#BlackoutTuesday

Yesterday I participated in Blackout Tuesday over on Instagram and I shared a few things in my stories that I think are important to continue to do better as a country to be antiracist.

I’m still learning and definitely far from perfect, but I’m going to share what I have on my stories and try to update as I find more:

Instagram Hashtags to Watch

Follow or view #MyMagicMatters on Instagram to read the stories from black members of the Disney/Magic community. Listen to their stories and share if you want.

If you are a Wizarding World fan, another great way to find black or other POC creators that share your similar interests is by following or viewing #WizardsOfColor.

Listen to black voices and promote their stories, but don’t follow simply because they are black. Follow or view #WhyToFollowMe on Instagram to understand why it’s important.

Donate

I shared some unsolicited advice about donating, but I think it’s important.

If you don’t have the financial means to donate, watch Stream To Donate: How to financially help BLM with no money / leaving your house. The ad revenue from this video is being donated to a number of organizations that help with bail money for protestors and Black Lives Matter (the video description shares the individual organizations benefiting). It also features some really amazing black artists and should be watched at least once, but if you stream it in the background you will still be helping.
Share organizations that are helping with the Black Lives Matter Movement and ask questions if you’re unsure. A lot of people are sharing where they’ve donated and I’m working on finding organizations to donate to (mostly local to where I live). There are so many out there so do a little research! Most are easy to find. So far I’ve found:
- Bread & Roses Community Fund – helps fund organizations in the Philadelphia area / SE PA that stand for justice issues (including antiracist organizations)
- The Loveland Foundation – provides funding for counseling for primarily Black women and children
  - You can also support The Loveland Foundation through a purchase of a Radical Empathy shirt (which comes in purple and giving me all the CHSA vibes)
If you are making a donation and are employed, check if your employer will match your donation. Many companies have a matching gifts program and you should definitely take advantage of it for any donation you make. My company matches at a rate of 3:1 and that is HUGE. That means when I donate $25 (the minimum for a match), my company donates $75. That’s a $100 minimum. I’ve seen posts that Disney is also matching it’s employees donations – even those on furlough so if you are furloughed, check with your employer as well!

Talk About It

Maybe don’t talk about it with your black friends, a lot of them are tired of us coming to them for everything, but talk to your families and close friends. Educate if necessary; stand up to racist thoughts and non-racist thoughts if they are not antiracist (look into non-racist verses antiracist as well, I’ve learned a lot about that).

Talk with your kids. If you missed it, CNN and Sesame Street did a town hall on June 6 and you can watch it here: Town Hall

Talk about politics. All our lives we’ve been told not to talk about politics because everyone wants to keep the peace – which is another thought altogether (look up what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr has to say about negative peace verses positive peace) – but politics are something meant to be discussed. Come together accross different sides to understand similarities and differences and come from a place of understanding. I am still constantly learning more about politics.

Further than that, VOTE. Don’t just vote in the Presidential elections. Vote in your local elections – some policies are made on the local level and are SO important. Vote in the Primary elections – these votes contribute to who you vote for later and you DO NOT want to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do some research before you vote, too. Find out where your candidates stand on the issues that are important to you and look at what others are saying about that person.

Act

Take part in protests if you can, sign petitions, find out what’s happening in your area! I’ve signed up for Patch updates for my area so that I can be kept up to date on what is happening in the news. You will also be able to see National headlines. Find a local news source you like, find the groups in your area that are organizing events, and follow them. There are a ton of great sources out there that will tell you where the protests will be, other events like candlelight vigils, and clarify or debunk rumors.

As for petitions to sign, here are a few I have seen circulating so far –

Take time to read their stories and educate yourself. These are only a few examples of times our system has failed to be antiracist.

Currently

I’ll be posting any time sensitive information on my Instagram stories (@rogue_princess_) in an effort to keep this post relevant. I’m sure I will follow up with other posts as well but since this one has many of the links, I’ll be updating as I can.

DIY – Leia Hoth Vest

How To Make Princess Leia’s Hoth Vest Out Of Some Old Shirts

You will need:

2 white t-shirts / Men’s undershirts
Sewing Machine (recommended)
White thread
Fiber Fill
Fabric scissors
Regular scissors
Cardboard scraps
Paint
Mod Podge
Glue gun

Making the Badge:

From the cardboard, cut out the following shapes:
- one 4″ x 2.5″ rectangle
- four 0.5″ squares
- one 1.5″ square
Paint the large rectangle black. Paint the 1.5″ square gray/silver. Paint two of the 0.5″ squares light blue, one of them a light orange, and the last one a deep red. Let all pieces dry (NOTE: When I initially made this, I glued and then painted but I found it was difficult to paint so I recommend painting before gluing).
Allowing for at least 0.25″ on each side, use the hot glue gun to glue the 0.5″ squares long the top (long side) of the 4″ x 2.5″ rectangle from left to right: blue, orange, blue, red.
Next glue the 1.5″ square under the first two 0.5″ squares, allowing space between them.
Using the hot glue gun, draw a line of glue vertically on the left side of the badge. Then add a line of glue horizontally from the right side of the 1.5″ square to the edge of the badge.
On the 1.5″ square, use the hot glue gun to make two circles at the top and then two connected ovals at the bottom. Then make two circles out of hot glue to the right of the square.
Paint all the hot glue details with gray/silver paint except for the two dots at the top of the square. These should be painted black.
Once all the paint is dry, coat the entire badge with Mod Podge.

Making the Vest:

Cut the sleeves off of both white shirts. Under the arms, cut a straight line down to the bottom, dividing the shirt in half (back and front).
Cut down the center of the two front halves only and lay all four front panels in a pile.
Using your measurements, draw the outline of your vest front on the top layer and cut out all four layers identically, allowing 0.25″-0.5″ for a seam.
Pile the two back halves of the shirts on top of one another and pin them together.
Sew around the outside of the back of the vest, leaving the bottom open. Turn the back inside out.
Using the fabric from the sleeves that were cut off, cut two 4.5″ x 3″ rectangles.
Cut an “X” into the center of one of the rectangles and fold the inside flaps back, leaving 0.5″ on each side. Sew the flaps down and sew a seam around the inside to hold the rectangle shape.
Pin the two rectangles together with the flaps on the outside and sew around the outside of three of the sides.
Turn the rectangles inside out so that the seams are all on the inside. Slide the previously made badge into the center so that the painted part shows through the opening.
Sew this onto one of the front layers with the side up that will be the left side of the vest. Face this badge side down onto one of the other layers, lining up the edges, and pin.
Pin two remaining layers together. Sew both front panels around the edge, leaving the bottom open, and turn inside out.
You should now have three panels, two front and one back, with the bottoms open. Start stuffing each panel with fiber fill until it is even.
Using your measurements, mark at chest level on all three panels and sew a seam across (NOTE: this should be about an inch under the badge on the left panel).
Fold the bottoms in 0.5″ and pin each panel. Sew the bottom seam.
Next, mark a grid on the bottom half (below the chest seam) to sew the quilted design into the vest. I used a 2.5″ grid but feel free to make it wider or smaller.
Starting at an edge, sew diagonal lines back and forth by connecting the corners of the grid. Complete this on all three panels until the quilted pattern is complete.
Sew a seam all the way around each panel.
Pin the front two panels to the back panel, lining up the arm holes and making sure the badge is face down.
Sew under each arm to the bottom of the vest (be sure to leave enough room for your arm, plus some in case you’re wearing something bulky under it).
Sew the tops of the shoulders.
Turn vest out so that the seams are inside. Try on the vest to make sure everything falls right and all the panels line up. Enjoy!

May the Force Be With You! ❤ Juli

May the 4th Be With You

Happy Belated Star Wars Day!

I had been hoping to get this post out on Monday but I’ve been more than a little busy! If you follow my Instagram, you know that I made this amazing (in my *humble* opinion – LOL) Hoth Leia vest for May the 4th and I wanted to give a little background on my outfit!

If you know me personally, you know I was never a self-proclaimed Star Wars fan. You may also know I had never seen the movies. I sort of just ignored it and knew about Star Wars, but not necessarily anything of substance. In order to explain what happened to change that, I have to go back a little bit. The last week in April, we made the decision to have a Spirit Week at work to get morale up and have a little something extra to look forward to. We weren’t sure what participation would be like, but it was a hit, with team members asking for more! On Tuesday of last week, I had no less than three managers request we celebrate Star Wars Day. I discussed it with my manager and she said “send out the communication”!

So I sent out an email to the team to extend Spirit Week into this week with May the 4th. The only issue was, I had been killing it with my Spirit Week outfits (if I do say so myself) and I had NOTHING for Star Wars Day. I couldn’t let my coworkers down, I couldn’t let Instagram down, I couldn’t let myself down. I had to have something.

The next thing I did was check Amazon and Target and try to find something that would work! Well, I did, but anything I liked wouldn’t arrive until May 5th. Bummer. That’s when I decided I’d just have to DisneyBound / casual cosplay.

I had done a Hoth Leia DisneyBound before — in fact, it was actually my first Star Wars ‘bound back in January of 2017 for the #sothisislove challenge — so that initially came to mind. I had my white track jacket from my honeymoon, my white snow pants (if they still fit), and all I would need would be a white vest. Well, as it turns out, the white vest was the same situation as the t-shirt – hard to find one I liked, and impossible to find one that would arrive on time. It was at that point that I had another idea – I would make my vest. I ordered a pack of white shirts at Walmart for store pick-up and was ready to go! Unfortunately, my order was cancelled by the store, so I was back at square one.

After a lot of thinking, that night I asked my husband if he had any old undershirts that were maybe stained or ripped that I could use for a project. He said he did – not that they were ruined, but a particular brand was too short on him so I could use those shirts. It wasn’t like he was dressing up any time soon anyway so he wasn’t wearing them either. I was excited!! I could still complete the project and I wouldn’t even have to spend money!

Late Wednesday night, after Elizabeth went to sleep, I pulled four white undershirts from my husband’s drawer and brought them upstairs to my sewing table. I cut the sleeves and collar off of two of them (together so that they would line up) and then started pinning. Since my husband told me the shirts were on the shorter side and I wanted my vest to be a bit longer, I had already decided I was going to add a bit of length to the bottom. I also decided that I needed to have pockets because, why make anything without pockets? Disclaimer: I had never made clothing before and I also am not a big pattern person. I pretty much free handed this with a few measurements here or there. If you are reading this and want to make your own vest, you may want to take more measurements than I did and think things through a bit. For instance, when I cut the collar out, I forgot to separate the back from the front so the back dips down and I didn’t love it. I may go back sometime and add a collar to this though, so it may not matter in the long run. Depends on if I ever get the inspiration.

So night one I really just wanted to get the shape together. After pinning everything, I brought out my sewing machine and sewed the seams for the initial vest, leaving the bottom open. Note to clothing sewing newbies: Do Not Sew the sleeves! I thought I was so good sewing around the sleeves and all – until I tried to turn it back inside out!

The beginning of night two was spent watching Elmo’s World with my daughter and using a seam ripper to take out all the seams around the sleeves…whoops! The good thing that came from that was that I now had a good spot to fold so I could sew the seams in from the outside. After bedtime, I headed up to the attic again to work on the vest. I first sewed the arm seams (from the outside this time) and then started stuffing the top with some cotton stuffing I already had from when I made eyes for Dom’s Oscar the Grouch sweatshirt. Then I sewed a seam across the chest where the sort of quilted part would be below it. After I finished that, I decided that I wanted a little context for my vest. Since (as stated above) I had never seen Star Wars, I had been googling pictures for Leia’s Hoth vest and the image quality was just poor. I wanted to watch the scenes with her wearing it but I knew I needed to start at the beginning if I was going to do this right. So I propped up my phone and watched the first half hour of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. I then watched the second half hour on my lunch break the next day and was completely hooked.

Night three was the difficult part. I had to sew all of the diagonal lines to give the vest a quilted feel. I had measured out and marked the vest the night before, thankfully, so I had a 2 1/2″ square grid to work with. I chose a spot, and started sewing. I went down one diagonal and up another and just kept adding the stuffing as I went to make it as even as possible. By the end of night three, I had completed the first half of my vest! Feeling successful, I watched the end of A New Hope and was both hooked on the story line and in love with Han Solo. For real, he is so funny and cute and stubborn and sentimental. I really love Leia, too, and Chewie, and R2D2. Luke is okay, I guess. And C3PO bugs the heck out of me. But I hear he gets better.

Anyway, morning four started with the first hour of The Empire Strikes Back and oh my gosh it’s awesome! I took note of the times for decent shots of Leia’s vest so that I could come back to them while sewing. I loved the Leia / Han back and forth and they are the cutest – but I’ve always been about the romance so don’t mind me over here in love while there’s a war and stuff going on…

Nap time on day four had me on the bottom half of the vest. I measured out just like I did the top. I used just one shirt for this part and folded it up so that the bottom didn’t need to be sewn, only the two sides. I drew out the grid / connect the dots for the diagonal quilted sections and then went for it. I then measured for pockets, cut out the pocket flap, and did a ton of pinning. I knew that sewing the top to the bottom would be the hardest part to get right, but the easiest to sew since it was only a straight line. This meant the pins had to be perfect and I had to line up the stitch just right. I made the pockets so that they were flush to the front edge and the bottom and came up higher than the bottom section of the vest. I made the pocket flaps to be longer as well so they stuck out enough to be sewn into the seam as well. I also sewed down the seam of the pocket in order to avoid accidentally sewing the pocket shut. Once I had like a million pins in place, I sewed the entire seam across at once and was ridiculously happy that my plan worked! After it was all together, I sewed a seam all the way around the outside for a more finished look.

During nap time on day five, I still needed to do some hand sewing and finish The Empire Strikes Back. It was SO good. Like, all the quotable quotes from the series were in this part and it was just so awesome! Han getting shipped away was, obviously, not cool, but I’ve not avoided spoilers for the last 32 years of my life so I knew they’d be reunited. I watched as I hand sewed, so what might have been a quick sewing project took a little longer because of this. The last seam of the pockets needed to be done by hand so that the seam wouldn’t be seen from the inside, and then I had to figure out the badge. Note: This hand sewing isn’t necessary if you decide to make the vest in panels or sew a seam down the side. I regret not making the vest in panels. I should have made the back and the two sides separately and then sewn them all together afterwards. It would have made the pockets less of a headache and I would have had the side seams I initially was going to add but then didn’t. I’m happy with the way it came, but this also would have given it a more fitted look and feel that I didn’t get with mine. Making the badge was actually really fun for me. I grabbed a pizza box from dinner the night before and my hot glue gun and cut out the shapes I wanted. I then did other details with the glue. Once dry, I took out my acrylic paints and mixed to get the colors exactly the way I wanted them as similar to the original as possible. I painted the cardboard and glue and then allowed that to dry, trying to come up with an answer to “how do I attach this so that it sits right and is removable so I can wash the vest?”

That answer came when my husband returned from the food store and asked me to fix his mask (I had used old hair ties and one of his had broken). I ran upstairs, fixed both his mask and another that had broken, and made another mask for myself to wear for Star Wars Day. I used more of the undershirt and used fabric paint to draw/paint the logo of the Rebellion on one side. As for my badge, I had decided to make sort of a pocket in the vest to fit my badge into. I cut an “x” into the vest where it would go and folded the fabric under to make clean edges. To give this section some structure, I cut up the old hair tie that had broken in my husband’s mask (it was a thick one) and sewed that in to keep the shape as well as make sure the corners didn’t come apart. I didn’t like that the stuffing was sort of just out there, so I then sewed another piece of fabric behind the opening, leaving enough hanging over to hold the badge. It worked perfectly BUT it would have worked better if I had thought of this before sewing anything to begin with. If I were to do it over, I would have sewn the pocket in before ever turning the vest right-side out and stuffing it which means, I recommend making the badge first. For me, for this project, I left it to the end because if I didn’t finish on time I wasn’t worried about all the details, but if you have the time and can make it first, do so. Also, I would have coated the badge with mod podge but I could not find mine. I figured it was fine for a day and when I find my mod podge I will coat it then.

I was so happy with the finished project that I had to put it on and show Dom! I also did my hair so that I didn’t have to do it in the morning before work.

I tried on my white snow pants, but they were a little too snug so I ended up wearing my white maternity pants from back before I had Elizabeth. Then they ripped at work and I put on shorts but that’s another story altogether! Luckily, my white track jacket looked perfect with it so the look just worked. I received lots of positive feedback on it and am so proud of it!

On the night of the 4th I watched Return of the Jedi and last night I bit the bullet and watched Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Return of the Jedi was perfect and I absolutely loved it. I was super nervous for Episode 1, because I thought I had watched it when it first came out and hated it, but it turns out I hadn’t watched it, or it wasn’t at all what I remembered so I’m completely wrong about seeing it and am now really confused as to what I actually saw that was long, boring, and turned me off to the Star Wars franchise. I’ll find out tonight if it was Episode 2. But Episode 1 wasn’t terrible. After the original trilogy, I definitely was craving finding out more about Anakin so this was interesting to me. Again, I know a bit from just seeing it in media, etc, but I enjoyed the backstory and I’m ready to find out more.

To wrap it up, I love my vest so much and it is even more special to me because I made it myself, designed it myself, and know I can make any changes or adjustments I may want for the future. It’s also nice and cozy because of the cotton of the shirts and the stuffing making it puffy. I almost want to wear it every day! If you plan on taking on this project, May the Force be with you! It’s hard work and fun and message me if you need any advice.

May the Force be with you, always, Juli / Leia

PS I made my husband have a mini photo shoot with me as Han and Leia on Monday night. 😉

Earth Day 2020

While we are stuck in our COVID quarantines this year, it’s a really great time to remember the Earth and be mindful of how we are treating it. Sustainability has been on my mind this year and I’d already started making a few changes from the beginning of the year. I’ve been inspired by a number of people, all of whom are better at it than I am, but I’m making this a serious effort for the year (and not just Earth Day) and beyond.

Microfiber cloths / Cloth napkins. Earlier this year I bought microfiber cloths (a pack of 12) in an effort to replace our napkins and paper towels. While we still use paper towels occasionally, it has seriously changed the frequency and we’ve been using SO MUCH LESS! While it was hard to get the family on board right off the bat (my 1.5 year old tried to throw them out once or twice), we’ve been at it for about 4 months and it has been working well. I also found other cloths in the back of our linen closet that I pulled out and added to our pile in an effort to reduce wash cycles.

Reusable metal straws. I had initially figured we’d bring them with us when we were out, etc, but in the current time being at home, these are used a lot less. Although, I will say that when I do want to use a straw, it’s handy to have them around. We will see if they get the intended traction from us once we are going out again.

Reusable utensils. When not at home, I have hard plastic spork/knife combos that I always pack in my lunch box. My goal is to not use any throw-away utensils and it’s been working well so far (but I’m also not going anywhere other than work). I also have a wooden fork/spoon combo that I bought in college that I tuck into my purse. It’s my favorite as it also has sentimental value.

Reusable cozies. You know the kind of cozies you put around your beverage when it’s hot? I have a number of those I like to reuse as well. Bought my first one in college at the same fair where I bought my wooden spoon/fork. Also to note, if you frequent a Starbucks or Wawa, you can use refillable mugs/containers as long as you are able to tell them the ounces at check-out. This has been awesome for me because I like to use mine at Wawa. During this time, however, some shops (our local Wawa, at least) are not allowing you to use refillables for anything prepared for you to limit the spread of germs and protect their employees.

Cloth face masks. This is more specifically related to COVID-19, but it is so important as well. As I talked about last week, I am still at work and making my own masks. I now have 5 masks myself so that I am only doing laundry once a week (to also cut down on wasting water and energy that way). My work provides a mask every day to every team member but I have not used any because (a) I can make my own and have pretty fabrics, (b) our supply is limited (globally and from a company standpoint) and I want to ensure that our team members keep getting them if they do not have the same resources I do, and (c) it’s less wasteful and (as far as research shows right now) has the same effect (based on type of masks provided by our company and types of masks created by me).

I’m also planning on starting some new projects when I have time like making my own produce bag and looking into alternative feminine products as well as starting to potty train my daughter.

Now for my Earth Day fun!

This year I was inspired by The Lost Bros Wilderness Explorer Nature Hunt that they shared to their Instagram story last week. I saved a screen shot and decided to take my daughter on a Nature Hunt in our backyard. That’s about when different projects and fun started to take place!

First I made our Wilderness Explorer Backpacks and asked my friends to tell me what they would pack in their backpack! My daughter used hers for her rock collection when we took our trip outside – LOL. I also wanted an activity my daughter could participate in so I printed a template to make our own Wilderness Explorer Pennants and we colored them with crayons. we then attached them to sticks we found on our hunt and stuck them in our backpacks!

I also created Virtual Badges that we could attach to our pictures from the day as we went through our Nature Hunt checklist! These were a ton of fun to use to jazz up our pictures. I had initially thought about making stickers for my daughter to put on her own vest, but that didn’t feel too sustainable so I changed my mind.

Yesterday, Disney came out with their own series, Wilderness Explorers at Home which is going to be a series of short videos and badges you can earn through the My Disney Experience app. I couldn’t get it to work yesterday, so we’re starting today and looking for animals outdoors! I’m looking forward to earning these badges as well 🙂

One last thing I’ve seen a lot today is painted planters made from recyclables. In college, when I first really started focusing on sustainability, I painted a number of jars in save the earth style and used them to save can tabs and actually make jewelry from them. I can’t believe I forgot about this but now I plan to use those same jars as planters! We are not the best at keeping plants alive in my house, but I have four cacti that are going strong so I have high hopes!

Finally – the style part –

My initial Wilderness Explorer outfit: yellow shirt, brown shorts, girl scout sash (with most of my Girl Scout patches that were circle shaped sewn on), orange bandanna, socks and sneakers.

I wore to work my Wall-E outfit: black and white striped dress with my golden jumper over, striped belt, striped headband, boots, and Every Day is Earth Day necklace. I’m holding my work plant since I’m at work and wearing my bee mask.

After-work Wilderness Explorer outfit: yellow sweatshirt, burgundy leggings, orange headband, Wilderness Explorer backpack & pennant.

What are you doing for Earth Day?

❤ Juli

Bounding with Masks

You guys. The world is changing. COVID-19 has turned so many things on it’s head and I don’t think anyone anticipated what it has become. While staying home and staying safe are the new normal, I am constantly struggling to understand where I fit in.

In the beginning it felt strange, going to work when it feels like everyone else is staying home, and I struggled a bit knowing my job was “essential to healthcare” but not actually healthcare. I was given a glimmer of hope when my boss confided that she was trying to get us work from home status, but the reality sank in that we couldn’t truly work from home when I had to print 600 letters of essential worker status for our building.

For those of you who don’t know, I work in Human Resources at a Distribution Center. My company is in the MRO industry, which stands for Maintenance, Repair, and Operating materials. Basically, we supply other companies with products they need to operate; some major customers are in government and healthcare, thus, our “essential” status.

Being in HR, I handle any team members coming directly to the office. I also handle reports, confidential information, etc, but I need to be present mostly because so much of our jobs deal with paper documents still. I really couldn’t complete a few of my reports without paper handed to me from leaders, and someone needs to be here to review medical notes, answer team member questions and concerns, and, oh yeah, apparently conduct wellness checks on our team members who are calling out sick.

I enjoy my job, truly, and being in the office provides a sense of normalcy that I know my friends and family working from home don’t have. I have a routine and it’s very much similar to what it was before the quarantine began (aside from not seeing friends and family and going out for dinner, that is). The major differences are what happens when I arrive.

Pulling into the parking lot, I scan my badge to get through the gate. I pull into my normal parking spot, far enough away from the building that I get a small walk in but close enough that it’s not the back of the lot. I then put on my mask and gloves and head for the building where, starting very soon, I will get my temperature scanned before entering.

The first new normal was Social Distancing. Signs showed up around the building reminding us to stand 6-feet apart. Hand washing signs also went up and communications went out to all team members to abide by them all. Next, the extra conference rooms were locked, extra cleaning crew was brought in for extra building cleanings, and tables and chairs were removed from the break rooms to make space for social distancing. Oh, and they closed the gym, of course.

Next we were all given masks every day to wear during work. It was voluntary at first, but now is mandated by the governor. I had really been wanting to wear a mask but didn’t want to scare team members into thinking I might be sick so this mandate came at the perfect time. I decided to make my own. More on that in a bit.

This week, the new mandate was gloves. I wasn’t informed of it but my boss told me about halfway through the day that I needed to be wearing them and where I could find them. That has been a struggle since I spend a lot of time on the computer and gloves just don’t work with that too well. We’re getting by.

The next big move is going to be temperature screening. Today senior leaders were outside our window practicing scanning team members’ and deciding where to put the people who come up too high. It was beyond distracting but I think it will become the new normal by next week.

Anyway, if you’ve gotten this far, the real reason I’m talking about all of this is because my new normal has inspired a new style for ‘bounding. My foray into sewing a few years back was short-lived — mostly because I got pregnant and ran out of time for it — but I have a number of fabrics (and still do custom work) so it made making masks a natural choice. I started out with one mask, made it reversible, and washed it every night of the first week. That weekend I made myself three more (and a few more for others) and I plan on making one or two more this weekend. I have found a bit of joy in incorporating masks into my ‘bounding since I am still trying to ‘bound daily and have to wear a mask anyway. The first one was sort of inspired and from there I just kept going!

Follow the hastag #boundingwithmasks on instagram to see more! I’ve got much more fun on the way 🙂

Juli

Mad As A Hatter!

The second to last theme for the DisneyBound Challenge this year was Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. My friend Jean (@disneymamaknowsbest) invited Elizabeth and I to ‘bound alongside her and her daughter as the four participants at the Tea Party! She and her daughter chose to represent Alice and the Mad Hatter so Elizabeth and I portrayed the Dormouse and the March Hare!

Jean and I had previously ‘bounded together as the Tweedles over the summer last year and we also discovered last year that our daughters have similar tea sets so we thought it would be super fun to host our virtual tea party together as only the Mad Hatter and March Hare could 😉

It was super fun and I hope to one day get to meet up with them in person, but a virtual tea party was perfect for the current situation and distance between us (>900 miles)!

As the March Hare, I wore my burgundy shirt from Latched Mama (which I bought way back when I was breastfeeding) over brown leggings. I wore a red sweater over it and did my hair in some pig-tail twists that always give me bunny vibes (I think this is based on the old ads of that Nesquik rabbit that’s ears twist up – LOL) and had an orange bow and yellow bow to represent the March Hare’s bow tie and hair. I also threw on some pretty black flats that my mom handed down to me that are super comfy and cute for a day spent inside.

Elizabeth played the part of the Dormouse in a purple onesie, pink pants, and pink fleece. She wore her pink ballet slippers because we weren’t going outside and, again, they were cute and comfy for a day in the house.

Jean and her daughter were super cute also and had the most perfect accessories! Jean says:

Why yes I made my tiny hat it’s actually a Christmas tree topper and out of a yogurt container. Swipe for all the fun pictures and a close up of the rocking horse fly and bread and butterfly lapel pins I made for my mini’s outfit

We loved playing tea party and made Dom take like a hundred pictures but only two or three came out (he doesn’t really have much patience). Together, though, all four of us looked awesome!

Check out our pictures on Instagram and comment here or there if we just made your unbirthday very merry 😉

❤ Juli

DisneyBound Challenge: Ride Characters

Before the challenge started, I was invited to a group message to collaborate with fellow DisneyBounders and discuss plans, possible group bounds, and to support each other through the process by Kelly (@krazykellypics). There were a few group ‘bounds thrown together through this group (2 of my XPICE Girls came from this group) and one of the groups Kelly wanted to put together was a Pirates of the Caribbean group ‘bound for Disney Ride Characters day. I had initially thought of doing Figment and the Dreamfinder for this day since Figment is one of my favorites, but, as I was looking at the picture Kelly sent that she wanted to recreate, I realized I had clothes that would fit one of the pirates well and they were still in need of that one so I volunteered.

The picture (above) is of the three pirates in the jail cell trying to get the attention of the dog with the keys to let them out. I volunteered for the guy in the denim-looking shirt holding out the bone with tan pants and what looked like a shirt tied around his neck as well (it sort of reminded me of my grandmother’s style). My look included a denim shirt I got when I was pregnant that fits more like a dress now, over my tan leggings. I tied a scarf around my neck, and used my white headband in my hair. I still wanted to incorporate Elizabeth into the ‘bound, so I made her the bone (LOL) to post in additional pictures behind the full group pic. Once I got my pictures taken, I edited them to make me look like I was in the ride itself and sent it to the group!

Lizz (@nailizz) was the second to send in her photo and I was able to edit hers in right away. She was ‘bounding as the pirate kneeling to my right, coaxing the dog to come our way. Kelly (@krazykellypics) sent her photo over next, posing as the dog with the key – including her own key necklace! She sent a bunch of really cute poses of the dog, obviously, ignoring us, and it was so perfect. Jamie (@wilderness_explorer_tribe54) was last, but certainly not least, to send over her picture. She ‘bounded as the pirate to my right, trying to catch the dog with a rope. Her rope belt was the perfect addition to this ‘bound and really tied it all together (see what I did there?)!

Collage 2020-03-24 17_11_19.jpg

How did we do? Let me know in the comments or head to instagram – @rogue_princess_ – to let me know there!

❤ Juli

Pretzels in Style 1/6

Hi friends!

As some of you may know, my birthday happens to land on National Pretzel Day (April 26) and over the past few years, I’ve been celebrating in different ways. Typically, Philly Pretzel Factory offers free pretzels and other pretzel companies do similar promotions and I love to make the most of it! Two years ago I tried a bunch of locally made pretzels leading up to my birthday and then reviewed them. Last year I even planned a whole pretzel tour of Lancaster County for myself, Dom, Elizabeth, and my mother and it was awesome! This year, in the midst of COVID-19 lock downs, I decided it would be lots of fun to try to make pretzels myself! I took to Google and found 6 new recipes I’m going to try over the next 6 weeks leading up to my birthday and then tell you all about them. Since this is still a style blog, I am also going to use each post to tell you a little bit about something I have in the pretzel style!

For my birthday a few years ago Dom bought me this really awesome “Feeling Salty” cup from The Glitter Grotto (theglittergrotto.com) and I still absolutely love it. It’s got salty and pretzel style and I love to make some lemonade in it 🙂

I felt cute drinking out of it as the pretzels baked and when they came out of the oven, they tasted great with the lemonade!

The recipe I used this week was from the website Sally’s Baking Addiction (https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/30-minute-whole-wheat-pretzels/) and I think they came out really tasty! My only advice to myself for next time is to watch the pretzels more closely if the recipe calls for them to be in the broiler for more than a minute or two, and to add more salt! I thought I added enough salt, but when I tasted them, they needed more. Another thing I failed to realize was how many pretzels the recipe yielded — there were too many for just the three of us. Next week I may try to make pretzel rolls instead so we can at least eat dinner on them! Since I don’t have much to compare them to, being the first recipe I tried, I will say they were pretty good. Next week I’ll determine if they or the new recipe is better. For now, I’ll give them 4/5 Pretzels! 🥨🥨🥨🥨

Let me know if you’ve tried any good pretzel recipes!

Happy Journey to Pretzel Day! ❤ Juli

DisneyBound Challenge: Fox Acquisition

While planning my ‘bounds for this month, I was stumped at Fox Acquisition day. The only thing that stood out to me from the acquisition was Anastasia, and I hated that movie because it pretty much made me terrified of trains as a kid. Probably an unpopular opinion, but that’s what it did to me.

This led to me searching the internet trying to see what else was acquired and trying to decide if any of it was anything I actually liked. When I saw the X-Men, I was so excited! I honestly don’t know how I forgot that the Fox Acquisition brought the Marvel Universe back together under the same roof, probably because I just keep thinking Marvel Studios is Marvel everything. But I digress. I knew that this would mean ‘bounding as Rogue, of course, but then I had to decide – should I do other ‘bounds as well? What style should it be in? etc.

I remembered the artwork I had purchased at ACBC in 2016 from Michael Calero depicting five X-(wo)Men in the style of the Spice Girls. Reenie and I had talked about doing a group cosplay in that style but never got around to it and so I decided a ‘bound was the perfect opportunity to do so!I put it out there to Reenie and some of my other ‘bounding friends and within a day or two had put a group together! Let me just tell you, I could not have asked for a more talented group than these ladies! I asked for pictures by mid-week so I could edit them together in time for Saturday and, boy, did they deliver.

Katie’s (@bound.and.rebound) picture came in first. She put together an amazing Jubilee look and set the bar high for everyone else. She even managed to add the sunglasses to the top of her head that looked just right!

A few days later Lizz (@nailizz) sent over her ‘bound of Storm. It was of high caliber as well and got me really anticipating how the whole project would come out. I think my favorite part are her black gloves that looked so funky and very Storm.

Since I felt I needed to step up my game, I finally took my pictures a few days later and then began to edit all the pictures together! I initially had an outfit in mind, but when I photographed it, the colors didn’t really work. Instead, I paired my Wolverine tank dress (yes, it may seem weird, but it is yellow with an X-Men belt and under my jacket you can’t see the Wolverine stripes) with my green leggings. I wore my yellow cosplay boots, yellow gloves, and brown jacket. In my hair I wore my white headband to represent her hair (I couldn’t find my green headband too, but it still worked). My goal was to keep it looking like a ‘bound and less like a cosplay and I think I did that. It would have looked weird without the gloves to I needed to leave them in. The pictures this time came out better than I even imagined they would!This was about the time I started my edits and sent out the first draft with just the three of us.

I think that pushed Reenie (@thefangirlsdilemma / The Fangirl’s Dilemma ) to send hers my way (plus, she was waiting to borrow a scarf from her mom) so I received hers the next night! Her Jean Grey was perfect and I quickly added her to my edits so far.

Em (@disneyfan335) was waiting on a piece or two to complete her Kitty Pryde look that came in just in time! She did an awesome job posing as Kitty popping out of the wall and even had her own little Lockheed!

I put my finishing touches on the edited photo and sent it out the day before! When all was complete, it was AWESOME and we also got some likes and shares from Michael Calero (@michaelcalero / www.michaelcalero.com)!

Collage 2020-03-20 14_46_16.jpg

What do you think? Tell me in the comments or head to Instagram and let me know there – @rogue_princess_

❤ Juli

Behind the Bound: Inside Out

Today’s prompt for the March Disneybound Challenge was 1920’s Style. I was really struggling with this prompt because I had no idea how to bound in 20’s style and not make it look like a costume! I had a flapper costume from a party I attended years ago that was red. The red had me trying to come up with a suitable character for that dress. I eventually landed on Iago when my Iago vs Jafar poll during Aladdin week went in favor of Jafar. I promised my followers I would share an Iago look during March, anticipating using that red dress with some blue and yellow accents.

Leading into the month of March I struggled thinking about using the red dress and feeling too costume-y for a disneybound. I started second guessing my choice and was actually considering a Robin Hood or Peter Pan look around Robin Hood day since I also had a cute green dress with beads that I could still pair with the red feather headband. I was really stuck on how to get my daughter involved, though, and could not come up with a character for her or even an outfit! Although I could easily do a bound without her, I love incorporating her into my bounds as well and having someone to bound with.

By the end of last week, schools, churches, counties, all started shutting down due to COVID-19. Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney World all announced park closures and the fear and disappointment started leaking into this typically positive Disney community. Everyone began to talk about what was going on related to the virus and were also thankful for the positivity of the Disneybound Challenge in the midst of it all. By Saturday afternoon I found out my county was locking down on Sunday – putting a halt to all of my plans for my husbands birthday (that I’d been working on since January, mind you). While this was a minimal loss compared to the countless trips and events having to be cancelled world-wide, it was something a lot of people were looking forward to as a distraction from this all and now it would have to wait.

I began thinking about emotions and the movie Inside Out and how I might be able to incorporate it into the challenge in the next few days. I realized that two of my dresses I was contemplating using for 1920’s day would work for Anger and Disgust. I had already done a Dapper Disgust bound as well, so I had a cute headpiece I could pull out that would work for 1920’s style. Anger was pretty straight-forward with the red look. The only issue I had now, though, was that I couldn’t just do two emotions and leave out the rest. Should I reach out to others to do some looks? But then I would still only do one.

I then thought of a blue beaded top that I had from a while back that would look 1920’s for Sadness. It was a dark blue, but that didn’t matter, I could make it work. Fear was a little more difficult because I didn’t have hounds-tooth, but I remembered seeing a lot of Bennie the Cab looks on Roger Rabbit day that incorporated hounds-tooth for checkered looks and realized that black and white stripes could work just as well! I then felt set with four of the five emotions, figuring I could play the rest by ear. The issues came when I actually set out to start photographing the looks.

I searched my closet, the attic, and my dresser and could not find my blue beaded shirt. At long last, I decided to just grab what I needed for the other three and bring them downstairs so that I could start taking photos in the kitchen. I opened the bag that my faux pearl necklace was in, expecting to find my black gloves, but finding my black boa instead. I figured it would work well with Fear, so I started with him. I donned my black and white striped dress (probably my favorite of the lot) and knotted my daughter’s fuchsia necklace around my neck. I grabbed the boa, pinned up my hair, and put on my pearl earrings. I then borrowed a hat from my daughter’s stuffed mule that my mother-in-law had bought her on Wednesday because it was actually a clip and that inspired me. It looked super cute but was pink (oops) so I needed to edit my photo to make it purple instead. I tried a handful of “fear” facial expressions, landing on one I thought looked best.

After that, I changed dresses in the corner of my kitchen, hoping my neighbors couldn’t see in our window! This time I put on my green dress that I never wear because it’s one-shoulder and left on the jewelry but swapped the hat for the fascinator I wore for Dapper Day in 2017. I had practiced my Disgust face a ton in 2017, but I was a little rusty 2.5 years later! After practicing a bit, I finally took a picture I liked.

Next, I changed into my red flapper dress which didn’t even fit past my hips anymore! Luckily I was only taking photos of my top half so no one would be able to tell! I wore it as a top and swapped the fuchsia necklace for my faux-pearls and the fascinator for my red feather headband. This was the look I was afraid would be too costume-y, but combined with the rest, actually looked good.

I then needed to think up my Joy and Sadness looks because I was almost at a loss. I decided to take a break and get my pictures taken for Wednesday instead. While looking for my purple dress, I noticed my Elsa shirt tucked into my closet from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in 2017. I all of a sudden realized how great a blue sequined shirt would be for Sadness! With this game-changer, I rushed to put together my Sadness look. I had already taken my hair down at this point and didn’t feel like doing the same thing again so I opted for some quick braids, wrapping my hair so that it looked a little more 20’s. I then found a blue ribbon when looking for a headband and tied it around my head, topping it off with my daughter’s Elsa bow (hey, if I’m reusing my Elsa shirt, I may as well use an Elsa headpiece too. See the Elsa pose –>). I used my faux-pearls again and felt pretty confident in the bound, but a lot less confident in my frown.

As someone who loves to smile for the camera, looking sad on purpose was a real struggle. I tried and tried and tried and it took me a ridiculously long time to get it right. I think channeling some of Sadness’s arm poses helped a bit, but I was still a little doubtful.

This yellow shirt just didn’t do it for me. Also note the little hand trying to get my attention!

After that I just needed to find the right look for Joy. I was going to use this yellow shirt I have, but it didn’t look right. Eventually (like, a day later), I remembered my yellow dress and decided it would work — it did. I definitely looked Joyful using my blue scarf as a boa and borrowing my daughter’s Elsa bow again. I forgot my earrings, but they’re not really the focal point anyway so it didn’t matter.

That day, my daughter’s play coffee cup that I ordered also came in and I figured it was the perfect opportunity for her to be Rainbow Unicorn. She was already wearing her unicorn pajamas to bed so I added her unicorn sweatshirt and let her ignore me while sipping her coffee. It all worked out great in the end.

After all the posing and face making and changing in the kitchen I added color filters for each photo to reinforce who the bound was supposed to be. I set up my post, decided what to write, and voila! it was ready.

If you made it this far, I also want to let you know that I did all this in sweatpants and bare feet without leaving my house.

Stay Safe out there!! I’m currently still working but I’m here to lend an ear if you need one!

❤ Juli

TL;DR: Instead of Iago, I went crazy and did 5 different looks.