{hop to it}

With a few more days until Easter, there's still time for a last minute rabbit or two if you scramble. As I still have a bit of stencil-fever, I've rounded up a few bunny silhouettes for inspiration.

1. Kinderpendant's iron-on bunny bag tutorial is a lovely way to package a chocolate rabbit or a little Easter gift. Alternatively, trace their image onto freezer paper and simply paint it on.

2. A rabbit with a camera? Could there be a more perfect symbol for our Year of the Rabbit photo-a-day challenge?

 (source)

3. "Two Go Mad in Dorset" is the title of this springy print by Jane Ormes. I love how cat-like the rabbits are!

4. Decorated with super easy stamp outlines, these brown paper bags by mrrabbitsir would be a great last minute wrapper for Easter treats.

So, pull out the stencils and paint, the fabric and paper, and squeeze as many rabbits as you can into this week!

The Year of Miffy

miffy [mif-ee] 

1. n. a rabbit with her own series of children's picture books, by Dick Bruna
2. adj. informal. touchy, easily upset

When I was little, my parents called me 'Miffy', partly because I loved the sweet little rabbit and her rhyming adventures, but mostly because I was (apparently) a strong-willed little terror who miffed whenever things didn't go my way. 

Now, as everyone knows, little terrors always get what they deserve. Eight-month-old Miffy Jr. takes after her mother both in her regard for the sweet little rabbit and her rhyming adventures, and in her tendency to have a bit of miff from time to time.

(Is there any better phrase than "having a bit of a miff"?)

So, with a bit of freezer paper, I put together a little bag for Miffy Sr. (yours truly) to use for lugging around all of Miffy Jr.'s necessities. Because, you know, without snacks, drinks, hats, jumpers, spare socks, cloths and a large selection of toys, we're all prone to a bit of miffiness.

Miffy Jr. loves to carry her books around in her new bag, and apparently the tough canvas in just perfect for chomping on with new little teeth.

January's Wreath

What is it about January that zaps away energy? I'd promised you (and myself) a wreath for every month of this year, and so today was a scramble to put together something, anything, wreath-like. There's nothing like the last day of a month to force out the creativity!

When I set myself this wreath-of-the-month challenge, I had millions of ideas -- mostly involving wire, hot glue and beautiful home-grown greenery. But now, where on Earth is that spool of wire? What on Earth should I glue to what? And why on Earth does all my basil keep dying?

Clearly, a new direction was needed. And it just so happened that all the freezer-paper and paints from the last project were still out on the kitchen table (the one up side to Justin being away!)

As if to punish me for putting off the wreath for so long, Tilly had one of those days. She was happy to play by herself for precisely ten seconds -- precisely enough time for me to do... well, absolutely nothing. So, channeling all these new Mummy muscles, I hiked Tilly up under one arm, and painted with the other. (Please note: I did the cutting while she napped. Let's not get carried away with multi-tasking!)

So, with exactly three hours to spare until February starts, may I present...

January's wreath!

The Stenciled Menagerie

We recently had an evening of making our own stencils, using the genius of freezer paper. Suddenly, a whole new world of designs opened up -- forget simple hearts, birds and flowers, you can really go to town with images when it's this easy!

There are plenty of tutorials out there on how to make stencils from freezer paper (such as Soulemama's here, and The Artful Parent's here), but the secret to it all is that when you iron freezer paper, it sticks to the fabric, making it very easy to paint the image.

And you can use any image at all! Draw your own, trace someone's silhouette from a photograph, draw around something, or -- as we did -- print out favourite images from online (searching for a keyword, such as 'pig', plus the word 'silhouette' usually brings up images that translate to stenciling very well).

Give it a try... I'm sure you'll be hooked! And, as always, please come back and show us your results!

My Creative Space