The Easter Bunny Gift Topper...

Hello friends...

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and ready for the new week ahead and a brand new week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog! This week our theme is all about RECYCLING and we can't wait to see how you will interpret our fun theme and what you will create!

For my project, I chose to recycle some brown paper that came as packing with a parcel and after seeing which parts of the paper were nice and smooth, and unwrinkled ~ I cut a section that would be just enough to create some wrapping paper, perfect for those Easter gifts and treats!

I love making my own gift wrap and present toppers and some of you might remember my Christmas themed project from December! So with this in mind, I thought it would be such a fun idea to recycle that project idea and create a brand new one for Easter using one of Tim's Chapter 1 dies from Sizzix, the adorable Carrot Bunny and combine him with that Funky Wreath, and the addition of a little extra foliage from the Funky Nature.

So, let's get started and here's how I created my gift wrap and tag...

  

After finding the perfect piece of brown paper, I decided on a design and used the Spring Shadows and Mini Media Marks stamp set to stamp a floral pattern on the paper using Snowflake Pigment Stazon Ink. In the centres of each flower I used a white pen to add small dots.

Once I was happy with the design, I flicked some Picket Fence across the paper, allowed it to dry and then wrapped up my present, ready for the next step ~ the Easter Bunny gift topper and matching gift tag.

So for this I started by creating my Funky Wreath. I'm sure you'll all know how much I love this die set, it's probably one of my most used and for this particular project, I wanted the colours bright and fresh and chose Rustic Wilderness, Shabby Shutters and Iced Spruce Distress Spray Stains as my colour palette and inked some Distress Watercolour card with a combination of the sprays, creating two shades of green ~ one fresh and vibrant and the other a little more on the shabby side! I then used the green card to die cut my wreaths, and a selection of the extra foliage pieces. I also cut a few twigs from some brown card, that I'd previously inked with a selection of brown Distress Spray Stains. I inked all the foliage edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I always cut more foliage than I will probably need and what's not used, can just be saved for another day but it's better to have more, than too little.

After layering the Funky Wreaths over the top of one another, I moved onto die cutting some more foliage and used one of the leaf dies from the Funky Nature Thinlits Die set and again, I just kept cutting the foliage from the Rustic Wilderness and Shabby Shutters coloured card.

I arranged and attached all my extra foliage bits, following the round of the wreath and also added the twigs.

I now have my basic wreath ready and the next stage was to add the tiny little flowers. I used Bouquet Findings from Tim's idea-ology line and coloured them with a combination of Spun Sugar and Kitsch Flamingo Spray Stains. Just spritz the stain over the flowers and allow to dry. If you feel they a little too pink, like I did ~ I just misted some water over the top to take away some of the colour and tone down the vivid pink.

After attaching my little flowers to the wreath, I added small dots of Platinum Stickles Glitter glue to the centres and allowed to dry.

To complete the wreath and give it some sparkle, I added small sequins from a gorgeous set by Sizzix, the Rose Gold Sequins and Beads and I just attached them onto the foliage, nestling them in and amongst the greenery.

Now for the star of the show, the Carrot Bunny. I cut two bunnies from Distress Watercolour Card and also cut the little pink highlights from pink card and the nose and eyes from black card. I will be using one bunny later, so set this to one side and just use the one at the moment. Also, for this particular project, I wanted to keep him clean and white, I didn't want to add too much ink to make him look dirty, so I didn't really add any ink, just a few highlights and some pen work to bring him to life!

For the carrot, once again I cut Distress Watercolour card and coloured this with a combination of Spiced Marmalade and Crackling Campfire sprays. The leafy carrot tops were cut from the same card as the wreath.

I assembled the carrot and then attached it to the wreath, tucking it underneath some of the foliage before placing the bunny behind the wreath.

We're now ready to decorate that present...

...and to begin with I coloured some Crinkle Ribbon, using Spun Sugar and Antique Linen Spray Stains and once it was dry, I cut a strip to wrap around my gift and then tied the remaining coloured ribbon into a bow.

To complete the bow, I added an Antiqued Gem to the centre, attached with a mini pin.

I then added the Easter star of the show, and attached my Carrot Bunny Wreath topper to the gift.

The gift is now ready and all that it needs is a matching gift tag...

For this I used the Labels Thinlits Die set and cut one label from kraft card. I then cut a smaller circle to fit inside the tag from White Mixed Media Heavystock card, inked the surface lightly with Antique Linen Distress Ink and matted it onto the kraft tag. I finished with a light splatter of Walnut Stain Distress Ink and added some more of those little sequins before I punched a hole in the top of the tag, and added some more of the dyed crinkle ribbon through the hole.

Using the Happy Easter stamp from the Spring Shadows set, i stamped the sentiment in Kitsch Flamingo Oxide Ink before attaching the second die cut bunny, placing his little paws around the top of the tag and leaving his tiny foot poking out at the bottom of the tag.

So that's my recycled project ready for it's recipient and I hope you've loved the ideas I've shared today and will be inspired by what I've made! It really was a fun project to bring together...

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and keep well.

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Carrot Bunny, Funky Wreath, Funky Nature, Labels

Stampers Anonymous: Spring Shadows, Mini Media Marks

Distress Spray Stain: Rustic Wilderness, Shabby Shutters, Iced Spruce, Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade, Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Antique Linen

Distress Inks: Walnut Stain, Antique Linen

Distress Oxide Ink: Kitsch Flamingo

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Neutral Kraft Stock Stash, Mini Pins, Antiqued Gems, Bouquet Findings

Mediums: Snowflake Stazon Pigment Ink, Matte Collage Medium, Platinum Stickles Glitter Glue

Surfaces: Brown recycled paper from my own stash, White Mixed Media Heavystock, Distress Watercolour Card, Kraft Heavystock

Sizzix Rose Gold Sequins and Beads

Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun

Big Shot Die Cutting Machine

Crinkle Ribbon from my own stash