Soft Dolls and Art Toys Archives - Page 33 of 56 - Ruffing’s Art Dolls and Toys

Posted on December 22, 2010January 11, 2020 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Last of the holiday slugs for this year, on their way

Or all but one are on their way. One little light blue guy is waiting for a hang tag. We thought we might get our printer back today, but I have a feeling we’ll be waiting some more. The service center hasn’t been too reliable, or the people there trustworthy. I’ve written to Epson to try to find another, and more information on doing some of these repairs myself. There was only service center listed for our area on the Epson site before, and now there is none. Hm…

I still haven’t adjusted to the idea that there is no reason I need to sew until eleven o’clock tonight. I might take a while to fully realize this. It’s hard to stop, once I am rolling along. I like hand sewing, and I like the idea of people giving and getting my handmade toys as gifts. The time crunch is a bit stressful, the long sewing hours somewhat painful, and I wish I had had more ready-made toys available….but, all in all, mission accomplished, once again, for this year. I’m sure I will fine tune the process as I go. I think, this year, my biggest pitfall was not fully believing there would be a holiday rush. I was preparing as the season approached, but I wasn’t sure what to prepare. Last year, certain colors were popular, and I had more of those ready. Then this year, people liked completely different colors. Maybe there is no way to predict. I’ll just make more toys.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. If tomorrow is nice and sunny, I may just venture out into The World and have a look around.

Posted on December 20, 2010January 11, 2020 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Slugs by day, slugs by night

It was a big weekend for finishing up Hug Me Slugs and getting them ready for their trips to their new homes. I’ve been sewing most of the day and into the night, adding smiles and eyes and hearts, all by hand, with my needle and embroidery floss. The slugs shown here have all left since Friday.

I will feel so relieved when all the slugs are on their way for the holidays. I worry each year that I won’t be able to get them all done on time. I’ve got a few more to finish up, and then I will make some different characters, which will be fun.

I packed today’s shipment last night so I would be ready this morning. I felt happy, even though it was late, knowing I’d get these out today. We had to bring our printer in for some servicing too, and so I’m not adding any new toys until it comes back, ready to print hang tags. I need a little rest anyway.

I also had a birthday on Saturday, and received some very nice presents, which were all carefully inspected by my kitty assistants.

My mom and dad, in addition to helping me out by going to the Post Office for me, got me these pretty handmade bags from Janine King Designs. One is a camera bag, for the camera I don’t have yet. I’m saving up for a DSLR. I have another bag made by Janine, and the workmanship is perfect on each of them. I also got a beautiful, and beautifully-made birthday card from my friend Jill. You can’t see very well in this photo, especially with my cat sniffing it, but the flowers and the “Happy Birthday” are raised from the surface, and the petals all turn on their centers, all done by hand. And John sent me some more yummy gingerbread cookies from Germany too. Oh and my mom made me a cheesecake, and my dad picked up Chinese food for me! Thanks everybody!

Tomorrow I will get back to my sewing, and then I think I will stop to look around before Christmas disappears again until next year!

Posted on December 15, 2010January 15, 2020 by Elizabeth Ruffing

The slug-a-thon goes on and on

These are some of my toys that have been sent on their way to their new homes this week. I have been holed up in the house, sewing in front of the TV, watching movie after movie. Yesterday, I watched William Shatner battle tarantulas, a hearse chase a deceased lady’s niece, and walls melt before the eyes of a woman with a fear of space. I hope to have some time to leave the house again soon.

I still have a bit of an overwhelming crowd to finish and mail. Below is this morning’s crowd. Some have left and others have joined, since then. I made my two-hundredth sale on Etsy last night, to one of my favorite customers. I think her family has a small army of Hug Me Slugs. She wrote to me this morning, “[Grandma] is giving the gift of slugs this year!!!” That made me smile. Update: I’ll be posting my new toys on this website, in our Ruffing’s shop.

If you haven’t already, please “like” our Ruffing’s page on Facebook.

In the meantime, I’ll be watching movies and sewing sewing sewing.

Posted on December 12, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Toy riot

This is a glimpse into my workroom, showing how it has looked over the past few days. I’ve been in a whirl of fabric and thread and stuffing, surrounded by toys in all stages of completeness.

All my little sock kittens went off to new homes, all but one kitty angel that I will show you later.

I miss them and need to make some more. My Hug Me Toads are hopping off too. And, there has been an onslaught of slugs.

This fourteen-inch slug is on his way to Australia. I have a big bunch more, in all shapes and sizes, that I’ll be working on this week, so they can be off before for Christmas.

Piles of personalized hang tags are accumulating, and more toys keep joining the ranks. I am sewing all day, each day, for the most part. I’m still on schedule, and every toy that has been ordered as of this morning, is either all done, or in progress. I’m currently on about a two-week turnaround time for making the custom toys. Almost all of my ready-made toy animals have been adopted, but I will try to add a couple more to my Etsy shop, if I can, before Christmas. I have some things I have to do this weekend, along with celebrating my birthday, and so I may run out of time.

My toys and prints have made it into quite a few Etsy treasuries over the past couple of weeks, and this one below made it to the Etsy front page. I saw the number of views rushing up on that listing, along with the number of hearts on it, and thought something must be up. I missed seeing it on the front page, but the curator told me about it later. I appreciate everyone who features my work. It’s a very nice compliment. I put the recent treasuries in a set on my Flickr page.

It seems like weeks now that I, at long last, got myself a Wacom tablet. I haven’t yet had the time to plug it in. I picked up a bundle with Corel Painter, which I have hardly tested out yet either. I tried the tablet during Apple class, but I haven’t had time to get to one of those lately either! I was thoroughly uncoordinated with the pen and tablet. I am going to need a lot of practice, once the holidays have passed.

I think one of my first projects will be to play with my hang tags for my toys. I am wishing I’d made up some kind of gift certificates or e-gift cards to send out for people who are shopping late for the holidays too, so they could pre-order slugs for gift recipients. Those are small projects, but I’m not stepping away from the sewing long enough to do them at the moment. I wish I’d been a little more on top of things this season, but I am more prepared than I was last year. The holiday panic is subsiding, and being replaced by fatigue. My mom is giving me a hand, cutting out eyeballs, and doing this and that. I’d be panicked and fatigued at the same time, without her help. Thanks, Mom!

As always, I have my kitty helper too. He is also invaluable.