Diorama Update Plus New Cupcake Cottage Dollhouse!

Today's the day! I'll be installing my miniature diorama at Green Bean Books this afternoon. I'll be putting up a brand-new miniature scene, and it's a big secret until the unveiling! I'll show it to you in an upcoming blog post. Now, on to some exciting dollhouse news! ;-)

Cupcake Cottage dollhouse dreams!

I won this Greenleaf Storybook Cottage dollhouse kit on eBay for a steal. I was so happy, because I've been wanting to make a girlie shabby chic bakery for a while now, and this house will be perfect for it! I've been calling it "Cupcake Cottage" in my mind for months now. :-)  I'm thinking something like Shop Cinderella Moments (this post) meets Once Upon a Time (this post) meets Knotty By Nature (this post) and Petitevictorianrose (this post)!

It won't be red--it'll be cupcake frosting pink!

I'm still in the dreaming stage, but Cupcake Cottage has wanted to express itself for a while now, so I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going to go with it. It's all about vintage, pink, shabby chic, girlie fun!!!

Once I create the story behind the dollhouse (the who, what, where, when, and how of it), the dollhouse will almost create itself. At least that's what happened when I got that kind of clarity around the Lovers Cottage, with the help of some fantastic comments from all of you. :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Tiny Knitted Teddy Bear!

My dear friend Drora of Drora's Minimundo sent me a miniature knitted teddy bear all the way from Israel. You see, after I wrote about my miracle miniature teddy bears, Drora asked if I'd like one of her hand-knitted teddy bears to add to my small collection. Would I like one?! Are you kidding? I'd LOVE one!

The new teddy bear is totally adorable and fitting in famously with my other miniature teddy bears. Here's a candid shot I took of all of the bears making friends. Drora's bear is second from the left. Isn't he cute? :-)

Miniature teddy bears making friends

And then look at all of the other precious things Drora sent:

More beautiful gifts from Drora

There's a bigger bear that was cuddling the tiny knitted one when I opened the package, an adorable mini water cooler, and one of Drora's famous Ferrero Rocher candy boxes--yay! She also sent several beautiful shell ornaments, including a wall hanging, a bowl, and two covered boxes, one with a teeny tiny necklace inside. Everything is so lovely and precious.

Thank you so much, Drora! I love all of your gifts, especially your gift of friendship! If you haven't seen Drora's blog, please check it out. She has great tutorials, makes wonderful miniatures, and holds fun giveaways.

I received another precious gift late last week all the way from Norway--a blog award from Mona at Remme Dollhouse, one of my favorite blogs. If you haven't seen Mona's blog, I recommend you check it out too. :-) Thank you, Mona! How thoughtful of you. I'm sharing this award with all of you, dear readers, because this blog would be a very lonely place without you. :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Amazing Miniaturist Giveaway!

I've recently become aware of an amazing miniaturist among us. Her blog is called The Little House at Pine Haven, and she makes exquisite miniatures. I know, because I recently bought some of her minis, so I've seen them with my own eyes. Check out what I bought:

First I fell for the purse, then the toiletries and slippers!

Her miniatures are feminine and gorgeous. Some have a vintage feel to them, like the Enid Collins-style purse above. She even has teeny tiny labels on her minis--so small that I can't read them! ;-)

These are so feminine, delicate, and tiny. Perfect 1:12 scale!

The bumblebee is so tiny, it's almost microscopic! ;-)

Pinehaven, as she is called, is having a giveaway on her blog right now! As you can see, her miniatures, blog, and giveaway are not to be missed. I suggest that you check them out right away! ;-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Precious Swap with Maria of Pretty Things Ireland

Red rose and bottle of champagne from Maria.

I asked Maria of Pretty Things Ireland if she'd like to do a miniatures swap with me. I noticed on her blog that her swap presents were always so sweet and pretty. I also wanted to get to know Maria better. Maybe we'd become friends. :-)

Perfect for the Lovers Cottage.

I got my presents from Maria today! Wow--she spoiled me rotten! Her gifts are sweet and pretty, yes, and also thoughtful, plentiful, and wrapped with care. Maria is an expert at making you feel like a treasured friend with her special gifts.

Pillows, a jewelry box, and special scented soaps!

Mirror, tray full of breads, and romantic chocolates!

I feel so fortunate. Thank you so much, Maria! I love everything! I hope Maria gets her presents from me soon. :-)

Wow! So many pretty things!

If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Maria's blog, I suggest you do it now. Maria is so sweet and likes to laugh. There's always something fun going on there. :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Visit to Phoenix Art Museum Thorne Miniature Rooms

On a recent trip to Phoenix, Arizona, I had the pleasure of seeing 20 of the famous Thorne Miniature Rooms with two dear relatives. What a pleasure to see the rooms in real life! They were incredibly detailed and realistic looking. My favorite thing about them was that most of the rooms had an outside light source, such as a garden to one side, that not only illuminated the room, but also gave it a refreshing realism.

I was able to take tons of photographs while I was there, so I'm including some of my favorites here. If you'd like to see the Thorne Rooms in person, you can see the ones in Phoenix at The Phoenix Art Museum.

The Phoenix Art Museum owns 20 Thorne Miniature Rooms, and the rest are in the Art Institute of Chicago (68), the Knoxville Museum of Art (9), The Indianapolis Childrens Museum (1), and the Kaye Miniature Museum in Los Angeles (1).

According to Stephanie Finnegan, author of The Dollhouse Book, "Narcissa Niblack Thorne set out to replicate distinct moments in time and precise geographical and biographical locations.Throughout her decades as helmswoman of the team that would tackle this ambitious undertaking, Thorne employed a great number of outstanding craftsmen, carpenters and artists." Spanning decades, she started her project in 1930. The result is spectacular rooms in 1:12 scale. These rooms are not to be missed by miniature enthusiasts and well worth a visit by everyone else.

Which of the rooms is your favorite? Have any of you seen the Thorne Rooms in Phoenix or at one of the other museums? If so, please share your experience! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Plushpussycat is One Year Old!

Wow! I can hardly believe that today it has been one year since I published my first blog post. It feels like it has been just a couple of months, because it still feels so fresh and fun to me, but at the same time it feels more like a number of years, because my life has changed so much!

Plushpussycat anticipates eating cake!

I've met some incredible people because of my blog, and I've gained new skills, such as in photography. I've also re-ignited an interest in dollhouse miniatures that I'd forgotten about and started a whole new career with my photo stories and greeting cards. What a whirlwind! Speaking of cards, here's my newest birthday card, straight from the printer. It's called "Plushpussycat Anticipates Eating Cake" and says "Happy birthday!" inside. It will be in my Etsy shop soon!

I'm so grateful to so many people for their help. My good friend Tracy suggested I buy a camera and start blogging even before I knew what I might blog about. I discovered plushies and challenged myself to be part of Kristen Rast's Plush You! show. That meant I needed a blog to showcase my handmade plush critters. Instead of steadily producing plush critters, however, I found myself photographing the ones I'd made in miniature scenes.

Next, Carina of Carina's Craftblog gave me a beautiful opportunity when she interviewed me on her blog. All the while I was making new blog friends, friendships I will treasure for a lifetime. :-) The rest, as they say, is history! :-)

Big News!

I'm planning a big one-year blog anniversary celebration for the month of March. I'm finalizing some details now, but there will be a month-long party on this blog--woohoo! I hope you'll be here to celebrate with me! It wouldn't be the same without you. :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Recent Miniature Gifts

I've been blessed again with some precious miniature gifts. A packet came all the way from Finland from Ultsu at Ultsu's MiniDreams blog. After I helped her complete a giveaway that she was holding, she insisted on sending me something to thank me. First there were sweets, including a couple of mini donuts:

Don't these look yummy?!

Then some precious tiny birthday cards:

Cute!

She also included a picture and a pair of tiny scissors. Thank you, Ultsu! I love your presents so much!

Next, I received another blog award, this time from Maria at Pretty Things Ireland blog:

Thank you so much, Maria! I appreciate you thinking of me--you're a precious friend! I dedicate this award to all of the friends of Plushpussycat. :-)

Tomorrow I'll have a big announcement! Hope to see you then! :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Valentine's Day in the Lovers Cottage

Looks like some lucky couple is going to share a box of chocolates together....

For context, see previous posts on the Lovers Cottage here and here.

Happy Valentine's Day! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer 

Interview!

My good friend, author of Jeni Gray Photo Blog, is doing a series of articles on marketing yourself as an artist. As part of that series, she has interviewed me! :-) You can read the interview on her photo blog here. I enjoyed doing the interview and hope you enjoy reading it too.

While you're there, be sure to check out Jeni's beautiful image slide shows under "Black and White," "Color," and "Art" at the top of her blog. Which ones are your favorites? I thought that her color nature pictures were my favorites until I really looked at the others. Now I'm not so sure! All I know is that she's been taking beautiful photographs as long as I've known her!

Her other blog, Diary of the New Pioneer, is like a breath of fresh air for me every time I visit it. It's about living simply in a remote area, and there's always something interesting, from back road adventures to backyard habitat. If you go to this post, you can see some of Jeni's adorable raccoon neighbors (they're so cute!). Her posts are interesting and fun, plus she takes really beautiful photographs. It makes for a refreshing and unique blog experience.

I'll post soon about a recent trip to a special miniatures museum, and soon after it will be time for some mini fun to help celebrate my one-year blog anniversary. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Been Working So Hard

I'd been working so hard developing greeting card ideas and preparing for my upcoming diorama at Green Bean Books that my eyes started to look like Raccoon's after he's eaten too much chocolate!

I had a breakthrough today, however, and it looks like I have final shots ready for two new cards in my greeting card line--woohoo! There'll be a new birthday card and a second "secret" card.

In addition, I've decided to re-print two popular cards that are currently out of stock/sold out: Kitties on a Picnic--"Oh my, you shouldn't have!" and Houndstooth Pup and Raccoon--"I'm so glad we're friends." With those decisions made, I started looking through my business cards, which feature some of my most popular photo stories, and I realized that there's another photo that I want to turn into a greeting card:

This photo is part of one of my photo stories/story vignettes called Bella and Bert Go on a Real Date. It is a very popular business card, so I hope it will be an equally popular greeting card! ;-)

With all of this work I've been doing, I've had little time to devote to either Dad's Dollhouse or my Lover's Cottage. Soon, however, I'll announce my one-year blog anniversary, and when I do, there'll be some miniature fun coming, so stay tuned to this channel! :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

New Designs

Hubby caught this photo of me working at my photo lightbox on a couple of new greeting card designs (and preparing for my diorama at Green Bean Books!). It's the artist in action! ;-) I'll show you the new designs soon.

In other news, I've been honored twice with The Versatile Blogger awards.

The lovely bestowers are Fabiola of Miominimondo blog and Mieke of Petitevictorianrose blog. Both of them are sweet friends and have lovely blogs--please visit them and see for yourself! Thank you so much, Fabiola and Mieke! I dedicate these blog awards to everyone who reads this blog. Thank you for being there--it means so much to me! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer