Unfortunately, my family STILL thinks I'm crazy..a double PTR. *6/6-Beating the heat?

[sammyjo1871]

Those shirts are awesome! I would love to try something like that, but guessing since I don't know what 'basting' is, (other than at Thanksgiving) it would be a HUGE disaster!

 

[AKL LOVER]

Great job on the shirts. Too cute!

Making those shirts sounds fun and they turned out great. I wish I had a crafty side, if I attempted that it would be a disaster.

Thanks ladies!

The shirts came out great! I'm hoping to make some for our trip!

You should definitely try them! Let me know if you want any pointers. I learned a few tricks to make them turn out better and to get less bleeding in the colors.

Those shirts look awesome! I've never attempted the Mickey tie-dye, it looks way too complicated for me!

I thought they were too complicated too (hence why I called my sis in for back up!), but they were actually really easy!

Those shirts are awesome! I would love to try something like that, but guessing since I don't know what 'basting' is, (other than at Thanksgiving) it would be a HUGE disaster!

There are several threads on here where some wonderful ladies have posted step by step instructions along with pictures. I'm a visual learner so after reading the directions I thought it was going to be hard, but once I saw the pics, I could see it was going to be easier than I thought.

HAHAHA...don't I sound all professional using words like basting... Like I'm some sewing genius, when I'm actually not.

Basting (when you aren't juicing up the turkey) means stitching. You just stitch with a needle and thread on the traced Mickey head. Then pull the thread tight (which scrunches up the shirt) and tie it off to make the little Mickey head pucker.

Easy peasy!

 

[Lidian]

Thanks ladies!


You should definitely try them! Let me know if you want any pointers. I learned a few tricks to make them turn out better and to get less bleeding in the colors.


I thought they were too complicated too (hence why I called my sis in for back up!), but they were actually really easy!


There are several threads on here where some wonderful ladies have posted step by step instructions along with pictures. I'm a visual learner so after reading the directions I thought it was going to be hard, but once I saw the pics, I could see it was going to be easier than I thought.

HAHAHA...don't I sound all professional using words like basting... Like I'm some sewing genius, when I'm actually not.

Basting (when you aren't juicing up the turkey) means stitching. You just stitch with a needle and thread on the traced Mickey head. Then pull the thread tight (which scrunches up the shirt) and tie it off to make the little Mickey head pucker.

Easy peasy!

I'd love some pointers! Stick 'em here or in a PM, I don't care! It's high on my to-do list, and DH has promised he'll wear one shirt. The kids and I will love them and wear them year round!

I'll probably start working on them mid-Feb so I can get them done and ready. Oh, I'm so excited!

 

[MHTeacher]

I've enjoyed reading your plans so far. I also teach 7th grade (also 6th and 8th) Math. Special age aren't they?

I can completely relate to how your family thinks you're crazy----We've made ten trips over the past eleven years, and we've gotten that look several times! From May 2009 to May 2010, we made four trips (May, December, March, May again). We got LOTS of looks that year!

You have a beautiful family, and they'll love Beach Club. We're staying there again for our May/June trip this year!

 

[pigletto]

I'm in!! All caught up!
Love your pre trip report, and the shirts are cute! I am excited for you that you get to go on a Girls trip!

I am very familiar with the sighing and eye rolling that you are referring to. And I think it's perfectly acceptable to brainwash ones children to love all things Disney.

 

[AKL LOVER]

I'd love some pointers! Stick 'em here or in a PM, I don't care! It's high on my to-do list, and DH has promised he'll wear one shirt. The kids and I will love them and wear them year round!

I'll probably start working on them mid-Feb so I can get them done and ready. Oh, I'm so excited!

Your trip is getting soo close!! I bet you guys are super excited.

Here are the few things we learned that they don't tell you in the directions:

1. If you're going to soak the shirts in ash water, then you don't need to squirt as much dye on the shirts. This is why my daughter's shirt bled so much.

2. Rip a hole (fairly small) in the bottom of a zip lock baggie. Wrap several rubberbands around the base of the Mickey head before dying. After wrapping the 1st rubberband, but before you do the 2nd, put the hole you ripped in the ziplock baggie over the Mickey head. Then wrap the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rubber bands at the base of the Mickey head but over the baggie. (if you look back at my t-shirt pics, you will see the baggie around the Mickey head with the zipper part sticking straight up. The bottom is rubberbanded.) Then zip the baggie closed after you've put your dye on the Mickey head. This keeps a lot of the dye you put on the Mickey head from bleeding to the rest of the shirt and creates a more definitive Mickey head shape.

3. If you are going to swirly your shirts (like I did) make sure you stick the nose of the dye bottle down into the folds of the shirt and squirt. This will get more dye in the center of the shirt instead of having a lot of white shirt.


I think that's all I can think of for now. Good luck making yours!! Post pics on your PTR when you finish them.

 

[AKL LOVER]

I've enjoyed reading your plans so far. I also teach 7th grade (also 6th and 8th) Math. Special age aren't they?

I can completely relate to how your family thinks you're crazy----We've made ten trips over the past eleven years, and we've gotten that look several times! From May 2009 to May 2010, we made four trips (May, December, March, May again). We got LOTS of looks that year!

You have a beautiful family, and they'll love Beach Club. We're staying there again for our May/June trip this year!

Glad to have another teacher in the bunch...even more excited to see that you teach the same grade as me. This way if I ever complain, at least I know someone will have sympathy for me!

I am going to head over to your PTR to see if I can pick up some good tips on the BC. We are excited about staying there!

I'm in!! All caught up!
Love your pre trip report, and the shirts are cute! I am excited for you that you get to go on a Girls trip!

I am very familiar with the sighing and eye rolling that you are referring to. And I think it's perfectly acceptable to brainwash ones children to love all things Disney.

Thanks for reading...and for the brainwashing support!

 

[Lidian]

Your trip is getting soo close!! I bet you guys are super excited.

Here are the few things we learned that they don't tell you in the directions:

1. If you're going to soak the shirts in ash water, then you don't need to squirt as much dye on the shirts. This is why my daughter's shirt bled so much.

2. Rip a hole (fairly small) in the bottom of a zip lock baggie. Wrap several rubberbands around the base of the Mickey head before dying. After wrapping the 1st rubberband, but before you do the 2nd, put the hole you ripped in the ziplock baggie over the Mickey head. Then wrap the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rubber bands at the base of the Mickey head but over the baggie. (if you look back at my t-shirt pics, you will see the baggie around the Mickey head with the zipper part sticking straight up. The bottom is rubberbanded.) Then zip the baggie closed after you've put your dye on the Mickey head. This keeps a lot of the dye you put on the Mickey head from bleeding to the rest of the shirt and creates a more definitive Mickey head shape.

3. If you are going to swirly your shirts (like I did) make sure you stick the nose of the dye bottle down into the folds of the shirt and squirt. This will get more dye in the center of the shirt instead of having a lot of white shirt.


I think that's all I can think of for now. Good luck making yours!! Post pics on your PTR when you finish them.

We are getting super excited!

Thanks for the tips! Is it better to soak in ash water first or not?

I love the swirly shirts, so thanks for the tip on squirting down into the folds! Heck, thanks for all the tips! I'm going to print them out so I can have them handy when I do my shirts. I'll definitely post pictures when I'm done!

 

[AKL LOVER]

We are getting super excited!

Thanks for the tips! Is it better to soak in ash water first or not?

I love the swirly shirts, so thanks for the tip on squirting down into the folds! Heck, thanks for all the tips! I'm going to print them out so I can have them handy when I do my shirts. I'll definitely post pictures when I'm done!

Soaking the shirts in ash water is supposed to make the dye adhere better. I do know that it didn't take as much dye since I soaked them first (you dye them while they are still wet from the ash water). The ash water is supposed to make the color more vibrant in the end as well. At my local JoAnn Fabrics it was only $5 for a box of enough mix to do 2 ash water soaks, so I thought it was worth it. Especially since I couldn't find 100% cotton tee's.


Speaking of which, anyone know where I can get 100% cotton tee's? (not the mens undershirt kind). All our craft stores around here sell the 50/50 tee's and tie dye is supposed to work better on 100% cotton.

 

[AKL LOVER]

Welcome to the next reason that according to my family, makes me crazy...



I love to get Disney related presents. I know. Most of you do to. But my family thinks this is just, well, weird.


I mean, Disney is for kids, right? Ha.


And we go to Disney each year, so why would I want Disney things when I'm not in Disney. Double Ha.


Their reasoning is weak , so Disney gifts I will continue to request and accept!



Back at Christmas, I got the best present EVER from a student. He went to Disney in early December. And he knew that I loved Disney...mostly because I was begging him to take me with his family but that fact doesn't matter. When he got back from Disney he presented me with this bad boy for Christmas:

He got me Mickey's autograph. I didn't have the heart to mention that we already had it at home because it was just sooo sweet!


It also doesn't help that my birthday was just a few weeks ago and what did I request for the 456789th year in a row?

Not the roses, people. Focus on the card! In fact if you noticed the roses first instead of the card, then BAD DISer!!


Speaking of gifts, I recently got a little goodie for our girls trip in April. Well, it's not really little, but it is a goodie!

One of my girlfriends going on the trip got us these. She made one for each of us, each with our favorite color and character. I mine and can't wait to use it as my carryon on the plane!!


Also, moving on to actual trip related stuff, I think we finally have hammered out several more details for our trip and have come up with a pretty tentative schedule. It looks like this:

I say tentative because do you see all those ? marks and TBD's in there? Since we aren't going with any kids we've left a lot of time open to do whatever we feel like doing while we're down there. While this makes me a bit nervous I really am starting to get excited about the idea of having so much unsheduled time, especially since I know that doing that with the kids would likely end up being a nightmare!


Besides, who worries about unscheduled time when they'll be at Disney in 61 days!!




Continue to next update

 

[MHTeacher]

Not the roses, people. Focus on the card! In fact if you noticed the roses first instead of the card, then BAD DISer!!

I got a Disney gift card for my birthday, too!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Gotta love those Disney gift cards!!! That's so sweet that your student got you Mickey's autograph!!

 

[Lidian]

What a sweet gift from your student!

And loved the gift card! It took me a minute to find the roses.

 

[Deemarch]

Love, love, love your planner!!! Okay if I use it?

 

[Joyciemc]

Nothing wrong with Disney gifts!

I love leaving free time in my schedules. But it never, ever happens- I end up filling in any blank And we never travel with kids, so I can't use that as my excuse!

 

[AKL LOVER]

I got a Disney gift card for my birthday, too!

They make great birthday gifts, don't they??

Gotta love those Disney gift cards!!! That's so sweet that your student got you Mickey's autograph!!

It was so sweet. Like I said, best present ever. Love thelittle things that make me feel so appreciated!

What a sweet gift from your student!

And loved the gift card! It took me a minute to find the roses.

You're such a good DISer

Love, love, love your planner!!! Okay if I use it?

Of course! If you send me a PM with your email address I will email it to you

Nothing wrong with Disney gifts!

I love leaving free time in my schedules. But it never, ever happens- I end up filling in any blank And we never travel with kids, so I can't use that as my excuse!

I'll let you know how that free time feels. I'm locked into keeping it because my traveling buddies want it ...a bit scary for my anal retentive, over-planning self!

 

[AKL LOVER]

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, because, well I think that I've run out of reasons why my family thinks I'm crazy.





I know. Shocker. I kept thinking and thinking. Surely something else would occur to me. But nothing has. So as I continue to ponder if my craziness really has run out, I leave you all with a chance to show me just how crazy you are:


What sort of games or adult fun do you suggest for my girls only trip?


I was trying to come up with some sort of game that involved Epcot and food and tasty beverages but my creativity is falling short on this one. And my google searches just didn't yield anything that struck my fancy.

So, what say you??

I patiently await your Disney fun wisdom....

 

[Lidian]

I have no wisdom to share ... but if I was going on a kid-free trip, I'd hit up Jellyrolls and some of the other night-life stuff.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I have no fun game ideas, but the Boardwalk does have Jellyrolls and the Atlantic Dance Club. There's also a ton of awesome lounges and bars around the resorts.

 

[AKL LOVER]

I have no wisdom to share ... but if I was going on a kid-free trip, I'd hit up Jellyrolls and some of the other night-life stuff.

I have no fun game ideas, but the Boardwalk does have Jellyrolls and the Atlantic Dance Club. There's also a ton of awesome lounges and bars around the resorts.

Jellyrolls was something that we had already thought of. I didn't know about the Atlantic Dance Club. I'll have to check that out!