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What a Foxy Devil


Hurrah! I've finally finished my foxy needle felted head (& named him Kasper) and am thrilled how well he's turned out. More a mask really than a complete head but certainly very foxy indeed! I was set on making a fox head as my first foray into needle felted faux taxidermy (or 'woolidermy' as I've termed my crochet & felt creations). I used a basic car sponge cut into a vaguely face shape and piled on this lovely russet coloured merino tops fleece, felting it in with the barbed needle (usually just one but a multi needle holder was used especially for the back & top of the head). I hadn't planned exactly how to do the muzzle so it's entirely made from layers & layers of fleece, slowly built up and shaped. I had tried coaxing a friendly urban fox to pose as a model but he/she was too busy (it was bin day) so had to make do with photos instead. 

My absolutely favourite bit was putting in the eyes. I'd bought 2 pairs of 'fox eyes', one acrylic (slightly cheaper & a smaller size) and a glass version, both from an online taxidermy supplier. The acrylic ones are clearer and brighter and initially looked more promising but once placed in the eye sockets, it was surprising how fantastic the glass ones looked and they really brought the face to life (or something slightly like it).

Kasper, sans eyes...


With eyes!


This handsome fellow needed a suitable mounting so the very talented slate guru Dave Stephen made me a bespoke shield out of Welsh slate http://www.davestephen.com/ I've also bought a pair of large wolf eyes so will be moving onto a more ambitious head soon!


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