Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween, Strawberry Shortcake Style!

Strawberry Shortcake decided to dress as a witch for Halloween this year...


And I decided to dress as Strawberry Shortcake!

Me dressed as Strawberry Shortcake

It's difficult to tell from this photo (which is how I intended it!), but this was a skimpy outfit with tight bust, thigh-high stockings, and a skirt that barely covered my bottom. This was definitely outside of my comfort zone, but I had such a fun night!

Hubby dressed as a hippy

Hubby and I went to a Halloween party with my favorite local Portland band, the Midnight Serenaders. Most guests were dressed in chic black and white 1920s-style outfits, but there were a few of us with colorful costumes! I was even recognized as Strawberry Shortcake by a younger woman who used to have a Strawberry Shortcake doll when she was a child. One of the tell-tale signs is the green and white striped stockings, worn by all of the dolls in the series. ;-)

Hope you have a great Halloween! Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Hello Kitty Dollhouse Review!

Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Meringue are getting ready for a big party. All of their friends are invited, so it should be a blast! Strawberry Shortcake is visualizing how much fun she's going to have with all of her friends.


Meanwhile, Lemon Meringue is putting the last-minute touches on the party food. With so many guests expected, there has to be lots of tasty food!


This is the Hello Kitty dollhouse I styled for these and my other recent Strawberry Shortcake scenes. It's a wooden dollhouse with nine repositional decal stickers, wooden furniture, and wooden Hello Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy figures. It weighs approximately 15 pounds (6.8 kg), which makes it easy to pick up and carry. I haven't used any of the decals or the figures, but I am using most of the furniture (the pink and purple pieces with Hello Kitty on them).


The Hello Kitty dollhouse comes together easily with screws and pre-drilled holes. Once you "build" the dollhouse, which only took me 30 minutes, its dimensions are 24.5 inches (62 cm) tall by 18 inches (46 cm) wide by 12 inches (30.5 cm) deep. It works great with my 1:12 scale miniature furniture.

The front door, which is 6 inches (15 cm) tall, stays closed with a magnet, which is really nice. I love the heart-shaped cut-outs in the roof and front door, and the window frames are cute too! Here you can see the inside of the house with stickers, figures, and furniture:


I bought the Hello Kitty dollhouse at ToysRus (I got these two dollhouse photos from their web site too). It's on sale for under $45. Not only is this house great for kids, it's fun for adults too, at least this one! :-) What do you think--do you like it as much as I do? Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Strawberry Shortcake in the Bedroom

How's that for a title, eh? ;-) Seriously, though, last time I showed some photos of my vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls in their newly-decorated Hello Kitty dollhouse, I only showed the downstairs (kitchen and living room). Now here are some additional dolls in the upstairs bedroom. First, Orange Blossom, who you met last time, with a new teddy bear I made:


Next, it's Strawberry Shortcake herself! This doll is a special "sleeper" doll (her eyes open and close):


Finally (for today), there's Cafe Ole. She was a Mexican doll in the Strawberry Shortcake international doll series:


The girls had a sleep-over (slumber party). Cafe Ole is still in her nightgown and cap, trying to wake up. :-) Don't those big fuzzy slippers look comfortable?

This doll stuff is a blast! I've had so much fun decorating the house, gathering the dolls, and finding clothes for them. I was thrilled to see your comments last time. So many of you remembered these dolls, and even if you didn't, they seemed to resonate with you. If you have/had these dolls, now or previously, which are/were your favorites? Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer


Saturday, October 12, 2013

Spot the Difference

Last post I mentioned that there was something different about Cupcake Cottage's shabby chic bedroom.


Did anyone notice the big difference? OK, I'll tell you what happened and what has changed.


Last year, Mely gave me a gorgeous bedding set, telling me that she'd made it for Dad's Dollhouse. I was afraid that her gorgeous work wouldn't be noticed because of the garish wallpaper in Dad's Dollhouse bedroom, so instead I decorated Cupcake Cottage's bedroom with her bedding in mind.


Then, just recently, I spontaneously tried her bedding in Dad's Dollhouse, and viola! Mely's beautiful bedding looked PERFECT in Dad's Dollhouse, even toning down the wallpaper (which, incidentally, was the same wallpaper in my real life parent's bedroom in the 70s and 80s).


Mely's bedding still looks gorgeous, but she has improved the bedroom decor 1000%. Thank you, Mely! I should have listened to you the first time. ;-) You've made the bedroom in Dad's Dollhouse a very special place.

I only need to build one last piece of furniture from a kit, and Dad's Dollhouse will really be complete. Once I've built the hoosier cabinet for the kitchen, I will show you the completed house. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

P.S. Now I'm using a vintage handkerchief as a bedspread in Cupcake Cottage, and I love how the room turned out.


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Gifts From Jane of MiniFanaticus

Now that Sophie is back living in Flossy's house, Cupcake Cottage, both of them can show you the gorgeous and thoughtful gifts we received from Jane of MiniFanaticus blog. First off, we have lovely autumn leaves, roasted veggies, and caramel apples to get us in the fall spirit!


The roasted veggies look incredible, with roasted winter squash included too! Jane knows that Flossy is a vegetarian, as all bunnies are, so this gift is especially thoughtful. Of course, Sophie will gladly share in all this delicious food!


Now Sophie wants to show you the gorgeous shabby chic pumpkins Jane sent. They're at the foot of the fireplace in Flossy's bedroom, and there's even a tiny one on the mantle. What incredible artistry!


Finally, we want to show you a beautiful feminine candle that Jane made. It's resting on Flossy's bed along with the darling diary and pen that Mary gave us.


Jane also included beautiful beads, supplies for making miniature polymer clay foods, and lovely papers for mini fun. Thank you so much, Jane! You've really brightened our autumn and provided so many craft supplies for creative inspiration! It's so nice having sweet blog friends like Jane. :-)

Something in the final photo has given a clue to our next post. I'll tell you the full story within a few days. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Let Me Introduce You...

...to my vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls in their new Hello Kitty dollhouse!

Plates, spoons, and tiny vintage desserts by IDreamofMini on Etsy.

I was never much of a "doll person" until I saw this line of vintage dolls from 1979. And then, of course, they HAD to have a house, so I put this one together in a flash and had so much fun decorating it! It felt like when I built a dollhouse for my Barbie dolls from cardboard boxes at age twelve. :-)


I'll tell you more about the dollhouse and show you more of the dolls in future posts. This is just a taste. ;-) Hey, but where is Strawberry Shortcake? Don't worry, I'll introduce her very soon. :-)


So this is the new interest I mentioned. BTW, I recently received some amazing miniature gifts in the mail from Jane of MiniFanaticus. I'll show them next. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Catch-Up Time

Hello my dear blog friends! Yes, I'm still alive and healthy--I've just been too busy to post. So much has happened since my last post that it's now catch-up time. ;-)

First off, I had that little pick-a name-for-the-bird giveaway contest, and this is what I sent to Fabiola for picking the perfect name, Bluebelle:




I made the items in the first two photos, and the kitty was from my personal collection. Fabiola has written a beautiful post with photos of my gifts on her blog. Thank you, Faby!

Next, many of you have asked about the Portland Miniature Show. It was such a fun weekend! I like to search for bargains in the "garage sale" baskets on many of the vendors' tables. These are usually accessories or furniture pieces from the vendor's own collection that she no longer wants, and the prices are marked very low. I found many wonderful treasures in these baskets, and I bought very little else! ;-)

One item that I bought at full price was this tiny shabby chic doll bed made by Milestone Miniatures:


The pink chair (both items shown in Cupcake Cottage's bedroom nook) is from the same artist, but from last year's show.

Another purchase was a small cottage dollhouse kit (the Sweet Heart dollhouse kit by Dura-Craft) for just $10:


Buying this dollhouse kit led me to realize that I don't want large dollhouses anymore. Instead, I want several small, lightweight dollhouses, like a little village of dollhouses for my critters. After thinking it through, I sold Sophie the bear's Brambleberry Farmhouse to a good friend who will take wonderful care of it. And now Sophie has moved back to Cupcake Cottage with Flossy the bunny. Sophie was getting lonely in that big house all by herself, and now Flossy and Sophie can spend more time together again--yay!

There were no ribbons at the show for my "Puppy in the Cake Shop" exhibit, but it was still fun and a good learning experience. I'm not sorry I brought my exhibit to the show. I met wonderful people as a result, and I saw a different side of the show by being a little more of an "insider."

Why have I been gone so long? First, I was on a short vacation, and then I'll let you in on a little secret. I've found a new interest that has taken me away from blogland for the last few weeks, but not forever. This new interest is very compatible with the things I already do on my blog. So next post, I will show some photos of this new hobby of mine. I think you will be surprised! :-)

OK, that's enough catching up for now. I've missed you all and your wonderful blogs. Thank you in advance for your precious comments. I read them all, and they really make my day. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer