Pipe Cleaner Bunnies

Meet our new finger puppets... Scrocky, Ruby, Whitetail, and Feathered Bird. The names are courtesy of my 5 year old who had a blast doing this project with me. It's as easy as it looks, but before I get into it... first, the book!

Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu


You can't really tell from this small image of the cover - and my copy hasn't arrived from Amazon yet, so I couldn't take a picture - but the illustrations in this book are a-dor-a-ble! The book is a sequel to Wonder Bear which I have yet to read (darn you, public library!) but I'm guessing it's every bit as cute.

Bunny Days actually contains three stories, each of which play off this theme: bunnies get into some sort of trouble when Mr. or Mrs. Goat come around, leaving Bear to put everything right. My favorite story involves the bunnies' tails getting snipped off and Bear trying to sew them back on.

The narration of the book takes a back seat to the wonderful illustrations. I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love a drawing of a bunch of bunnies hanging from a clothesline? The designer in me did a little squeal at each page, and the kid in me loved the quirky stories about bunnies getting sucked into vacuum cleaners or tossed into washing machines. I can't wait to give this to E in her Easter basket!

In the meantime, we made our own little Bunny Finger Puppets. I originally saw this craft on Craft Jr. ages ago, and was excited to try it out. Here's how we did it:

1. Wrap a pipe cleaner - I think the term "fuzzy stick," while probably more accurate, sounds ridiculous - around your or your child's finger. Do it tightly. E was a little concerned when the tip of her finger turned purple, but was otherwise a good sport.

2. Out of another pipe cleaner, make an M shape, forming two bunny ears. Snip off the extra.

3. Stick the ears just inside the coiled body and secure with a dab of hot glue inside. Be careful not to add too much or there won't be room for fingers.

4. Hot glue a puff ball in front of the ears for the head. I used craft glue (so E could help me) to attach the googly eyes and small puff ball nose.

5. Don't forget to glue on a puff for the tail! (Or leave them off and have Bear try to sew them on.)

We created two bunnies and then experimented with some chicks. There is still an abundance of stray feathers floating around the house from E's birthday party, so I glued one on the head and added looped pipe cleaners for wings. Now you're ready for your miniature puppet show!