I grew an abundance of bird house gourds for crafting several years ago. I just recently found one of my dried gourds that was in better condition than the rest. I wanted to make a craft with it but I didn't know what to make. I was thinking snowman or bunny and since I favor bunnies over snowmen, I chose to make a white rabbit.

Step 1: Preparing the Gourd

1 Pick out a fairly large dried gourd.

2 Sand and wash off mold and other debris if it already hasn't been done.

3 To make the hole in my gourd I took it to a table saw and cut a portion of the gourd off.
Cut off about as much as the dotted line on the picture indicates.

Step 2: Putting a Base Coat on the Gourd

1 Paint the prepared gourd with a mixture of primarily white paint with a minimal amount of light gray mixed in.

2 After the whole gourd has been painted with exception to the inside of the hole cut into the gourd.

Step 3: Painting the Face

1 Choose a eye, mouth and nose design to paint.

2 Chose three shades of a color to paint the iris of the eyes.

3 Refer to the eye directions for how to paint the eyes.
Or design your own.

4 Refer to the mouth and nose directions for different versions of each.
Or choose your own.

Paint the face on the upper part of the gourd same side as the hole.

After you are satisfied with your paint job I would suggest to spray lacquer or some sort of sealer over the gourd.

Step 4: Designing the Bunny's Ears, Feet, and Tail.

EARS

1 Cut out the pattern for the ears you need four white outer ears and 2 pink inner ears.

2 Bend a pipe cleaner to fit inside of the pattern for each pair of outer ears.

3 Sew with a sewing machine or hand stitch the inner ear on to one side of one piece of each pair of the outer ear. ( see illustration) Sew along the inner dotted line.

4 Sew one side of a pair of outer ears together (one with a inner ear attached and one plain.)

5 Put the pipe cleaner inside accompanied with some stuffing (so the ear will not be flat.)
Sew the other side of the ear together with the pipe cleaner and stuffing still inside. Make sure you sewed along the side of the outer ear. (see illustration)

6 Glue ears in place atop of the head.
*Optional. For a better more permanent stay. I drilled holes atop he head where the ears would go and inserted some of the pipe clears sticking out of the bottom of the ears into each hole and glued the ears securely in place.

(I also bent one of the ears to give it a little charm.)

FEET

1 Cut the pattern for the feet and pads out.
You will need 6 small pink pads and 2 large pink pads.
You will need 2 white feet.

2 Tacky glue small pads on each toe of each foot and a large pad on in the middle of each foot.

3 Let dry.

4 Hot glue on the bottom sides of the gourds hole cut.

TAIL

IF you have excess stuffing left over you can glue a tail on the back of the bunny gourd. If not use a large white pom pom.

Step 5: Inside of the Gourd.

EGGS

1 Paint the two eggs light blue and let dry.

2 Then use an old toothbrush and speckle with white and black or brown spots. Let dry.

3 Crack the top of one to set a pompom chick in if desired.

NEST

1 Glue fake Easter grass inside of the gourd on the bottom.

2 Make a small nest out of raffia and glue in the middle of the Easter grass.

*Optional Glue small eggshells painted light blue inside of the raffia nest and on the fake grass. I also glued feathers in and around the nest.

CHICK

1 Take a large desired color pompom and glue it on another medium sized pompom of that same desired color. (I used yellow)

2 Use orange felt or a small orange pompom and glue it on to the medium sized pompom.

3 To make eyes glue on googly eyes or tiny black pompoms.

4 Glue him inside of the cracked eggshell.

Step 6: Finish!

SIt back and admire your completed craft!