Art Dolls Archives - Page 20 of 34 - Ruffing’s

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Chelsea the Maine Coon Cat makes her first appearance

This is Miss Chelsea, the Maine Coon Cat, the fourth one-of-a-kind, original, folk art animal doll collaboration between myself and Max Bailey. I think she is the most spectacular doll creation I have seen come out of this studio. She is so amazingly lifelike. We keep staring at her in disbelief, expecting her to meow or jump off the table. She really takes your breath away in person.

We did some test shots of the dolls today, and photographed Max’s three kitty figurines that have been waiting a very long time to have their pictures taken. We are going to get those up first on the Ruffing’s site, or that is the plan. Things have been moving more slowly than we had planned, but we are still heading in the same direction.

I still have some dressmaking to complete before we can do our group shots of our four new jointed dolls. We are still debating over the backdrops too. Black, tan, white? Some look better on one than the other.

Beatrice and Beulah look so very serious. I can’t help laughing. I suppose I shouldn’t. Shh…don’t tell them.

All of our dollies will eventually make there way over to our online doll gallery, hopefully over the next month or month and a half. Or that’s the plan anyway. I have them in categories by type, if you scroll down on the doll gallery page. I’ll try to add more categories later.

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Siamese mom and kitten, and signs of spring

Loretta and Lulu are all dressed now. I have to admit, I had one heck of a time making this little apron! That apron bib was something else, all edged with lace and lined. I had to turn it right side out at one point, and I wasn’t sure I could do it because it was so small. In fact, I was just about sure I couldn’t. But I persevered and did.

Doesn’t Lulu look just right in that pocket? So cute.

We aren’t officially listing our dolls yet because we have some we are still working on and we want to photograph them together. So, it’s going to be a while before they are over on the Ruffing’s site. I’ll be sure to post here and on the Ruffing’s blog when they are ready to be adopted.

Our breakfast guest came for an early dinner today. I had to stick around to make sure there wasn’t any food sharing going on. My guy didn’t understand that, but he graciously put up with it. They made some cheerful chirping conversation after dinner.

Our guest was very happy with his full tummy.

Our duck friends made an appearance today too, for breakfast time and dinner time. They haven’t ventured up from the pond for months. Spring must make them want to go visiting. You’d think you were the Beatles the way they run after you when you have a cup of corn. They’re like hysterical quacking fans.

I was eating a muffin this morning, when I saw a whole lot of white out the back door. They bob around, trying to get a look at you through the windows, to see if you’re in there. They’ve been back several times today. When they catch sight of you, they come closer to the door. That gray duck was odd man out. I tried to put some cracked corn apart from the rest for him.

The Bradford Pear trees are all in bloom. This one has sprouted from a tree that split, along with so many other Bradford Pears, in an ice storm several years ago. They are very susceptible to storm damage, but they are so pretty people plant them anyway. This one looks like a giant flowering bush.

We’ve been having some lovely sunsets too. I tried to capture all the pinks and lavenders in this one, but by the time I figured out the controls on my camera, the sky had completely changed color.

I had it set and ready for this one though, the following night. So nice and peaceful here.

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Itty bitty pocket kitty

Sunny, warm weather is here, and I did some sewing outside, bare feet and all. I’ve also been urged by some to change my mind and take the advice of Naughty Kitty! Ha. I will have to think that over as I sew. For now, I’ve got kitties to clothe, like this one…

This is Lulu. She fits in the pocket Loretta the Siamese. I hand appliquéd a heart onto this pocket and added a machine-embroidered stitch along the bottom. I used some of the rayon lace I picked up yesterday to edge the apron. Next up is a skirt and an apron bib.