Queen Phoebe of Wonderland

I'm so excited to be helping Melissa from Polka Dot Chair kick off her Wonderland Fabric blog hop with my newest creation, Queen Phoebe (Queen of the Wonderland Bunnies).

Queen Phoebe clearly loves stripes and lots of ruffles. She is a good leader in her colony and loves taking care of all the bunnies by reading to them and giving them lots of cuddles. Queen Phoebe's staff is the same one her mum used and passed down to her, as is her golden crown. She reminds all of her bunnies to be good examples and to always be kind, helpful and of course, cuddly.

My family has had a bit of a bunny obsession since Christmas as we have been searching for a Netherland Dwarf for our daughters. Combine that with the fact that Easter is around the corner, the obvious choice was to make a bunny. I got this "Queen of the Bunny" idea from the laurel wreaths on Melissa's bunnies and thought if she was the Queen, what would she look like. This bunny is made using a mix of my Sizzix dies - the Kid Giddy Doll (head and body), and the Kid Giddy Fox (arms and legs), adding simple bunny ears and a quick muzzle.

A lot of people have asked me how I made the Little House on the Prairie dolls from quilt market, so I decided to make this little bunny dress the same way and write up a little tutorial (photos are coming) for you. The Bubbles dress tutorial is similar but does not lift up as this one does, as it is part of the body. This Queen Phoebe dress acts like a separate piece, except at the neck where it stays attached. Neither dress is completely removable and only requires an extra piece of of fabric for the skirt (cut from a fat quarter).

To make this dress, you'll need two body pieces cut from the bunny fabric, and two body pieces cut from the dress fabric. You'll also need your rectangle panel cut for the skirt (please refer to the Bubbles tutorial for additional photos, details and the sleeves to help make your bunny/doll with a dress). 

Step 1: Cut the dress fabric body pieces across the midsection so it's 2 1/2" from top to bottom, and sew the dress body pieces right sides together. 

Step 2: Cut a piece of fabric that is 5" wide x 19 1/2" long. ((Please note: If you have a ruffler foot, PLEASE test a length of 19 1/2" fabric to see how long it is once ruffled before continuing)). Gather the top edge of the skirt panel, and pin it to the dress fabric body pieces. Sew the ends together (which will be in the center back of the doll) and sew the whole skirt to the bottom edge of the body pieces. Trim seam allowance accordingly.

Step 3: Sew Bunny fabric body pieces together. Turn the dress right side out and place the bunny fabric body piece wrong side out over the dress. Sew a zigzag stitch around the top neck edge to connect the two layers making it easier to sew the body to the head. The above pic is what it will look like after turned right side out. The bunny body is underneath.

Step 4: Adding a Collar: if you want to add a collar, you need to attach a collar to the neck edge on the head before attaching the arms to the side edge. Sew a zigzag around the neck edge on the head pieces to keep the arms and collar in place, again, to make it easier to sew the body to the head. It will be very thick and difficult, but baste stitching helps tremendously.

I decided to make her ears have pipe cleaners in them so I could bend them just the right way for her photos. If you want to use pipe cleaners too (also called chenille sticks), sew up your ears and turn them right side out. Bend a pipe cleaner in half and push it up towards the pointed top of the ears, and out to the sides. Using a zipper foot, sew around the inside of the ear to secure the pipe cleaner towards the outer edge of the ears. Using jewelry pliers, roll the very ends of the pipe cleaner and crimp, to prevent the wire spikes from poking anyone or the fabric. Continue sewing the bunny head with the ears in place, being careful as you sew over the wire. If your needle hits the wire, it will break it the wire making the ear flop a little more at the base.

To make the staff, I fussycut one bunny head and a fabric backing. Place them right sides together and sew around the outer edge, leaving the bottom open. Clip and notch around the edge accordingly, and carefully turn right side out. and gently stuff the head. Using a left over piece of ruffled fabric, sew the ends together and cinch it up tight. Sew the opening of the bunny head, to the center of the ruffle. Sew a few strands of matching ribbon to the underneath side of the ruffled fabric and then place a bamboo stick up into the center of the ruffle and into the head.

To make her crown, I used a piece of glittered acrylic felt from National NonWovens as the base and fussy cut a gold bunny from Melissa's fabric. I glue basted it to stay in place, and then stitched around the bunny. I used some gold iron-on 1/8" ribbon (not realizing it was iron-on) and stitched it down all the way around the edge of the crown, top and bottom.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading all about Queen Phoebe. Thanks to Melissa for inviting me to be a part of her fabric blog hop, and to (Riley Blake Designs) for sending me the beautiful fabrics. If you have any questions about this tutorial, please leave me a comment below so I can answer it for all to see and benefit from as well.

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Sunny Side Up Easter Eggs w/Buttons Galore and More

Good Saturday morning to you all! What's for breakfast at your house today? Over here we have made some sunny side up eggs just in time for Easter (or April Fools!).

A couple of months ago I agreed to do a fun blog hop with some other designers and the folks at Buttons Galore and More...Here's just a few of the buttons I got...and get to play with! The first thing I did was sort them all and played with them. As I look at them, I let the ideas come to the surface and the first project I knew I had to make was some eggs...sunny side up! It was the only thing I could think of when I saw these huge yellow, asymmetrical buttons...yolks! Does that make me weird? I think so! But fun. Always fun!

Here's what you'll need:
I used a natural wool felt for my base
I used a bright white wool yarn to make the egg whites.
You'll need needle felting tools (Mat, needles & brush (for cleaning the mat)
The "Buttons Galore and More" Yellow "Yolk" buttons
& a little Yellow yarn or ribbon for tying the yolk to the egg

(If you want to make these way easier - you can use bright white fleece and sew a couple of pieces right sides together, leaving open a small space for turning, sew on the buttons, and then close the opening with a ladder stitch.)

These would be great for Easter Egg Spoon Races - put them in a plastic Easter egg and off you go...if it drops and pops open, you've cracked the egg and have to start all over again. They would also be a lot of fun for April Fools...maybe on a slice of felted bread, with some felted bacon on the side?!

Be sure to check out all of the other designers today participating in the Buttons Galore and More blog hop! I hear you can also enter for your chance to win a Viewtainer, packed with buttons and ribbon, by simply entering a comment at this link here. Fun Fun Fun!

I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Although I was given free buttons from Buttons Galore and More, the opinions set forth in this post, are my own. This tutorial is shared with you in the hopes that you will learn a new fun craft. Please do not use my tutorials for your own gain. Please do not use my photos without permission and please do not retake any photos to remake the tutorial for your own blog or another company or in another language. These photos and the text are copyright protected. If you'd like to "Pin" the one finished project photo, please credit me by using "#kidgiddy". Thank you for your cooperation.