French Gifts for Flossy and Sophie, Part 2

Last time I showed you the gorgeous handcrafted dollhouse miniatures that Capucine sent Flossy and Sophie all the way from France. Now it's time for Sophie to show the amazing gifts that Capucine sent just for her.

Flossy was sipping a cup of hot chocolate when she received a telephone call. Who could it be? Of course! It's her good friend Sophie calling from Brambleberry Cabin on her new Rilakkuma telephone made by Capucine!

Sophie has invited Flossy to visit to see the gorgeous gifts Capucine sent her. While Sophie waits for Flossy to arrive, she'll give us an exclusive first tour. Sophie models the new Hello Kitty sleep mask that Capucine sent. It fits Sophie perfectly, and it helps her get good quality sleep too!

The Rilakkuma pillow under Sophie's head and the Hello Kitty slippers were both gifts from Capucine too! Aren't they all adorable? Sophie loves them all! Now it's on to some tasty food! This darling Re-Ment Rilakkuma Home Made cooking set was sent by Capucine.

Sophie will save this to share with Flossy when she arrives. The two tarts look delicious, and we know how much Flossy loves sweets! Sophie will eat the one shaped like a bear, and Flossy can have the one shaped like a chick! Before Flossy arrives, however, Sophie cannot wait to eat this yummy Re-Ment ALOHA Hawaii hamburger with slices of fresh avocado:

Mmm, it smells heavenly, and it has lots of good protein for growing bears like Sophie! Sophie will drench the burger in ketchup and wash the whole meal down with the yummy cola drink that Capucine included. OK, it's good-bye for now, while Sophie enjoys her lunch! Thank you so much for all of these amazing and thoughtful gifts, Capucine! You are a very talented, dear, and thoughtful friend!

To see Capucine's other gifts to us, see my two previous posts here and here. Visit Capucine's darling blogs at Capucine and Ninour and Cherie et sa fine equipe. The stories will make you laugh out loud, and her cheery images will make your day brighter! You can also see what I sent to Capucine on this post.

Next time, I'll show you some sweet and special gifts from another dear friend, plus there is "someone" new in my life. I hope to show it all in my next post! Until then, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Fun New Blog Friend!

I felt really lucky the day I found Ann Sanz's fun blog, El arte de Angelina. She makes beautiful miniature foods and more, and I love looking at things like that, so I was happy.

Look at that yummy whipped cream!

Soon I became a regular commentor on Ann's blog, and then I received a wonderful surprise. Ann wrote me that she was so grateful that I was her first follower that she wanted to send me a gift. Then Ann sent me the gorgeous mixer above plus these Re-Ment donut set goodies:

Ice cold drinks on a hot day!

And all of these treasures too:

So many yummy things!

Wow! So many cute Re-Ment minis plus sweet handmade miniatures made by Ann herself! I was in the middle of sending a thank-you note, when I decided to go through all of Ann's blog posts. There I found the sweetest little brownie scene. The brownies were luscious looking, and the heart-shaped table was so adorable. Then I noticed that the whole scene, including the table and chair, was available in Ann's Etsy shop.

For sale NOW in Ann's Etsy shop!

I made my order quickly, before anyone could get to my prized set, and when it arrived, it came with the sweetest gravy boat filled with chocolate and an extra pink tablecloth (equally adorable). Plus, just as I had imagined, this set was the perfect pick-me-up for Flossy's little Cupcake Cottage sitting room--yay!

Mmm, look at those yummy brownies! Flossy is taking a well-deserved break from baking cupcakes to sit back and enjoy some fresh brownies for a nice change of pace. :-)

Thank you so much for everything, Ann! It was already enough to follow your sweet blog, but all of your gifts are wonderful icing on the cake! ;-) I'm so glad to have met you, my fun new blog friend!

If you haven't seen Ann's blog or her Etsy shop, I highly recommend them. She's got that homemade, shabby thing going that's so adorable, plus she regularly has tutorials on her blog for how to make mini foods! And she's selling some fantastic Halloween items in her Etsy shop right now--check it out! Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Strawberry Season! Plus News

It's Strawberry Season in Flossy and Sophie's neck of the woods, and they are making the most of it! Flossy has made some yummy strawberry shortcake...

...while Sophie is about to sit down to a huge plate of warm, delectable strawberry pancakes...

...and Bluebelle is taking a load off with some tasty strawberry cupcakes (in her new house, since Strawberry Shortcake is traveling for the summer).

Latest News

Ah, there is so much catching up to do since my last blog post. Rufus, my precious guinea pig, has had a painful bladder infection, which we are treating with antibiotics. :-( Both my husband and I were ill but now are better. Since then, I've been trying to catch up on home projects and manage my greeting card accounts. I've missed writing blog posts so much, but I've had little to no time for it.

There's something else: For a long time now, I've had very little free time for working on my own creative projects, such as creating new characters, decorating their homes, and developing new stories. On top of that, postage in the U.S., especially international postage, has skyrocketed (not a joke!). It is $10 minimum to send an extremely light package to a foreign country (usually it costs $12-15 or more). For these reasons, I will not be able to participate in any more Christmas gift exchanges for the foreseeable future. And starting in 2015, I won't be able to participate in any more birthday gift exchanges either.

I've loved being part of these exchanges, but now I need to carve out time for my own creative projects. If a solution can be found so that the gift exchanges take less time and cost less money, I'm all for it. Until then, the gift exchanges have been a fun way to make friends, and I still value the friendships I've made and the wonderful gifts I've received.

Now I hope to be able to post on the blog more often. I still have some more gifts and giveaway wins to show (from April and earlier!) and now not just one but two (!) new interests to share with you. I also have a new diorama on public display to show. Then it's on to new characters, a new dollhouse, new stories, and more! I hope you'll all be here to share it with me. :-) Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer