Flossy the Bunny is a Calendar Girl!

Maybe some of you remember when my banana slug plushy became a calendar girl. She was discovered nearly two years ago by The New Fat, a born in Nottingham, UK graphic design agency specializing in design for brand communications. The New Fat publishes fun free downloadable desktop wallpaper with a calendar each month.

I received an email from Suze Moore a few weeks ago, as they were looking for a new "calendar girl." This time it was Flossy the bunny's chance for fame. I created this summery miniature scene just for The New Fat (notice how there's plenty of room on the left side for the calendar):

See what great work they did with her photo? There are even cute strawberries on the calendar!

A big thank-you to Suze and everyone else involved at The New Fat. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Mama Tucks In Baby Mouse

I went to Green Bean Books on Wednesday and installed my first public diorama. Wow! I've been excited all these weeks all the way until it was my scheduled time to be "in the box." I was planning and visualizing, photographing and fretting a little bit too. Jennifer at Green Bean was so supportive and nice and helped me feel relaxed about the whole thing. I'd gathered my supplies up a few days before the big day. Yes, everything was packed and ready.

What's behind this door?

I think I see something!

I spent over two hours putting it together, making sure everything was in place just so. Then, it was done! Whew! What a relief! So, without further ado, here's my diorama:

It's my first public diorama:  Mama Tucks In Baby Mouse!

It's called Mama Tucks In Baby Mouse. Mama has just read baby mouse a story, and now Baby is asleep in bed. And guess what else? There's a greeting card to match the diorama!

Latest greeting card by Plushpussycat Cards!

It is blank inside, so it can be used for Mother's Day, Get Well Soon, and New Baby! My diorama will be available for viewing through April 30, 2012 (that's two more weeks than originally planned!) at Green Bean Books in Portland. My greeting cards are available at Green Bean and in my Plushpussycat Etsy shop. You can view Plushpussycat's entire selection of cards in my Greeting Card Gallery. Hope to see you at the show! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Celebrating a Success!

I recently shared about seeing Maggie Rudy's MousesHouses diorama at Green Bean Books. It was an amazing experience, for several reasons. After viewing the diorama, my husband and I started chatting with the owner, Jennifer Green. She and I both expressed our love for Maggie's book, The House That Mouse Built, and my hubby bought me this adorable plushy finger puppet, Daisy, from Green Bean's plushy-dispensing machine:

Daisy the finger puppet plush

Then my husband whispered to me, "Give her one of your business cards." I resisted a couple of times (too shy!), but finally I sheepishly pulled out my business cards and said something like, "I make plushies too, with little story vignettes, and now they're greeting cards." I'm sure it was more jumbled than that, but by then two people (including Jennifer) had gathered around my business cards oohing and ahhing, and a third person came out of nowhere and said, "Can I have one of your cards too?"

Jennifer Green, owner of Green Bean Books

I was so embarassed that I was blushing, especially after Jennifer said, "I might want to carry your cards in my shop." Wow! I'd sold a bunch of my greeting cards to friends and family, but so far never in a brick and mortar shop. It was the next step I wanted to take with my cards, but I hadn't pursued it. As I left, I said that I would call to set up a time to show her my cards.

One week went by (how embarassing!), and I got an email from Jennifer. She'd looked at my blog and wanted to know if I'd be interested in selling her some cards for her shop AND if I'd be interested in doing a diorama in the store "like the box Maggie Rudy's display was in." OMG!!! A diorama in the box where the MousesHouses diorama just was?! What an honor and a thrill! I think you can imagine how I felt! :-DDD

See my cards?! 

Here's the bottom line: My greeting cards are now available at Green Bean Books, AND my miniature diorama will be featured at Green Bean Books for six weeks starting in March!!! Woohoo!

Daisy and Snoop getting to know each other!

P.S. Daisy now has a boyfriend named Snoop! Aren't they an adorable couple? ;-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

P.P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to enter my New Giveaway! The prize includes a secret miniature and all five of my greeting cards!

MousesHouses at Green Bean Books!

I've been following Maggie Rudy's MousesHouses blog for a few months now (I love her book The House That Mouse Built too), and then I saw that one of her dioramas could be seen at Green Bean Books here in Portland, Oregon. Here's the diorama I saw live: MousesHouses: Winter!

Cute diorama door made from recycled yardsticks

It was so fun to see her work in person. It was inside this cute door in one of the store's bookshelves. You opened the door, and inside, in a mini space of 11 1/2 inches by 11 1/2 inches (29 cm by 29 cm), with a depth of 10 inches (25.5 cm), was Maggie Rudy's adorable scene. I was struck by how tiny her mice were, and after having previously viewed the same scene on her blog, I was really impressed by how much expression she could show on the mouse faces when working in such a small scale. Definitely a thrill!

Giant Yeti in front window at Green Bean Books

A second thrill was discovering Green Bean Books itself. The giant yeti/abominable snowman in the front window (made by owner Jennifer Green) sets the scene for what you will find inside the store. It's an adorable bookstore with so many fun, quirky features. My favorite of them is the vintage cigarette machine that has become a cute plushy-dispensing machine. How fun! I couldn't resist buying a plushy. Her name is Daisy, and she's a finger puppet. More about Daisy later! :-)

Cigarette machine turned fun plushy dispenser!

Jennifer also has a fantastic mustache-dispensing machine!

Oh, to be a kid again!

Doesn't this look fun?! Needless to say, it's a wonderful store, and I had a great time. But there's so much more to tell, and it will have to be in a near-future blog post. In that post, I will show you Daisy the finger puppet plush, and let you in on a huge secret and wonderful surprise! So stay tuned! ;-) Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer