hug-me-slugs Archives - Page 10 of 36 - Ruffing’s

Posted on March 18, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

I redesigned my personalized hang tags for my toys a little

Purple fleece Hug Me Slug handmade stuffed animal art toy by artist Elizabeth Ruffing with a personalized hang tag with a poem on the back

People sometimes ask me to print messages that don’t quite fit on the front of the hang tags for my toys, and so I redesigned my tags to make room for personalized messages. I made them so they now fold in half, and have a reverse side. They hang lower so the different colored hearts are more visible as well.

This one has a poem about slugs by Judy Darley on the back.

The poem is called “Instructions on How to Kiss a Slug” and it goes like this:

Close your eyes, and hold your nose,
Pretend you’re just smelling a rose.
Purse your mouth, tight and round,
Bend down almost to the ground.
Ignore the slime, kiss him quick,
And don’t forget to wipe your lips!

My customer asked me to include this poem with her gift of this Hug Me Slug for her grandchild. I thought it would be nice to have her message right on the tag, and so I printed it on the back.

Now I don’t have to mess around gluing anything. I can print my tags, slip them into vinyl sleeves, and tie them onto the toys, without having to wait for the glue to set.

I just heard another story, from a lady who is sending one of my Hug Me Slugs as a gift, about one of my toys being passed around and admired at party. She saw him at a baby shower. She said the slug was a huge hit, and there was a baby who loved it. I love hearing things like that.

Hope everyone had a nice Saint Patrick’s Day. These green Hug Me Slugs all celebrated. We had cake. I don’t think the slugs had any cake though.

We have several cats who come to visit on our porch. I don’t usually feed them, but one looked like he needed some plumping up. This is our “visitors” jar, easy to find in dim light, with or without glasses.

The cats have decided suddenly that they all love this one catnip toy kicker that they weren’t especially interested in before. It is about 3 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches and it is filled with just catnip. I had one out on the porch. It was demolished quickly. I have to take some time to make a stash of them.

I’m trying not to be too nervous while I wait to see the cardiologist later this week. My heart seems to calm down, and then I feel it improvising again. I’m staying close to home until I feel more secure about taking trips by myself. Waiting to see what is going on is hard. Hopefully I will feel relieved once I have more information.

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 December 22, 2012July 6, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 1 Comment

Handmade stuffed toy plush slugs, and Slugterra, a new show for slug enthusiasts

Hug Me Slugs handmade fleece stuffed animal banana slug art toys by Elizabeth Ruffing

I’ve been making lots of stuffed toy Hug Me Slugs lately! I realized today that I have been making stuffed animal slugs for almost half a decade now! Wow, that must mean I’ve made hundreds of plushie slugs.

I’ll be adding more adoptable slugs to our Ruffing’s shop, in all different colors!

They are all made of fleece and are soft and cuddly. Each one comes with a hang tag, which can be personalized. Their adopters can pick out names for them, or I print “For + a name” on the tag, which comes tied to each slug with a ribbon. There is even room for a short message on the back of each tag.

I discovered there are some slug cousins and more slug enthusiasts out there. There is a new animated show on called Slugterra, with a bunch of cute slugs, in all different colors too. They look like a fun group of characters. The slugs on the show are very action-oriented. I’m sure they will have their own toy versions soon.

Here is a video of some of the Slugterra slugs.

I found myself wanting to set all the slugs free. I wanted to release them into a shady green garden with all kinds of good things to for them eat.

In my fantasy slug-world, Hug Me Slugs live in a sanctuary full of fruits and vegetables that instantly regenerate whenever a slug takes a bite out of them.

When they are not eating or playing, they loll around, with the sun shining through the forest leaves above, smiling contentedly, telling each other jokes and stories. They may even have burping contests. They do seem to eat a lot.

I’m not affiliated in any way with the Slugterra show itself. I think my Hug Me Slugs and Bugs may be friends or relatives though. I’m sure they would enjoy playing together. Hug Me Slugs get along with pretty much everybody.They are peace-loving, gentle souls who are friends to everyone.

Please come visit our Ruffing’s shop to see my adoptable creatures. If you are on Facebook, please come “like” our Ruffing’s page.

Posted on July 23, 2012July 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Slug bookmarks

I wanted a thank-you gift to include with my toy order, and so I made these bookmarks. I ordered the vinyl sleeves and cotton tassels online. I printed the inserts on Epson watercolor paper, cut them out, and slipped them inside the sleeves.

The first group went out with orders today. I’ve now got slug hang tags, thank-you cards, business cards, and bookmarks to go in the boxes.

I caught these four napping and relaxing all together on our cat gym and got a photo just in time. At least one always sees me and comes to see what I am doing.