LIFE: It's Halloween {Costume} Time

One of my favorite times of year, aside from my massive amounts of slacking last year, is Halloween.  Something about the candy and creativity that gets me all excited (probably the sugar buzz).  

Monkey Toes has teamed up with Cutie Pa Tutus to share with you an adorable collection of shoes & tutus. What little girl can resist a TUTU??  And Amanda makes the cutest, seriously.

Punkin Carvin Fun!

We (ok, my hubs did the daunting job) of pumpkin carving a few days ago.  As a child I always remember reaching into the pumpkin and mushing around the strings and goo between my fingers.  I'd still kinda like to stick my hands in (but that's not very lady-like).  Here are my, not so little girls, experiencing the joy of cleaning out their pumpkins.

I grew Oscar's little baby pumpkin in our backyard.  It was my feeble attempt at a green thumb this summer.  And since I knew we weren't going to be able to cut this little guy open, I drew a silly/scary face on it and named him "Franken-Punkin".  Oscar enjoyed throwing it around the kitchen. 





Here are all the pumpkins together. Rose decided that her "Princess" pumpkin needed to accessorize with a tiara, earrings & a necklace. 

And then of course, it wouldn't be like me not to get all crafty on a pumpkin...Here's my Little Ladypunks pumpkin.  

What's your favorite childhood Halloween memory?  Do you have pics of your carved pumpkins?  Send me links!!

Costume FUN!

How am I dressing my little kiddos this year for Halloween?  Well, the girls get to choose their own costumes, so I guess I have to keep my mouth shut on their choices.  Of course unless they want to dress a little too grown up (not cool) - I would totally put my foot down.  The girls seem to have a dancing theme going on this year - I wonder if it's because they LOVE the costumes on Dancing with the Stars, which are, um, a little racey!

Ella (8) has chosen to be a Flapper Girl - She's super stoked about how the dress flaps when she twists and turns.  I think she would choose to wear this costume every day if we'd let her (she's sooooo girly).

image courtesy of Target.com

Rose (10) is dressing up as a Flamenco Spanish Dancer.  I think she's excited because she'll be sporting a pair of mini-heels (I'm talking 1 inch, which is exciting for her).

image courtesy of DevilishDisguise.com

Oscar will be donning his SUPER OSCAAAAR outfit from Cutie Patutus.  They made it custom for O.  See the O on his cape and you can't see it but he's got an O on his onesie and diaper cover too?  Super cute isn't it??  Check out my review of their Super Hero stuff over at CupcakeMag for Littles (formerly Sprinkles).  HINT:  There's a discount code!!

image courtesy of moi

I just HAVE to show you one more thing from Cutie Patutus (@CutiePaTutus), I adore Amanda over there!  Since ladybug are always a hot costume for Halloween - they've got this adorable ladybug Tutu and tee, which of course would be so stinkin cute with Monkey-Toes Little Ladies mary janes.   And can be worn for dress-up all year long too!

(Want it?  Get 20% off with the code: monkeytoes)

Have you decided on your kiddos costume yet?  What is it gonna be?

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You Silly Monkey....

Whew!  We are blowing through our Silly Monkey tennis shoes this year...Is everyone dressing as a monkey?  Well if so, you know where to get the kicks!!

And here's where you can get the Monkey costumes....

Carters online (or outlet store)

 

 

**OR**

 

Etsy - Little SideKick Store
How cute and simple would this hat be, paired with a little sweat suit and Silly Monkey's shoes?

Easy, CUTE, & Wearable all winter long

(image from Little SideKick on Etsy.com)

**OR**

Or like the vintage Sock Monkey look?

(I just ordered one of these for Oscar)

Etsy store - MimisBabies

Oscar will be wearing it all winter long!!

(image from MimisBabies on Etsy)

Which one is YOUR favorite?

Halloween!

My favorite time of year, Fall, is coming. And along with the season comes the fun holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then we end our year with New Years. It's crazy to think that this time will all be here before we know it. And it tends to go even faster when you've got kids.

I love searching the web and brick and mortar stores for cute costumes that go with Monkey-Toes. I will also be posting other ideas for homemade costumes, so stay tuned!

For some outfits that would work for the month of October AND for Halloween check out these adorable ideas from Carters.com (many of these finds I actually ran into while walking through the Carter's outlet store). Enjoy!

Click here to visit the Carter's Halloween Shop

How do you plan to dress the kiddos this year?
(images courtesy of Carters.com)

Discontinue SALE!!

We've got a few pairs of Monkey-Toes that need to GOOOOOOOO!

These shoes are not like our other designs - they were created for someone special.  We're thrilled to offer them to you at such a great deal, that it's going to be really hard for you to pass up - $12/pair!!!

Click here to check availability

You won't find these on our site, or anywhere else for that matter - you'll need to email me direct to get this special deal.  click here 

These are the details you must provide us in your email -
Phone number or a Paypal email address for payment purposes
Your shipping address
Size/Style requested
**Shipping/handling charges will be around $6 for 1 pair and $9 for two. 

To sweeten the deal (and prepare for upcoming Halloween)  Cutie Pa Tutus has made a matching TUTU!  Isn't it adorable?  Interested in pairing the shoes with the tutu?  These are regularly priced at $38, she's selling them to you lucky peeps for only $23.  Mention Monkey-Toes when you email them and you'll get the discount.

I cannot believe how quick time flies by

I know everyone says this, but truly I've been living my life by the week since we found out I was pregnant. The first 20 weeks were slow, now that I am at almost 32 weeks (and Lord knows my body is feeling it) and we're in the single digits the countdown is on. What does this have to do with Halloween? Welp, it's coming up quick and I need to get movin on a costume!

My daughter Ella has decided to skip out on the Water Fairy idea. I did however see a picture of one, in which I thought, "they sure are making fairies a little racy these days..." What happened to fairies wearing turtle necks? Don't they get cold flying around? Anyway, I am secretly glad that she has now opted to be a pirate - easy costume. I will have to dig a little deeper to figure out where that one came from (it probably has a really cute skirt, perfect for twirling - she is so girly!).

I found these adorable costumes online this week (and remember our shoes can be worn with any outfit, not just for Halloween!) -


The first is the Flower Fairy Costume from Babies R US.com. It's on sale (gotta love a good deal) for only $13.99. I thought the colors were a perfect match to our Flutterflies Mary Janes or Tennis Shoes.

The baby in the second costume, the Baby Blossom, from Target.com is the picture perfect little outfit for a chubby little baby, isn't it? I thought this costume would be adorable with our Buzzy Bees tennis shoes or mary janes.

And of course, for your little Monster, the best costume to match his personality (I will be finding out soon since we're having a boy). From Babies R Us.com, this little guy will be warm for a night of trick or treating and would be even more fun for scaring everyone around the house. How fun! The monster costume reminded us of our Boogie Monsters tennis shoes and thought they would look great together too!

We've polled some of our Facebook fans and Twitter friends to see what their kids are wearing this season. Here's what they said...

Minnie Mouse
Harry Potter
Mary Ingalls
Little Red Riding Hood, apparently the dog will be the wolf - cute!
and my most creative favorite - a Butterfly Mermaid Spider Princess - good luck with this one!

A link to a great list of "literary" costumes - here (think Madeline, Junie B Jones, Clifford, etc).

I wish you a very Happy and Creative Halloween! I will post pics of our costumes, feel free to send yours in too. info@monkey-toes.com

Whatever is a Pregg-o to wear?

This will be my very first year pregnant for Halloween. Well I was pregnant in past Halloweens, but didn't have kids old enough to care. I have been racking my brain thinking of unique costumes for pregnant women. I know there are many of you out there that are having the same dilemma. Even if you aren't going to a Halloween party, you may be helping out with your kiddos at their school party, answering the door for trick-or-treaters or just need something cute (but not too cute) and comfortable for the office - bummer, no naughty nurse costume this year for a waistline that's expanding (and if you are that daring, I applaud you!).

I am slightly sad because I found out that my husband is going to be working on Halloween this year :(. But it doesn't stop me from thinking of wild and crazy costumes anyway. I've explored the internet for fun ideas. Feel free to share your ideas too!

(No more fitted costumes this year... Last year my husband and I went as a Cougar and a Boy Scout. I think something more conservative this year is appropriate.)

Bella B Maternity has an adorable Pumpkin Pooch maternity tee shirt that would be perfect paired with black leggings and ballet flats. This would be a comfy costume for answering the door, or heading out to volunteer at the kiddos school. And it's on SALE for only $25.

One idea that was pointed out to me was pretty original. Simply take a white maternity tee, cut a piece of yellow felt into a circle and slap it on the belly area. Go as a fried egg. Your hubby could even dress in all brown and be a slice of bacon. Easy, and cheap too!

There are always the funny costumes and probably not appropriate for the elementary school costume party - pregnant nun, white trash, Angelina Jolie. If you are really daring (and you or someone you know have some artistic ability) and want to put the belly out there for all to see, you can have someone paint on it. Paint a beach ball on your belly (wear a bikini, brrr), fishbowl (with a cat costume), basketball (wear a sports uniform), watermelon (paired with overalls). The ideas are endless. Just think of two things that go together - and voila, you've got yourself a costume.

I'd love to see what you come up with for your costume this year.

For the kids, this week, I couldn't resist this little outfit from Hanna Anderssen. It's perfect for the entire month of October, especially when donned with our Playful Pumpkins shoes!

Searching for the perfect costume...

Rose has decided that this year, she is going to be the winner of a beauty pageant - EASY. Ella wants to be water fairy - I have no idea what "water fairy" means.

Rose has this idea from watching too much Toddlers & Tiara's (ok, I admit, I have complete control of the remote and do secretly like this show too). She wants a big poofy dress with tons of sparkles, BIG Marilyn Monroe hair, a sparkly sash, and a giant tiara. She'd probably like her own personal spray tan session too. (not gonna happen, kiddo) This should be pretty simple considering we've got a dress in her closet from her latest duty as flower girl in my Aunt's wedding. I've got the Aqua Net, a teasing comb, and some major big hair experience from the 80's and 90's. I will plan to make a sash with 3" satin ribbon and some glitter glue. The only thing I will be on the hunt for is the head-tipping tiara.

Ah, and for Ella - I simply need to figure out what the heck she is talking about so I can start dreaming up her creative costume too! I will let you know what I find out about it.

For business purposes (I do work occasionally), I have scoured the internet for fun costumes to match some of Monkey-Toes designs and came up with the cutest stuff this week. In fact, one of the costumes is only $3.99!

This costume is from OldNavy.com . It is $22.50 and runs in sizes 0-5t. It is so freakin cute with our LUV Bugs mary janes. It's as if they were made for each other. I was thrilled when I came across it.

Living in Denver my entire life, I have to think about the warmth of a costume too - the weather in Colorado will be perfect until Halloween night and then BOOM - hit with a blizzard. It never fails. This costume actually looks like it would keep your kiddo warm. You could probably even throw a coat underneath it. PERFECT!


Now, this one to my right here is the doozie of a find! The Vampire costume from Gymboree.com is only $3.99! No it's not a typ-o, it's TRUE-O! Looks like it is on clearance down from almost $40! And paired with our Crazy Counts - isn't it adorable?? And such a simple costume too - your little blood sucker could wear simple black pants and pretty much any type of shirt under that cape.

Find something else that matches Monkey-Toes? Send me a note...maybe, just maybe, I'll post it!

Halloween 2009

Halloween is absolutely, hands down one of my favorite "holidays". Not because it has anything to do with the darker side (I'm not like that, though I do LOVE candy), but mainly because I really love being creative with costumes. I usually ponder endless ideas all year long and then pull it all together last minute.

Last year my daughters wanted to dress up Ella - as a Pink Lady from Grease and Rose - a Flower (for obvious reasons).

Ella's costume was a store bought costume, we just added some ballet flats, makeup and curled her hair up "Sandy" style.

Rose's costume was something I threw together. I bought (at Walmart) a green shirt and skirt, she had the brown tights in her closet already. From the fabric dept at Walmart I found 2 pieces of self-sticking felt which I cut in the shape of a leaf and stuck to the arm of the shirt. I drew the lines of the leaf on with a chalk pencil. A lot of these things I had around the house already - the bee you see on her neckline were actually part of an old bee headband that I tore apart, the other bee we added to the ponytail in back. The petals around her head were created with a small amount of pink tulle in which I embellished with rhinestones I had laying around from other various projects. I actually sewed the tulle with yarn onto a headband (the girls have tons of these they don't wear). Pretty easy stuff!

I really don't like throwing things away, especially craft scraps. I seem to always come up with a use for them. Be creative!

This year, I scoured the web looking for cute costumes that match our shoes. And you could always take the ideas for these costumes and make your own. Black turtlenecks and leggings or sweatpants will do wonders (think: add red felt polka dots and done, you're little ones a ladybug). You really don't have to spend a lot of moola to get a cute and re-usable result.


Pair this little monkey costume, from www.PinkTaffyDesigns.com with our Silly Monkeys Tennis shoes or Mary Janes!

Another inexpensive way to create this costume would be brown pants and shirt, monkey ears headband and monkey tail pinned to the pants in the back. Finalize the outfit with a plastic banana. Easy!

Another adorable yet simple option is a bee, which is charming on any boy or a girl. At Monkey-Toes we have all of our bee wings, wands and antenna on sale! Just add a black shirt and pants and voila, instant costume... Plus kids love to play dress up year round, so you'll have this one around after Halloween too!

Let me know what you think and if you have any others - there are tons of you crafty ladies out there! Maybe I'll post them too.

just shy of a year later...i write again. i think this blogging thing has been like scrapbooking for me - an overwhelming task and i have no idea where to start. so i am posting for our Halloween Costume Contest.

we have the best contest EVER! when your kiddo takes the gold (we are thinking positive for everyone here, you're welcome) they have the chance at $25, $50 or $100 in our online store! that's insane!!! (i know that's what you are thinking) maybe we are, but we LOVE our customers and the kiddos who love our shoes.

here are the details -

All entries must be wearing a costume and Monkey-Toes.

Entries must be sent to info@monkey-toes.com by midnight (EST) Nov 10 and include the following information –

• Permission to use the digital image


• Digital image


• Parent's name


• Email


• Phone


• Child's name


• Child's age
  

Everyone is a winner! $5 coupon for any Monkey-Toes.com products - for all entries (you must have a complete entry though)

Prizes for the top 3 selections – 3rd place - $25 gift certificate for Monkey-Toes.com, 2nd place - $50 gift certificate for Monkey-Toes.com, 3rd place - $100 gift certificate for Monkey-Toes.com

Monkey-Toes and MomToBeDepot.com’s Lauri Harrison will be judging all entries. Winners will be notified by Friday November 14, 2008
In the meantime, shop online and receive free shipping from now until Halloween (October 31) – “HBLOG10”

toodles!