Ok I decided we needed some color on the blog. I want to show you what my eBay group has been up to. The Giggle Girls have a buyers boutique group. We paired with some of our lovely members and let them choose the fabrics that we would create an outfit with. It's a challenge, but here's some of the designs we came up with.

by Nanci of Talia*Couture



again by Nanci of Talia*Couture




by Susan of Black*eyed*susan*Boutique



one of many bows by Stephanie of ourlittlemissthing



and this one is by me Angel*and*Issabug




I will post some more pics tomorrow after the girls get their listings up!

Ok, so I have gotten lots done today on the computer, but not what I really need to be doing. Seems to be the story of my life. I often pull inspiration from the many emails and posts that I read during the day in the great groups I belong to. Well, this quote came today and I find it inspiring.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.” – Mark Twain

The quote goes along with my own routine that I already use. Unfortunately routine can only go so far to keep you motivated. So on that note, I wanted to share some of the tricks and plain and simple facts that I have learned along the way.

1. Organization.......the messier my house gets the less I want to do, like you said it's overwhelming. So I started attacking one project at a time until I had my house arranged and organized as I want it
2. You have to concede that dishes and laundry are never ending. You will NEVER be caught up. Just resign to the fact that you must do it EVERY day and it's no one's fault. I used to get angry that I always had dishes and laundry to do.
3. Lists.......sometimes I go overboard, but I make lists for everything. I recently started using a spiral notebook. I started out by creating a schedule that I can stick to of when I will do what. That keeps me in check with my computer time. Then I start each week with a list of the things I need and/or want to do. Sometimes it includes simple things like sweepign the kitchen. If my list is really long than things like this that are completed quickly help me to feel like I have accomplished something (I cross them off as I go). Either at the end of the day or the end of the week if the projects take a few days, than I transfer uncompleted tasks to a new sheet and fold the old list in half. It helps me to remember all the little things I need to do and is proof of everything I have accomplished.
4. Delegate.....this one is hard for me and it took me going into management a few years back to learn how to do this. I no longer work out of the home but I have found a lot of things I learned can be applied to my home life. I assigned one main chore to each of my three kids. My oldest does laundry. She is required to wash, dry and fold one complete load every day after school. Now in reality she is folding the load already in the dryer, switching the one from the washer to the dryer and usually starting a new one. I will then switch that load to the dryer before I go to bed. In the morning sometimes I will switch loads again if need be. But once in this routine......one load a day is usually all it takes and I have a family of 5. My middle child is to clear the table and do the dishesd (loading the dishwasher) after dinner every night. This includes wiping down all surfaces of the kitchen afterward. Now she is 10 and it has taken a couple years to get her to the point that she does it all correctly but it's nice to know that once I have cooked dinner I don't have to clean the kitchen too. We all help put away the leftovers and put our own plates in the sink. My 8 yr old son empties the dishwasher every day after school once he's done with his homework. This works well for us.

With all this said, it works in my house. I start my day as soon as everyone else is out the door by loading the remaining dishes from breakfast in the dishwasher and starting the cycle. I wipe down the counters and then sweep the kitchen floor. I usually have just a few things to pick up or maybe a load of laundry to put away, but 30 minutes is about all it takes me to finish my cleaning and move on to running my business.

Just in Case

Food rationing in the US? It is hard to believe isn't it? But they are rationing the large portions of rice and flour. So far I haven't heard of anyone rationing the smaller bags....but who's to say that isn't too far off.

Here's my thoughts on the subject. I believe in trusting God for our provisions....but I also believe that he teaches us to prepare for things to come. He doesn't want us to worry.....that actually doesn't help anything.....but preparing for the future is a good thing.

As I have gotten older I have come to realize more and more that we are a nation of very spoiled people. We really provide nothing for ourselves and instead import most things. Even things we don't import most of us run and buy from the local grocer. None of us bake our own bread, make our own jelly, or even grow our own vegetables. The other day I made a trip to the grocery store and my Issabug wanted to know why they were selling ice tea by the gallon. She couldn't fathom that it was too hard for anyone to make their own tea......she comes by this opinion because all my children have been taught to make tea and lemondade when the jug is empty. The only answer I really had for her was that a lot of people rely on store bought items instead of making it themselves.

Now with rising gas prices leading to higher retail prices on everything I have seen a serge in people trying to provide for themselves. People have commented that they are starting gardens this year and that they are trying to put aside some staple foods "just in case".

I myself have had a tomato garden for the last couple years. This year I expanded to include other vegetables. I also cleaned out my garage to include a whole area just for pantry items that I plan to start buying and storing "just in case." I also decided to clean out and repaint that old chest freezer that's been in our garage collecting dust for several years. I don't know whether that "just in case" moment will come, if it will be food rationing on a grander scale in the US, or maybe just a natural disaster that paralyzes our area, but I plan to be ready. How about you? What are you doing to be ready "Just in case?"

TEENAGERS!!!!!!!!!

So currently I have one teen (13 yr old daughter) and one preteen (almost 11 yr old daughter). I do my best to direct them and teach them about the world and their responsibilities. I also try very hard to let them know that I love them and to instill self confidence in them that they can and should be proud of who they are. With the completion of this school year I have found myself increasingly worried about what the future holds. I have seen my oldest change quite a bit since entering middle school 2 years ago, though she still thinks I hung the moon and stars. Already we have had disagreements over whether she should have a MySpace page or not, and I have to monitor her friends' pages for pictures that they have posted of my daughter. It's the "in" thing to take pictures of yourself in a bathing suit and post them..........here lies the Miley Cyrus influence. I know that these girls intentions are not devious or sexual, but they don't really know the affect that these pictures can have on your self image and the way the boys look at you. I am just amazed at how many parents have no idea what their children are doing.

I expect to see even more changes in my 10 yr old as she enters middle school in the fall and we are not nearly as close. I am terrified of where this will leave us in a few years. We are already seeing serges of attitude and have to really be on our toes with her. She tends to be a little sneakier than our first and a lot more verbal in her discontent.

My Mother keeps telling me this is normal and that it will be rough, but we will get through it. She says that they ALL lose their minds shortly after turning 13. I refuse to accept that my daughters and I cannot have a wonderful relationship even through their teenage years. Obviously I would not ever give up on my children......but how do I keep the lines of communication open between my children and still let them know that they have rules and boundaries? I don't want to come across as the mean witch making their lives miserable, but I wont just leave them to their own devices either. The world is a scary scary place.

So my question to you is this: How do/did you do it? How do you teach them boundaries and still let them be heard? I don't want to squash their spirits, but I do want them to know there are consequences to EVERY single one of their actions. Comment and let me know what you think and I might use your tip in another post!!!

And the winners are..........

The leaders and moderators of ALL THINGS BOUTIQUE would like to announce the winners of our most recent contest. We hosted a logo contest to find some great new logos for you to use in your auctions and on your websites. Check them out!!


First Place goes to the*retro*kid


I am a WAHM with two beautiful children who model for great designers. They are Emma 6 and Emmett 4. I am a hairdresser who has a salon in my home and I stay very busy with that. I started to do graphic design after having so much fun making auction templates about 4 years ago. Graphic design is my creative outlet. I do website design, logo design, business card design and printing, hangtag design and printing, auction templates, and lots of custom work. I have done auction templates for group launches. Please feel free to contact me about any graphic needs you have!
Alana



These are our Honorable Mention Winners. We love these logos too and want to sincerely Thanks these ladies for the hard work they put into them.


The first Honorable mention goes to Jennifer of KJH Originals


I am a SAHM to 3 wonderful children. Hunter is 9, Kaitlyn is 4 and Landon is 3 months old. I started sewing/designing children's clothes when my daughter was born. The excitement I got after putting the "puzzle" together was addicting. Along with the comments when she would wear my clothing out. Graphic design started when I started selling my clothing. I've sold signatures, ebay templates, business card designs, banners for my Top Site, clothing tags, and anything else I can do with my graphic program. I love anything creative and will try it at least once. I'm always looking at ways to improve and grow in everything I do.
Jennifer
kjh Originals

Our second Honorable Mention goes to Rebekah of ScrappinDesign


Wow What an Honor! I am a SAHM to 3 little ones ages 4, 3, and 17 months and wife to the most wonderful and supportive husband a women could ever ask for! They keep me very busy! I have been designing Hair Bows for a little over 3 years and about 6 months ago found a new passion for Ribbon Art Clips! I LOVE making them because it is a way to let my imagination soar and to share my God given talent with all the wonderful people here on e-bay! I have been asked many times where I learned to make these clips and the answer is simply God! I do still do bows from time to time but my real passion is the clips! I LOVE to do custom clips to match anything your little girl has in her closet so Please feel free to contact me with your needs! Also feel free to sign up for my mailing list on my ME page to be entered into my monthly drawing for a FREE ribbon art clip! Thanks and God Bless! -Rebekah


Please visit these lovely ladies' ABOUT ME pages and check out all their designs. Didn't they do a wonderful job for us?!!!

Featured Designer Interview for May!!

Thanks to Nikki of pretty*in*pink*creations for conducting these interviews. She did a great job and asked great questions!!



Hey there! My name is Tawny... you may know me as the crazy haired tattooed designer behind Bada Blingg Designs... but...I am a Pastry Chef by day & Jewelry designer by night!...


My Hubby Chris (who is also a chef) & I have been married for 13yrs in June... we have 4 rockin awesome kiddos ages 14 - 4yrs... I have ALWAYS been artsy fartsy... I cant remember a time when I was not creating something & I tell people all the time that I will go crazy if I cant do something with my hands!




I began designing jewelry a little over 7 years ago... just for fun & then when I was prego with my daughter 5 years ago I saw a show on HGTV about lampwork bead making.... I fell in love with the beads & began to search for them on Ebay when I fell into the boutique world & was HOOKED!







I have been selling on Ebay for almost 3 years now & I LOVE it! I can still remember the first thing I ever sold on Ebay... it was a bottlecap necklace that sold for $6 & I was SO stoked about it!...I am also the leader of the fantastic design group The PolkaDots... the funkiest fun bunch of women on Ebay!





I love photography... even tho Im not that great at it... I just love to look at things through the lens of a camera... I am a color~a~holic... if its bright & fun then I am in love... thats why I have Hot Pink Hair! LOL!










I LOVE to blog & am addicted to my space.... & really thats me in a nut shell! A huge thanks to my girls at ALTB for showing me the love & thanks to you for reading!

Featured Model Interview for May!

Thanks to Nikki of pretty*in*pink*creations for conducting these interviews. She did a great job and asked great questions!!




Our featured model is 10 month old Madison, questions answered by her Mother Annie of madison*boutique

Madison is 10 months old. She started modeling when she was 7.5 months old. She is a very quick learner and is quite independent. She loves to explore and play. She is very good at throwing things and can throw balls very far. She loves to swing, bop to the music, and loves to be squished. She also loves to play with her big brother.




I didn’t know anything about custom boutique clothing on Ebay before. We just happened to win a custom set from Jennifer of Bella*Tessa. After seeing the beautiful outfit and the quality sewing and designer fabrics, we were hooked on custom boutique clothes. I have always had a love for photography and saw the beautiful pictures of the models in the auctions and thought that it would be a fun thing for Madison and me to do. She would be able to wear beautiful outfits and have memorable pictures. We hope we can do this for many more years to come.




The first set she modeled was a really cute brown and pink easter set by Creampuff*Couture.



We want to thank you very much for choosing Madison to be model of the month. We are so honored. We LOVE being part of All Things Boutique Group.

I'm back!..............

Ok, so I know that I have been MIA this month......there's been alot going on at home. I am sure that all you mommies understand this. I will try really hard to do better from now on. Keep checking back over the next few days. I will be putting up new interviews for ALL THINGS BOUTIQUE and getting caught up on some other posts I have been planning.

As we all try to keep our families afloat during this so-called recession, I was thinking of doing a monthly feature giving hints and tips on how to save money. My first blog lesson will be in decorating my son's room in a Pirates' theme on a budget of less than $50. June's tips will revolve around refinishing furniture whether it be a yard sale find or some old piece that you already own. So keep checking back for some of the cool new features!!!