New Winner for Giveaway Prize #2!

When I announced the blog giveaway winners one week ago, on Monday, June 20, I said that the prize winners must contact me by Friday, June 24, 2011 to claim their prizes. I heard from Sans!, winner of prize #1, and her package is going out in the mail today--yay!

I never heard, however, from the winner of prize #2 (the handmade chick plushy, the recycled toy it is resting in, the home-grown lavender in a silky bag, and a set of my new line of greeting cards), so I did a re-draw last night, again using the random number generator.

So, drum roll please, the new winner of prize #2 is, amazingly, Rosamargarita of La Tapatia! Congratulations Rosamargarita! Please reply, either here on this post or to my email at plush (at) plushpussycat.com by this Friday, July 1, 2011 to claim your prize. I will pack your prize today and mail it to you as soon as I hear from you. And I just happen to have Rosamargarita's address, since she recently sent me the sweet mini crocheted dress that I featured in my most recent post.

How did this happen? If you look at the comments, Maria Ireland and Heleni were the first two to say they liked prize #2, and they each got two chances in the giveaway, because they posted my blog giveaway on their blog sidebars. They were, then, the first four entries for prize #2. Next came Rosamargarita, who had entry numbers 5 and 6. And the random number generator picked #5.

Again, congratulations to both winners, Sans! and Rosamargarita. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway. I look forward to hosting another giveaway in the future. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Rosamargarita's Tiny Dress

A few weeks back, I was lucky enough to win a beautiful miniature hand-crocheted dress. I saw the post on Rosamargarita's blog, La Tapatia. She showed beautiful plants in  her garden, and then "surprise," there was a beautiful pink flower on one of the plants. But the flower wasn't really a flower, it was a beautiful ruffled dress that she had made herself.

I was the first person to comment about it, and then Rosamargarita announced that it was mine! Wow! I was thrilled. She mailed it to me all the way from Guadalajara, Mexico, so it took several weeks to arrive. I was so excited when the package finally showed up in my mailbox. I immediately put the tiny dress on my mini teddy bear. Here is "Teddy" modeling the dress:

Can you believe all of the teeny tiny stitches needed to make all of those teeny tiny ruffles?! It is very fine work, and done so perfectly! To give you better perspective on the size, here is Teddy wearing the dress inside the heirloom 1:12 dollhouse (Dad's Dollhouse) that I am refurbishing:

See how tiny it is?

Thank you, Rosamargarita! I am in awe of your beautiful work. You are an artist and a good friend! Big hugs! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

And the Giveaway Winners Are...

Yesterday I used a random number generator to draw the two grand prize-winning names for my blog giveaway. Once I name the two grand-prize winners, I will offer something special for everyone, so keep reading to the bottom of this post to find out the surprise, OK?

As you may remember, this was prize #1: Victorian-style miniatures, vintage 1980s (baby cradle, tin bathtub, miniature Victorian photographs, miniature Victorian paperdolls, pair of baby books, shabby metal pot with lid, washbowl set, and mini metal basket with mini eggs); home-grown dried lavender in a drawstring bag (I grew and harvested it myself!); and one set of three of my new greeting cards!

And the winner of prize #1 is (drumroll, please): Sans! of The Dollhouse Diaries: My Maharaja's Palace

And this was prize #2: a handmade chick plushy, the repurposed flower and nest toy it is resting in, home-grown dried lavender (I grew and harvested it myself!) in a drawstring bag, and one set of three of my new greeting cards!

And the winner of prize #2 is (drumroll, please): Magrill

Congratulations to both grand prize winners! Please contact me with your mailing addresses at plush (at) plushpussycat.com by the end of Friday, June 24, 2011 to collect your prizes!

And now for the special surprise offer for everyone else who joined my blog giveaway (and for your friends too!):

Use the coupon code GIVEAWAY1 in my Plushpussycat online store for 20% off of each item you purchase (not including the shipping charges) between now and Friday, June 24, 2011. Just use the coupon code at checkout, and each item you purchase will be discounted by 20% (meaning your subtotal before shipping will be discounted by 20%)! This is a great time to buy some of my greeting cards to use throughout the year.

This is my way of saying "thank you" to all of you! I so appreciate all of my blog followers (both long-time and brand-new), all of the people who leave such lovely comments on my blog posts, and all of you dear readers who provide a sounding board and moral support by reading my blog. Thank you everyone! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Tomcat Plushy Is a Star!

Tomcat plushy has become a star recently.

He has been featured in an Etsy treasury, is one of two main characters on the thank-you/romantic card in my new greeting card line, and is regularly favorited by a number of people visiting my online shop. But now he has made it to the big-time. That's right, Tomcat has been featured on a web site called I Only Like Monsters! As one of the featured gray cats, he's in an exclusive group. He's a hotshot now, a VIP, a rockstar! But I think he may be getting a big head about all of it. See what I mean?!

Do you think Tomcat's new-found fame has gone to his head? Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Tucking You All In the Giveaway

As most of you know, my blog giveaway ends this Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 11:59:59 pm Pacific time. I have been randomly looking through the comments on the giveaway post, and I've noticed that there are a couple of problems:

1) Some of the people who signed up for the giveaway are not followers of the blog using Google Friend Connect (instructions on how to follow with Google Friend Connect are here).
2) Some of the people who signed up for the giveaway did not specify which prize(s) they are interested in (#1, #2, or both).

PLEASE do yourself a favor and double-check your giveaway entry in the comments (sometime before Saturday) and make sure that you have covered both of these requirements. I will not be able to include incomplete entries in the drawing. :-(  If you find that your entry was incomplete, write a new comment on the giveaway post with all of the information.

Now I have a question for all of you. Are there any people out there who have NOT been able to leave a comment on the giveaway post or who cannot follow this blog using Google Friend Connect? I have heard from three people who had one or the other of these problems, but in two out of the three cases, the problem has now been solved.

Is there anyone else out there who would like to enter the giveaway but cannot so far? If so, I would like to hear from you. Let's try to solve the problem so that you can have a chance at the prizes too! Leave a comment on this post or email me at plush (at) plushpussycat.com. Thank you!

What do you think of my little mouse plushy? She has just tucked her baby into bed. I hope you don't mind that I have tried to help everyone have a chance to win the giveaway prizes. :-) I feel like I am tucking you all in the giveaway! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Uh Oh!

Uh oh! Today I am experiencing some dreaded Blogger troubles! I cannot see my followers nor the followers on some other people's blogs--yikes! Just empty space on the template. Is anyone else having this trouble today? I know that several of you have had these problems.

I'm feeling a little nervous about it. Is it just a temporary glitch or a sign of more trouble to come? I would love to hear from others if you're having this trouble now, if you had it before but are not anymore, and if you had this trouble but solved the problem. Solutions would be fantastic, but even some moral support would be great. :-)

I feel that Mr. Sad Slug is in order as a photograph to accompany this post. :-( What do you think?

Don't forget that my blog giveaway is still running through June 18, 2011. It is not too late to win a prize!

Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer and Mr. Sad Slug

My Prizes From Klara's Giveaway!

Klara Meijer had an amazing miniatures giveaway a few weeks ago on her blog. I couldn't believe I was so fortunate to win her prize #1. When I heard about it, I was giddy with excitement! It took a couple of weeks to receive Klara's package--the postal service was taking forever (at least in my mind). Finally, one day I opened my mailbox, and what a surprise! The package was there.

I brought the package up to my craft room and started opening it. The first thing I found was an inner package with these words written on it:

I opened the inner packet and found several gift-wrapped presents. Of course, my heart was pounding and my fingers were shaking, I was so excited!

Finally, I opened each present and found treasure after treasure:

Klara made each miniature item with so much thought, care, and skill. I am so touched by her thoughtfulness. Now you can see them laid out in my partially-refurbished vintage heirloom dollhouse:

Klara's mini hat is at the foot of the bed, which is difficult to see in this photograph. Her miniature ladies suitcase is sitting on the settee, her shoes and purse on the pink rug in front of the dressing table, which holds several more of her gifts.

As you can see, this miniature bedroom is very much in the process of being refurbished. However, you can also see how her items set the mood of the room, they are so lovely. Bella the bride bunny fits in so well here with all of this pretty lady-stuff. I will take a better photo once I've completed the house remodel--then you will be able to see Klara's items in all their glory!

Thank you, Klara, for a lovely blog giveaway! I feel so fortunate to have won your lovely prizes! Oh, and speaking of giveaways, don't forget mine here. It closes June 18, so there is still time to enter it for a chance to win several prizes. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

My Interview on Carina's Craftblog!

When Carina of Carina's Craftblog asked me for an interview, I was thrilled! My first interview--yay! And what an honor to be asked by Carina! I've been following her blog for quite a while, and I enjoy it so much. She has a really nice mix of subjects on her blog, including embroidery projects, photography tips, giveaways, lovely photos from her travels, freebies, and interviews with crafters like me. I love how her blog is so positive and inspiring.

Check out my interview, where Carina asks me about my creative process and more. I share about plushies, miniatures, my craft room, and some bits from my personal life. It's a chance to get to know me better. There's even a photo of me!

I'm laughing about that photo bit, because when I first started my blog, I was really shy and only included a picture of Plushpussycat and didn't even have my name on the blog! Over time, I got a little more comfortable and added my first name and a picture of me from a funny angle (the one that is on my right-hand sidebar now). Finally, I put my full name on my blog. Now, with this interview, there's a big photo of me--no hiding anymore. ;-)

I hope you enjoy the interview and enjoy checking out Carina's Craftblog--it really is lovely. And Monday I really will show you Klara's wonderful giveaway gifts--I promise! And I'll give you an update on my blog giveaway! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer