Happy Holidays From Cupcake Cottage

Today is the winter solstice. Now the days will get longer, and there will be more light. Flossy and Sophie are so glad, because they started baking before dawn this morning.

Now, in the early morning light, they finally have a chance to stop and appreciate the results of all their hard work! Mmm, there are vanilla cherry cupcakes with coconut frosting, a moist chocolate bundt cake drizzled with peppermint frosting, and chocolate cookies frosted thick with creamy peppermint frosting.

Flossy, ever the shy one, loves the cupcakes the most.

Sophie prefers the peppermint chocolate treats. Oops! Flossy's paw gets a little too close to the bundt cake. "Grrr!" Fortunately, friends forgive such things.

Happy holidays from Cupcake Cottage! Thanks to Beverly at Cute in Miniature on Etsy for all of this amazing miniature food. Her shop is full of wonderful things! :-) Keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Her Best Christmas Gift Ever

The main course has been eaten, and now it's time for Christmas dessert. Mavis has been extra busy, between making all of this delicious food...

including her famous frosted cinnamon rolls...

and caring for her best Christmas gift ever.

Keep the holidays fun! xoxo Jennifer

Waiting to Open the Presents

Sophie can hardly wait to open her gifts. She keeps sitting by the tree, squeezing and rattling each present. When, oh when can she open them?

She and Flossy have been baking again. Look at what (or who?) made it to the top of the tree!

Speaking of amazing gifts, here's a teeny tiny miniature winter scene made by Volker Arnold and given to me by Birgit of BiWuBaren on the Blog. Do you see all of the details? Can you believe it is extremely thin laser cut wood?

I committed a "faux paw" (faux pas), I'm afraid, when I painted it white, but I just love how it looks in Cupcake Cottage's shabby chic bedroom. Thank you again, Birgit! You sent so many generous gifts!

Now it's time for some hot chocolate and gingerbread men, a gift from Sophie and Flossy to all of you, dear readers. Please have a a sip and a bite. Is it tasty?

The wonderful hot chocolate set is by Beverly of Cute in Miniature on Etsy. Her combination of realism, vintage charm, and fun in dollhouse miniature food is unstoppable! Check out her shop and enjoy!

Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Sweet Miniature Gifts

After doing a search online for cuddle sacks (cloth bags) made specifically for guinea pigs like my Rufus, I suddenly thought of something: Maria of Pretty Things Ireland blog had made me the sweetest miniature cloth bag for our first miniatures swap. See:

It's perfect! Little Gino loves it! Thank you again, Maria!

Speaking of sweet gifts, yesterday I received a precious surprise package from Drora of Drora's Minimundo blog. Look at the sweet gifts she made for me:

That fancy purse belongs on Plushpussycat's arm, and that rug beater has already moved to Dad's Dollhouse. I always wanted a miniature rug beater! Drora's handmade miniature flowers are exquisite, and these daisies are no exception. The snowman teapot and doll are so cute, and the seashell box is really delicate. Thank you so much, Drora! Your gifts are all so precious to me.

I have so many cute little things to show you before the end of the year, so stay tuned! And until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Cupcake Break!

Flossy has something new to show you! You know that she and Sophie are often busy in Cupcake Cottage's kitchen baking delicious desserts. Sometimes the two of them get so tired, with achy paws, and they've had nowhere to sit and take a load off (really relax).

Until now! Flossy just added this sitting room behind the kitchen. It's the perfect place to put up one's paws, relax, have a snack, and read a good book.

Mmmm, it's time for one of those tasty strawberry cupcakes! Won't you have one too?

The cupcakes are by Jill at Half Pint Miniatures on Etsy and her own web site. The chairs are vintage 1970s, from my stash. I sewed the pink pillows with fabric I printed myself using my new inkjet printer and special fabric sheets--woohoo!

Do you know about Carina's Craftblog's "December Blog Love Fest"? Each day this month, as a sort of advent calendar, she's featuring one blog she loves. Plushpussycat blog was featured December 2!!!!! I'm so honored. Thank you, Carina! I love following the blog love fest each day, as I'm learning about lots of lovely blogs. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Big Guinea Pig, Mini Guinea Pig Plus Gifts

Here's the latest photo of my little Rufus, the new guinea pig we added to our family. He's in his 6 foot by 3 foot pen, now lined in green tie-dye fleece.

He loves to snuggle and purr and adds so much joy to our lives. My husband says that his front feet look like little stars. Awww!

My friend Pam made a miniature version of Rufus, but try as I might, I can't get a good photo of him. I'll keep trying and show you later. :-)

Look! I received some lovely advent gifts from Irina of Narina Napertaa blog--a total surprise! So many cute, colorful, cheery things that I can use in Cupcake Cottage and elsewhere. Thank you so much, Irina! Your gifts are really beautiful and thoughtful.

Until next time, keep the fun going! xoxo Jennifer

Meanwhile, in Dad's Dollhouse...

Mavis Mouse prepared a big feast for Thanksgiving this year.

Now that Mavis has a baby on the way, Mavis' mother has come to stay with her to help out.

Since Mavis is eating for two now, she made an extra large Thanksgiving feast. No one went hungry. There was plenty of cheese for everyone!

Until next time, keep it fun! ;-) xoxo Jennifer

Flossy and Sophie Pick the Winners!

Flossy and Sophie were just about to get their paws on some cupcake cookies, when I asked them to pick the winners of the Miniature Holiday Giveaway.

Don't the cookies look yummy?! Beverly of Cute in Miniature baked them! Mmm, mmm, yummy!

OK, Sophie has her honey tea, and Flossy has her glass of milk. They are ready to pick the winners now. Drumroll, please! The two winners of the Miniature Holiday Giveaway are:

Victoria Stitch

Begona

Congratulations to the two lucky winners. Please email me your addresses (through my Blogger Profile), so I can mail your prizes to you right away! Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway. I have at least two more planned for the very near future, as I am grateful to all of you who follow this blog and leave such sweet comments. xoxo Jennifer

Thanksgiving at Cupcake Cottage

Flossy has been busy washing vegetables....

Sophie has prepared the roasted walnut with veggies for the oven....

And then there's the dessert!

Mmmmmm! Flossy is sniffing the frosted cinnamon rolls, while Sophie has her eyes on the pumpkin pie. Will they be able to wait for the roasted walnut to finish cooking? Maybe not. Oh well, one piece each won't hurt.

The cinnamon roll set and pumpkin pie were made by the amazingly talented and lovely Beverly of Cute in Miniature. I've fallen in love with her work!

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! Reminder: Thursday is the last day to enter my Miniature Holiday Giveaway. Good luck to everyone. I'll announce the winners this Saturday. xoxo Jennifer

Miniature Holiday Giveaway!

Attention: This giveaway is now closed. There will be another giveaway very soon. The winners of this giveaway will be announced on Saturday, November 24, 2012.

Hello everyone! I've been planning this giveaway for a while. You know how much I love giveaways, and I love having the opportunity to thank you all for following my blog and leaving such lovely comments. I have a lot to be grateful for, and it's the gratitude I feel toward all of you that inspires this giveaway.

Whenever I'm out, I'm on the lookout for mini-patterned fabric for miniature projects. I kept finding Christmas fabrics and finally had enough to offer TWO PRIZES! Yes, there are two prizes in this giveaway!

OK, besides the mini Christmas fabrics, there are other fabrics (such as red and green with tiny white polka dots), there's holiday-colored ribbon, AND there's a MINI TRIPOD for each winner. These mini tripods are fantastic for taking close-up photos of your dollhouses and miniature scenes. They really help avoid blurry photographs (I speak from experience, because I often use one).

Finally, each winner will receive three holiday wreaths, red candles and a mini chocolate box. I hope there's something here that you could use or enjoy. If not, there will be more giveaways here in the near future, so no worries.

This giveaway ends Thursday, November 22, 2012 at midnight Pacific Daylight Savings Time, and I'll announce the winners on Saturday, November 24, 2012. I'll pick the two winners from the pool of qualified entries. I must hear back from the winners by end of day Friday, November 30, 2012. If I don't, I'll pick (an)other winner(s). This giveaway is open to anyone anywhere who meets the below criteria. The postage is on me.

Giveaway requirements:

1) Be a follower / member of this blog (or become one now) using Google Friend Connect (on my top right-hand sidebar). (Required)
2) Leave a comment on this post. (Required)
3) I would love it if you added a link on your blog with one of my giveaway photos, but you do not need to do this to enter. For help in how to post a giveaway photo on your blog's sidebar, there are instructions here.

Thank you to all of the friends of Plushpussycat, and good luck in the draw! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Halloween Party!

You're invited to a Halloween party at Cupcake Cottage!

Sophie, all dressed up in her witch costume, has a cup of hot apple cider ready for you.

And who could this ghost be? Oh, it's Flossy the bunny in her costume. Don't worry: costumes are optional, but they do make Halloween parties a lot of fun!

Look at all of the goodies laid out for you, dear guests:

Those sugar cookies and fudge brownies are fresh out of the oven and oh-so-tasty. Can you stay a while?

Boo! Oh, sorry, but I had to get your attention away from the treats. Guess what? In my next post I'll announce a new giveaway for all of you good friends of Plushpussycat. See you soon, OK? Happy Halloween, everyone! :-) xoxo Jennifer

Halloween Preparations at Cupcake Cottage

Flossy and Sophie have, each in her own way, been preparing Cupcake Cottage for Halloween.

Sophie carved a jack-o-lantern from a pumpkin, while Flossy gathered fallen leaves outside to use for festive holiday decorations.

 
Flossy got so enthused that she even decorated herself with one of the leaves!

The best part is, Flossy can hide behind the apple bowl and sneak chocolate chip cookies and cookie dough undetected! ;-)

Speaking of Halloween, I won this wonderful House of Miniatures desk kit from Victoria of Dark Squirrel's Miniature Asylum blog:

Victoria sent my prize so quickly, wrapped it so beautifully, and included a set of beautiful drippy candles, one of which I used in the scene above. Victoria has gorgeous things in her Etsy shop, including some shabby pumpkins that are amazingly realistic looking! Thank you again, Victoria!

Sophie was very excited about carving a pumpkin after seeing this post at A Small Hearts Desire blog--thanks for the inspiration, Karen! The leaves in the scene above, by the way, are made from real fallen leaves that I ran through a tiny leaf-shaped punch (but don't give away the secret to Flossy, OK?)!

There'll be something fun going on at Cupcake Cottage on Halloween day, so please do pop back here for a visit, won't you? Until then, keep up the Halloween spirit! xoxo Jennifer

New Bear in Cupcake Cottage!

I showed you Cupcake Cottage's new bunny character in my last post. Thank you to everyone who left a lovely comment for me. I so appreciated your sweet words and great suggestions for a name for the bunny. Now it is time to introduce the new bear character living in the cottage:

I needle-felted her too, and hand-stitched the skirt, just like the bunny. The bear has been busy baking chocolate chip cookies today:

Mmm, they look and smell so yummy, straight from the oven. And our bunny friend is waiting in anticipation. When can she try one?

OK, now you see them both together. Any ideas for the bear's name? From your suggestions on the last post, my two top favorite names are Flossy and Sophie. Flossy comes from the name "Fairy Floss," whose equivalent is "candy floss," or "cotton candy" in the U.S. and Canada. The bunny is very fluffy like cotton candy, so this name "Flossy" is really sweet and apt.

What if the bunny was named Flossy and the bear was named Sophie? These are my favorites so far, unless I hear something I like better from one of you lovely readers. Don't be shy! Tell me what the best names would be, if you have an idea. Thank you in advance. I appreciate your comments and name suggestions so much. Next blog post, it will be time for some Halloween fun! xoxo Jennifer

New Bunny in Cupcake Cottage!

I'm really excited to introduce the first character I've created for Cupcake Cottage. She's a mini needle-felted bunny with a hand-sewn skirt. I don't have a name for her yet. Do any of you have any name suggestions?

She's a little shy at first.

I took a needle-felting class a couple of months ago and enjoyed it. I'm really excited that with new characters like this bunny, I'll be able to do more photo stories, and now greeting cards, with Cupcake Cottage as the backdrop.

Ah! Here she is!

Have you noticed another change in Cupcake Cottage besides the new bunny? Look what I found: the perfect work table for the kitchen. Just like the hutch, it was made by Vicky Lovejoy of Lovejoy Bears on Etsy. I feel like it pulls the whole kitchen together. Vicky sent these lovely gifts along with my purchase too: the gorgeous cake stand, cupcake book, and pink polka-dot heart that's hanging from the drawer pull. How thoughtful and generous--thank you again, Vicky!

Thanks for taking a look at my latest. I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. I'll have more to show you very soon! Until then, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Dollar Store Halloween Fun! Plus Challenge

After seeing some of the things that fellow miniaturists have been finding at the Dollar Store, I've been stalking my local shops. See what I found here? A package of drinking straws with four jack-o-lanterns per straw! My husband used a hacksaw to separate the four pumpkins from one another. Each pumpkin is approximately 5/8 inch (1.5 cm) tall.

Pretty nice potential here for dollhouse miniature Halloween scenes, wouldn't you say?

Now onto the challenge: Ninni from Finland at Nipsun Nopotykset blog challenged me to answer some interview-type questions here on my blog. So here goes:

1. How and when did you start your miniature hobby?

I originally started my miniature hobby when my Dad built me my first dollhouse at around age 9 or 10. Several decades went by, when I'd almost forgotten about my interest in miniatures, but I saved my dollhouse. Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I made some plushies with the idea of selling them. As I was starting to photograph them, I thought of my miniatures collection and pulled some out to use as props in my photos. I started this blog, miniaturists found it, and my interest in the hobby was re-ignited. I turned some of my plushy photographs into greeting cards, and now I have a business selling them in local shops.

2. What would you want to do in miniature size?

I like to create miniature dioramas and scenes using my own playful handmade plush characters, recycled and repurposed materials, and dollhouse miniatures. I take photos of these scenes, and some of them become greeting cards. The type of scenes I create are whimsical with touches of shabby chic and vintage styles. I intend to create more scenes along these lines.

3. What kind of miniatures interest you the most?

I love sweet, cute, whimsical, and romantic-style miniatures the most. I love to purchase miniatures from individual artists who create in these styles. Examples include Lovejoy Bears, CuteinMiniature, and FloraDollhouse.

I also enjoy repurposing found objects and "shabbifying" old dollhouse furniture. Recycling is fun!

4. Mention five things you like.

1. Positive people.
2. Having fun!
3. Animals.
4. Needle felting, sewing by hand, and making miniatures.
5. Photographing miniature scenes and blogging.

5. Mention five things that you don't like.

1. Drama and negativity.
2. Mainstream media.
3. Cruelty and bullying.
4. Politics.
5. Social networking.

6. What is your biggest dream?

I just take one day at a time and see where it leads me.

7. Tell about some tradition you have in your home place/country.

In Portland, people spend a lot of time in bookstores and coffee shops during our rainy, dark winters. I love exploring bookstores and libraries.

8. If you could choose any place you wanted in the world, where would you want to live?

I like living in Portland, Oregon. It is green and beautiful, progressive and fun!

9. In which countries have you been? And which did you like the most? 

I spent a few years in SE Asia and have been to Mexico and Canada. My favorite place was the island of Bali in Indonesia. It was a tropical paradise with lovely people and an interesting culture.

10.Tell something interesting about Finland? OR What do you know about Finland?

Finland is known for its natural beauty and its peace-loving citizens. It's renowned for being a wonderful place to live!

Thank you for the fun challenge, Ninni! OK, that's it for me today. I'll have something fun to show you this weekend! xoxo Jennifer