I Am Signing Off...

For a whole week! We just made last minute reservations for Disneyland! We will be leaving on Sunday, and we just booked the trip today (Thursday). I don't know what made us do this, but my husband thought of it because he quit his job and is starting a new job in a couple weeks, and decided that we should do a vacation while he is off because he doesn't know when he will get another one. Our friends just happen to be going at the same time, so it works out really well. Sydney doesn't have any idea, and we are going to surprise her at the airport. They will also be doing the "Mickey's Halloween Treat" party while we are there, so we got tickets for that. I bought Sydney a Minnie Mouse costume to wear. I am so excited, but of course I won't be able to ride on much because I am 22 weeks pregnant. Oh well, just going to see the look on the kids faces! Anyway, I am still around, just on vacation :)

Lilyplum Launches With Special Guest

Starting today, Lilyplum has a new launch out titled "Eden Inspiration". This launch is celebrating the gorgeous clothing line, Eden's Boutique. Jen, the owner of Eden's Boutique, is guesting with the Lilyplum girls and created a One-Of-A-Kind outfit just for this launch! When I think of Eden's Boutique, I think vintage, classic, romantic, delicate, girly, with lots of natural tone fabrics. I love this clothing line and think that it is a must have in your child's wardrobe. Plus, many of the pieces are heirloom quality, so you can enjoy them for years to come. Below are some of the designs listed in this launch. Click on the designers name to go straight to their auction.

That*Funky*Boutique

NZBug



TreasureHunter76

And Guest LevisJen (Eden's Boutique)

We Weren't Going To Find Out...

...Until we got to the Ultrasound room. Up until that point we were going back and forth, and still hadn't committed on a decision. Then the tech asks us if we were wanting to know the sex of the baby, AS SHE IS LOOKING RIGHT AT IT. Here we are, starring at the screen, and here the sex is, starring us right in the face. Kind of hard not to notice it. So, I guess that made our decision for us, we were finding out after all. I'm sure you can all guess by now, we are having another little BOY! Sydney, my oldest, whom is almost going to be 5 when the new baby gets here, was so sure it was going to be a little girl. I really thought I was going to break her heart when I told her, but surprisingly, she was absolutely fine with it. My youngest, Trevor, who is going to be just 2 years old when baby boy #2 arrives, has no idea what I am talking about when I tell him about the baby in mommies belly. Hopefully he will adapt well, but I have my doubts, LOL. Just wanted to share my exciting news will all you readers!

Who's At The Top...$$$

1. Crabby*G ~ "Tis The Season" ~ Ivylane

2. SmallSomething ~ "Marie Antoinette Costume" ~ The Clovergirls

3. Sew.Cute.On.You! ~ "Toons" ~ ODOD

4. Tiny*Toes*Boutique ~ "Grinched" ~ PoppySt

5. MonaLisaBoutique ~ "Joyeux Noel" ~ MeliMelo

Favorite Auctions Of The Week

Here are some of my favorites this week!

Mamapatrice

Francoise*Studio

Maddie*Kate


SmallSomething

SugarBelleChic

BoutiquePrincessNBows

CarolinesClosetBoutique

Buckeye-Mom26

Jzeppelin

Boutique Cafe Family Photo Contest

I just wanted to share with you all a photo contest that is being held now on Boutique Cafe. Here is what was emailed to me:

"Boutique Cafe is honored to team up with our sponsor Philips for our “Family Photo Contest” running from today until Oct. 25th. Enter to win one of 4 spectacular Philips Digital Photo Frames in their gorgeous seasonal design! Get snapping those shots and send them in for our online BC gallery. Thanks for your participation - we’re excited to have you show us your families."

Click Here to go directly to the contest

Have fun getting those pics! Those frames look awesome!

Back-To-School Photos

Last month I asked readers to send me a picture of their child in their BTS outfit, weather it be a custom, or store bought. I had ONE WHOLE PERSON send in a photo. Thank you so so much to Jessica for sending in the picture of her adorable kids. Hopefully next month I will get a better turnout :)

Jaden In Blowin*Bubbles*Boutique



Sydney In Hollysmama

Photo Share For October

Okay, my first photo share didn't go so good. I had one person email me a photo of their daughter in her adorable Back-To-School outfit, which I will share later. Come on girls, I know there must be more readers that have school age children! So next month I want to see Pumpkin Patch pictures. Email me your favorite picture from the local pumpkin patch, and I will share it on my blog. Please send along your child/children's names, and if they are wearing a custom design, then let me know who made it as well. Send pictures to couture4mycutie@gmail.com by October 30th.

In November I am going to be having a Photo Contest, searching for the Best Halloween Costume. The winner will get $15 deposited into her PayPal account. Those photos will be due on November 5th. All entries will be submitted! I will pick my favorite 3, and then let the blog readers vote on the winner. This will be a private vote, all the votes will be emailed to me. It doesn't matter if you have a boy or girl, if they are wearing a custom costume or store bought, send in those photos!

Who's At The Top...$$$

Here are the leaders so far this week:

1. PBAndJ*Creations ~ "Rock Star" ~ StudioE, XY Boutique, ATeam

2. WildByDesign ~ "Puppy Dog Overalls" ~ Boutique Newz

3. MonaLisaBoutique ~ "Harry Potter" ~ MeliMelo

4. FreshAndVintage ~ "Christmas Canzonetta" ~ LimeVine

5. CarolinesClosetBoutique ~ "Portrait In Pistachio" ~ TheBlossoms, Boutique Traditions

Favorite Auctions Of The Week

Here are my favorites this week:

Lil-Divaduds


Little*Moonkey


*Pouty*Princess*




Lexisboutiquecloset

Little*Red*Wagon

Twolittle*Angels

TheCharmedChild



Ragamuffin*Couture

MonaLisaBoutique

Princess*And*The*Pea

Don't Forget...Share BTS Pics!

Don't forget, you can share your little sweetie in his/her Back-To-School outfit on my blog. Just send me a picture by Monday, September 17th, and it will be included in the article. Remember, this goes for custom boutique outfits as well as any store bought outfits. Just let me know the child's name, and the designer or brand of clothing. Send them to couture4mycutie@gmail.com. Thanks for anyone who will participate!!

LimeVine Launch Unveils A New Member

New Launch Group Sure To Be A Favorite

The group is called "Boutique Traditions", and they premiere this Thursday the 13th. Their goal, to bring you traditional classic designs for the various Holidays. They will be meeting 4 times a year to design unique and gorgeous sets with the Holiday theme in mind. I am so excited to see a launch group that is strictly designing around the Holidays. I am always buying Holiday sets, and now I know the first place I will be looking. Check out this list of awesome, well established designers:

oli*beli ~ Kirsten

*kandy*kisses ~ Laurie
momosclothes ~ April

delaneys*garden ~ Lane
rufflebunnies ~ Sara

dandelionavenue, Angela

*pouty*princess* ~ Jennifer

carolinesclosetboutique ~ Trishia

sunnybrook*farm*designs ~ Rebekah

carilivia ~ Carissa

my*unbirthday ~ Dayna

dandelions_and_daisies ~ Susan

Here is a sneak peek from Kirsten of Oli*Beli



And one from Rebekah of Sunnybrook Farm Designs


Here is Jennifer's of *Pouty*Princess*

Middle Name Game

So I have been tagged by my fellow blogger Rebekah of Sunnybrook Farm Designs to play the middle name game. Here is what I have been instructed to do:

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

This is going to be a hard one for me, since I have a fairly long middle name, plus the fact that I am not very creative. So here goes:

C ~ Children ~ I have 2 children, Sydney, age 4, and Trevor, age 20 months, and then I have one on the way. That is the first word I think of when I see the letter C.

H ~ Honest ~ I feel like I am completely honest with everyone that I meet. I have been known on occasion to be "brutally honest".

R ~ Rowdy ~ Not actually rowdy as in I like to go out and get in bar fights and cause a big commotion, just rowdy meaning in my youth I would like to get with my girlfriends and go out on the town and have lots of fun. I guess a better word would be Wild or Carefree.

I ~ Inspired ~ I am always inspired by so many different things in my life, but when I first stumbled upon custom boutique clothing, I was so inspired by all these wonderful designers and their gorgeous creations. I wanted so badly to be a part of the boutique community in some other way then being a buyer. When I found out about blogging from a designer that I have been inspired by probably since the very beginning of my buying, about 4 years ago, I naturally wanted to start this blog to let all the designers know how inspiring they are to buyers and other designers alike. That first designer that inspired me is Amelia from Sweet_Feet_Boutique, and she still inspires me today. She is not only a person to look up to, she is also a friend.

S ~ Silly ~ This goes without saying. I love to be silly with my kids, and my husband, and my friends, and just about anybody. I am very lighthearted and I joke around alot.

T ~ Travel ~ I absolutely love to travel, and would go just about anywhere. Well, maybe not anywhere, but mostly anywhere. Outside the U.S., I have only been to Canada and Mexico, but I have dreams to go to Europe and so many other places eventually when the kids are old enough.

I ~ Independent ~ When I was growing up, my mom always taught me to be independent, and not rely on other people to take care of me. That kind of stuck with me, and now I don't rely on people to do things for me or help me out when I am stuck. The only people I truly rely on is my family. Also, I am independent in the sense that I don't let motherhood define who I am. It is the biggest, most important thing in my life, but I would like to think of myself as someone other then Sydney and Trevor's mom.

N ~ Nose Ring ~ Okay, this isn't something that describes me, just a small fact, I had a tiny nose ring until Steve and I got engaged. It was the smallest silver ball, barely viseable to the naked eye. Got rid of it because I didn't want it to show in the wedding pictures. I will have to see if I can dig up a picture and scan it on here.

E ~ Enormous ~ Maybe I'm not enormous, but I am 5 months pregnant, and I feel enormous right now! I have only gained about 12 pounds, but it feels like 40!

Whew, that was difficult! Now I have to tag NINE PEOPLE! Let's see, I will tag Becky, Eva, Patrice, Patty, Michelle, Emily, Amelia, Angie, and Chelsea. Hope you girls don't mind!!!

Designer Interview ~ Mamapatrice

I haven't done a designer interview all Summer, and thought September would be a good month to start up again. I will be featuring a new designer every month, so check back to see who will be featured next. Thanks so much to Patrice for taking the time to do this interview with me. You are a very inspiring women, and I loved learning more about you!

Where were you born and raised? I was born and raised in Central Massachusetts. I moved to Arizona when I was 19 yrs old, by myself. All I knew was my pen pal, my now husband ;)

Where do you live now? I live in Pennsylvania now

How many children do you have? Names and ages?
I have 4 children ages 9 yrs, 7 yrs, 6 yrs and 4 yrs.

What are your hobbies (besides designing and sewing)? Photography, hanging out with my very large dog, and healthy living (eating well and exercise)

What is your eBay ID? mamapatrice

How did you come up with your ID, is there a story behind it? It was the name I used as my chat name on parenting sites. Patrice was taken so I just logically put mama in front of it. When I started my business, it seemed like a perfect for for my clothing lines.

Are you a member of a design group? How long have you been a member of that group? I am apart of Anthology Inc. I have been a member since it's creation, in August 2007....so several weeks LOL. I think we might might be the newest group on eBay, but the members are familiar favorites!

How long have you been selling your designs on eBay? I started selling my designs Spring of 2004.

What got you started? Custom boutique just started to blossom on ebay and I was admiring all the designs...I had 2 little girls and thought it might be a great way to express my creative side and be inspired by my girls at the same time. I had doubts about learning to sew, but had met Jen, of Eden's Bouquet, on a parenting site and she encouraged me to give it a try.

What is your inspiration for your designs? It could just be a color, a fabric, one of my children, in what I think they would love to have. It could be an object an image. Many times I just sit down with my sketch pad and play.

Is there any other designers you admire? There are so many talent designers, some I have chatted with, some I have worked with. I've been so fortunate to get to know so many other talented designers. The ones I admire the most are the ones I design with in Anthology Inc.

What is your favorite design you have created? That is a tricky one. I think my Degas Inspiration is my favorite. I love silk and the color combination I think was a bit of a surprise. It was pink, with a melon and a deep burnt red orange with black lace. With the hand stitched pearls, lace and silk, I love how the different textures come together.



What is your favorite fabric designer? I think Robyn Pandolf for her Asian meets shabby style. I also love Japanese import fabric. Moda has alot of designer I love. I could go on, I have a serious fabric addiction LOL.

What is your favorite custom auction on eBay right now? I have to admit I don't get much time to surf. I do love Kellie, of spoiled*sweet, Cozy Christmas Set.



If you could max out your credit card at one store, what store would that be? I am a simple girl, I love JCrew.

What can we expect from you in the future? More sets working with mydeepbluec, it is always fun to work with her and get inspired by her work and take mine in new directions. I will be working on adding new styles to my collections.

To Go To Patrice's Auctions Click Here

To Visit Patrice's Website Click Here

To See Patrice's "Me" Page Click Here

Patrice is offering free shipping to anyone who mentions they read her interview on my blog!