stuffed-toys Archives - Page 11 of 26 - Ruffing’s

Posted on May 17, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Toy shop update, more stuffed animal bunnies and slugs

Hug Me Bunnies handmade stuffed animal rabbits by artist Elizabeth Ruffing

Here are the stuffed toy Hug Me Bunnies I meant to post for Easter. They are now spring bunnies instead.

I used a few shades of pastel rabbit colors. Yes, bunnies do come in pastel colors.

Here is a picture of my pretty Easter flowers as well. Happy belated Easter!

Oh, and here are mommy and baby slugs wishing you a belated happy Mother’s Day! I missed a couple of holidays.

I have some new fleece Hug Me Slugs, like this banana slug, along with some camouflage, turquoise, teal, light blue, and hot pink slugs. You can find my art toys in our Ruffing’s shop.

In the background of this photo, under the camouflage slugs, is one of the boxes I got to hold my sewing supplies. Miss Bertie, below, stole a needle with upholstery thread, and swallowed it before I could get her. Now I keep everything I’m using in a box with a latch, so I can close it if she comes snooping around. String and thread are very dangerous for cats, and can cause serious problems.

Thankfully, the upholstery thread passed without harming her. We were very worried. I was in the same room at the time, but she sneaked in without my seeing her poking around my pincushion. I keep the box closed whenever I get up and walk around too. If you sew, please remember to keep your supplies safely away from your pets. I keep mine in a separate room, except when I am hand sewing, but cats can be stealthy when they want to steal something that looks like fun.

I have been doing okay, a little up and down with the PVC’s, and some chest pain. I’m still waiting for the results of another test, but I still don’t expect anything unusual to show up. I am trying to sleep later, which seems to help. I was feeling shabby after being worn out for a while, and so I gave myself a haircut. That makes me feel better too.

Santana the Peeping Tom Cat wakes me up sometimes. He likes to show up and look in the window early in the morning now. He’s discovered he can climb the settee and rest his paws on the sill. No matter who wakes me up, I try to stay in bed longer, so I won’t get fatigued.

Exercise is helping too. I like to go for walks. We had a string of storms, and now it is getting hot. I am considering joining a gym for the summer, when it is too hot to go walking. I’m not sure I’ll make it there. I don’t often feel that sociable, and I like peace and quiet. I should probably try it at least.

I have been doing custom orders, and have yet to finish the sock cat skirts I have partly done so I can photograph them. They are really cute. I have been going to a block-of-the-month quilting group, but I barely have the time to get the blocks ready each month. That is Jojo, diving over my quilting packet. She thought she was being pretty stealthy herself. My kitty helpers are very silly.

Posted on March 26, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

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

These 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.

My bunny ears are more like it.

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

Posted on March 25, 2013July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Hearts, butterflies, and pinwheels

Grass green Hug Me Slug stuffed animal art toy by artist Elizabeth Ruffing with pink butterfly gift bag and personalized hang tag

I finally got to the cardiologist, and had some tests done. It was sure stressful waiting for the two weeks for my appointment, but it turned out okay. My heart is beating irregularly, but it is structurally normal, which means the improvising it is doing is mostly just an annoyance. It is something I’ll have to get used to, even though it feels weird. It can be set off by anything that throws your body off, like fatigue or stress. Unfortunately, even normal amounts of tension can get it going. I have to work on getting more rest. The cardiologist said if it acts up, doing some exercise and getting my heart rate up can help.

I’m just waiting for some blood work to come back, to make sure I’m not anemic, that my electrolytes and magnesium are in balance, and that my thyroid is fine. I don’t expect any problems with that. The lab technician gave me this pinwheel on my way out. I was so relieved at the time. I’m keeping it as a memento on my desk as a reminder.

I got to see my heart beating on the echo-cardiogram, which I thought was the coolest thing. I wish I had a video. I really do. The valves clap together like little hands, so precisely. They look like the furry hands of Dr Seuss’ characters. It’s amazing to watch. There is something very reassuring about seeing that and thinking about it.

I still feel stressed over the whole thing, which is giving me pins and needles, something else that acts up when I feel tension. Hopefully I will calm down more as the days go by and I’ll get used to the idea.

I tried to get some Easter bunnies made, but people keep adopting Hug Me Slugs for Easter. So, I guess it is okay that I didn’t get my stuffed animal Hug Me Bunnies posted yet. I do have Hug Me Bunnies, if anyone is looking for one. This slug is a gift and the customer asked if I could gift wrap her. I have lots of gift bags. I seem to favor the ones with butterflies on them.

I have plans to make a lot of different toys, but I end up making slugs because people ask for them. I’m glad people enjoy them. I think I forgot to mention before that I passed my 500th toy sale.

I’m trying to rest more when I need to, but I’m also trying to get things done. I pre-washed more fabrics today, and I have stacks of fleece to sew into stuffed animals.

I, at long last, potted my poor African violet leaf that has been waiting in a coffee cup on my desk. I have more violets to re-pot.

I hope to get around to cleaning out the flower bed in front of the porch, before more flowers poke through, but that seems like a lot right now. I have some catching up to do, with rest and with projects both.

The camellias are in bloom. They are so pretty. I picked this bloom up from the ground on our way back from a walk recently.

For the past couple of days, the weather has been dreary. The kitties responded by piling together on my bed for napping. I thought it was so cute the way they lined up in a cuddle chain. That is Phoebe, the shyest of the group, sandwiching herself between two friends.

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.