Craftland's Handmade and Vintage Miniatures

Karin of Craftland Minis und Anderes blog sent me something I never could have imagined.... She sent not one, but two miniature vintage felt plush poodles! Plus so much dessert! This might have been a bad combination! ;-)

Looks like the black poodle is very close to getting what it wants!

It all started with this amazing carrot cake that Karin made for her blog giveaway:

When I didn't win it, I was so sad, because I thought the cake would be perfect for a bunny wedding. :-) Karin took pity on me and said she would send me one. I suggested we do a miniatures swap. We both took our time making and gathering things for each other. You can see what I sent Karin on her Craftland post. I received so many lovely dollhouse miniatures from Karin. Not only the poodles, not only desserts, but all of these beauties:

There is the carton of eggs, the butter dish, the mini treats, a shopping basket with very realistic-looking toilet paper and paper towel rolls, a darling doll in a wonderful shabby box, a bag of flower bulbs, tiny ladybugs, and more:

Thank you so much, Karin. I love your miniature gifts so much. They were so thoughtful and perfect, my friend. If you don't know it, Craftland's blog is well worth a visit. As you can see, Karin makes beautiful miniatures, and she finds wonderful miniatures at flea markets too. Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Why My Blog is Now Award-Free

I've thought about writing this post a number of times, but I've hesitated for fear of hurting someone's feelings. I cherish every award that I have ever received and each of the people who have given me an award. It is wonderful to feel part of the group and to be acknowledged. After much thought, however, I've decided to make this an Award-Free Blog.

My reasons are several. First, what about the people who don't receive the awards? I've always felt uncomfortable with competition and also with cliques. That's why I've tried to pass my awards on to all of my readers. I don't like feeling left out, and I don't like leaving others out either.

Then, some of the awards have requirements, like posting the award on your blog. That's like giving free advertising space! Along those same lines, most awards require that you pass the award on to a certain number of people, with links to their blogs, and an email notifying them of the award. I hate to say this, but the rules sometimes start to sound like a chain letter. Whenever I receive email chain letters, by the way, I delete them immediately.

Another thing I'm seeing more of with blog awards is that the winner must answer several questions. When I had a Facebook account, I once saw a little "game" created by a social engineer (social engineering is where someone gathers bits and pieces of information about someone else, and eventually puts the information all together in order to commit fraud). Facebook friends were asking their friends to play this game. In the course of playing the game, a person would end up sharing their mother's maiden name, their first pet's name, and their street number.

Of course I know that the people who have given me awards aren't social engineers, but I'm just saying that I try to be careful about the information I give out on my blog and elsewhere. So I am wary of awards that require me to answer questions.

There are better ways than giving awards, in my opinion, to show you like a blog. You can leave nice comments on that blog; write a post about a blog with a link to the blog; follow a blog (if you use the Google Friend Connect app on your blog, I can follow you back too!); subscribe to a blog's feed; and add a favorite blog to your blogroll. All of these are great ways to show you like someone's blog.

So Plushpussycat blog is now an Award-Free Blog. Thank you again to everyone who has ever given me an award. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and cherish your friendship. Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Luna and Gino Make Friends

I'd like to give a big "thank you" to everyone who tried to help me name Cupcake Cottage's new puppy. After seeing Ana Garcia's comment that if the puppy was a girl, the name "Luna" would be a good one, I was sold! It suddenly struck me that she does look like a girl, and she looks lit up like the moon, so Luna it is! Thank you, Ana! Please email me your mailing address, and I'll send you a small gift. :-)

Now you can see that Luna and Gino the guinea pig are best of friends. It looks like they worked out their turf issues, at least for the moment. ;-)  Cupcake Cottage is a haven of sweetness and peace once again. Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Sweet Miniature Finds on Etsy

Teddy the frog has his eyes on that balloon!

Here are some recent purchases on Etsy. The first came from Eva Perendreu, whose lovely blog you may know. It's a birthday party chair from her shop, Evamini. Isn't Eva creative? I love that balloon and those tiny cookies! Oh, and she is so wonderful to work with--what a sweet person. I would love to buy from her again. Check out Evamini when you have a chance!

Next, I bought some darling miniature heart-shaped sugar cookies from Catherine at Sweet Petite Shoppe. And see, she sent me some free cupcakes too! Thanks again, Catherine!

Michi at cherrydot has really cute, whimsical dollhouse miniatures and mini food jewelry. I bought a couple of things from her, perfect for shabby chic Cupcake Cottage. I love her mini cupcakes complete with paper wrappers and those cake stands too! She sends lots of fun freebies when you buy from her--woohoo!

Finally, Judy at beadocious makes lovely things, including very realistic-looking homemade-style miniature frosted cakes. Yummy--doesn't this look tasty? Even better: there's a 20% off sale in her shop right now!

Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Magnificent Gifts From MelyMel!

I was so inspired by the sweet and wonderful gifts I received from Mely of MelyMel Piccoli Sogni blog that I've been secretly renovating the Victorian dollhouse I recently purchased into a two-story Cupcake Cottage! What could have inspired me to spackle, sand, and paint the walls, among other things? Just look at this....

Isn't this bedding magnificent? Mely made the bedspread and pillow shams from linen and the sheet and underpillow from cambric. Cotton lace finishes her work. I was and still am in awe of its beauty. I'd be crazy not to start decorating a space for this masterpiece immediately, wouldn't you agree?

You can see more detailed photos of this gorgeous bedding on her blog post. But wait--there's more! See these beautiful handmade clay toiletry bottles? Mely made these too:

And that wasn't everything she sent. She also included all of these handmade shabby plates, a teapot, a gorgeous handmade cherry pie, and a beautiful woven bag, all made by her!

And a precious picnic basket with handmade shabby-style bird plates. I love birds! This is the perfect picnic basket for me!

I think you can see why many tears of joy were shed when I received Mely's sweet package. How do you thank someone for such precious gifts? All I know is that I am indebted to her forever because of her kindness. Thank you so much for all of these gorgeous miniatures, my dear friend! Mely's blog is so worth visiting. The innocence and sweetness there are contagious.

Dad's Dollhouse is finished. I should show you that project before I unveil Cupcake Cottage in her new incarnation. So, there is still much to show you, including fun purchases, prizes I've won, miniatures that I've made recently, and a new giveaway soon. Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Two Final Purchases for Dad's Dollhouse

I recently made two final purchases for Dad's Dollhouse. With these two items, Dad's Dollhouse is complete. It was just over a year ago that I rediscovered my love for dollhouse miniatures and started working to renovate and complete my childhood dollhouse. Finishing Dad's Dollhouse after a thirty-year break was a blast! I'll write a post with photos of the completed house very soon.

For now, these are the last two items I needed to complete my project. I bought both from Caterina's shop Le Minis di Cockerina. First, I'd had my eye on this beauty for a while:

It's a readable 1:12 scale miniature version of the 1896 edition of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I love Little Women and love thinking of the lady of my dollhouse reading it. This copy is so beautifully done and looks so nice on the master bedroom nightstand. The second item I bought was another miniature memory box, this time a man's memory box for the study:

Caterina thought of all of the things you might find in a man's memory box. First, the items are in a Victorian men's shoe box. Then inside, there's a photo of a beloved dog, a picture of a mother holding a baby, several erotic Victorian photos, and some travel postcards. There's also a tiny seashell, presumably from a trip to the beach, and a beautiful cigar.

These were just the items I needed to complete each of my little scenes. I look forward to showing you the finished project in a series of photos. It has truly been a labor of love. Until then, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

New Puppy in Cupcake Cottage!

Hello everyone! I recently added a new furry friend to Cupcake Cottage. It's a little Labrador puppy made by Magda at 1717mk on Etsy. Do you know her blog? I'm a long-time follower and happened to see that she was offering a coupon. Lucky me, because I had favorited several of her shop's items.

He's a real cutie, but it looks like there's a slight problem. See, Gino the guinea pig wants to steal the puppy's  bed! They're having a "turf battle."

And so far, Gino the guinea pig is holding his ground! ;-)

The puppy came all the way from Poland, but he still doesn't have a name! Does anyone have any ideas for a good name? I appreciate your help and thank you for your visit. Hope you had some fun! xoxo Jennifer