I love Easter! To me it means the end of a loooong winter, and the promise of spring. I love all the fun Easter foods. I love the pastel colors of Easter. In a house full of boys, I don't get to use them very often, so I take any opportunity I get!

I'm glad Easter is late this year, because it gives me more time to work on cute Easter decorations. I've got several projects planned; we'll see how many I actually get finished.
I started with these fabric carrots. I saw a wreath at the store that had some similar carrots on it, and I knew I could make them myself. I love how they turned out. Now I just need to get the rest of my entry table Easterized.  Bring on the bunnies!

Fabric Carrot Tutorial

Materials:
Orange fabric
Triangle cut out of paper (Mine was 4" across the top and 9" long.)
Fabric scissors
Needle and orange thread
Fiberfill
Greenery for carrot stems
Brown craft paint (Optional)

Fold your orange fabric in half and place the triangle on top.

Trace around the carrot with a pencil. Move the pattern across your fabric and trace as many carrots as you would like.
Cut out your carrots and sew a straight stitch up both sides, making sure you backstitch on both ends.
Cut off the end of the carrot, but make sure you don't snip the seam.
Turn your carrot right side out. I use a chopstick to push the tip out. A blunt colored pencil works too.

At this point I decided that my carrots were way too brightly colored. So I mixed up a little brown craft paint in some water till it was the consistency of ink. I dipped all my carrots in the brown mixture, then squeezed them dry and set them out on the counter to dry. OK, not really. I got impatient and baked them at 200° for a few minutes. But I promise I watched them very carefully. I cannot be held responsible if you try this and burn your house down.

This is what they looked like when they were dry:
Nice and grungy!

Next you want to fill them with fiberfill.  Use a fair amount, but they don't need to be stuffed full.
Now you need to tie off the top. You are going to need a looong piece of thread for the next step. I cut mine 36" long. Tie a knot in the end and stitch a running stitch around the top of the carrot about 1/4" down from the top.
Now pull the thread till the top is all gathered together. Don't pull it too tight, you want to have room to stuff in your greenery. Tie a secure knot, but DO NOT cut the thread. See how mine is still nice and long?
Now you are going to make little puckers in your carrots so they have wrinkles like real carrots.
Take your needle and insert it at an angle, coming out the side of the carrot.
Now make a tiny stitch, and come out on the back side of the carrot.
Make a tiny stitch in the back and come back at an angle to the front of the carrot. Continue going from side to side, making stitches on the front and back of the carrot. Pull your stitches tight enough that they pucker, but not so tight that you break your thread. That's no fun.

When I got to the bottom, I tied a knot.

Then I inserted the needle into the carrot really close to the knot and came out the back of the carrot. I pulled it till the knot went through to the inside, then clipped the thread. Hope that makes sense. It will look something like this when you are finished:
See how those little stitches add texture and make it more realistic? Love it!

Next you want to add your carrot tops. I had some of this greenery left over from my spray painted bucket project.
All you have to do is add some hot glue at the top and shove a few down into the hole.

Totally cute, right?

You can toss them in a bowl:
Tie a piece of burlap around them and tuck them in amidst your decor to add a little bit of spring bling:

Or put them in a little basket or bucket like I did:

Notes: You can skip the step of adding the tucks, and they will still be really cute.

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