Month: September 2007

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Ginger and George, tabby cat handmade original art doll with gingham alligator, by Max Bailey

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyThis is Ginger. Ginger is an orange and white tabby, and she’s a country cat. On summer nights, Ginger loves to sit on the porch in her wicker chair and listen to the crickets and the katydids.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyOn pleasant fall days, she loves to walk through the dried leaves and hear them crunch and crackle under her shoes.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyGinger loves gingham dresses, especially this one, with its ruffling ruffle and long sash that she ties in a pretty bow in the back.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyShe also loves George, her gingham alligator. When she takes George out for a walk, all the chickens go clucking and running to the other side of the barnyard. She thinks maybe that’s because they don’t like the clatter George’s wooden wheels make as they roll over the pebbles by the back door.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyGinger is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, created from my own design and pattern. She is made from 100% cotton fabric which is sewn, stuffed, and completely hand painted with acrylic paints. She is 13 inches tall.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyI sculpted Ginger’s face from paperclay, which I smoothed into her fabric head. Her pearl cotton whiskers were threaded through the paperclay before it dried. I made her gingham dress from 100% cotton fabric, from my own design and pattern.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyGinger is very accommodating. Her curly white-tipped tail supports her very well, so she will sit very prettily all by herself on a shelf or a table, or in a cabinet. She will also happily sit in a chair, or stand with a doll stand. (Doll stand not included.) Her arms are button-jointed.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyGinger’s white on white polka dot bloomers are painted on, as are her striped tights, and the high-button scuffed up shoes that cover her kitty feet.

George, One-of-a-kind Folk Art Gingham Alligator by Max BaileyGeorge is made of wood. I painted him with my best version of green and white gingham, and gave him droopy eyelids and sleepy yellow eyes. He’s about 7 inches long and about 2 inches wide.

George, One-of-a-kind Folk Art Gingham Alligator by Max BaileyGinger is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. Ginger and George are original works of art and are meant for display only.

Ginger and George, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Tabby Cat Doll with Alligator by Max BaileyUpdate: Ginger and George have already been adopted. Thank you!

Ginger and George, Crabby Alice and Ruthie, and Hedda and Hopper, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Cat Dolls by Max BaileyGinger and George’s friends are Crabby Alice and Ruthie (above center) and Hedda and Hopper (above right).

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I’ll Fly Away

A few sore fingers later…I finished hand quilting my fairy wings. BTW, I put sports tape on my fingertips when I hand sew, sometimes two layers thick, usually on my index and ring fingers of both hands. Sometimes I just switch the tape from one finger to the other on my left hand, depending on which I am using and what is more comfortable.

I have three leather thimbles I use in addition to the tape, when I can, but I find my precision is always somewhat diminished by the use of thimbles. I removed the plastic protectors from my leather thimbles to keep the needle from slipping and sewed them a little tighter to fit my fingers better. I put them over my taped fingertips. The tape cuts down on the pricking and the thimbles relieve some of the pressure of the needle which causes soreness. I did these wings with just the tape, which was less clumsy, but a little more painful. I don’t seem to take to using metal thimbles, however more of a charming they may be than sports tape.

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Hieronymus Bosch

At first glance I thought this looked like a pile of intestines, or a sketch for an Hieronymus Bosch painting, or maybe even a scene from CSI, the fairy version. It’s just a pile of doll parts, an exhausting pile of flower baby fairy bits and pieces. I always think it will be much easier to make the bodies up in groups, but that always leads to my thinking that I will never make one of these again! I still have six wings to hand quilt before I can even begin assembling them. I may go mad. I hope not, but I may.

In other news, I made a new banner for our eBay About Me page, and redesigned the page. I added new picture links to click on and some other content, like buyers’ feedback. It’s much brighter and more eye-catching now. Our eBay My World page now has a guestbook you can sign and a mini-blog that points to our Ruffing’s blog.

I’ve been fiddling with our Ruffing’s home page and our art doll gallery page as well. My goal is to get pictures of our available dolls up with links to their purchase information. I’m still in the process of editing Max Bailey’s kitty cat art doll photos, and I’m adding them as I go to our ruffingsartdolls Flickr album. I love “Crabby Alice” so much I can’t help hoping that she stays with us. The thought of her leaving makes me very sad.
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Three Little Kittens, One-of-a-kind Original Folk Art Cat Dolls by Max Bailey

Sunflower the Orange Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyHere is a sneak peak at (from left to right) “Ginger and George“, “Crabby Alice and Ruthie“, and “Hedda and Hopper“, Max Bailey’s brand new one-of-a-kind original cat art dolls. We photographed them over the past two mornings, and they are very excited about making their Internet debut. We’ll be introducing them one at a time, to give each one due attention, in coming blog posts. I assure you… they can’t wait!

All they talk about is who looks the prettiest.

Sunflower the Orange Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyElizabeth made us a new logo. It really needed some dolls! Much better now!