This ornament is a replica of a classic bunny pull toy from the Victorian era. A little tidying and re-gluing and she'd be in fine shape to be adopted just the way she is. But there's something in her spirit I thought could go farther... a lot farther.
LET'S MODERNIZE!
I started by dis-assembling her, removing all the old trimmings, getting rid of the (inexplicable) wood shavings on her roller board, and sanding her down for repainting.
During this strip-down process I realized this is a bunny in a hurry! She's posed as if leaping through the air. And with that came the inspiration for this ornament... and the moment of truth... I clipped off the pull string transforming her from a Victorian pull toy into a Millennial skateboarder!
NEW COLOR SCHEME
To modernize her, I chose a color-blocking approach, graphic white star motif, an oversized cotton tail, and silver bow for a dash of glitter and shine.
But decoration alone wasn't enough to give Bunnyboarder the full transformation I was looking for. In my mind, her new skateboarder-inspired style transformed her need for speed into a passion for action. And for skateboarders, action means the half-pipe!
CANDY CANE HALF-PIPE
I tried a few different ways to create a half-pipe, but the size was so big it overwhelmed the star of our show. So Bunnyboarder and I had a little chat and it turns out North Poleans use hollowed out candy canes at the annual Xmas Games!
For the half-pipe, I took a paper towel roll and cut it in half to better fit Bunnyboarder's small size. Then I cut along the diagonal to create a twisted section of half-pipe. The twist gave the ornament a sense of perpetual motion yet left lots of open air to see Bunnyboarder from every angle.
I papier-mached the cardboard for a little more stability then painted candy cane stripes to accent the twisted shape. A little shellac, glitter, and a bit of silver trim on the edges to give it a nice finish, and suddenly Bunnyboarder has her our very own half-pipe.
MID-AIR BUNNY!
The final step was positioning Bunnyboarder within the half-pipe frame. Again, to optimize the sense of movement, I positioned her in mid-air by dangling her from the top curve.
Wow! Look at that Bunnyboarder go! (Victorians never had this much fun!)
Wow! Look at that Bunnyboarder go! (Victorians never had this much fun!)
ORL #10: BUNNYBOARDER
We hope you'll consider adopting our dashing-through-the-half-pipe Bunnyboarder for that special skateboarder in your life!
We hope you'll consider adopting our dashing-through-the-half-pipe Bunnyboarder for that special skateboarder in your life!
This ONE-OF-A-KIND ornament has been lovingly restored by hand by the Ornament Rescue League. It is numbered and hand-tagged to show the before/after transformation. It is available for purchase on a first-come, first-serve basis through our Etsy shop. Please stop by and see all of the ornaments we've rescued! And remember...
All proceeds benefit Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, RI.
No comments:
Post a Comment