Photo of the Week

Bean and Shaak Ti at Star Wars Weekends

Lowes Build and Grow Summer of Pixar

Have you ever taken your kids to the Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinics? We've taken Bean almost every time since she was 3. She loves being able to build, paint, and decorate the various wooden projects. I love that she has learned how to properly hammer a nail, put in a screw, and paint carefully. And best of all, the Kids Clinics are free!

Lowe's often teams up with various movie companies to make their projects more fun. Last year, they worked with Dreamworks to create four summer projects, two from Shrek and two from Madagascar. My favorite was the Onion Carriage from Shrek. It was hilarious! This year, Lowes is working with Disney and has created six fun new Pixar movie inspired clinics.

The first two clinics are part of the Monstrous Summer leading up to the premiere of Monsters University on June 21. On June 5-6 kids will be building Mike and Sulley Scarers. They're so cute! At the second one, on June 22-23, kids will have a chance to build a chest to store their treasures. It comes with stickers inspired by the Fraternity emblems and logos of Monsters University.

The next two clinics feature vehicles from the Toy Story series. At the July 13-14 clinic, kids will build the Pizza Planet Delivery Truck. Once decorated with the stickers, it looks just like the one in the movies! And the second, July 27-28, features the loveable RC.

The final two clinics celebrate the upcoming August 9 release of Planes. At the August 10-11 clinic, kids can build the star of the film, Dusty the cropduster. At the second, August 24-25, they'll build the dashing and daring El Chupacabra, a famous racing plane from Mexico.

Bean is beyond excited to go to these clinics, especially because they feature Disney and Pixar. I hope you'll go, too. Be sure to signup online as the clinics fill up quickly and only have space for around 75 kids. Be sure to print out your waiver and bring it with you. Each child who signs up and attends the clinic will receive a kit to build, an apron, a certificate of completion, and an iron-on patch.

POP! Vinyl Series 5

Funko

I just love Funko's POP! Vinyl collections, especially the Disney collections. I have a few from the first three series, and really want the Captain Jack Sparrow from series  four. On June 15th, the fifth series will be released. It includes several classic characters from early Disney movies as well as new characters from Pixar films. Here's the list of of characters for series 5: Baloo and King Louie from the Jungle Book, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Carl and Russell from UP, Jafar, Jasmine, and Genie from Aladdin, the Rocketeer, Merida from Brave, and Mary Poppins.

And be sure to keep an eye out for the new Cupcake Keepsakes. They are a crazy combination of Disney characters and cupcakes and they are adorable! Cupcake Keepsakes are 3 inches tall and have removable frosting  and a super cute display that looks like a pedestal cake stand with a cover. Apparently, you can store things in their heads. Characters are expected to include Lilo and Stitch, Mickey and Minnie, Tinker Bell, Snow White and the Evil Queen, Maleficent, Winnie the Pooh, and Miss Piggy and Kermit.

Funko POP! 3D Bookmarks

All images: Funko

Funko has a new line of Vinyl bookmarks that are awesome! Each bookmark features a 3D vinyl head and a printed body that can be squashed in a book. They have several different designs that will be available, including figures from both new POPVinyl collections and older collections as well.

Some of the bookmarks feature classic Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Tinker Bell, and Maleficent. They also have a set of four Disney Princesses: Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White.

Pixar characters include Sulley from Monsters University and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. There will also be several Marvel characters to choose from, including the Mark 42 and Iron Patriot from Iron Man 3, a basic Iron Man from the first movie, the Hulk and Spider-Man.

So, which one is your favorite? I know I'll have a hard time choosing!

Haunted Mansion

Today I'm over at Tips from the Disney Diva talking about one of my favorite rides in the Magic Kingdom: the Haunted Mansion.

Funko Mystery Minis

Have you seen the new Funko Mystery Minis vinyls? They are so incredibly cute! I found some yesterday at Barnes & Noble and I just had to buy one. My sister and I are rather addicted to Funko's vinyl characters and I have a hard time resisting mystery items.

There are 8 different characters in this set and each is available in 3 poses. Characters include Mickey Mouse, Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc., Tinker Bell, Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Jack Skellington, and Maleficent. They're all adorable, but I really wanted one of the Maleficents. She's always been my favorite evil queen. And as luck would have it, that's exactly who I got! I just love her smirky smile! And her staff is removable, not that I know what else you'd do with a tiny Maleficent staff.

Each character is about 3 1/2 inches tall. They retail for $5.95 each and are available at Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic, and other retailers. I fear I feel a new collection coming on!

OPI Couture de Minnie

OPI

I love OPI's nail polish collections. They have a great sense of humor when it comes to naming their colors. Their latest Disney collection is all about Minnie Mouse. The Couture de Minnie collection includes five shades: Innie Minnie Mighty Bow, A Definite Moust-Have, Chic from Ears to Tail, Magazine Cover Mouse, and Minnie Style.

The colors are very Minnie. Innie Minnie Mighty Bow is a true red with a slight gold shimmer. A Definite Moust-Have is a fuchsia pink with a glittery shine. It's a very pretty pink. Chic from Ears to Tail is a gorgeous bubblegum pink with a bit of sparkle. Magazine Cover Mouse is a Liquid Sand polish. I have never used a sand polish before, but it has a very interesting texture. Magazine Cover Mouse is a very strawberry red with pink and gold sparkles.  Minnie Style is definitely the one I love the most. I'm partial to glitter polishes and this one is fantastic. It has a clear base with red/magenta and white glitter bits. It's very reminiscent of Minnie's polka dots.

The Couture de Minnie collection is available individually or as a set of 4 minis. The individual bottles retail for $9 and the Couture De Minnie Runway Minnies retails for $12.95. The only shade not included in the Runway Minnies is the Minnie Style glitter polish.