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Posted on September 12, 2008 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Slugs of All Sizes

I’m expanding my slug population. They now come in small, medium, and large! I am particularly smitten with the small one. His very smallness is irresistibly cute.

I think I will even attempt an extra-small “Hug Me! Slug”. I’m just not sure I can turn them right side out if they get any smaller.

The medium one looks kind of like a teenager 🙂

I have an extra-large one from before. He was the first “Hug Me! Slug” that I made, before I realized that those Priority Mail boxes didn’t come that big! Oh well. I had plans at the time to smuggle him into my then-boyfriend’s apartment, and leave him perched on top of the TV shelf, or some similarly semi-conspicuous place, as a surprise, but I never got back over there. Oh well, on that too. So it goes. Mr Extra Large is all mine now, I guess 😉

So…small is about 7 1/4 inches tall, medium is about 10 inches tall, large is about 12 1/2 inches tall, and Mr Extra Large is about 17 inches tall. I’m still working on about eight million other things all at once! I’ll add more toys and dolls to my Etsy shop soon.

Posted on September 10, 2008May 3, 2024 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 1 Comment

Charlotte the Cocker Spaniel, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Dog Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

There is no need to bring an apple to the teacher every day. Charlotte is already the teacher’s pet.

With her sweet expression and soulful eyes, she’s won the teacher’s heart.

Charlotte sits in the back row of the classroom, her little heart beating loudly.

She hopes she spells all the words correctly on the big spelling test.

Most of all, she hopes the teacher likes her.

Charlotte is wearing a pale peach dress with a blue collar and cuffs, and a blue sash that ties in a big bow at the back. A delicate pattern of little blue flowers and green leaves encircles the bottom of the skirt, and tiers of ivory petticoats show beneath the hemline. The very serious Charlotte holds a big red apple with a stem and a single green leaf.

Charlotte 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 and her apple are hand sculpted from paperclay, and entirely hand painted using acrylic paints.

Charlotte 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.

Charlotte stands 5 3/4 inches tall. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Charlotte is available for $600.00. Please inquire to [email protected]

Charlotte’s doggie friends are Wendy Westie (above left) and Trina the Chihuahua (above center).

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Socks and sock doll doodles

While waiting for my mom at the dentist’s this morning, I drew out some ideas for some sock creatures. Yesterday, I picked up a variety of colored socks. I later wished I had grabbed some stripes or patterns too, but I was thinking of incorporating some quilting cottons into my designs. I’ll see what happens once I start playing around with them.

This afternoon, we edited some more doll photos and got Max‘s next original one-of-a-kind folk art dog doll ready for the Internet. We posted her over on the Ruffing’s blog first. She’s a very sweet Cocker Spaniel named Charlotte. Be sure to go have a look.

From now on, we’ll post announcements of new original art dolls on the Ruffing’s blog, and new soft dolls and toys on this blog, as they become available. You will be able to find all of our available dolls and toys in our online doll gallery, at any time.

I’m still way behind setting up a shopping cart on the Ruffing’s site. What is done seems to work, but I made a lot of changes to the pages that I haven’t uploaded yet. Fall always seems to catch me off guard. No matter how many plans I make, I am never ready when the season gets here.

Posted on September 9, 2008 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Soleil the Sock Baby Doll

This is Soleil, which means “sun”. She cheered me up, and so I thought that would be a nice name for her. I modeled her sock body as closely as I could after the body of the sock baby I have from my childhood. So she has the same squishy softness I love so much about my doll. I used my own design for her sweet face, which I hand embroidered with Pearl Cotton, and I carefully hand sewed loops of honey-colored soft yarn all over her head for her curls.

She is presently visiting with my “Gumdrop Babies“, my “Hug Me! Slugs“, and one “Super Slug“. I’ll be making more toys and dolls and adding them to my Etsy shop.

I designed a more modern outfit for Soleil than the outfit my original doll had, which was more of a prairie-style dress and bonnet. Soleil has a pair of pants and a top which are both elasticized at the top so she can be dressed easily. Like my original doll, she is still dressed in pink. I added a heart appliqué to her shirt.

Soleil should be safe for children three years old and up, or any children who are no longer putting things in their mouths, or at risk of getting tiny fingers caught up in her yarn loops. I try to make my toys as child safe as possible. I’ve sewn down her loops of yarn hair and tacked down her ribbon ties, but yarn and ribbon make her better for children who are at least a little past babyhood.

Soleil can sit on a chair or a shelf for decoration, and she can be played with and hugged. I prewashed the cotton quilting fabrics I used for her clothing in Tide Free, and dried them in the dryer. Her clothes can be washed in warm or cool water. Soleil herself can be gently spot cleaned with warm or cool soapy water, rinsed, and set to air dry.

Update: Soleil has been adopted. Thank you!