Tag Archives: spring

Hop Along Li’l Bunny

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Do you have a case of the wiggles this winter? So does this little bunny! Press down on its head to watch it hop and bobble. Originally spotted on Instagram as an octopus, we re-imagined the project as a rabbit…and all it takes is 2 paper cups and some poster board!

We recommend reading Hop Little Bunnies (Bloomsbury, 2020), written by Martha Mumford and illustrated by Laura Hughes (read here by Kids & Company). The little bunnies are sleeping until noon, but when they wake, they traipse through barnyard, waking the other animals until it’s a cacophony of cheeps, meows, quacks, and so forth. Full of animal sounds, this one is sure to get the audience reading along with you! And for the musically inclined, you can try the singing version on the publisher’s official channel.

You’ll need:

  • 2 papers cups
  • White paper for rabbit ears
  • 2 strips of 1″ x 13″ poster board
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

This project is essentially two cups stacked on top of one another with a paper spring in the middle. To begin, flip both cups upside down, then use markers to draw a face on the first cup. Add some paper ears (and an optional pom-pom nose if you desire!). Use scissors to cut bunny legs on the second cup.

Now for the paper spring! Take two, 1″ x 13″ strips of poster board and put them corner to corner at a 90 degree angle, like so…

Keeping the corners together, alternately fold each strip up towards you. Continue until the strips are completely folded into an accordion spring. Tape the end sections together for more stability.

Sometimes it’s easier to show then tell, so here’s Katie’s demonstrating her her awesome paper spring folding skills:

You can secure the spring to the bottom cup with tape or glue, or leave it loose for some extra wiggle. To finish, place the bunny head cup on top the body cup. Then press and release the bunny’s head to watch it bounce!

Original octopus project credit goes to strange_side_of_crafting on Instagram!

Book Bouquet

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The countdown to spring has begun, and we wanted to usher in the flowers with this  awesome bouquet project! With outdoor festivals in the future, this is a great little project to host at your library’s next special event, or just to brighten up your bookshelves at home.

You’ll need:

  • 1 craft stem
  • Poster board
  • White printer paper
  • Green construction paper
  • Hole punch and scissors for construction
  • Pen or pencil

First, the little book! The cover is a 3″ x 2″ piece of poster board, and the pages are white printer paper. Our books had 3 layers of pages. Fold the cover and pages together, then use a hold punch to create holes in the top and bottom of the little book like so:

In the above photos you’ll also notice the book flower’s leaves. Those are a piece of green construction paper I folded and cut to create two matching sides. Punch a craft stem through the middle of the leaves, then thread the craft stem upwards through the bottom hole of the book, then downwards through the top hole. Extend the pipe cleaner stem 1-2″ from the top of the book, and curl the end with a pen or pencil.

Push the leaves snug under the little book to keep it in place. You can leave your book blank, or add some words or illustrations to the pages!. If you squint really close at the lead image of this post, you’ll see that I filled my book bouquet with flower and garden jokes.

Including this gem: Sherlock Holmes was planting something in his garden, and Watson asked him what it was. Holmes replied “A lemon tree, My dear Watson.”

Sweet Snoozer

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sweet snoozer

This hibernating bear will have the sweetest of slumbers, thanks to the amazingly cozy shelter you’ve crafted!

We read Brave Bitsy and the Bear, written by Angela McAllister, and illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke (Clarion Books, 2006). When Bitsy the purple bunny gets lost in the woods, she tries to stay brave, even when confronted by a big bear. Fortunately, the bear is very friendly, and offers to take her home. The problem is, it’s close to winter and the bear is very sleepy. Bitsy finally gets home, but worries her new friend won’t make it back to his cave. She ventures out to discover that yes, bear has fallen asleep in the middle of the woods! Fortunately, Bitsy and her forest friends chip in to build bear a cozy winter shelter, and he wakes up in the spring happy, well rested, and very grateful!

You’ll need:

  • 1 large tissue box
  • 1 toilet paper tube
  • A selection of construction paper, including brown
  • 1 corrugated cardboard base (ours was 7″ x 10″)
  • Scissors, tape and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating

finished snoozing bear

First, the bear! We used a 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” brown craft box, but you can also wrap a large tissue box with brown construction paper. Add a tail, front legs, back legs, and ears. The nose is a toilet paper tube cut down to 1.75″ with an oval of self-adhesive foam on the end (but black construction paper works too!). Next up, the shelter…

finished bear shelterHere’s the shot from the front. The shelter is basically 1.5″ x 22″ strips of brown poster board arched over a corrugated cardboard base and secured to the underside with tape (but brown construction paper works too). Place the bear on the base while crafting to insure your arches are tall enough! We added green construction paper leaves and s (but you can craft the flowers out of construction paper or skip them entirely).

finished bear in shelterWhen the shelter is done, tuck some (optional) green paper crinkle to make things extra snug. Then, feel free to cozy up with your bear for a nap!

bear nap