Bunny To-PEEP-ary Trio

I have had a pile of pails and various other items for building a whimsical topiary hanging around just waiting for something to strike my fancy.  They've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting...  Then, while I was perusing around Made (there is also a link on my sidebar), the perfect topiary topper hopped right into my mind.  I needed to make PEEP-shaped bunnies!

I used the pattern that Dana created to make her PEEPS Bunny Bunting.  (I will make that bunting someday too, but I have to finish my old projects first!)  Thanks, Dana, for the inspiration to finish my project!

Here are the materials and directions for making your own Bunny To-PEEP-ary Trio...

• 3 small galvenized pails
• 1 sheet smooth Styrofoam (1" x 12" x 36")
• Bunny pattern
• 3 small blocks floral foam
• 3 dowels 1/2" x 18"
• excelsior
• paint & sponge brushes
• ribbon
• crafting sand
• glitter
• Styrofoam glue
• Styrofoam cutter
• sandpaper 
• assorted ribbon

pails, dowels, 2 kinds of foam, paint, glitter, sand, and glue

the pattern, my ribbon stash, paintbrushes, and the Styrofoam cutter

First, I enlarged the bunny pattern 146% to go from the 5.5" height the pattern is to the 8" size that I wanted for my project.  Trace the pattern onto the Styrofoam with Sharpie marker.  This piece of Styrofoam is large enough to trace eight bunnies, but I only had enough other materials to make three (and PEEPS bunnies come in rows of three).  Trace two bunny shapes for each topiary.

Trace the pattern with a Sharpie marker.

Here is where I take a time-out to talk about a very handy gadget: a Styrofoam Cutter.  (I saw a larger, fancier Styrofoam cutter at the store just recently, it is shaped more like a jigsaw.)  I cannot remember when I picked up this little goodie, but I can tell you that it has stayed securely swathed in its original packaging until now.  I haven't had a reason to use it.  (I am the kind of person who picks up gadgets and then finds a project in which to use the gadget.)  Features of this cutter are are that it heats up in only 30 seconds.  It cools down in 5 seconds or less.  This cutter comes with instructions as to how best to use it, but the biggest thing to remember is to go SLOWLY! 

The wire heats up and melts the Styrofoam to cut out your design.

This process is a bit smelly!  Keep sensitive noses out of the room while you are working, and make sure you work in a well ventilated space!

The whole process of tracing and cutting out all of the bunny shapes took about 1 hour, but that included multiple toddler trips to the bathroom.  :)  When the wire melts through the foam, you are left with mozzarella cheese-like strings around the edges of the work.  Don't worry about them now. 

The bunny shapes next to the leftovers.

 Next, I used the Styrofoam glue to glue two bunny shapes together.  I didn't like the scale of a single layer of Styrofoam for the bunnies.  I also didn't think that the rougher, thicker foam was the right texture for the PEEPS.  That necessitated gluing two thicknesses of bunny together.

This glue is THICK!

The bunnies are drying,

Let the glue dry for at least 1 hour before you move on to the next step.  The instructions say that the glue is firm after 1 hour but fully cured after 24 hours.  Run a few errands or something to take your mind off the project that is waiting.............and waiting.................and waiting............... :)

Once the glue is dry, you can begin sanding down the edges of your bunnies.  You will need to do this for several reasons:  one, unless you have the steadiest hands in the world, your bunnies will not be exactly the same size.  Sanding will make them match more closely.  Two, PEEPS do not have sharp corners, they are a bit rounded.  Sanding will make the bunnies look more like real PEEPS.  (This is a great time for helpers.) 

Thanks helper!

I did the sanding over the garbage can.  It didn't really make much of a mess.  That may be due to the type of foam I was using.  A sanding block was great for sanding all but the closest part between the ears.  For that I used a small piece of drywall tape because I couldn't find my stash of sandpaper.  I know, that is silly!  You don't have to get rid of all of the marker lines from the bunny because you will be painting the bunnies.  Also, I didn't try to make the bunny shapes completely smooth all over because I wanted them to have the confectionery qualities of real PEEPS. 

Is that a piece of drywall tape you are using?  Why, yes, yes it is!

Wipe the excess Styrofoam dust off of the smoothed bunnies with a damp paper towel.  The dust will just make a big mess when you go to paint your PEEPS. 

SMOOTH!!!!!

Use your Styrofoam cutter to cut a guide hole in the bottom of the bunny.

Prepping for the dowels.

Guide hole about 1" deep

Glue

Wait some more.....

Shove the dowel into the guide hole and gently work it back and forth until you reach the desired height of the topiary.  I pushed the dowels in about 4". 





I chose to sprinkle a little craft sand over the surface of the bunnies to help them look more like PEEPS.  I used red sand because that is what I had in the craft closet.  I didn't worry about the color because of the painting to come.  To adhere the sand to the surface of the Styrofoam, I used about 1/2 teaspoon of Styrofoam glue diluted with 1 tablespoon of water.

Wait longer...................

This is not a project that you can finish in one afternoon.  You really need at least all day if not, two days.

While you are waiting for the glue to dry, decorate your pails.

Smash one block of floral foam down into a pail.  Don't worry about cutting the foam to fit the pail,  it crushes to fit easily.

Crush the top corners a little too. 

Cover the exposed floral foam with excelsior.  You can find this at craft stores everywhere, but I rescued mine from a Harry and David gift box we got last Christmas.  Awesome!  It was the gift that keeps on giving!

Tuck the excelsior down the edges between the pail and the foam.  

DECORATE!

Purple PEEP

Pink PEEP

Yellow PEEP

Waiting for their PEEPS!  You will notice that I used some tape to hold the edges of the pink ribbon in place until the fabric glue dried. 

Paint your PEEPS!  While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the surface with superfine glitter.  I used Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter like this.  It really made the surface sparkle like sugar!

I'm sorry for the sideways bunny, but I can't get it to flip!

Paint on the eyes and nose, and paint the dowel.  Ironically the color of paint I used is called "melted chocolate."

 

 Wait for more paint to dry....

Spread out the a small hole in the excelsior, and shove the dowel into the center of the floral foam. 

Voila!  The Bunny To-PEEP-ary Trio!

They make the perfect accompaniment to the Monet print above them. 

 I took lots of pictures of the finished To-PEEP-aries, but alas, all of them are downloading poorly.  Still,  you get the idea.  All of a sudden, I really want PEEPS!  If you will excuse me, I have to run across the street to the grocery store.  I'll be back in a minute...

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If  you enjoyed this fun craft check out these other bits of crazy fun from Greetings From the Asylum:  Ruffle Bum Onesies, Fabric Covered Bookcase, and Homemade Vanilla Extract.  

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Snuggle up, Princess

It is now too warm in Arizona for winter blankets on the bed, but it is too cool to go without any form of covering.  I noticed that my daughter was trying to huddle under a tiny blanket left over from when she was a baby.  (I think that was more  because the blanket was decorated with Tigger and less because she was really cold.)  Still though, she definitely needed a new larger blanket.  We went to the fabric store the next day to pick out what she wanted. When I asked her what kind of fabric she wanted she said, "pink."  Alrighty then,  pink it is.  She carried the bolts of cloth to the cutting table herself.  She was so cute!

I had only the vaguest of ideas about how I was going to complete this project so I bought two yards of two coordinating fabrics.  When I got home and saw just how large the finished blanked would be, I changed gears and formulated a solid plan of action.

With the exception of making the crown applique, I made this entire blanket in one afternoon.  It came together very quickly.  A few things slowed me down:  I got a lot of  "help" from my daughter.  (She wanted to sit on the chair behind me while I sewed.)  My sewing machine cannot sew very fast.  I needed to keep it going at a fairly slow speed so that I did not have difficulties when sewing the appliques.  Also, I do my best work in the morning, but I was in charge of the playgroup this week, so my morning was out.   Still, super easy and really fun!

Front

Back

Here is what you need to make this project:

• Two coordinating fabrics, 2 yards of each.  
• matching thread
• Wonder Under
• freezer paper
• flashlight with a tripod or a helper who will stand really still

First, get rid of 18" of fabric off each piece.  (You may recognize this photo from the Yo-Yo Many post.  This fabric is not going on my bed.  I just wanted to show the cutting process I used.)  The extra pieces were going to become appliques. 

Choose a pattern you want to use for your applique.  I found a cute clip art crown and printed it out as large as I could on a sheet of paper.  Then I found a fun font (Matisse) and printed my daughter's name using a large font size.  I used different techniques to make the crown and letter appliques. 

This is how I made the crown applique.  

I wanted the crown to be much bigger than I could make on my home printer so I used a fun enlargement trick that anyone can do.  *This does need to be done either at night or in a dark room (the darker the better).  I took my photos during the day, but I did the tracing at night. 

• Cut out your pattern.  
• Tape it to some sort of support.  (I used a butter knife.)
• Stand the pattern up somehow.  (I used a glass of crayons, but pie weights, beans, marbles, and Legos will all work too.)
• Tape a large piece of freezer paper (dull side out) to the wall or window.  
• Shine a flashlight behind the supported pattern.  
• Adjust the distances between the pattern and the flashlight until the desired size is achieved.
• Trace the outline of the shadow on the paper.  
• Go over the outline with a Sharpie marker. 

Print your design on cardstock for a sturdier pattern. 

This was not completely flat, but I wasn't that picky.  Using multiple skewers would make the pattern flatter. 

I adjusted the distances back and forth, up and down before I got what I wanted.  You don't want the light source to move at all because as it moves, the shadow moves too. 

Watch where you are going with the pen instead of the tip of the pen.  Your tracing will be more accurate. 

Attach the pattern to the fabric.

Cut a piece of Wonder Under slightly larger than your pattern. 

Iron the Wonder Under onto the wrong side of the fabric.  Leave the paper backing on for now. 

Trim the fabric around the Wonder Under. 

Position the pattern design on the piece of prepared fabric.

Iron the freezer paper onto the right side of the fabric. 

This is very thick.

Cut out your pattern.

The freezer paper/flannel/Wonder Under sandwich makes a very stable cutting medium. 

Peel off the freezer paper.  

Peel the paper backing off the Wonder Under.  You may need to warm the paper with the iron first. 

To make the applique letters, I used a different technique. 

• Print out the letters of your chosen font on very large on sheets of paper. 
• Tape the sheets of paper backwards to a bright window or light box.
• Hold a piece of Wonder Under paper side out up to the letters.
• Trace the letters onto the paper. 

You must reverse the image of the letters before you trace or else your letters will be backwards once you have attached the Wonder Under to your fabric.  

Attach your Wonder Under patterns to the wrong side of your fabric. 

Here you can really see that the letters are in reverse although the "H" and the "E" are upside down and the "C" and "O" don't matter. 

Cut out your letters.  

Fold and snip the inside of the circle.

Then trim the rest of the inside.

Now all of your appliques are complete.  Lay them out and admire your handiwork.  

OOOOO! AHHHHH!

 Position the appliques onto the blanket pieces and press with a hot iron to attach.  

Here goes the crown. 

To position the letters, begin with the letter in the center and work outwards.  

I suddenly want Baskin Robbins Rainbow Sherbet!  MMMMM!

Use a zig-zag stitch to sew around the edges of your appliques.  

Set your stitch width to two and your stitch length to 2.5.

Here is my "helper" checking on her blanket in progress!

Here is the name applique with the stitching around the edges.

Pin the sides of the blanket right sides together and sew around the edge leaving a six-inch space to turn the project right side out.  Leave a 1/2 inch seam allowance. 

Clip the corners and turn the blanket right side out.  Use a pin to pull the corners into a sharp point.  

Clip!

Turn!

Press the edges of the blanket lightly and sew a decorative stitch around the edges of the blanket to secure the sides.  

A large zigzag is as decorative as my ancestral sewing machine can manage!

To secure the center of the blanket, "quilt" around the edges of the appliques.  I used a straight stitch 1/4" outside of the applique.  

Outside the crown.

I just did a loose stitch around the outside of the name.  

CUDDLE!

My daughter loves her new blanket.  When I was tucking her into bed last night she said, "thank you for making this for me, Mommy."  That was the cutest thing ever.  It made all of her "help" worth it!