Candy Belly Bunny Card

The kids will LOVE this one! It's a full size (10' high) stand up card with a plastic ball in the belly that is filled with Easter chocolates. The clear plastic ornaments are available at your craft store for pennies a piece. We used the smallest one we could find - 2 1/4" in diameter. We even supply you with the templates for the front and back of the card. All you have to do is add your text to the back, cut it out, add the easel backs to the rear of the card and you're all set! Of course, if you're going to be mailing this card, an envelope won't do it - you'll have to send it in a box!

MATERIALS

110 lb. Card stock (or the heaviest your printer will handle)

One piece of thin cardboard - 8 1/2" X 11"

Glue stick

Craft knife

Cutting mat or piece of heavy cardboard

Clear plastic ornament - 2 1/4" in diameter

Candy

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Copy the templates we have provided by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. When the template opens, right click on it and a menu will pop up. Select "Save Picture As…" and save the file to the directory of your choice, Select either .GIF or .BMP as the file type. Do this for each of the two templates.

2) Open a blank page in your graphics program in portrait orientation and place the front bunny template on the page. Resize to a full 10" high (CTRL-Drag) and center the graphic on the page. Print this out on a piece of card stock.

3) Do the same with the rear bunny template. Add your text boxes and text but be careful about where you place them. You don't want any text to go where the ball will be because that area will be cut out of the card. The easiest way to make certain this doesn't happen is to draw a circle exactly 2 1/4" in diameter and place it where you want the ball to go. Put your text outside this area.

4) Using the glue stick, glue the unprinted side of the front template and adhere it to the piece of thin cardboard. This will give the card the stability to stand without falling over once you "load up" his belly with the candy!

5) Press to adhere well. Cut out the bunny front with the cardboard.

6) Cut out the back template and glue the unprinted side. Carefully align it to the back of the cardboard cutout and readjust as necessary. Press to adhere well. Trim off any unmatched edges.

7) Take apart the clear plastic ornament and place one half where you want it on the belly of the bunny. Trace around it with a pencil.

8) Using your craft knife, carefully cut out the circle. Since you are going through two layers of cardstock and a layer of cardboard, this may take a few passes with the craft knife. Be patient and be careful.

9) Remove the circle you have cut out and DO NOT DISCARD IT! You will be using that circle to make the easel backs for the rear of the card.

10) Cut the circle you removed from the bunny's belly in half. Then fold each of those two semi-circles in half to make the easel backs. Using your glue stick, put some glue onto one half of the folded semi-circle and attach it to the back of one of the bunny's feet with the straight edge down. Do the same with the remaining semi-circle.

11) If you want to add whiskers (since you cut them off when you cut out the bunny front and rear), use the little trick we showed you when we made the Easter grass for our Rainbow Easter basket project. Make a rectangle about 4" X 3" on a blank page and fill it with black. Print it out and either make very thin strips with you paper trimmer or use a scissors to do the same thing. Glue these to the bunny's face.

12) Now you're ready to put the candy belly in place! Push half of the clear plastic ornament into the hole in the front of the bunny card. Hold it in place while you fill that half with candy. Fill the second half with candy - and yes, this is a bit tricky - reattach it to the front half of the clear plastic ornament. Push gently to make sure the two halves are together securely.

That's all there is to it! What child will not be totally delighted to receive this wonderfully unique Easter card?

Bunny Card Template - Front

Bunny Card Template - Rear

Candy Belly Bunny Card Instructions

For a print friendly version, click on this link.