Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Burlap Easter Bunny Bag



I've been having a fun time making crafts for Easter even though I don't have any grandkids.  I still have some paperbacked burlap left and wanted to make this cute bunny bag.  You might be asking what on earth could you do with that.  Well it's great for boys in place of a traditional Easter basket.  Hence, the green and purple colors.  I made a "tray" out of the same material that sits inside and candy, eggs and toys can be placed in it and then wrapped in cellophane.  Such a cute idea!

The burlap bag was easy to make once I figured out the measurements needed for folding it since I was working with a 24" x 12" sheet of burlap.  

So let's get started!

Materials needed:

  • Paper-backed burlap 24" x 12"  (Jo-Ann)
  • Bunny parts pattern
  • Foam Sheets
  • Google eyes
  • Pom pom for nose
  • Chenille stems for whiskers
  • White poster board for teeth
  • Burlap ribbon for strap
  • Velcro closure
  • Hot glue gun
  • Large 12 1/2" plate or top



First, I had to work up a template using a large 24" x 12" sheet of paper for the bag.   My original folds didn't work for me so I had to adjust the sizes of each section and re-fold before I was able to transfer the measurements to the burlap. That's why you see so many folds.



Final measurements are:


Fold and make sharp creases along lines:


Next, used a 12 1/2" plate to round off the corners of the 6" flap with a pencil and cut out.


Now it's time to cut out the bunny parts.  This template can be copied and pasted to Word and sized using format. 

*Sorry, I don't know how to download templates yet.


The inner ears and peds for the paws were cut from green foam sheets.
I used a dime to cut out the six peds in case you're wondering what size it is.


The teeth were cut from white poster board and all pieces were glued on as shown.

Burlap ribbon was glue across the width of the back inside.



To make the tray, I looked around for a cardboard box approximately 12" long and 4" wide to take apart to use as a pattern.  I was lucky to find a coffee filter box that worked. 


The box was in one piece when I took it apart so I had to cut it in half in order to use the burlap since it wasn't long enough.

I just drew the shape of the cardboard onto the back of the burlap, cut out and hot glued the flaps together.
 I think the burlap tray turned out really good considering it was the first time making something like this.

Here is the tray filled with Easter goodies.
I added a video game as an idea as to what can be included.


Once filled, wrap tray in cellophane and tie with ribbon.


A small piece of Velcro closure is added on the front to keep the flaps closed.






This really brings a smile to my face!




Take a little time to enjoy

and
Happy Crafting!






Monday, March 30, 2015

My Hometalk's Clipboard on Quick Easter Crafts for Everyone

http://www.hometalk.com/b/7071220/easter-crafts
Welcome to my Hometalk's Clipboard on Quick & Easy Easter Crafts for Everyone!  I was asked to curate this Easter crafts board for Hometalk! What an honor!  Easter is such a great time of year for making crafts! It puts a fresh face on spring and new creations that will brighten any home.
 
I've clipped some exciting posts from Hometalker's who've shared their creativity from crafty Easter Eggs to 3D Bunny Wall Art, a No-Sew Bunny & Carrot Wreath, and Bunny Topiaries just to name a few. There are so many Easter crafts here to get you inspired! And the best part  .  .  . there's still plenty of time to get crafty for Easter!
 
So hop on over and check out my clipboard on Easter Crafts.  And while you're there be sure to join Hometalk if you haven't already.  And of course, you can follow me too!  It's  a great place to interact with fellow Hometalkers on any subject pertaining to home and garden, crafts, décor, diy's, and so much more!  I love, love, love Hometalk! And you will, too!
 

Take a little time to enjoy

and
Happy Crafting!

 



Thursday, March 26, 2015

Make a Spring Floral Cone Arrangement In Less Than 10 Minutes




I've been looking for spring to arrive for quite some time now.  No sign of crocus, daffodil or tree blossoms around here.   But the temperatures are just beginning to climb and it won't be long, now.  I'm in a joyous mood to put away those wintry scenes and make something fabulous for spring.  What better way than to create a quick and easy floral arrangement.  I have my new found material of paper-backed burlap that I wanted to use that's left over from making burlap mason jar toppers, so this is what I did: 

Using a 12" x 12" square

that I easily shaped into a cone and hot glued together along the edge.





Then punched a hole in the corner tip, adding a piece of jute twine .  .  .
but then decided that this was a bit plain,  cut out a burlap circle and made a spiral flower to glue on front.  

 
And finally, added a bunch of flowers and BAM!
 
You have a beautiful spring time floral arrangement for your door or wall in less than ten minutes!


 
 


Wouldn't this make a wonderful addition to any spring décor, or special occasion?

Take a little time to enjoy
 

and

Happy Crafting!











Saturday, March 21, 2015

Easter Bunny Mason Jar Toppers - DIY




I found purple wide mouth mason jars at JoAnn's - without tops!  You know purple is my favorite color so I couldn't resist. 

There are so many colorful mason jars available at different craft stores, but most don't have tops - although plain mason jar tops should fit.  I thought it easy to make decorative Easter toppers that slip right over the opening or existing metal lids using paper backed burlap fabric - also found at JoAnn's.  I love this material!  It's already stiff, thus eliminating the need to coat the burlap with mod podge or glue.

You will need:
Burlap paper backed - 24" x 12" (paper section at JoAnn)
White faux fur or fleece fabric
Cotton print fabric
Poly-fil
Thread and needle
Scissors
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue                                        
Hot Glue
Parchment paper
Seed Beads for eyes
Small pom-poms for nose
Stem wire for whiskers
Pipe cleaners  for ears
Embellishments
Bunny head, arms, and ears template

You can copy and paste template to Word and adjust size (if needed) using format.
 
First, you need to draw a circle on the paper-back of the burlap using the mouth or lid of the mason jar and cut out. 
Next, cut out a 1/2-3/4 inch wide x 12 inches long strip of the same material and cut out.
 

Adhere tacky glue to both edges of the circle and strip and wrap the strip around the circle, until ends meet, as pictured. Cut off excess.   It doesn't take long for the glue to grab the edges.

 
Place topper on parchment paper and place additional glue inside, as pictured. Allow to dry.

 
 
While topper is drying, cut out pieces of pattern and fabric.
 
 
Hand stitch pieces, right sides  together leaving openings to turn inside out.

 
 
 
Starting with the bunny head, turn inside out and lightly stuff with poly-fil. 
Sorry, I didn't take pictures of sewing on the seed beads for eyes or gluing on the whiskers and nose.
I added the eyes before I closed the opening for head, sewing from the inside so the threads wouldn't show on the outside.  


 
 The ears were turned inside out and slightly folded pipe cleaners were inserted inside instead of poly-fil.  The ends of the pipe cleaners were cut off before stitching the ears closed. Using pipe cleaners allowed the ears to be shaped up or down.

 
The ears were sewn in place.
 

 The paws were turned inside out and lightly filled with poly-fil.  I used a natural looking thread to loop around the ends, front to back, for toes, as pictured.

 
The sleeves were placed over the paws and using tacky glue added small strips of fabric for cuffs. (optional)
 
The completed paws were hot glued onto the topper as shown:

 
Additional hot glue was placed in the center between the paws and the head was glued on there.

 
 
Handmade flower embellishments and ribbon were added to the burlap toppers.
 







 

Just think of all the possibilities for making mason jar decorative toppers .  .  .
 
 
Take a little time to enjoy
and
Happy Crafting!





















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