Meeting Maggie Rudy of MousesHouses!

I've written about Maggie Rudy here before. Perhaps you already know this talented creature maker, author, illustrator, and photographer from her MousesHouses blog or from her first book, The House That Mouse Built. Her latest book is called I Wish I Had a Pet, and I was able to meet her in person for a book reading at Green Bean Books! Here the two of us enjoy a casual moment:

Photo taken by Jennifer Green of Green Bean Books.

We were blog friends, but we had never met in person. I enjoyed a little bit of private time with Maggie (it pays to arrive early!), in which she offered guidance and some oh-so-appreciated praise of my work (which I will treasure forever!). Do I sound a little bit starstruck? Probably because I am. :-) What a kind, gracious, humble, and gifted person. Thank you so much, Maggie!

Maggie Rudy reading from her latest book, I Wish I Had a Pet.

A number of fans, both young and old, came to hear Maggie speak. We were treated to a reading of her new book, a short lecture about her creative process, and a question and answer period, followed by a book signing. I could have stayed there for hours soaking up her humor and wisdom. What a thrill to meet someone whose work I admire so much!

Maggie's creative process: first she sketches out her ideas.

Then she creates her creatures and sets.

The House That Mouse Built is one of my all-time favorite books, and this new book, I Wish I Had a Pet, is destined to become another classic loved by both children and adults everywhere. It is so sweet and a fun way to introduce the responsibilities involved in having a pet to children (adults too, actually!). Maggie even created a diorama for the bookstore with part of one of the scenes from her book:

Maggie Rudy's diorama at Green Bean Books. Come see it!

My diorama had been in the bookstore's main diorama box since April 15, but I gladly made way for Maggie's display. Now you can still view my diorama, but it's in the second diorama box, near the back of the store:

My diorama, a scene from one of my early greeting cards.

Be sure and check out Green Bean Books if you're in the Portland area. It is one of my all-time favorite bookstores, and there are dollhouse miniatures and Re-Ment miniatures for sale, as well as books and toys. Maggie's blog is MousesHouses and is not to be missed! Her books are available from bookstores everywhere, including Green Bean Books. Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Summer School for Raccoon

That Raccoon! He was so busy during the school year with his pranks and naughtiness, that now he has to go to summer school to make up his missed classes. Maria of Pretty Things Ireland blog must have taken pity on him, because she sent him not one but two backpacks for all of his books. See! He has to wear one and carry the other, both full of books!

Thank you, Maria! You helped Raccoon out when he's been feeling a little bit dejected. Awww! Poor Raccoon!

Maria also sent two gorgeous handmade foot rests, both of which have taken up residence in Dad's Dollhouse. See this sweet pink one? It matches the bathroom perfectly and has become Kitty's favorite bed. Isn't that just like a cat?

And this precious blue one is perfect for the master bedroom, that is if anyone can find room to sit on the overcrowded loveseat!

Here are the first things I found when I opened Maria's package: this fun Leprechaun for good luck and a gorgeous bread basket lined with vintage-style fabric. Thank you so much, Maria! I love all of your gifts! They're even more special because they came from you!

Let's see if Raccoon can make it through summer school and stay out of trouble, shall we? Keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Plushpussycat Momentarily Loses Her Purse

"Where is my purse?" Plushpussycat asked aloud. "I'm all ready to go shopping, but first I must find my purse."

Plushpussycat steps outside the door. "Ah! Here it is!"

"Now it's time for some fun!"

Plushpussycat's precious 1:12 scale Enid Collins purse was handmade by pinehaven. Check out her Etsy shop and blog, The Little House at Pine Haven. Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

What She Really Wants

Mavis Mouse has been busy baking, but look at what she really wants! :-) 

Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Birthday Bash Giveaway #4

This is the fourth of eight giveaways I'm having to celebrate one year of blogging and to thank all of my blog friends! I'm calling it the Birthday Bash Giveaway! :-) It's not too late to enter giveaway #1, giveaway #2, and giveaway #3 (see my blog's sidebar for those prizes). I'll announce a new giveaway each Friday for eight weeks. All giveaways will end Thursday, May 3, 2012 at midnight Pacific Daylight Savings Time. Good luck, my friends!

What You Could Win: You could win this romantic silk corset with silk trim, the matching corset box, and the antiqued perfume bottles (made from Czech glass) and tray, all handmade by me. The paper roses are included too. Here's a romantic and luxurious prize for my blog friends. May everyone have good luck!

This giveaway ends Thursday, May 3, 2012 at midnight Pacific Daylight Savings Time, and I'll announce the winner on Saturday, May 5, 2012. I'll pick the winner from the pool of qualified entries using a random number generator. I must hear back from the winner by end of day Friday, May 11, 2012. If I don't, I'll pick another winner, again using the random number generator. This giveaway is open to anyone anywhere who meets the below criteria. The postage is on me.

Giveaway requirements:

1) Be a follower / member (or become one now) of this blog using Google Friend Connect (on my upper right-hand sidebar). (Required)
2) Leave a nice comment on this post. (Required)
3) Please help me spread the word about this giveaway by publishing it on your blog (not required, but very much appreciated). :-) Use the images above or below! ;-)

For help in how to post a giveaway image on your blog's sidebar, there are instructions here.

I hope you like this giveaway prize! If it's not your cup of tea, check back next Friday for the fifth giveaway prize. :-) Thank you to all of the friends of Plushpussycat. Good luck in the draw! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Won Shop Cinderella Moments' Giveaway!

I won the MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking software in Shop Cinderella Moments' recent awesome giveaway. Yay! Thanks Caroline! In case you haven't seen her blog, Caroline makes the most wonderful whimsical dollhouses.

I won the software and enough credit for a few extra kits. The extras I got included Vintage Rose (which was actually free on the MyMemories site), Vintage Valentine, Lavender Wedding, and Violet Valentine. It was as many of the Victorian, shabby chic fun images that I could find. :-)

So I downloaded everything to my computer and started playing. I found three label images that I could fit onto an 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch page a number of times. Then I shrunk the page, like Caroline did in her giveaway post, and my images were miraculously dollhouse size--woohoo! See how small the images came out on the paper?

I thought these particular images would look great for the front sides of a few tiny vintage postcards. I cut the mini postcards out, and don't they look cute (see top photo)? I'll look for the back side of a vintage postcard in all of those MyMemories images and print a few, then glue the front and back sides together. Voila! Almost-instant dollhouse or diorama miniature postcards! :-)

Thanks to everyone who has signed up for one or both of my first two of eight giveaways (see this blog's sidebar for the first two prizes). If you haven't found the prize for you yet, wait until Friday, when I'll unveil prize #3! Until then, I hope you're having a good week and a lot of fun! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer