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Posted on March 18, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

I redesigned my personalized hang tags for my toys a little

Purple fleece Hug Me Slug handmade stuffed animal art toy by artist Elizabeth Ruffing with a personalized hang tag with a poem on the back

People sometimes ask me to print messages that don’t quite fit on the front of the hang tags for my toys, and so I redesigned my tags to make room for personalized messages. I made them so they now fold in half, and have a reverse side. They hang lower so the different colored hearts are more visible as well.

This one has a poem about slugs by Judy Darley on the back.

The poem is called “Instructions on How to Kiss a Slug” and it goes like this:

Close your eyes, and hold your nose,
Pretend you’re just smelling a rose.
Purse your mouth, tight and round,
Bend down almost to the ground.
Ignore the slime, kiss him quick,
And don’t forget to wipe your lips!

My customer asked me to include this poem with her gift of this Hug Me Slug for her grandchild. I thought it would be nice to have her message right on the tag, and so I printed it on the back.

Now I don’t have to mess around gluing anything. I can print my tags, slip them into vinyl sleeves, and tie them onto the toys, without having to wait for the glue to set.

I just heard another story, from a lady who is sending one of my Hug Me Slugs as a gift, about one of my toys being passed around and admired at party. She saw him at a baby shower. She said the slug was a huge hit, and there was a baby who loved it. I love hearing things like that.

Hope everyone had a nice Saint Patrick’s Day. These green Hug Me Slugs all celebrated. We had cake. I don’t think the slugs had any cake though.

We have several cats who come to visit on our porch. I don’t usually feed them, but one looked like he needed some plumping up. This is our “visitors” jar, easy to find in dim light, with or without glasses.

The cats have decided suddenly that they all love this one catnip toy kicker that they weren’t especially interested in before. It is about 3 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches and it is filled with just catnip. I had one out on the porch. It was demolished quickly. I have to take some time to make a stash of them.

I’m trying not to be too nervous while I wait to see the cardiologist later this week. My heart seems to calm down, and then I feel it improvising again. I’m staying close to home until I feel more secure about taking trips by myself. Waiting to see what is going on is hard. Hopefully I will feel relieved once I have more information.

Posted on March 17, 2013April 29, 2013 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Juniper, miniature tabby cat art doll, handmade original, one-of-a-kind kitten by artist Max Bailey

Juniper is a handmade miniature original, one-of-a-kind cat art doll, hand painted and hand sculpted in paperclay by artist Max Bailey.

Juniper is an affectionate little tabby kitten with lovely yellow eyes.

Juniper loves to sit in her rocking chair in front of the fireplace.

Sometimes she daydreams, and sometimes she dozes off and has little kitty dreams.

Juniper is wearing a simple ivory dress. It has a band of lavender around the neck and cuffs, and a lavender ruffle down the front.

Juniper comes with her wooden rocking chair, so she can keep on dreaming.

Juniper is a one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. She was sculpted from paperclay in multiple stages, to allow for drying and detailing.

Juniper was painted under a magnifying light, with tiny brushes, one hair at a time. She is signed and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation,
and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Juniper and her chair are 1:12 scale. (One inch equals one foot.) She is 1 and 3/8 inches tall.

Update: Juniper has been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on March 17, 2013March 25, 2013 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Louisa, miniature Himalayan cat art doll, handmade original, one-of-a-kind kitten by artist Max Bailey

Louisa is a handmade miniature original, one-of-a-kind cat art doll, hand painted and hand sculpted in paperclay by artist Max Bailey.

Louisa is a pretty Himalayan kitten with bright blue eyes.

Louisa loves to read, especially the classics. She wants to be an author when she grows up. She feels there are too many stories about people, and not enough about kitties.

Louisa is wearing a country blue dress with a white collar and white cuffs, edged in lavender. Her dress has a lovely rose in the front.

Louisa comes with her favorite books. She couldn’t possibly do without them.

Louisa is a one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. She was sculpted from paperclay in multiple stages, to allow for drying and detailing.

Louisa was painted under a magnifying light, with tiny brushes, one hair at a time. She is signed and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Louisa and her books are 1:12 scale. (One inch equals one foot.) She is 1 and 3/8 inches tall.

Louisa’s friend above is Juniper the tabby kitten.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Update: Louisa has been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on March 13, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 2 Comments

New stuffed animal bunnies, Hug Me Slugs, and an EKG for me

Daffodil yellow Hug Me Slugs handmade stuffed animal banana slug art toys by artist Elizabeth Ruffing

It’s been a long time since I updated my blog. I have a few new fleece stuffed animal toys, three coral Hug Me Bunnies and two sunny daffodil yellow Hug Me Slugs.

I’ve gotten some very sweet photos of my toys in their new homes. This sock kitten was a first birthday present from a little girl to her baby sister. There were little ones at the party passing the kitten around and hugging her.

This real kitty loves to cuddle with the Hug Me Slug her mom adopted. She takes naps with him.

I’ve been trying to get some Easter bunny toys ready, in pretty pastel colors. I’m not sure I’ll have them posted by then, but if anyone would like one of the colors below for Easter, let me know. We will put them up in our Ruffing’s shop. I’ll add more as I get them sewn and photographed.

I’ve been struggling with fatigue lately, which makes me feel so slow. I try to keep up a steady pace, and rest when I need to. Over the past two years, I’ve felt slower, and in the past couple of months, I started noticing I had an irregular heartbeat. I didn’t want to make too much of it, and kept hoping it would pass. It mostly bothered me in the evening, and when I was lying down.

I was at sewing and quilting club, on Friday morning last week, and my heart started acting up more than usual, which is probably a good thing, because I was able to get over to a nearby Urgent Care office to have an EKG while it was misbehaving, and they were able to record it. I was having a lot of PVC’s in succession. I have to wait a little while for an appointment with a cardiologist, but hopefully, there won’t be any underlying issues.

It takes some adjusting to. I try to remember to practice breathing more deeply to relax, and I try to stay more propped up when I lie down so it doesn’t bother me as much. I’m watching my diet more, and taking supplements again. I’m trying to take it easy, while I wait for more information. It’s on my mind a lot, which is distracting. My aunt send me a link to a site where people share their experiences with PVC’s, and it helped to read what other people were feeling. It’s kind of like having a bullfrog in my chest who comes out with a random, “Ribbit!” at any time. If I can feel it beating, it gives the impression of pausing frequently, although it is really just the ventricle beating at the wrong time. So, I’m kind of plodding along for now, and feeling somewhat tense.

I have my kitty assistants always offering to help my get my sewing done, which reminds me, I need to make some more catnip toys.