sock-kitten Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Ruffing’s Artist Dolls and Toys

Posted on January 11, 2011January 11, 2020 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 4 Comments

Feral Cheryl, TNR Demo Cat

Feral Cheryl is a sock kitten with a job to do. She’s the brainchild of my friend Marie, who commissioned me to find a sock kitten with the courage to help show people how to TNR, which stands for Trap Neuter and Return. It’s really Trap Vaccinate Spay/Neuter and Return, sometimes called TVNR. Cheryl isn’t afraid of traps. She’s not afraid of anything.

Feral Cheryl will be joining the Alley Cats and Angels’ TNR task force, for the TNR 101 workshops Princess Marie is leading. Cheryl will fearlessly enter the safety traps they use to capture real-life feral kitties, so that this knowledge can be passed on to others, and other feral cats can be saved from the cycle of over population. It’s a serious job.

Cheryl is fully prepared. Marie thought it would be a good idea if Feral Cheryl were to show her fierceness a little, just so people would be reminded not to hug a feral cat. So, Cheryl obliged and displayed her teeth and claws.

Cheryl also told me she wanted a tattoo. So, I did my first tattoo! It says “Tom”, some guy Cheryl knows, I guess.

I even did a little digital editing on her hang tag, so the picture would share her left ear crop. For anyone who might not be familiar with the ear crop, it’s a way to identify cats in feral colonies who have already been spayed and neutered. It lets rescue groups know to re-release a feral cat who has already received his or her trip to the veterinarian.

If you’d like to learn more about Alley Cats and Angels and their TNR program, please visit their web site by clicking here. They also have lots of friendly cats and kittens who are up for adoption. They are a great group of people and kitties.

In other news, this is our deck today. A sheet of ice. We will have to wait for it to melt before any toys are delivered to the Post Office or anywhere else. I’m sure Cheryl will keep them all entertained while they wait.

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.

Posted on November 4, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Holiday poll

I was wishing out loud today, that I had more of an idea of what people might like to see from us for the holidays. I have a few weeks ahead where I will be busy, but I’m never quite sure where exactly to best direct my attention.

Pixie Kittens

Of course, most of my attention will go toward projects I am already working on, but I always find myself short on something someone wishes he or she could have when the holidays come near. A friend suggested I try a poll, and so I am leaving one at the end of this post.

Hug Me! Slugs

If you are considering doing some holiday shopping with us, please take a moment to let me know where your interests may be. I will try to have some of everything, but I never can predict. Of course, if you are here just to read and look at what I’m up to, that is great too. This is just to give me an idea of what I might want to have more of by holiday time.

Hug Me! Sock Kittens

I am bound to throw in some things not on the list too, if I have the time. Last year I got in a crunch where I was barely leaving the house for a couple of weeks. So, I’d like to try to be a little more prepared, if I can.

Hug Me! Toads

If there is something else you’ve been hoping to see more of, please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email. I received a very nice email today asking if I’ll be coming out with more paintings, and the answer is yes, I will. I’ve got a bunch in various stages, although I’m not sure when I’ll have them ready to post. I tend to start so many projects that sometimes it takes me a while to circle back around and finish them.

Hug Me! Hippo

So, here it is…my first poll. Thanks for the input!

[poll id=”2″]

Posted on September 3, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

More sock kitties appeared

While I was out on the deck with my camera this afternoon, these sock kittens leaped out of the bushes and pleaded with me to take their pictures. They really wouldn’t take no for an answer. So, I did.

Here they are. They want a lot of attention. If you’d like to adopt one, they are over in my Etsy shop.

I added Facebook share buttons to this blog yesterday. They appear under each post, and on each page. I was so surprised to see quite a few of the posts had been shared before, according to the numbers next to the buttons. That’s pretty neat. If you haven’t “liked” our page on Facebook, please do. It’s a good way to keep up with what we’re doing while I’m making the transition for a relaunch with our Ruffing’s site.