A foxy fable: Fur real or faux?

Do you have a little brother? I do. Sometimes we are the best of friends and sometimes we are at each other’s throats. Usually when we aren’t out to get each other, we go hunting. Or I go with him to check his traps. My bro is an intense trapper. It’s his ‘job’ he says. In truth he just likes to pet anything made of fur I think.

Packin' all his trapping gear



Lure doesn't smell that bad...



OKAY! Maybe it does...

He has tons of movies and books on trapping. Movies that even I’ve seen at least three times…that’s how much he watches them. And the only way to get him to read is if it’s a book on how to catch any little furry critter under the sun. One night he told me a story from one of his trapping books, about a fox who was being hunted.

Apparently this fox climbed atop the back of a sheep and rode on it to safety, leaving behind no scent or tracks for the hunters and hounds to follow. Now me being an ‘adult’…completely took the bait and believed the story! How smart is that fox!?!

If you have seen the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, you should believe this story too. (If you haven’t seen it, get to it! So good!) I couldn’t get that clever fox out of my head, real or not, it’s such a cute story. That night I had to draw a little visual for myself…




Today I was looking through my phone and saw this picture I took of my sketch. So I decided to make something that I could look at all the time and remember the fable.

Time to bust out the polymer clay again! Here is my little DIY clay figurine of the fox and sheep…a fun little project for kiddies or yourself--if you're an 'adult' like me!

To make the texture for the wooly sheep's body, I rolled the clay on the kitchen's textured wall.

I decided on a black faced sheep, they are my favorite! Poke holes for the legs, makes it easier to attach them.

I had to mix some clay to get the right color for my foxy.

This pic shows skoring. To make a strong bond between two pieces of clay, scratch both pieces where they are going to touch and then attach them.

They are ready to bake @ 250 degrees for 15 minutes.

I made some grass for them to bound upon, trees would be fun in the background too!

Here they are, baked and glued to the wire and ready to escape the hounds!

Now I can always remember this foxy fable, true or not...it's still a fun story!