Peeps Bunny Place Card Holders

Hiya, peeps! It's Mandi. Every Easter, Americans are inundated with these cute, little marshmallow creatures called Peeps. Some people enthusiastically argue their delicious merit, while others gag at the mere thought of the ingredients. But love 'em or hate 'em, I'm pretty sure Peeps are there to stay, folks. I wonder if the original creators of the famed marshmallow Peeps ever realized what an American icon they were making? Maybe you're not into eating Peeps (or maybe you are—even better!), but this bunny place card DIY captures the whimsy and nostalgia of the classic Easter candy without compromising your health!

There are a few options for supplies, depending on how much time or money you want to spend on this project and depending on what size you'd like the final product to be. I've noted the options in the supply list below.

Necessary Supplies:
-1-2 lbs polymer clay in any color (you'll need more clay for more or larger card holders)
-parchment paper
-craft blade (a serrated knife is shown above, but I switched to an X-Acto blade)
-roller (a standard rolling pin will do, but a Sculpey brand acrylic roller is shown above)
-medium-sized paint brush
-baking sheet
-oven

Additional Supply Options:
-flocking powder (optional)
-Mod Podge OR all-purpose glue (you'll only need this if you're planning on using flocking powder)
-acrylic craft paint (you may decide to leave the bunnies unpainted, but if you are flocking, I suggest painting with a matching color under the flocking powder, based on my experience during the project)
-fine-tip brush black acrylic paint OR a medium- to fine-tip permanent marker
-cookie cutter OR template for cutting a smaller custom-sized shape (Click here for template)

Step One: Work the polymer clay a bit with your hands to warm it up and make it softer. Roll it out into 1/2" thickness and cut out the bunny shape with a cookie cutter, or use this template as a guide and cut out the shape with a sharp craft blade.

Step Two: Slice off a thin piece of clay from the bottom of the bunny so that it will stand up when it's finished, or you may stand up the bunny and squish it down a bit to make sure it has a flat bottom.

Step Three: Make sure the bunny stands straight after flattening the bottom, and while it's standing, slice the ears down the middle so that they can hold the place cards after baking.

Step Four: Fold small strips of parchment paper into quarters (the thicker the final piece of paper, the better) and insert them into the slits you made in the ears. This will keep the slits from closing during baking.

Bake according to your package directions, but standard Sculpey clay requires 15 minutes for every 1/4" of clay in a 275°F oven.

Step Five: Now is the time to decide on the finish of your bunny place card holders. You may want to leave them plain for a minimal look, or paint them for a quick finish. I've been wanting to try my hand at flocking and figured this was the perfect project!

I will warn you—flocking these little guys took quite a bit of time and required more powder than I had anticipated. If I were to do this project over again, I would buy one color of paint and one color of flocking powder (in a larger container size), then paint the bunnies before flocking them. This would prevent the need for multiple layers of flocking powder to cover the background color.

To flock the bunnies, cover with a thick layer of Mod Podge, sprinkle with a generous amount of flocking powder, and press the powder into the Mod Podge with your finger. Be careful not to let glue seep into the slits of the ears, or you will need to gently cut the dried glue out with a blade afterwards. You can do multiple layers of flocking if the first layer isn't thick enough.

Step Six: Use a fine-tip paint brush and black paint to give your bunnies three little dots for eyes and nose. If you don't have paint but have a medium- to fine-tip permanent marker, that should do the trick too.

These fuzzy, little bunny place cards are perfect for decorating for your Easter brunch, or for adding some fun to the kids' table. I just hope nobody's confused and thinks they're appetizers!

-Mandi

Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson, Photos edited with Spring and Valentine of the Signature Collection.