Today I am so excited to introduce to an amazing guest poster: the talented TIFFANY! Tiffany is one of my sister’s very best friends, and I kept mentioning to my sister how amazing all of Tiff’s projects looked from her FB pictures and my sister suggested that I ask Tiffany if she would like to contribute to my blog. I thought that was simply brilliant, and luckily for me—and you!—she said YES! I hope you enjoy Tiffany’s first venture into the blogging tutorial world. If you like her ideas please take a minute to leave her a comment or to Pin and/or Share her project! We want her to be excited to come back and share her brilliance some more in the future. 😉 And now, on to the project!
Hi, everyone, I’m Tiffany, and I’m excited to be blogging on Craft Quickies today! Sarah asked me if I’d like to share my Disney Countdown with you, and so here I am!
A few months ago, we went to Disney World. I absolutely loved going in February when the crowds were “under control.” Disney is a magical place. My kids and I—and husband *cough*—had a blast doing one new thing every day leading up to our vacation.
I love this countdown because it is completely affordable, but still really fun. On the back of each Mickey head is a Disney-related activity, so my kids looked forward to discovering what the activity was each morning. When I was making it, I actually scoured the internet for fun Disney countdowns looking for suggestions of things to do each day. Let me tell you, it was hard to find anything I really loved. So I bit the bullet and came up with these ideas on my own. Some of them are more expensive or time intensive than others, so if there’s one that you don’t want to use, just insert a question or a joke on that day. Let me break it down for you.
Here’s what you need:
-18×24 piece of lightweight wood, or something of your choice (I used a board I found at Hobby Lobby in the corkboard section, it was sized exactly how I wanted it.)
-black spray paint
-black Glitter Blast spray paint (optional, but I like sparkle)
-26 Mickey Paint swatches (You can find them at Home Depot.)***see note at the bottom of the post
-ribbon (I bought Disney ribbon at Hobby Lobby.)
-drill and drill bit
-number stickers galore ( I actually didn’t have this and had to buy them at Hobby Lobby. This was expensive. However, you can always cut them out on a Cricut or other die cutting machine if you have one, or even just use puff paint, glitter glue, or markers to write your numbers.)
-Disney Chipboard cutouts (I found them at Hobby Lobby.)
-Velcro for sticking paint swatches to the board (I bought the sticky Velcro dots.)
-For the heading: I also bought a piece of Disney scrapbook paper and Disney tape. This is optional as there are a million other ways to make a cute heading. I found all the stuff for my heading at Hobby Lobby.
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It is really self explanatory for the most part of how you put this countdown together, which is what I love about it. I love projects you can do in one evening and talk while doing them. This one definitely doesn’t take a lot of concentration. The hardest part was spraying the board.
I gave the board a coat of black spray paint, and, once it dried, I went over it with the glitter blast.
Next you are going to drill two holes in the top corners and string your ribbon through them.
Now I arranged my paint chips exactly how I wanted them on the board and then proceeded to number them with my stickers/ chipboard cutouts. If I didn’t have the right amount of numbers, I just put a chipboard character on that day.
I made my heading (the thing that says “Disney”) with the scrapbook paper, tape, and letters I cut out on my die cutting machine. I also cut letters out for the paint swatches that say “days until” as well. You can just buy stickers or write it if you don’t have something that can cut this out. I secured the paint swatches with some little clips I had on hand that I had bought awhile back at Hobby Lobby, and I hot glued the Disney sign to the front.
When I was all done decorating, I cut out my activities and used a glue stick to attach them to the back of the paint swatches. I tried to take into account what I wanted to do on each day so I would leave enough time for it.
The final step is to stick the velcro on. I put the front piece of velcro on the paint swatch first and then stuck the back to the board. That made it easy so that all I had to do was stick it to the board wherever I wanted it.
And there you have it friends! A DIY Countdown to Disney!
Here is a link for you to download the activities I came up with. It is not a fancy printable, because that wouldn’t fit on the swatch.
Here is a cute picture of my daughter “practicing her roller coaster scream.” Get ready for some pretty fun stuff!
** Since Tiffany made this countdown Home Depot has discontinued the mouse ear paint chips. Boo! 🙁 However, you could draw the mouse ears, punch them out, trace a cookie cutter for the shape, let your kids colors some, or use a Cricut or other die cutting machine to cut some out. The Disney Mickey & Friends Cartridge would be perfect for this project!
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(Affiliate Links below – This means I get a small credit for referring you to the company, but it doesn’t cost you any extra.)
If you love Disney and Pixar as much as we do, and you are thinking about taking your little ones to “The Happiest Place on Earth,” then you should check out the travel agency Get Away Today. They have vacation LAYAWAY PLANS! Isn’t that brilliant?! Paying off your vacay a bit at a time makes it so much more realistic and affordable! Check out their amazing discounts and packages, and be sure to use the coupon code BLING to get an additional $10 off of your booking!
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Vanessa says
April 18, 2013 at 8:28 pmWhat a darling project! We are hoping to take the kiddos to Disneyland this year so this is perfect timing. Awesome job on your very first post! You are totally a natural! 🙂
Vanessa
Laura says
April 18, 2013 at 10:36 pmAdorable!!!! What a good idea!
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog says
April 20, 2013 at 7:02 pmSuch a great idea!! We met my brother and nephew at Disney last year and I heard the anticipation with the build up in their house was incredible! Great first post, too!!