Saturday, September 13, 2008

Acting Out Dress Up is Fun, Pretty - and Musical!

Sophia was incredibly lucky enough to receive a Blue Waltz Dress featuring the music of the Blue Danube from this hip new company called Acting Out Dress Up. Ok, I have to say, at first I was wary. I thought this dress up may be annoying, itchy, poorly made. Man, was I wrong. This is the coolest dress up product out there. I was completely impressed with the quality of the items. They are not cheaply made. They aren't itchy. They are satiny smooth and well stitched. The colors are bright and modern, and there is attention to detail. So right there, it's worth it. But as a bonus, this dress up line plays music - and it's not that tinny sounding music box music either, it sounds like a CD playing inside the dress. Granted a small CD, but the song is good quality, which was also really impressive.Upon further research, I found that the story of its inventors was pretty interesting too.

Anna and Andrea began Acting Out five years ago as an "ah ha" idea while watching their "princess" girls dancing around in their dress-up. Why not add music to the skirts? Anna ever the dreamer and idea person forged ahead with turning the dream into reality. At the time, Andrea was winding down her career as the Director of New Business for a musical instrument company. While commuting to work, Anna would call to discuss her idea of the day. Valuing Andrea's opinion, Anna knew that Andrea would be truthful about each invention and when Andrea loved the musical dress-up idea it was "game on". Anna was extremely persistent in asking Andrea to be her partner. She knew without Andrea this idea could only go so far. Well one month later, Andrea gave into Anna's persuasion and came on as a full partner and has never looked back.

Turning the idea into reality involved sourcing manufacturers in China. Andrea will never forget the day; Anna wrote that $15,000 check against her personal line of credit for the first order. They had never met their skirt manufacturer. He was sourced over the Internet and all communication was via email and one phone conversation. This was a huge amount of money for her and her family -but it sealed the deal of their commitment of turning this from an "expensive hobby into a profitable business".

When Acting Out began Anna was working part-time as a hairdresser. It was tricky business, maintaining a career, being a mom and starting a business. They made many mistakes along the way. One of the reasons the partnership works is they both buoy each other up when one person is down. They never dwell on the mistakes and do their best to learn from them (and hopefully not repeat them) and most of all, they have fun!

Andrea and Anna are both NJ natives (I'm a Jersey girl myself now!) and residents. Andrea has two daughters Haley (10) and Anja (7). Anna has three children Max (9), Carolyn (7) and Ava (5).In the beginning, they sold their products through craft shows and out of the back of their cars. By December of that year (after only two months of business) they had 100 accounts. Acting Out is in almost 1,000 stores, six countries and major retailers such as Target online, Costco.com, QVC, Toys r Us online, Hearthsong, Highlights, Young Explorers, Toys to Grow on and Sensational Beginnings. The ladies have won and come close to winning many awards such as Family Fun Magazine Toy of the Year Finalist 2005, Finalist in Family Fun Toy of the Year, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum winner. They have appeared on HSN, QVC, and were featured on The View – Mom Inventors.

I know there are alot of you out there who have great ideas like this, savvy minds for business, and a knack for getting things done. It can happen for you too, moms. These ladies put their minds to it and their hearts into it, and created and marketed a sensational product that I would be proud to give as a gift to even the pickiest little princesses. Is it time for you to get your ideas out there and make them work for you? Think about it. I have a really cute video of the kids dancing to "Blue Danube" here.

While you are thinking about it I have great news. The Ladies at "Acting Out" have given us one Can Can skirt to give away.

To enter :
  • Leave a comment on this post. Check out Acting Out Dress Up and tell me which of the items from their collection are your favorite!
  • Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
  • Please US entries only.
  • To get extra credit :
    • For an extra entry :
    • Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
    • Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
    • One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
    • This contest will end September 30th at midnight!

112 Comments:

jenny said...

wow thay are all so cute and well do i have a fav not realy i like them all and well i be willing to have any one of them my little one loves to dance

Crunchy Green Mom - Suzanne said...

I Like the Can CAn skirt however since that is the giveaway, i like the swan lake dress.

So pretty, my 7 year old would just faint!

LilithSilvermane(at)gmail(dot)Com

Superdumb Supervillain said...

Oh, boy! Roo would go nuts over these. Especially the Nutcracker dress, because she loves that music. The Can Can skirt is actually my favorite. I love the stripes!

Henry said...

I love the swan lake skirt!!

Sky said...

Just one favorite??? My favorite for the moment is the Swan Lake Princess skirt. All of them are too darn cute though!! Oh, how I love having a girlie-girl!

seeryusfam@msn.com

Rebecca said...

Musical Swan Lake Dress is my favorite :D

legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I love the hula skirt. It looks like so much fun!

info at blooming-babies.com

Jenn S. said...

I love them all. If I had to pick one, I guess it would be the Sugar Plum Fairy Musical Dress.

mverno said...

the swan dress is nice

Jill said...

My daughter and I looked through these, and she loved the Sugar Plum Fairy Musical Dress. They are all so pretty.

Anonymous said...

Well, that was tough. It's hard to choose a favorite from so many cute outfits. The Musical Waltz Dress is my first choice but I love them all and so would Liz.
traymona[at]aol.com

MOMFOREVERANDEVER said...

the hula looks like fun but love the cancan too

Mia J. said...

I like the sunshine skirt and also the macarena.

Anonymous said...

My 2 yo would love this! She loves dancing, and having the music with the dress is perfect.

MageMorgana said...

What a neat idea!...my favorite is the Swan Lake Musical Skirt ;)

ladyblue1112000[at]yahoo.com

Gina said...

My youngest picked out the Sugar Plum Fairy Musical Dress... They're all so cute!!

Thanks

Anonymous said...

I like the Swan Lake Dress and The Blue Waltz Dress. CoCo540@yahoo.com

Maja said...

Swan Lake one. :)
angelina115@hotmail.com

Rebekah (monkeygirlsmama) said...

Ooh, those are beautiful dresses- all of them. My favorite is a toss up between the CanCan dress and the Waltz one. I also really like the second HokeyPokey one. So beautiful.

Rebekah
littleminx@cox.net

Thanks

Rebekah (monkeygirlsmama) said...

Subscribed to your feed
RebekahC
littleminx@cox.net

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

My favorite is Musical Hula
Skirt & Lei. My sweet daughter Summer Rae would look so cute in it!thanks
jeni
jen62728@aol.com

Unknown said...

I love the Can Can skirt and the Sugar Plum skirt. So cute...my friend's 5 year old daughter would love these!

keeerried216@aol.com

Anonymous said...

just subscribed also
jeni
jen62728@aol.com

Anonymous said...

I like the Musical Ballerina Skirt. They are all really lovely.
digicat @ sbcglobal.net

Anonymous said...

Your button is on my Blog.
http://carolsbloggys.blogspot.com/

Danielle M. said...

My favorite is also the musical swan lake skirt. My daughter would go crazy for the dresses and skirts on this website. Thanks so much!

Ellerenee said...

I really like both the Can Can Skirt and the Sugar Plum Skirt. Such a great idea.
laylarenee[at]cfl.rr.com

fancyfeet48 said...

I love the swan lake skirt

Anonymous said...

Musical Hula
Skirt & Lei is way cute!

windycindy said...

Hello, What an adorable prize! I really like the "Musical Nutcracker Dress!" My niece would really enjoy this lovely costume. Please enter me another of your fabulous drawings. Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

windycindy said...

I am a subscriber, also! Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Anonymous said...

Oh! they are all darling, but I love the Musical Nutcracker Dress the best (can you hear the music??)

thanks - I would LOVE this for my granddaughter!

sajdakota@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I want the hokey pokey one for me - do you think they'll make it in women's sizes LOL. davidsmommi@knology.net

Anonymous said...

I am a subscriber. semtaylor(at)yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I really like the musical hokey pokey skirts. They look so fun...They are cute, make great music and look like they would be fun to twirl in. Thanks for the giveaway. semtaylor(at)yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I know my daughter would love the musical chicken dance!
num1twinkie at yahoo

Sarah S said...

I love the musical sugar plum skirt!

Michele said...

I'm a subscriber!


Thanks so much!
Michele R.(CA)
luvkittysmeowmail@gmail.com

Michele said...

I love the Swan Lake Dress!!!! Another adorable site!!!

Thanks so much!
Michele R.(CA)
luvkittysmeowmail@gmail.com

Donna said...

I like the Sugar Plum Fairy
Musical Dress.
donna444444@yahoo.com

Kelly said...

I like the musical hokey pokey skirt. My 5yo would love them all.

Heather said...

Gosh it's so hard to decide, I think my favorite is the Musical Hokey
Pokey Skirt but the older kids would love it if we chose the Musical Chicken Dance skirt!

agordon10 said...

My daughter would love the Musical Swan Lake Skirt

Abby said...

the musical hokey pokey skirt is my favorite!

ajcmeyer AT go DOT com

Melissa said...

I like the musical ballerina skirt or the sugar plum fairy. My daughter is always twirling around claiming she is a ballerina.
verypissedoff at verizon dot net

Melissa said...

I am a subscriber too

cathirushing said...

SWAN LAKE DRESS

Anonymous said...

The Musical Can Can Skirt

mogrill said...

The Swan Lake skirt is beautiful!

Andrea @ Momma in Flip Flops2 said...

I am totally loving the plum fairy musical dress. These are so cute and what a great idea. =) Thanks.

Andrea @ Momma in Flip Flops2 said...

Your button is in my links on my review blog. Thanks.

valerie2350 said...

sugar plum fairy :)

Anonymous said...

The swan lake dress is so adorable. Just dreamy

Cheryl said...

We love the musical ballerina skirt!

kdkdkd said...

the Musical Sunshine Flower Wings, Pink, HOW FUN. It would melt my heart to see any little girl in those.

Cheryl said...

I have to say the Musical Hula Skirt and Lei are adorable!

judybrittle said...

They are all so beautiful. I really love the Musical Nutcracker dress. Thank you!
judybrittle(at)aol(dot)com

judybrittle said...

I'm a subscriber
judybrittle(at)aol(dot)com

Anonymous said...

My daughter would like this skirt. I also like the Light-up Boa - Orange/Blue Gators.
-Terra
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com

Julie Donahue said...

They are all beautiful! If I had to pick one, I'd say the Nutcracker one!

Kari said...

What an amazing story! And a great idea!! I love the Sugar Plum Fairy dress, so cute, they all are!

DOODLEGIRL said...

MUSICAL HULA SKIRT AND LEI

retellingstories said...

Great site! My toddler would love the nutcracker or sugar plum fairy dress. Thanks!

hayley said...

Oooh- I love these! The Swan Lake Dress has to be my favorite. Thanks!

oreo89 [at] gmail [dot] com

JACLYN said...

The sunshine skirt, very sweet.

Anonymous said...

subscriber :)

Anonymous said...

we'd like them all, but I'd pick the Musical Nutcracker Dress as my favorite :)

MaggieM said...

Picking one favorite is almost impossible! Well, OK, it's the Sugar Plum Fairy Musical Dress, wow! I also like the Swan Lake Princess Skirt. I can see my 4-year old grand daughter "acting out" in either one. In pink, of course:) Great shop for girls. Thanks for such a wonderful giveaway!

Unknown said...

i love the musical sunshine skirt- the light pink one!

miriama said...

The musical swan lake skirt is SO cute!

Miss Spoken said...

Love the Musical Can Can Skirt!
gkstratos@yahoo.com

lace said...

How cute is that skirt! My nieces are really into dress up and dancing. They'd love this. I'm thinking they would love the waltz skirt.

Linda said...

Musical Waltz Dress
Would have to be my favorite! So beautiful!
Thank you for hosting the giveaway!
Linda

Unknown said...

Musical Can Can Skirt - LOVE this. My 5 year old would go nuts over this skirt.

Unknown said...

I'm a subscriber.

HilLesha O'Nan said...

I love the Musical Can Can Skirt.

HilLesha O'Nan said...

I posted the giveaway here.

Unknown said...

What an awesome idea!

I love the swan lake princess skirt!

CPA Mom said...

How adorable! the Musical Sunshine skirt is beautiful (they all are!)

cpamomva at hotmail dot com

CPA Mom said...

I'm a subscriber.

cpamomva at hotmail dot com

Danielle said...

These are so great. My favorite is the musical hula skirt and lei.


ldsmom2201 at yahoo dot com
http://juanshappywife.blogspot.com
http://homeschoolunitstudies.blogspot.com

Kristan said...

i love the swan lake princess skirt.
andrewandkristan(at)hotmail.com

Christine said...

I like the pink musical sunshine skirt

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

My favorite is the musical ballerina skirt.

=) melanie
http://melaniescrafts.blogspot.com
melanieadey at hotmail dot com

Teresa690 said...

My favorites are the Musical Swan Lake dress, and the Musical Hula Skirt and Lei! My daughter loves dress up! Thanks for the chance to win!

Erica G said...

I like the Sugar Plum fairy skirt and the Musical Sunshine skirts.

egreca (at) hotmail {dot} com

Finamoon said...

I love the Musical Hula Skirts and Lei!

websurferirl19 AT hotmail DOT com

SeahorseLady said...

They are all so cute and looks like fun.
I like the Musical Macarena
Skirt.
Thank you for the nice giveaway.

LadyBug-Kellie said...

I subscribed!!

ladeebug224 at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

musical macarena

jennem said...

Musical Hula Skirts and Lei--seems very fun!
jennem22 at yahoo dot com

vboackle said...

the musical hula skirt.

Karen said...

Musical Macarana !!

ktgonyea@gmail.com

Sonya said...

I love the waltz dress!

klp1965 said...

i love the Musical Hula
Skirt & Lei

Brandy said...

I like the Musical Macarena
Skirt. They are all cute though. :)

Brandy said...

I'm a subscriber. :)

Anonymous said...

I love the Nutcracker dress! Any little girl would feel sooooo beautiful in it.
doot65{at}comcast[dot]net
Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

I'm a subscriber too.
doot65{at}comcast[dot]net
Elizabeth

tlcfromtn said...

They are so adorable! One favorite is the Musical Swan Lake Dress. So cute!

braaisjo at gmail dot com

phxbne said...

I love the Swan Lake Princess skirt.

phxbne said...

I am a subscriber

bison61 said...

I like the Musical Swan Lake princess skirt

tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com

Unknown said...

My niece would go ga-ga over the stuff on this site. I know she would really like the Sugar Plum Fairy Dress. Great site!!!!

sherri419 at gmail dot com

cman said...

I love the Sugar Plum Fairy Musical Dress Featuring Tchaikovsky's
Sugar Plum Music! :)

kerri69 said...

swan lake princess skirt is adoreable i also love the waltz dress and many others

Suzie Williams said...

The waltz dress is my favorite with the Swan Lake dress being a close second.

malleycc said...

The Lai skirt one is really nice and the swan lake princess, but the can can is the cutest. Great giveaway.

Jodi said...

Great site, I will be back for sure. My little one loves to dress up, this weekend she was running around with a goodnight boxer on her head like a hat (don't worry it was a new one lol)

My favorite is the Chicken Dance Musical Skirt, it is adorable, and the video is great.

purehrt555(at)yahoo(dot)com

Crystal F said...

I love the Musical Swan Lake Dress! My daughter would get a kick out of these! Thank you!

tatertot374 said...

Thank you for having this! I really like the Musical Sugar
Plum Fairy Skirt for my daughters. Thank you!
tatertot374@sbcglobal.net

Anonymous said...

I love the Sugar Plum Fairy Musical Dress. angel_2417@yahoo.com

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