Bulletin Board Inspiration No. 6 | Navy and White Rabbits

A Paper Series Post 

The latest bulletin board inspiration features a gorgeous, fluffy white rabbit in navy and white. Rabbits are symbols of spring, and a clipping of a white rabbit on a navy bulletin board is a beautiful reminder of Easter.   

Bulletin boards often include a collection of clippings without a planned layout, but in my series of bulletin boards, I share suggestions and design principles for creating boards with a theme. Part of each post in the bulletin board inspiration series is how-to information for my boards to help you create your own boards. 

Bulletin boards are an easy, economical way to decorate for each season and/or holiday in the year. As I was creating this latest bulletin board inspiration for Spring and Easter, I began to wonder how rabbits came to be symbols of Easter and why Easter bunnies deliver eggs for Easter egg hunts. 

Bulletin  Board  Inspiration 

No. 6 

navy and white rabbits 

The Easter Bunny  

The modern day Easter bunny delivering eggs on Easter Sunday originated from German stories in the 1600s. German children who were well-behaved received a nest of colored eggs from Oschter Haws, Easter hare. As Germans settled in the United States in the 1700s, they brought their Oschter Haws traditions with them. 

Voilà 

Rabbits, eggs, nests, and baskets are now part of our Easter traditions! 

Navy & White Rabbit Bulletin Board

Suggestion #1 

Start with a favorite clipping that symbolizes the season or holiday. 

Among my many paper clippings are images of rabbits, and one of my favorites is a photo of a white and blue mountain hare.  

The original plan for the bulletin board began with the blue and white rabbit clipping and two more clippings of rabbits. 

Suggestion #2 

Include three-dimensional items to the bulletin board arrangement, either attached to the board or near the board. Most of the previous bulletin boards include three-dimensional items in a variety of ways. 

For the rabbit bulletin board arrangement, I added seven small ceramic, iron, and marble bunnies to the top of the pine chest in front of the board. 

As I stepped back to get an overview of how everything was coming together, I did not like the grouping. The cluster of rabbits looked too cluttered and detracted from the clippings on the board instead of enhancing the clippings. 

Suggestion #3

Change the arrangement. Rearrange and remove items until the grouping looks better to you. 

Seven bunnies were narrowed down to three bunnies, and a blue flower pot replaced a white pot holding a bunny head. 

Better, but the grouping still did not have pizzazz! 

The main clipping was limp because the paper is thin. 

 

Suggestion #4 

Add a backing to clippings to provide stability, to make them larger, and/or to add a contrasting border. Spray cardboard with gold paint to make an inexpensive sparkling frame or use white watercolor paper to provide texture. 

Spray adhesive is a fast and tight way to attach a paper clipping to a cardboard back. I have used Mod Podge and Elmer's glue in the past on some projects, but like spray adhesive much better. 

I attached the white hare image to watercolor paper that is cut about ½" larger than the clipping on all sides. The thicker paper stabilized the clipping, and the larger border makes the image more impressive. Plus, the watercolor paper border adds texture. 

Suggestion #5

 Repeat elements in a layout to give a unified look to the overall design. I liked the watercolor border on the hare print so much, I decided to use more watercolor paper in the bulletin board layout. Which led me to think about labels printed in blue on white watercolor paper. 

I used one large sheet, about 24"x36", of watercolor paper and hand cut three 8 ½" x 11" sheets. One sheet is the hare backing and the blue printed labels were printed horizontally (landscape) on the two other 8 ½" x 11" watercolor pages. Use thin watercolor paper so your printer will accept the paper and not jam. 

Suggestion #6

Feature one image on the bulletin board, and add large printed pages to describe the image. 

Rabbits and their relatives have many names. 

A hare is not really a rabbit, but is a relative. Both are in the Leporidae family, but are separate species. Rabbits create burrows and hares make nests in the grass. 

The white and blue hare is one kind of hares indigenous to Scotland. 

Le Lapin is French for rabbit. 

A Bunny usually means a small rabbit, but originally was a term of endearment for a young girl. Gradually bunny meant a young or small animal which became to refer to a small rabbit. 

A cottontail is a particular species of rabbits, and most have stub tails with white undersides. 

What started as three images on the board became one feature image. 

The final version of the rabbit bulletin board has a single clipping with supporting blue and white labels. 

The seven 3-dimensional rabbits on the pine chest have been reduced to two: a pedestal hare and a white bunny holding wooden Easter eggs. 

The original blah bulletin board became a beautiful navy and white board I love!

May these Bulletin Board suggestions give you ideas for your boards. 

H a p p y   E a s t e r  

Sources

Clippings - magazines 

Pedestal Hare and White Cracker Bunny Dish - Botanic Bleu, no longer available 

Wooden Eggs - Target, several years ago

Inked Blue Bulletin Board Debut 

Bulletin Board Inspiration No. 1 | Baskets, Eggs, Wreaths