DIY Peeps Wands

Its that time of year, Easter and Peeps.  I love the adorable shape and sweet taste.  I needed a way to preserve these sweet delights to enjoy year round, the result Peeps as craft embellishments.  Using peeps in crafts is a great way to recycle any leftovers that never made it to the mouth, lol.

Every year I head to store and purchase a stash as soon as they become available for purchase. I save some for sharing at the Easter table, the others I open up the packaging and let air dry for a week so they are ready for crafting.

This project is fast an easy to do using paper straws, stale peeps, and lace ribbon ( I dyed with Rit Dye).  If you are looking for a creative way to serve edible peeps at the Easter dinner table, you can repeat this craft without glue and with fresh peeps opened the day of Easter. Sprinkle with edible glitter or colored sugar for more pizzazz.

To make your own Peeps Wands visit my step by step project on the Rit Studio site by clicking on this link: DIY PEEP WANDS

Other projects you can make are cards embellished with peeps, Spring/Easter assemblages, garland, banners.  Line a wooden frame with peeps.  What about peeps jewelry? Or how about peeps in a jar. Peeps in a box or peep crowns.

If you can't resist the urge to not eat your peeps for craft purposes, then make your own out of air dry clay such as model magic from Crayola.

 Hope you felt all the cuteness from these projects and head over to my tutorial at RitStudio.com to make your own.

xoxo
Lisa

Peeps Wands

Do you know what time of year it is? Its peeps time. Here is another fun peeps project I created. This time I used Rit Dye for the lace ribbon and pom poms, paper straws and pink bunny peeps. A great recycled project using left over ribbon, paper straws and peeps. Perfect for all ages. Now let's get started.

Materials for the Decorating:

• Pink bunny peeps, Peeps and Company
• Paper straws
• Pom poms
• Ornate pearl stick pins, Lisa Kettell Designs
• Tools/Glue: hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, scissors

Materials for the Dye:

• Liquid Dye, Petal Pink, Rit Dye
• White lace trim or ribbon, Joanne's Fabric and Craft Store
• Plastic table cover
• Paper towels or old towel
• Measuring spoon, measuring cup
• Large glass or plastic bowl

Directions to Dye the Lace and Pom poms:

1. Prep your surface. Lay plastic table cover on the surface you will working over. Put on your rubber or latex gloves.
2. Mix 2 tablespoons Rit liquid dye petal pink with 1 1/2 cups hot water in a plastic, or metal bowl and stir. Let steep for 20 minutes. For good hot water, heat some in the microwave in a glass bowl for 2 minutes.
3. Place lace ribbon and light color pom pom in the liquid dye solution, let set for 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove the dyed ribbon when desired color is achieved and place onto a foil pan. Let dry. Reserve your remaining mixture for more dying by pouring into a glass jar or container, keep sealed

Directions To make Peeps Wands: 

1. Push a paper straw into the bottom end of a pink bunny peep, secure in place with hot glue or glue of choice. Attach a pom pom to the back of the peep, tilting to the left side, secure with hot glue.
2. Cut a piece of the dyed lace ribbon about 12 inches and tie around the bottom of the peep ( at the top of the wand). Then push in a pearl stick pin into the top center of the peep.

Tips/Tricks: 

• Fill in any white areas of the peep with a decaupage medium mixed with petal pink Rit dye and add pinkish sand to finish. 
• Try adding sugary pink clear or German glitter on the peep.
• Add a crepe paper skirt and other fun details to your peep wand.

To see the original project I created and to learn more about using Rit Dye visit my project link inside my Rit Studio at: www.ritstudio.com/2014/04/04/peeps-wands


xoxo
Lisa

Peeps in a Box!

Peeps are marshmallow candies, sold in the United States and Canada, that are shaped into chicks, bunnies, and other animals.  They are produced by Just Born a candy manufacturer founded in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, by Russian immigrant Sam Born. In 1953, Just Born acquired the Rodda Candy Company and its marshmallow chick line, and replaced the process of hand-forming the   chicks with mass production.  

Soon Just Born, was considered the "largest marshmallow candy manufacturer in the world."   The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy, then new shapes other than the chicks were produced following a theme according to the season starting in the 1960s. Twenty years later, the Marshmallow Peeps Bunny was released as a popular year round shape of the candy.


I have been a long time fan of the kitschy sweet bunny peeps.  My Mom and Grandma would put edible German Easter Candy grass in a basket and fill it with peeps and other Easter treats usually from Woolworths or Newberrys Dept. Stores. 

As an artist and advid recycler I save everthing and try to reuse what I have in my projects.  Recently I came across a box filled with un-opened packages of peeps from last year.  I remembered buying them on clearance for 25 cents a box.  The pink bunnies are so cute and asking to be saved from snack time.  Each one looking like one of the chartacters from my art stories.  I knew they would fit in perfectly with my Easter projects.

The first in the series of projects is called "Peeps in a Box."  For this project I recycled last years peeps and their box  and turned them into a fun Spring assemblage.  I lined the peeps box with scrapbook papers, peeps, paper straws and shredded paper grass.  This project is perfect to do with your kids, with friends or yourself.  It teaches recycling, initiates crafting, and rings in the Easter holiday.  Best part of this project is you can make it within 15-20 minutes.

 Materials

• 1 box of pink bunny peeps
• Pink pom poms 
• Scrapbook paper 
• Scrapbook embellishments
• Shredded paper grass, pink
• Paper straws, pink/white striped 
• Pink acrylic paint
• Tools/Glue: scissors, hot glue gun, hot glue sticks
• Other: fabric spray stiffner, ribbons, wire ribbon, mini plastic chicks, wax paper

Directions

1. Remove the pink bunny peeps from box, separate from each other.
2. Place the peeps on wax paper and spray with fabric stiffner, let dry. This helps harden the peeps. For this project I used last years hardened peeps. 
3. Paint over any white areas of the peeps with pink acrylic paint, let dry.
4. Glue pink pom pom to the back of the peep, tilting to the left.
5. Measure the inside of the peeps box and cut a piece of scrapbook paper to fit inside it, ahere with hot glue ot glue of choice.
6. Line the bottom of the peeps box with shredded pink paper grass, secure with hot glue or clue of choice.
7. Decorate the box with additional scrapbook paper embellishments, wire ribbon, paper straws, and peeps.

Tips/Tricks 

• You can air dry the peeps by cutting open the box and letting the air hit them for a few days or a week.
• Try photo copying your peeps and print onto sturdy weight paper and use them in place of the real peeps.
• You can use clay, paper mache or paper to make your own peeps. Coat the finished clay peeps in paint, mod podge and pink sand. There are some bunny type molds you can use to fill with plaster of paris for another version of the bunnies.

Company Products Used:

• I used Crate Paper for the kitschy tag cut outs, Clearsnap/Colorbox for the Party cut out and EK Success for the background Scrapbook paper in this project. I bought mine at ACMoore.
• I used pink acrylic paint from Plaid.
• Orange pom poms were dyed with petal pink and fuschia Rit Liquid Dye
• The thin shredded pink paper was from the dollar store.
• I used white floral wire to make my banner.
• The paper straws are from Michaels. 

Bunny peeps come in others colors besides pink. Blue, purple, and yellow are some of the other colors they come in.  This project can be made using any color or variety of peeps. 

I will be posting 4 peeps projects over the next few days to get you inspired to recycled and have fun using peeps.

xoxo
Lisa

 For more info on peeps visit:
www.marshmallowpeeps.com

To purchase items from my store visit:
www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/MoonfairesWorld