Valet Tray: FREE pattern & printable gift tag

On a recent Disney cruise, I participated in a Fish Extender (FE) gift exchange. One of the gifts that I gave out were fabric valet trays. They are one of my favorite gifts to give because they are so useful, so portable, and are easy to make.

Here are instructions on how to make a simple valet tray yourself:

1. Cut two 10”x10” squares from fabric.
2. Cut two 9.5”x9.5” squares from fusible interfacing. Alternatively use just one square of fusible fleece.
3. Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric squares, making sure it’s centered.
4. With right sides facing, using a half-inch seam allowance, sew along all 4 sides but leave a 5” space open on one side.
5. Turn the item right side out using the opening from Step 4.
6. Top stitch the opening and then around all 4 sides of the square.
7. Stitch “fold lines”1.5” in from the outside edge. Do this on all 4 sides.
8. Attach a pair of KAM snaps to each of the 4 corners.
9. Voila! Ready to gift or use!

Any fabric can be used, and you can customize it any way you want. You can even use up your scraps to make a crazy log cabin patchwork tray. This is one that I gave to my Mom for Christmas a few years ago, made from upcycled courduroy pants.

Another customization that I made a few years ago was to make a complex version that converted into an envelope clutch.  I made this by eliminating the sewn “fold lines”, adding a slip pocket, adding a pen loop, and making sure that the KAM snaps matched when folding the clutch in half. 

I typically gift these trays with a gift tag that says:

“This versatile valet tray is a solution for organizing personal items like wallets, keys, watches, and jewelry, effortlessly decluttering your bedside table, desk, or countertop. It’s designed for portability — snap the corners to assemble the tray; unsnap the corners to flatten it for easy travel or storage. Also great as a dice rolling tray for game night!”

To make things easy for you, here is a printable set of 6 gift tags that you can print out onto an 8.5”x11” sheet of paper:

Disneyland Magic Key Holder Tote Bag: DIY Upgrade

I upgraded my 2023 Disneyland Magic Key holder tote bag with a bit of sewing: (1) added interfacing for structure, (2) added a lining, (3) boxed the corners, and (4) added a zipper. Now it can stand up on its own, and I feel safer knowing that the zipper will prevent stuff from accidentally falling out! Plus, I think it looks better than the original!

In 2022 and 2023 during the holidays, one of the perks that Disneyland gave to their Magic Key Holders (a.k.a. annual pass holders) was giving out Magic Key Holder exclusive tote bags.

In 2022, it was a reusable plastic shopping bag.

In 2023, it was a smaller fabric tote bag. But being fabric, it was already nicer and much appreciated.

However after receiving it, I realized how thin and flimsy the fabric was, and how it didn’t really feel nice when carrying stuff in it. I wanted to be able to carry it around like a purse. So with a bit of sewing, I upgraded it. Here’s how I did it: 

1. I unpicked the folded top seam and detached the bag handles. From this point onward, I will refer to the original bag as the shell. 
2. I measured the height and width of the shell.  Then I cut out two pieces of felt and two pieces of lining fabric in those same dimensions.
3. I sewed the lining pieces right side together on 3 side, leaving the top open. 
4. I repeated Step 3 on the felt pieces.
5. With right sides facing each other, I marked a 2-inch square at each bottom corner of the lining, and then boxed the corners.
6. I repeated step 5 on the felt layer and the shell.
7. Turned the shell right side out. Turned the felt layer and lining wrong sides out.
8. Inserted the felt layer (which will serve as interfacing) inside the shell.
9. Inserted the lining inside the felt layer.
10. Folded the top hem of shell down. 
11. Tucked both edges of a16-inch zipper underneath the folded shell hem. Pin in place.
12. Pin the handle straps into place onto the shell, making sure to tuck the strap ends underneath the folded shell hem.
13. Sew along the top and bottom edges of the folded hem.

Voilà! 

FREE PATTERN: DIY Toy Story Aliens Fish Extender for a Disney Cruise

A good friend of mine will be sailing on her first Disney Cruise and she’ll be participating in the FE gift exchange too. She asked me to make her a Fish Extender. So when I was brainstorming designs for her FE, I remembered that she loves the aliens from Toy Story, aka. the Little Green Men, or “LGM” as she calls them. And that’s how I was inspired to make an LGM fish extender.

First I designed a 2D mockup of the fish extender to figure out the proportions. This is what I came up with.

I used the same pattern that I used for my DCL Ship-inspired Fish Extender but I modified it to make the pockets shorter to keep the proportions of the LGM uniform. Below is the modified pattern that I created & used.

• Pieces A & B form the back of the pocket. Make 2 of each.
• Pieces C & G are the pocket lid and bottom respectively. Make 2 of each.
• Pieces D, E, & F when stitched together are the front of the pocket. Make 2 of each.

I used felt, 16-inch zippers, paracord, and a chopstick (the hanging rod) that I already had in my crafting supplies. I stitched everything together using a 0.5” seam allowance.

ASSEMBLY:

1. Cut facial features out of felt. Appliqué the felt facial features to both A pieces. Make sure to keep clear of the 0.5” seam allowance. 
2. Mark the center of F. Mark the center of the arch of G. Pin F to the curved edge of G, right sides together, making sure that the centers are aligned. Sew together.
3. Mark the center of D and zipper. Align centers and sew right sides together.
4. Mark the center of the arch of C. Pin zipper from Step 2 to the curved edge of C, right sides together, making sure that the centers are aligned. Sew together.
5. Pin G to B right sides together, with straight edge of G aligned to bottom of B.  Sew together.
6. Place wrong side of C facing right side of B, with straight edge of C aligned with top edge of B. Align bottom of A to straight edge of C with right side facing. Sew all 3 layers together.
7. Repeat Steps 2-4 with the second pieces. 
8. Place right side of the 2nd piece of G facing right side of A, with straight edge of G aligned with top edge of A. Align bottom of 2nd piece of B to straight edge of G with right side of B facing wrong side of G. Sew all 3 layers together.
9. Place wrong side of 2nd piece of C facing right side of B, with straight edge of C aligned with top edge of B. Align bottom of A to straight edge of C with right side facing. Sew all 3 layers together.
10. Cut out felt planet badge and appliqué to both E pieces.
11. With wrong sides facing, sew bottom of D to top of E.  Repeat with second piece of E to the second piece of D.
12. With wrong sides facing, sew top of F to bottom of E.  Repeat with second piece of E to the second piece of F.
13. Fold the right edge of the pocket front as if to make a hem, and sew that folded hem to the right edge of B. Repeat on left edge of pocket.
14. Repeat Step 13 for the 2nd pocket.
15. Sew a 2 inch strip of fabric to the back top edge of the hanger. This will be the channel for the hanging rod.  Cut two 0.5” squares from that rod channel about 1 inch from the side edges of the fish extender hanger.
16. Insert wooden rod or chopstick into the hanging rod channel. Feed paracord thru one of the 0.5” squares and tie it around the wooden rod.  Feed the other end of the paracord thru the 0.5” squares and tie it around the wooden rod.
17. Sew the right and left edges of the channel shut to prevent the rod from slipping out.

The completed pockets are a semi-circle basket so that they can hold more stuff. They also have a zipped lid for added security. 

The LGM MagicBand+ fits with lots of room to spare.

The planet patches can also be customized with interchangeable name buttons (not shown) for each person.  And then when my friend isn’t on a cruise, she can remove the buttons and use this in her home as a hanging organizer.

Disney Cruise Inspired Cricut Beverage Stencils: DIY Fish Extender Gift for Adults

I’ve been searching the Internet, Pinterest, and Facebook trying to find inspiration for a DIY adult fish extender gift for a Disney cruise. And then I stumbled upon two photos. The first photo reminded me that Cove Cafe onboard the Disney Cruise ships places fun images on your beverages. The other photo showed me a thin plastic beverage stencil.

It’s brilliant! A Cricut could be used to cut a 4-inch diameter stencil from a plastic sheet, like a thin cutting board or placemat from the dollar store. 

Then I would have several gifting options:

1. Gift a package of 3-4 different character stencils in the same package (e.g. Mickey, Castle, Winnie the Pooh, DCL logo, etc)

2. Gift one stencil with an empty shaker for the powdered condiment

3. Gift one stencil with a mug.

Since the stencil can be used to decorate more than just coffee, I came up with this instruction sheet that names ALL of the Disney Cruise Line ships, including the names of 2 out of the 3 ships that haven’t yet been launched (as of the time of this blog post). {UPDATE: Disney Cruise line revealed on 3/20/2024 that the name of their 3rd triton class ship is the Disney Destiny which will set sail in 2025, so I’ve edited the text below to include its name.}

Culinary ADVENTURE is out there! It’s your DESTINY to bring home the WONDER of Disney Cruise Line's Cove Cafe and add MAGIC to any beverage/food item with this stencil. Use this stencil to decorate smoothies, milkshakes, coffee, hot cocoa, sugar cookies, cupcakes, pancakes, omelettes, or whatever you can DREAM up! Just hover the stencil above the item & sprinkle whatever powdered spice you WISH: sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, paprika, etc. Voila! It's a pixie-dusted FANTASY that any home cook would TREASURE. Hand wash only.

Perhaps it would be fun to package it with an instruction sheet that looks like the Cove Cafe menu.

I haven’t decided yet for sure if I’m going to give this as a FE gift or not. But I’m definitely saving this idea for the future.

FREE PATTERN: DIY Lounge Chair Towel Holders for a Disney Cruise

 

When we sailed on Disney Cruise Lines with some friends in September 2022, I made these personalized lounge chair towel holders/chair toppers/chair covers for us.  It made it so easy to find our chairs amongst a sea of lounge chairs!

How did this all start? Well, after watching the “Life Well Cruised” YouTube Channel, I discovered that towel bands were the solution to the problems of beach towels (1) blowing away in the wind and (2) slipping off the top of a lounge chair.  So I bought some towel bands on Amazon in June 2022.  They were VERY useful & I could see why the vlogger said they were one of the top 10 things to bring on a cruise. 

Later that same summer, while I was in the midst of making some personalized matching shirts for our families, it hit me.  I could also make personalized lounge chair towel holders!  My only complaint with the towel bands that I purchased is that they are too narrow to personalize. So I made these chair toppers/chair covers instead.

These are the matching polo shirts that I made.
I drew the family name logos myself by hand (I did NOT use a font)
and digitized them to use with my Cricut.

I purchased a yard of blue and a yard of red swimsuit fabric, also known as “Performance Nylon & Spandex Fabric” from JoAnn Fabrics.  I cut each yard of fabric according to the schematic below:

This yielded 6 rectangles for each color.

I used a “stretch twin machine needle” with a straight stitch on my sewing machine (I don’t own a serger) to sew it all up with a 0.5” seam allowance.

1. For each individual rectangle, I folded them in half to make a 9”x19” rectangle as shown by the dotted lines in the schematic.
2. I sewed the short edges shut, and then boxed the top corners about 0.25” deep.
3. I then folded & hemmed the bottom edges.

The finished dimensions are about 18” wide x 8.5” tall.

I mixed acrylic paint mixed with “fabric medium” to make my own DIY fabric paint. Then I used the fabric paint with the “freezer paper stencil” technique to apply the image that I had previously designed for our personalized shirts.  I prefer to use fabric paint instead of heat transfer vinyl (HTV) on all of my Cricut projects because: (1) Fabric paint can withstand many wash-and-machine-dry cycles without peeling off. (2) Instead of peeling, the fabric paint stretches and cracks in the same manner as vintage T-shirts. In contrast, HTV has limited stretch. (3) I don’t have to worry about an iron melting synthetic fabrics to apply the HTV image to the fabric. This was especially important because the fabric that I used to make the towel holders is synthetic.

To use the towel holders, we folded the beach towel over the top of the lounge chair, and then slipped a towel holder over the top of the chair to prevent the towel from blowing away or falling down. Even though these were made for a Disney Cruise vacation, we can use them for other future vacations or anytime when we’re at a pool or beach! Plus, whenever we use them, it will bring back fond memories of good times with friends!

UPDATE: These would make great Disney Fish Extender FE gifts.  Except I wouldn’t personalize them. It took way too long to design each family name to look like the cruise ship logos. If you want to make these yourself for FE gifts, here’s a FREE PRINTABLE sheet that has 6 name tags.

For links to other crafts that I made for a Disney Cruise, check out:

• Fish Extender
• Pixie Dust Hanging Holder