Precious Gifts From Flora of La casa delle bambole di Flora

I recently made a purchase from Flora's Etsy shop, FloraDollhouse. You must know her amazing blog, La casa delle bambole di Flora. I, too, had been following her blog with interest for the last year or so. Every time she would post on her blog, I would be right there, eyeing every little wonderful romantic, mini shabby chic detail.

So recently, I finally made a purchase in her shop. Why it took me so long, I have no idea. I never imagined what a fabulous, nurturing gift to self that it would be. I ordered a lovely pink gingham shabby pitcher, but I received so much more:

For in addition to the gorgeous pitcher, Flora sent three beautiful shabby books. One opens, with beautiful colorful recipes inside. So beautiful!

In addition to all this, she sent this beautiful flower ornament. It looks so lovely hanging on Cupcake Cottage's door! Wow! I never imagined all of the sweet gifts Flora would send. After I initially looked at her gifts, I had to put them aside to keep from getting teary. And she even wrapped everything in gorgeous paper with ribbon!

Thank you so much for your kindness, my friend! You are a treasure to the miniature community! Your works are pieces of beauty. If you haven't seen them, Flora's blog and online shop are feasts for the eyes.

Speaking of lovely gifts, I received two blog awards from special blog friends. The first one was from Eleonora of Nelle scatole oiccine...ci sone le cose preziose! blog:

Eleonora has a fun blog with beautiful handmade food and dolls--it's a must-see! Thank you so much, Eleonora! Then, most recently, MelyMel of MelyMel Piccoli sogni blog honored me with another award:

I've written about Mely's blog before, because I love its sweetness so much. What? You haven't looked at it yet? Please look now--you won't be disappointed! Thank you so much, Mely! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Precious Gifts From Vicky at Lovejoy Bears!

When Vicky of Lovejoy Bears emailed that she'd like to make me some gifts for Cupcake Cottage, I started shaking. Did I read that correctly? I suggested we do a swap instead, and when she agreed, you'd better believe I got really busy making miniatures for her. :-) Check out my gifts for Vicky on her blog soon.

My package from Vicky arrived yesterday, and look at the beautiful gifts she sent, including one of her gorgeous shabby dressers / hutches:

Vicky's gorgeous hutch / dresser with beautiful
paper-lined working drawers and more gifts.

Close-up of Vicky's shabby books and hand-painted dishes.
Her tiny roses are exquisite.

She wrapped everything in gorgeous paper and included this sweet card,
from her own original watercolor painting. Wow!

The hutch is so magnificent that I felt inspired to move Cupcake Cottage into the Lover's Cottage! I had so much fun setting up my little shabby cottage kitchen scene. Here are a couple of preview photos of what is to come in Cupcake Cottage. They're shots of Cupcake Cottage by moonlight:

I've already changed everything around since taking these photos, but you get the idea! Cupcake Cottage will be a major project for me in the coming months.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Vicky! You are such a talented miniaturist, a kind and gentle person, and a good friend. I will treasure your gifts forever! If you haven't seen Lovejoy Bears blog, you must check it out. It will definitely brighten your day! Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Mid-Century Modern Dollhouse!

Here's the dollhouse I bought and decorated while the Birthday Bash Giveaway was going on. It's a 1960s cardboard mid-century modern Winthrop Toys Instant Dollhouse. I found it on eBay and fell in love with it. It would be perfect for some miniature vignettes with Plushpussycat, with her retro kitty looks, I figured. 

Front porch with Fisher Price patio chair and mini marigolds made by me!

Turns out it is 1:16 scale, otherwise known as 3/4 scale, so I "had to" buy some furniture for it too! I already had a 1970s Lundby sofa and chair set. I found the white cubes at a thrift store, and I had a lot of the miniature accessories in my stash. 

View from front porch door into retro kitchen.
Huge box of Mallomars for the lady of the house!

My biggest purchases were the Triang Spot-On red chair with footstool and TV with stand. Other purchases included the Marx kitchen pieces and the vintage Fisher Price patio chair with (not shown) lounger.

The "stove" is really a counter--these three Marx pieces are a perfect fit. 

This has been so fun to decorate, and I've learned a lot about 3/4 scale dollhouse furniture brands. I love mid-century modern style as much as I love late-Victorian, retro, shabby chic, and cottage styles!

View of living room Lundby sofa from outside.

There are four "rooms" altogether, counting the front porch. Others include kitchen, living/sitting room, and TV play room.
  

1950s to 1960s Triang Spot-On TV with stand--love it!

When this house was made, it came with cardboard furniture, but I'm glad mine didn't have any, because I've had so much fun picking my own.

TV play room with stereo. Aren't the wall designs fun?

The TV play room may be my favorite. I loved finding these tiny Golden Books and even a Chipmunks record album to match my mini stereo! You can read more about this dollhouse here.

1960s Jetsons and Flintstones books plus mini Chipmunks record album.

Thanks for taking my little home tour. I hope you had as much fun visiting as I had showing you around the place. :-) Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

What She Really Wants

Mavis Mouse has been busy baking, but look at what she really wants! :-) 

Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

New Projects, Posted Prizes, Awards

During the recent giveaway, I made a lot of miniatures, bought a few miniatures, created a new plushy photo story, nearly finished one of my dollhouses, and even bought and decorated a new one! I can't wait to show you everything. Look for posts about these new projects over the next few weeks, as I play catch-up. :-)

Whew! I packaged and mailed all eight Birthday Bash Giveaway prizes over the last two days. Boy, am I tired! Postage had gone up significantly too, so my #1 giveaway tip is this: Make the prizes lightweight! ;-) Seriously, I'm excited to get the prizes to the lucky winners, and I can't wait to see them on your blogs soon!

In other news, I received two recent blog awards. The first was from Kate at Creative World blog. Have you seen Kate's sweet blog? She loves crocheting, finding vintage treasures at thrift stores, and being a mom-to-be! You'll love her enthusiasm.

The second blog award came from Mely at MelyMel Piccoli Sogni blog. She has the sweetest dollhouse miniatures blog. I'm always happy and smiling after I read her blog posts. You'll love it!

Thank you, Kate and Mely! You are both so thoughtful! And thank you to all of the readers of this blog, especially those who regularly leave such sweet comments. Until next time, when I show you some of the new miniature projects I've been working on.... xoxo Jennifer

Two New Giveaway Winners!

The prizes were claimed for giveaways 1, 3, 4, 5,  7, and 8, but the two winners never came forward for prizes 2 or 6. I gave them one week to contact me, and I heard nothing, so I ran another draw!!!!!

Oh my, this is getting exciting now! Drumroll, please! The new winner for Giveaway #2, the baby, crib, and craft supplies, is:

Sanne! Congratulations!

And the new winner for Giveaway #6, the furniture and faux fur, is:

BiWuBar!  Congratulations!

The two new winners have until end of day Friday, May 18, 2012 to get in contact with me to claim your prizes. Please email me at pdxjbear (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address. If I don't hear back from either of the winners by end of day Friday, I will do a re-draw and announce the new winner(s) this coming Saturday, May 19! 

Congratulations to both of the lucky winners! And don't forget, there will be more giveaways soon, so everyone still has a chance to win! :-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Precious Swap with Mieke from Petite Victorian Rose!

As I opened the box from Mieke of Petite Victorian Rose blog, which was wrapped in red paper with white polka dots (such shabby fun!), I was shaking. The box was packed full of amazing, precious handmade miniature gifts, and every one of them so thoughtful.

Handmade shabby tulle wedding dress!

When I had asked Mieke a few months back if she thought doing a swap would be fun, I had no idea how fun it would be! We both took our time making things and gathering supplies and other gifts for each other. It was well worth taking the extra time, because you can see what Mieke sent. The fact is, Mieke spoiled me rotten with her beautiful gifts! ;-)

So feminine and precious!

Tiny toiletries inside!

Inside the big suitcase!

Mieke has such a lovely blog. She has Victorian-inspired miniature dollhouse scenes and funny cute photo stories. I always look forward to her posts, because she is such a gentle, sweet, and funny blogger.

Ladies miniature hat pin collection!

Mieke's precious memory box!

Mieke has published photos of what I sent her for our swap, if you are interested. While you're there, I highly recommend that you take a look at her posts and join her blog, if you haven't already. ;-)

Does it get more shabby and romantic than this?

Sewing room: thread holder (background) and French fashion book!

Beautiful handmade card and multitudes of craft supplies!

Thank you so much, Mieke! Words cannot convey my gratitude for your thoughtful gifts and your precious friendship! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Won Felma's Wedding Dress Giveaway!

I won Felma's April handmade miniature wedding dress giveaway on the Dollhouse Miniatures by Felma blog--how exciting! Felma sent my dress really quickly, and even signed it for me. Take a look at how gorgeous it is (seen here in my shabby 1920s-inspired Lovers Cottage):

I love the simple elegance of this dress and its tiny details. And guess what?! She's having three more beautiful dress giveaways in May--and there's still time to enter them too. ;-)

Thank you, Felma! Your dress is exquisite, and your blog is an uplifting joy to read. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

And the Winners Are...

I don't know about all of you, but for me the time has flown by very quickly. I started this blog in February of last year, and we've been celebrating our time together from March through April of this year. I hope you've had fun! I've had a ball since I started the blog, and a lot of the credit goes to all of you, my dear readers. Thank you for reading my posts, for leaving your sweet comments, and for being such good friends. :-)

Now on to the winners! I used Random.org. Giveaway #1, the sewing box and sewing supplies, goes to:  Lucie Q! Congratulations!

Giveaway #2, the vintage Erna Meyer baby doll, crib, miniature fabrics, and other crafty supplies, goes to:  Teruka! Congratulations!

Giveaway #3, the three latest Plushpussycat greeting cards and vintage rickrack, goes to:  anna! Congratulations!

Giveaway #4, the silk corset with box and Czech glass perfume bottles, goes to:  maribel! Congratulations!

Giveaway #5, the vintage gumball machine, teacups, and mini sweets, goes to:  MelyMel! Congratulations!

Giveaway #6, the vintage dollhouse furniture, brass goblets and tray, and faux fur, goes to:  Kat! Congratulations!

Giveaway #7, the mini modern furnishings and accessories, goes to:  Ninni! Congratulations!

And finally, giveaway #8, the three miniatures kits, goes to:  klara! Congratulations!

All the winners have until end of day Friday, May 11, 2012 to get in contact with me to claim your prizes. Please email me at pdxjbear (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address. If I don't hear back from any of the winners by end of day Friday, I will do a re-draw and announce the new winner(s) this coming Saturday, May 12!

One more thing: I was recently looking through my stash of vintage dollhouse furniture, and I found many pieces that are nice but that I don't ever plan to use in any of my projects. My plan is to hold several more giveaways over the next year. So if you didn't win this time, you may win in the future, my friends! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer