Fox's Pocket

Foxy things for foxy people.

[foxspocket]

Toms Revamp

So I absolutely adore my Tom’s classics. I really like the look of them and the more I wear them, the more comfortable they get. Only problem is that also the more I wear them the more the toes start wearing out. Badly. I’m normally a deal seeker, so spending 50 bucks on a pair of shoes that wear out in a year and a half is not something that thrills me.

That being said, I saw some other folks fix up their Toms, so I thought I’d try my hand and I have to say I’m super pleased with how they turned out!

So without further ado, let’s get started!

You’ll Need:

Worn out pair of Toms

Scissors and seam ripper

Canvas Material for reinforcing

Material you want to cover the toes and heel

Fabric glue (I used Liquid Stitch Original)

A brush you don’t mind getting glue-y

Super glue (I used just a little for corners that seemed like they may need some extra tacking down

1) First thing I did was remove the little Toms flags from the back of the shoes, since I covered both the toe and heel with the new fabric.

2) Next, I traced the toe onto the canvas I used to reinforce and cut it out (making sure to wrap the shoe and double check the size). Then I used that piece to cut out a double for the other shoe.

3) I squeezed the fabric glue all over the back of the canvas then used the brush to spread it into a thin layer. Immediately I pressed it onto the shoe and held it for a couple minutes. I used the super glue to tack down the little flaps near the front of the toes.

4) Using the same process, I cut out the pieces for the toes from the top fabric (I ended up using a lighter gray thin material- one note on this: the glue actually caused a little dark spotting from leaking through the fabric for the final piece, so make sure to test the glue with your fabric).

I used pins to mark out where the hem of the fabric would fall around the shoe and used the fabric glue to hem the fabric piece.

After this, I used the glue and brush to apply a thin layer of fabric glue over the whole piece and affix it to the shoe, holding it in place for a couple minutes. I again used super glue to tack down the little flaps where the fabric folded.

5) After, I sized the fabric for the smaller heel portion of the shoe, pinned the hemline, and fabric glued the hem. After, I glued the heel pieces to the shoe with the fabric glue and brush.

And there you have it! Swanky refurbished Toms with a reinforced toe that should help it from wearing out again. You can use patterned fabrics to get some cute designs, as well. Good luck and have fun with them!

[foxspocket]

DIY Foxy Leather Luggage Tag

We’re going to Paris this coming August, so I decided to splurge a little and pick up an actual suitcase (mostly for all of the treasures I’m planning to bring back... lol), but no where I looked could I find a luggage tag I liked.

So, the only solution? Make my own, and this project turned out to be fairly quick and super easy. Onward!

What you’ll need:

Two colors of leather. Note: you’ll want a thicker leather for the main body of your tag and a thinner leather for the detailing.

Super glue (I found Krazy Glue Maximum Bond in the little stand up squeezy bottle with the fine tip to work well)

Clear plastic sheet (I found a Duck Tape brand pack at Joann’s Fabrics that I cannot for the life of me now find. I will try to link it when I can locate it, but you can also repurpose clear plastic from packaging. Just cut it down to about 3.5 x 2.25 inches).

A brass clip

Scissors

Pencil

Xacto Knife

Metal Ruler

Permanent Marker

Let’s get started!

Step One: I made a paper pattern for the body of the tag. To make things easier, here are the measurements I used.

I made my overall shape an even rectangle with triangular ears, although so long as you leave room enough for your plastic window, it’s pretty flexible.

Step Two: Place your pattern on the leather and using your metal ruler and Xacto knife, cut around the pattern until you have the front of your tag.

Step Three: IMPORTANT! Make sure to flip your pattern over to cut out the facing body piece. Do this, use your ruler and Xacto to cut out the second piece, and you’ve got your body! 

Step Four: Using your plastic window as a guide, measure and mark a smaller rectangle on your back leather piece. (I made my flap measurements 3x2 inches). Cut the sides and bottom but leave the top, so your flap stays connected. Then, using your super glue, glue the plastic window to the back of the leather piece and hold in place until stuck.

Your flap is complete!

Step Five: Cut a long rectangle from your thinner leather, feed it through the round part of your clip then use the super glue to affix the leather to itself. Then, glue the bottom to the inside of your front leather piece.

You’re almost done!

Last Leg: Starting at the top of one ear, trace a line of glue around the inside edge of your front panel all the way around stopping at the other ear (you will leave an opening at the top to insert your information card). Press both sides together.

For the detail, I used the thinner brown leather and cut two triangles, an oval which I then cut in half (for the cheeks), and a tail shape. Glue the triangles in the ears, tail toward the bottom (I lined up the tail how I wanted then cut the edge to match the side of the tag after which I glued it down). Glue your cheeks between the tail and ears, then use your permanent marker to draw eyes and a nose.

That’s it! You’re ready to travel like a fox.

Thanks so much for checking out my humble tutorial. Let me know if you run into any problems and post your own! I’d love to see how they look.

[foxspocket]

Went short again and loving every minute of it!

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Just for kicks, I made a video unboxing my brand, spankin' refurbished new (to me) Yoshi special edition 3DS XL. Laugh, cry, and join me for this roller coaster of emotions.

[foxspocket]

Ring in the new year with a little gold ombre!

Nothing says "Hey, I'm ready to jump from this year into the next as fabulously as possible" like gold. I don't want to say I have a castle full of piles upon piles, but I am fond of that shiny yellow stuff. So, for tonight's foray into the untamed wilds of glitz and glam, I thought I'd go with something a little more elegant and ritzy.

It's true, I've been getting super into ombre nails. They're super easy and by the time I'm done my nails are normally completely dry, so it doesn't immediately look like a creature's been chewing on them (aka set aside a moderately decent pocket of time for these puppies).

And without further delay, let's do this!

First thing's first: the lineup. Look at them, each one a suspect. Well, today they pull off their first group heist. Allow me to introduce:

Sinful Colors Basecoat, a deceptively cheap base that has always gotten the job done

Essie's Urban Jungle, the foundation for the group's performance

Finger Paints' She's a Beaut, the light-handed looker of the group

Sally Hansen's Mega Shine Top Coat, the shinest closer around

and last, but certainly not least, Essie's As Gold As It Gets, who shows up after the deed and throws the authorities off the trail

Now that the gang's all here, let's roll!

First, paint your nails with Essie's Urban Jungle. I nearly fell enough in love with this color to want to leave it alone, but I forced myself onward. Go ahead and throw two coats on there, because you'll want it to be opaque.

Now the ultimate secret to ombre nails is those wedgie makeup sponges that have finally found a use in my home. Paint a strip of Finger Paints' She's a Beaut along the edge with a strip of Essie's Urban Jungle right next to it.

Note: leave both bottles of polish untwisted so you can easily access them for each nail. Also, open your bottle of Mega Shine because you'll use it immediately after the dabbing process for each nail.

Then, quickly while it's wet, pat and dab it on your nail so that the gold is the closest to your nail bed. (The drier your first coats of polish are, the less frustrating this will be). Pat the color until it's on how you'd like.

One small note here, is that Finger Paints' She's A Beaut is not a super opaque color for this process, so it will be light, which I think looks really nice.

Once you've dabbed to your heart's desire, apply the top coat, and move onto the next nail and repeat.

I apologize for the photo quality, but you can get a sense that there is some ombre going on (and, again, it's subtle but definitely livens up the look).

After you top coat your last nail, go back and (first close all of your polishes) then apply Essie's As Gold As it Gets over the whole thing. Again, it's very subtle, but adds a great hint of extra sparkle.

Once you've finished that, clean up your nails. I use one of those pointy wooden stick things so I can cut in nice and sharp around the nails. (Basically wrap the end of the stick in a piece of cotton ball, dip in polish remover, and remove. Eons easier than a q-tip).

And that's it! Cheers!

[foxspocket]

Where will you be when Lady Death comes?

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Just finished this little gem and I couldn't help but share. Long live the Queen!

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A little DIY Friday, anyone?

For this whimsical transformation, I modified an old bean bag chair with some love, fabric, and hand sewing (plus, of course, a green blanket mock leaf up top for those chilly fall afternoons).

Welcome to studio, My Neighbor/New Chair Totoro!

[foxspocket]

Murder of crows. A little piece I did in honor of the late and great Irrational Games. Also one of my first forays into the wonderful world of the digitally painted aesthetic. Enjoy!

[foxspocket]

For a little Throwback Thursday, may I present my first cosprop piece! Fifteen years ago, I created this little beaut: a lightsaber handle built from tin foil and paper towel rolls.

[foxspocket]

The most exciting moment from this past Wizard World for me, was when I was given the opportunity to hand Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and Adam Baldwin copies of a Firefly-based illustration I illustrated. The story is so wonderfully serendipitous, that I have to share it. 

A couple months ago, I tweeted a photo of my humble piece to Nathan Fillion who, much to my joy, retweeted it and actually contacted me about getting a copy. Soon thereafter, I discovered that he would be, along with a few other Firefly cast members, at the Wizard World Comic Con in St. Louis.

The weekend came and progressed and on the last day, I brought the prints (in full Catwoman costuming, of course) to the con with the expectation of trying to find someone to hand the art to so that they would at least get to the Firefly folks. I arrived as their panel was coming to a close, and a good friend and I roamed a bit, trying to find someone to help.

Eventually, we wound up in the autograph section. My friend (who, I just have to share, won best female costume in the con- Pippi and Ix, she's amazing!) went to speak to a volunteer. I turned around and John, a fellow involved with Wizard World whom I'd run across and chatted with a few times, appeared and greeted me, asking if I was enjoying myself. I said that I was and ended up asking him about getting the prints to the cast members.

"Well, I could get it to them, but I imagine you'd like to do it yourself?"

"I would if possible."

"You've been tweeting with Nathan? What's your twitter name?"

"@FiveTailedFox."

And he disappeared around the crowd. My friend returned shortly, "Hey was that John?"

"It was."

"Oh, evidently he's the CEO of Wizard World."

... Oh... oh, that I hadn't known. He reappeared and asked to take a print over, I said that I could wait until he was less busy, but he would be getting into a limo and jetting immediately after, so that was the situation. I handed him a print and he disappeared again.

He soon reappeared once more, and took me up to the table, and announced me, "May I present FiveTailedFox, she has some artwork for you." Nathan Fillion stood, gave me a hug, and thanked me warmly for the art.

"You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it."

"It'll be a big hit in my house. Oh!" he reached for a photo to autograph for me.

"Actually, would you mind signing my print?"

"Sure!"

I think he may have mentioned something about my costume, I'm pretty sure I told him that I hoped he enjoyed St. Louis and the con- the details get a little fuzzy as I was in a cloud of euphoria at this point. We shook hands and parted ways.

John then led me to the tables of Alan Tudyk and Adam Baldwin to hand them copies of my print and have my own signed.

Small funny story about Adam, he asked if I wanted his autograph personalized, to which I replied, "Sure, it's going to stay with me." He looked at me for a moment, then signed and added: To me!!! I didn't even actually catch that until later when Wolf pointed it out to me.

Everyone was so lovely and wonderful, and I am so grateful to Nathan Fillion, who was very warm and genuine, Alan Tudyk, and Adam Baldwin, all of which took the time to accept a print and sign mine (I hope you all enjoy them!) And thanks so much, John, who made this dream a reality (if you ever see this, I have a copy of the print with your name on it!)

And that's my story. If you'd like to see the original: piece: http://fivetailedfox.tumblr.com/post/71783299396/whats-that-you-want-for-the-new-year-the-firefly

Thank you!

[foxspocket]

My buddy R2D2.

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With my new wolf friend!

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Do the impossible, see the invisible! Row, row, fight the power!

My first Yoko!

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You know, just hanging with the Doctor while R2D2 creeps in the background.

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The final outcome from my three hour robot costume build!

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An army of robotic me! Yeah, drink that in.