Disney Hop To The Music Easter Basket Giveaway!

This post may contain affiliate links which fund the My Sparkling Life blog.
Every year we break out the cute baskets and colorful eggs…take pictures with bunnies and eat lots of jelly beans…but do we teach our children The Story Of Easter? We try to incorporate the true meaning of Easter in with everything else…last year we enjoyed glow in the dark eggs, he has risen stickers and more from Egglo..We buy books to read, & discuss The Story of Easter…Christ’s resurrection…
Easter Sunday marks Jesus’ resurrection.
After Jesus was crucified on the Friday (now known as Good Friday), his body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman Soldiers and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body.
On the Sunday, Mary Magdalene, followed later by some of Jesus’ disciples visited the tomb and found that the stone had been moved, and that Jesus’ body had gone. Jesus himself was seen that day by Mary and the disciples, and for forty days afterwards by many people. His followers realised that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Christians call this the Resurrection.
The week leading up to Easter is called Holy Week.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter Day. It is the first day of Holy Week and celebrates Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Crowds of people came out of the city to greet him, throwing down palm branches on the road.
Anglican and Roman Catholic churches give out small crosses made from palm leaves, as a reminder of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem and his death on the cross. Some Christians keep these in their homes all year as a symbol of their faith.
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter Day. On Maundy Thursday Christians remember when Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples, breaking bread and drinking wine, which is now known as the Last Supper. Many Christians remember this by sharing bread and wine together in a service called Holy Communion, Eucharist or Mass. It is a reminder that Jesus sacrificed his life for mankind.
At this meal Jesus told his followers that they should love and serve one another. He demonstrated this by washing the feet of the disciples – something a servant would normally do. You can read this story in the Bible in John Ch.13v1-15 . The word maundy comes from the command (mandate) given by Jesus at the Last Supper, that we should love one another. Roman Catholic church services include a ceremony in which the priest washes the feet of 12 people to commemorate Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples.
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday. It commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. Good Friday is a day of mourning in church. During special Good Friday services Christians remember Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith. In some countries, there are special Good Friday processions, or re-enactments of the Crucifixion.
The main service on Good Friday takes place between midday and 3pm. In many churches it takes the form of a meditation based on the seven last words of Jesus on the cross, with hymns, prayers, and short sermons.
In addition to Easter’s religious significance, it also has a commercial side, as evidenced by the mounds of jelly beans and marshmallow chicks that appear in stores each spring. As with Christmas, over the centuries various folk customs and pagan traditions, including Easter eggs, bunnies, baskets and candy, have become a standard part of this holy holiday.

Fighting acne has been a battle for about 20 years now..yikes, did I just say 20 years! That’s a hard-fought battle! I’ve tried washes and creams and unless I remember to use it twice a day (or more for some) I still get the dreaded zits. I mostly get them on my cheeks and blackhead on my nose…not a good look.
I was excited to learn about an at home light therapy mask that could help with acne. I’m sure you remember out #FightAcne twitter party a while back…well I was lucky enough to be able to try the IlluMask for 30 days!
I’d heard about light therapy before and had alway heard the good things it does for your skin. With adult acne and rosacea, I was ready to get started.
The illumask comes with a 30 battery pack & mask. The mask has shaded “glasses” to protect your eyes, and various light spots embedded into the mask itself. The battery pack is corded to the mask and has only one button to turn it on. After your 15 min session the mask will automatically turn off, so no wasted time or battery. You heard that right, only 15 minutes a day. You can sit on the couch and watch tv while improving your skin!
The illuMask targets acne-prone skin to eliminate bacteria that cause breakouts and blemishes for a smoother, clearer complexion. The blue light kills P. acnes bacteria on and below the skin surface to clear up blemishes & the red light helps repair skin cells to diminish swelling and inflammation for a more even skin tone. illuMask is clinically proven to be safe for the treatment of mild to moderate acne, in all skin types and tones. Use daily.
Like I’ve said I’ve been using it for 30 days and love how my skin feels. I haven’t had any acne flare ups but my rosacea is still prominent unless I use a moisturizer multiple times a day. So as far as an acne mask, yes it works, and the parts of my face that don’t get rosacea feel smoother and look healthier. Using the mask combined with nightly face wash and moisturizer I might have finally found something to combat my adult acne!
Try illuMask out for yourself for 30 days and you’ll see a difference too!
Follow illuMask on FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

One of my favorite things to see are the behind the scenes, making of an animated film…there is so much that goes into it, and I love seeing them go from sketches to an animated film you can watch. The new animated short FEAST will be an extra on the Big Hero 6 Blu-ray, and is super cute!
A little about Patrick Osborne:
Patrick Osborne is the Director behind Feast, taking the film from conception to completion.
Osborne joined Walt Disney animation Studios as an animator on the 2008 film Bolt, then went on to work on such films as Prep & Landing & Tangled. He was able to serve as head of animation for the short Paperman and co-head for Big Hero 6 before taking on directing for Feast.
Prior to joining Disney, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native was lead character animator on “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” He also worked as an animator on “I Am Legend,” “Surf’s Up” and “Open Season.” Osborne, who earned a BFA with a focus in computer animation from Ringling College of Art and Design, got his start as a kid making movies with his brothers on their parents’ camcorder. His fascination with visual effects was elevated to a career goal when his dad gave him a book about the making of “Jurassic Park.”
Recently married to wife Allison, Osborne has been a dachshund owner for most of his life, including previous pets Stretch, Indianapolis and Audi. He is currently without a four-legged friend—but may soon update his dog-owning status.
Who doesn’t love cute little dogs & food?! FEAST is a fun animated short that features a small dog and his love of food throughout different phases of his owners life…
Feast Director Patrick Osborne | Disney
Imagine being a dog and your owner is in college..what kinds of foods would you find to eat…what about when he is in a relationship, or breakup…these are the things that FEAST takes us through…
A single person’s meals look different than one when you’re on a first date and are trying really hard — and a meal looks different when you’ve been dumped, etc. And there’s something to be said about ‘important’ meals as well, like weddings, birthdays and other celebrations that take place around the dinner table. It seemed like a cool thing to center a story on
This is where we meet our pup…as you can see, while the animation is CG they wanted it to look more hand touched, hence the “torn paper” line look. I find that it gives it a softer look and more appealing to the eye than a rigged straight line would be.
They actually brought in dogs to watch their mannerisms and facial expressions. I would have loved to have been there for that day!
This short was extremely cute and I LOVED watching the thought process from beginning to end including things such as adding in shadows & even dust particles! These animators put their hearts into every project they work on and enjoy every bit of it! In the end they get to see their work enjoyed by millions.
Like BIG HERO 6 on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DisneyBigHero6
Follow Walt Disney Animation Studios on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DisneyAnimation
Follow BIG HERO 6 on Tumblr:
http://bighero6fans.tumblr.com/
Visit the Website:
http://www.disney.com/BigHero6
You can purchase Big Hero 6 on Digital today & Blu-ray starting February 24 2015
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This post may contain affiliate links which fund the My Sparkling Life blog.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Halloween is one of my families favorite holidays. Everyone looks forward to dressing up, pumpkin treats & of course the epic movie nights! My kids love movie nights, and since we’ve moved up by family after Harvey’s devastation…we have even more kids to invite over for the fun! We usually pick out a family favorite or holiday themed movie and then make delicious snacks to go along with it. We’ve had the unfortunate happen once or twice as we couldn’t find a DVD we were wanting to watch…but now with technology changing and making things easier, we’ve started to watch & store all of our movies online. The only minor problem was that we had movies scattered out between Amazon, Google, iTunes & Vudu. Now there is a new service that brings all of our movies together on one platform! Movies Anywhere!
With Halloween being this week we decided on a Harry Potter movie night! Since the kids’ ages ranged from 4-16 it was a great choice, plus I could have fun with the food! Three of my nieces & nephews had not seen Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone yet, so I had to make this movie night extra special! Movies Anywhere took care of my movie & I took care of the decor, food & take home wands. Yes, you heard that right, I made everyone their own wand! Now I got the idea of Pinterest, so I can’t take the credit…but I will say they were super fun to make!
For the wands you will need:
Chopsticks
Hot Glue
Black Spray Paint
Brown Spray Paint
Copper Spray Paint
I added hot glue to the chopsticks to give each one it’s individuality. Once dried I sprayed 6 of them black & 6 of them brown. You need to let them dry between coats or flipping the chopstick over. Once the solid color covers the surface & is dry you can either stipple with the copper spray paint or carefully spray in short bursts to give the wands an aged look. Finish off with a clear sealer or leave as is.
Now let’s talk food! I made golden snitches with Ferrero Rocher & a wing printable I found on Pinterest. There are plenty to choose from, but I loved the ones I used. I cut up some gummy worms to make slugs, set our Dementor Relief bars & put out M&M’s in the house colors. My favorites were the Polyjuice Potion Deviled Dragons Eggs (recipe below) & the simple Butterbeer! We also made some simple sorting hats with sugar cookies, ice cream cone, icing (to bind) & filled with M&M’s of house color.
For the Polyjuice Potion Deviled Dragons Eggs you will need:
18 Eggs
4 Bacon Strips Diced (Shredded Boomslang skin)
3/4c Ranch Dressing (Stewed Lacewing Flies)
Food Coloring
Dried Cilantro (Fluxweed)
Instructions:
Hard Boil your eggs & let cool
Roll your eggs around until they have cracks all the way around
Die them as you would your Easter eggs
Let dry
Cook diced bacon strips until desired consistency (we cooked these a little less to give them some flexibility like skin)
Peel shells off of eggs
Cut your eggs in half and remove yolks
Mash up yolks in a bowl & add ranch
Mix well
Add in Green food coloring
Mix well
Pipe or drop yolk mixture by spoonful back into egg halves
Top with cilantro & bacon dices
Enjoy!
TIP: You can add cilantro & bacon bits into the mixture for more flavor & texture.
Movies Anywhere is a free app and website that simplifies and streamlines the digital movie-watching experience by allowing consumers to discover, access and watch their eligible movies in one place. Movies Anywhere offers next-level compatibility to the digital movie experience, syncing your movie libraries across your connected accounts, so you can watch purchased and redeemed digital movies through Movies Anywhere and across connected digital retail accounts.
Movies Anywhere brings together movies from Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios (encompassing Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm), Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment, offering a library of over 7,300 movies at launch.
Participating digital retailers at launch are Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes and Vudu. All Movies Anywhere eligible movies will also be available across connected digital retail accounts and can be played directly on any platforms that support video playback for these digital retailers.
Viewers can enjoy their movies across multiple devices and platforms at home or on the go – Amazon Fire devices, Android mobile and tablet devices, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, the Roku® platform and popular web browsers.