Popcorn Bunnies and Cheetos Carrots Craft Tutorial

With Easter just around the corner, establishments like hotels and malls are busy drumming up their respective Easter egg hunts and celebrations.  I don’t really celebrate Easter but I love the fact that it signals the beginning of spring.  While spring isn’t really an apparent season here in my neck of the woods (more like summer all year long), I am amused by the burst of pastel colors that fashion houses release and the vibrant blooms that dot the metro…and my Instagram feed.  If you’d rather spend your money on spring fashion (have you seen all those lovely little white dresses?!?!) and veer away from exorbitant Easter egg hunt fees, you can still spread the same cheer in your home with this lovely little spring craft.

Instead of eggs, how about having kids hunt for popcorn bunnies with matching Cheetos carrots?  I’m sure they will appreciate the adorable twist.

Popcorn bunnies

Since the treat bags are clear and since I’d like to show you very clearly how I adjusted them to look like bunny faces and carrots, I’m using a pink-colored sheet of construction paper to show the folds.

I simply taped the folds using clear sticky tape.

Once the bags were ready, I filled them up with popcorn.  I gathered the opening and used pipe cleaners to seal the bags.  I made sure there was an excess of pipe cleaner about 1 ½” tall on each side.  That’s where I will be attaching the ears.

For the ears, I drew a pair on white construction paper and cut them out.  You can tape or hot glue them onto the pipe cleaners.

For the face, I drew one on matte sticky paper so it was easier to place onto the treat bag.

Cheetos carrots

Cone-shaped plastic treat bags are hard to come by in my country so I settled for rectangular ones, about 5”x6”.

Here are the instructions for the folds.  Again, I simply taped them to keep the cone shape of the bag.

After filling the bags with Cheetos, I gathered the opening and sealed the bag using an elastic band and a green satin ribbon to mimic “carrot tops.”

Easy peasy, right?  In true Easter fashion, it’s like giving the old tired egg hunt a new lease on life. :)

The One About the Furry Friends

It's been awfully quiet around here.  I remember a conversation I had with a fellow craftpreneur several months ago.  We talked about how keeping one's blog updated would prove to be a crafter's problem once he/she succumbs to the call of entrepreneurship.  As you can see, it has never been truer than now.

I hate the silence!  Let's fix that!

Several months ago -- and blog posts ago -- my husband and I started Joujoux, a line of handmade toys for children.  We are starting small and so far, the response to our handcrafted playthings has been encouraging.  I do all the crafting myself and so while fulfilling orders may take some time, we are grateful that customers have been understanding of our situation and appreciative of the charm of handmade.

A colleague of mine scored an animal cloth book from a garage sale.  Thing is, the animal pieces from the cloth book were no longer included.  And so she approached me for help...and I guess I came to the rescue. :)

I came up with my own versions of the animals, created the patterns and all, and came up with these furry, velcro-backed friends.

And that's how the furry friends found their homes...or rather, how the homes found some furry friends to house.  :)

Should you have customized soft toy requests, let us know here or shoot us an email at joujouxplay@gmail.com.  We'll do the best we can to give you the gift of play. 

Wednesday Nugget

Gone digging, so to speak.  But I promise to pepper this blog with interesting posts soon!

In the meantime, here's something that my crafty hands have been working on.  It's one of the lovely things that I'll be selling soon at the very first bazaar that I'll be joining.  Check back in here every now and then for updates on that.

And so, have a lovely hump day. :)

The One About the Felt Sandwich

“Man does not live by bread alone…”

 He also needs a delicious panoply of sandwich implements…

A slice of Swiss cheese

A thriving leaf of lettuce

Juicy slices of a bright red tomato

And a savory serving of bologna (or ham or bacon or cold cuts…)

Happy crafting!

Weekend Tidbits

I always find that my weekends are busier than my weekdays.  In between grocery shopping, house cleaning, other household chores, and social commitments which crop up every now and then, finding pockets of time to do things I like is somewhat akin to finding a pin in a haystack.  Fortunately, there are ways to work around the hustle and bustle of weekend commitments.  Other times when finding ways seems next to impossible, it's a matter of praying for blissful and satisfying moments.

On Saturdays, when our tiny home is still and peaceful and dark, I wake up and sew and sew and sew until dawn greets me.  It took several Saturdays but I finally finished these...

They're felt bread slices!  It's 3D so there's stuffing inside and I scaled it to the size of real slices of bread!  Now I'm onto thinking what will be in between the slices.  Peanut butter and jelly?  BLT?  :)

Last weekend, Hon-some and I mostly stayed in.  And staying in meant cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  We had a leisurely lunch of pizza subs and minestrone.  And while I forgot to take pictures, I also whipped up chili cheese fries and pasta. 

To cap off the weekend, I turned to my unread pile of books.  What can be more luxurious than sitting on a couch, a book in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other?  I just finished the first book and I'm now reading Hollow City.  The book is just oh-kay (but then again, I'm no longer 16) but I do understand why it's been picked up to be made into a movie.  That should be interesting.

The weekend that was.  Uneventful, perhaps, but nonetheless relaxing and quite productive.  After all, aren't weekends meant for unwinding, putting up one's feet to de-stress, and slowing down?  :)

The One About Mom Pop Up Rockwell

Save the date!  Wicked Crafts will be popping up here once again!

Come craft with me!

The One That Keeps My Coffee Cozy

Sorry for the pun in the title but it's just that I'm over the moon after finishing this new coffee cozy that took longer to finish than the first one I made.  This is a long overdue gift for a friend -- along with a long overdue coffee date with her. :)

I made a cardboard cutout of a coffee tumbler, wrapped the knitted cozy around it, and labelled the card with my friend's name in my beginner-level calligraphy skills and line drawing.

Next knitting project:  NOT a coffee cozy!  :)

Happy crafting!

The One About the Fossil Craft

Earth Science provided an excellent crafting opportunity.  My second grade students and I were talking about fossils -- how they were formed, what a paleontologist is, why people study fossils.  I did not have real fossils on hand so I had to resort to illustrations and videos.  At the end of the unit, I had my students make craft fossils to emphasize the imprinting that happens in fossil formation and how it can be used to study living things.

It's real easy. :)  My students pressed play dough at the bottom of a paper bowl.

We scoured the school grounds for rocks, leaves, and even sea shells and used them to make imprints.

I then helped them mix 4 parts water and 8 parts Plaster of Paris and poured it over the play dough and rocks (or leaves or shells).  After a few hours, we tore the paper bowl and scraped off the play dough.

The fun part was painting the fossils.  I know it doesn't look authentic if painted but we preferred that they looked pretty. :)

As a creative writing link, they wrote stories about their fossils, spinning tales about the creature that made the imprint, what they ate, how they lived, and, of course, how they died.

How's that for crafts in Science?  Happy crafting! :)

The One About the Parol

My co-teacher's recent trip to downtown Manila led to a serendipitous craft moment...

We -- including me -- all learned how to make a parol!  An almost-lost heritage craft, in my opinion, but I'm very thankful to have learned it nonetheless.  They have been bringing cheers to our classroom. :)

Happy crafting!

The One About the TSM Class

Last November 12th, I held a washi tape crafts class for Trade School Manila at the Midnight Owl Snack Cafe in Teacher's Village, QC.  It was a small class but I still made sure that it was loaded with opportunities for the students to let their creative juices flow.  I also made it a point to provide crafts that made relatively new purposes for washi tapes aside from simply sticking it onto notebooks or cellphones.

 My students at work

 I taught them two ways to use washi tapes for giftwrapping considering the holidays were upon us.  We made washi tape bows!

 

 Washi gift wrap #2!

We also made washi tape pendants. :)

Since Trade School Manila operates using the barter trade system, instead of receiving cash, I got barter items in exchange for the crafty knowledge that I imparted to the participants.  I received MRT stored value cards, calligraphy inks, teas, and a few small surprises too.

I prepared a lot for this class and now that it's over, I'm devoting the rest of December to my personal craft projects and I have never felt more serene and calm as far as crafting is concerned.  I now have regular dates with my sewing machine (Hon-some watches me with an amused look on his face every time I - as he puts it - "unbox my toy.") and I can't wait to pick up my knitting needles again soon.  

Before I go, class picture muna!

Happy crafting! :)