February 2010 - Ruffing’s Artist Dolls and Toys

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 2 Comments

Matilda the Tuxedo Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Matilda is a tuxedo kitten who charms everyone she meets. Her bright amber eyes are alert and honest, and she is always exquisitely polite.

Today Matilda has been invited to an afternoon garden party, and is properly dressed for the occasion in a pale green dress. Over the dress she wears a darker green polka dot pinafore that ties in a big bow at the back.

To keep the sun from freckling her little pink nose, Matilda plans to wear her best summer straw hat. It is decorated with pink and white flowers on a dark green band. Her white petticoats swirl about below her hemline. She will be a much admired guest.

Matilda is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, and she is made for display only. No molds are ever used in my work. She and her straw hat are hand sculpted from paperclay, and entirely hand painted with acrylic paints. Her whiskers are made from stiffened cotton thread.

Matilda is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. She rests firmly on a turned wooden base that is stained and sealed in golden oak.

Matilda is an itty bitty kitty. She stands only 4 ½ inches tall.

Update: Matilda has already been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Crystal the Siamese Pixie Kitten, Original One-of-kind Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Crystal is a Siamese Pixie kitten with beautiful butterfly wings.

Little mythical pixies of folklore love glittery things, and Crystal is no exception. In the winter, she loves to look at raindrops, and she marvels at icicles.

On warm summer nights, if you leave your window open just a crack, Crystal may fly into your house, especially if you have a crystal chandelier.

She might peek into your jewelry box. If you cannot find your earrings, don’t worry. They’ll show up. Crystal’s been known to borrow shiny things, but always brings them back. They might turn up by the toaster, or on the hall table. She often can’t remember where she got things from.

Crystal looks very innocent in her simple country blue dress with pale pink petticoats. She holds her tiny paws demurely in front of her, and her long dark tail curls around from beneath her petticoats.

Crystal is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, and she is meant for display only. No molds are ever used in my work. She is hand-sculpted from paperclay, and is entirely hand painted using acrylic paints. Her whiskers are made from stiffened cotton thread.

I created Crystal’s colorful wings using 100% artists’ cotton canvas. They are hand painted and varnished.

Crystal is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. She rests firmly on a turned wooden base that is stained and sealed in golden oak.

Crystal is an itty bitty kitty. She stands only 4 ½ inches tall.

Update: Crystal has already been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on February 25, 2010March 13, 2022 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Two tutus…ta da

These are Opal (above) and Celeste (below), our two new Pixie Kitten original art dolls. They are a collaborative project, made by myself and Max Bailey. We’ve taken some very pretty photos of Opal with a bouquet of lavender chrysanthemums. Once I’ve edited the photos, we’ll put together a web page for Opal.

We’ll make a run to pick up some cut flowers for Celeste as well. There were flurries here this morning, but we’re making an effort to at least create the illusion of spring.

I’ll keep you updated on our blog migrations. I’ve been looking into re-uploading them at their same addresses. I’m going to have to devote a lot of time over the next two months to our web sites, but I’ll try to keep posting our new dolls. I’m not too pleased right now with Blogger and their blog migration plans, but I’m trying to look at this as an opportunity to switch things around in a way that may, ultimately, be easier to manage. I prefer having our web content in our own FTP folder, as opposed to hosting it on Blogger, and so I’m working on switching to WordPress as a blogging platform. I feel a bit like I’m cramming for exams, given the short notice of Blogger/Google shutting down their FTP uploading option.

I’ll feel better about it all once I get a handle on what I’m doing. I’ll keep you posted. As I keep saying, if anything disappears temporarily, please check either of our home pages, ruffings.com our Ruffing’s Facebook page, for updates.

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Two tutus to do

This is just a sneak peek at one of the Pixie Kittens that Max Bailey and I made. Two of them have been waiting for tutus for a long time. I had been waiting for my other sewing machine to be repaired, but now I’m forging ahead without it.

This tutu is for fitting only, but the final one will be in the same color.

I’ve been working on the Ruffing’s site, trying to make some necessary changes so I can switch our hosting accounts over to Linux. I’m looking into using WordPress instead of Blogger, but it has some features that appear to work better, or that are at least easier to implement, on Linux. Again, if you’re on Facebook, please join the Ruffing’s fan page. I will use that as a place to post an announcement, if I run into any problems over the next two and a half months, while I attempt to get everything moved. I’ll also post any announcements on our home pages of each of our sites, but just in case those pages are down, I’ll use the Facebook page as a backup plan.

My neck and shoulders are so sore and prickly from working at the computer! Ah well. Hopefully we’ll be getting a new computer soon too, as this one is groaning away. Lots to do…