Simple Ribbon Valance

I'm not the least bit crafty and I know this is off-topic for my blog, but I wanted to share my latest project.  I'm writing this on Sunday and I am currently enjoying a little rare time alone.  Ridge is here visiting for the holiday weekend and he and my husband have taken the girls out for lunch and some sightseeing.  I finally finished the ribbon valance for Tink's room.  I'd hate to admit how long ago I started this.  

My original plan had been to cut lengths of ribbon, fold them over the curtain rod and then hot glue them.  I even bought a hot pink hot glue gun.  Well, it's still in its package.  I decided the other day that I had to make this happen.  I grabbed the ribbon, a pair of scissors, a tape measure and Tink's step for the bathroom sink.  I told my husband he was to keep the girls out of the room until further notice.  Since I had to work quickly and I was measuring on top of the changing table, the hot glue idea was chucked and tying was in.  I cut my ribbon to approximately 40 inches long and then looped it over the bar.  I really liked the effect but I had to buy more ribbon and now it is finally complete.

If you do this yourself, I'd suggest choosing a length that will allow you to maximize your spool of ribbon.  I ended up with a good bit of leftovers.   I thought I would share this because I'd love to see what ideas my crafty friends might have.  While I know I won't get to it, wouldn't this be cute to do for different seasons or for a favorite team during football season?  Before a Disney vacation, you could switch out some or all with ribbon featuring a favorite character.  The Disney ribbon was not on sale like the rest, but I did pick up one roll of Princess ribbon.  The wide ribbon looks a bit like a man's necktie, so I think this would be very cute in a baby boy's room too.

~Amy

Activities for Little Ones at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

When you check-in at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, you will be given a schedule of activities for the week.  These include crafts, tours, music, nature walks, food, songs and more.  I was excited to see multiple programs for 2-4 year olds and promptly signed Tink up for a few.  

The activities geared for preschoolers were held at either 9:00 or 9:30 AM and were free but they asked you to make reservations.  During busy seasons, the classes can fill up and during slow season, they need to know if anyone at all will be attending.  Tink was the only child in the 4 classes/craft times in which she participated.

The three photos below are from the "Getting to Know Birds" class.  The Cast Member's name is Gweneth and she was great with Tink.  They looked at photos of birds and talked about what the birds ate then pretended to eat like birds with clothespins for beaks.  Then it was craft time and story time.  All of the classes lasted about a half hour, just right for little attention spans.  An adult must stay with the child and my husband, DisneyDad and I took turns accompanying her.  Her other "class" was about butterflies and she made a bead necklace with her name and a straw cup at the two craft times.

Tink loved the attention from the Cast Members and quickly settled in to each activity.  Since she normally attends preschool three mornings a week, this was a great way to continue learning on vacation. We even took advantage of craft time on our last morning to keep Tink busy while we did our final packing.

Cleaning up after "eating like birds"

Making a bird puppet

Story time

Each day's activities are posted on this board near the shop and take-out counter

A little different each day

Art project from butterfly class

Crown from toddler arts & crafts

Personalized cup from arts & crafts time

On the Road Again

Goodbye Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. We've had a wonderful time! In the future, we can't be so long between visits.

Yesterday the girls slept in really late and I was able to eat breakfast (that I didn't have to cook!) and enjoy a couple cups of coffee before mama duties began for the day. We all went out to lunch and then Andy and the girls and I went to Harbor Town. Baby Minnie napped in her stroller while the rest of us walked around the harbor. I had lots of fun with my new zoom lens trying to get pictures of a fishing pelican but alas he was faster than I am. Tink loved the playground there and as usual, made a new friend.

Once back at DVC, Tink napped and Andy and I made the sacrifice of finishing up the ice cream treats in the freezer. Baby Minnie saw mine and crawled her little self over to share. It was so funny watching her with the ice cream.

My parents went out to dinner and my family stayed in and had some leftover BBQ. At 7:00, Tink and I went out to play at the campfire again. The silly songs are lots of fun and who doesn't like s'mores? Grandaddy joined us when they returned from dinner and we all played for a while.

This morning Tink and Grandaddy (DisneyDad) went to another toddler craft time. Today they made crowns and straw cups.

Quote of the trip and probably the year....
When we took our toasted marshmallows to the table to be turned into s'mores, the cast member asked Tink her name. Right then, his buddy came up and said, "this is Audrey. She's been running this place all week." Bahahaha!

Thanks for sharing this week with us. I'll be posting more about it in the coming weeks. If you haven't visited Hilton Head yet, what are you waiting for?!?

Quick Tip: Christmas Cards and Vacation Postcards

I love getting Christmas cards from family and friends. Here's a lovely way to display them in your home.

I simply tied a long piece of red satin ribbon around a kitchen cabinet door. It is anchored by a bit of sticky tack (that gum-like stuff we all used to put things on our dorm room walls.) Wooden clothespins attach the Christmas cards to the ribbon.

I need to do another cabinet door for the other cards I have now and will add on as we receive additional cards.

I'm thinking about doing something similar in my laundry room to display photos of the girls, artwork, vacation postcards, etc. Since the cards or photos are held on by clothespins or other small clips, it will be easy to add or change the photo gallery.

For really crafty types, you could do this while on a Walt Disney World vacation. At resorts with kitchen cabinets, such as DVC, you could display the maps, stickers and other small items you gather each day. For studio-style rooms, tie or hot glue a section of ribbon on a small metal ring (or just tie one end of the ribbon into a loop.) Take along a Command hook so you can hang it without damaging the wall.

--Amy

Update: Here's the final result. I love seeing all these joyous wishes and cute faces while I work in the kitchen.

Disney Thanksgiving Crafts (Easy Enough for Me)

I have a confession to make.  I am not crafty.  At all.  My mom and mother-in-law make beautiful afghans, quilts, clothes, dolls, etc.  My friends are scrapbooking wizards or do crafts at home that put the best preschool teacher to shame.  Not me.  I'm impressed that I have a plan to cut and hot glue ribbon to make a valance for the playroom.  And note I said plan...

Anyway, Disney has some really cute and EASY Thanksgiving crafts online.  Some of them are print and color for folks like me and others are a little more involved.

Seriously, how cute is this guy?  Maybe next year....

Photo from Family.com

http://family.go.com/printables/