Making A Bunny Full Of Love

When my niece was three, her infant sister Jaiden passed away from SID's. It was a devastating thing to happen to any family let alone a three year old that adored her sister. Shortly after this I gifted Justice with a stuffed bunny. It was large and floppy. She slept with it every night. It meant a lot to her. It represented her sister in some ways. One day it went missing. Stolen by a neighbor child and never returned. Her heart was broken.



Justice as a little girl

She attempted to substitute other stuffed animals for the bunny. None worked. Nana had a brilliant thought. Let's make one. Justice can pick out the fabrics and details herself. Both Nana and I searched the internet for a good pattern that she would be happy with. It took several days of hunting and we finally found one. This one on Pinterest was exactly what she wanted, floppy arms, legs and ears. Nana has a projector. So we were able to make the pattern any size we wanted. We blew it up and let Justice make the final decision on size. Of course the pattern info is in a foreign language so it took us a little bit of time deciphering what was what. But it all became pretty obvious as we went along.

We blew it up and taped craft paper to the wall. Then outlined the pattern. We used a fluffy fabric we bought at the fabric store. Made for stuffed animals. The ears, hands and feet have a pink cotton fabric insert. We bought fiber fill, eyes, glasses and a nose at the craft store. They were easy to install. Much easier than I would have ever thought. We also bought a heavy thread. We are sure the bunny will be well loved, didn't want her falling apart. The plan originally was to make a dress for her. After finishing the bunny, Nana dropped into a thrift store. She guessed at the size and bought a couple things for the bunny. A 3/6 mos size fit perfectly. It was meant to be.

Including Pop Pop in the making of the bunny, we had him cut out a wooden heart. I then sanded it smooth and Justice spray painted it red. I used a paint pen to write Jaiden's name on it. We put it into the bunny before sewing her up. Justice can feel it if she squeezes tight enough, but it's not obtrusive.

Eliza Elizabeth B Bunny

Nana crocheted shoes that tie on

Another thrift store find for Eliza

Justice was so happy when we delivered the bunny. Even a teenager needs a little comforting now and then.

Throw Pillows and A Monkey...What!

What self respecting fourteen year olds bedroom would be complete without a hand full of throw pillows? Taking all of the fabric choices into account I sat down and designed and created several cute throw pillows for Justice's bedroom. I can sew. However, I am not a seamstress. So in many cases things are not as elaborate as I'd like them to be. Simply because I lack the know how. But I think they turned out well.

Have you ever priced throw pillow inserts? If your buying just one it's not too bad. However, I needed several. So I picked some up at the thrift store. I specifically looked for the kind with a zippered cover. This made cleaning them easier. I took the covers off and threw the pillow inserts into the washing machine and dryer. I paid $15.00 for a bag full. Some I didn't use. So they will get used in the boys room.

The fabrics we are working with

Justice has a little obsession with monkeys. So I thought I'd find a way to put a few monkeys into the design of her bedroom. I made this cute little guy to keep her company. I cut out the dark brown felt part in one piece. Then sewed the tan felt pieces on. Nana thought Justice would prefer googly eyes to felt eyes. So that is how I finished him up. Having been an art teacher Nana had tons of those on hand. The ribbon on this pillow I purchased at The Dollar Tree.

Isn't he cute!

This patchwork pillow combines all the fabrics I'm using in this room design. The back has the same turquoise color as the monkey pillow.

 Patchwork

I was so afraid of this round pillow. I just knew it was going to be impossible. I was shocked that it came out so well the first time.



Round floral

Accent stripes

Money spent:

6 pillows for $15.00
Ribbon $1.00

Total: $16.00

Thrift Shop Finds

As you can see here there isn't much furniture to work with in Justice's room. Keeping the teeny tiny budget in mind it was time to do a little thrift store shopping. My mother (Nana) and I hit up several of our local stores. We found pillows in one. I'll use those in a future project. The last place we visited had exactly what we needed. First we found a pristine white lamp with a white shade for $3.00. I knew right away that the shade would need to be embellished. Then we got really lucky. We found a cute little desk in great condition for $15.00. It will help to contain clutter and it's a great place to get homework done.

Cute lamp in perfect condition.

Great find! Tons of storage and in nearly perfect condition.

 The desk did need to be cleaned and touched up a bit. Easy! We wiped it down really well with Mineral Spirits to cute the grim. Then applied English Chestnut stain by Minwax with a built in sealer. Brand new!

Cleaned up and touched up.

When it came time to embellish the shade I gave Justice a couple choices. She decided she wanted Nana to crochet flowers for her shade. So that's what we went with. Nana has tons of yarn around the house so it was an easy project. Using a glue gun the flowers quickly covered the shade. It was supposed to be a little cascade of flowers. Yeah, once again things got out of hand. Now it's a shade in full bloom.

It's a bit crazy but very fun!

Money spent:

Lamp $3.00
Desk $15.00

Total: $18