stuffed-animals Archives - Page 12 of 25 - Ruffing’s

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 December 22, 2012July 6, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Handmade polka-dotted sock snake stuffed toy animal

Sock Snake handmade stuffed animal snake by Elizabeth Ruffing

I had a neat request for a custom stuffed snake to accompany one of my stuffed animal toy Hug Me Slugs to Australia.

I’d never tried a snake. It sounded like fun to me, and it was.

The 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.

I drew a tag for the sock snake,

and found a spot on his underside for a heart.

He 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.

I may try a Hug Me Worm next time so he, or she, will be a little smaller.

Posted on July 9, 2012July 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Custom slugs and some more sock toads

This is Buddy the Hug Me Slug. Buddy has a special mission. He was ordered by such a nice lady, to give comfort and cheer to her friend who is going through some difficult challenges right now. So that he would be full of extra love, I gave him two hearts, one on top of the other, purple for bravery, and red for love. Teal is her favorite color. I was so glad I had some teal fleece, when I was asked.

I tried to fill him with well wishes, and I hope his new friend will be all better soon. He went on his way this morning. I added a pretty card and gift bag so he would arrive in style.

This grass green slug went to welcome a new baby boy into the world,

and this purple slug went to welcome someone home.

I finished up more Hug Me Sock Toads, in shades of orange.

These three polka-dotted toads look like they are wearing white undies, so I’m told.

New toys will be posted in our Ruffing’s shop.

I got all those batik Hug Me Bugs and Hug Me Slugs I was working on last time I wrote, posted too.

I leave a path of fabric scraps and paper in my wake.

I often find these sticky-backed paper hearts stuck to the bottoms of my feet, and to the soles of my shoes. A friend said this is a photo showing “both heart and sole” 🙂

My kitty helpers have been napping a lot in the heat.

Some of them are very good at passing out.

Some look like they are dreaming of acrobatics,

or sailing through the air.

But they help whenever they can. Kitties love crafts projects in between naps.

Bertie is hiding from everyone here. No one could possibly ever find her.

Just look how inconspicuous she is.

Posted on June 19, 2012July 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

All eyed and hearted

This is what I’ve been up to for the past two weeks. I picked up more batiks, feeling inspired after going to a trunk show that featured colorful paper-pieced quilts by Deb Karasik.

I started with greens. I finished the edges of my fabric and prewashed it before I cut and sewed a batch of Hug Me Slugs and Hug Me Bugs.

The batik toys, and cotton toys in general, take more time to make and are a fussier to work with than the fleece toys, with so many curves to clip and Fray Check on the inside.

After the machine sewing and the stuffing are done, the hand sewing begins. Their bottoms are sewn on by hand. I embroidered their smiles and attached the whites of their eyes with a blanket stitch and floss. They looked like zombies. Then I moved on to the hearts and pupils. Now they can see!