June 2010 - Page 2 of 3 - Ruffing’s Artist Dolls and Toys

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Catching up with the kitties

I’m moving right along now, getting things done, like editing new doll photos and making up their web pages. These two kittens are Max Bailey‘s latest original one-of-a-kind folk art doll figurines.

This is “Katie the Tabby Kitten“, and below is “Sunflower the Ginger Tabby Kitten“. Katie’s brother gave her is kite because she admired it so much. She painted flowers all over it to make sure he didn’t ask for it back!

A sunflower farmer gave Sunflower her gift, which she is certain was named after her. She’s very flattered that all the flowers on his farm were named after her too. That’s a pretty big compliment.

Katie and Sunflower join “Violet the Siamese Kitten” in Max’s series of Itty Bitty Kitties. I can tell you, Max’s eyes are aching for something larger, and his next creations are going to be a bit bigger. I have to supply him with some more doll bodies to get him going on some other jointed original one-of-a-kind folk art dolls we have planned as well.

To see more of Katie, Sunflower, and Violet, and read their stories, please visit the links below:

Katie the Tabby Kitten

Sunflower the Ginger Tabby Kitten

Violet the Siamese Kitten

Posted on June 16, 2010September 19, 2013 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 1 Comment

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Katie is a tabby and white kitten. She loves to go up to the top of the hill on a windy day and watch her brother and his friends fly their kites.

Her brother’s blue kite is her favorite. It sails recklessly in the wind, swaying back and forth in the sky. It is so beautifully blue that it sometimes disappears against the blue of the sky, and Katie holds her breath until it reappears against a white cloud.

One morning, Katie’s brother handed her his blue kite. “You can have this one,” he said. She was greatly surprised, but she thanked him for his generosity, took the kite, and ran home.

No one saw Katie all afternoon. While Katie isn’t very athletic, she is very artistic. She took out her paints and brushes and painted all her favorite flowers on the blue kite, until it was as flowery as a kite could be. She made pretty little bows out of her favorite hair ribbons and tied them on the tail of the kite.

“There!” said Katie, when she was satisfied with her creation. “Now he won’t ask for it back!”

Katie is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. No molds are ever used in my work. She and her kite are hand-sculpted from paperclay, and are entirely hand painted with acrylic paints. Katie’s soft pink dress has puffy sleeves, and smocking on both the front and the back. It ties at the back with a big bow. Her striped tabby tail emerges from the white petticoats that show beneath her dress. Katie’s whiskers are made from stiffened cotton thread.

Katie 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.

Katie is an itty bitty kitty. She stands only 4 and 1/2 inches tall. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Update: Katie has been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on June 15, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 1 Comment

Super Slugs and Super-sized Slugs

As promised, I have some toys to show for myself today. We went out into the heat and took some photos. These two 12 inch tall “Super Slugs” are over in my Etsy shop right now.

This is the first time I’ve done a 14 inch “Hug Me! Slug”. He looks like he might be the real super slug here, but he’s already on his way to his new home. He’s a Father’s Day surprise for a dad who surprised his wife and son with their own personalized slugs. They wanted an even bigger one for him. He’s supposed to be “Dad sized”.

As you can see, the 12 inch slugs look dainty compared to him.

I also sewed up a 9 inch tall “Super Slug”. He flew off a few days ago to help look after a new baby. These slugs keep busy.

I should have taken one of them to the Post Office with me today. I could have used some assistance. I got a flat tire. I thought I heard a funny flapping noise over the air conditioning, and just as I approached the shoulder-less road home, the noise got louder.

I didn’t really have a safe place to pull over, and so I drove the rest of the way home. Luckily, it wasn’t far. The tire is still on the car, because it is just too hot out there right now to touch it, but, hopefully, there’s no damage to the rim. That’s a project for tomorrow.

We also photographed some of Max Bailey’s kitten figurines. I’ll get to work on editing those photos and putting up their web pages too. They’re very cute.

Up, up, and away!

Posted on June 14, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Hiding from the heat

I have some toys, dolls, and figurines to show you, but honestly, I am just too hot to go out there and photograph anything today. I think it is about 97 degrees today, and humid. I’ve been moving slowly, even with the air conditioning. I’ve been inside, for the most part, sewing, but when I can’t see so well, I go out on the porch to hand sew, while I melt.

I’m still studying Aperture, in Apple class. I’m learning adjustments right now. I come back and experiment on myself, or rather photos of myself, like these. I rather liked this one, for it’s dramatic look. It reminds me a bit of an old-time vampire movie.

Any time we take photos of me, I seem to go through the same repertoire of expressions. Some of them are funny. I usually pick out the friendly ones to use, but I also have cranky, aloof, and goofy expressions, which appear just as often. I played around with some of those photos too, but for here, I’ll stick with the friendly ones, so as not to spook anyone.

Our kitty’s anole friend still comes to visit, but in the heat, Mr Kitty has taken to taking naps. He’ll say hello, and then go pass out on the bed. The poor anole climbs all over the window, looking in, trying to get his attention.

Our vegetables are continuing to grow and ripen. I had to do something with this great big zucchini (those are a regular-sized steak knife and a large red flour canister for scale) before it grew to be Woody-Allen-Sleeper sized. That’s some giant parsley I picked too, next to the zucchini.

Fortunately, I grabbed them just in time.

I picked more parsley than I really needed, and added a can of diced tomatoes (the ones in the garden weren’t ready yet), and some sliced onion.

I fried them all in some extra virgin olive oil, and put them over fettuccine.

I think next time, I will cut back on the parsley and chop it up more finely. I’d also scoop out the seeds from the zucchini. This one had rather large seeds, due to its size. I’ve made fried zucchini slices before and not even noticed the seeds. So, I guess it depends on how long you wait to pick yours. Those Sleeper-sized ones though…I’d definitely scoop those out!