Miniature Gifts, Guinea Pigs, and More!

Hi Everyone! I think you all know how much I love guinea pigs, especially my little Rufus, right? Sarah K., aka The Mama Pirate, of sayruhk.com blog knew I did, and she emailed and asked if I could provide a good home for a dollhouse miniature guinea pig. :-) Sarah's downsizing her miniatures collection and has consolidated her blogs. You may have followed her previous blogs, including A Little Dollhouse and The Mama Pirate. You can check out her new blog to see her work on finishing her dollhouse.

It looks like the new guinea pig from Sarah (made by Magda of 1717mk on Etsy) is going to live with Strawberry Shortcake:

Here's a close-up photo of the sweet little guy. Isn't he cute?

The real question is, will he be able to get along with the others? It looks like he might have to throw his weight around to get to the food:

Sarah generously sent some other mini treasures with the precious guinea pig:

The lid comes off of that metal teapot, and the frames will be so useful. The needlepoint rug is gorgeous! Already, the cute teddy bear book, which has pictures inside too, has found its way inside Dad's Dollhouse mouse house:

And all the other cute items will find their spots over time. Thank you so much for your thoughtful gifts, including the sweet guinea pig, Sarah! I really appreciate them. And thank you for following my blog too!

Speaking of guinea pigs, little Rufus was the lucky winner of a blog giveaway hosted by Buffy, Broccoli, and Lola, the three guinea pigs who write the blog posts at Cavy Savvy blog. To celebrate their 300th blog post, they gave away two prizes. Rufus won the second prize, a bag of Oxbow Organic Barley Biscuits, which he loved. Thanks Buffy, Broccoli, and Lola! You're the best, and your blog is so fun! Buffy, Broccoli, and Lola do a lot of product and fresh food reviews, plus they educate humans on how to care for their guinea pigs--nice!

Everything has shut down here in Portland, Oregon since a big snow storm hit us a few days ago. We have at least six inches of snow with a layer of frozen rain on top. I'm so grateful to have greeting card design, miniature making, and blogging to keep me busy while I'm housebound. I hope the rest of you aren't too buried in snow. ;-) I took this photo before we got more snow plus ice--yikes!

Finally, I can hardly wait to show you the handmade Valentine's Day gifts Jane of Minifanticus blog has sent me. You're going to be amazed! I'll show you later this week, but before that, there may be one more post. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Mavis Mouse Remembers Her Wedding Day

Mavis Mouse's sailor husband went back out to sea not long after Mavis married him. Since then she had a baby, and her mother has moved into the big, lonely house to help out. Sometimes Mavis thinks wistfully about her wedding day not so long ago....

Mavis has pulled her wedding dress out from storage.

She pulls it up against her body, remembering that special day.

Mavis twirls around...

...and twirls back again.

She sighs. Now it's back to the kitchen to cook up
more tasty treats. :-)

Mavis as reflected in the mirror, still holding
her dress.

Until next time, keep it fun! xo Jennifer

Dad's Dollhouse Sunset Magazine Plans

Just as I was writing my last post about how I finally completed decorating Dad's Dollhouse as a mouse house, I contacted my local library system to see if they could find the original plans for Dad's Dollhouse.

I knew the plans were from Sunset magazine and that my dad had built the house sometime between 1973 and 1975. Off the information went, and within a few days I received an answer. Thank you to Ross and the Ask the Librarian program of the Multnomah County Library! Ross kindly sent me a scan from the December 1974 issue of Sunset, page 88, which I've photographed:

This is definitely the house, only mine looks a little bit different:

These are the photos I took back in March of 2011 for my original "Dad's Dollhouse" blog post. The photos show the house before I changed out the shag carpets(!), wallpapered the upstairs study, and decorated the house. As you can see, Dad added a third floor for me, shingled the roof, and painted the house my requested "wedgewood blue." The front porch columns are spindles from an antique chair we had in our real life basement. 

I've got a bad cold, so I'm not going to write much more today, but it is such a thrill for me to see the original magazine article again. I remember looking at it many times as Dad and I discussed ideas, plans, and dreams. I couldn't wait to be that little girl in the pictures, playing with my own dollhouse. Thanks, Dad! Until next time, keep it fun! xo Jennifer

Dad's Dollhouse Completed!

After much struggle to find a theme for Dad's Dollhouse, the house my dad built me when I was a child from a 1970s Sunset magazine plan, I finally realized something. Dad's Dollhouse is a Mouse House. Whew! Once I figured that out, I was able to complete the project to my liking.

Mavis Mouse bakes brownies in Dad's Dollhouse kitchen.

Some of you may remember an earlier project, the 1920s Lovers Cottage, a romantic honeymoon cottage. That building is now Bluebelle's Cake Shop, but I took many of the items from the Lover's Cottage and made them part of the story in Dad's Dollhouse, a 1920s late-Victorian farmhouse. The people who lived there included a sailor and his new bride. The sailor had to go back to sea after the wedding, and the bride lived there alone, busying herself reading Farmer's Wife magazines, waiting for her man to return.

The only problem with this scenario was that I always seem to get bored with people for characters (except for Strawberry Shortcake!). ;-) So after finding vintage felt Mavis Mouse and her mother (Grandma Mouse) at thrift stores and after more time, I finally realized that I needed to add more mouse details to this mouse house, and now Dad's Dollhouse is basically complete! Yay!

So here's a little tour of Dad's Dollhouse Mouse House. First, the Victorian parlor:

Overview of Victorian parlor with Grandma and baby mouse.

I made the Victorian pump organ from a Chrysnbon kit. I printed the matriarch ancestor mouse image for my own personal use, painted it with Mod Podge, and framed it for some fun "mousiness." I made the curtains and carpet, designed the calla lily arrangement, modified Grandma mouse from her original state, and made baby mouse from vintage wool felt.

The sofa is from my original childhood collection, as are the yellow doilies and the real candles in brass candle holders on the fireplace mantel. The wallpaper is from my childhood home, a real life Victorian house. This room is full of special gifts from blog friends, including the handmade paper flowers, needlepoint pillows, and memory box in the foreground.

Ancestor matriarch mouse painting is a new "mouse" addition.

Next, Mavis Mouse's kitchen:

Overview of Mavis Mouse's country Victorian kitchen.

I made the hutch, table, and chairs from Chrysnbon kits. I also made the curtains and tablecloth. The cast iron stove and dry sink are from my childhood collection, and I recently found the matching vintage ice box at a local miniatures show for $1!

The wallpaper and flooring are from my actual childhood home. This room also contains many special gifts from blog friends, including the handmade paper flowers, water pitcher, salami cookbook, and foods. My husband made the mini loaf of bread on the hutch cutting board.

Mavis Mouse is a great cook. Her husband is a very lucky mouse!

Here's the master (and only) bedroom:

Overview of the master bedroom, showing the new bride's arrival.

I made the bed's canopy from a vintage handkerchief, the carpet and curtains, many accessories on the bed, and a perfume tray on the dresser. Blog friends have contributed many of the pieces, including the gorgeous bedding, wedding dress, books, luggage, purse, shoes, and hat. The dresser looks like the real life dresser in my parents' bedroom. The wallpaper is from my parents' real life bedroom in my childhood home.

The cheese plate on the nightstand is a new "mouse" addition.

And the bathroom:

Someone is trying to repair a plugged toilet!

I made the towels, toilet seat, curtains, and flooring. My husband designed the flooring on the computer. All of the furniture, aside from the medicine cabinet and the footstool, is from my original childhood collection. The pot-bellied stove is one-half of a salt and pepper shaker set given to my by my mom way back when. Blog friends contributed the footstool (kitty's favorite spot) and the seashell wall hanging above the bathtub.

The cat is eyeing that cozy hand towel in the sink as a place to sleep!

The Victorian study filled with Asian art and sewing room are both in the dollhouse attic, with no windows, so they are difficult to photograph. First, here's the study:

The focus of this room is travel and Asian art.

It's full of Asian art from the sailor mouse's world travels and includes a wall map, Victorian photo scrapbook, and several memory boxes. I wallpapered the room and made the calla lily arrangement, the photo scrapbook, many books on the bookshelf, and the memory box on the floor. The chair is my first miniature purchase from my childhood collection. Gifts include the Oriental vase, Christmas cactus plant, paperweight, wall map, and mini Buddhas.

Finally, it's time to show the sewing room:

Kitty plays with his toy mouse!

I made the sewing table chair from a Chrysnbon kit as well as a scissors box. The iron, tiny mouse, and pair of scissors on the sewing machine are from my childhood collection, and the wallpaper is from my real life grandparents' bedroom. The many gifts from friends include the sewing kit, art prints, needlepoint kits and patterns, memory box, and thread holder.

This house has been a collaborative effort from the very beginning when Dad built the house and wallpapered it and my mom introduced me to dollhouse miniatures until today, as the house has become filled with precious gifts from blog friends. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the completion of Dad's Dollhouse!

Thank you, too, to anyone who has read to this point in the post. You are a real trooper! I will keep my eye out for more "mouse" items--accessories that let you know a mouse lives here. Does anyone have any suggestions on what those items might be? Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Mavis Mouse and the Homemade German Delicacies

Mavis mouse has been in the kitchen again.

This time she made a giant feast of German delicacies. There's a selection of fancy meat dishes, fine wine, sliced dark bread, potato salad, and cucumber salad. Yummy!

Looks like the German egg salad is even more enticing than her other favorite food--cheese! ;-)

Good thing Mavis Mouse received such beautiful foods and fancy wine (everything but the cheese plates) from her good friend Mieke of Petite Victorian Rose blog. :-) Mieke made all the foods herself--wow! Thank you so much, Mieke!

Notice the hutch in Mavis Mouse's kitchen? I made it from a Chrysnbon kit after procrastinating for a year or two. I just finished it last night so I could show Mieke's beautiful gifts. Yay!

In addition to all of the homemade German delicacies, Mieke also sent a gorgeous handmade table runner that has become the perfect rug in Mavis Mouse's bedroom:

Last but not least, Mieke also sent this gorgeous handmade dress and purse set for Orange Blossom, one of my vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls:

There's a tiny red butterfly button on the front of the dress--so whimsical and wonderful. Thank you so much for your sweet and gorgeous gifts, Mieke, and for your precious gift of friendship! I feel so lucky and grateful. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

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.

Her Best Christmas Gift Ever

The main course has been eaten, and now it's time for Christmas dessert. Mavis has been extra busy, between making all of this delicious food...

including her famous frosted cinnamon rolls...

and caring for her best Christmas gift ever.

Keep the holidays fun! xoxo Jennifer

Meanwhile, in Dad's Dollhouse...

Mavis Mouse prepared a big feast for Thanksgiving this year.

Now that Mavis has a baby on the way, Mavis' mother has come to stay with her to help out.

Since Mavis is eating for two now, she made an extra large Thanksgiving feast. No one went hungry. There was plenty of cheese for everyone!

Until next time, keep it fun! ;-) xoxo Jennifer

Natalia's Fine Needlework!

Wow! I sure got lucky when I won the latest giveaway at Natalia's Fine Needlework blog. First I won these two precious miniature needlepoint pillows, which are perfect for Dad's Dollhouse parlor sofa:

The kitty can't wait to get its fur all over Natalia's needlepoint pillows!

I also won this gorgeous fine needlepoint rug, which really completes the scene in Dad's Dollhouse late-Victorian country kitchen:

Uh, oh! The brownies on the plate are starting to fall off the stove!!!

The rug feels so nice to the touch. It is very dense with stitches but doesn't feel stiff. It is so soft and lovely. Natalia, how many hours does it take to make a rug like this? I know I wouldn't have the patience to make something so time consuming and requiring so many stitches, so this prize is a special treat for me.

Whew! Mavis Mouse scurried over just in time to catch the plate with
her tail!

And as if that wasn't enough, I won these other sweet dollhouse miniatures (plus a flocked teddy bear that I had trouble photographing) in the same giveaway:

Natalia had all of these prizes wrapped so beautifully when she sent my package too--that makes it extra special. Thank you for all of these fantastic prizes, Natalia! I recommend that you check out her blog, if you haven't already. Rumor has it that there'll be another giveaway there soon. Who will be the next lucky one? 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

Exquisite Swap Gifts From Norma of make mine mini

I remember the first time I came across Norma's make mine mini blog--her miniature photos and letters literally took my breath away! Recently, I asked Norma if she would do a swap with me for some of her mini mail. I received her precious package yesterday, and look at the exquisite miniature memory box she sent me!

The envelopes are filled with tiny letters, the postcards are double-sided, and the photos are clear and beautiful. 

The biggest mini photograph is a picture of Norma's mother as a child with all of her possessions around her. The framed photo is of Norma's uncle in his WWI uniform. The box lid image is a photo of some of Norma's mother's toys, taken around 1920, and was hand colored at the time. Knowing these details makes the items that much more precious.

And luckily, just in time for Norma's gift, I finally wallpapered Dad's Dollhouse study, the better to show off her beautiful work!

Thank you for your special present, Norma! I will treasure it always! You can see my gifts to Norma on her latest blog post. Here's to more fun! xoxo Jennifer