Today I want to share my rustic, moss-covered Easter Bunny.  He was easy to make but he takes a little planning because there is a lot of drying time involved.

Here’s what you will need:

balloons or anything else to use as a form

twine

glue

moss

twigs and pebbles for whiskers, nose and eyes

Step One.  Put together a form.  I used balloons and tape.  If I were to do this over again, I would use the long skinny balloons for the ears, instead of half filled round ones.  I think the ears turned out too big.

Step Two.   Protect your work surface (I like to use an unused garbage bag).  Water down some glue (four parts glue to one part water).  Dip twine in glue mixture and wrap around your form.  If you criss-cross the twine randomly, it helps give strength to your form.  I like to wear latex gloves for this part, it is extremely messy.

Step Three.  When you are done wrapping your form, let it air dry.  My bunny took about six hours to dry.  When the glue mixture was dry, I sprayed the form with heavy spray starch.  Soak it with the starch.  Let the starch dry (approximately three hours).  I applied one more coating of spray starch and then let the form dry overnight.

Step Four.  Pop the balloons.

Optional Step Five.  Spray paint your dried form (I spray painted the little nest I made on the inverted bowl above.  If you make a nest this way, be sure to line the bowl with wax paper before you put the gluey twine on it).

Step six.  Apply moss.  I wanted my bunny lightly covered with moss so I pulled clumps out of the bag and stretched it out.  I then lightly sprayed the moss with spray adhesive and applied it to the form.

Step Seven.  I gathered twigs and pebbles from the yard.  I was able to just tuck the twigs into the snout for whiskers.  The eyes and the nose were hot-glued into place.

I guess it sounds like a lot of work and steps but it was really quick and easy (except for the drying time).  I also like the price.  I had everything on hand except the moss.  I picked the bag of moss up at Hobby Lobby for $2.47.  I used about half the bag on my bunny and the rest on eggs and a little basket.

I love shabby chic and I love rustic.  I think it is so pretty to combine crystal with burlap, or moss with silver.

Here are some of the shabby chic pieces I have collected.

Here are some of the rustic things I have made.  My little moss-covered Easter Bunny above (tutorial coming soon).

and this homemade bird nest with moss-covered Easter eggs.

I Love this picture because it shows all the texture so well.

 Thanks for stopping by.  Please join me over at Between Naps on the Porch.  Have a very joyful Easter!

Here’s a sneak peek and tutorial for moss-covered Easter eggs.  These eggs are part of the centerpiece for my rustic Easter tablescape.

Supplies needed:

egg forms (I bought styrofoam eggs from Hobby Lobby, but you could use the plastic ones too)

moss (I bought this bag from Hobby Lobby for $2.74)

paint (I didn’t want the white of the styrofoam to show through.)

glue (I used some spray adhesive I had on hand)

Steps:

1.  Paint your eggs. ( I like to use old cooling racks when I spray paint.)

2.  Let paint dry.

3.  Grab a handful of the moss and gently stretch it out.

4.  Lightly spray your moss and your egg (I like to wear latex gloves for this part).

5.  Wrap the moss around the egg.  Scrunch it firmly into the egg.

6.  Let glue dry on cooling racks.

7.  Trim any access moss with scissors.

Please join me tomorrow for my Easter table and the finished Mossy Easter Eggs.

     I don’t have too much to say with this post.  The pictures pretty much do all the talking.  So, I’ll let them take it away.

     I used a piece of twine as a napkin ring.  I got the green placemats at Target and put them on top of my burlap tablecloth.  I like the contrast between the nubby linens and the smooth, shiny china and silverware. 

     The salad and dinner plates were purchased at a local thrift store.  The middle plate is from a set I inherited from my Grandmother.

     Here are a few fun things I added to the table; fresh flowers, a pail, a basket and some of my Easter Decorations. 

     Happy Easter everyone!  Hope you have a joyous day surround by loved ones and lots of good food, and of course some yummy treats in your Easter basket.

      My kids are out of school all week for Spring Break.  It hasn’t been very Spring-like weather here though.  It was cold and rainy all day so we decided to dye our Easter eggs today.  I usually wait until a day or two before Easter but the kids promised to eat them and not let them go to waste (my oldest, on the left, decided he couldn’t wait to dye them and went straight to eating).  My youngest, on the right, didn’t remember this fun activity from the last couple of years so this was all new and sooo exciting for him.  It was wonderful for us to watch his joy, and his enthusiasm was contagious-even for my preteens.

     We didn’t do anything too specially decorative to the eggs.  I thought about adding puffy paint or glitter to the dyed eggs (that’s just how my mind works, “It looks good, but…it could look so much better if…”  ).  I decided that this project was for the kids to have fun and leave it at that (besides, I’m still finding glitter from Valentine’s Day.  That stuff gets everywhere.) and best part of all not one “Mom, I’m bored.  There’s nothing to do.”  all day.