folk-art Archives - Page 61 of 76 - Ruffing’s

Posted on December 27, 2008January 19, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Original art cat dolls in progress, and making progress in general

These are the original cat art dolls that Max Bailey and I have been working on. The one on the left will be a Siamese cat, and the one on the right is a tabby cat. The tabby is very cute, but I don’t want to give too much away before her entire ensemble is complete. I am sewing her a dress based on Shirley Temple’s dress in her 1937 film “Heidi”. She has a beautiful pet goose companion as well.

I have so many little loose ends that I’m trying to tie up, and that includes making my way through the pile of books I intended to read. I’m still working on E. M. Forster. I’m reading A Passage to India right now.

I think that might be the only one of his novels I’ve read that hasn’t been turned into a movie starring Helena Bonham-Carter.

Other E. M. Forster novels I’ve recently read are Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View (scene from the movie above), and Howard’s End.

I’m sure none of these will compare to CSS: The Missing Manual, which I ordered today. That’s by Brian McFarland. It promises to be “crystal clear”. If I still can’t efficiently absorb CSS after that, I think I’m just going to live without it, knock on wood.

Posted on November 27, 2008May 3, 2024 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 2 Comments

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max Bailey

Snowbelle is a lovely white Turkish Angora kitty whose favorite time of year has finally arrived.

She sits by the window and waits for the magical snowflakes to begin falling from the sky.

Snowbelle loves the way the snow glistens when the moon is full and all the stars sparkle in the night sky. She loves it too when there’s a snow moon, and the snowflakes swirl softly all around her. She painted little scenes on her sled so she can remember how it feels all year long.

When the ground is white, Snowbelle will call her friend Hedda, and the two will take the sled and head for the downhill slope behind the barn. At the bottom of the hill they will lie on their backs and swish their paws in the snow to make kitty snow angels. Then they’ll roll the snow into giant balls to make kitty snowmen.

Snowbelle is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, created from my own design and pattern and is meant for display only. She is made from 100% cotton fabric which is sewn, stuffed, and completely hand painted with acrylic paints. She is 13 inches tall.

I sculpted Snowbelle’s face from paperclay, which I smoothed into her fabric head. Her pearl cotton whiskers were threaded through the paperclay before it dried.

Snowbelle’s arms are button-jointed with gold antique-looking buttons, so she can be easily posed, and her paws are needle-sculpted. Her white tail supports her very nicely, so that she can sit up all by herself on a shelf, or a table, or in a cabinet. She will also happily sit in a chair, or stand with a doll stand. (Chair and doll stand not included.)

I created Snowbelle’s pretty dress from blue cotton fabric that has a delicate pattern of snowflakes, and added white lace at the neckline. She has painted ivory bloomers that match her cute little high-button shoes with gold buttons. Her kitty legs are covered with tights that are striped in two shades of blue. They match her wooden sled.

Snowbelle is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Snowbelle and her hand-painted sled are available for $950.00, plus shipping. Please inquire to ruffings@ruffings.com

Posted on November 25, 2008 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Kitty Cat Dolls

I had a long sewing day the other day. I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, and I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t hold Max up with our new folk art cat doll project, which we’ll put in our online doll gallery when she is finished. It was just a checkup. I was feeling fine. But, wouldn’t you know, I hurt my back while I was there, just picked something up the wrong way I guess, and I came out a crooked person. So ridiculous to hurt yourself at the doctor’s. Anyway, I am still a crooked person today, and am trying to find things I can do without moving around too much.

This is my other kitty doll, the real kind, fast asleep in his bed. Now that we have chilly weather, he has rediscovered his cat bed and is putting it to a lot of use. He purred himself to sleep while I was sewing.

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Santa would be proud

Thanks to Jennifer for including my “Lovely Lucy” in her “Santa would be proud” Etsy treasury today.

Linda and Lucy, sitting above, are both on the new web page on our Ruffing’s site that I made up for my soft dolls and toys. I’m always amazed to see how many of everything we seem to have once I make up the web pages for each category on our site. I’m still on my quest to organize and correct our website. I’m making progress a little at a time.

Today, I cut out five kitty cat doll bodies like “Bluebell and Bridget” the Siamese mom and kitten and “Daphne” the tabby cat folk art cat dolls below, for my upcoming collaborations with Max Bailey. I was aiming for two, but somehow I just kept going. I think it will be fun to work with someone else. I find it difficult to keep up my momentum when I am working alone. It’s easier when someone else is counting on you to do your part. Plus it’s fun to see what someone else adds to what you are doing. We are both pretty excited about it.

We had a couple of flurries here today and it was quite cold. My mom was ready to run out to look at the snow, but it was over before she even got to the door.