delightful bunny bags and egg decorations Easter craft:
These easy projects, from cute bunny bags to egg decorations, are enjoyable to make for kids and parents alike, say Marsha Smith and Hande Renshaw.
Easter bunny bags
These are super cute and, best of all, super easy to make!
What you need
Makes 2 gift bags 50cm patterned fabric for the lining 50cm of white cotton for the outside of bag Pencil Scissors Sewing machine White cotton thread Black fine-tip marker pen
Method
1 If you are using the template provided (right), photocopy and enlarge it to the size you require. Our bags are 15cm wide and 40cm high, so you’ll need to copy the template onto A3 paper. Cut out the paper template.
2 Place fabric pieces right-side down. Using the pencil, trace around the template four times on the reverse side of both fabrics, leaving about 3cm between each bunny. Cut out the pieces, making them 1cm larger all round, to provide a seam allowance (see Diagram A).
3 Pair up the pieces so you have one patterned lining with one white outer, placing them right sides together. You should have four pairings – two for each bag.
4 Using the sewing machine and white thread, sew each pair together along the pencil line, leaving an opening at the base of the bunny face (see Diagram B). Turn right side out through this opening. The gap will disappear when you sew both sides of the bag together. You may like to press the pieces flat with an iron.
5 Place the two sides of each bag together, with the white fabrics facing. Sew together as closely to the edge as possible, going around the chin in a ‘U’ shape from point A to point B (see Diagram B). This will also close up the opening. Turn bag the right way out.
6 Use your marker pen to draw on a cute bunny face. Now just fill them up with your favourite Easter treats and tie the floppy ears in a knot.
Give fun novelty items as well as Easter eggs.
Easter bonnet What you need
Coloured cardstock for the leaves Paper straw Crown ring – ours is from Spotlight Hot glue gun Decorative chickens and bunnies Coloured ribbon
Method
Draw six leaf shapes onto your coloured cardstock, then cut around the outlines. Using the hot glue gun, glue paper straw all around the crown ring – it doesn’t need to be too neat. Work your way around to cover the entire crown, until you have something that resembles a bird’s nest. Leave to dry. Using the glue gun, glue your leaves onto the crown. Leave to dry. Glue the decorative chickens and bunnies on top of the straw, spacing them out at uneven intervals around the crown. Leave to dry. Tie a long piece of coloured ribbon to the back of the crown, tie the top in a bow and then trim to the desired length (we kept ours long).
Bunny table runner What you need
Hessian-type fabric Bunny stencils (made from template) Black fabric paint White wool Pompom maker Hot glue gun
Method
Cut fabric to create a table runner about 30cm wide and the desired length. Print and cut out several bunny stencils using the bunny template (right) and place along the table runner to determine the placement of the bunnies. Trace around the outside of each of the stencils. Paint the inside of each bunny shape using fabric paint. Leave to dry. Make a pompom for each rabbit, using the wool and a pompom maker – we purchased ours from Spotlight – following the instructions on the back of the box. Using a hot glue gun, stick pompoms onto the bunnies for the tails. Leave to dry.
Bunny runner template
Hop to it – use this bunny template as the basis for your pattern. Make it larger or smaller, or flip it, according to the look you’re after.
Woodland animal Easter eggs What you need
Eggs – real or plastic Acrylic craft paint – we used peach, light blue and light brown Coloured cardstock – we used white, black, pink, green and various blues Fiskars punches – border punches, Petal by Petal punch, heart punch, from craft suppliers such as Spotlight Scissors Glue or hot glue gun
Method
1 If using real eggs, hard-boil or remove the contents – do this by piercing holes in the top and bottom, and gently blowing out the yolks and whites. Leave shells to dry. 2 Paint your eggs in different colours and leave to dry. We applied two coats of craft paint to each egg for a smooth, even look. 3 While your eggs are drying, punch out shapes in the coloured cardstock for the eyes, cheeks, noses, ears and wings. For the owl’s chest, we punched out three layers of blue card and glued them together (see main picture, left). 4 Glue the eyes, cheeks and noses on your eggs. Then add the pointy ears for the fox and the wings and crest for the owl. 5 Create the bases by cutting the green cardstock into 16cm x 8cm pieces. Punch out the top edges for the grass, then curve each piece and glue the ends together. 6 When the glue has dried on your eggs, place them onto the grass bases.
Hande’s tip If you use hard-boiled eggs for your menagerie, remember they will go off and won’t last past Easter, while blown or plastic eggs will last for ever.
“Create a Noah’s Ark of fun critters.”