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Posted on August 3, 2016June 3, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Popular bunny toys and the IKEA doll bed bunny bed

Oliver Bunny got some fun new rabbit toys and a new piece of bunny furniture, an IKEA doll bed.

Our friend, Becky, from Triangle Rabbits, hosted a bunny toy-making workshop. Becky makes delightful and creative bunny toys. Some of her Bunderland Bunny Toy Emporium toys are available in the Triangle Rabbits store. Triangle Rabbits is a local rabbit education and rescue group, and is the Central NC Chapter of the House Rabbit Society. Handmade bunny toys and accessories are also available at the group’s Rabbit Day/BunFest. Information on events is available on the Triangle Rabbits website.

Becky collected natural, untreated, rabbit-safe bunny toy parts, which we strung together for our rabbit toys, using untreated sisal rope. Many of the parts are toy-making supplies for birds, so the dyes are safe for bunny toys.

We used cardboard that was free of tape, glue, or ink, along with paper towel rolls, and toilet paper rolls, also avoiding glue residue.

Supplies for bunny toys can be found at Make You Own Bird Toys. When shopping for parts for rabbit toys, make sure you are using items that are natural, untreated, and safe for rabbits to chew.

Oliver’s favorite parts are the palm leaf flowers and the vine balls. Oliver is playing with his “busy box”, which I made at the toy-making workshop. Becky’s rabbit toys are much more impressive, but Oliver appreciated my effort.

Oliver can be a bit possessive of his things and wasn’t sure Josephine should be looking at his toys,

but he still appreciates pets more than toys.

Becky and I ended up trading toys. She picked up an IKEA doll bed for me when she was at the store, and she adopted a Hug Me Bunny for her rabbit’s birthday. Below is a photo she took of her rabbit, Samantha, with her pink birthday Hug Me Bunny, and another of her cuddling with her stuffed bunny rabbit Hug Me Bunny. Becky says Samantha loves snuggling with her stuffed rabbit.

My Hug Me Bunnies will be in our Ruffing’s shop. I am busy trying to restock my creatures, and so, if anyone is looking for a Hug Me Bunny stuffed bunny rabbit, feel free to ask me. I have lots of partly-done toys and many colors of fleece.

I have been enjoying friends’ super adorable photos of their bunnies resting on their IKEA doll beds. Becky even has a bunny-themed custom-made mattress for Samantha, with a pink bunny cotton print fabric on one side, and fleece on the other, shown below.

I may have to make one of those for Oliver. This bunny fabric is made by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. It was designed by Ann Kelle, and is part of her Urban Zoologie line. It comes in “Pink” (shown), “Blush”, and also in a multi-color range, called “Spring”. You can find it online by searching for “Urban Zoologie Bunnies“.

Oliver and Bertie helped me assemble the bed. The cats were jealous. It was easy to put together. When we were done, I excitedly waited for Oliver to use it. And he did. Only instead of hopping on top of it, he thought it was fun to hop under it! Haha.

Those are his little bunny buns sticking out in the photo. Well, I thought it was fun to crawl under the bed when I was little too. 🙂

The cats think this IKEA doll bed it fantastic. I find them napping on it or rolling on it. Cats like beds of any kind, and they think everything is for them. It must be true.

Oliver especially likes furry toys that he can groom. He likes to lie down next to them and lick them. He has licked the ears off his favorite Fat Cat Fluff Bunnies (above). They erode away, he loves them so much. They are catnip bunnies meant for cats. Sometimes the cats steal them.

I always grab soft fluffy stuffed bunnies for Oliver, when I see ones I think he might like. I put two on his IKEA doll bed and he decided hopping up on the bed was all right after all.

Posted on August 3, 2016June 3, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Hug Me Bunny stuffed animals and a helpful orange kitten

Juno orange kitten playing with superhero Wonder Bunnies fleece stuffed animals

At least one of my Wonder Bunny superhero bunny stuffed animals, which I am working on finishing next, grew an unusual tail, as you can see here.

I needed more assistance sewing stuffed animals than I realized!

Juno, orange kitten helper extraordinaire, has been using her super powers to help me in any way she sees fit. Here she is helping cut a piece of cording with her sharp little teeth.

I use that to cord center my details on my toys. I didn’t really need it to be trimmed, or at least I didn’t know I needed it to be trimmed. Juno is insightful and has many creative recommendations for me.

I traded Juno’s elephant rattle for the toys I was sewing. It is a good thing she takes naps.

She is growing up, and was 4 pounds at her vet visit today. She was only 14 ounces when Cheryl first found her. She is doing very well, and has started to have more frequent bursts of sweetness. She purrs, and gives head bumps and kisses. She still ends up biting us, but thank goodness she is calming down and learning to be nice.

Now, if she can learn to behave around the bunny, I will be even happier. She doesn’t yet understand why throwing up her paws and pouncing on everyone isn’t always taken in the spirit of fun in which it was intended.

I have been finishing up fleece bunny stuffed animal art toys. I will post these in our Ruffing’s shop.

This pink Hug Me Bunny found a home already, but her mauve and soft light orange bunny friends are, at the moment, still available.

They have my new custom-printed two-tone eyes. I attached their eyes and hearts with embroidery floss, using a blanket stitch.

I hand embroidered their smiles and noses too.

Each one comes with a hang tag that can be personalized with a name and a message.

I finished my first Hug Me Slug with the new eyes as well. She is a very soft light pink fleece.

Just like the bunnies, she comes with a tag that can be personalized.

Posted on August 3, 2016November 13, 2020 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Miss Foxy Loxie

My beautiful fox friend I mentioned in my last post, made another appearance and I was able to get some photographs. I took these from a distance.

She came in the early evening to nibble on the long grass I left in the back yard. The grassy patch has become popular with crickets. I am sure mice, bunnies, deer and snakes like it too. It got too long to mow, because there is a wet patch underneath it, and it grows too quickly to maintain. So, I let it grow. I am not brave enough to try to walk through it any more.

When she was done pulling seeds off the grass, she trotted back to the woods, as she usually does, after looking around a little.

She is so pretty. Our vet said to stay away from her, and don’t leave any food, like cat food, out or encourage her in any way. I leave water out for the animals, which he said is fine. He also told me to watch for any unusual behavior, like not running away when she should, but she seems to be healthy and normal. One of our neighbors clapped his hands at her and she did run. The vet said that is a good sign, but to be careful because foxes can be carriers of rabies, even if they are not symptomatic.

I get worried that people will get worried about her being around. I want her to be able to go peacefully on her way. I am hoping she will have the sense to avoid coming out in front of everyone, but she seems used to being near people. She hasn’t shown any interest in chasing cats, but I worry about that too. I have told my immediate neighbors who have cats outside that I have seen her out in the evenings, to be cautious. I have also told them she seems normal and healthy.

I am wondering if she has fox pups in the woods. She always comes and goes at the same spot. I used to see eggshells on the lawn and in the woods, but I hadn’t seen a fox in years. People in the neighborhood have chickens and ducks. I hear a rooster on the other side of the trees. Maybe she set up her home to be near them, or maybe she just makes the rounds.

Posted on July 29, 2016November 13, 2020 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Hug Me Kittens, stuffed animal fleece art toys

I have a new batch (litter?) of Hug Me Kittens in my toy shop. They are fleece and they have my new two-tone custom-printed eyes.

The eyes have one color on the outer rims and another closer to the pupil, with one blending into the other. I made them in all kinds of combinations, many not existing in nature, like lavender fading into purple. I don’t know of anyone who has had eyes like that, except maybe Elizabeth Taylor.

I added some neutral shades of fleece to my collection. An online Etsy course suggested that neutral colors were important, and I realized I hadn’t thought to include them before. I asked friends and they liked the idea.

So here are vanilla cream, oatmeal, and charcoal gray kittens. The oatmeal color reminds me of the adorable Pusheen the cat.

Like all my toys, these are handmade, stitched mostly by hand with a needle and thread or embroidery floss. These kittens have just two machine-sewn seams. The rest is done stitch by stitch.

They come with hang tags that can be personalized with a name and a message.

The kittens are about 9 inches tall.

I couldn’t resist adding color to the charcoal gray, bright yellow-and green-eyes, and teal and rose-red, polka-dotted hearts.

I have been watching movies while I stitch, staying out of the heat as much as possible, but when I have gone out, I’ve spotted some surprise wildlife. This baby robin was out learning to fly. I kept watch to make sure none of the real cats who were outside interfered.

A beautiful fox has come to visit, three times so far, while I was outside, toward the evening. She must be used to me because she stepped out of the woods in front of me and watched me mowing the lawn. I missed her the last time she came for a visit, but my mom saw her walk behind me while I was petting cats. She walked over to our deck, looked around, and then trotted back into the woods. I was sorry I missed that. I tried getting a camera one time she was watching me out walking Jude, but she was gone by the time I came back outside. Jude missed her that time, even though she was about ten feet away from us. I picked him up and took him inside with me, and then went back to keep an eye on the other cats who had shown up for a visit. She is so quiet and graceful, I am not sure who sees her and who doesn’t. But I know she sees us.