milk jug easter bunny basket

Every Easter, those of us who have children rummage around in our storage areas for their baskets and hope the kids haven't left any treats behind to stick in the plastic grass. This year, instead of pulling out the same baskets, make one. The Big Mouth Easter Bunny Basket is a wonderful craft project to do with your children and have fun being creative together.

To begin with, you'll need one empty milk gallon thoroughly cleaned, a bag of white, cotton balls, construction paper or felt, a pastel-color cotton ball or pompon, grass, glue, a black magic marker, and scissors.

First, clear a space to work on and lay down newspaper to avoid any messy cleanup.

Once you're ready to work on the project, draw a large mouth on the side of the milk jug opposite the handle. Be sure you pen a half oval with the straight edge on the bottom. After you're done, use the scissors to cut out the mouth.

Next, cover the container with white cotton balls. Remember to glue each one individually and only one at a time. The glue will dry too fast, if you coat the entire jug and then attempt to affix the cotton balls. It's also the more messy method. Additionally, keep in mind covering the cut edge of the mouth.

Allow the cotton balls time to adhere firmly before moving on. While they are drying, draw eyes, whiskers, ears, and ear inserts on construction paper. For a more traditional looking bunny, use black construction paper for the whiskers and pupils, pink for the ear inserts, and white for the eyes and ears. To add some fun, also draw a bow tie in the color of your choice. When you've finished, cut them all out and check to see how far drying time is progressing.

If you can pull on a cotton ball and it remains firmly in place, it's time to go on to the next step. Glue the ear inserts onto the ears, then give them a bend horizontally. Repeat the glue on the pupils to the eyes, but skip any bending. Take the colored cotton ball or pompon and attach with glue in the position of the nose. It should be just above the mouth and will help to locate where the eyes and whiskers should go. Tuck the ends of the whiskers underneath the nose when gluing and add the eyes as well. Snuggle the base of the ears between cotton balls on the top of the milk container and glue into place. For girl bunnies, attach the bow tie on top of the head. For boy bunnies, attach the bow at the base just below the mouth. The only step left is to fill the mouth with grass.

Other variations:

When making the ears, eyes, and whiskers, be whimsical and goofy. You could have the eyes cross and the whiskers crookedly, disarrayed. Use bright colors instead of pastels. Some other options include adding buckteeth and using colored cotton balls instead of white. For a more feminine bunny, add pearls, ribbons, and flower petals. The object is to have fun while making it and create a basket that will be unique while Easter egg hunting.

Written by Christina Wilson