Category Archives: disneyside

My Favourite Disney Accessories Right Now

I feel like this post is a little moot as I haven’t actually stepped foot in a Disney park this year, nor do I have a park trip planned for this year, but they say absence makes the heart grow fonder and I’ve definitely felt that.

BUT you know me and a lack of a trip doesn’t really stop me from shopping, and as someone who loves to include Disney style in my every day life as well, I’ve been adding to my stash of Disney accessories lately, and there are some particular favourites of mine right now that I thought I would share!

I’m a self-confessed ear addict, but as I already have more pairs than I know what to do with, not to mention the fact that those bad boys really can only been worn in the parks, I’ve had to curb my ear buying this year, and instead I’ve fallen in love with these cute little knotty headbands from Crittear Country. They’re super cute, really comfy and, style dependant, very subtle!

On the topic of hair accessories, I’m also still loving these Mickey ear headbands from Closet Geek which are another current favourite method of keeping my hair under control!

Ok, so I had never really understood the hype about the little plushie passholders that are all the rave in Tokyo Disneyland until I bought my Gelatoni one in Aulani. I swear that thing was surgically attached to my neck the whole time we were on that trip and it was the most useful thing! They’re such an easy way of carrying cards and money, and even my phone (iPhone SE) fit in it, meaning I never really had to carry a bag, and I swear this is a game changer for when I hit the parks again next year!

I’ve always been an Alex and Ani girl, but feel like I can only really wear those in the parks, whereas my Lillian and Co bracelets are the perfect subtle addition to an everyday outfit. All three quotes mean so much to me and I’m so in love with these at the moment!

Another of my most recent purchases was this beret from Just Peachy because it’s DONALD. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and as soon as it was announced I knew I had to have it. It’s got an embroidered bow at the front, but also a little tail at the back plus a little ribbon and you bet I’m going to be coming up with every excuse to wear this from now on!

What are your favourite Disney accessories?

3 Comments

What I’ve Made Lately

So back at the start of the year (can you believe that was almost 3 months ago now?!) I announced my plan to have a Creative-18. Well, the concept has been a little fluid since then, and while I may not have done something every day as I had planned, the last few months have been wonderful and I’ve never felt so confident with my creative abilities, while also throwing myself totally out of my comfort zone.

My Etsy has somewhat taken over my life in the last two months, and I’m certainly not complaining. January was my best month for sales ever, and I made over triple of what I set as my goal, but it wasn’t until February that things started to get interesting for me.

I was contacted by the wonderful Natasha from EarsEverAfter, who commissioned a custom order unlike anything I’ve ever made before, but what came out of it was something that I am so incredibly proud of, and has sparked further orders for similar items. That’s right, I’ve been making a bunch of little co-ord sets..

Upon finishing Natasha’s set, I instantly decided that I was going to need one to wear to Aulani next month, but rather than a Disney print I found this gorgeous lightweight cherry blossom fabric in my local fabric store and without wanting to blow my own horn too much, I just threw this together one evening! In fact, I wore the top to work with a pair of jeans yesterday I love it that much.

I’ve also had another Disney set commissioned, this time an adorable Winnie the Pooh print! I’m having so much fun being totally out of my comfort zone, and I have a load more custom work in the pipeline so stay tuned for those designs when I finish them!

Another out-of-the-comfort-zone creation was this adorable little girls dress which I made last weekend. I haven’t made kids stuff since my cousins were quite a bit smaller than they are now, so maybe 3-4 years ago, so it was quite strange working on a much smaller scale to what I’m used to, and also going back to using a pattern – for my own designs I make my own patterns or work off the cuff, so a proper pattern is a rare thing for me. HOW CUTE THOUGH? The fabric was chosen by the customer and I decided to do the sash in a single colour as a contrast and I just love it so much! I’ll be making this style of dress available to buy on my Etsy store this weekend if anyone’s interested!

Now right back into my comfort zone – skirts.

This is a custom order and how stunning is the fabric that they chose?!

I fell in love with this holographic silver fabric that I found in my local store and within an hour of getting home it was already a skirt – although I’ve yet to have an excuse to wear it! This is available for custom order on my Etsy too.

And finally, a little different from my usual skater style skirts, I’ve fallen for chiffon a little bit because its so lovely and flowy! This skirt is also available on my Etsy now in both mini and midi length.

It may be taking a lot of my time, and I’m probably annoying all my social media followers with constant photos but being creative makes me so damn happy and I can’t wait to see what else I’ve got in me and what else I can do.

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
3 Comments

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Tulle

I leave for Walt Disney World in 10 weeks. 10 WEEKS!!

Its become part of my trip countdown tradition to share the outfits I have planned, but this year I decided to try something a little different in the set up of these posts because a) it saves me having to go outside and take countless outfit photos and b) I’m hoping to get lots of photos of these outfits on the trip, and they’ll look much better in situ in the parks than they would in my back garden.

So instead, I’m gonna rock the flatlays!

Bibbidi-Bobbidi Tulle Disney Outfit

Day one of our trip is going to be super magical. We’ll be twirling down Main Street first thing on our way to breakfast reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table, so I’ll be leaving the glass slippers at home and opting for Converses instead, but I still want to be a princess nonetheless. Sarah’s planning a Rapunzel-bound which also involves a tulle skirt, so it was a perfect excuse for me to dig out mine again!

The t-shirt is from Redbubble (as you’re probably aware most of mine are!), and I made the ears to match – any excuse for new ears! I also always look forward to being able to wear my Alex and Ani bracelets again when I go on Disney trips – I think they’re so beautiful but I don’t like wearing them when I’m not in the parks.

I can just imagine the day being full of princess meeting, twirling and happiness, and I’m so excited!!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
4 Comments

Recent Disney Purchases

So I thought I’d do a little haul post today to share some of the Disney goodies I’ve picked up over the past few months, yay!

Poprageous and Forever 21 Disney

First up, the Disney clothes! I’ve been eyeing up the Forever 21 Pixar collection for a little while, and having never purchased anything from them before I decided to take a chance on this cute Toy Story crop top. There are matching shorts available that I might have to get as well! The skirt is from Poprageous and I absolutely fell in love with the splattered Mickey print – its a perfectly subtle!

Cakeworthy flannel

Adorkable Apparel pixie crop top

Next up, my lovely friend Lizi put a request out on Twitter for people who would be interested in doing a joint order from Cakeworthy, and as I’d been looking at buying one of their flannel shirts, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to save on shipping and customs! I ummed and ahhed over which design, but something kept telling me that I needed this nod to Sleeping Beauty – my favourite princess as a kid – and its even nicer in person than it looked on the website!

As we’d set up a little group message for everyone doing the order, another of my Disney friends Sammy had asked if anyone wanted in on her Adorkable Apparel order, so I got the Rose Pixie crop top, although I’m a little gutted I didn’t go for the Frost fairy one as its sold out now! BUT they are releasing more pixie designs soon and I’m really excited for Fawn’s!

Redbubble a-line dress

Even though this isn’t a great photo, I am so excited about this dress! Its a new product available from Redbubble, and the Its A Small World design goes so perfectly with a pair of ears I bought earlier in the year! I’m going to be wearing it in Disneyland Paris when I’m there this weekend and doing a little photoshoot in front of the ride which hopefully is going to look great!

Disney tsum tsum and patches

Finally, a few little bits and pieces! I picked up the Tsum Tsum water bottle and Donald, which is a phone holder, from a toy shop in Kuala Lumpur airport on my layover to New Zealand; the bottle has a combination of some of my absolute faves, including Tangled, Big Hero 6 and Toy Story! The Mickey and Minnie tsums came from a seller on Depop – I’m actually not 100% sure if they’re authentic, but they are so damn cute I don’t really care!

Last but not least, I fell for the recent craze of patches and bought all these from Depop. I’m not really into denim jackets, so I think I might customise some of my shorts in preparation for next year’s Disney trips!

Have you bought anything good recently?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
5 Comments

Five Ways to Add a Subtle Disney Touch to Your Outfit

Something I’ve really loved about the Disney blogging community is everyone’s responses to the 20 Facts About My Disney Life Tag, and something that loads of people have been saying is that they always try to make sure they have a touch of Disney in their outfit every day.

Add Disney to Your Outfit

Now I know that while I do it very often, going out in a full Disney themed outfit isn’t always entirely appropriate, but there are a few little ways that you can add a touch of magic to your outfit without looking like Mickey Mouse threw up on you!

Jewellery

Disney jewellery is everywhere, from Alex and Ani bracelets from the parks and Disney Couture UK, to bunch of super talented crafters on Etsy, like Alice Vitrum.

Hair accessories

About 70% of my hair accessories are Disney inspired, my favourite items being my collection of Mickey Waffle hair bows!

Phone cases

While some Disney phone cases can be hella pricey, eBay has a huge selection of adorable ones for next to nothing, hence my ever growing collection..

Socks

There are loads of places on the high street that have cute Disney socks – Primark even has cute Disney tights from time to time!

Scarves

I am 100% in love with my Tangled lantern scarf from Redbubble – I even wore it as a shawl to a wedding earlier this year and got so many compliments! Redbubble scarves are totally beautiful and amazing quality, but can be a little pricey, but Primark also has a nice little collection, or Hot Topic – if you can afford the UK shipping!

How do you add Disney to your style?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
1 Comment

YearOfFit – Virtual Running Explained

I feel like recently I’ve been talking a lot about virtual races, and it kinda dawned on me that, being a relatively new concept, a lot of people probably have no idea what I’m wittering on about!

What is a virtual race?

Virtual races were design to eliminate the logistic or geographical issues with the traditional fun run; rather than having to be at a certain place on a certain day, these races allow you to run, or even walk, the required distance in your own time, at your own pace, and submit proof of completion to earn goodies like medals and t-shirts.

For some races, you might be required to complete the distance on a specific day, others may have a time-frame like a week or month, and some of these allow you to split your distance over multiple runs, eg. five 1K runs for a 5K.

Why should you take part?

I’ve had a lot of people ask me ‘isn’t it just like buying a medal?’, and yeah, I guess it kinda is, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Its really a way of motivating people to get out and be active, especially for people who may not be able to take part in actual races, and its also a great way to encourage children to get into running.

Also most races are organised as charity fundraisers, with a proportion or all profits going to a good cause. What have you got to lose?

The Happiest Fitness Co are holding the Frying Pan 5K virtual run in July, sign up here today and use VIRTUAL10 to get 10% off registration!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
Leave a comment

What I’m Wearing – Dumbo

Switching it up from the Shanghai and sharing one of my Hong Kong outfits today, woo!

Dumbo outfit

Dumbo outfit

Dumbo outfit

Dumbo outfit

Dumbo outfit

This outfit takes inspiration from Hong Kong’s daytime parade, Flights of Fantasy, which features my favourite little elephant, and its the perfect opportunity for me to showcase my beautiful Dumbo skirt!

While I did make this skirt (fabric from Etsy!), I feel like I can’t take all the credit because after I screwed up the waistband, the lovely Bel from Closet Geek was kind enough to sort it out for me, and she also sent me these adorable ears to tie the outfit together!

Don’t you just love Dumbo?

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
5 Comments

20 Facts About My Disney Life Tag

So a little while back the gorgeous Amy from Cocktails in Teacups tagged me to do this awesome Disney tag, and I must admit I fangirlled just a little. Amy was one of the first bloggers I followed and I’m so lucky to be able to call her a friend now, but sometimes I still get a little swept up in how much I admire her!

image

The tag is simple, 20 facts about Disney in your life, so here we go:

  1. Disney love is a family affair, and I’ve been on trips to the parks with almost everyone in my family.
  2. When I was a kid, whenever I met Pluto I used to pull on his tongue. Looking back on it, it seems a little cruel, but it was always meant in a playful way!
  3. The character I identify most with is Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6
  4. I don’t collect pins, but I do have a fairly extensive collection of Vinylmations and Tsum Tsums!
  5. I own all of the Disney animated classics on DVD
  6. I’d love to cosplay, but I worry that my glasses would hold me back
  7. I love all of the Disney parks, but Disneyland CA will always be extra special to me.
  8. Disney princes have never appealed to me really, with the exception of Flynn Rider (and maybe Kristoff)
  9. I have a huge collection of Mickey ears, and I’m forever wanting more!
  10. I have a tattoo of the castle on the back of my neck.
  11. Whenever I book a Disney trip, I’ll probably spend more time planning my outfits than I will on anything else
  12. I never used to think much of Merida as a princess, but since I met her in Disneyland Paris last month and had the best time with her, I’ve totally changed my mind!
  13. The first mac and cheese I ever ate was in a bread cone from the Cozy Cone in Disneyland back in January!
  14. If I could be in any Disney park show, it would be Mickey and the Magical Map
  15. We have Mickey Mouse cutlery in our house
  16. I never used to like Tinkerbell, but since watching her spin-off movies I’m kinda obsessed with all of Pixie Hollow!
  17. I’ve run 4 RunDisney races, with 2 more to go this year and a potential 6 next year!
  18. The only time I like Starbucks is in the Disney parks. I never go into them otherwise.
  19. I pretty much can’t watch any show or parade without tearing up.
  20. I’ve made some of the best friends through Disney, and I’m eternally grateful for that.

I tag Lizi, Jade and Kayleigh!

Twitter / Bloglovin / Instagram
4 Comments

Friday Favourite Five – Winter Hats

Another Friday has rolled around, although after a week of being back at work properly its felt like forever since last Friday..

I’m really not enjoying this cold weather. I think because October-December was so mild, I didn’t get used to the cold before going away, and now I’ve been thrown into it since getting home, I’ve had no time to adjust or grow my winter wardrobe.

What I do love about this time of year though is winter hats. I like all sorts of hats really, but winter is the only time I really make the effort to wear them, probably because its more of a necessity than anything else! And thus..

1. The good ol’ fashioned beanie, but yellow, cos y’know..

SONY DSC

2. BAYMAX BEANIE

SONY DSC

3. This cutesy little Children In Need Pudsey hat

SONY DSC

4. Mickey Mouse pom-poms!

SONY DSC

5. In case a beanie is a little understated and I need full blown Minnie Mouse style..

SONY DSC

Are you a hat person?

Leave a comment

What I’m wearing – Tale As Old As Time

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

I love this dress – its from the original Black Milk Disney collection – but as its sleeveless, I was a little concerned about how to style it for colder seasons, until I stumbled upon the item of wearing it over a scoop neck crop-tee – also great for if you like to keep your shoulders/arms covered!

I’ll be wearing this to Hollywood Studios, home of Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage!

°o° 

Leave a comment

My Christmas Wishlist

If it isn’t already abundantly clear, I love Christmas. Well, who doesn’t really?!

And in these modern times, I’m sure Santa spends more time checking blog wishlists than he does reading physical letters! So here’s mine:

xmas list 2015

1. Reversible Troll soft toy from The Disney Store

I’m totally obsessed with this little guy, I think he’d make the best travel pillow for my trip in January!

2. Lets Do Lunch business card holder from Kate Spade

Simple and elegant, this makes my inner business-woman very happy!

3. Duff Bakes cookbook from Amazon, among other sellers

Ever since the first time I watched an episode of Ace of Cakes, I have worshipped Duff, and now he’s released a book, I need it in my life!

4. Honey I Washed My Hair shampoo bar from Lush

I love Lush, but as I’m not a bath person, its their haircare and shower products that do it for me! I had a shampoo bar years back and loved it, so definitely up for trying another one.

5. Best Day Ever raglan shirt from Happily Ever Tees

I’ve discovered these guys on Instagram and I’m dying to wear this shirt in the parks in January!

6. Crown ring from Applelatte on Etsy

I’m a huge fan of this store on Etsy, they make amazingly pretty jewellery, and this ring in the rose gold colour is beautiful!

7. Funko Pop Maximus from Amazon, among other sellers

When the Tangled collection was released recently I rushed to get Rapunzel, so now I just need this little cutie!

8. Red Converse All Star High Tops

My shoe collection is pretty much 90% Converses, and I’m not even ashamed of that, so if Santa could bring me red high tops in a size 6, they’ll be much appreciated for my January Disney trip!

9. Sugar Daddy-O solid conditioner from Lush

Another hair product – I can’t live with dirty hair, and I like to believe maybe a solid conditioner will reduce the amount of bottles I get through!

Are you asking Father Christmas for anything special this year?

°o°

5 Comments

What I’m wearing – Floating Lanterns

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Dress from ASOS

Cardigan from H&M

Scarf from Redbubble

Boots from Missguided

We all know how much I love Tangled, right?! I adore this scarf, its so light and soft; its the whole inspiration for this outfit!

I’ll be wearing this on our last day in the Magic Kingdom, and on the journey to California.

°o°

1 Comment

What I’m wearing – Pooh and Friends

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Can you tell the weather wasn’t exactly on my side for this shoot, ha! Sun in my eyes, wind in my hair..

Another of my favourite pieces from the new Black Milk Disney 2.0 collection are these adorable shorties, which were the inspiration for this outfit. I also adore my Pooh ear hair clips, which I bought in Tokyo Disneyland in July!

I’ll hopefully be wearing this outfit on the day we attempt the Four Park Challenge – so I can meet Pooh and friends in both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and maybe even the Animal Kingdom; they’re very busy!

°o°

Leave a comment

What I’m wearing – Steamboat Willie

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

This outfit is essentially a compilation of a few of my favourite things: my favourite item from the new Black Milk Disney collection – the zoetrope skater skirt – and my favourite Mickey ears, which I bought in Disney World last August. The skirt depicts scenes from Steamboat Willie, which is particularly special because it was officially released on November 18th, marking Mickey Mouse’s birthday, but also my Dad’s!

This outfit is what I’ll be wearing to Hollywood Studios, especially to see Fantasmic!

°o° 

1 Comment

Friday Favourite Five – Disney Mugs

Now I am a great anomaly: I don’t drink tea or coffee.

BUT, that doesn’t mean I don’t like mugs, and I’m fairly certain that a lot of cold drinks taste better when you drink them from a mug, and the cuter the mug, the better! So this week I’m sharing my five favourite mugs from my Disney collection:

1. Art of Aurora

SONY DSC

Sleeping Beauty was my favourite movie as a kid, and I love the artwork on this, and the little bird on the handle!

2. Wall-E and Eve

SONY DSC

Ok so this is two mugs, but they have to be together, right?

3. Stuck in the mug Pooh

SONY DSC

Despite the really simple outward appearance of this mug, how cute is little Pooh stuck on the inside? Also its a really big mug!

4. Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

SONY DSC

I picked this up during our stay at the hotel in July; I love the Victoria style artwork, it reflects the hotel perfectly!

5. Hamm

SONY DSC

When I saw this on the Disney Store website, I knew I had to have it, so when it sold out I was pretty gutted.. Until I stumbled across him on a trip to my local Disney Store!

Are you a bit of a mug collector like me?

°o°

Leave a comment

What I’m wearing – Dapper Dans

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Jumper from French Connection (bought in an outlet, unavailable now)

Dapper Dans skirt from Redbubble

Boots from Missguided

I love the Dans, don’t you? A barber shop quartet, harmonising beautifully down Main Street USA, dressed in stripes and bowties – perfect! So when I discovered this skirt on Redbubble I fell in love; you might have seen it when I wrote about my favourite Redbubble buys.

I’ll, of course, be wearing this to the Magic Kingdom to hang out with the boys themselves!

°o°

Leave a comment

Disney Girl Secret Santa

Ok girlies, don’t hate me for being so early on Christmas prep, but this is really just to test the waters and see who’s interested! (Plus, I waited until after Halloween, and I think that’s acceptable, ha!)

So really the best thing that blogging and Disney has done for me, especially in the last year or so, is brought me together with some truly incredible people, and at the heart of that are my Disney girls, and it really does hurt my heart sometimes that some of these magical ladies aren’t in my life physically, as well as on social media; you guys know who you are.

With that in mind, I have a proposition for you all: I will organise DISNEY SECRET SANTA. Yes, yes, yes?!

Obviously I keep in regular contact with a lot of you, so I’ll chase you all up to see if you’re interested, but if you’re up for entering, drop me a DM on Twitter (@lottiedoesblog) with the following:

– Your details, including address, any social media usernames and blog links – so your Santa can keep an eye on you!

– A little bit about yourself – what you’d like your Santa to know about you: favourite films, personal style etc

– Your thoughts on min/max spend, so I can choose a fair amount that everyone agrees on!

From there, I’ll do all the hard work!

Once everyone has registered their interest and commited, I’ll be sending out the details of your randomly selected lovely lady, and any other information, including send-by dates and spending limits!

Let me know what you think girlies!

xoxo

NB. This is for UK Disney girls/bloggers only, sorry!

Leave a comment

What I’m wearing – Mermaid Girl

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Coral Urban Mermaid crop top from Adorkable Apparel (now unavailable)

Mermaid skater dress from Soft Kitty Clothing

Boots from Missguided (now unavailable)

Who doesn’t love going mermaid-style?! A while back I actually featured both of these items on my Mermaid Wardrobe Wishlist!

I’ll be wearing this outfit in Disneyland California, for our dinner reservations at Ariel’s Grotto before World of Colour!

°o°

2 Comments

What I’m wearing – Hakuna Matata

New mini series, yayay!

Every week until I leave, I’m going to be sharing one of the many Disney inspired outfits that I’ve planned for my trip in January! The outfits may be styled a little differently, given that I had the opportunity to shoot on a lovely sunny and quite warm day, and January in Florida and California will be a little different, weather-wise.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Hakuna Matata crop top from Look Human (now unavailable)

Bandeau from Republic (now unavailable)

Skirt from Black Milk Clothing

Necklace from Accessorize

Grey cardigan from H&M (old and probably unavailable now)

Boots from Missguided (old and probably unavailble now)

Its fairly well known that The Lion King is a very special film to me; it came out the same year I was born, lions are one of my favourite animals, and well quite frankly, its just a great film!

I’ll be wearing this outfit to the Animal Kingdom, although probably with some more sensible shoes! (I live in chelsea boots in the winter, but most likely I’ll be in Converses the entirety of my trip)

°o°

4 Comments

Friday Favourite Five – Instagrammers of Disneyland

I recently shared my favourite Disney World Instagrammers with you, and to be fair, today I’m doing my favourites from Disneyland California.

While Disney World will always be the most magical place on Earth for me, Disneyland holds a special place in my heart, mainly due to the fact that it was the first Disney park I’d visited in about 7-8 years. As a toddler/young child, we visited Disney World and Disneyland Paris quite often, but I have very few memories from those trips, so my trips to Disneyland, aged 13 and 15, were really my first ‘grown up’ memories of park life.

1. @jreitz1

This man is a legend in my eyes! Why? Well he’s visited Disneyland every day since 2011, and is currently on day 1364, how mad is that?!

2. @disneyfor2

View this post on Instagram

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OSWALD! #DisneySide

A post shared by AJ and VJ Escote (@escoteadventures) on

I actually started off following Alyssa’s solo account, before she met VJ, and since they started their joint account I’m even more obsessed – they’re adorable!

3. @lotso_at_disneyland

Probably one of the most famous Disneyland accounts (in my eyes anyway!), Lotso hangs out in the parks and you can find and meet him and take lots of selfies!

4. @diningindisney

I talk a lot about how much I love DisneyFoodBlog, right? Well this is the Instagram account of the Disneyland contributor, and her and her family are hilarious to keep up with! Plus, they’ve got dachshunds, nuff said.

5. @nanjer_0121

https://instagram.com/p/7TRiujBbzk/?taken-by=nanjer_0121

I’m somewhat bias here because this is the joint account of my lovely Instagram friend Nancy and her partner Jeremy. I met Nancy after featuring a pair of her ears in a wishlist, and to say thank you she actually sent them to me! Since then she’s been an absolute doll doing a few favours for me, and I really hope I can repay the favour when I’m in the parks in January!

I’m SO excited to be returning to Disneyland in January, and I really hope I might be able to catch a couple of these amazing people in the parks, even if its just to fangirl from a distance!

Do you follow @lottiedoesdisney on Instagram?

°o°

Leave a comment

Tokyo Disney Haul

For me, the only thing that was going to be more exciting than my Tokyo trip, was all the wonderful goodies I knew I would find in Japan. I packed the bare minimum (which by my standards is still probably more than anyone else) so I could fill my case to bursting with amazing ‘stuff’ to bring home, and I think I did a pretty good job..

SONY DSC

This isn’t even all of it! BUT a fair few of these goodies are for giveaways, so its not all mine, but I’m going to share what I did buy just for me!

SONY DSC

Nanoblocks have a small following here in the UK, but they were everywhere in Tokyo Disneyland; every character you could imagine in teeny tiny Lego-like building blocks. I was going to resist, but when I saw the castle I couldn’t help myself, and because the Tokyo Monorail was just so darn cute, I ended up getting that one too, and I’m really excited to give building them a go!

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Next, the wearable goodies! The Japanese really go all out when they dress for Disney, and the range was endless! From the parks, I got myself a pair of sparkly Minnie ears, a Minnie scrunchie, the amazing LGM ears, monorail socks, and Winnie the Pooh clip-on ears. A lot of people in the parks choose to wear clip-on ears, and they came in a pretty impressive range from Minnie to Pooh to Stitch. I picked up some Tsum Tsum hairbands from the Disney Store just outside the parks, and the Tsum Tsum socks came from some crazy shops we found in a Tokyo shopping centre.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

As we all know I’m a total homeware nut, and I honestly expected more of it in the parks but the range didn’t span much more than mugs and chopsticks in most places, but I did manage to get some cute lunchboxes, a large rice bowl and a plastic cup, as well as a Tokyo Disney mug and a Tokyo Disneyland hotel mug to add to my collection, as well as some Winnie the Pooh nail clippers – random, I know – and The Queen of Hearts plate came with one of our desserts in the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. From another store in Tokyo I also got some cool Pooh and Mickey sushi mould sets, as well as my favourite buy of the holiday: a Toy Story Little Green Men tea set! I had really hoped to get a tea set while in Japan, and this little guy stole my heart. As you can see in the top picture, the cups all stack up into a tower, and the head lifts off the teapot to act as another cup/sugar bowl, while the body is the pot; I’m in love!

SONY DSC

I also picked up a few crafty bits from various stores around Japan: a Minnie Mouse tape measure, some Disney washi tape, sew on Tsum Tsum appliques and a tin of little paper tsum tsum cards!

As well as all these wonderful goodies, there is one more beautiful buy, which I’ve snuck a picture of as its going to be my birthday present, so I can’t have it until October (waa!), but I have to share..

SONY DSC

We came across a Samantha Thavasa store in a shopping centre and I just wanted to have a quick look until I found this beautiful Dumbo purse – the picture doesn’t do justice to just how gorgeous it is!

I’m a pretty happy girly!

°o°

5 Comments

Princess Party Dresses

Its been AGES since I did a proper fashion post!

Everyone loves a good bit of Disneybounding, right? Well these gorgeous gowns are the perfect subtle way to be a Disney princess at your next fancy party!

Click on the names for links, all dresses available from Asos

Image 1 of Jovonna Neon Town Dress Image 1 of ASOS Beaded Mesh Strip Skater Dress Image 1 of Forever Unique Suki Cross Front Luxe Bandage Bodycon Dress With Off Shoulder Detail

Ariel / Elsa / Tiana

Image 4 of Paper Dolls Petite Sweetheart Neckline Pencil Dress With Lace Panels Image 1 of ASOS T-Shirt Dress with Kimono Sleeves Image 4 of ASOS Ombre Cross Front Maxi Dress

Tinkerbell / Merida / Belle

Image 1 of ASOS Skater Dress with Bow Image 4 of ASOS TALL Mesh Insert Fit And Flare Dress Image 4 of John Zack Petite Maxi Dress With Thigh Splits

Alice / Aurora / Jasmine

Image 1 of Club L Bandeau Midi Pencil Dress Image 1 of ASOS Deep Plunge Full Skater Dress Image 1 of ASOS Sheer and Solid Pleated Mini Cami Dress

Pocahontas / Megara / Cinderella

Image 1 of TFNC Prom Dress In Pleated Chiffon  

Rapunzel / Anna / Jane

°o°

Leave a comment

Tokyo Disney Giveaway!

You guys, I am SUPER BUZZED.

Its now only 30 days til I leave for Tokyo, and not only am I crazy excited myself, I’m loving the fact that so many of my lovely Instagram, WordPress and Twitter followers are so excited for me; it honestly blows me away how many people have said they hope I have a great trip, and how many people have offered to help with planning and recommendations etc. You guys are amazing!

And that’s why I really want to give back to all these lovely people, so I’m planning not one, not two or three, but potentially FOUR giveaways! Yep, four opportunities to win!

So here’s the deal: its all about my followers. If I can hit the following numbers before my trip, then each platform will have its own giveaway which will go live when I get back from my trip, so all you need to do for now is follow me before July 10th, then sit back and wait until the 20th when I’ll be posting how you can enter, and more importantly, the prizes!

WordPress target – 200 followers

lottiedoesdisney.wordpress.com

Instagram target – 300 followers

@lottiedoesdisney

Twitter target – 100 followers

@lottieanddisney

Bloglovin’ target – 50 followers

https://www.bloglovin.com/people/lottiedoesdisney-8520793

Get following, and stay tuned for more!

°o°

2 Comments

RunDisney 2016: Training Week 12

Another week of running, another week closer to the main event!

Yesterday was another big run – 11 miles! And d’you know what? It was easy. Well, that’s not entirely true; we ran the first half into what I like to call ‘brick wall wind’ (because it literally feels like you’re running into a brick wall), and there was a sand-in-the-eye incident, as well as a little bit of rain on the way back.. But running wise, we really got into our stride, if you pardon the pun.

Because both Dad and I had a little bit of calf pain in the week, we thought we’d be better off doing regular run-walk-run intervals, which once we hit the wind, we were eternally grateful for! So the first half (into the brick wall wind) we ran for 0.4 miles, then walked 0.1, and then on the way back we did 0.9 and walked 0.1, and we averaged a steady 5 miles an hour the whole way through, finishing the total distance in 2hrs 13mins. That in itself was an incredible accomplishment, but even better was knowing that we could have easily kept going for another two miles!

We nailed everything, from the time of day for good (by which I mean not too warm) weather, to eating a good breakfast that had us energised, but not feeling stodgy, and even having on-course snacks of a wine gum every few miles. For the first time I think we know that not only can we do it, but we’re easily going to do it in a great time: sub 2hrs 30!

°o°

Leave a comment

Dreaming of Mickey Ears

You guys, I am so excited for all my upcoming Disney trips. I say all because between now and the end of January, I’ll have visited not one, not even two or three, but FOUR different Disney parks!

If you keep fairly up to date with my plans and adventures, you’re doing the math at the moment and coming up one park short, because I’ve only talked about Japan (which is 60 days away!) and my RunDisney tour of both Disney World Florida and Disneyland California, but here’s the thing.. I’ll be turning 21 in October, and I’ll be doing that crucial bit of ageing in Disneyland Paris!

Nothing has been booked just yet, but I’m super buzzed to announce that I’ll be in Disneyland Paris from Friday 2nd October til Sunday 4th, with my birthday being the Saturday. The visit will actually be part of a whole European road trip I’ll be venturing out on, and I’ll obviously blog through the whole planning of the trip, but today I want to talk Mickey ears.

With all these majorly exciting visits to various Disney lands and worlds, I need to make sure I’m fully stocked up on these essential accessories, so I’ve spent the afternoon scrolling through my favourite shopping site, Etsy, to pick out some handmade beauties that I’d love to add to my collection.

As with all wishlists, just click on the photos, and you’ll be linked straight to the item, which will open in a new tab so you can keep reading!

Disney Dumbo Mickey Ears

These Dumbo sweeties are just one of a whole shop of incredible designs from CraftyOliviaCuties – I’d have them all if I could!

Up Inspired Mouse Ears

LeEars714 caught my attention with these colourful cuties from one of my favourite Pixar films!

Pastel Flower Crown MouseEars

Earresistible Ears makes the most beautiful floral crown ears, and you can even create your own custom ones, which I’d totally love to do, but from the looks of it they don’t ship to the UK 😦 so gorgeous though!

Baymax ears!

Adorable Baymax ears from EarsbyEvalenn are among a great range of designs!

Oh, Bother Floral Ears

Floral and lacy and Pooh = adorable ears from Shoplavenderb!

White Daisy Inspired Minnie Ears

These pretty daisy ears from LovelyLittleEarful are so sweet!

And who doesn’t love a combination of pom-poms and ombre tones?! I adore these from MouseCaEars!

All so perfect right?!

°o°

1 Comment

Disney Travel Bucket List

So a little while ago I wrote my Disney Bucket List, which I’m constantly adding to and, luckily, ticking off, and it covers most things Disney, including Disney parks.

Today, however, I’m looking at the great wide world, and the many places (mainly castles!) that have inspired some of my favourite Disney movies that I’d love to check out for myself!

.

°o° Mont St. Michel, France – inspiration for the beautiful kingdom of Corona

°o° Chateau de Chillon, Lake Geneva – Prince Eric’s real world palace

°o° Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany – the incredible Bavarian castle that has inspired elements of most of Walt Disney’s classics

°o° Alsace, France – Belle’s beautiful home village

°o° Notre Dame Cathedral, France – home of our favourite hunchback

°o° Dunnottar Castle, Scotland – Pixar’s inspiration for the film, Brave

°o° Machu Picchu, Peru – inspiration for Pacha’s home village in The Emperor’s New Groove

°o° New Orleans, Louisiana – the 1920’s setting of The Princess and the Frog

°o° Angel Falls, Venezuela – Carl’s dream retirement spot

°o° Route 66, USA – the real life setting of Pixar’s Cars

°o° Taj Mahal, India – Princess Jasmine’s beautiful home

°o° Forbidden City, China – inspiration for the Emperor’s palace in Mulan

°o°

Leave a comment

Have Courage and Be Kind

We are lucky enough to be having some totally gorgeous weather in Bournemouth this week, so today I am blogging from a picnic mat in my garden while soaking up some sun and imagining I’m in Florida!

So yesterday I went to see Cinderella in the cinema again, and second time round I was still blown away by the beauty of it, not just visually but also the messages it conveys.

“Have courage and be kind”

For so few words, this quote has so much power. You may not think that courage and kindness are really all that linked, but in life I think that kindness can sometimes take a whole lot of courage; sometimes we just don’t want to always be kind, sometimes we think we’ll feel better by belittling people whether it be in words or just in our own minds, but does that really makes us a good person, even if we temporarily feel better for it?

No, it doesn’t. Kindness is selfless, and unfortunately that is why so many people choose to ignore their kind urges, because they don’t believe it will serve any purpose to themselves, but that is where many are wrong. Kindness is not innate, we must learn how to be kind and in doing so we must discover our own way to enjoy it, whether it be that warm fuzzy feeling you get from helping another living being, or just appreciating a simple thank you.

“They treat me as best they can”

We cannot expect kindness from those we do not treat in the say way. Although Cinderella isn’t treated right by her new step-family, she can appreciate that that is simply the only way they know how to act, and does not restrict her kindness to them, as she hopes that through her kindness they may learn it too. How simple would it have been to tell Kit that she was not treated well? Perhaps she thought about saying that. But in her heart Cinderella is grateful that she is not treated worse, as she knows she could be. She has lost so much that she has learnt to appreciate what she still has, which is a purpose to keep on going.

“But kindness, kindness makes it everything”

And the Fairy Godmother was right: kindness improves everything. Its like service vs. service with a smile, there isn’t anything we do that cannot be improved with the addition of kindness. I don’t imagine anyone has ever said ‘the only thing that could have improved that would be if they hadn’t been as nice’, and if they have then I feel sorry for that person, who cannot appreciate the act of kindness that they were lucky enough to have received. Kindness is a gift we all must learn to appreciate from others, and be generous enough to share with those around us.

“Will you take me as I am?”

Acceptance of others; it is a thing that in this world I cannot imagine why it is so difficult, yet is is a thing that occurs so frequently that we believe it to be normal. In order to accept others, we must allow ourselves to see them as they truly are, see past whatever assumptions and negativity we want to put upon them and understand why they are who they are. To give someone your understanding is a great kindness, and you may find that they are kind enough to give you theirs in return. And if they don’t, you must try to understand why they cannot, and learn that this is not a reason to withhold kindness from them, as it may be that it is something they do not understand.

“I forgive you”

The power of these three little worlds is astonishing, for without forgiveness the world would be a very different place, and if more people believed in the act of forgiveness then it would also be much changed, but for the better. If Cinderella can forgive her step-mother for her poor treatment and even imprisonment, then why is it so difficult for those of us who suffer so very little to forgive those who wrong us in such minor ways. What does forgiveness cost us?

Nothing. And those who do not expect forgiveness will be more changed for knowing it; being forgiven for wrongs we have committed shows true courage and kindness from our victims, which we in turn must learn to have and appreciate.

“The fairest and kindest”

We must all endeavour to be described as such. We must compete with ourselves to constantly become a better person than who we were before, always improving with time, and learning to show kindness and forgiveness to not only those around us, but also to ourselves. If we cannot be kind and understanding of ourselves, the person we truly know best, then how can we know how it feels to do the same for others. We must look at ourselves in the mirror and see the person we are, and where we have come from to be where we stand today. We must always be the best versions of ourselves, but know that everyone is capable of mistakes, and therefore we must forgive ourselves for them.

So will you make the pledge with me: to have great courage and learn true kindness? From here on out I promise to always try to find the courage for kindness, to understand and forgive others who cannot, and accept them for who they are. I promise to try to make everything better by adding kindness, and always strive to be the fairest and kindest person I can be, and forgive myself when I struggle to be so.

Are you with me?

°o°

2 Comments

Sea Foam Marshmallows

One of my favourite sweet treats to make (and eat!) is marshmallows. Most people don’t believe you can make marshmallows yourself, let alone how easy they are, so I’m going to share, with a mermaidy twist!

SONY DSC

You’ll need: 450g caster sugar, 9 gelatine leaves, 2 eggs, water, 2 tbsp golden syrup or glucose syrup, and a candy thermometer as well.

First of all, get your gelatine soaking in 140ml water.

SONY DSC

Mix together the sugar and golden syrup with 200ml water in a saucepan, and start boiling, with the candy thermometer. You don’t need to stir the mix at all.

SONY DSC

Separate your eggs, you only need the whites. Whisk them until soft peaks form.

SONY DSC

Once the sugar mix hits 127°C, take it off the heat and add the gelatine, water and all.  Stir, and it’ll bubble up a lot at this point, and its really hot, so watch out!

SONY DSC

Slowly pour the sugar/gelatine mix into the egg whites, with the mixer running.

SONY DSC

Turn the speed up, and it’ll take about 9-10 minutes for your marshmallow to fluff up.

SONY DSC

This is when your imagination can take over! I coloured some of my mixture a pale blue/green, and some purple..

SONY DSC

In a square cake tin, I layered blue, then purple to create multicoloured cubes.

SONY DSC

I used a madeleine mould to create these cute shells..

SONY DSC

And piped the rest of the mix into shell shapes..

SONY DSC

Marshmallows take an hour or two to set, and you can dust them with icing sugar to prevent stickiness once you’re done.

They keep really well in sealed bags or jars, and make for a perfect hot chocolate topping!

°o°

Leave a comment

Sea Shell DIY

In keeping with this week’s Little Mermaid theme, I’ve been crafting away with sea shells.

Shells are a great craft supply; if you live near a beach, you’ve basically got a free supply right there and a lot of fancier seafood you can buy from the supermarket comes with shells now too. Cleaning them up is easy enough with hot soapy water in the sink, but you can also put them in the dishwasher too!

So here are just a few quick little DIYs to add a little under the sea to your home!

 First of all, you could spray paint them..

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Or turn them into cute hair accessories..

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Or miniature trinket boxes..

SONY DSC

Or fill a decorative vase..

SONY DSC

Or make into cute little tealights..

SONY DSC

And large shells would make a great jewellery dish..

SONY DSC

Or key dish..

SONY DSC

Or even a soap disc..

SONY DSC

°o°

Leave a comment

Marie Inspired DIY Tank Top

This week for my DIY I took inspiration from one pretty kitty..

SONY DSC

Transform a plain old white t-shirt into a cute little tank top perfect for the beach in just a few simple steps..

1. Take a pair of scissors to your t-shirt, cutting off the sleeves, then cutting across the stitching at the top, separating the neckline.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

2. Flip the top over, and make bigger cuts across the back to make a racer-back.

SONY DSC

3. Fold over the hem of this back section and stitch it down. Depending on your strap material, you may want to feed it through before you sew it down.

SONY DSC

4. The strap is a single strip of material; I used Boodle textile yarn for my straps, but you could use whatever you fancied really. Controversially, I believe there is a thing as too much pink, so I chose blue to reflect Marie’s eyes. Once you’ve fed it through the back, pin it into place at each side of the front, and sew into place.

SONY DSC

5. Using fabric paint, I decorated the back of my top with a large pink bow, and put a few little paw prints on the front.

SONY DSC

Ta-da!

SONY DSC

°o°

Leave a comment

6 Reasons Why I Loved Big Hero 6

I’m going to be breaking from usual posting this week because a) I’ve got a few other things to write about and need a bit of a break from regular scheduling and b) I’m working away this week so I’m a little short of time!

BUT..

Yesterday I saw Big Hero 6! I know its been out since the end of January but me and the boyfriend just haven’t had the time to go see it until now.

I think love is a bit of an understatement; it was AMAZING. So I’m gonna talk today about why I loved it, and hopefully won’t give away any spoilers!

1. Baymax.

This big guy needs no real explanation: he’s adorable, hilariously funny and has a robotic heart of gold.

2. San Francisco is one of my favourite cities ever.

Ok, so the movie is set in San Fransokyo, a fictional combination of San Francisco and Tokyo, and the designers did an incredible job of combining the two cities; so clever! Picture the hills and streets of San Fran, with classic Japanese buildings scattered around, cable cars, brightly lit skyscrapers and the Golden Gate Bridge with a pagoda like structure, genius!

3. Honey Lemon is literally me as a Disney character

I literally gasped when she came on screen. Not only does she look like me (blonde-brown hair, glasses and a love of wearing yellow), but she’s a nerdy scientist, which is exactly who I was in school.

4. The smart kids are the cool kids.

This film is giving out a great message to the younger generations: using your brain and skills can revolutionise the way the world works, and anyone can be at the forefront of this change if they set their mind to it.

5. It teaches us that those we’ve lost are never truly gone.

Throughout the story, Baymax helps Hiro through the stages of grief that accompany the loss of a loved one, and quite literally proves that everyone lives on in your heart.

6. Baymax.

I mean, just look at him!

°o°

Leave a comment

Rapunzel and Flynn

So this week is a little off the cuff, I was planning on doing Sleeping Beauty this week but one thing lead to another and now its Tangled week! Tangled is without a doubt one of my absolute favourite Disney classic and I don’t keep that fact much of a secret; if you’re a regular reader you probably already know that.

So today I’m putting together Disneybounding outfits for both Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, cos who says us girls can’t smolder too?! (As per usual, click the pictures to link through)

Punzie is fairly easy, you could really wear any lilac/purple-y dress, but I’ve picked out two from the Asos sale for examples.

 Image 1 of ASOS Cami Mini Pleated Dress

I love the daisy chain straps of the first dress, what with flowers being a running theme through the film, but the second is a little more fitted, like Rapunzel’s, and has a tie back which reflects the front of her dress a little.

Now I know she’s barefoot through the film, and personally I could live barefoot, but unfortunately can’t 😦

ASOS MARDY Gladiator T-Bar Shoes ASOS FRUITY Jelly Sandals

I was a jelly sandals child, but haven’t yet managed to bring myself to get a pair since they’ve come back into fashion, but I bet if Punz had a pair, that’s totally what she’d be wearing.

Plait your hair, stick some flowers in and you’re good to go!

Careful, here comes the smolder..

If you’ve checked out my Disney bucket list, you’ll know meeting Flynn Rider in Disney World is something I’m dying to do. I did get to see him in the Festival of Fantasy parade though; he winked at me, I fangirled so hard.. But I’m getting off topic now..

Image 1 of New Look Military Shirt

Get a blue shirt (this one is from New Look) and roll up those sleeves. Depending on whether you’d cook or not, wear it on top of a long sleeve white/cream top, like Flynn.

Image 1 of Glamorous Cargo Trouser

Team that with a pair of cargo trousers, like these from Glamorous, and pop on a brown belt, like this Asos choice.

ASOS Tipped Loop Boyfriend Waist And Hip Belt

Finish the look off with some brown boots, another New Look option.

New Look Wide Fit Bobby Multi Strap Ankle Boots

Now where’s my satchel..?

°o°

Leave a comment

So I’m a bit of a collector..

Disney girl (noun) – a special kind of female who’s life is controlled by a major love of all things Disney. Symptoms include spontaneously bursting into song, a need to bring Disney into all aspects of day to day life, and a serious hoarding problem for Disney collectibles.

SONY DSC

So this is the start of my collection of collections: models, figures and tsum tsums. I’ve had some of these for a few years now, but I’ve only really just got round to getting a proper unit that I can display them on.

SONY DSC

The top makes the perfect stacking space for my Tsum Tsums. I hate how they’re not available in the UK yet, but its been announced they’re coming soon (eek!), so until then I’ll have to stick to eBay. I have two medium sized Tsums and 13 minis, 8 of which are Halloween edition.

SONY DSC

Also on the top are my Wikkeez. This collection started off with my mum buying me a packet, and although at first I wasn’t entirely sold, I’m ashamed to say I now have 20 out of 51 available!

SONY DSC

So then comes the vinyl shelf: Vinylmations and Vinyl Pop figures. My Vinylmation collection began in 2010, although grew massively thanks to my 2014 Disney World trip. The collection includes one 9″ figure, a few Star Wars themed, some Mystery Bakery figures, one variant and one chaser: Mr Toad.

I’m relatively new to the Funko Pop scene. I decided I’d rather build up my collection one film at a time, but I’m not sure how well I’ll stick to that over time; I really want Wall-E and Baymax soon!

SONY DSC

Lego runs in my family, and I have an enormous collection, but only two sets of the recently introduced Disney Princess range: Rapunzel’s Tower and Merida’s Highland Games.

SONY DSC

I know its designed for kids, so I’ll overlook that the builds are really quite basic, with lots of pre-formed pieces, but they’re sweet little sets all the same.

SONY DSC

Then there’s my little R2 unit. I built him in Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney; you pick your own body, arms, head and Mickey ears or novelty hats to create a unique little droid!

SONY DSC

And Olaf.. Olaf is a handblown glass ornament who came from the Arribas Bros shop on Main Street USA. My super sneaky parents bought him, and got him back to the UK without my knowledge so he could be my birthday present; he’s super sweet!

SONY DSC

So yeah, just a measly collection..

In the weeks to come I hope to share more aspects of my Disney home, including artwork, homewares etc 🙂

°o°

2 Comments

Giving Ikea furniture a DisneySide

So its DIY Friday, instead of Wednesday this week due to a mix up in my work shifts. I’m also sharing a bit of my DisneySide, which I’ll follow up tomorrow 🙂

Nevertheless, the posting must go on! And as Fantasia is a bit of a jumble of a film, I struggled to find anything specifically from the classic to settle on for a DIY, but as I’ve spent my whole week honouring the main mouse himself, I thought I’d concentrate on him, and share my latest addition to my Disney bedroom. As part of my new craft/Disney area, I bought some basic shelving units from Ikea (I really love that place), but I wanted to add some hooks on the side, and also Disney it up a bit, and managed to kill two birds with one stone..

SONY DSC

I have a huge Vinylmation collection, so I bought some cheap, damaged models on eBay (I’d never use a good one, I’m too much of a collector), and spray painted them white to match the unit. I used project enamel because its designed for use on all kinds of materials, it dries quickly and has a good finish.

SONY DSC

Depending on the original colour, it can take 2-3 coats, and be sure to let it dry properly on each side before flipping it to do the other. Once dried, work out how you’d like to arrange your figures, marking if point if you find it easier, then carefully apply superglue to the back of the head and feet.

SONY DSC

Then place the figures into position, holding them in place for a little while to allow the adhesive to bond properly. Superglues are instant adhesives, so begin to hold straight away, but you’ve got a minute or so during which you can re-position them.

SONY DSC

And while the glue set quickly, you should ideally leave it overnight to 24 hours before hanging any weight from them.

SONY DSC

°o°

1 Comment

Disneybound: Sorceror Mickey

I knew it wouldn’t take long for chronological order to go out the window! I’m skipping to Fantasia this week, so from here on out, film weeks will be in a random order.

I think Fantasia is totally underrated; its a classic, but most people overlook it, forgetting that it brings one of the best and most well known scenes of any Disney film: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Sorcerer Mickey holds a special place in my heart; I can’t really explain it, I just think its one of Mickey’s best roles and let’s face it, the outfit is so cute!

On my Disney World trip, I knew I wanted to buy Mickey ears, but despite the huge collection, nothing really captured me until I came across these beauties in Hollywood Studios:

SONY DSC

So I took inspiration from my favourite mouse, and put together a little salute to his classic look! (excuse my camera face, I can’t take a photo on my beast of a camera without pulling it!)

SONY DSC

I found this wrap-front red dress in the Asos sale (£10 bargain!), and made myself a belt using a gold dressing gown tie that I found in my local fabric shop, although you could easily use any rope or cord you fancy.

SONY DSC

Topped off with my ears, it makes the perfect Disneybounding outfit, or a subtle fancy dress costume!

SONY DSC

°o°

Leave a comment

Poison Candy Apples

I love Thursdays, they are, by far, the best day of my week.

That’s because Thursday is Disney day; the day I pick the girls up from school and we watch Disney movies until their mum picks them up after she finishes work, and we’ve been doing this every Thursday for over a year now. Thursday was also the day we left on our last Disney trip!

It’s also Foodie Thursday on LottieDoesDisney, yay!

As it’s Snow White week, for me there was really only one option to take on: the poison apple.

But I didn’t really fancy poisoning anyone, so I took inspiration from my trip to Disney World, where candy apples are available at most good snack places, and are total works of art! And cos I can’t pop across to the Magic Kingdom every time I fancy a sweet treat, I made my own:

SONY DSC

They were so quick and easy!

You’ll need:

12-15 medium sized apples (I prefer green for flavour and continuity with the film)

5 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp white food colouring (you can probably go without, the white just gives the candy its opaque quality)

Red food colouring – the amount depends entirely on the type of colouring you use

1tsp vanilla extract

White candy melts or white chocolate (a preference thing again, candy melts are less runny, but some people prefer the taste of white chocolate)

You’ll also need a candy thermometer, lollipop sticks and a piping bag (or ziploc bag with a corner cut off)

°o°

In a big saucepan, mix together the sugar and water, and start boiling. Once its mixed up, you don’t need to worry about stirring, just pop in the candy thermometer and keep an eye on it!

SONY DSC

The sugar needs to get to 150°C/302°F (hard crack stage), which will take some time, so meanwhile you can clean the apples, remove the stalk and insert the sticks; they’ll need a strong push!

SONY DSC

Once the sugar is bubbling away, add the food colouring until you get your desired colour

SONY DSC

I cannot stress enough here just how hot the mixture is, please be careful! While kids will love the end result, this recipe is not for them to do themselves. I work with hot sugar a lot as part of my day job, and I’m forever burning myself, and I would never want anyone else, especially children, to endure that.

Once its at temperature, turn off the heat and quickly add the vanilla. It will bubble up a bit, be warned! Then, working quite quickly, you can start dipping the apples.

SONY DSC

I like to tip up the saucepan with one hand, and dunk with the other, twirling the stick to make sure the apple gets a full coating. Then give it a few seconds for excess to drip off before placing on either greaseproof paper, or a well greased baking tray.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

The candy sets hard very quickly, so you can straight on to the next stage: melting the chocolate or candy melts. I like to do this in a pan above hot water, but you could use a microwave.

SONY DSC

Depending on the type of candy melts you use, you might need to add some vegetable or sunflower oil to make it a little runnier and give it more shine. I use Wilton melts, which are quite thick, so I have to do this.

Once melted, load up a piping bag, or ziploc with some of the melted candy, and pipe the outlines of the features of the poison skull onto the now set apple – it can look a little silly, once you’re done it’ll look better!

SONY DSC

Once set, spoon the remaining white melts over the apple, and let it run down over the edges and create its own drip pattern

SONY DSC

These will keep just fine as they are in a sealed container for 2-3 days (but not in the fridge, unless you want a sticky mess on your hands!). You can also wrap them in cellophane to make a perfect gift 🙂

Please note, the red candy is hard. You may need to lick it before you can really bite into it, but that’s how I like it!

Now these are the only type of poison apple to eat, so don’t go accepting any fruit from strange old ladies now!

°o°

3 Comments

LottieDoesDisney 2015

Well folks its been quite a year!

DSC01441

2014 saw the first anniversary of the blog, and most importantly my Disney World trip in August, on which I’ve based all my newly posted tips, secrets and reviews! I know the last month or so has been more Disney World posting and less of the lighter blog stuff, but I really wanted to get it out of the way so I can focus more on my weekly posts in 2015.

First and foremost, I cannot thank my wonderful readers and followers enough for taking time to look through the site; in the last few months readership has been booming and it puts such a smile on my face! After all, I don’t spend hours researching and writing just for my own pleasure.. Well, maybe a little!

So here’s my 2015 blogging plan:

I’ll be dedicating each week to a Disney film, and posting my usual pieces on my usual days (occasionally I let work or personal life get in the way of this, I’m only human). They are:

– Fashion Fix Tuesdays – outfits, makeup, nail art etc

– DIY Wednesdays – crafts and fun activities for all

– Foodie Thursdays – recipes and other delicious ideas

– DisneySide Saturdays – a day I set aside for any random musings of mine

And I’m hoping that I might be able to squeeze in an introduction to each week on the Monday.

I’m really going to be making an effort to keep up to date with posting, and of course I’ll be adding in all sorts of extras along the way! I’ve yet to decide whether films will be running in chronological order throughout the year, but that’s how I’ll start off.

I cannot wait for another magical year in 2015, with at least one Disney trip in the pipeline already, and I’m so excited to be sharing it with my lovely readers and followers! I’ve recently listed on Bloglovin’, so if you’re a user please head across and follow me there. There’s also an option down the sidebar for you to follow the blog directly via email, and of course you can keep up with us on Instagram @lottiedoesdisney

Love, hugs and pixie dust!

°o°

Leave a comment

Disney Princess Converses

I live in Converse All-Stars; have done ever since I got my first pair over 6 years ago. My entire shoe collection, with the exception of one pair of sandals, one pair of heels and two pairs of boots, consist of Converses – high tops for winter and low tops for summer is how I see it!

My dad is also a huge wearer of Converses, and often uses his creative talents to create his own personalised ones on the Converse website’s ‘Design Your Own’ feature, which inspired this Fashion Tuesday post..

In my opinion, All Stars are the best shoes for wearing around Disney parks; lightweight and cool enough for Florida heat, with a solid sole to support your feet, and incredibly hard-wearing. And while they come in a spectacular range of colours and patterns, none of them are Disney enough.. So I spent an evening creating Disney Princess themed shoes, using just the DYO app on the Converse website, and here’s what I came up with:

1. Snow White

1 Snow

2. Cinderella

2 Cinderella

3. Aurora

3 Sleeping Beauty

4. Ariel

4 Ariel

5. Belle

5 Belle

6. Mulan

6 Mulan

7. Tiana

7 Tiana

8. Rapunzel

8 Rapunzel

9. Anna

9 Anna

10. Elsa

10 Elsa

All of these designs can be created and ordered online, please ask if you want to know any more details on any of them! I had so much fun designing them, so with any luck I’ll do some more characters in future posts 🙂

°o°

Leave a comment

Ohana

Its a DisneySide Saturday, the day of the week I allocate to general ramblings about my life and Disney, and today I thought as I talk about them all the time, I’d introduce you to my family, without whom I don’t think Disney would be such a huge influence on my life.

DSC00094

First of all there’s my dad, Peter.

An absolute Disney pro, he’s been visiting Disney parks since he was 10 years old, his first trip being to Disneyland California in 1975.

Around Disney World you’ll find him snapping pictures, mainly of the iconic monorails, and getting endless compliments for his awesome Disney and minion themed tshirts.

His year of birth Disney classic is Mary Poppins (1964)

I don’t have many memories from early trips to Disney parks, so my favourite Disney memory of my dad was on our August trip to Disney World, when the two of us spent an afternoon photographing Epcot’s World Showcase 🙂

Then there’s Mum, Sue.

DSC00114

She was introduced to the world of Disney parks by my dad in 1991, just over a year before my sister was born.

If you ever need to find my mum, you’ll most likely find her going round and round Buzz Lightyear’s Spaceship Spin, forever attempting to beat her high score (that the rest of us aren’t allowed to come near to beating!), and avoiding any rides that might make her chuck!

Her year of birth Disney classic is The Jungle Book (1967), which is the only Disney film my grandparents have on video/dvd.

My mum is probably the biggest supporter of my Disney dreams, from following my blog to nagging her friends in the states to send me US items to save on international shipping!

I have one sister, Hannah.

DSC00016

That’s her on the left dressed as Belle (we’re about 5 and 3 in this photo).

She’s been visiting Disney parks since she was in the womb (not an exaggeration!), and I will forever have to catch up with the number of trips she went on before I was born!

If she’s not hanging out on Main Street USA, she’s probably sneaking in another showing of Finding Nemo: The Musical in the Animal Kingdom!

Aladdin was the Disney classic that came out the year she was born (1992).

While she may not be quite as obsessed as her darling younger sister, Disney plays a big part in her life and work as a merchandiser for childrens toys for a large supermarket chain, and she’s forever full of exciting news and gossip!

My auntie (mum’s sister), Lesley.DSC00402

She made her first trip to the happiest place on Earth in 1996 when she joined us on our adventure, and likes to remind me that whenever I fell asleep during/after an exciting day in the parks, it was her who always got lumped carrying me!

Her birth year Disney classic is The Aristocats (1970)

On our most recent Disney excursion, a trip to Enchanted Tales with Belle had us all in stitches as she was chosen to play Madame Bouche (the large, opera singing wardrobe) in our little re-enactment of the story!

wd001wdw2014229110085387_19And her husband, Uncle Vito.

Vito joined our Disney team on our 2000 trip to Disney World, Florida, two years after he married into our crazy family.

An absolute shopaholic, you’ll find him scouting out goodies in the gift shops, recognisable by his signature hawaiian shirts.

He shares his year of birth with Disney classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

You can always guarantee that if there’s an audience participation moment, Vito will be featured, the most recent example being when he was picked on during the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor by one of the monster comedians!

Bella is the oldest of my cousins.wd007wdw2014227109218350_19

She loves The Little Mermaid and Lilo and Stitch.

The Incredibles came out the same year she was born.

Like her daddy, she tends to seek out the limelight, taking part in Enchanted Tales with Belle and Turtle Talk with Crush.

For a 10 year old, she was oddly obsessed with The Carousel of Progress, asking to go on it several times, although I think it may have been her sneaky way of getting out of the heat of the day!

wd037wdw2014239113840115_19

Sophia is the middle child.

She has long blonde hair, so is basically Rapunzel.

She loves Olaf, and all things Frozen.

She was terrified to the point of tears by the thought of The Tower of Terror, but actually loved it from the first drop, silly girl!

She was born the year Cars hit the big screen.

Despite no one else wanting to, she queued for half an hour to meet Mr Incredible and Frozone, and had a rocking time with them!

wd007wdw2014230110616921_19

Liv is the youngest of our crazy crew.

She joined the family the same year Wall-E and Bolt were released.

For a 5 year old, she was a total adrenaline junkie, going on all the rides she was tall enough for, and chose Space Mountain and Expedition Everest as her favourites.

The girl can sleep through anything if she’s tired, including a show as loud as Fantasmic!

Like every other young girl in the world, she loves Frozen.

My absolute favourite moment from our Disney World holiday was when after keeping the girls up and waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade (hello grumpypusses!), at the sight of Tinkerbell on the first float, her face totally lit up with excitement!

This is my family. I wouldn’t change them for the world and I am so lucky to have so many magical memories of our lives together. Here’s to many more, starting with Disney on Ice this Christmas Eve!

°o°

2 Comments

Christmas cannot come soon enough now!

So despite the wrist fracture, I am super SUPER excited because this week I managed to get tickets to Disney On Ice at the O2 Arena!

I was desperate to get tickets a while back, only to be disappointed that there weren’t any available for any of the London shows (wah!), so when I found out an extra performance had been added I leapt at it. Challenge #1 was deciding who to take/how many tickets to get, and while my boyfriend kindly offered to come to keep me company, its not exactly his cup of tea..

Lightbulb! I knew straight away if I could get 9 tickets together, it would be the perfect Christmas present for the family; a day out in London, more magical Disney memories, much more meaningful that any physical presents I could get them – the girls have so much stuff!

What could be more magical on Christmas Eve?!

°o°

Leave a comment

DIY Maleficent Horns

So this week I FINALLY got round to watching Maleficent, about time, am I right?

Well it’s fairly safe to say I loved it; when it came out I thought it looked a bit dark, which is was a little in places, but I was pleasantly surprised by how family friendly it actually was 🙂

So with Halloween coming up, inspiration hit as I went to chuck an old kitchen roll tube in the recycling, and in literally a matter of minutes I had my first horn, so set about making these:

SONY DSC

This was honestly the quickest and easiest DIY project I have ever done: all the supplies are things you’ve probably got lying around the house, and I don’t think I spent more than 15/20 minutes, with results I’m pretty happy with!

So here’s how you can make your own:

First you’ll need your supplies: two kitchen roll tubes, a pair of scissors, black tape, an old/unused headband and your preferred method of sticking (I used a hot glue gun, but you could just use more tape, superglue of a bit of fairy magic)

SONY DSC

Take your cardboard tubes, and cut a straight slit just over half way down:

SONY DSC

Use this slit to fold the top half into an almost cone:

SONY DSC

And secure with tape:

SONY DSC

With the cone secured, start covering the tube completely with tape. Don’t worry about overlapping or the odd wrinkle, it all adds to the character!

SONY DSC

To make the tips of the horns, cut a length of tape and stick it so it overlaps the top of the cone, and wrap it around itself to make a point:

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

You can then build on this base with more tape to make a firmer point, and bend it into the curve:

SONY DSC

And you’ve got yourself a horn!

Now to shape it to your head better, take your scissors and cut the bottom corner:

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

With that, all you need to do is set about attaching your horns to a headband. The only one I could find lying about the house was one from a previous costume, hence the weird attachments, but that actually worked to my advantage as it meant I had something to glue to:

SONY DSC

So they’re not exactly fresh out of the Disney costume department, but for only a few minutes work they make a great DIY costume accessory 🙂

SONY DSC

°o°

3 Comments

My Disney Bucket List

So this is gonna be a working progress, I’ll be adding new things when I think of them, and crossing them off when I’ve completed them. Absolutely comment if you can see anything big I’ve missed or you can think of something new for me 🙂

1. Stay at every Disney World resort

2. Run in a runDisney event (January 2016 here we come!)

3. Be a parade Grand Marshall

4. Visit every Disney park (Disney World, Disneyland California, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland)

5. Own all 52 Disney Animated Classics on DVD/Bluray

6. Own all Pixar films on DVD/Bluray

7. Disney World 4 park challenge

8. Eat at every restaurant in Disney World

9. Own an Annual Pass 

10. Epcot Food and Wine Festival

11. Collect autographs from every Disney character

12. Go to a dessert party

13. See the rope drop

14. Go to a Star Wars weekend at Hollywood Studios

15. Bowl at Splitsville, Downtown Disney

16. Go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

17. Go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

18. Attend Dapper Day

19. Ride Characters in Flight

20. Meet Flynn Rider

21. Try every Disney cupcake

22. Be the last guest in the Magic Kingdom

23. Spend Christmas in Disney World

24. Spend a birthday in Disney World

25. Try to finish the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream

26. Become a D23 Gold Member

27. Go to a D23 Expo

28. Visit the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

29. Watch Cirque du Soleil La Nouba

30. Collect a complete Vinylmation series

31. Stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite for a night

32. Buy a margarita at La Cava del Tequila

 33. Watch the Electrical Water Pageant

34. Watch Wishes from behind the castle

35. Become a Disney Vacation Club member

36. Find the courage to do Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach

37. See a Disney On Ice show

38. Give a funny fake name at Starbucks

39. Own at least five Tsum Tsums

40. Spend a day in a park without going on any rides

41. Meet a fellow Disney blogger in a Disney park

42. Ride every outside ride after dark

43. Spend all day in the Animation Academy

44. Ride every colour of Monorail

45. Spend a day resort-hopping

46. Get a Magic Band in every colour

47. Meet all the characters around Epcot’s World Showcase

48. Get 1000 followers on @lottiedoesdisney on Instagram

49. Decorate at least one room of my house in a Disney style

50. Order pizza to a hotel pool

51. Spend an entire week watching Disney movies

52. Go on a totally spontaneous Disney trip

53. Own more Thomas Kinkade Disney canvas prints (I am in love with my Tangled one!)

54. Convert a non-Disney believer into a true fanatic like myself

6 Comments

So today I Tsum-Tsum’d my car..

If you don’t know what a Tsum Tsum is, google it now, thank me later. If you have an iPhone, download the game and see how quickly you get addicted (took me about a minute).

So my Tsum Tsum addiction is fairly deep set now, so when I was browsing Etsy for Disney goodies I instantly fell in love with these vinyl decals from SkinDR:

Tsum Tsum Minis Inspired Vinyl Decal Laptop Wall & Vehicle Art : Japanese Skin Sticker Stack Stack + Free Shipping!

I’ve been looking for a way to Disney-fy my car some more for ages; I have a Mickey aerial topper, but you can never have too much Disney, so these were perfect!

I ordered the mini-sized decals. You can buy them in black or white and individually, 5, 10 or all of the designs, but for me there was only one real choice: ALL. After arriving well within the estimated time, I set about applying them. They come individually so you can choose your own layout, which was perfect because it meant I could fit them around the shape of my rear window, like so!

SONY DSC

The application was so easy, and there’s a helpful video tutorial if you need extra guidance, but really it was as simple as peel, stick, scrape, peel!

SONY DSC

Ta-dah! I’m actually missing Pluto here, a small error, but really quickly resolved with great service from the shop owner, so he’ll soon be added to my little stack 🙂

SONY DSC

I can feel a fresh addiction forming..

SONY DSC

And Mickey and Chip love them too!

These sweet stickers would brighten up anything from tech to appliances to furniture; I challenge you to find something they wouldn’t look totally adorable on, so really you’ve got no excuse not to buy some!

°o°

Leave a comment

DIY Pocahontas Bedding

Posting a DIY a day late to disguise that I’ve been too busy this week for a Foodie post, ssh!

Another bedspread; working while inspiration is high!

photo 2 (6)

Yep, Pocahontas style!

So it just so happened that I already had a reversible brown and blue duvet set, ace! By folding over the top to show a little blue, it creates a duvet ‘necklace’, and you can opt for brown pillowcases (above), or black (below) to match her hair.

photo 3 (5)

And I came across this fab Colours of the Wind throw pillow on Redbubble, just to top it all off!

photo 1 (6)

°o°

1 Comment

DIY: Mickey Mouse Bedding

This week was a little crazy so I combined DIY Disney Wednesday with DisneySide Saturday.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how to bring more Disney magic into your life, and the most important place in your life is home (or Disney World!), so that’s where I decided to start!

A sad but true fact about Disney is that official merchandise, and even some unofficial merchandise, can be expensive 😦 I was looking into bedding, a guilty pleasure of mine, and the only real options for double beds are designs from independent artists on sites like Redbubble, which although amazing are around £60+shipping, ouch! So I took a little inspiration from fellow blogger Kayleigh and her DIY Disney bikinis, and realised I could do it myself; slightly less impressive, but the options are infinite if you’ve got the imagination, and leave a considerably smaller dent in your bank account!

But where to start?

Where it all started, obviously: with a mouse.

SONY DSC

There are tonnes of ways you can get Mickey’s style. I went for the classic: black mouse, red shorts, white gloves and yellow shoes, you don’t get more Mickey than that!

 I came across black and red reversible duvet cover on Amazon (two birds, one stone), and teamed it with my yellow fleece throw from Ikea, because who doesn’t love a £3 throw?!

SONY DSC

The pillowcases were a mini project: I bought plain white pillowcases from my local supermarket, and added the design of Mickey’s gloves on using black fabric paint and a basic elongated oval template. I think they add a nice touch and were really easy to do, but plain white pillowcases would work just as well.

Then of course you can cover the bed with all your Disney stuffed toys, tsum tsums and pillow pets!

Leave a comment