Spring Has Sprung

Getting ready for an Early Easter this year with my art lessons for March...

I ordered some black glue sticks from Amazon.com to try and create a really neat stained glass lesson.  I created a design and drew it onto watercolor paper in pencil, then I covered the pencil lines with the black glue.  It's a little tricky, but after some practice I was able to produce a pretty smooth line.  The nice thing about using hot glue, instead of regular glue colored black, there is no drying time - students can start painting right away.  I filled in the areas with liquid watercolors which are very intense.  The black hot glue seals the colors into each outlined area so they don't bleed together.

I also looked at several sock bunny designs - a classic Easter or Spring activity.  Somehow I have never made these myself.

I purchased large toddler socks in multi-packs to give the project a try.  I also purchased heavy thread for whiskers, tiny pom poms for the nose, googly eyes, small clear rubber bands, ribbon, dried pinto beans , fiberfill and a larger pom pom for the tail.   

I cut a 1 1/2 in. slit down the middle of the top of the sock for the ears, then I trimmed the ears to a more rounded V shape.

I filled the bottom of the sock with a few handfuls of beans and then added stuffing.

When I felt it was plump enough I gathered the ears and wound a tiny clear rubber band around the base of the ears.

Then I cut a piece of ribbon and decided where to tie the ribbon beneath the chin of the bunny.  I tied the ribbon in a knot before tying it into a bow.

Next I cut a length of thread and folded it a couple of times to make 4 threads, I tied a knot in the middle and glued the whiskers onto the bunny face with hot glue right behind the knot. Trim.

I glued the pink nose over the knot and added the eyes above the nose.

I glued the ears inside in a couple of places so they stayed folded.

You can add a little blush with a small brush to pink up the ears inside.

Last but not least is the larger pom pom for the bunny tail.

Here are the bunnies I came up with - I can't wait to make these with my students!