Me and My Studio Archives - Page 5 of 34 - Ruffing’s Artist Dolls and Toys

Posted on July 18, 2013January 30, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Hug Me Lambs, Plush Stuffed Animal Art Toys

Meet my new Hug Me Lamb stuffed animal art toys. One has a royal blue soft plush fleece body and the other has a diamond-patterned body of quilting cotton, in light olive/yellow-green, orange, light turquoise, and cream. They both have sweet cream-colored fleece faces and ears. The undersides of their ears, and their bottoms are made of coordinating quilting cotton. The royal blue lamb has a red, green, yellow, and royal blue striped contrasting fabric.

The royal blue lamb has a red fleece heart,

and the diamond-patterned lamb has a light turquoise fleece heart.

They are each about 9 inches tall, and, and are handmade by me, from my own original design and pattern.

I drew a pen-and-ink drawing for their hang tags, which come tied to them with a ribbon. The tags can be personalized. I can print a name, or “For + a name” on the front, and there is room for a short message on the back.

Their details, including their cute faces and hearts are securely sewn on by hand, with a blanket stitch and embroidery floss.

They are available for adoption in my Etsy toy shop.

Posted on March 25, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Hearts, butterflies, and pinwheels

Grass green Hug Me Slug stuffed animal art toy by artist Elizabeth Ruffing with pink butterfly gift bag and personalized hang tag

I finally got to the cardiologist, and had some tests done. It was sure stressful waiting for the two weeks for my appointment, but it turned out okay. My heart is beating irregularly, but it is structurally normal, which means the improvising it is doing is mostly just an annoyance. It is something I’ll have to get used to, even though it feels weird. It can be set off by anything that throws your body off, like fatigue or stress. Unfortunately, even normal amounts of tension can get it going. I have to work on getting more rest. The cardiologist said if it acts up, doing some exercise and getting my heart rate up can help.

I’m just waiting for some blood work to come back, to make sure I’m not anemic, that my electrolytes and magnesium are in balance, and that my thyroid is fine. I don’t expect any problems with that. The lab technician gave me this pinwheel on my way out. I was so relieved at the time. I’m keeping it as a memento on my desk as a reminder.

I got to see my heart beating on the echo-cardiogram, which I thought was the coolest thing. I wish I had a video. I really do. The valves clap together like little hands, so precisely. They look like the furry hands of Dr Seuss’ characters. It’s amazing to watch. There is something very reassuring about seeing that and thinking about it.

I still feel stressed over the whole thing, which is giving me pins and needles, something else that acts up when I feel tension. Hopefully I will calm down more as the days go by and I’ll get used to the idea.

I tried to get some Easter bunnies made, but people keep adopting Hug Me Slugs for Easter. So, I guess it is okay that I didn’t get my stuffed animal Hug Me Bunnies posted yet. I do have Hug Me Bunnies, if anyone is looking for one. This slug is a gift and the customer asked if I could gift wrap her. I have lots of gift bags. I seem to favor the ones with butterflies on them.

I have plans to make a lot of different toys, but I end up making slugs because people ask for them. I’m glad people enjoy them. I think I forgot to mention before that I passed my 500th toy sale.

I’m trying to rest more when I need to, but I’m also trying to get things done. I pre-washed more fabrics today, and I have stacks of fleece to sew into stuffed animals.

I, at long last, potted my poor African violet leaf that has been waiting in a coffee cup on my desk. I have more violets to re-pot.

I hope to get around to cleaning out the flower bed in front of the porch, before more flowers poke through, but that seems like a lot right now. I have some catching up to do, with rest and with projects both.

The camellias are in bloom. They are so pretty. I picked this bloom up from the ground on our way back from a walk recently.

For the past couple of days, the weather has been dreary. The kitties responded by piling together on my bed for napping. I thought it was so cute the way they lined up in a cuddle chain. That is Phoebe, the shyest of the group, sandwiching herself between two friends.

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.

Posted on September 19, 2012July 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

In memory of my grandma

My grandma passed away yesterday, at 97 1/2 years old. She had seemed content most of the time we all talked to her, and spent a lot of time believing she was young, visiting with her older sister and her parents, going for rides in the car, and going to church. We always wondered if someone had come to take her for a ride, or take her to church, but we never knew.

This is a photo of her with her older sister, long since passed. Some time ago, she said her sister had come to visit, and they were going to go over the mountain to visit their parents, not that day, but soon. She said their mom and dad were going to be so surprised and happy to see them.

I like to think her sister came to visit her yesterday, and they went together to go surprise their parents.

This morning, I went looking for this photo of my grandma, the one above, in front of her hollyhocks. I gave her seeds from the hollyhocks in my garden, but they grew much better for her. When I looked more closely at the photo, I realized that my cousin Steve was reflected in the window behind her. He passed away just last summer.

I remembered that day the photo was taken. We were about to go see my cousin John play in a little league baseball game, and Steve and my grandpa were talking behind me, when I photographed Grandma. I realized then that I could see my grandpa, his back to us, talking to Steve, both reflected in the window behind my grandma, all three now gone, but together.