Beautiful Bunnies

Beautiful Bunnies

Welcome back to Mile Wide Crafts.

We are very excited to introduce our first guest blogger today. KC does beautiful work using a wide variety of crafting media and techniques. Today she has brought us two absolutely adorable wreaths that are perfect for spring.  This is KC’s first blog, so let’s give her lots of likes and shares to encourage her to write more. Without further ado, here are KC’s bunny wreaths.

Floral Bunny Wreath

Spring Bunny Wreath

Floral Bunny Wreath

So, my first attempt at writing a “blog,” albeit as a guest blogger… I wanted to try something different than my usual sewing/photography/baking projects and was inspired by some Spring/Easter-themed wreaths that I found on pinterest.  The first is a fabric flowered wreath, which I added bunnies to so that it would be more Easter-ish.  The second was a bunny wreath that I adapted a little bit.  

Step one:  Choose Fabrics

Fabric Options

 I went through my piles and piles of fabric, trying to find colors and patterns that I liked which and which also went together in some way.  I decided to go with more pinks and blues, with dashes of yellow.  Purple just wasn’t really speaking to me that day. 

Step 2: Find templates

Floral Stencil

Ribbon Inspriation

I looked around for something to pattern the flowers with.  This stencil that I used to paint the pantry seemed like a good place to start.   The ribbon’s spool also gave me some inspiration.  I traced both on a variety of fabrics, mostly at random.  I also did some free-hand shapes.  You’ll be able to tell which ones!

Step 3: Stack cut shapes

Cut shapes

Stacked flowers

Once I had a bunch of different sizes and fabrics cut out, I started stacking them.  With some, I placed the smaller shaped directly (mostly) aligned with the larger shapes. With others, I used the same size and shape and just offset the petals.  I like both ways.  I also cut out centers, because I forgot that I had planned to use buttons for that.     

Button Centers Added

Step 4: Stiffen the flowers

I realized that the flowers were going to be too floppy for the wreath and, since I was being lazy and didn’t want to run to the store AND I already had some spray adhesive which I had used for another project, I decided to use up some more of my more sturdy scraps.  I used the spray adhesive to adhere the flowers to the backgrounds.  I thought that using a variety of colors would add interest, even though the background is really not supposed to be seen.

Stiffened Flowers

Step 5: Wrap the wreath form

Wrapping the Wreath Form

I had two ribbon options and chose the green plaid.  Of course, I didn’t have enough, so I ended up using both.  I’ve found that mistakes almost always add interest to my projects, no matter what I’m working on! 

Glue in small sections

I very loosely glued the ribbon in place. I only glued about 4” at a time so that the glue wouldn’t harden as I was wrapping the ribbon.   

Step 6: Place the Flowers

I placed the flowers where I thought they looked best and used pearl-headed straight pins to attach button centers.  Then, it was time for the bunnies!

 

Flowers pinned in place

Step 7: Make the bunnies

Bunny Ears

Bunny Parts

There are lots of tutorials on how to make pompoms, so I won’t repeat those directions here.  I made 4 large and 4 small pompoms with the softest yarn I could find.  Then, I cut ears out of felt, bought small white pompoms for bunny tails, and hot glued all of the pieces together.  I had googly eyes, but decided that the bunnies were cute enough without them!  I hot glued the ears, the body parts, and the tails together.   

 

Completed Bunny

 

Bunny with Friends

 

  

Step 8: Place the bunnies on the wreath

The last thing I had to do was glue the bunnies on to the wreath.  I realized that they were a bit heavy, so I added some extra ribbon in the back for support.  I used floral wire as a hanger.   

 

Extra Support for Bunnies

 

Completed Floral Bunny Wreath

Spring Bunny Wreath

The spring bunny wreath was much less complicated. I bought a 6” inch wreath and an 8” wreath, and wired them together using floral wire.  Then, I hot glued some fake flowers on for ears.

Wired Wreaths with Ears

After that, it was just arranging more fake flowers until I liked what it looked like, then hot-glued them in place.  I’m not entirely sure that I’m finished yet, though.  I might add some flowers to the head and/or a ribbon around its neck.  Hmmm…. 

 

 

Completed Spring Bunny Wreath

Many thanks to our guest Blogger KC for her beautiful bunnies.

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Upcoming Posts

Upcoming Posts

So, our loyal readers may have noticed that we haven't had any new posts in a bit. Here is part of why:

Sailor Dress

Sailor Top

These are tops for costumes for a ballet show. As it happens there were more than two students who needed costumes, so....

Upcoming Posts

Bunny Crafts
 
We are very excited to announce that we will have a guest post. She has made some lovely spring bunny crafts that she has agreed to share with us. Look for this post in the next week or two. (I still have two more costumes to finish)

Yellow Shorts
 
We will also have a post on making basic shorts. Anyone care to guess why the shorts are yellow? Look for this post with an accompanying video in the middle of June.

Crafting a Garden Bed
  
This post is our first excursion to the great outdoors because here at Mile Wide Crafts, we believe that crafts cover a wide diversity topics. Look for this post some time this summer. It may be accompanied by a video of a presentation on Permaculture.

Keep checking back as we will have new content all summer. 

 

Simple Lavender Sachet

Simple Sachets

Mother’s day will be here before you know it. What are you going to do? The simple sachet is the answer. It is simple, easy to make, and smells amazing. And, best of all, Mom will love that you made it for her.

With some assistance, this is a craft that school children can do for significant people in their lives. It is the sort of craft that families and friends will love, and your classroom will smell wonderful through to summer as you find all the dried lavender flowers that escaped during construction.

Lavender is a plant with numerous varietals that grow in a wide variety of environments. As such, you may be able to find a subspecies that will grow near you. It has been widely cultivated and used for centuries. The traditional uses for the plant range widely from cultural, medicinal, and religious uses through to culinary and cleaning uses. One of my favorite uses is Lavender Ice Cream, but this blog post is dedicated to the classic Lavender Sachet.

Bundled dried lavender

Lavender sachets have been used for centuries for their aroma. They have been tucked into linens and folded into fine lingerie to add a comforting, clean, feminine aroma to the fabric items. Victorians used lavender wands in addition to or in place of sachets. Some say lavender will also help repel moths, but I have some doubts about that as I’ve seen how much my local moth and butterfly population enjoys feeding on my lavender nectar when my plants are in full bloom.

Traditional lavender wands, modern decorative lavender basket

This sachet is a simple version, so let’s get started. A video version of this project is available on the Mile Wide Crafts YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/uHypFXBmifo

Materials

Fabric square, about 10 inches on a side, woven fabrics or tulle are best

Ribbon or cord, 10-12 inches long and at least a ½ inch wide (¼ inch diameter for cord)

Narrow ribbon or cord, 4-8 inches (Less than ¼ inch wide)

Flexible trim, about 20-30 inches

Dried Lavender Buds, 1-2 tablespoons

Needle and Thread

Instructions

Step 1: Cut your fabric circle

Draw a circle on your fabric. I generally use a circle that is about 7 inches across. I have a paper template that I use to trace a circle onto my fabric. However, many household items are circular and would work as a template. Many luncheon plates, for example, are about this size, as are many mixing bowls.

Circle traced on an old shirt

Cut out your circle. If you are using a woven fabric pinking shears are a good idea so your fabric doesn’t ravel.

If you use tulle, you may want to cut two layers and just use them together so the lavender buds don’t poke through.

Step 2: Finish your edge.

There are a few options here. If you’ve used pinking shears, you may not need to do anything else. Similarly, if you are using tulle, you may not need to do anything to stabilize the edge.

If you have used woven fabric and haven’t used pinking shears, you have a few other options.

Zigzagged circle on the left, pinked circle on the right

You could use a product like fray-check or white glue on the edge to keep it from raveling. If you are working with small children who are gluing the trim on to the edge, the white glue should keep the edge stable.

You could cut out a second circle, and use a turn and topstitch method. If you do this, make sure the fabric you use is no heavier than shirt weight or quilting cotton as you want the lavender scent to come through easily.

The method I generally use, though, is to zigzag around the edge using a fairly small stitch. If you have a serger, this is a good place to use it.

Step 3: Trim the edge

There are a wide variety of trims available on the market. Many will work for this project. The most important thing is to find a trim that is flexible enough to go around the circumference of the circle without rippling. Rickrack is very good for this. If you have a pretty finished edge, strings of seed beads or imitation seed beads could also work.

Trim sewn to the edge and the gathering stitches added

Attach the trim around the edge of the fabric circle. If you are working with small children, they could use glue to attach the trim. Older children might be able to sew it on.

If you have chosen to use a turn and topstitch method to finish the edge in step 2, you could incorporate the trim into the topstitching step. Alternatively, you could skip the trim and just use a decorative edge stitch as your top stitching method.

When I do this project I machine sew the trim to the edge of the fabric, covering the zigzag stitching.

Step 4: Knot the ribbon

The ribbon is held in place in the project by a chunky knot. Any knot that is chunky enough to be at least twice the diameter of the cord or ribbon should work. For example, two overhand knots, one tied around the other would work. A figure eight knot would also work. 

With cord, I recommend using a cord end type of knot like a crown knot, a monkey fist knot, or something similar. These knots may require more than the 12 inches of length mentioned, depending on the knot and the diameter of the cord used.

I generally use a wide ribbon and a figure eight knot.

Step 5: Gather the circle into a pouch

Pull the gathering threads to form a pouch

About one inch in from the edge of the fabric circle, run a line or two of gathering stitches.

This is one of the steps where young children might need some help. If the children are able, they might be able to use embroidery thread and a tapestry needle to run a line of running stitches through tulle.

For older children or adults, run a line of running stitches around the circle, one inch in from the outer edge. This can be done by hand or by machine, using long stitches.

Pull the stitches until a pouch begins to form, but DO NOT close the pouch yet. You may wish to leave the thread ends on the outside/right side of the pouch.

Step 6: Fill the pouch

Place the knotted end of the ribbon from step 4 into the bottom of the pouch.

Carefully pour the dried lavender buds into the pouch on top of and around the knotted ribbon. Don’t fill the pouch all the way up to the stitching as you will need to be able to close the pouch. Fill it about ¾ of the way. The amount of flower buds needed will use depends on the fabric choice, the size of the original circle, and the distant the gathering stitches are from the edge. Most sachets will take 1-2 tablespoons of dried buds.

Pouch filled with the ribbon and buds

A funnel can make your life easier here, but the buds will need to be added slowly so the funnel isn’t clogged.

Step 7: Finishing the sachet

Pull the gathering stitches until the pouch is closed tightly, making sure to enclose the knotted end of the ribbon. Tie off the long ends of the thread to keep the pouch closed and trim the threads close to the knot.

Use the narrow decorative ribbon to create a decorative closure around the top of the pouch and finish with a bow. Glue may be used to keep the bow in place. 

If a decorative cord is used, it may be stitched or glued into place. A few small sprigs of dried lavender make a decorative covering for the ends of cords. However, buttons, beads or gemstones are also pretty options.

When I make these, I pull the gathering threads to the outside of the fabric and use the long tails of the gathered thread to wrap around the top of the pouch for added security under the decorative cord or ribbon.

Completed Sachets with a variety of finishing options

As always, if you have questions about this project, LOVE it, or just want to give feedback, please leave a comment below.

Happy Crafting!