Electrified Fox Lamp Tutorial and Giveaway!

Ok, you guys. Here's the secret for turning stuffed animals into lamps!

It's Stiffy Fabric Stiffener from Plaid! (Picture me holding the bottle up next to my face and smiling maniacally). In a nutshell, you can brush Stiffy onto a plush animal, pull out the stuffing, and stick a string of LED lights inside. But I know that the crafter in you wants the full tutorial...so let's go! Oh, and there's a giveaway in this for you if you leave me a comment on this post before, let's say, next Monday the 18th. THREE lucky winners will be chosen at random to win a bottle of Stiffy!

(And many thanks and cheek kisses to Amy of ModgePodgeRocks for orchestrating this fabulous giveaway. The lady knows her way around a Stiffy. Oh, sorry Amy! You know I had to make at least one adolescent joke about the name!)

Ahem. Let's begin.

First, you need a stuffed animal. This fox pattern is available in my etsy shop, but you can use any animal you like as long as it's not made of fur, and you don't have to sew your own. I used the fox but modified the tail like this:

so that the light strand could go up the tail, too. I cut a curve into the side and then handstitched the tail on.

Next, I stuffed the fox and left the bottom open.

And now comes the fun part. You get to cover the whole creature with Stiffy! This stuff is so fun, I swear. You basically brush it on thick and let it dry. It turns the fabric into a hard shell. And it doesn't stink! Extra points for that!

Now you get to eviscerate your animal. After the Stiffy is totally dry, gently pull out all the stuffing. I used a pencil wrapped in duct tape to poke up into the far corners and grab the stuffing. Sort of spin the pencil around in there.

Like cotton candy!

Trim the bottom edge off so that the fox stands up straight. And cut a snip out for the light cord.

And stuff the light string inside and up the tail and into the head. Please use LED lights so you don't burn down your house.

And voila. You can really use any animal for this, and you don't have to sew your own. Just coat it with Stiffy, and then cut an inconspicuous hole in the back to remove the stuffing and insert the lights. I'm going to make an elephant next. Oh, and I also used Stiffy to make that apple garland in the background. Just laid out the fabric on a piece of foil, brushed on the Stiffy, let it dry, and then peeled it off the foil. The Stiffy keeps the fabric from unraveling!

Have fun with it, you guys, and leave me a comment to enter the giveaway!