With Easter coming, I thought it would be fun to make a Easter Basket Factory.  After all, those busy bunnies make lots of pretty eggs and chocolate bunnies during this time of year.  It will be great seeing just how the bunnies get those Easter goodies made.

The Container
I used a container that was at my son's house and belonged to my Mother-in-law. I decided it would make the perfect "roombox" for my bunny workshop. I removed the flowers and moss and washed it to remove any glue. Then, I started to work.

The Flooring
I purchased "vinyl" flooring in a small blue hexagon pattern. I also purchased a wooden plaque disk as a sub-floor. I cut the flooring slightly larger than the sub-flooring so that it would fit flush with the sides of the glass bowl.

The Table
The table is made from a wooden circle and wooden flowerpot. I painted them white and am thinking about painting grass and Easter eggs around the base. I added the glasses of egg dye and egg holders and the special painted eggs that the bunny artist is working on. I still have more to add to the table such as a bowl of plain eggs in need of dying and some dyed eggs and painted eggs. Continue reading to see how the glasses of dye were made. As I continued to work on the Bunny Easter Basket Factory, I added 2 purchased bowls. One has the original white eggs that came in the bowl. The other bowl I used for colored eggs. I chipped away at the white eggs that originally came with the bowl and then added my own Fimo eggs.

The Chairs
The chairs are made from wooden thread spools and small wooden disks found in a local craft store. Like the table, they will be painted white. After finishing the chairs, I placed a white flop-eared bunny on one chair. This bunny's job is to fill the baskets with all the goodies.

The Glasses of Egg Dye
In case you think you are seeing lite-brite pegs on the left, you are absolutely right. The glasses of egg dye are made from lite-brite pegs cut to about 1/4 inch. Take transparent tape and make sure the edges are cut smooth. tape around the pegs twice. Cut about 1/4 inch above the lite brite peg to form the glasses. When done, apply two coats of clear fingernail polish. The directions were in the April 2003 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine. The light colored dot appearing in the purple egg dye glass is an egg. I drilled a hole in the peg and glues a filo egg in the hole before applying the tape.

The Artist Palette
I made the palette from a thin piece of basswood. I drilled a hole for the finger and added splashes of color to the palette. The Dremel™ tool was excellent for rounding the edges.

The Bunnies
I bought the bunnies at a local craft store. These were bunnies used for ornaments as they had gold cod at the top of the head. I cut the labels off and snipped off the gold cord. Next, I started working on clothing the bunnies needed for working in their Easter Egg Workshop. I used some of the fabric I made using iron-on transfer sheets as this would keep the edges from raveling. The ties are made of 1/8 " satin ribbon that I glued to the top to go around the neck and to the inside of the apron to tie around the bunny's waist. One bunny was given the job of painting special eggs. Using the artist palette pictures above, the apron, and fashioning a paint brush from green fimo™ and a piece of foil, I glued these to the "arms" of the bunny artist. Behind him on the table you can see his next egg painting project. I changed my mind on the second bunny and decided on a white flop-eared bunny.

The Baskets
I bought miniature baskets at the local craft store. Finding Easter grass for the baskets was a challenge. That is until I went to the new Hobby Lobby store that opened in a neighboring town. This colored fiberfill was perfect. I made various colored eggs from fimo™ along with "chocolate" bunnies. Several Easter baskets my kids received contained books. So, our bunnies included some books in the baskets they made. The smaller book is Peter Rabbit and the larger is a really cute book, Too Many Bunnies.

Finishing Up
The eggs are made as are the baskets and the bunnies are ready to show off their Easter Basket Factory. Behind the table is a big basket of assorted colors of "Easter basket Grass." Our white bunny is fixing a basket and is now placing a book in the current basket being made. Beside the white bunny, there are several baskets that are finished. Actually, only one is completely finished. It has a bow on the front. Under the table are two empty baskets plus a basket of books and a basket of chocolate Easter bunnies.

Now it's time to place the our bunnies in the glass container where they will now reside. The Easter Basket Factory will adorn our Easter dinner table on Sunday.

This miniature creation was made by Martie April 2003.