Miniature Treasures From FloraDollhouse on Etsy!

I'm so excited to show you some dollhouse miniatures that I bought from FloraDollhouse on Etsy. Flora acted as a shabby chic decorating consultant for me. I emailed her photos of Cupcake Cottage's bedroom, and she made suggestions on what would work in it. Thank you, Flora! It was a pleasure to work with you!

So, starting with Cupcake Cottage's kitchen, here's a gift Flora gave me: a shabby copy of the book 500 Cupcakes in miniature. How perfect is that for Cupcake Cottage?! Thank you for the lovely gift, Flora!

Next, moving on to the bedroom, I ordered this fab chair in delicate pink with tiny white polka dots that I'd fallen in love with while searching Flora's sold items on Etsy. And to the right of the chair, inside the fireplace, is a pair of shabby floral candlesticks that I just had to have.

I must say that I had a hard time sticking to my (tiny!) dollhouse miniatures budget this last month, because I loved everything in Flora's shop. :-) But somehow I practiced self-control and just bought these few pieces.

Next on the tour, there's this adorable shabby lamp that Flora designed and gave me (isn't she sweet?!), and to the right, on top of Mely's gorgeous bedspread, is a matching pillow (also the same as the pillow on the chair in the previous photo). Flora did such an amazing job of tying the fabric of the pillows and lamp together--I love it!

Here's an overview photo, so you can get more of a big-picture feel of the room:

Finally, back in the kitchen, Gino discovered a pillow from Flora and has made it his personal bed. Looks like the purchases and gifts from Flora have made both of us really happy. :-) Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Centerpiece of Cupcake Cottage's Kitchen

It's early morning here at Cupcake Cottage. The sun is up, the cupcakes are freshly baked and frosted, and it's going to be a good day. The centerpiece of Cupcake Cottage, the one that sets the tone for the whole room, is this gorgeous kitchen hutch / dresser, made by Vicky Lovejoy of Lovejoy Bears blog. I love this piece, with all of its whimsical charm. Cupcake Cottage wouldn't be the same without it.

Vicky has opened a beautiful Etsy shop, and it's full of pieces lovingly hand made by her, all loaded with that special something that is uniquely hers. It always feels happy. Just take a look at this precious piece:

This little cabinet would be gorgeous in almost any room of your dollhouse. Just try to picture it in the bathroom, the bedroom, the hallway, the kitchen--it would be perfect anywhere!

And to celebrate the opening of her shop, Vicky is hosting a fabulous giveaway on her blog. Look at what you could win:

All I'm saying is, don't miss out on all of this cuteness! Let the happiness rub off on you, and keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Gratitude, Gifts, and Prizes!

You may have seen me write that I have so many things to be grateful for. I really believe that focusing on what you are grateful for increases joy in life. I was once given an exercise to write down five new things each night for which I was grateful.

Finding five things that you're grateful for each day isn't so hard, but five NEW things each day really opened my mind to what I COULD be grateful for. I kept up the practice for nearly a year, and now I see the world differently as a result. Have you ever tried an exercise like that? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

So lately I have another thing to be grateful for: I've been winning a lot of giveaways. The first is this gorgeous fabric (a fat quarter) designed by Carina of Carina's Craftblog. I started following Carina's blog when I started crafting a couple of years ago, but I keep following her blog for the world she shows me. It's not overly perfect (like some of those super-stylized blogs), but it is interesting and often full of gorgeous colors.

This morning I felt inspired to use some of Carina's fabric to make a tablecloth for Cupcake Cottage's kitchen alcove. That's the picture you see at the top of this post. I love how it turned out. Thank you, Carina, for your gorgeous prize and your precious friendship!

The next giveaway prize that I want to tell you about is from Saara of Saaran Nukkekoti  (Saara's Dollhouse) blog. She took a fabulous trip to Rome and then fashioned a giveaway around her trip. I won the grand prize, which included all of these goodies:

The Italian packaged foods are adorable, and I've already added one of the maps to Dad's Dollhouse study. Thank you, Saara! I love the fantastic prizes you sent!

Before I move on, I have to show you one of Saara's handmade cute blog characters. Its name is Mau, and what a cute kitty it is! Saara is so talented, and she makes custom kitties, if anyone is interested. Check out this link on her blog for more fun characters that live in her dollhouse.

Finally, I received some lovely gifts from Birgit of BiWuBaren on the Blog. I could hardly believe what came out of the box Birgit sent. It was like Mary Poppins' carpetbag! First, here are the ready-made gifts:

There are jars of candies, board games, a shabby chic tray, children's books, lemon cupcakes, and even a Fluby bear cake--how cute! Next, Birgit sent some wonderful craft supplies. I already have plans for the ones in the front row, and the rest will keep me busy all winter! Thank you so much, Birgit! Your gifts are so lovely and thoughtful. I am so grateful, too, for your friendship and for your blog, which keeps me laughing.

I am getting behind on my posts. There are more prizes, final photos of Dad's Dollhouse now that it is complete, and updates on Cupcake Cottage's progress. Plus, there are stories to tell and a giveaway to announce. Yikes! I'd better get busy! ;-) Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Craftland's Handmade and Vintage Miniatures

Karin of Craftland Minis und Anderes blog sent me something I never could have imagined.... She sent not one, but two miniature vintage felt plush poodles! Plus so much dessert! This might have been a bad combination! ;-)

Looks like the black poodle is very close to getting what it wants!

It all started with this amazing carrot cake that Karin made for her blog giveaway:

When I didn't win it, I was so sad, because I thought the cake would be perfect for a bunny wedding. :-) Karin took pity on me and said she would send me one. I suggested we do a miniatures swap. We both took our time making and gathering things for each other. You can see what I sent Karin on her Craftland post. I received so many lovely dollhouse miniatures from Karin. Not only the poodles, not only desserts, but all of these beauties:

There is the carton of eggs, the butter dish, the mini treats, a shopping basket with very realistic-looking toilet paper and paper towel rolls, a darling doll in a wonderful shabby box, a bag of flower bulbs, tiny ladybugs, and more:

Thank you so much, Karin. I love your miniature gifts so much. They were so thoughtful and perfect, my friend. If you don't know it, Craftland's blog is well worth a visit. As you can see, Karin makes beautiful miniatures, and she finds wonderful miniatures at flea markets too. Until next time, keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Why My Blog is Now Award-Free

I've thought about writing this post a number of times, but I've hesitated for fear of hurting someone's feelings. I cherish every award that I have ever received and each of the people who have given me an award. It is wonderful to feel part of the group and to be acknowledged. After much thought, however, I've decided to make this an Award-Free Blog.

My reasons are several. First, what about the people who don't receive the awards? I've always felt uncomfortable with competition and also with cliques. That's why I've tried to pass my awards on to all of my readers. I don't like feeling left out, and I don't like leaving others out either.

Then, some of the awards have requirements, like posting the award on your blog. That's like giving free advertising space! Along those same lines, most awards require that you pass the award on to a certain number of people, with links to their blogs, and an email notifying them of the award. I hate to say this, but the rules sometimes start to sound like a chain letter. Whenever I receive email chain letters, by the way, I delete them immediately.

Another thing I'm seeing more of with blog awards is that the winner must answer several questions. When I had a Facebook account, I once saw a little "game" created by a social engineer (social engineering is where someone gathers bits and pieces of information about someone else, and eventually puts the information all together in order to commit fraud). Facebook friends were asking their friends to play this game. In the course of playing the game, a person would end up sharing their mother's maiden name, their first pet's name, and their street number.

Of course I know that the people who have given me awards aren't social engineers, but I'm just saying that I try to be careful about the information I give out on my blog and elsewhere. So I am wary of awards that require me to answer questions.

There are better ways than giving awards, in my opinion, to show you like a blog. You can leave nice comments on that blog; write a post about a blog with a link to the blog; follow a blog (if you use the Google Friend Connect app on your blog, I can follow you back too!); subscribe to a blog's feed; and add a favorite blog to your blogroll. All of these are great ways to show you like someone's blog.

So Plushpussycat blog is now an Award-Free Blog. Thank you again to everyone who has ever given me an award. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and cherish your friendship. Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Luna and Gino Make Friends

I'd like to give a big "thank you" to everyone who tried to help me name Cupcake Cottage's new puppy. After seeing Ana Garcia's comment that if the puppy was a girl, the name "Luna" would be a good one, I was sold! It suddenly struck me that she does look like a girl, and she looks lit up like the moon, so Luna it is! Thank you, Ana! Please email me your mailing address, and I'll send you a small gift. :-)

Now you can see that Luna and Gino the guinea pig are best of friends. It looks like they worked out their turf issues, at least for the moment. ;-)  Cupcake Cottage is a haven of sweetness and peace once again. Keep having fun! xoxo Jennifer

Sweet Miniature Finds on Etsy

Teddy the frog has his eyes on that balloon!

Here are some recent purchases on Etsy. The first came from Eva Perendreu, whose lovely blog you may know. It's a birthday party chair from her shop, Evamini. Isn't Eva creative? I love that balloon and those tiny cookies! Oh, and she is so wonderful to work with--what a sweet person. I would love to buy from her again. Check out Evamini when you have a chance!

Next, I bought some darling miniature heart-shaped sugar cookies from Catherine at Sweet Petite Shoppe. And see, she sent me some free cupcakes too! Thanks again, Catherine!

Michi at cherrydot has really cute, whimsical dollhouse miniatures and mini food jewelry. I bought a couple of things from her, perfect for shabby chic Cupcake Cottage. I love her mini cupcakes complete with paper wrappers and those cake stands too! She sends lots of fun freebies when you buy from her--woohoo!

Finally, Judy at beadocious makes lovely things, including very realistic-looking homemade-style miniature frosted cakes. Yummy--doesn't this look tasty? Even better: there's a 20% off sale in her shop right now!

Until next time, keep it fun! xoxo Jennifer

Magnificent Gifts From MelyMel!

I was so inspired by the sweet and wonderful gifts I received from Mely of MelyMel Piccoli Sogni blog that I've been secretly renovating the Victorian dollhouse I recently purchased into a two-story Cupcake Cottage! What could have inspired me to spackle, sand, and paint the walls, among other things? Just look at this....

Isn't this bedding magnificent? Mely made the bedspread and pillow shams from linen and the sheet and underpillow from cambric. Cotton lace finishes her work. I was and still am in awe of its beauty. I'd be crazy not to start decorating a space for this masterpiece immediately, wouldn't you agree?

You can see more detailed photos of this gorgeous bedding on her blog post. But wait--there's more! See these beautiful handmade clay toiletry bottles? Mely made these too:

And that wasn't everything she sent. She also included all of these handmade shabby plates, a teapot, a gorgeous handmade cherry pie, and a beautiful woven bag, all made by her!

And a precious picnic basket with handmade shabby-style bird plates. I love birds! This is the perfect picnic basket for me!

I think you can see why many tears of joy were shed when I received Mely's sweet package. How do you thank someone for such precious gifts? All I know is that I am indebted to her forever because of her kindness. Thank you so much for all of these gorgeous miniatures, my dear friend! Mely's blog is so worth visiting. The innocence and sweetness there are contagious.

Dad's Dollhouse is finished. I should show you that project before I unveil Cupcake Cottage in her new incarnation. So, there is still much to show you, including fun purchases, prizes I've won, miniatures that I've made recently, and a new giveaway soon. Until next time, 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

New Puppy in Cupcake Cottage!

Hello everyone! I recently added a new furry friend to Cupcake Cottage. It's a little Labrador puppy made by Magda at 1717mk on Etsy. Do you know her blog? I'm a long-time follower and happened to see that she was offering a coupon. Lucky me, because I had favorited several of her shop's items.

He's a real cutie, but it looks like there's a slight problem. See, Gino the guinea pig wants to steal the puppy's  bed! They're having a "turf battle."

And so far, Gino the guinea pig is holding his ground! ;-)

The puppy came all the way from Poland, but he still doesn't have a name! Does anyone have any ideas for a good name? I appreciate your help and thank you for your visit. Hope you had some fun! xoxo Jennifer