Soft Dolls and Art Toys Archives - Page 23 of 56 - Ruffing’s

Posted on October 14, 2011July 30, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Big slugs and little slugs, Hug Me Slug handmade stuffed animal toys

I finished four 12-inch Hug Me Slugs and four 9-inch Hug Me Slugs, and got them photographed. I will be posting my new handmade stuffed animal toys in our Ruffing’s shop. These are all made of fuzzy fleece.

The soft rainbow blend below is unusual. I got it a long time ago. I don’t have a lot of it, but it is very pretty. I may see if I can purchase more, or something similar, online.

I am going to try to get as many ready-made toys as I can together before the holidays. I am usually swamped with requests for custom toys at that time, and I can never keep up. Most people wait, and ask all at once. So, I am hoping to have more toys that are ready to go. I will likely cut back on the number of custom colors I offer, just so I can keep track of what I have, and offer more of a variety of ready-mades instead.

I’ve tried to imagine the holidays have been here all year round, to keep myself going. I know I am never ready when they arrive! I am considering putting up the Christmas lights now, for inspiration 🙂 I’ve even made a couple of ornaments, but forgot to photograph them today, with the Hug Me Slugs, and the art dolls.

Posted on October 6, 2011July 30, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Twins and triplets

I just finished a red polka-dotted Hug Me Toad for my number one toad collector. I made “Davey”, on the left, a toad sibling, on the right, for good measure. I will be posting my new handmade stuffed animal toys in our Ruffing’s shop.

I had to sew these toad triplets by hand because the pattern on the socks was so complicated that was the only way I could line up the stripes and flowers.

I like stripes, and often pick up socks with striped patterns, even though I know I will need to sew them by hand. My toys take a lot longer to make than people probably imagine! I use a lot of hand sewing and hand embroidering. I’ve realized that things take as long as they take to make. Rushing never works for me.

I also finished two new pink fleece Hug Me Slugs, a medium pink, and

a deep watermelon pink.

I’m tempted to call these two twins as well, but they are more likely part of quadruplets or even sextuplets. Phoebe, on the left, and below, is still withdrawn, but she is starting to run away less. Bertie is making great strides. Even though she is still skittish, she comes up to us for pets and snacks. We were able to get her to the vet to get checked out, and she is negative for leukemia and FIV, which is great.

We’ve been giving them some medicine for the past week to clear up a little bacteria that was causing minor digestive tract issues, and they are doing well. We’re hoping Phoebe will come around in the next couple of weeks and let us pet her too. Then they can both go in for vaccines. Once they have they vet work done, they will enjoy playing with the other cats in the house.

We have a lot of cat dolls to photograph. Please see Max Bailey’s new original, one-of-a-kind gray-and-white cat doll, Ida, here (right). We just posted her story today. Her friend, Lucinda the black cat is here (left).

Posted on September 28, 2011July 30, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Starting to come around

I moved Phoebe and Bertie indoors, into the laundry room, and they are continuing to make progress. Bertie is making great strides, and Phoebe is still the more skeptical kitten. They have been a tremendous amount of work, but seeing each breakthrough is very rewarding. I am so glad to have them out of the rain, and away from the bugs. We’ve had so much rain this past month, which is unusual for us, and cleaning a cage outdoors, even one tucked under a tarp, was no fun at all. They seem to like being inside now.

We got them a bigger cage, a “Cat Playpen“, and they took to the idea of climbing, in a short period of time. My dad helped me put casters on this two-story cage so I can move it around, and I put zip ties all over it to make it secure, so they won’t get their paws caught in any connecting areas. They venture in and out at will now, to explore the room, play, and lounge. These are some photos from today, of my mom feeding them baby food mixed with Fancy Feast. Gerber Chicken and Gravy 2 is indeed enticing to them. It just has chicken and water in it, no seasonings, and so it is safe for them.

Bertie likes being petting and scratched, and I was able to pick him (or her…still can’t get a look) up a few times today, only for several seconds at a time. Phoebe is much more standoffish. I am hoping she will see Bertie trying these things out, and give them a try herself. We aren’t pushing her though We are just letting each one of them learn to trust us, a little at a time. We try each new thing briefly, until they get used to it.

Bertie has been more open-minded all along, and more interested in interacting with us. They both like to play with a feather toy with us, and both kittens get very excited when they see our adult cats. Once they can be checked out by a vet, as long as they each have a clean bill of health, they will enjoy being able to finally reach them and play with them.

These videos (there is a set of three parts on YouTube) have been very helpful! So have the tips from the same incredibly patient man in the videos, Mike Phillips, on the Urban Cat League site.

There are more of their tips on socializing feral kittens here. A big thank you to them for this information! It has not only made a big difference for these kittens, but it made me feel like I could do this. I appreciated the reassurance and the advice. It helps to know that each kitten is different, and that there is no schedule to worry about, if one is slower than the other to want to socialize. They decide on their own what they want to do.

I have also just begun getting back to getting some work done. These are two custom, two-tone Hug Me Slugs, made of coordinating quilting cottons.

I don’t normally do these anymore as they are very difficult to do with my sewing machine. It has “fast” and “stop”, which makes machine appliqué into more of a roller coaster ride. In spite of that, I think they came out nicely. I have some Hug Me Toads waiting to be finished up, and many other art toys, waiting for me. We also have lots of original, one-of-a-kind cat art dolls to photograph. We’ll be posting our new original one-of-a-kind cat art dolls in our Ruffing’s shop.

Posted on September 9, 2011July 30, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 2 Comments

Some new Hug Me Slugs, and some new kittens…real ones

What a week. I’ve been very busy, and I’ve been trying to fit in some sewing. Guess what? We have two kittens here. Meet Phoebe (left) and Bertie (right), or at least those are they names I’ve been calling them, guessing at their genders. They are temporarily in a big dog cage on our deck, getting used to being around us, as they are, so far, feral, and waiting to visit the vet. Bertie is a play on birdie, as they are both like caged birds this week.

Last week, while out in the evening, we saw a kitten, running around a busy parking lot. I got out of the car, and tried to get the kitten, who kept running under cars. The kitten looked fuzzy, and, I thought, about eight weeks old. At that age, kittens have a good chance of taming, and becoming adoptable. So, I borrowed two safety traps from a local cat rescue, thinking I could put one on either side of the dumpster that was nearby, but was flanked on either side by roads. I thought I could put the kitten at less risk for crossing running in front of cars that way.

I was amazed that I was able to even find the kitten again, in the dark. I saw her from a distance, running into some bushes near a restaurant. I grabbed the traps, and set one up on either side of the dumpster there, while the kitten watched me from a few feet away. I couldn’t believe my luck. She hopped on top of the trap, then jumped inside. Wow, easy.

Only immediately, another kitten appeared, trying to get in the same trap. I moved the second trap behind the dumpster, and he jumped right in too. By then, some of the employees had come out, and one helped me secure the trap by holding the flashlight for me. It was very dark behind the dumpster, which had a fence behind it. They told me there were at least four kittens and a mama cat. Oh no. The boss was okay with having them there, but none had any shots or had been spayed or neutered. The kittens had just recently begun running around the parking lots as well as crossing the busy road. I brought the kittens home, hoping they would be young enough to tame.

Marie came over as soon as she could, and guessed they were closer to ten weeks old, which created a dilemma…At twelve weeks they can go have their vet work done, because they’ll be old enough for their rabies shots. That’s two weeks here to wait for vetting, with no idea if they will tame. Without being tame, they can’t go into the rescue’s adoption program. Marie brought over the big dog cage, and set everything up for me, which I really appreciated, as did the kittens. They did not like being in the safety traps at all.

The kittens are a lot of work, and still aren’t at a point where I can touch them. I found a very informative three-part video on taming feral kittens, and I hope some of the tips will work for us. Part one of the video is here, and part two here, and part three here.

In between running here and there, cleaning up after the kittens, and moving them from one area to the next, to keep them comfortable outside, I have gotten a little sewing done. Here are a few new Hug Me Slugs. I will be posting my new handmade stuffed animal toys in our Ruffing’s shop.

I’m hoping to settle into more of a routine, and get organized in regard to the new arrangement, so I will be able to get more done. Not knowing quite what to do about the kittens has been stressful, since they need to be checked out before they can come inside, and it is hard to get them to socialize much while they are outside. At least they seem to be very healthy, and they are relaxing, playing, and eating like kittens should. I have no idea how long it will take them to tame, or if they will decide they would even like to be tame. It does seem however, that they will decide!

In the meantime, I am looking forward to getting back to some sewing and repopulating my Etsy shop. I know it is now the time of year when I need to get moving, or I will miss out when the holidays come around.

Hopefully this weekend and coming week will go smoothly, and peacefully for everyone.

Update: These kitties were not tame enough to go to adoption events, and so…they are now our pets. They have adjusted very well and are enjoying life as house cats.