Fantastic Mr. Fox Couples Costume

I had such a fun Halloween weekend! Joel and I helped hand out candy at my mom's house on Thursday night, and then went to a Halloween party and show on Friday. We dressed up as Foxy and Felicity Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox and our costumes turned out just perfectly. I seriously really felt like Felicity Fox after becoming her for 48 hours. I could have robbed a farmer of his chickens with my eyes closed. 

There were a few other Wes Anderson characters at the party, including Margot and Richie Tenenbaum, and Ned Zesu from The Life Aquatic. And they were all perfect too! I'm kicking my butt for not getting a picture!

I made a DIY for the tails and ears if you wanna check them out. I made Joel's balaclava out of some black ribbed knit fabric I had lying around and his outfit is from the thrift store. I stamped apples on fabric I had bought second-hand a while back and hadn't got around to using it- and drafted and constructed the dress. I finished it off with some paintbrushes in my pocket and a fox profile brooch like Felicity wears in the movie which I whipped up with some felt, a piece of cardboard, a pen, a safety pin, and my good friend the hot glue gun.

Aber's back too. He was a homeless wolfshark and it was awesome. We have this long-running obsession with the wolfshark. It's a long story, but we made this video one time, and I think it sums it up pretty well. All in all I had a marvelous time and I'm seriously so happy that I got down to it this year and got a good costume done. And by the way, being a fox is awesome! Although it was slightly annoying to have everybody yell "what does the fox say?!",  I literally have been wondering, what does the fox say? Like seriously, do they bark? yelp? Anyone know?! siggggh... #foxproblems  

I'd love to see what you dressed up as. Also, if you used the DIY, I would love to see what you came up with. Feel free to link in the comments :)

Happy Belated Halloween!
XO_BITS

Make Your Own Custom Stamped Fabric!

Hey guys! Today I'm going to share with you a very simple way to transform boring or uninspiring fabric into something new with the use of stamping. 

 SUPPLIES:

• Fabric Paint I used Pebeo Setacolor opaque in Cherry and Spring Green
• Fabric knit or woven, any fabric will do
• Vinyl or rubber eraser, or a potato
• Craft felt or a sponge roller to apply the fabric paint to the stamp
• Craft knife
• Iron

1. Carve your stamp out of the eraser or potato using your craft knife. I used a potato, but the person I was crafting with used vinyl erasers. I found the potato gave a more textured, worn look, while the vinyl was smoother and more consistent.
2. You will have to create a separate stamp for each colour you wish to use, so keep this in mind when you are designing your pattern. For my project, I wanted to make an apple print to create my Felicity Fox Halloween costume. Therefore I had to make one apple shaped stamp to be printed in Cherry, and one stem and leaf stamp to be printed in Spring Green.
3. When you are satisfied with your stamps, apply the fabric paint by rolling it on with a sponge roller, or sponge brush, even a clean kitchen sponge will do, or you can apply the paint to a folded piece of craft felt and use it as a stamp pad. 
4. Create the pattern one colour at a time, ideally letting the paint dry between colours. When all the colours are dry, iron the fabric according to its fibre type. This will set the paint and make it both washable and permanent.

I loved this project so much! I also think it would be fun to use this method to create custom gifts on tea towels or an apron or something. The possibilities are endless!

Happy Stamping!
XO_BITS

ps
If you are interested to see the dress I created with the fabric, click here.

DIY No Sew Fox Tails

Finally our Fantastic Mr. Fox costumes are coming along. I finished our fox ears last week and today our tails, so now I just have to get my mad thrift on to find Joel a suit that matches Foxy's and draft, sew and block print myself a dress before the 31st. Seems logical, right? I work better under pressure anyway ;)

So here it is- a super easy, quick, no sew tutorial to make your own faux-fur fox tail!

If you left an opening to stuff your tail, be sure to glue it up to avoid losing stuffing throughout your Halloween-ing. In case you're wondering, I used scrap faux fur to stuff my tail because I didn't have any cotton stuffing, but any sort of stuffing will do. When you're tail is finished, use a safety pin to attach it to your costume. And that's it! Fox tail in less than an hour! 

Now if you'll excuse me- I have some thrifting to do!

Happy Crafting!
XO_BITS

ps: see the finished costume here

DIY No-Sew Fox Ears

If you've been wondering like I've been wondering, "how do I make fox ears", you've come to the right place. I'm going as Felicity Fox for Halloween and my man Joel is going as Foxy Fantastic (is that his name, or is it just Mr?, or Foxy Fox Fantastic? or is he just a Fantastic Mr. Fox? I dunno, the internet has failed me on that one).

Anywho, here is a simple No-Sew Fox Ears Tutorial for anyone who needs fox (or any animal with a swap of colour) ears.

SUPPLIES:

DIRECTIONS:

Decide what size and shape you want your ears to be in relation to your face/hair, etc. When you are satisfied with your shape, cut it out and call it orange. Trace this shape again and divide into a white inner ear and a black tip. I cut my white a slight bit smaller so that the orange could wrap around the front a bit. When you are ready, cut the fur out using the paper shapes as templates. Try to keep your scissors close to the fabric the fur is attached to. When you cut, use short snips to avoid cutting the hair on the fur. Ensure the fur is pointed "up" when you cut out the pieces, as shown below.

Assemble the ears on the headband as shown below:

 I finished by wrapping the orange around the front a bit to give them an orange border, but it isn't necessary. Trim up the edges to give the ears the shape you want I made Joels have shorter fur and mine more wispy and feminine. And VOILA! There you have some easy, no-sew, no-fuss, reusable fox ears!

 Feel free to swap the colours, shapes and fur-lengths to change your species! Happy crafting!
Next up: Tails!

If you're popping over from Pinterest, Welcome! My name is Bitty and this is where I share easy and cheap DIY posts, Recipes, my obsessive love of plants and random inspiration. I believe in stylish living for everyone despite how much money they have, so sit back, explore, leave some comments if you feel like it, and most importantly, Enjoy!

Are you getting excited for Halloween or what?! I sure am.
XO_BITS

ps: see the finished costume here

Bake Your Own Clay

So, the other day I got this idea to make a miniature graveyard to put in my plants. Growing up, my mom would always deck out the yard with a graveyard, smoke machines, creepy music, you name it! I am feeling very nostalgic this year, I have the Halloween bug hard.

Anyway, I decided clay would probably be the easiest way to fulfill my miniature graveyard dreams. I remembered we used to make Christmas ornaments out of some make-at-home stuff as a child and decided to check the ol' internet for some tips. I came across these recipes and got straight to work.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup salt

Mix all of the ingredients together with your hands and knead and mix until it reaches a smooth, clay-like consistency. You can keep the clay in a sealed bag or saran wrap in the fridge until you're ready to use it. (I'm not sure if it goes bad, the site doesn't mention it.. but I don't think it would.. flour doesn't go bad, right?)
Create to your heart's desire. When you are satisfied with your creations, bake on a baking sheet at 350 degrees Celsius until the edges are starting to look a little goldish (smaller pieces will cook faster so keep an eye on it to avoid overcooking).

I captured Joel helping my niece, Emma, from through the window on the patio.. so friggen cute <3 

After they come out of the oven, leave them to cool on a baking sheet. When they are cool, use as is, or feel free to paint your creations to add a little pizzazz. 

Such a fun and super easy way to spruce up the apartment for Halloween! There are honestly so many things you can do with this technique.. my mind is spinning with ideas. Let me know if you try it out, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Thanks for reading :)
XO_BITS

Halloween Costume: Foxy and Felicity Fox

Mr and Mrs. Fantastic Fox. The perfect costume. A little whimsy, a little hip, a little romantic, a little nostaligic. Cady, Julian and I went fabric shopping in Vancouver yesterday and I found the perfect fabric for my costume. Seriously so excited. 

Roald Dahl meets Wes Anderson, how can you go wrong?

Julian is getting teeth! Time flies!

I don't want to make full head masks, so I'm using this deer makeup photo as inspiration although I'm not sure how I'll sell that one to Joel yet.. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on my costume-making adventures over the next couple of weeks.

Costume elements finished: DIY No-Sew Fox Ears, DIY No-Sew Fox Tails, Stamped Apple Fabric, Finished Costumes

What are you dressing up as? I would honestly love to know :)

Thanks for reading!
XO_BITS

fantastic mr. fox image source: http://thefeen.tumblr.com/post/41247148897