Miss Beatrice Bunny by Max Bailey and Elizabeth Ruffing

This is Miss Beatrice Bunny, the lop rabbit. She is the third original, one-of-a-kind folk art animal doll that Max Bailey and I have made together.

She is a sweetie.

She's sitting on the fabrics I have picked out for her dress. She has a little violet flower painted on her undershirt that matches the violet flowers in one of her dress fabrics.

I don't know if she is related to my Matilda. Matilda has such a funny expression. You can still find Matilda over here on our website, along with the video of me painting her. We have more animal friends planned and in the works...

There is plenty of sewing and painting to do.

The Owl and the Pussycat Treasury on Etsy

My "Elenora Kitten" was included in this "The Owl and the Pussycat" treasury on Etsy. Thanks Nancy, from Nature Visions.

My Elenora print can be found here, along with the video I made of myself painting her.

She has, as you may have already read, her own owl beau, Henry.

My print of "Henry the Owl" can be found here, along with the video I made showing me painting him. A copy of the poem is on each of their pages as well.

Henry and Elenora are available as a set and they are available individually.

Bits from my weekend

A little gift giving, birthday cake baking, and cake eating...

Some quilt shop shopping...

Blueberry muffin baking...

Some zig-zagging and prewashing...

A little napping...

Lots of ironing...

And clutter...everywhere!

Hope you're having a good weekend too!

Things that make smoke come out of my ears

Does this image look familiar to you? It does to me too. It's been reproduced, legally, by two major needlework companies, Candamar and JCA for needlework kits, and by Scene Weaver for a pillow and a throw. Pretty cool. I worked long and hard on this one. My cousins even thought it was a painting of me as a child, because I used to look quite a lot like this (minus the wings). So, imagine how I felt this morning, while I was looking up handpainted needlepoint kits, and I came across my border and my fairy wings mechanically reproduced and tacked on via Photoshop, or a similar program, to someone else's painting. Not happy at all, I assure you.

I won't point this person out, for now, as I have already asked her to cease and desist, and remove her kit from the Internet. She is not only selling it on Etsy, where I also have a shop, but on at least one other site as well. Please understand, my images are copyrighted. I make that pretty clear by pasting "Ruffing's Copyrighted Image" right over the images, but I will say it again if I must. There is no better way to really make an artist flip his or her lid than to steal. Believe me, it is infuriating. I am trying to contain myself here. Artwork is very personal, and your instinct to protect it is similar to how you might feel if someone attacked your child. Don't do it. It is illegal, and it is stupid. Surely, if you are going to make art, you have an idea of your own.

Not only do I have a strong desire to protect my work, but I am also legally bound, by contract, to protect my copyrights. When I sign a licensing deal, I agree to help the company who licenses my work make sure no one rips them off either. That means this person is stealing from the companies I licensed this image to as well. I'm hopeful that she will cooperate.

Update: The artist has agreed to remove her image, and change her design. She says she got my border from a vectored graphics assortment CD, but cannot locate it. She believes it may be a CD that came in the back of a book, possibly from Borders. I assume the entire image was stolen for this CD, although she says she remembers the border being shown separately and alone on the CD. The wings, the iris, and some tree leaves from within the circle are borrowed in her image as well, indicating she had to have had the entire image to work from. If anyone has any knowledge of this CD, or has seen my "The Fairy and the Dove" reproduced anywhere other than by the companies listed above, (or, of course, by my own family at Ruffing's) please email me. I appreciate it very much.

Art toys and strawberries

I finally put these fuzzy slugs up for adoption in my Etsy shop. I wasn't quite sure what to do with my soft dolls and toys, with the CPSIA legislation still unresolved, but given they are still working to sort out the details, I thought I'd post my slugs. From what I understand, you are safe if you say, "safe for children over 12," which I will do, if necessary. It's hard to understand the rules, or how toys made from materials already on the shelves of retail stores, like Polyfil, which is advertised to be 100% non-allergenic, or 100% polyester fleece, or 100% cotton fabric could ever possibly end up being considered an issue for anyone, but hopefully, they will come up with a list of "okay'd" materials, rather than make a blanket law that requires every children's item to be tested for lead and phthalates. I believe they've already given libraries a reprieve by not insisting each of their children's books be tested, and I think they've made allowances for thrift shops so they can continue to offer items for children. The law seems appropriate for companies that use raw materials to manufacture parts, but the way it is written, it seems to include just about anything.

My tummy and head haven't felt too great the past couple of days. This morning, I couldn't think of anything I could eat except a cookie, tea, and strawberries, which didn't sound like a proper breakfast at all. I remarked that it sounded more like a breakfast a storybook mouse might eat. A friend told me that sounded about right for me, and when I thought about it, I agreed. So, that's what I had and I did actually feel better.

I'm also reading my way through the last of my E M Forster novels, Maurice. And contrary to what you might guess, they did sneak Helena Bonham-Carter into the film adaptation too!

Other than that, I've been watching an eclectic assortment of arty films on IFC, and occasionally slipping over to Chiller, where I caught Killer Klowns from Outer Space. That sounds about right for me too.

Update: According to this Storque article on the CPSIA, dyed and undyed textiles, fabric and non-metallic thread and trim, are included on the okay list and can be used to make children's items.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I thought I'd share my pretty Valentine's flowers with you.

Please have a cookie and some tea too.

Yesterday, I made Linzer Hearts from the All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking. I used the recipe for Drei Augen and used raspberry preserves, boiled for two minutes and then cooled to lukewarm, for the filling. They are dusted with confectioner's sugar. I would think many shortbread cookie recipes would work nicely as well.

The Drei Augen dough required ground almonds. I didn't have a food processor, but I "discovered" that I do have a food mill. It was in the kitchen closet just waiting for the day I would realize how useful it is. I used the large-holed grater plate and then worked my way down to the medium-holed one. Or, that was what I planned to do. The novelty of the food mill attracted a helper.

My dad wanted to "see how it works" and he ended up grinding all my almonds for me. This food mill thing worked out pretty well! I wonder what other gadgets I might have in that closet and what they might encourage others to do for me. Hm.

Enjoy your day!

Hopping down the bunny trail

This the the original folk art bunny rabbit doll Max Bailey and I are working on so far. Our attempt to take these photos almost resulted in our bunny flying away. The wind was really something.

Ms. Bunny is a lop rabbit.

I made different arms for her than our cats have.

And you've got to love the feet!

Yesterday, we roamed around a quilt shop we like, holding our Siamese cat doll up to bolt after bolt of fabric. I think we startled the lady who works there. She was suprised at how real Loretta looked. We picked up some quilting cottons, and I ordered some more fabric online later. Today, we picked up a couple more cottons. I'm being very fussy, as usual.

Cats without clothes

Well, Heidi, the tabby cat folk art doll, does have clothes, as you've already seen. Loretta, the Siamese is still in need. These are the first two folk art cat doll collaborations between myself and Max Bailey. We did a sunflower fairy way back when. That was our first joint art doll venture, aside from the trading of tips, and my sculpting lessons. We have a bunny and a Maine Coon cat in the works next.

Max gave Loretta and Heidi amazing painted eyes.

I knitted Loretta a sweater and planned to sew a skirt to match. I adapted a Fuzzy Mitten knitting pattern, and it came out really cute. I'm learning as I go with the knitting and crocheting. So, I guess I shouldn't be too upset that my sweater came out to be too large! I thought I had it right, but it was too bulky for poor Loretta, who looked like she was swimming in it. It wasn't a happy moment :(

But...I did manage to knit a sweater. I'd only ever made a scarf before. It does fit a larger doll I never finished. I have a small pile of those. Sometimes I want to make all the things I started and am not sure how to finish disappear, because I hate to let anything go to waste and the clutter starts to annoy me. There are times when you just have to move on though, or you spend more time, get more frustrated, and never end up with something you are satisfied with.

I am rethinking Loretta's outfit now. I'm not even sure of my fabric choice anymore, since the sweater isn't involved. Could it be an excuse to visit a quilting shop? Maybe it's better not to add to the clutter!

Linking mania, stuffing, and pondering Valentine's ideas

So, you may have noticed my linking binge on the sidebar of my blog. I think I need to be stopped. It's getting out of control! I'm not sure how many pages or social networking sites a person needs these days. Feel free to say hi anywhere you find me, but this site, or our main Ruffing's site, is still the best place to find me. I apologize if I'm slow, or worse, on MySpace. I can never seem to navigate that site, or I just don't have the patience for it, or all the flashing, glittering things associated with it. I should be stepping away from the computer more often anyway, before it somehow reformats my brain!

Today I've been stuffing little cat doll parts, little paws, little tails. I poked my finger with the needle a bunch of times, before remembering to tape my fingertip with a double layer of sports tape. That really helps, much more stable than a thimble, at least for me.

I picked up the latest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine, and a spare journal. I never know when I'm going to need an extra journal to absorb my overflow of ideas. I hate running through one and not having a spare.

This issue of Quilting Arts Magazine has a cute heart art quilt tutorial, which I think would make a nice Valentine's Day gift. I was thinking of a mini quilt, maybe mounted on a greeting card, or enclosed in a frame would be sweet.

Transferring my kitten drawing

I transferred my kitten drawing to my Claybord today. I'm using Aquabord, also known as Claybord Textured. Doing the transfer is a little tricky. I took some drafting tape, made loops with it, attached them to the back of my Claybord, and then attached the Claybord to my work table. I put the loops on going in different directions to try to stop the board from shifting at all.

I aligned my tracing over the Claybord, and secured it to my work table as well, using Safe-Release tape so as not to tear my tracing later when I removed it. Drafting tape is fine too, as long as you remove it carefully.

I cut a piece of graphite paper somewhat shorter but wider than my tracing, so I could slip it in between my tracing and my Claybord easily enough, but also so I'd have enough left over so I could pull it in and out.

I used a 2H pencil, which I kept sharp throughout my transferring with a sandpaper block. A hard, sharp pencil is necessary to get a good transfer, but you need to experiment with how hard and sharp you want it. If it is too hard and sharp, it can cut right through the tracing paper. If you are transferring to stretched canvas, you will need to put something underneath your canvas, like a book, to keep it from caving in and stretching (or you can give my idea for digitally transferring a drawing to canvas a try).

I use a plain sheet of paper to shield my tracing from my hand as I transfer, so I don't smear it. I will need my tracing as reference later. After transferring, you usually need to redraw at least some of the lines that don't show up well , using a regular 2B pencil.

This time, I started at the bottom of my tracing, drawing over each line to transfer it to my board. You can usually tell which lines you have already transferred, but it helps to go in a logical order just in case you can't distinguish which lines you've already gone over.

Once I've drawn all my lines, I lift up one side of my tracing to make sure I haven't skipped any lines. If I have, I very carefully line up my drawing again, tape it down, and go over those lines. Once I'm finished transferring, I remove my tape and lift up my graphite paper. I then redraw with my 2B pencil any lines that don't show well enough. It takes some experimenting to find out how hard you have to press on any surface to get a clean line. The harder the surface, the harder you usually need to press as you transfer your lines. You don't want to press too hard on watercolor paper, because you will make indentations where your lines are.

I also did some sewing today on our next folk art cat doll collaboration. Can anyone guess this is a Maine Coon? I had been trying to think up a clever way to get those tufted ears, and came up with the idea to take a tiny piece of fake fur and sew it into each ear seam. I think that is going to work out nicely.

We seem to be accumulating dolls waiting for clothes and dolls waiting to have their pictures taken around here. The weather hasn't been quite right for those outdoor photo shoots, and now they are predicting snow tonight. I never believe it until I see it. Of course, we had already put off food shopping until tomorrow before we heard that, and there is probably a run on bread and milk at the store right now. That's a North Carolina tradition, to clear the shelves of bread and milk at any hint of precipitation. Hopefully, if we get to the store tomorrow, we won't happen to be in need of either of those things.