Halloween Costume Par-Tay!

Woohoo!

It's Halloween!
Are you ready??
Well, since I can't be there for all of your trunk or treats
or Halloween parties,
I thought it would be SO fun to have a virtual party.

So come and link up your costumes -
handmade or store bought.
I know we all want to show off how darling
our kids looked and get some
credit for the work we put into it.
Cuz we all know, even getting them
into the costume and look at the camera is HARD WORK!

Plus, it will make us all post
our Halloween pictures in a timely manner ;)

So I'll get this party started.
Here's my Big Bad Wolf and Little Red.


(He's trying to be Big & Bad)

Oh, and we can't forget Granny.


For the Treats in the Streets he let me paint his nose.
For the church trunk or treat he was over it.
LOL


He was also over smiling :)




Costume details:
Big Bad Wolf Ensemble - Pottery Barn Teen
Hoodie - Walmart

Little Red Riding Hood
Cape Pattern - Fleece Fun
Corset - Email me and I'll help you out :)
Skirt & Tutu - Me!
Socks - RADtastic jam/sock lady at Penelope Lane Boutique

Granny
Glasses - Target Dollar Spot
House coat - Walmart $5 clearance!!!
Night cap - Inspired by Wag Doll

Pretend City: Halloween a Day Early!

Do you need something rad to do this weekend?
How about Halloween a day early!
Pretend City is celebrating a day early,
so bring your little spooks all dressed up in their
costumes, meet Super Why, do the Monster Mash,
and enjoy trick or treating and storytime
in the city!

Read more about the details HERE!
And use the above coupon for 2 for 1 admission.

Nutrisystem: October Recap

Sorry that I have been a slacker this
month about reporting my progress.
It has been a wild month around here -
crazy, but enjoyable :)

It's been slow, but steady progress
and I'm looking forward to heading into the
the holiday season.
For some strange reason I usually lose the most weight
during November and December.
Weird, huh?

I'm in the process of finding an exercise buddy.
Someone I can walk/jog with in the mornings.
I'm more motivated if I know someone is counting on me,
so hopefully this will help make exercise a more regular habit.

Are you ready for Halloween?
Ready to be strong??

Here are some tips from Nutrisystem
for making it through this SWEET holiday.

Don't have temptation around – Have family members put away any candy that you may be tempted by and have them put out items that you don’t like or put ones out that are part of the program like the Chocolate Rainbow Delights.

On Halloween Night, keep some unlimited veggies on hand at home to snack on instead of the candy that’s for the trick-or-treaters. This way it will help you stay on track better than ever!

-Buy candy you can eat – Make sure to have sugar free candy and gum on hand, so that when you are tempted you can go for them instead or even some of those unlimited veggies too.

-Eat the delicious Nutrisystem desserts - One way that has helped a lot is that when you are really craving something sweet (especially on Halloween), just eat your Nutrisystem dessert...even if it's not dessert time yet. That way you don't have to deny yourself a treat and don't have to feel guilty after you eat it too.

-Keep Busy! - One of the best ways to stay on track is to stay busy. Go for walks, bike rides, out with friends and family etc. The sky is the limit!

CURRENT STATS:
Week One: -6 lbs
Week Two: -3 lbs
Week Three: -.5
Week Four: -2
Week Five: -0
Week Six: -1
Week Seven: -1
Week Eight: -.5
Week Nine: -1
Week Ten: -1.5
Week Eleven: +3
Week Twelve: +2
Week Thirteen: -2
Week Fourteen: -1
Week Fifteen: -0
Week Sixteen: -1

TOTAL: 15.5

Nutrisystem is providing their food and program to me free of charge in exchange for blogging about my experience as part of the Nutrisystem Nation Blogger Program. The opinions above are my own.

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling tel:1-888-853-4689 or by visiting http://www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog

A Vision of Red Riding Hood

Here she is.
My Little Red.


I'm really thrilled with how it turned out.
If I had it to do over again,
I would make the top longer.
I made it while she was sleeping and forgot
she has a SUPER LONG torso.



I'm super happy with the gingham choice.
I fretted over which fabric to use.
I purchased like 4 different options,
brought them home,
laid them out,
and stared at them for like 30 minutes trying to decide.
You can just imagine me in Joann.



I'm super in {LOVE} with the corset.
It's just so sweet and and classic.
However,
when I held it up to show my husband,
without the undershirt,
and he was like, um, she's wearing THAT?
It was pretty funny.


She tested it out at our co-op music class today.
She finds the tutu itchy, so we'll
add a pair of white leggings or tights to make it more
comfortable.


Hooray for Halloween!

Pumpkin Time: Seuss Style!

Eeek!
Do you love Dr. Seuss like I do??
Then you're going to be thrilled to hear
that the creators of Despicable Me (a fan favorite around here),
are releasing a 3D-CGI adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax!!!

You'll have to wait until March 2012 for the movie,
with the talents of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms,
Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Betty White! (love that lady).
In the meantime,
Use this free pumpkin carving template to bring The Lorax to life
on your front step.
When you're done, be sure to post your creation on the film's Facebook page!



I can't wait to see your creations!

Want It? Win It! Wednesday: Shutterfly Holiday Cards!!!

***CLOSED***

Did you know I'm a digital scrapbooker?

I love it.
I used to be a paper scrapper,
but the mess was too consuming.
paper supplies + toddler + apartment = no bueno
So, I turned to digital and never looked back.



Enter Shutterfly.
I *HEART* them.
They have amazing products
that are perfect for digital scrapbookers like myself.

Every year I make personalized wall calendars
for all the Grandparents in my life.
And every year I get told - you have to make these every year.
So I do.
And I think they are awesome.
You can personalize your dates and customize the top with your own photos.

I also love their photobooks.
I've made a remembrance book for my Grandpa for his 80th birthday,
did a photo sign in book for my brother's wedding,
scrapped my December Daily Album - a la Alie Edwards-,
and made an album of my son's first year of life.

Last year I tried their Christmas cards for the first
time and I {LOVED} how it turned out!



The quality was excellent,
the shipping was fast,
and I got lots of compliments :)
Plus, they had a Top #10!
I've done Top #10 for 6 years now,
so it was perfect!

I loved it so much, I might just use it again!
But I also love so many others!













They are all just so cute!

And if I'd have had the kids' costumes
done early, and had Syl shoot them,
then I could have sent Halloween cards!


Do you want some RAD Shutterfly cards of your own??
This is your lucky day, because THREE winners will receive

25 {FREE} cards from Shutterfly!
(You just pay shipping)

Want it?
Well, you can WIN IT!
If you want to win
then here is what you need to do!

MANDATORY ENTRY

(this MUST be completed for any other extra entries to count)

Visit Shutterfly, pick out your favorite Holiday design,
and tell me who you'll send the cards to
and why! :)

Extra Entries:
(You MUST complete the mandatory entry before completing any extra entries.)

1 Extra Entry: {TWEET} about the giveaway with a link back here and mention @funkyPDgiraffe (leave 1 additional comment)
1 Extra Entry: {FACEBOOK} about the giveaway with a link back here and mention Funky PolkaDot Giraffe in the update. (leave 1 additional comment)

As always, giveaways are only open to
FPG Google Friends Connect PUBLIC followers.
This giveaway is open to USA residents only.

This GIVEAWAY will end on November 1st at midnight PST.

3 lucky readers will be selected using Random.org and will have 72 hours to claim the prize or a new winner will be chosen.
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN CONTACT YOU,
IF YOU DON'T LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS, I WILL
PICK A NEW WINNER.

Disclosure: I was given 50 free cards and shipping by Shutterfly. I blogged about it because Shutterfly gave me three promotions to give away. All the thoughts & opinions are mine.

TOO Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-Tay! #54

Thanks to Pottery Barn and one of the best purchases EV-AH!

And a free little tutorial . . .

This year's Halloween ensembles are almost done!
Just a little bit more of this . . .

And it's "shir" to be a great one!
LOL!
I am so funny :)

Now onto TOO Cute Tuesday!

What did you make this week that is TOO Cute??

Come link up!

Rules:

• Must be made by you.
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• No Etsy shops or giveaways please :)
  
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!

TOO Cute Tuesday will be open Tuesday-Saturday.
On Saturday or Monday I'll highlight some of my favorites
and then we'll start over on Tuesday!


<a border="0" href="http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/search/label/Too%20Cute%20Tuesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/mormishgirl/Blog/TooCuteTuesdayNEW.jpg" /></a>

This post brought to you by:

I changed the linky party so that the most recently uploaded project will show up as number one. This way everyone gets a chance on top. So, look in the first spot for your project, not at the end. Thanks!!!

Saturday Shout Outs: {This Is Halloween} Edition

We're only one week to Halloween!
Are you ready??
I found a crucial piece of my
costume at the Target $1 Spot.
Love that place!

Here are some more ideas to get your
Halloween wheels turning,
it's not too late!

{'Stache of Candy Bag @ Pitter & Glink}
Do my kids need this, or what?

{Spiderweb Table runner @Freaking Craft}
This is so clever and so spooky!


{Frilly Shower Cap @ Wag Doll}
I was so excited to see this linked up!
I need to make one for my costume.


{Spiderweb Photo Overlay @ the letter 4}
Spook out your photos with this fun overlay.


{Poisoned Apples @ Polish the Stars}
I watched Once Upon a Time tonight and I think
we needs this for the next episode!


{Halloween Boo Mix @ Sandy Toes and Popsicles}
Seeing this makes me sad I can't take edible treats
to Kinder :(


{Get Your Pie On Printable @ Polkadots On Parade}
It's almost time . . .

If you were featured,
please feel free to grab a button if you'd like!

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Flashback Friday: Candy Corn Bunting

Here's a little flashback to one
of my favorite Halloween tutorials -
The Candy Corn Bunting!

Quick!
It's not too late to make one!

****************************

If you know me well,
you know I love candy corn and Peeps.
Not so much the eating of them,
but all the CUTE things that are made in their image.
Including - dressing my child up like one of them.
(see HERE and HERE)

So, candy corn lovers unite and let's do this thing!
Supplies:
Felt (orange, white, yellow)
Regular thread
Sewing Machine
Rotary Cutter/mat/ruler
Scissors
Grosgrain ribbon

1. On your mat & with your rotary cutter, cut strips of felt in the following widths -
white 2.25 inches
yellow 2.5 inches
orange 3.25 inches

I used felt remnants left over from THIS costume,
so all my strips were varying lengths.

2. Match up your lengths of felt and lay them in candy corn
colored coded order.
Then sew them together with 1/4" seam.
Make sure your seams both end up on the same side.

When you're done, you'll have a pile like unto this!

3. Press your seams open.
Ugghh, I know.
I tried to avoid it.
The product was not desirable.

4. Using the candy corn template - cut out your candy corn shapes

from your candy corn colored strips.

Now, I debated about how to sew this and put it together.
First I sewed 2 candy corns together, flipped it, and top stitched.
Too tedious.
Then I sewed 2 candy corns together and left the edges raw -
too funky.
I finally settled on sewing a color blocked candy corn to a plan white one.

5. Cut white candy corn shapes for your backs.

6. Now this should probably be step "1", but
decide how long you want your bunting to be.
I wanted mine to fit on the front of my bar,
and with the help of my son holding the other end of the tape measure,
I decided I wanted it to be 72 inches long.

7. So I laid out my candy corn to find out how many I'd need.
For my 72 inch bunting, I needed 11.

8. Cut your ribbon and pin the plain BACKS of your candy corns
to the ribbon. I started pinning 6 inches in from the ends.
I cut my ribbon 72 inches - next time I'll cut it about 2 feet longer
than I need, because I want longer dangly ends.
I wanted the candy corn to alternate directions,
but you can put them all the same direction if you want to.

9. Sew the candy corn backs to the ribbon.
I picked up my foot after each back,
but I didn't cut my thread and then I moved to the next back.

10. Lay the candy corn fronts on the backs, and sew all around
with a 1/4" seam.

11. Keep going until all your candy corn fronts are sewn to their backs!

And 6 hours later . . .
(thanks to kidlet interruptions)

YOU'RE FINISHED!

I wish I could selective color my life like in Photoshop :)

Here is my candy corn pattern.
I tried to do it on a white background, but it wouldn't show up -
because it's white.
Feel free to use it if you want to.
(The F stands for front, so I'd cut them the same way.)

Fine Print:

Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal use. Please be kind and give credit where credit is due. Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.