Egg Shaped Hanging Easter Bunny Decorations.

This is what I did with all the middle sized eggs from a pack of 30 wooden slice type shapes I got from Hobbycraft (£3) https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/wooden-egg-shapes-30-pack/647358-1001

I started by covering the egg shape with scraps of blue and green gingham print paper and adding a little faux stitching using a black fine liner pen.

The MDF rabbits came from eBay, I have posted the link in a previous post.

I covered the rabbits with white Ranger Glossy Enamel, adding googly eyes, a black flat back gem nose and whiskers drawn using a fine black permanent pen.  I did try having a pink nose, but it didn’t quite look right.

When the E8000 glue on the rabbit had dried I added small punched daisies with tiny weeny button centres, adding a few three dot clusters in between, here and there just to fill in any empty space.  I used tiny, silver screw eye hooks in the top to hang the decoration by.

The back was covered with more blue gingham paper, a hand written Happy Easter and two more flowers, so when hung there would be two decorated sides to see at different angles.

Easter Bunny Door Wreath Mark 2 - With Added Carrots!

I have made another Easter wreath, this time for one of my lovely neighbours upstairs.

It’s funny I bought the white wicker wreaths from the Poundland Christmas range back in December 2018 and this was the last one to be used, sometimes things are slow burners craft wise.

When I made the first wreath the flower base was already done, having made it for my door last spring, with this one I had to start from scratch, and I will admit to not being as fussy about the punched flowers and leaves as before, this time I didn’t layer them or put any gems to the middles and, to be honest it didn’t look that good …… however ……

Compare and contrast, original on the left, second make on the right.

I used a glue gun for the whole of the project as I needed an instant fix. The bunny’s (China eBay) went on first, followed by the plush carrots (Home Bargains 79p pack of six). The eggs I got from Amazon (£2.99), the bumpf said there were 80 eggs per pack, but I was sent a pack of 100 which was a bonus!  However, it’s times like these that I really miss being able to go into a Poundland or The Works and buy more or less the same for £1, but hey ho!

It’s hard to believe I put around 90 eggs on the wreath in total, every time I found a gap I filled it much more tightly than the original one, probably because of the standard of my flowers which really needed to be hidden.

The underside didn’t look too bad. 

I have to say that I think I now prefer Mark 2 for all it’s fullness, I was much too restrained on No.1 but as I have another bag of eggs going spare I might just have another dabble!

Small Easter Pin Badge Brooches

Sorry, more badges today ………..

…… these are a little smaller than most of the others I have made, mainly because I wanted to use the last of some puffy Easter stickers I have had for a million years, originally bought from Paperchase, no sadly gone, in the middle of lockdown, from the High Street

The badges were made using small wooden Christmas dominoes measuring 14.6 x 5 x 2.8 cm, which I covered, on the picture side, with scraps of patterned paper.

The paper I used was a bit thin and wrinkled a bit when glued, but since most of it was going to be covered anyway it didn’t really matter.

Once trimmed and dry I was able to add the stickers, which although they were already adhesive, I still stuck them down with E8000 so I could be sure that they couldn’t be pulled off easily.  I then added a little faux stitching, using a black fine liner pen, round any of the edges that were still visible.

I did the same on the back of each badge, before finally adding the badge/brooch fitting.

I think these badge/brooches are destined to go to my cousin Christine who works in a dementia care home, to share and wear on her uniform, because she says the residents love to look and touch new and different things and hopefully they will inspire and stimulate conversation and perhaps even memories.

Very Simple Mum – Gingham Mothers Day/Birthday Card

This 5ins x 5ins card uses a plain, white pre-scored blank originally bought as a bulk pack from Hobbycraft.

This card is no great shakes, made by covering a plain white card with a red gingham patterned paper,  with black faux stitching, using a black fine liner pen doodled round the edges.

The wooden red letters came from an alphabet pack from The Works, I couldn't believe the letters I needed were all the same colour for once, so no jiggling about with workable combinations was required.

The flowers (and leaves) were punched and put together in three layers, with a red pearl flat back gem in the middle and then fluffed up.  A few clusters of three black dots are scattered here and there finish the look.  Simples!

Standing Easter Bunny Decorations

These funny little things came about because I bought a pack of assorted size, wooden egg shapes that were bigger and much thicker than I first thought.

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/wooden-egg-shapes-30-pack/647358-1001

To begin with I didn’t have a clue what to do with the largest ones measuring 8 x 6cm (3.1 x 2.4 inches), then I thought bunnies ………

…….. so I painted one side of the largest and smallest sizes, thinking body and feet and when dry added the ears using brown pipe cleaners using a glue gun.  Ideally the ears should have been white, but since brown was all I had, they had to do!  However, as the sides of the shapes are quite thick and brown the overall effect doesn't actually look that random.

The rabbit then needed something to stand on, to wit a children’s domino piece covered in green gingham paper, to which I added the painted feet.

The rabbits were then given googly eyes, a pink (baked) Fimo nose, doodled whiskers and mouth, plus faux stitching around the edge using a black fine liner pen.

On the back I added a Happy Easter sentiment, but for the life of me I don’t know why I added the ladybirds instead of a white pom pom tail ....... doh?!?!

The bunny body was then attached to the base using a glue gun, as I wanted an instant fix, followed by a bow and card carrot sticker.

I then left it there, I knew it needed something else, but wasn’t too sure what.  I added a fence, but that was too much and served no purpose, however I think the grass fringe at the back works OK.  

When I saw that the fringe worked, the green Sharpie pen coloured edges of the base then started to wrankled with me, so that’s when I threw caution to the wind by adding the green Dovecraft Enamel Effects round the bottom and on the carrot stalk, which then helped to bring everything together and before I knew it out came the Range Glossy Accents on the carrot itself, so even more texture.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know really what service these perform, if I had thought about it more, I would have made the base bigger (square) and then added a small cup/basket/open box  (?) to accommodate a cream egg or something  and then use them an Easter place setting.   

I will have another think, otherwise they can just sit festively scattered here and there on my many shelves....... just because it's Easter!

Googly Eyed Wooden Cat Pin Badge Brooches

These cat wooden brooches follow on from the bear brooches I posted a week or so ago.

Made exactly the same way, just a different colourway ………

…… starting by changing the cats appearance by giving him a pair of large googly eyes ………..

……. followed by covering a 1in MDF square with a piece of scrap paper and edging the back with faux stitching using a black fine liner pen.

The next step was to add a curved piece of silk fabric paper for the body then gluing the head on at a jaunty angle using E8000 glue to make sure there was a really secure bond.

All “he” needed then was a small bow, the ends of which I painted over with PVA glue to help stop them from fraying.

The final step was a bit more  faux stitching round the edges and a brooch pin on the back.  Simples! 

Wooden Easter Bunny Pin Badge Brooches

I guess I am a proper pin badge roll at the moment as I drift further and further from card making. Everything I am making this Easter is destined to be fairing gifts for the staff at Iris and Bertie’s school, plus few family and friends. 

They are pretty cheap to make and a brilliant way of using up small embellishments that seem lost on anything else.  That being said, I don’t think I have ever made this much for Easter stuff before, always saying the colours and shapes don’t appeal to me, perhaps all this time in meltdown has finally got to me!

My first effort (above) wasn’t quite right  but once I gave the MDF rabbit shapes a layer of white Ranger Enamel Accents and a face they took on a whole new character.

The rabbits were glued onto a wooden egg shape covered with scraps of patterned paper to create a basic background scene.  It didn’t matter that the paper wrinkled a little as it would be pretty much covered over anyway.

I then added tiny Fimo nail art flowers to fill in the empty spaces and a light coat of Ranger Glossy Accents to protect the paper and give it all a bit of shine……

……. and finally, on the back, I added a brooch pin and an Easter greeting. All done and dusted!

Recycled Jenga Block Snowman Christmas Tree Decoration.

We were on the school run when Iris, Bertie and I spotted a plastic bag outside a house that said please help yourselves, well, it would have been rude not to have a little peek wouldn't it? Iris and Bertie found an unopened reward/sticker chart and Minions colouring set, so they were well pleased and I found a complete Jenga game, immediately thinking some sort of craft project.

Then I remembered that all the blocks have the Jenga logo embossed on both sides, doh! The idea I already had in my mind was to make hanging snowmen Christmas tree decorations that I’d seen on Pinterest. When I looked them up again, I could see that most people had just painted over the logo, but I knew that if I did the same and could still see the outline of the logo under the paint it would really grate on me, I needed to cover it up. 

I tried all sorts of things, it was tough and I am fussy, but in the end I settled, weirdly, for a couple of light layers of Aleene’s True Snow (??? I know) because filled the embossing, where all efforts with other materials had failed. The texture was perfect for a snowman, so once it was dry, I gave the blocks two coats of ordinary white emulsion paint. I'd sorted it, it may have taken me two days of experimenting, but I got there in the end, 

With the blocks painted, the rest was a doddle, using a short length of 6mm red gingham ribbon for the scarf, various sized, black, flat back domes for the eyes, mouth and buttons, plus a tiny scrap of orange card for the nose, with a little Ranger Glossy Accents for added depth and texture.

Admittedly the screw eye hook was a bit fiddly because the wood used for the blocks is really hard. Now, do I hang a small coloured jingle bell from the bottom?  

I am thinking that as I have 54 of these blocks the snowman would make a perfect small, fairing gift to make en mass to send in place of a Christmas card this year, as they could go through the post as a large letter, we shall see.  Now, what can I do for Halloween?