Valentine Table Toppers

I always think they had the neatest ideas back in the 40s and 50s.  I only read about them now since I was a child of the 70s, but I can re-create them using things available for purchase today.  Not only that, but I have a little miss that loves to make things too, and these are just as simple for her to make on her own if I have some chores that need to be done.  And we will continue to share them here! 

Valentine parties are so fun and so darling with all the pink and red, two of my favorite colors.  Here are some simple table toppers you can make with things you find at the discount store! 

Here's your supply line up:  red jelly hearts, red heart suckers, paper hearts and/or glitter hearts (we found ours at WalMart in the Valentine section, but you could also make your own with construction paper, or use a doily like they did in our book).  We also used scrapbook mono-adhesive and glue dots.

Simply attach your paper heart to the back of the sucker, add a glitter heart on the front, if you wish, and then push the sucker stick into the front of the jelly heart.  They will stand on their own and make a heart-stopping center piece for a school party or a little one's February birthday. Line them up or circle them around your cupcakes.  Have fun! 

This ideas was inspired by The Complete Book of Children's Parties by Florence Hamsher, 1949.

How to Make Pretty Valentine Vintage Paper Packaging with Parchment Paper

I found a box of old parchment paper squares in a tiny kitchen at an estate sale a few weeks ago, and thought they would be perfect for making little packages of vintage papers for Valentines. 

They are about 6X6.  I gathered up some of my favorite red, black, and white papers and put my sewing machine on the back porch...we've had lots of really cold weather but today was beautiful.  You can see at the end of the post what I included in the package.

I stitched three sides of the papers first.  I decided I liked alternating between a zig zag stitch and a straight stitch.  I didn't cut the end threads either.  It makes them look more altered that way.

Once I filled the package with my papers, I stitched the top with room enough to either tear the package open or cut it open.

I've had these tiny lettering stamps for ages, and the limited edition stamp is from Stampin' UP! a long time ago.  The date stamp that you see peeking out of the limited stamp is a vintage one that I use all the time. 

Here they are, all stitched up.  I love how the parchment makes them cloudy and mysterious...you don't know what you will find hiding inside.

But, for you, here is a picture of the contents.  Don't you love the 1800s calling card?  I have a few of these dapper gentlemen and some ladies that have been waiting for a romantic pack such as this.

A closer view...some old postage stamps, receipts, prescription pad, gold name  labels...what's not to love?   They are perfect for an artsy friend or one that collects old, pretty things.  

I'm thinking of making several individual unique papers and things available in the shop as just two or three pieces.  What do you think?  Do you like to buy one style of papers in a big package, or would you rather have them as simple little ephemera pieces all on their own? 

See you this week with more I've been working on this weekend.  It's been good for the soul.  Thanks for reading. 

Valentines Three Ways

Welcome to my new series, Kid Vintage Craft!  This series will be simple and quick projects that you can create with your children.  All of the projects will be inspired by those published in magazines, books, and articles from the 1940s-early 1970s, including Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, and McCall's.  Times were much more simple and schedules much less packed then, and homes, parties, and events often featured handmade invitations, table decor, and simple little crafts to fill time until dinner was served.  Kid Vintage Craft will publish every Friday, just in time for the weekend! Enjoy, and I hope you will be inspired to create the projects with your kids as well! 

Valentine's Day is coming soon, and the stores had their stock of hearts out before the Christmas clearance even started.  Time flies so fast!  Soon, classrooms will be trading Valentine cards and you and your friends will be hosting parties, so today we are sharing instructions from 1949 for handmade Valentines for kids.

For the younger ones, ages 5-7, a red construction paper heart with Cupid's arrow and a simple message was cheerful and fun.  We used patterned card stock and vintage gold Dennison labels.  Cut your heart the old-fashioned way by folding construction paper in half, draw the pattern, and then use it to trace the others and cut.  Then cut a freehand arrow from a coordinating paper and adhere (we used paper from our Studio Calico kits).

For ages 8-10, a lace paper frame from a doily with an image of a pretty girl or cute boy from a catalog made Valentine's Day a little more exciting for the first childhood romance.  We used Project Life cards and an image from a Teen Vogue magazine. We added "Hello" letter stickers and then drew a word bubble.  On the other, we added a puffy heart sticker from Twine + Ink from a Studio Calico kit to the image  from Teen Vogue pages.  Don't the oversized sunglasses make cute wings?  Kids love to cut things out of magazines and catalogs.  Let them pick their favorites, like movie stars or famous musicians, and create your own set of unique Valentines!  Katie is making 22 of these.  Whew!

For ages 10-12, we used an A4 piece of letterpress paper as the main invitation.  Place a Valentine heart seal in the top left corner, and a small red heart seal in the bottom right (we used vintage ones).  Draw a border in the center of the card (or use a rubber stamp border or a sticker or Project Life card) to place the text inside.  Place the sender's name in the lower left corner and the recipient's name near the heart if you are sending an invitation.  You could also let your child doodle on the paper before adding stickers and seals. Katie's favorites are sparkle gel pens.

Remember to always hand deliver your Valentines (if possible) if you are following proper etiquette from yesteryear!  We'd love to see your take on our Kid Vintage Crafts.  Link us up in the comments or tag us on Instagram or Twitter @feedthebirdies.

See you next Friday for simple Valentine table decorations!

*This project is inspired by Valentine party ideas in the book, The Complete Book of Children's Parties by Florence Hamsher, copyright 1949. 

On Finding Lost Family and Writing Letters

(photo from weheartit)

My family is going through some tough times right now.  My dad is really sick and will probably be leaving us in a day or two.  It's sad and we are coping and we have each other and time is good with my sisters and brothers.  We lost touch some years ago, but have lately been close and have a relationship again, which is beautiful and wonderful and so many things I can't explain.  I love them dearly and they will always be a treasure.

It's so sad how we lose connections and lose touch with people we love and people we used to spend so much time with.  I know all kinds of things can shut down a friendship or relationship and some aren't pretty and they sure do linger for much longer than they should.  And a lot of times it's not even something you did, but something that was passed down over the generations.  A lot of those things don't even matter anymore; why carry that junk in your backpack?  It's too heavy.  And it doesn't make a bit of difference in the grand scheme of things that could be today.

I still have many friends and family members that I would love to see again.  I've decided that it's time to find them and see what happens; you never know.  A letter can break ice just as well as a friend request; probably even better.

We've all got connections through the saturated social media sites, but I think most of us would agree that it's still fun and very heart-warming to get a letter in the mail from a friend, a family member, or even an assigned pen pal from a writing challenge.  Lately, I've found some really neat ladies of letter writing on Instagram, like @paperedthoughts and @bisforbrookemail , and I'm inspired to encourage and challenge you (and myself) to write more and balance snail mail with online socialization...maybe even tip that see-saw the other way. So I'm giving my Hello, Dear, series a new life and a new purpose

I'm going to list one challenge each Wednesday for writing letters on the blog, and post my own letter/happy mail on Instagram. I want to share pretty vintage papers and ideas to light up the face of someone somewhere.

Pretty vintage letter paper ephemera packs in my shop here.

Alright.  Are you ready?  The first challenge is to write to a family member you haven't seen in a while.  Feel free to change that to a friend if you wish.  Then include something personal with the envelope.  It could be a picture you have of the two of you or of something you experienced together, some kind of ephemera you have saved from an event you attended together, just something that is meaningful to the both of you.  Get the idea?

I'd love to see your letters before they are sent on their way...tag me on Instagram or Twitter @feedthebirdies.  Who are you writing to this time around?  What neat paper are you writing on? And what will you send with your letter?  I think all kinds of cool things are about to happen.

P.S.  Want to write to me?  I'll write back.  Contact me at feedthebirdies@gmail.com .

The Man With the Bag: Ephemera as Christmas Decor

Here's a peek around my home this holiday season. Some of the things I love to collect are old games and game pieces, and this Santa Hi Ho Cherry-O is one I just can't part with. I like to set old board games around all the time, just because the boxes and boards are so neat! And it reminds me so much of this song.

I also use record sleeves to decorate. Here are two on little vintage laundry hangers. They hold them well if your wooden hangers are otherwise occupied.

See the paint by number winter scene above? They are sometimes hard to come by, but I scored this one for $2. 

Remember how needlework with sequins was so popular? Man, I can't get enough of the Christmas ones. We have it all over the place. 

One last favorite is the bottle brush trees and tiniest little deer on my old record console. Aren't they darling? We have a zoo of little animals and Katie thought it was grand to have them all play in our snow one night. We even had apes in the trees! 

I'd love to see the vintage in your home. Use the hashtag #fivedaysofjingles or link us up below! 

Thank you for being patient with me today. Sometimes life throws a curve ball and things don't go as planned. I've dusted off my knees and I am back up. Meltdowns are on hold for now, because this is a joyous season. Good night! 

Create a Journal Page with Vintage Christmas and Allie!

It's no secret in my household that I love Christmas music. My husband actually has to stop me from playing Christmas music as early as October. One of my favorite things about Christmas music is the memories of Christmas that it brings up. One of my very favorite songs is "Deck the Halls," because it reminds me of so many great times decorating the house for Christmas with my family. Inspired by Trina's "Christmas Jingle" challenge, I made this page for my Christmas journal based on my memories inspired by "Deck the Halls." I'm usually a very clean and linear (and digital!) kind of gal, but when Trina sent me a package of vintage Christmas papers, I just had to use them! And I love how this page turned out! Allie Trumpower of Alexandra Rae Design and Document Life Workshop works in marketing by day, but by night is a crafty designer, a photographer, and a memory keeper. She loves list making, great design, memory keeping, pinterest,twitter, and instagram– and loves meeting new people via social media! Follow along with her craft project and every day life on twitter and instgram at @abandy.

Thank you, Allie, for stopping by!  You can find my Christmas paper packs here if you'd like to use some of the same vintage papers that Allie used on her page.  Aren't they fun?

Playing along with us?  Use the hashtag #fivedaysofjingles on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and tag me @feedthebirdies . You can also link us up in the comments on this post.  Can't wait to see what you are making this week!

My Favorite Things: A Vintage Gift of Pencils

Pencils?  Yes, pencils.  I'd be tickled all red and green to get these for a gift.  I love old pencils, and they are plentiful at estate sales, so you can find them almost any time! This little package also reminds me of this song...

Go ahead and sing along while you read!  (Are you going to watch it this week?  I can't wait...it's been years since I have seen it.)

I've also figured out that a vintage coin roll paper (dime size) is perfect for wrapping three pencils.  Isn't that cool?

Here's what you need:

• old pencils
• vintage coin roll paper
• ric rac, lace, or ribbon
• shipping tag
• vintage Christmas gift tag
• washi
• vintage dictionary page
• felt christmas tree, snowflake, or some similar ephemera (I found my tree in a bunch of old ornaments at an estate sale...isn't it darling?)

Put your pencils in the coin wrapper.  I added a strip of vintage dictionary page about an inch wide and just wrapped it until it was all used.  Adhere it to the coin wrapper.  Attach the felt tree.  Wrap lace around the bottom of the tree and then ric rac around the middle.  Adhere the vintage gift tag to the shipping tag and add some washi tape for flare.  Tie the tag to the pencils with the ric rac ends.

I know just who is going to get this little present.  I made it with her in mind, and she's as crazy over pencils as I am.

Want to show us how you'd wrap a little pack of pencils like this?  I'd also like to try it with the big fat yellow pencils, too.  Wouldn't you?

Play along using the hashtag #fivedaysofjingles and tag me on Instagram and Twitter @feedthebirdies.  You can also link us up in the comments!

See you this afternoon with a special guest, Allie from Alexandra Rae Design.  Yay!

Deck the Halls: A Gift Card Pocket

My boys were here this weekend and we spent lots of time on a mini staycation watching the big cats get their turkeys, shopping for RV supplies for Gram and Papa, and eating tons of food that is soooo bad for us. When they are gone, oh, how I miss them.  Tonight, I got a text from my younger one saying to check out this YouTube video: 

You've seen it, right?  It's our favorite. It makes us smile every time, and this time it made a tear fall...I miss them so much.

Several fun things started yesterday, like 30 Days of Lists and December Daily, and lots of you probably spent December 1 decking your own halls.  Here's a little project you could use for any the above, or to make an advent calendar, or to store a gift card for a friend!

Here is another simple and fast little project using a mini kraft bag (gift card size) and some vintage and new embellishments. 

You will need:

• mini kraft bag
• adhesive
• ribbon or lace
• vintage slide mount you can get from my shop here
• christmas postage (or other ephemera) you can get here
• any other bit you would like to add

I cut my number 1 from a vintage flash card from my stash.  It's ok to cut them up! 

Adhere all of your goodies to the bag in any manner you wish, making a collage on top of the bag.  I added a vintage Christmas to/from tag inside and will add a gift card for our exchange with family.

What will you do with yours?  Please link us up in the comments and/or use the hashtag #fivedaysofjingles on Instagram or Twitter.  Tag me, @feedthebirdies . Glad you stopped by!

White Christmas: Take Your Friend a Coffee

One of my favorite, favorite, favorite singers of all time is Bing Crosby.  And his Merry Christmas album is front and center of my collection, year round.  Don't you love to hear him sing "White Christmas?"


And while your dreaming of a white Christmas, you could be dreaming of a white mocha, right?  
There are lots of altered Starbucks sleeves if you search Google for them, but I haven't quite found one like this.  Whip this one up, run through the drive thru, and take a friend a little cheer this season.  It's super simple, but it looks like you spent all day!  

Here is what you will need:

• a starbucks cup sleeve
• white acrylic paint
• vintage dictionary page
• hot glue
• a button
• adhesive
• glitter or mika flakes
• baker's twine
• any vintage or new embellishments you love

First, paint over the Starbucks logo with white paint.  Just brush it over lightly, leaving it a bit washed looking.

For the flower: Fold your dictionary page accordion style from top to bottom, making folds about every inch. Then snip across the stack of folds about every 1/4 inch.  Stop cutting before you reach the other side, about 1/4 inch, making a fringe.  Fluff the fringe.

Put a dot of hot glue on a small circle of cardstock to make the base of your flower, and wind your fringe clockwise.  Add more glue as necessary to make your flower.

Put a dot of glue in the middle of your flower and add a button. 

Before you glue your flower to the sleeve, layer some vintage ephemera or new embellies.  I used a ticket from Tim Holtz, a vintage grocery store stamp (like S&H Green Stamps), a copy of an old photo, a shopping tag, some wooden letters from Studio Calico, wood snowflake, and mica flakes.  You could also use glass glitter or just regular glitter as well.  It would be cute with pink glitter, don't you think? 

I made the shipping tag and "immediate attention" tag stick out a bit.  You could add a little note on the tag if you want to. 

Glue on your flower (I used hot glue again), and then wrap one end of the sleeve with any color baker's twine, like you see in this photo. 

Now, go make your run to the coffee shop, add your sleeve, and take it to your buddy.  I'm sure they will be thankful.  Oh, and make sure you tell them to listen to White Christmas while they enjoy it!  
If you are looking for some vintage goodies to use on yours, I have lots of fun things in my paper packs here and here. 
If you make a sleeve, please share a link with us below!  Use the hashtag #fivedaysofjingles and tag me, @feedthebirdies on Instagram and Twitter.  I'm off to dream of a white weekend, and hope the weather man is right this time! 

My legitimate fear of estate sales

I really am afraid of what happens at estate sales.  Not the part where people are shopping but the part where they are prepping the place.  And it's a legit fear, you guys. I worry about this every time I go.  And I come in on the latter part of the sale, so the fear of the unknown makes it worse.

That makes me all nervous for what happens when a novice company comes in to run their first or first few sales, and might not know what they are doing.

So, here's the deal.  What if they (the team putting the sale together) doesn't want to mess with a box they found in the bottom of the desk drawer so they just pitch it before they look inside?  What if there were Dennison mailing labels in that desk, but only a few left, so they pitch those too (I have to look HIGH and LOW to find those darn things, and very RARELY do I find them around here.  They are so hard to come by.) What if they pitched a bag of crap from the "junk" drawer of the house and there were cool postcards in there that they missed?  Or what if the family tossed them before the team came in? What if there was a Trapper Keeper with a cat on it full of notebook paper from a Five and Dime, but someone's name was written on it in Sharpie and they wrote a to do list on the first page so it was filed away in the dumpster?

You know as well as I do, that when you are cleaning out, PAPER is one of the first things that gets tossed. It's much easier to let go of a birthday card than it is to let go of the present, right?  I know, I do it too.  And I'll be the first to tell you to minimize and live simply and don't keep what you don't NEED.

Before I get to far on my thoughts, here is what I DO know about what goes on when they prep the sale.

1. Most companies, including the one that did OUR SALE, will tell you not to throw ANYTHING away. People will buy anything. That is true.  I just bought some Play Doh cans from the 70s to use as pencil cups in my classroom. They were buried in a box of molded toys, and yours truly dug to the bottom just to make sure there wasn't a treasure in there...and....BINGO! 
2. Sometimes even the estate company can overlook things...we found original WWII pictures and letters that were buried in the owner's manual of an old drill my husband bought.  Who do you think wishes they hadn't missed that? 
3. I've been to several sales where they package little "grab bags" in Ziplocs that have been known to disguise treasures.  That's how I got these awesome slides.  Aren't they great?  They were in a bag of pencils in a little box.  And the picture above shows part of the contents of a Ziploc at an estate a few weeks ago.  Fun!
4. I DO think that companies are very careful when they prep a sale, but they sure do pile up a lot of trash bags!!  What's in those?  (I've been known to look, people.  Nothing good has come of it yet.)
5. If you work with a GREAT COMPANY like we did, you don't have to worry about any of this. Whitney is fabulous if you need a company in the DFW area. 

So, does my fear sound legitimate?  Or do I have my heart set on a big box of airmail labels or restaurant receipts that I'll probably never find?  (Wouldn't it be cool to have original Dairy Queen order tickets? These are the things I think about, in case you have ever wondered.)

Do you worry that they throw something away that you might want?  I know we can't take it ALL home with us, but what if they pitched that ONE thing you have looked for several years?   Oh, and what about that BUTLER's CHAIR I posted about on Sunday?  Who is responsible for that oversight, I wonder?

Or, do you worry about something else?  Germs, smell, rats?  Or that the owner of the home will be there, too?  That happens.  My next item on my to-do list is to interview one of them.

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving, my friends.  Thanks for stopping by! 

It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter...Five Days of Jingles is coming up soon!

Here's something to get your winter creative mind opened up!  This is one of my favorite songs of the season.  Especially since we got NO snow this past weekend when we were supposed to get dumped on.

This song is the inspiration for a winter white paper project that I'll share with you on December 2 during my blog party, 5 Days of Jingles.  Hope you are joining us, and bring your friends!

We will be featuring Alexandra Rae Design and NerdNest with some cool projects for you to try!  These girls know their stuff when it comes to Project Life and paper craft!

You can also grab this image to share on your blog.  Please link it back to my site, and, if you do, let me know!  I have a special little treat for you during the party.  Thanks so much for playing along!

Postage Project (1): How to Create a Bunting Using Vintage Postage

You can create a bunting very simply using vintage postage and baker's twine.  Buntings are very popular at parties and for holiday decor, and tiny ones are precious on a cake or in a little display of bottle brush trees!

Here's my big ol' box of postage stamps!

You will need:  vintage postage stamps (how many depends on how long or how many buntings you will make), baker's twine (any color...I used solid red from Martha Stewart's craft line), and wood skewers or very small dowel rods cut to fit your display.

How To:  
1.  Lay out your postage and determine the length of your bunting.  You can also arrange them in how you would like for them to appear.
2.  Cut your baker's twine about 12 inches longer than the line of postage you have created. (You will need about 6 inches on each side if you wish to tie a bow or if you'd like some twine dangling from the skewer.)
3.  Use craft glue to put a tiny line of glue near the top of the back of the postage stamp, turn the stamp over, and press the glue into the baker's twine.  Don't worry, this holds up really well.  (I used Elmer's craft glue.)
4.  Continue placing postage along the baker's twine.
5.  Allow to dry an hour or two.
6.  Tie the ends of the twine to your skewers or dowel, and then display your bunting!

I made a double one for a cake for a very special little girl's fundraiser, and I think the bunting just makes the display! I also made some little cupcake picks to go along with them.  Package tags, too!

Vintage postage will be listed in the shop tonight if you would like to make your own!  It's a quick, simple little craft that adds quite a bit of whimsy to your table top!

Holiday Extravaganza with Rukristin Papercrafts!

Hi friends!  I'd like to let you know of a little party going on over at a fellow blogger's site.  She's a sweet friend and super talented crafter, and she's got lots of fun things planned for Small Business Saturday and throughout that weekend!  Above is the sneak peek of one of the projects I am working on for the party.  Here are the details!

Mark Your Calendars!

Join me, and some amazing guest bloggers, this Black Friday Weekend (November 29-30) for a Holiday Extravaganza blog party!

What exactly is a blog party?

A blog party is an online get-together to celebrate a special occasion with lots of guest posts, challenges, DIYs, tutorials, games, prizes, and a ton of fun.

Starting at midnight on Friday, November 29th — there will be a new blog post each hour —  guest posts, challenges, DIYs, tutorials, games and more.

How do I ‘Get My Craft On?’

There will be 10 creative challenges posted throughout the weekend. Get crafty with us and share original projects inspired by these challenges and be entered to win some fantastic prizes.

We’ll be giving out hundreds of dollars worth of giveaways and prizes throughout the weekend, so make sure to set aside some time to get your craft on!

What supplies do I need?

I will provide a more comprehensive supply list early next week, but there will be lots of memory-keeping and paper-crafting challenges. So print extra photos, stock up on adhesive, and pull your favorite supplies from your stash, because we are going to get our craft on!

I can’t craft that weekend, can I hang out and chat?

Absolutely! Each of the blog posts have a comment system at the bottom, and we’ll be chatting on the Holiday Extravaganza facebook event page, and on instagram and twitter using the hashtag #holidayextravaganza.

What should I do right now?

• Bookmark this page - rukristin.com/blog/holidayextravaganza/  This will be the main event page. A running list of all challenges, tutorials, games, and prizes will be posted here starting Friday, November 29th at Midnight EST.
• Grab a badge here and wear it proudly!
• Sign up for the rukristin mailing list. You’ll get exclusive discounts & a free copy of the brand-new 2014 Currently journaling card (coming later this November).
• Spread the word! Write a blog post, share the news on facebook or tweet about it!

There are sneak peeks over here!  I'll see ya at the party! 

Five Days of Jingles: How to paper craft your Christmas!

If you love Christmas music as much as I do, you've been streaming it in your car since the last hour of Halloween.  It's relaxing and cheerful, and I love to imagine myself in snow on the streets of New York City taking pictures in front of the tree in Rockefeller Center.  Don't you?  It's a magical time of year, and I believe that my creativity gets an extra spark during the season.  There's a chill in the air, but my home is warm and my craft table is piled high with all kinds of pretty things to create with. And, whether your shopping is done or not, we only have 42 more sleeps 'til Christmas!

The first week of December, I'll be hosting a fantastic party, Five Days of Jingles!  I'll be posting simple yet beautiful ideas--inspired by my favorite Christmas songs-- (using vintage, of course, and new papers) for you to paper craft your Christmas each day. I'll also be featuring other popular bloggers and their projects. That's two projects each day for five days!  Saturday of that week we will wrap it up with two more surprises (after all, there are TWLEVE days of Christmas!). Just think of how much you can get done in a little amount of time each day if you spend it with us.  We'd love to have you!

If you want to craft along,  use the hash tag #fivedaysofjingles on Facebook and Instagram. If you blog about what you create, send me a link (feedthebirdies@gmail.com) and I will send you a discount code for my shop!

From my art journal: today sucks.

But a little bit of paint, glitter, and some classical music and it's all good.

Collage a Dressing Gown

Sometimes it's hard to cut up vintage papers, but, remember how you would cut pictures from catalogs and sale ads and paste them to your wish list? You only cut out and kept the things you loved, right? It's the same with old paper. Cut flowers from stationery and tear up an old dictionary page. Trim ruffles from the dress of a belle on wrapping paper and tear apart some postage stamps. It works. Don't you think? You'll find papers just like these in my shop on Friday! 

I used: 1967 Neiman-Marcus Christmas Book image, vintage Current Fold A Notes(cut flowers), National Geographic map of flowers, 1950 dictionary, S&H green stamp, 1960s wrapping paper, butterfly flash card (wings), black and white copy of an old photo. 

Memory Keeping Disneyland Style: 7 Tips for Your Visit

Hello there!  I had grand plans to blog from Disneyland this past week, but the excitement and the magic of the whole experience took the front seat this time.  If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. It's been about 30 years for me, so it was all new again. Wow!

I'll share the whole trip with you in a few parts, but I thought I would start with the most important, especially for those that haven't been in a while or don't go often...how to keep up with everything that happens so you don't forget being at the happiest place on earth.  Because it really is. 

You'll remember that I made a mini book out of a 1970 postcard book from Disney that I found at an estate sale.  I can tell you right now that it is not NEAR enough room to house everything I kept, remember, wrote, etc.  It's going to take a full Project Life album to keep it all together.  However, that little book will be very cute on my desk at work with wallet sized prints of our trip! 

Here are some tips from a Disney newbie for keeping up with the all of the experience. I know the photos below are going to look a lot alike, but bare with me.  You won't want to miss this story. 

1.  We used four cameras.  That sounds like a lot, right?  But, we took a point and shoot, our two iPhones, and then Disney has a photo pass service that uses a card they scan and you can look your photos up online and purchase.  They aren't cheap, but they are good.  Having four perspectives was awesome. 

2.  We didn't buy an autograph book for Katie, but we did have the princesses and characters either sign on their postcard page from the 1970 book or on a page from the mini book.  They loved looking at and signing the old postcards as much as we did, and Tiana was especially proud of New Orleans from the 70s.  I bet she wasn't even born then...ha.  If you can find something vintage for them to autograph, it's a pretty neat keepsake.  I'll have vintage Disney ephemera in my shop when it launches next week! Yay!

3.   I wasn't very good at writing down little moments, and I wish I had been better, but I will get them down in the next day or so.  Most are still pretty vivid.  If nothing else, pack a little notepad and a pen or Sharpie in your backpack.  It's super hard to stop and write it all down while you are there, but you might have a few minutes while you wait in lines.

4.  There are all kinds of little things that you will miss at first or miss altogether, like taking a picture of the sign declaring the park "the happiest place on earth."  I waited until it was too dark and missed it.  Keep an eye out and hopefully you will catch a few shots to add to your book.

5.  I went a little overboard in keeping EVERYTHING.  Down to the last receipt and to the point of wanting to cut up the Starbucks cup I had tea in at the new one in the park.  William said that was ridiculous, but, hey, it had Starbucks AND Disney on it.  I was starstruck.  (Side note:  I also took pictures of our hotel and kept their super cool business card with the old photo of the original place on the front. More on that later)

6.  DO keep your park tickets, parking passes, maps, and photo passes.  They fit perfect in PL pages, and they are covered in all things Disney.    We kept two of each map from each of three days.  They changed each time, mainly because we were also there for the Halloween party and parade.

I bet you're wondering when I will tell you about our magical experience, right?  Here we go.  The lines. One thing I will say, is that Disney has organization down to a science.  The lines might be long, but the wait times are pretty true to life, and we were never disappointed for waiting.  That being said, don't pass up a line and pass up an awesome experience in turn.  We were last in line to see Cinderella. And, guess what happened?  Read on.  Magic.

There is usually a cast member at the end of each line to meet a character that helps direct traffic and also ends the line when time is almost up.  Cinderella didn't have one that day, so she asked William to politely let the other families know that we were the last family she would greet at that time.  He did, and it was terrible to turn away little girls waiting to meet her.  So...

We got to her, last in line, and she signed our little book on a "Wishes" page.  She thanked us for helping her and said, "Could I take your little princess for a walk?"  I almost burst into tears.  She took Katie by the hand and walked her through the Town Square, and had a little chat with her.  Other little children would wave and shout hello to her...she would wave back...and turn immediately back to Katie and continue walking with her.  I don't know how many pictures William and I took of them walking together from behind...we stayed back and let Katie have that moment...and didn't hear what they said.  But we sure did recognize the voice.  At the end, two hugs and a farewell...

And we have it captured on our three cameras, plus a photo at the beginning from Disney's photo pass.  So I don't feel one bit bad for using them all.  I may not be able to tell you what Cinderella said to Katie, but I can tell you how magical it was, and I bet Katie will fill in the details for me as I document them in our book. 

7.  The last tip I have for you as far as keeping things is getting them home if you fly.  I used a simple folding shopping bag from our souvenir purchase to house all my paper things.  Keep it folded, slide them in, and you have pretty sturdy protection to keep them from getting torn, folded, etc.  And it fits in your backpack just fine.  All of the little bits are home safe and sound and ready to be put in a book!  

What magic have you come home with from Disneyland?  What did you keep and what did you toss?  Did I leave anything out that you did and were so happy to have a little snippet to share?