Easter is around the corner and now that we have a “shelter-in-place” in affect for our area, I wanted a fun simple craft to do with the kids that would also add some fun to our living space. Now that our dining table doubles as our office, classroom and primary arts and crafts space, we have plenty of time to enjoy these sweet additions to our household.
Luckily I saw the school closure and shelter orders coming, so I did the only responsible thing I could think of (besides getting some extra groceries), and that was running to JoAnns for some supplies like paint and felt. (I also ordered a waffle maker online, in case you had any doubt of my priorities.) But you can make them easily too with an order (for delivery or pick-up from a craft store or Amazon, or be creative with what you have on hand.
And if you think your bunnies want to live near the painted Pussywillow arrangement, you can check out the super easy tutorial here.
Supplies
- Natural wood beads in 30mm diameter (for heads)
- Natural wood beads in 40mm diameter (for bodies)
- Natural wood beads in 50mm diameter (I used these to make bodies for parent bunnies and used 40mm for heads)
- Acrylic paint (I used Ceramcoat for a very matte finish)
- Small paint brush
- Faber Castell Artists Pen for eyes (or use paint)
- Assorted felt for ears
- Scraps of yarn or small pom poms for tails
- Heavy duty thread to make pom pom (if making out of yarn)
Painting
To make them easier to paint, we put the balls on disposable chopsticks that we had leftover from takeout the night before. It took a couple of coats for an even finish, but the kids loved this part!
Assembling the Beads
You can glue these together with wood glue, school glue or a glue gun, but I wanted something a little stronger so I wouldn’t pull a bunch of decapitated bunnies out of storage next year. The disposable chopsticks worked great!
Optional Chopstick Structure
Slide the two painted wood beads onto the chopstick as far as it will go and mark the edges to cut. Cut the edge of the head about 1/4 to 1/2 inch shorter so you have room to attach the ears. Cut the bottom edge slightly short so bunnies can stand properly. I used a craft miter saw but strong kitchen scissors also work.Glue with wood or school glue.
Ears
You can draw the ears the size you want or use my free template. I “splurged” and used natural wool felt for some, but added some synthetic since there was a larger color selection. I’m not sure you can tell the difference. For the synthetic, I used premium felt squares (9×12″) since they are a little thicker than the felt on bolts, and more similar to the natural wool felt. In case you are wondering, in the image of the supplies, the felt column on the left is natural wool and the column on the right is synthetic.
Tails
For the tails, I considered using some pre-made pompoms i have left over from the Pompom Pet Valentines we made recently, but decided to try to make my own out of leftover yarn I’ve accumulated over years of projects. I don’t have a pompom maker small enough so decided to use a small pair of scissors instead. It worked pretty well!
Typically, you could use a piece of yarn to hold the pompom together, but since it is so small I had to use a piece of heavy duty thread instead. Lay a piece of thread (I doubled it) along the outside edge of the scissors as you wind the yarn around the top of the blade. Tie the thread once before cutting, then again once it’s cut. Then just cut off the long edges and sheer it into something that resembles a bunny tail. Easy!
Eyes and Nose
I used a small brush and the pink paint to make little heart-shaped noses. I dabbed on two pink circles first then used the brush to pull down to a point. They aren’t perfect, but that’s now you know they are homemade!
The eyes are your chance to give them expressions and personality. I used an artists felt tip pen instead of paint for more control. Have fun! The free template also includes some ideas for eyes, in case you need some inspiration.
I’d love to see what you come up with! Don’t forget to share it!
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