Bunny Bucket

I got a little bit of yard work done before it got entirely too hot to continue...and I once again ran out of cans. Six cans full to the brim with live oak leaves and I haven't even begun to scratch the surface! But, until these cans get emptied tomorrow, I have a reprieve. That meant I was in the house again looking for something to do. I don't know why cleaning never enters my mind. Lol For whatever reason, I happened upon an old tin bucket that I had on my potting bench. Many years ago, I bought these buckets to use outside when we were entertaining at night. I filled them with sand to anchor in a candle. I loved them outdoors at night and used them a lot. Lately, they have been stacked on the potting bench. I decided that they would be perfect for an Easter decoupage project but first I would have to find where I had stored my Easter napkins. I was lucky in pulling down the first Easter Rubbermaid and finding that is where I had stored them from last year. If they hadn't been there, I'm not sure how much energy I would have had to start pulling down all of the others so, luck was on my side. I gathered the usual culprits and after cleaning up the bucket a bit, I gave it a coat of plaster colored chalk paint.

I started ripping off the designs from the napkins that I thought I wanted. I don't like a straight edge on the napkin so I kind of "feather" the edges with a tear. If you wonder why the Scotch tape dispenser is in the picture, I will tell you. It is because you obviously CAN teach an old dog new tricks. I have done crafts with napkins for many, many years and I have always struggled with removing the back one or two plys-which you must do to get a smooth adherence of the napkin. I recently learned that if you put a small piece of tape on the back of the napkin, the plys separate so easily! Who knew?

The plan was to use the bunny on the front and then I decided to use the design from the matching cocktail napkin on the back. I also pulled out some of the flowers and eggs from the other sides of the napkins...and, before I was done, I even grabbed a number more.

Once I got all of these on and I was pretty happy with the look, I realized that there were some eggs cut in half from the way the pattern was printed. I didn't mind it along the bottom edge but I didn't like the way it looked out in the middle of the bucket...and the same thing happened with some of the flowers and leaves. And so, I got busy and just started over lapping. It took me awhile but I think I finally have it where I want it.

And then I decided to give the bunny a coat of fine clear glitter to make him stand out a bit more. I was going to add some lace and ribbon strands around the handle but decided to wait until I actually use the bucket in my Easter decor. I'm not sure at this point how I will fill the bucket. Right now I'm leaning towards a live plant so I wouldn't want the ribbons but we will see. In any case, I like it and it was a definite win over raking more leaves! 

And, somewhere along the way, I saw another cute Easter idea. I have the "big" components but will need a HL run to get the rest. Here's a hint...can you guess what this might turn into?

I think I still have a few more St. Pat rooms to show you and I can't wait to show you what this will be...fingers crossed...so I will be back. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.