Elizabeth Ruffing, Author at Ruffing’s | The Little House of Cats

Posted on June 14, 2007November 1, 2011 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 2 Comments

New Chrysanthemum Flower Baby Fairy Art Doll by Elizabeth Ruffing

“Greta”, my new chrysanthemum flower baby fairy is finished!

She has an antique reproduction baby face of papier mâché. Her head and pointed ears are paperclay, and her body is 100% cotton cloth. Her pale green butterfly wings with yellow spots are hand quilted and she is entirely hand painted with acrylic paint. She will be sealed with matte varnish for protection.

She has hidden button joints which make her posable, just like “Rosa” who left for her new home at the beginning of this week. I managed to get a few pictures of them together before she left on her journey.

Greta has an oak-colored stand that lifts her in the air so she can practice flying, and running through the air. She enjoys that.

Update: Greta and Rosa have been adopted. Thank you!

I’m also introducing some mini art plaques. I’ve painted 6 by 6 inch solid poplar wood to coordinate with my artwork and mounted several reproductions of my original watercolors on them. Above are “The Fairy and the Dove” and “Fairies and Butterflies“.

Clockwise from the upper left these are “The Guardian“, “Laurence with Primroses and Daffodils“, “Iris and Foxgloves“, and “The Rabbit Dances“. They are all made using archival grade materials and I will be varnishing them for further protection. Prints of these images are available on our website.

Posted on June 12, 2007January 4, 2021 by Elizabeth Ruffing

World peace through sewing

I was watching Eddie Codel’s LunchMeet interview with Nora Abousteit and Benedikta von Karaisl of BurdaStyle today. BurdaStyle is still in beta, but they will be launching their new site in July. It’s a new open source sewing site, with clothing patterns that are free or very inexpensive to download. BurdaStyle is a community where you are encouraged to submit your own ideas, variations on designs, and feedback on what you would like to see next.

Nora and Benedikta want to carry on the tradition of Aenne Burda who founded Burda Mode, of which I have been a longtime fan, after WWII to make the latest clothing designs accessible and affordable to German women, and to give women a chance “to look across (their) borders for the first time in many years.” Their theory is that fashion is one way in which people from different cultures can communicate with and relate to each other. In the interview, they were saying that people who love sewing will always seem to develop a camaraderie, regardless of whether or not their countries are “friends”. I think this is true of the DIY/sewing/crafting community in general, and the Internet has given us all a unique opportunity to be a part of a community.

In high school and college, I made most of my own clothing, and I seemed a bit alone in that. I had a friend or two who gave it a try, probably out of curiosity, but I had no real peers that I knew, in that regard, only fictional peers like Molly Ringwald‘s character in “Pretty in Pink”, or maybe Carol Burnett‘s Scarlet O’Hara with her curtain-with-rod couture. Oh, those dresses! The one still makes me cringe with embarrassment for poor Molly and the other still makes me laugh.

When I was more advanced at sewing, I got a subscription to “Burda World of Fashion,” which is a great magazine because not only can you look at what’s new in Burda’s clothing designs, but the patterns for all the clothing come with the magazine. All you need is a roll of tracing paper and a ruler to add on the seam allowances. Burda patterns are known for their excellent fit, nice tailoring, and European look. The “World of Fashion” patterns have all sorts of extra detailing that you don’t find in the store patterns as well. The magazine is available through GLP International, which specializes in German publications.

I have an issue coming my way, and I’m hoping to squeeze in a little time to get back into making some clothing. I have bolts of fabric stacked in my closet and I don’t know how many partially done projects…my usual.

Posted on June 12, 2007June 20, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Greta the Baby Chrysanthemum Flower Fairy Original Art Doll by Elizabeth Ruffing

Greta the Baby Chrysanthemum Flower Fairy Art Doll by Elizabeth Ruffing

Greta is a handmade original, one-of-a-kind chrysanthemum flower fairy art doll, handmade and hand painted by artist Elizabeth Ruffing.

This is Greta. She is a baby chrysanthemum fairy. Chrysanthemums are a symbol of hope.

Sometimes when Greta is sitting in the garden, bees come to visit her, mistaking her for a flower. She doesn’t mind. They kind of tickle.

She likes to lie on her back under the chrysanthemums and watch the bumble bees buzz around with the butterflies.

Sometimes she flies around with them. She fits right in with her pale green butterfly wings.

She has an adorable profile, with little pointed ears.

Greta has hidden button joints so she can move her arms and legs to express herself.

Greta has an oak-colored stand that lifts her in the air so she can practice flying, and running through the air. She enjoys that.

It fits in behind her hand-quilted wings.

Greta the chrysanthemum flower fairy original art doll is entirely handmade by me. Her body is made of 100% cotton, from my own pattern, and is painted with acrylic paint. Her bottom is weighted so she can sit nicely. She has an antique reproduction baby face made from papier mâché. Her ears and head are made from paperclay. Her chrysanthemum hat is made of fabric flower petals, joined together with paperclay.

Greta is approximately 7 inches tall when seated, and approximately 9 inches long when lying down. She is approximately 11 inches tall while hovering on her stand. Greta is a work of original art and is meant for display only.

Greta the chrysanthemum flower fairy original art doll also comes with a hang tag. It is signed as well. The picture on her hang tag is “Fairies and Butterflies,” printed from an original watercolor painting by me, Elizabeth Ruffing.

The image goes very nicely with Greta’s green onesie, her yellow buttons and collar, her pale green chrysanthemum petals, and the green of her wings.

Greta’s flower fairy friend is Rosa the rose flower fairy.

It’s nice to have a friend to fly around with.

They like to watch the bumble bees and butterflies together too.

Update: Greta and Rosa the flower fairy original art dolls have been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on June 6, 2007 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Sunny the Tuxedo Cat, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll by Max Bailey

This is Sunny the tuxedo cat, named for his happy disposition and his round yellow eyes. Sunny is a good-natured and obedient cat. He’ll always come when he’s called if he feels like it.

Sunny’s favorite toy is a painted wooden car. He got it for Christmas and hasn’t parted with it since. It has porthole windows in the front, and little passengers in the back. When Sunny grows up, he wants to be a fisherman, or maybe a taxicab driver.

Sunny is 13 inches tall. He’s wearing blue and white striped overalls with a big sun blanket-stitched onto the bib with orange embroidery thread. It matches the sun on the hood of his blue and orange car, which is 3 and 3/4 inches long.

He wears a bright yellow shirt with blue collar and cuffs, and white undershorts with blue polka dots. His socks have blue and orange checkered tops, and his little kitty feet are covered by brown lace-up boots. His arms are button-jointed. When he raises them you can see his black toes, and the white tufts of hair that curl around and in between them. His paws are needle sculpted.

Sunny is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, created from my own design and pattern. He is made from 100% cotton fabric which is sewn, stuffed, and completely hand-painted with acrylic paints. I sculpted the front of his face from paperclay, which I smoothed into the fabric. His wiry whiskers are made from stiffened pearl cotton, threaded through the clay before it dried. Sunny is meant for display only.

He is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation.

Sunny can sit up all by himself. His white-tipped curly tail supports him nicely. He can also sit on a chair, or stand with a doll stand. (Chair and doll stand not included.)

Update: Sunny and his toy car have already been adopted. Thank you!