Carved Bunny Stamps (Bunny Week, Day 3)

It's Day 3 of Bunny Week and I have another art idea to share!

Thanks for your help, Trouble, but this project doesn't require newspaper. Today's project is carved bunny stamps.

You will need: 2 small chunks of styrofoam, a pencil, a knife, paint, cardstock, and Sharpies. Use the pencil to sketch a circle about the size of a tennis ball on a chunk of styrofoam. This will be the rabbit's face. On a separate piece of styrofoam, draw an oval about the size of an egg. This will be split in two to make the rabbit's ears.

The next step is carving the stamps. Trevor has gone through knife safety training in Cub Scouts and is qualified to use a pocket knife. Occasions to practice his knife skills don't come up often, so I let him use his pocket knife for this project. A serrated plastic knife would work just as well, if not better. A pumpkin cutter would probably also work and would be even safer. Regardless of what knife you use, secure the styrofoam with your non-dominant hand, pencil sketch side up, and carve the circle shape down at an angle. Rotate the stamp and continue until the top of the styrofoam matches the pencil sketch. Do the same for the oval stamp, then cut down the center to form two matching ears. 

When you are happy with your stamps, apply a thick coat of acrylic paint to each of the three parts. Trevor discovered that the best method is to squeeze large blobs of paint directly onto the stamps (as shown below) and then gently spread it out with a brush to cover the whole stamp. Stamp the circle shape onto a piece of cardstock, then stamp the ears on top. The styrofoam gives it a fun texture. 

As you can see below, Trevor did some experimenting with different ear placement. By rotating the ears 180°, switching left with right, and changing the angles, he was able to create different looks.

Let the paint dry thoroughly. Because it is thick, overnight is best. When it is completely dry, use Sharpies to draw in facial features.

Trevor had a lot of fun experimenting with different paint colors. This was the last one he stamped. He loved the way the pinks, browns, blues and tans he'd used previously blended to create what he called a camouflage bunny.

Cute and fun!