Easter Bunny Nose & Whiskers Craft

Here's a super easy project that you can quickly make with your kids. Older kids can do this on their own and little ones can do it with some assistance. Mia made this all by herself last week when we were at church on Good Friday. It's not exactly a mask, but it's the same idea, and it's way too cute not to share!

{Cute and Simple Easter Bunny Craft!}

Materials:

• craft stick
• pom pom
• three pipe cleaners
• white glue

Directions:

1. Glue a pom pom (your choice of color) to the end of a craft stick.
2. Wrap a pipe cleaner (your choice of color) around the center of the craft stick, below the pom pom, so that there it each end sticking off of the craft stick is approximately the same length. Repeat with two more pipe cleaners, one at a time. You can trim the pipe cleaners if desired. (Alternatively, you can switch the order of the first two steps and glue the pom pom on TOP of the twisted pipe cleaners. Your choice.)
3. Allow glue to dry before modeling the bunny nose and whiskers.

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My Little Sunshine Mask

{Mia made this sunny mask in preschool.}

Materials:

• paper plate
• scissors
• orange and yellow paper
• glue
• crayons

Directions:

1. Cut the center out of a paper plate.
2. Have child color the paper plate ring as desired.
3. Cut triangles out of orange and yellow paper. (You can also use a template.) Older children can do this themselves.
4. Have your child glue the colored triangles onto the paper plate ring.
5. Once glue is dry, your child can wear her mask.

This is such a simple craft, which makes it really nice. I like how happy it makes her to wear the mask, and of course it makes me happy, too. I may just burst into song with "You Are My Sunshine" or "Mr. Sun." We could use some sunshine on this dreary day. By the way, I just discovered that there are far more verses to "You Are My Sunshine" than I ever realized. I only know the first two, which I sing sometimes when Logan requests a lullaby. (I love that he's 2 1/2 and still asks me to sing to him.)

"The Lorax" Moustache on a Stick

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! We have been doing some shaving cream paintings the past two days using cereal boxes, and I was trying to think of some way to use the small sides. Plus I had been trying to come up with a new Dr. Seuss related craft idea, then it hit me: a friend had recently posted pictures of her kids sporting Lorax moustaches. It's a match made in Heaven, really. The skinny cereal box sides are the perfect size and the shaving cream adds texture so it looks like a bushy moustache. Oh, and put it on a craft stick, and voila, now it's a "mask" that the kiddos can used for dress-up play. Sometimes, I impress even myself.

Materials:

• cereal box
• pencil
• scissors
• Styrofoam tray
• orange paint
• yellow paint
• shaving cream
• foam paint brush
• newspaper
• large craft stick 
• tape

Directions:

1. You will need one long, narrow side cut from a cereal box per moustache. Fold in half.
2. On one half, draw one side of a shaggy moustache. Remember, folks, this is a character created by a man of amazing imagination, so your drawing need not be perfect.
3. Keeping the boxboard folded, cut out moustache. When you unfold it, you will have a symmetrical moustache. (See, even if your drawing skills aren't fantastic, at least both sides will look the same.)
4. Protect work surface with newspaper. (Covering kids' clothing with an old shirt or paint smock, or having them wear old clothing is also recommended.) Pour small amounts of yellow and orange paint onto a Styrofoam tray. Add a small squirt of shaving cream and blend with paint using the paint brush. (We used the cheapest shaving cream I could find.)
5. Have your child paint the Lorax moustache. Note: I found the best way to get the texture I wanted was to use a foam brush, load the tip of it with the paint/shaving cream mixture, and then dab it on. This made bushy "hairs." Make sure paint dries completely. Depending upon how thick the paint mixture is, this could take a few hours and up to a day.
6. Tape a large craft stick to the back of the moustache. Enjoy "wearing" your Lorax moustache.

Easter Bunny Mask

{Mia models my bunny mask.}

Materials:

• paper plate
• craft stick
• white paper
• scissors
• tape
• glue
• red or pink pom pom
• pink and black markers
• 2 black pipe cleaners

Directions:

{Mask by Mia, Age 4}

1. Using scissors, cut two eye holes near the center of a paper plate. We used luncheon size plates.
2. Cut two ears from white paper. Color the inner part of the ear pink. Tape ears to the front (eating) side of the plate so that the colored part shows on the outside.
3. Make the bunny's face on the back side (non-eating) of the plate. Glue on a pom pom nose and draw a mouth. Draw teeth if desired.
4. Bend a pipe cleaner into thirds. Cut off one section. Keep the other part bent in half. Glue the bent piece on one side of the nose to make the bunny's whiskers. Glue the smaller section in between the two bent halves. Repeat this process with the second pipe cleaner and glue the pieces on the opposite side of the nose.
5. Tape a craft stick handle to the back of the mask.
6. Once all the glue is dry you can wear your mask.

Other Options: 

• Skip cutting eye holes and glue on wiggly eyes, eyes cut from construction paper, or simply draw eyes onto your mask. 
• If you choose to color your bunny (as Mia did because "bunnies are 'posed to be brown", you could add teeth cut from paper, felt, or foam.
• Add a bow tie made from paper or actual ribbon.

"Wild Thing" Mask

March is Reading Month and Mia made this "mask" at preschool after they read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Hers doesn't have eye holes so I have added that to the directions, because I think kids really should see where they are going during a wild rumpus! The best part about this craft is that you can use just about any materials you have on hand to make your "Wild Thing."

{The "mask" that inspired this project}

{Mia models my "Wild Thing."}

Materials:

• paper plate
• craft stick
• scissors
• glue
• tape
• decorative stuff: craft foam, yarn, cotton balls, stickers, googly eyes, feathers, paper, pipe cleaners, bead, ribbon, pom poms, straws, buttons, crayons/markers/colored pencils, etc. 

Directions:

{"Wild Thing" by Mia, 4}

1. Cut two eye holes out of a paper plate.
2. Tape a craft stick to the front of the paper plate.
3. Turn the plate over and decorate as desired. (If you want your mask to be colored, it's best to color the plate before gluing craft materials on.) Allow glue to dry completely.
4. Wear your mask and "let the wild rumpus start!"

   

   {"Wild Thing" by Logan, 18 months}

Out Like a Lamb Mask

"The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.
When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here."
-  Author Unknown

{Lamb Mask by Mia, Age 4}

Materials:

• small paper plate
• scissors
• glue
• pink pom pom
• cotton balls
• pink craft foam hearts  
• craft stick
• masking tape

Directions:

1. Using scissors, cut two holes for eye openings, roughly the size of quarters.
2. On the back side of the plate, glue a pink pom pom below the eyes to make the lamb's nose. (You might also use a bead.)
3. Tape a craft stick to the opposite side of the plate to make a handle for your mask.
4. Glue cotton balls onto the plate until it looks the way you want, making sure not to cover up the eye openings or the nose.
5. Glue on two pink craft foam hearts for ears. (You could also use construction paper.)
6. Allow glue to dry before playing with your mask. If might also wish to make a lion mask.

In Like a Lion Mask

In Like A Lion, Out Like A Lamb

by Lorie Hill

March roars in like a lion
So fierce,
The wind so cold,
It seems to pierce.

The month rolls on
And Spring draws near,
And March goes out
Like a lamb so dear.

{Finished Masks by Mia, Age 4}

Recently, I was thinking of some lion and lamb crafts we did last March and I decided that we should make some masks with Mia this year. Here is how they turned out.

Materials for Lion Mask:

• small paper plate
• glue
• yellow marker 
• red crayon or marker
• craft stick
• scissors
• orange feathers
• yellow and pink craft foam hearts 
• masking tape

Directions:

1. Use scissors to cut out two circles for eye openings, roughly the size of a quarter.
2. Use a marker (or crayon or colored pencil) to color the back side of the plate yellow (or tan or brown.)
3. Glue on a pink craft foam heart for a nose. (You could also use a bead, pom pom, or construction paper cut in a triangle shape.)
4. For ears, glue two small pink craft foam hearts in the centers of two larger yellow craft foam hearts. Glue yellow hearts onto paper plate. (You could also use construction paper cut into hearts, circles, or semi-circles or you could draw the ears onto the plate with markers.)
5. Draw a mouth using a red marker, crayon, or colored pencil. (Or if you are like Mia, use a Cray-Pas.)
6. Tape a craft stick to the undecorated side of your paper plate to make a handle for your mask.
7. Apply a ring of glue around the outside edge of the paper plate. Add orange feathers (or yarn, pipe cleaners, or construction paper strips) for the lion's mane.
8. Once all glue is dry, enjoy using your mask!

You may also wish to make a lamb mask to go along with your lion mask.

Paper Plate Pumpkin Mask

Materials Needed:

• paper plate
• orange crayon
• scissors
• black marker
• craft stick
• clear tape
• brown construction paper
• green construction paper
• green pipe cleaner

Directions:

1. Using an orange crayon, color the back of a paper plate. (You could also use paint or marker.)
2. Using a black marker, draw a face on the pumpkin, making sure that the eyes are toward the center or even a bit lower. (If the eyes are too high it makes it awkward for a child to hold the handle and look through the mask.)
3. Cut out eyes only. (We tried cutting out the nose and mouth, but it looks weird against your face.)
4. Tape craft stick to opposite side of plate to make the handle.
5. Cut* out a stem from brown construction paper and a leaf from green construction paper and glue onto the plate. 
6. Curl* a green pipe cleaner around your finger (or a pencil) to make a vine. Tape to plate. (*optional)