Cricut and Pompom Bunny Welcome Sign!
I love crafts, and I like to dabble in many different crafts. So, when I can combine a couple of different crafts for one cool project, that makes me really happy. This Pompom Bunny Welcome Sign gave me an opportunity to use my new Red Heart Pom Maker tool and my Cricut Maker to make a fun woodworking/yarn project in time for spring!
I had a lot of fun with this project and got a little help from my son (he cut and stained the wood for me plus added the hardware) and daughter (the most awesome pompom maker this side of Kansas) so it was a good bonding project too!
You could make the bunny by itself or the welcome board by itself or put them together as I did. I’ll walk you through the step by step process so you can make one too. It seem like there are a lot of steps but they are quick and easy. As for materials, I itemized the complete list but it is likely you have these items around the house already, so use what you have!
First, let’s start with the Bunny.
Size: Approximately 12″ wide by 20″ tall
Materials Needed:
- 2″ and 1″ pompoms (or size desired) – I used about 600 yards of pink Red Heart Super Saver yarn in pink from my stash.
- 3″ pompom, I used about 5 yards of Red Heart Super Saver White.
- Cardboard or Foamboard, approximately 12″ wide x 21″ long (this is the base of the bunny). I actually cut up an old shipping box I had.
- Marker or pen to draw the shape on the board.
- Scissors or X-ACTO knife to cut out design.
- Use my Bunny template or draw your own design. Get a free PDF of my template ==> Bunny Template.
- Tape to join the two pieces of the template together.
- Hot glue gun, or other glue product to adhere the poms to the board.
How to make it:
- Print out the template or design your own.
2. The template comes in two pieces and together forms half the bunny. You will trace one half, then flip it over and trace the other half to make the full bunny. Line up the cutting lines and tape the top and bottom pieces of the design together.
Place the design in the center of the board and tape it to the cardboard along the fold line only – you don’t need too much tape, you just want to hold it in place.
Now trace around half the bunny. Then just flip it over being sure not to lift the tape up and trace the other side.
3. Using your scissors or X-ACTO knife, cut the cardboard to shape.
4. Now make the pompoms! This is a great project to do while you watch TV, listen to books on tape or get the kids involved — it is mindless and somewhat soothing — you will need lots of pompoms! I made fifty 2″ poms and thirty 1″ poms in pink, plus one 3″ pom in white for the bunny tail. There are several options to make the poms:
- Use my new favorite Red Heart Pom Maker to make up to 6 (2″ poms) at a time.
- Use a Clover pom maker – available in different sizes.
- Or use the old fashion method with cardboard:
5. Now let’s glue! I found it was easier to place the glue right on the board in about a 4″ x 2″ section and then add the poms.
- Start with the white tail.
- Next work around the outline of the body and the head with the 2″ pink poms. I found it was best to place them hanging off the cardboard slightly and close enough so that none of the board shows, but not so close that they buckle up.
- After the outline of the body, use the smaller poms to work from the point of the ears down to the head. I did one at the point, then two side by side for the rest of the ear.
- Now you are ready to fill in the center of the head and body. Work your way around evenly until the board is covered. I used the smaller poms to fill in areas where two larger poms created a gap.
After I made my bunny I thought it might look nice to cover the back of the board with some felt for a more finished look, however, I didn’t have any so left mine as it was, but you may want to add it to yours.
If you’d rather have a face view of the bunny, just eliminate the white tail, and add a satin bow around the neck instead, you could even add a face if you like.
That’s it, your bunny is done!
Now, let’s make the sign.
Materials Needed:
- Small piece of wood (common board is fine), mine was a 12″ piece of 1″ x 4″ pine board
- Chop saw to cut wood or you can have your home improvement store cut it for you
- Hammer & wire brush for distressing (optional)
- 120 grit sandpaper
- Super fine steel wool
- 2 black tea cup hooks for hanging
- Minwax Dark Walnut wood stain plus sponge brush for application
- White chalk paint plus sponge brush for application
- Minwax Polyurethane or Polycrylic for weather proofing (optional)
- Cricut Maker or other cutting machine (you can also do this freehand if you like)
- Cricut vinyl for lettering template and transfer paper to move the template over
How to make it:
- Cut the wood to size as desired. If you are not comfortable with tools, your local home improvement store will be happy to cut it for you.
- Hit the board randomly with both ends of the hammer to create dents and divots as you like, then use the wire brush in different motions to scratch the board a bit. I know, it seems wrong to mark up a new piece of wood, but if you want it to look distressed……
- Sand lightly and round out the edges if desired.
- Give the board a coat of dark walnut stain, if you prefer darker lettering, give it two coats! Be sure to lightly sand with steel wool after each coat.
- Screw the hooks into the top of the board positioned for hanging from a cord or chain.
- Make the stencil:
I opened up the Design Space on my laptop and started a new project. I chose the font I wanted and played with the sizing until I got it to look exactly the way I wanted. I’ve saved my template as a public file if you want to save some time, you can find it HERE!
Next, I chose “cut” for the image and clicked on “Make It”. For this project I did not need to “mirror” the image because I will be removing the vinyl around the letters and painting over the letters so that the dark stain shows through for the lettering.
Next, tell the Cricut Maker what material you are using so it can apply the proper pressure and cutting motion. Choose your material from the drop down list and be sure to have the right blade inserted in the Cricut Maker, then Go!
Now it’s time to weed! Use the weeding tools to pull away the material around the letters and then put the transfer paper over the letters so that they stick to the transfer paper.
Place the transfer paper on the board and rub the letters onto your board and peel away the transfer paper — take your time with this so that the letters stay on the board.
OK, we are almost there! Now use your chalk paint and sponge brush to paint the front of the board. Paint right over the vinyl! Now before the paint dries, peel away the letters and there you go!
I sanded over the entire board lightly because I wanted to give it that old look, but this is optional.
Now let it dry completely. You can add a coat or two of polyurethane or polycrylic to protect the board – I highly recommend this if your board will be exposed to the elements.
OK, here we go, my Welcome board is done! I love it!
Now, let’s put it all together.
Materials Needed:
- Staple gun and staples.
- 24″ twine or thin roping to attach bunny to sign (you could also wind a couple of strands of the yarn together to make it stronger and use that).
How to make it:
- To attach the bunny to the board, I made two small holes about 2″ down from the point of the ears and threaded a piece of string which I stapled to the back of the board with a staple gun.
- Then I made a braided hanger. I cut 27 pieces of yarn 36″ long each and grouped them into 9 strands. I tied a knot at one end and braided them simply. I tied a knot at the second end to secure and then threaded the ends on the tea cup hooks.
I hope you enjoyed this multi-craft project and will make your own Welcome Sign!
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