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Slugs and bunnies for equality

Hug Me Slugs equality symbol, pink fleece banana slug stuffed animal toys on a red background by artist Elizabeth Ruffing

Hug Me Slugs equality symbol, pink fleece banana slug stuffed animal toys on a red background by artist Elizabeth RuffingThese are my interpretations of the equality signs that are all over Facebook today. My two stuffed toy slugs are equal, even if they don’t quite form an equal sign.

Hug Me Bunny equality symbol, pink fleece rabbit stuffed animal toy on a red background by artist Elizabeth RuffingMy bunny ears are more like it.

Here’s to equality for everyone, and compassion for all living beings.

Bindi and Jojo, black mama cat curled up in a cat bed with her daughter Jojo, black-and-white tuxedo cat, Elizabeth Ruffing

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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

Fleece Hug Me Slug handmade stuffed animal art toys by artist Elizabeth Ruffing with personalized hang tagsPeople 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.

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

Green fleece Hug Me Slug handmade stuffed animal art toys by artist Elizabeth Ruffing with personalized hang tagsHope 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.

Container of dry cat food for kitty visitors, Elizabeth Ruffing with personalized hang tagsWe 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.

Red, yellow, orange, green, blue, turquoise striped catnip kicker cat toy by Elizabeth Ruffing with personalized hang tagsThe 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.

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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

Slugterra and orange fleece Hug Me Slugs, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth RuffingI’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.

Slugterra and multi-colored fleece Hug Me Slugs, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth RuffingI’ll be adding more adoptable slugs to our Ruffing’s shop, in all different colors!

Slugterra and bright medium green fleece Hug Me Slugs, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth RuffingThey 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.

Slugterra and my hang tag for my Hug Me Slugs, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth Ruffing

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.

Slugterra and  assorted colored fleece Hug Me Slugs, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth RuffingIn 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.

Slugterra and red fleece Hug Me Slug with a mushroom, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth Ruffing 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.

Slugterra and purple fleece Hug Me Slug, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth Ruffing

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.

Slugterra and multicolored Hug Me Slugs, original stuffed animal art toys by Elizabeth RuffingPlease come visit our Ruffing’s shop to see my adoptable creatures. If you are on Facebook, please come “like” our Ruffing’s page.

Slugterra and mint green fleece Hug Me Slug with peach blossom, original stuffed animal art toy by Elizabeth Ruffing

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Handmade polka-dotted sock snake stuffed toy animal

Sock Snake handmade stuffed animal snake by Elizabeth Ruffing

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth RuffingI had a neat request for a custom stuffed snake to accompany one of my stuffed animal toy Hug Me Slugs to Australia.

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth RuffingI’d never tried a snake. It sounded like fun to me, and it was.

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth RuffingThe slug and snake are a gift for someone who had a pair of toys named “Sluggy” and “Snakey” as a child. I hope these will bring back some happy memories.

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth RuffingI drew a tag for the sock snake,

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth Ruffingand found a spot on his underside for a heart.

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth RuffingHe came out pretty big, maybe 19 inches long. I had a challenge finding a box that would fit the Post Office dimension limits for First Class Mail International, but I lucked out and found I had just the right size box, one that came with some mail-order fleece.

Blue polka dotted sock snake, original art toy by Elizabeth RuffingI may try a Hug Me Worm next time so he, or she, will be a little smaller.