Springtime at Cupcake Cottage

Flossy got really artsy-craftsy after she learned that the "kitty grass" that Anna sent us from Finland was actually the base for a "rairuoho." The rairuoho is an Easter tradition in the Nordic countries. As Anna explained, usually this time of year there aren't many green plants growing yet, so they grow Easter grass on a tray indoors and decorate it with Easter eggs and chicks to celebrate spring. Flossy got so excited about this idea that she made her own rairuoho in Anna's dish of grass:

It has Flossy's own style, doesn't it? ;-) Thank you for the interesting information about the rairuoho, Anna!

Then Bluebelle (our resident "chick") came over for a visit to Cupcake Cottage, and she and Flossy made special bunny cupcakes together. Mmm, don't they look pretty and tasty?

Mini Easter cupcake set by CuteinMiniature on Etsy. Set doesn't include
duck or bag of Easter eggs. The Peeps box was a gift from Beverly of CiM.

Wishing all of you a belated vernal (spring) equinox and happy Easter! Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Generous New Blog Friend

There's a new blogger in town I'd like to introduce you to. Not only is she creative and talented, but she's also extremely generous. With always a kind word to leave on the blogs, she's as generous with her gifts as well. I'm talking about Simona of Soft and Malleable blog. Soft and malleable, you ask? Simona loves to work with both polymer clay and needle felting, and she shows lots of creative projects on her blog, including a needle felted miniature house and scrumptious mini desserts.

Simona's first gifts, shown here in Bluebelle's Cake Shop! 

Simona and I became fast friends. In fact, I was her blog's first follower. Simona told me she wanted to make "a few" gifts to thank me for being the first. I think you can see where this is going. "A few" gifts turned into a massive number! First, I received this lovely package that Simona ordered from Wyrna's shop on Etsy:

Isn't everything beautiful? You can see these items in Bluebelle's Cake Shop in the first photo of this post. Next, Simona sent this amazing package of cute kawaii goodies from Hong Kong:

There are dessert stickers, multiple rolls of washi tape, two kinds of clay, food erasers, a squishy strawberry dipped in "chocolate" with sprinkles that even has a yummy scent, and gorgeous kawaii-style fabric! Simona's package also included these Re-Ment beauties:

These dollhouse miniature sets from Japan are so cute! Here's a close-up of Hello Kitty Supermarket set:

And here's a close-up of the other supermarket set:

Strawberry Shortcake is going to have a ball with all of these cute mini food items!

So all the while that these precious gifts were arriving in my mailbox, Simona was making more special gifts for me, the ones to thank me for being her first follower. She sent a box packed with gifts, including all of these lovely craft supplies:

One of them, on the far right, is Jean Day's "Dolly Sewing Box and Paper Doll Kit." See the little tin dollhouse in the upper right-hand corner of the above photo? Here's the inside of that dollhouse:

So cute! This house was packed full of needle felted critters, including this kawaii girl character that Simona made:

The dollhouse also had these cute kitties inside:

The kitties are moving into Dad's Dollhouse, as pets for the mice. ;-) But wait! There was more inside--these darling teddy bears:

And if that wasn't already enough, Simona also made three beautiful cakes, including two cheesecakes using Angie Scarr's methods, in pretty individual cake boxes with doilies:

Beautiful colorful cake stands for the cakes:

And a darling box of rainbow macarons!

How's that for a thank-you gift!?! Can you believe it!?! Obviously, generous is not a strong enough word for Simona! So thank you ever so much for your beautiful and thoughtful gifts, Simona. You are one of those precious sweet people we are fortunate to meet in blogland, and your generosity knows no bounds! Thank you for your gift of friendship most of all. If you haven't seen Simona's blog, I suggest you check it out right away. Not only does Simona show her gorgeous work on her blog, but she also discusses techniques used, which is a lovely bonus.

I still have gifts from a couple of people to show you, I won a couple of giveaways, Flossy's been baking Easter treats at Cupcake Cottage, and I still haven't shown you photos of a fun new interest, so stay tuned for my next posts! And until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Jane Issues Her Counter-Strike! The Battle Is Over!

That Jane Smith of MiniFanaticus blog has been quite the aggressive competitor in our gift-giving battle! :-) Jane is too much of a fearsome foe for this novice! ;-) She's just way too tough of a competitor for me! :-D Maybe photos of the many recent gifts Jane made and sent will help you see what I mean. First, she sent all of these beautiful spring-themed presents:

See the gorgeous flowered cake with a tiny bee on top:

And Jane even sent a tiny handmade Rufus! Oh, my! I think this might have been the coup de grace in our battle of the gifts :-):

He looks so realistic and is so tiny! What a masterpiece! In the same package, she included these darling kawaii-style cupcake earrings that she made along with tiny holiday-themed nail art packets in the background:

Jane sent the gorgeous gifts above, and then when she learned that it was my "birthday month," she sent even more gifts, including this tiny sweet fairy scene and a big celebratory birthday cake:

Who can compete with all of this?! I give up (waves white flag)! You're the best challenger, Jane, I admit it! :-D Seriously, dear readers, Jane is one of the most generous people in blogland. Thank you so much for all of your gorgeous gifts, sweet Jane. I treasure your friendship, your humor, your talent and your generosity.

Next post, I have one more very generous miniaturist and blogger to share with all of you. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Fun Spring Miniature Swap!

I recently did a fun miniature swap with Anna of Kaksosten kotitalo blog. The theme was spring. This was such a fun swap! I adore the sweet gifts that Anna sent me, and I had such a fun time making miniatures with her in mind. Anna has a unique style that I love. I really enjoy following her blog and seeing how she decorates her dollhouse.

First, I'll show you some sweet items that Anna made that I've already put to use in my Hello Kitty dollhouse. Strawberry Shortcake is playing in her bedroom with the darling jumprope that Anna made. And check out the gorgeous red polka dot duvet Anna made for the bed and the sweet fabric-covered stool (one of a pair):

Now you can see more of the bedroom, this time with Orange Blossom and that beautiful duvet again:

And here are all the items Anna sent, including beautifully wrapped boxes and a cute card. Besides what I've shown you above and will show you below, there are bags of flower bulbs with tiny bulbs inside, a sweet book, and three beautiful and cute Easter eggs (which I'll show in an upcoming Easter scene):

 

Check out the darling kitty she made from polymer clay:

And a fun fluffy white guinea pig friend:

She made the sweet bowl of kitty grass too. Oh my! Everything is just too cute for words! Thank you so much, Anna! Your gifts are so beautiful and thoughtful! Now I'll show you the gifts I made for Anna. As I wrote earlier, I had a blast studying Anna's blog and making things I thought she would like (which she obviously did for me too :-)):

The big red heart is a pillow I sewed by hand from vintage wool felt. I got the idea for making the rubber gloves from a tutorial I saw on Pinterest. I didn't use the tutorial, but just "winged it" myself. I learned how to make cherries with cherry sauce when I made Anna's cherry chocolate cake. And here's a close-up of the cake. You can almost see the details on the individual cherries if you look really hard. :-)

In my next posts, I have gorgeous gifts to show you from Jane of Minifanaticus blog and Simona of Soft and Malleable blog. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Gifts From Maria, Kikka, and Drora

More birthday gifts have arrived! I feel so grateful to have such sweet blog friends. First, Maria of Pretty Things Ireland blog sent all of these darling handmade gifts, plus some yummy chocolates that didn't make it into the photo ;-) :

The red sweater on the left is being modeled by Orange Blossom in the top photo. It's a perfect fit! And here's a close-up photo of the sweet beach bag and hand painted teapot Maria made, using a Sylvanian Families bed that Maria thoughtfully sent as a backdrop:

Aren't they pretty? I love the bag's vintage-style fabric and the teapot's fun colors!

Kikka of Pieni Sammakko blog sent all of these lovelies, including both handmade and vintage minis, beautiful fabric, cute Moomin stickers and two cute cards, one for Easter and one for my birthday:

Here's a close-up of Kikka's handmade gifts. The pink box in the front is a tiny box of Hello Kitty bandages with even tinier bandages inside--too cute! The two yellow boxes on the right are boxes of Easter Peeps. Kikka scanned a real life box to make them! Everything is so pretty, including the spring daffodils!

And finally (for today), Drora of Drora's Minimundo blog sent these gorgeous gifts with a beautiful card:

Just in front of the card are two halvah bars--yummy! Drora's minis are always so special. She even made me a matching basket of flowers to go with the basket she sent for Christmas. The pair look lovely together on Flossy's porch. :-)

Here's a close-up of the darling teapots Drora sent. They're so pretty and cute!

Thank you Maria, Kikka, and Drora! Your thoughtful and beautiful miniature gifts, and especially your gifts of friendship, are such treasures! Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Special Giveaway Winner

Without further ado, the winner of this chocolate torte with cherry sauce, handmade by me, is...

Isabel Ruiz Alonso!

Congratulations, Isabel! Please email me your mailing address, so I can send your cake to you right away! Thank you to everyone who participated and to everyone who reads my blog. There will be more chances in the future. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Flossy and Sophie Have Been Baking Again

Yes, Flossy and Sophie have been back in the kitchen again, baking up delicious treats. They enjoy spending time together, true, but they also enjoy eating the fruits of their labors, so to speak! This time has been no different, except that I finally had time to work with polymer clay again (last time was when I showed you some cakes I made several months ago). Today's treats were all made by me (with Flossy and Sophie's help, of course).

I've been working with some mini molds I bought, and I've also been learning some new techniques! First I made some pink kawaii-style bunny "peeps," just in time for Easter:

Next, I made some mini candy bars. Flossy has already taken a big bite out of this one. She hopes Sophie won't notice her most indelicate chomp!

While Flossy was munching chocolate, Sophie was decorating chocolate cookies with thick, rich, creamy frosting, as thick as she could possibly spread it. She prefers twice as much frosting as cookie! ;-) As you can see, Sophie is a bit of a messy baker, having spread frosting not only on the cookies but also all over the mug.

Speaking of cookies, the ones in front of Sophie were made using molds. I feel that they look more like bakery cookies than homemade ones.

Yes, there's been a lot of baking going on at Cupcake Cottage. Besides the goodies I've already shown you, I've been working on biscuits, ice cream sandwiches, donuts, and Pop Tarts. Those are still in process. We (Sophie, Flossy, and I) wanted to make something really special to share with all of you. It's a rich chocolate torte with cherry sauce. Mmm, doesn't it look yummy?!

Have a bite, my friends. You deserve something delicious to nibble on.

This is a special cake that we baked specially for our most dedicated readers. The rules are very clear: first, only existing followers of this blog are eligible. Second: do NOT publish this opportunity on your blogs. Third: leave a comment here for your chance, and use the word "special" in your comment. Do it quickly, because I will close this opportunity within one or two days at most.Thank you for your dedicated readership, sweet friends! You deserve a special treat. Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Sweet Birthday Gifts From Italy!

I am blown away by the generosity of miniaturists, and that's no more true than on birthdays. My birthday is around Easter each year, but this year the gifts have started flooding in already. I'll be completely overwhelmed if I don't start showing some of these beautiful miniatures now. Flossy and Sophie want to show you the gorgeous handmade birthday gifts they received from Fabiola of Miominimondo blog. First, Flossy is modeling the pinwheel Faby made:

And now you can see the whole table-ful of gifts Faby sent:

Aren't they all so sweet?

Did you notice the red ball of string at the bottom of the kite? Too cute! Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful and beautiful birthday gifts, Faby! I appreciate your friendship so much!

Next, another beautiful package of gifts came from Italy. Can you guess who made them?

Yes, they were all made by MelyMel of MelyMel Piccoli Sogni blog. Everything is so beautiful and romantic. See the exquisite cinnamon bread on a shabby chic tray that Mely made:

And her magnificent handmade clay roses with rose-adorned tart and shabby box of bread in the background:

And this gorgeous teapot with cake stand in the background--wow!

Plus, Mely also sent all of these beautiful craft supplies:

Thank you so much, Mely! Your gifts are so beautiful and so thoughtful, and your friendship means so much!

Alright, since this post is already long and photo-heavy, I will stop here. Thank you to two dear friends in Italy! You've made my birthday month so special! Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer