Hippy-Dippy Birthday

Hey y’all – today is my birthday!

Celebrating my first birthday with a Hostess cupcake... back in the day before "smash cakes" were a thing.

Celebrating my first birthday with a Hostess cupcake… back in the day before “smash cakes” were a thing.

Today’s (self-serving) blog post is all about meeeeeeeeee! And more specifically, my personality as determined by my birth date and Disney character pairing, outlined in the book Disneystrology — which “combines astrology, numerology and the magic of movies to help readers understand their own personalities.” I was introduced to the book and this concept some years ago in a team building event at work where we all learned which Disney character was matched up with our birth date, and therefore, was supposed to be a reflection of our personality.

<i>Disneystrology</i> by Lisa Finander

Disneystrology by Lisa Finander

I had to laugh when I was told my birthday, February 7, had been paired with Fillmore – the hippy-dippy Volkswagen bus from the movie Cars. My first reaction was, “Ummmmm what?” I mean, there are definitely more awkward characters out there to be associated with (Stinky Pete? Did anyone out there actually get paired with him? LOL…) but I failed to see the connection to this one at a glance.

282px-Fillmore

Then I read the description for Fillmore a little closer, and the connection actually makes a lot of sense give my love of creativity and crazy ideas. Since then, I’ve been emotionally attached to this hippy-dippy bus!

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Ninety-Nine!

Guess what? This is my 99th blog post, with my 100th just around the corner! It’s taken me a pretty long time to get here, considering my first post was on October 19, 2010. But my last-minute decision to go to grad school in 2011 meant my blog took a really, really long break and I’ve recently hopped back on the sewing train. Celebrate!

In my next post, I’m going to announce a cool new idea I have up my sleeve in honor of the 100th post. But for number ninety-nine, I thought it would be fun to dig into the archives and highlight some of my previous projects – including some that were never even mentioned in my blog. This is just as exciting as getting the DVD and watching the extra scenes that were cut out of the movie, right!?

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The force is strong with this one!

Whenever I come across licensed character fabric in the remnant bin, I feel compelled to buy it. Licensed fabric is expensive, and remnants are a great opportunity to get the fabric for 50-75% off, depending on the sale. So that’s exactly what happened a few days ago when I came across some Star Wars fabric in the bin. I’m not really a Star Wars fan, but I have plenty of friends who are. And my association with Disney in recent years has made me familiar enough with the franchise that I knew I could put it to good use.

When I got home and added the purchase to the ABYSS I call my fabric bin, I felt guilty for being such a fabric hoarder. I definitely buy more fabric than I use. I’ve been pretty good about avoiding fabric purchases for some time now, but like I said, I have this thing about licensed fabric. So I decided I needed to immediately start using up some fabric for something — anything. Starting with Star Wars.

The Star Wars print, which was supposed to look like a bunch of comic book covers, had a rectangular shape on it that looked almost exactly the size of the zipper pouches I like to make. So I had to try it.

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Ode to Joe (and what I sewed)

When I moved to Florida in 2006, one of the first people I met was Joe. We both participated in the Disney College Program together and spent many, many hours living it up in the Disney parks!

Joe

Some photos from our College Program days back in 2006!

After the Disney College Program ended, I stayed in Florida – and Joe returned home to New York. But within a year or so, he was back in Florida and we’ve been able to continue our adventures ever since!

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A magic-filled weekend

This past weekend, the Disney Parks Blog posted this awesome video showcasing how the outfits are created for the little dolls in the ‘it’s a small world‘ attraction…

How incredible is that? I loved seeing the huge binder full of reference photos and the drawer of bling. I want a drawer of bling! Right now I just have a Tupperware of buttons. And most of them are un-fun buttons that come attached to the tag of a new shirt. So… not nearly as magical as the drawer of bling.

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Princess Windy City & the Tale of the Superfluous Sparkle Skirt

Last weekend, I ran the 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Aladdin, Flynn Rider and Prince Eric

Roadside distractions! Aladdin, Flynn Rider and Prince Eric.

Years ago, one of my roommates ran Disney’s (now defunct) Race for the Taste, and when I saw her cross the finish line, I was inspired to start running just so that I could experience a Disney race for myself. Since then, I’ve participated in a variety of races… 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, corporate races, mud pit races, “distance dare” events (two races in one day), races where they fling colored powder at you, races that end with a spin on Expedition Everest… the list goes on. Continue reading

November and December in 15 photos or less…

I haven’t updated my blog since Halloween, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Talk about MIA!

I could write a novel about what I’ve been up to since then, but instead, I’ll show you… iPhone-photo-library-style…

Lindsay and Gizmo

I went home to Chicago for Thanksgiving… I spent some time cuddling my brother’s dog, Gizmo, in the backseat of the car while we drove to Wisconsin.

Baby Cow

We spent our Thanksgiving on a dairy farm!

Spool of Thread Ornament

On Thanksgiving, my family was a part of a very special tradition in which we each received a special ornament. The little spool of thread fit me perfectly!

Christmas Tree

Back to Florida, and put up the Christmas tree. We don’t have a tree topper, so the Mickey ears Santa hat is our traditional solution.

Winnie and the Minnie Wreath

Winnie proudly admires the Minnie Mouse wreath I made two years ago. We have the most magical house on the block!

Clothespin Wreath

Put the finishing touches on my Christmas card clothespin wreath. Since then, we’ve filled it up by clipping our Christmas cards on all of the clothespins! I promise we’re more popular than this photo portrays. 🙂

Mickey Popcorn Bucket

Found this lil guy sitting on my desk one morning and felt really happy!

Corn Chowder

I tried to keep it healthy one week and made some delicious corn chowder. As you all know, Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday, so I use my heart-shaped measuring cups all year long. The hearts were a welcome break from all of the Christmas madness! A lovely reminder that my favorite holiday is just around the corner. 🙂

Sewn Christmas Cards

Sewed a few Christmas cards by quilting some fabric panels and sewing them onto blank cards. It was my first attempt at free-motion quilting. Man oh man! Free-motion quilting is crazy, you guys! As you can see, I didn’t do a great job – LOL! More on that later…

DAK Lodge

My mom came to visit and we spent a lovely weekend at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. We loved watching the zebras and giraffes outside our balcony when we weren’t hitting up the Disney parks!

Zebra Domes

Delicious zebra domes were the snack of choice when we returned to our room each night. 🙂

Christmas lights on Cinderella Castle

It wouldn’t be Christmas without seeing the sparkling Christmas lights on Cinderella Castle… caught this pic post-fireworks at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party with mom.

MVMCP

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

WIzard of Oz inspired zipper pouch

Squeezed in some craft time and sewed this lovely Wizard of Oz inspired zipper pouch! Ruby slippers and a yellow brick road…

Studying with Winnie

And of course, through it all, I’ve been doing schoolwork. This morning I worked on my accounting exam while Winnie snacked on my accounting textbook. Nom nom!

Well, 15 iPhone snapshots later, and I’ve covered November and December!

So… what have you all been up to?

Ghosts of Halloweens past!

Happy Halloween!

This is the first year in many that I haven’t prepared a Halloween costume. While I don’t have access to photos from every single Halloween I’ve ever celebrated, here’s a sampling of some of the “ghosts” of my Halloweens past!

Pre-school Years: A repurposed dance recital ensemble turned Tooth Fairy costume. Yes, Tooth Fairy. See the tinfoil wand that says “Tooth Fairy” at the top? What can I say? I come from a family of dentists, and I was easily impressionable.

Tooth Fairy Costume

Kind of a sad little Tooth Fairy…

More pre-school years: I’m a store-bought bunny, and my brother is a skeleton. My mom made the skeleton costume herself by tediously cutting white felt into bone shapes and sewing them onto black sweats. My mom is awesome!

Bunny & Skeleton Costumes

Kind of a sad little bunny… why was I always so sad!?

1990: I’m a non-politically-correct Native American. One of my favorite costumes, despite the fact that a boy in my class was also a non-politically-correct Native American that year, and everyone said we were going to get married, which is a traumatizing statement in the first grade.

Native American Costume

So excited to bring my non-politically-correct Native American baby doll to school!

1992: I was a “50’s girl” complete with a poodle skirt and a silky pink jacket from the Mirage in Las Vegas… because every girl from the 1950’s had a Vegas jacket. LOL!

1950's Girl Costume

Why were there poodles on skirts back then, anyway?

1994: I was a mime. Not pictured, as it was one of my most embarrassing costumes. However, if you ask my mom, it was one of her favorites and she’ll show you pictures. So don’t ask my mom.

mime

Don’t ever let your mom talk you into being a mime.

With the exception of freshman year (when I didn’t know any better and wore a Dorothy costume to school), I didn’t dress up in high school. I went to a Catholic school with a strict dress code and there were just too many restrictions to even bother. Back then, we were just happy if we were allowed to wear blue jeans. And I didn’t dress up in college because I consider myself a person who values dressing tastefully and appropriately, and dressing up isn’t an option in college if you dress appropriately.

After college, I moved to central Florida and started spending a lot of time at Walt Disney World… after a long hiatus of no Halloween costumes to my name, I was excited to jump back in to the wonderful world of Halloween – especially in a place where awesome, appropriate costumes are valued. All of the sudden, Halloween was fun again!

2006: I was determined to dress up as my favorite Disney character, Wendy Darling, and ordered a handmade Wendy costume from Kelly’s Costumes. I wore it to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party with some friends who dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell!

Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinker Bell costumes

What’s a kiss?

2007: Because I just couldn’t get enough – Wendy returned.

Wendy & Peter Pan Costumes

Sometimes Peter gets mistaken for Robin Hood… what’s your vote?

2008: I debuted TWO costumes in 2008 for two separate parties! One Tinker Bell costume, complete with light-up fairy wings and – my favorite – poof ball shoes. I was so adamant that the shoes be exactly the way I pictured them that I made them myself – celery green Prima Crocs with a poofball sewn on top.

Tinker Bell Costume

Perfect poof-ball shoes!

And one Mouseketeer ensemble, easily created with a white t-shirt, iron-on letters and a custom set of Mickey Mouse ears.

Mouseketeer Costume

Y? Because we like you!

2009: Two chefs hats, a chef jacket, some red hair dye and an “Eiffel-tower-on-a-stick” created the perfect Remy and Linguine costumes from the movie Ratatouille. I wore all gray and pinned craft-foam rat ears to my chef hat. I also decoupage’d that pretty fab version of the cookbook from the movie!

Remy & Linguine Ratatouille costumes

Can you believe I was lucky enough to go to the Halloween party with Nick Lachey?

That brings us to last year, which was the first year I sewed a Halloween costume! I dressed up as Boo, and I sewed this gigundo Mike Wazowski costume!

Boo & Mike Wazowski Monsters Inc Costume

Nick Lachey loves Mike Wazowski!

So why no costume this year? Well, at the risk of sounding like I’m full of excuses, I’ve just been too busy with school, and dressing up as an MBA student is kind of boring.

Woman Studying

Not the coolest costume in the world.

But in a dream world, this is what I really would have liked to be this year… maybe this is something I can sew for next year? If I get started… now… I might just finish in time… 🙂

Giselle's Blue Dress from Enchanted

Giselle’s blue “curtain dress” from Enchanted! Dreamy!

Any fun Halloween costumes in your world this year?

The most magical workroom on earth!

An avid follower of the Disney Parks blog, I recently stumbled across this video in which a Cast Member from Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Creative Costuming shows viewers how to put together a quick no-sew pirate costume for Halloween. While the costume is nice, I’m more interested in the amazing workroom, located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Doesn’t it look amazing?

This is the first year in many that I will not be able to put together a new Halloween costume, which means I’ll be pulling a previous year’s costume from my closet!

Does anyone out there have an amazing Halloween costume in the works?

LindsaySignature

 

The Friendship Bag: Rinse and Repeat!

Ahhh. The return of the Friendship Bag. I promise that one of these days, I will learn to sew something other than Friendship Bags and tissue box covers.

But in the meantime…

Wall-E inspired Friendship Bag eye candy that I made for a friend! Well, I guess you could say that it was actually inspired by Eve, the sleek white robot in the film. Details, details!

Wall-E Eve inspired tote bag

Wall-E Eve inspired tote bag close up

What I love so much about this bag is how much leftover fabric I was able to incorporate. The only materials I had to buy were the white calico prints. The black calico fabric was leftover from the Minnie Mouse Friendship Bag, the light green calico print was leftover from my first set of Friendship Bags and the dark green was leftover from Mike Wazowski’s eyeball. It’s almost as if I was able to stitch little pieces of my memories into this bag – and that makes it feel even more special!