Here Comes Peter Cottontail!!

I am so-o-o-o ready for spring!! Even though we still have snow on the ground, in my studio, I'm thinkin' spring and Easter. This isn't too terribly difficult—just several drying stages—so it would be great for an older child artist who won't get frustrated with the drying times.

Supplies:

• Creative Paperclay®
• smooth Styrofoam ball
• two brads
• one heart-shaped rhinestone
• bottle cap ~1" in diameter
• ribbon
• pink mica powder
• Easter grass
• vintage tart mold
• E-6000 adhesive
• artist brushed

I began by piercing a hole in the bottom of the Styrofoam ball with a small dowel. I'll use the dowel to support the rabbit's head while it's drying, so there won't be any flat spots. I remove the dowel when covering the ball with clay. 

Next, I rolled out a piece of clay about 1/8" thick and covering the Styrofoam ball. I find that it's easier to start with a larger piece of clay than I'm actually going to need, and gradually remove excess. Shape the clay around the ball, smoothing and blending to eliminate seams and overlaps. Reinsert the dowel and set it aside to dry.

For the bunny ears, I rolled out a ball of clay about 3/16" thick, drew the ears freehand on the clay surface, and used a sharp craft knife to cut them out. This is the same technique that I used for these leaves, just rounded the tops for bunny ears :) I smoothed the edges of the ears a bit by hand so I wouldn't have so much sanding to do :) I draped one ear over the handle of a craft knife to give it dimension.

When the ears and ball were dry, I added the ears using more clay and slip. Then, I covered the entire piece with a coating of slip. I just painted it one with a soft artist brush. I wanted a slightly irregular finish, and the slip was perfect. I layered three coats of slip, letting each dry complete before applying the next. [Note: this is the wait time that could frustrate a younger artist.]

Next, was giving my rabbit a face. I began by dusting the inner ears with dry mica powder. I removed the legs from two brads for his eyes and I used a heart-shaped rhinestone for his nose, which are glued on with E-6000. I painted his mouth with acrylic paint, but a permanent marker would work just as well. I tied a bow around the bottle cap for his neck. 

To finish the assemble:

1. Glue the Easter grass to the tart mold.
2. Glue the neck to the rabbit's head. I glued the head to the open end of the bottle cap.
3. Glue the rabbit to the grass-covered tart mold.