Garden bunnies for Easter

• Draw your own bunny shape or print a bunny templates from Scrollsawer.com
• Scissors
• 1.8m of H3 180mm x 18mm pine plank
• Pencil
• Band saw or jig saw
• Sandpaper
• Resene Quick Dry
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours, Fleur used Resene Wax Flower, Resene Japonica, Resene Tulip Tree and Resene Bardot
• Paintbrush
• Wood glue
• Electric drill
• Hole/patch filler
• Small metal rods

Instructions

Step 1:  Start by printing out the bunny template from www.scrollsawer.com and cut out each of the body parts with scissors.

Step 2:  Place these on your piece of wood and use a pencil to carefully trace around each one.

Step 3:  Use a band saw or jig saw to cut out each piece from the wood. Sand down any rough areas with some sandpaper.

Step 4:  Prime each body part with one coat of Resene Quick Dry. Once this is dry, give it a quick sand with a fine grit sandpaper.

Step 5:  Paint one of the bunny’s body with Resene Wax Flower and the other body with Resene Tulip Tree.

Step 6:  Paint the remaining body parts (arms, legs, head) that belong to the Resene Wax Flower bunny with Resene Japonica, and paint the body parts that belong to the Resene Tulip Tree bunny with Resene Bardot. Just paint the edges of the body parts at this stage, as screw holes need to be patched and primed later.

Step 7:  Glue the body parts on to the body. Once the glue is dry, pre-drill pilot holes and screw the body parts on with an electric drill. Remember to countersink the drill holes so that the screws will be hidden. Adding screws will hold the bunny together in case the glue fails over time in the weather.

Step 8:  Use some hole/patch filler to cover the screw heads. Once this is dry, sand it smooth and use Resene Quick Dry to prime over the patched area.

Step 9:  Finish painting the bunnies with Resene Japonica and Resene Bardot.

Step 10:  Drill a hole in the underside of each bunny and insert a small metal rod. This will work as a stake and help stop the bunnies from falling over in the garden.

Top tip:  Substitute some of the Resene paint colours for Resene Woodsman wood stain colours for a bunny that will blend into your garden year round.

› This project originally comes from Scrollsaw Woodworking and Crafts. The template and instructions can be found here.

Styling and images by Fleur Thorpe. Mar 2022.