorail route. The kids love to ride and look out the window. I enjoy getting off at the different resorts to check out themed décor and of course, their shops! Warning, the shops may result in spending…
The Electrical Water Pageant has captivated guests with its beautiful pageantry of lighted floats synchronized to a fun musical score since 1971. I remember seeing it as a child during the 1980s when my family stayed at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground. Now when I visit WDW with my family, we often watch the show at Disney’s Contemporary Resort or Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Regardless of where or when I’ve watched the dolphins dance across the water or saw the Crocodile chomp away, it’s always magical. Every evening the parade performs in six different locations on the two waterways located in the Magic Kingdom Resort area, Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. This would be a perfect show to catch if you’re visiting resorts off of the monorail loop one evening. As a reminder, there’s no cost to watch the pageant! To find out more information about the pageant, such as show times and locations, please visit the link below. It will take you directly to the Electrical Water Pageant page on Walt Disney World’s website.
My son LOVES this place. Located outside of The Lego Store at Downtown Disney is a wonderful Lego construction area for kids to create their own race cars and then put them to the test against each other. The photo above of my son and nephew building their cars, shows an example of one of the several tables with Lego building supplies that are stationed through the common area.
I apologize for the poor quality of the Lego Store images. They were last-minute photos with my cell phone. Regardless, I think you can see from these photos, this is serious business for the little builders. They’d race and rebuild and then race again. No lie, the boys would have played for more than an hour if we did not move them along to another store.
5. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground Settlement/ Marina Area
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground is truly a gem that is often overlooked when planning at Disney vacation. There are so many fun and unique activities that you can do at this resort that I’d highly recommend all Disney vacation planners to take a look at this resort’s line up of fun experiences. However, today I’d like to share with you the “free” activities that we like to experience at The Fort.
A Disney vacation can be, at times, overwhelming to small children. Midweek during our vacation we always plan a couple hour excursion during the day to Fort Wilderness. When in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area the best way to get there is by boat, the boat ride alone is wonderfully relaxing. Then when we dock at the marina we head to the playground. It’s simple, with a few swings and a climbing area, but it’s just what a little Mouseketeer needs to have a bit of down time. Each time we visit we go during the day in the middle of the week, so there’s hardly any resort guests around.
Within the Settlement area is ton of things to experience. To name a few, you can visit the Tri-Circle-D Ranch Stables to see ponies and horses, shop at The Settlement Trading Post (obviously this could cost you some money) or check out the Fort’s restaurants (again you may end up opening your wallet.) Our family believes that hidden inside The Settlement area is the Fort’s hidden gem, Trails End Restaurant. We’ve often eaten there for lunch. There’s no wait time and the food is fantastic. On the beautiful wrap around porch you’ll find games of checkers and building blocks for you and your children to play with. In the evenings I’m certain they’re used by restaurant guests, but during the afternoon, when guests are at the parks the porch is empty and waiting for fun to be had. Last but not least, enjoy a stroll on the beautiful sands of the marina’s beach. During our walks at the Fort we’ve even come across an armadillo or two!
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s review of my family’s top five picks for Fun Free activities at Walt Disney World. Is there a free activity that you like to do while on vacation at Walt Disney World? If so, I’d love for you to share!
On April 1st DisneyToon Studios released their fifth film in the Tinker Bell series titled “The Pirate Fairy”. When it arrived at our doorstep yesterday afternoon, the kids and I sat down for a special treat ~ Movie Night on a Tuesday night! Our movie night is usually on a Friday or Saturday evening, but the three of us were so excited to see this film that I made an exception this time. I have to say, it was a good decision on my part. We all loved it! Gavin and I have proclaimed it to be our favorite Tinker Bell movie to date.
Here’s a little glimpse into the movie. “The Pirate Fairy” tells the story of a curious and smart dust keeper fairy called Zarina. She’s a bit like our favorite fairy, Tinker Bell. Unfortunately, Zarina’s experiments get out of control and land her in trouble with the head of the Pixie Dust operations. Upset and frustrated, she choses to leave Pixie Hollow and “hooks” up with a few pirates at Skull Rock. Can you guess whom one of them might be? If you’ve guessed a certain Captain then you know Zarina is going to need some help from her friend Tinker Bell.
I truly enjoyed watching this movie with a Peter Pan magnifying glass, dissecting each scene to find a connection to the original Peter Pan film. There are so many connections that I believe it’s a MUST SEE for any Peter Pan fan. The film is a pure joy to watch. The storyline is sweet. The animation is fantastic for a direct to DVD release and the soundtrack was fun and cheerful. I simply love the song, “Who I am” by Natasha Bedinfield.
Gavin, my six-year-old, who said he was “too old to watch a Tinker Bell movie”, couldn’t help getting caught up in the storyline, laughing and telling me how he sees it all connecting to the Peter Pan movie. Victoria, being two, made it half way through the film before becoming distracted, returning later when the music grabbed her attention. She loves “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” Disney Junior show, so she’s familiar with the most famous pirate. However, I was really surprised when watching “The Pirate Fairy” she announced, “Hook Mommy, Hook!”
So in case you have any doubt, my Mouse Ears Mom’s opinion of “The Fairy Pirate” is Fantastic!
If you have a swashbuckling crew that you plan to view the movie with, you may want to make them a few Pirate themed treats to enjoy during your family’s movie night. Here is a photo my Captain Hook cupcakes. The link below will take you to the simple tutorial of how I made them.
If you’re a fan of Peter Pan, I hope you have the opportunity to view “The Pirate Fairy.” I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! If you haven’t purchased this film yet, stop by the Disney Store online, where you can purchase the movie along with more than a dozen Pirate Fairy items! Below is the Disney link to take you there!
Gavin’s favorite part of the kit was the little blue hard hat that he used for his Mike egg. I’m thrilled to report that he made this adorable egg for his Mommy!
As with previous years, the kids and I had a blast dying eggs with Grandma. It’s a shame that despite all the hard work that went into decorating the eggs, they will be gone in a few short days. So this year I scheduled an additional egg decorating activity for the kids to make eggs that we will be able to keep for years. I purchased these craft eggs at our local Michael’s Craft Store. I laid out some newspaper, wax paper, paint and Q-Tips and let the kids have some fun. Having small children work with non-breakable eggs really is a great idea. The eggs fell on the floor a few times and it saved quite a few tears when my son saw that they had survived the multiple falls!
This Q-Tip project is perfect for young children, like my 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
Second, painting with Q-Tips allows for QUICK CLEAN UP…if there is such a thing with kids. Once the kids were finished, I simply picked up the Q-Tips and threw them away. I enjoyed not having to clean the brushes after the project was over. Take a glimpse of just some of the Q-Tips that were used in decorating six eggs!
