Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday October 30, 2009 as we present "Colors of Autumn"

Autumn bursts into a seasonal symphony of color. With swirling leaves of crimson, amber, and gold against a background of crisp blue sky, it excites our senses and invites us to grab hold… before it slips away.

This is a season of celebration, meant to be shared with family and good friends. There are family dinners at tables covered with vintage cloths embroidered with the colors of fall. Time spent together carving pumpkins and decorating with colorful gourds. Weekend afternoons are spent winding through corn mazes, and trips to the apple orchard. Cool crisp evenings and long walks, enjoying all that the season offers before moves into winter.

Nature’s display mingles with the scent of fall. Pies made with fresh apples baking in the oven, cinnamon and spiced tea steeping in a vintage teapot on the counter and marshmallows toasting over a crackling fire. The crisp cool air that rushes in when you open the front door refreshes and excites the senses.

The changing fall foliage provides inspiration for our indoor and outdoor decorating. We add accents from an autumn palette of copper, rust, green, gold and pink to highlight forgotten nooks and crannies. We warm up your our homes with the colors of falling leaves… orange, brown and yellow. Maybe a fall wreath hanging in the entranceway, a needlepoint cushion stitched with rustic fall colors, a pumpkin spiced candle, or a pretty fall bouquet displayed on a side table.
The colors of autumn pervade our quiet alone times too. We start knitting projects with yarn of warm russets and reds, crimson and gold. We stitch quilts with beautiful fabrics that remind us of swirling leaves and autumn’s irresistible allure. Perhaps an attempt at keeping the autumn colors just a little longer.


Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink


Photo Contribution 1: Caroline Alexander | Photo Contribution 2: CandyLights | Photo Contribution 3: Coeur d'Alene

Save The Ta Ta's Spa and Shop Posi+ivi+y Night

On Friday, October 16th Tres Belle Boutique hosted a Posi+ivi+y Fund Raising spa and shop night to raise money to be donated to McHenry Centegra Breast Health Navigator. I invited several local businesses to join me and provide the spa services. Brittany from Hair For You was on hand for pink hair extensions, Natalie the owner of The Nail Lounge for pink mini mani's, and Amber from Chapel Hill Bodyworks for chair massages. Raffle donations were also generously donated by Bella Medica and Destination Fitness. All guests received a pink posi+ivi+y bracelet to help them remember to keep positive about their lives. We all know with a positive attitude we can accomplish great things. Guests also received boutique discounts, pink drinks and treats, and lots of fun. If you take a close look at my pictures you can see I changed all my chandelier bulbs and lights around my windows and used hand dipped bulbs from Candylights. Thanks Roxie your lights added the perfect touch to my event!

Pumpkins and Spice at Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday October 23, 2009 as we present "Pumpkins and Spice"



With the return of autumn come the familiar feelings of comfort, happy childhood memories and hope for what the future will bring. Comfortable fires and cozy kitchens surrounded by the warmth of family and friends. Crunching leaves and laughing voices. A brisk walk in the cool air. With crackling leaves under foot, the sights and smells mingle and wrap you in memory like a warm blanket on a chilly evening. The smell of a fire burning in a neighbor's fireplace as you take your evening stroll, reminiscent of outdoor bonfires and marshmallow roasts, or a cool night warming by the fire with someone you love. Vibrant carved pumpkins or hand crafted velvet pumpkins, both have their place. Some gracing the front steps, others atop a dining room table or sideboard. Reminders of nights spent trick-or-treating, carving friendly pumpkin faces and toasting pumpkin seeds. All reminiscent of autumns gone by.

Cinnamon and clove potpourri simmering on the stove top or in a kettle on the wood burning stove fill your home with the delicious scent of fall. Friends stop by for spiced cider and fresh pumpkin bread - right out of the oven. Laughter and conversation over a table set with a whimsical pumpkin fairy or an elegant pumpkin centerpiece, fills the the room.

The autumn season evokes many happy memories of childhood mixed with anticipation of what's to come. Sunny crisp afternoons picking apples in the orchard, slicing apples for the secret recipe passed down from your grandmother. The aroma of baked apples and gingerbread spiced candles in vintage teacups and containers fill the room.

Autumn is the time for quilting and knitting in front of a crackling fire. Remembering grandma's hands, covering yours as you learned how to make your first stitches so long ago. The season bursts with memory. Memory of all of the senses.


Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink


Photo Contribution 1: Esprit de Joie | Photo Contribution 2: Patricia Rose | Photo Contribution 3: Camelia Cottage

Girly Finds!

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday October 9, 2009 as we present "Girly Finds"


Women everywhere are no longer afraid to show their girly sides, but instead celebrate it. We are now seeking out pieces that make a statement about who we are. Instead of downplaying our femininity, we accessorize and decorate with items that celebrate being a girl. Not only is it OK to show our feminine and flirty side, it's easy too! Everywhere you look, there's something fun and interesting and available at a great price. The smallest touches in just the right places are all it takes to become a girly girl.

Take a length of vintage French velvet ribbon. There's nothing simpler, yet it can become the perfect hair tie for a casual dinner. There are other trimmings to be considered, too, like pretty rick rack in a rainbow of colors, vintage jewelry, and silk roses to add on to a favorite bag or tote.

Girly finds in various shapes and sizes can change the ambiance of any room. A piece of handmade lace draped over the back of a chair. A floral pillow placed on the bed. Nurseries, once cold and sterile, now lit with antique chandeliers, crystal prisms giving the room a dreamy, girly look. Yards and yards of silk puddling at each window.

A Victorian shawl wrapped around your shoulders creates an elegant entrance. Pouring tea from a teapot painted with delicate roses turns tea for one into a relaxing and feminine getaway. Luxury soaps, as pretty as they are practical, are scented with soothing fragrances and poured into delightful shapes. Boxes made out of vintage wallpaper, buttons and handmade roses are filled with old love letters tied with velvety bows.

A single feminine element is all it takes to change the appearance of anything, or the atmosphere of any occasion. Just adding a touch like a simple rose belt to a denim skirt, or a snippet of lace at the cuff is all it takes to make personalities emerge in a sea of girly girls.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution 1: Shabby Shan's | Photo Contribution 2: Caroline Alexander

Paint Our Downtown Pink

Lots of fund raising is happening in downtown McHenry. A few of us got together and made 400 pink ribbon bows and hung them all over the downtown. Several businesses have gone the extra mile and decorated their businesses to promote Breast Cancer Awareness.

Tres Belle Boutique will be donating 5% of our October sales to Centegra Breast Health Navigator in McHenry. On Friday, October 16th we will be hosting a "Save The Ta Ta's" Spa and Shop Posi+ivi+y Night. We have a fun night planned with pink mini mani's, pink hair extentions, chair massages, and raffles to help raise money to be donated in memory of my sister Diane. Shoppers will also receive discounts and plenty of pink refreshments will be on hand.