The Silly Pearl {Handmade}: Craft Tutorial: Paper Straw Easter Bunnies

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Craft Tutorial: Paper Straw Easter Bunnies

I dug into my ever-growing collection of paper straws, and made Paper Straw Easter Bunnies!

I was inspired by the Marshmallow Peeps Necklaces the girls made yesterday.

I used the bunny I created from the gift tags as the template for my paper straw bunnies. Right click on the image below and print it out choosing Full Page Photo onto cardstock. You don’t have to print it in color. The resulting bunny is about 6 inches tall. Note: you can download the gift tags here.

Cut out your bunny template…

…and cover it with double-stick tape. Then start sticking on the straws. The straws should go over the edges. Start with the middle section, covering the part in between the ears.

It is easier to stick just a few sections of straws on at a time to cut. Use scissors to cut the straw along the curve at the top of the head and along the ears, as well as along the bottom curve.

Then you can keep adding straws along the sides, covering up most of the bunny. If there’s a little bit sticking out, use the scraps that you just trimmed off.

The straws started to get unwieldy and would fall off as I cut, even with the double-stick tape. So I taped them together with painter’s tape.

When you’ve got most of the bunny done, peel off the cardstock template, which you can use again. Use smaller scissors to clean up your cuts, particularly at the neck and ears.

Now continue with the other colors. I have a pink and yellow one, which represent each of my girls. The grey one is Grandpa. Hehe.

If it looks like you can add more “cheek” or “hips” to the sides even though you followed the template, go ahead. It’s ok to do some manual shaping to make it look more like a bunny. The straws I used were 3 different brands, and the grey ones in particular were smaller. Plus, the stripes faced different directions so I alternated them to create a chevron-ish effect.

Choose a frame that fits all your bunnies. Here’s a mock-up of my bunnies in a thrifted frame with a burlap background. The fabric at the bottom is my “Hoppy Easter” sign.

I painted the frame with two coats of CeCe Caldwell’s Chalk Paint in Portland Rose.

I found a piece of cardboard and fit it to the frame, then I covered it with burlap. Then I used another cardboard piece to make sure my bunnies were all lined up. I also marked the center on the cardboard so that grandpa is also centered in the middle.

Cover up the bunny with hot glue, all over the side without the painters tape. This layer will dry, and keep the straws together.

Then add another layer of glue on the top of the first layer, and quickly flip it over and position it in place. Press down. Check if it really did stick in a little bit, then you can add more glue if certain spots are still loose. Remove the tape which should reveal your finished bunny. Repeat with the other two bunnies.

For the sign, I stenciled letters onto some canvas fabric with a paint pen, and wrapped that around some cardboard. Then I hot glued the sign underneath the bunnies.