DIY: Sleek Bunny Hutch

Last week, I had a post about a nifty dog crate coffee table with nice clean lines.  This week brings an attractive bunny hutch made by modifying an Ikea shelf unit.  For some reason, the instructions don’t appear on the tutorial page, so click here for the instructions and scroll down.

The clever people over at Design Curiosities started with Ikea’s Besta shelving, but you could adapt this to other media cabinets or sideboards of the right size.  The bigger, the better.  (Eames, the bunny for whom this was made, mainly just sleeps in his hutch and spends most of his waking time in an exercise pen.)

This customized hutch has great features.  I love the glass tile on the floor—so much easier to clean and keep looking nice.  On one side of the hutch they used a metal grid from The Container Store, but had to peel the rubber coating off and paint it.  That seems like a hassle.  I’d look for something similar from Home Depot or Lowes that was just plain metal.  The aluminum sheeting they used to finish the doorway in the divider looks great and will keep bunnies from nibbling on things they shouldn’t.  Always remember to use non-toxic materials and let the hutch air out after completion.

I just love pet furniture that looks great.  I think it means pets are more likely to be where their people are if their hutches, cages, beds, etc. aren’t some hideous thing people are likely to hide in a back room.  Neato!

DIY: Rabbit Toys

(courtesy Margaret Duclos who takes amazing pics of her dogs, including the gorgeous Royal)

Today’s post is in honor of the little girl bunny pictured above who recently showed up in a friend’s garden.  After several days, they were able to trap her and, though they put out ads for her, her owners haven’t claimed her.  I wonder if she was someone’s Easter bunny who got dumped.  Boo!  She’s has a wonderful home now though—Margaret has already started clicker-training her.  Yea!

It’s really important to provide your rabbits with physical and mental stimulation.  They like to explore & play and providing toys is a great way to keep them occupied & happy.  It gives your bunny appropriate outlets for chewing, digging, shredding, etc. and helps prevent destructive behavior.

Check out this totally kickass post on making your own rabbit toys!  There are a bazillion ideas for entertaining & safe toys for your bunnies—most DIY and low-cost. (Note: it looks like the links to Amazon are affiliate links, but the author did put a lot of effort into gathering good info.)

Want even more toy ideas?  The House Rabbit Society also has tons of suggestions for rabbit toys.

Be sure to check out my podcast on Rethinking the Easter Rabbit and these posts on house rabbits:

Podcast Episode 111: Rethinking The Easter Rabbit

Rabbits and children aren’t usually a good combination, but bunnies can be great house pets for families with teens or for adults.  Episode 111: Rethinking The Easter Rabbit covers reasons to rethink getting rabbits for children this Easter, plus suggestions & resources for having a happy house rabbit if you have the right type of household for these sensitive animals.

Click below to play.

You can listen to it here and or on iTunes.  We also have an RSS feed you can subscribe to if you use an RSS reader.

Check out these topics mentioned in the podcast:

DIY: Silhouette Pet Portraits Round-Up

                                

(via SilhouetteArt)

A reader asked about tutorials for making silhouette pet portraits, so here you go!  You can do this for any pet, so don’t limit yourself to cats and dogs.  A budgie portrait would be really cute!

The video shows 2 techniques—a higher tech version that uses Adobe Illustrator & a robot cutter and lower tech version that uses tracing paper.

 

Here’s a second tutorial on how to make another version of a silhouette plaque.  Just use your pet’s portrait instead.

 

More ideas on ways to use pet silhouettes from Martha Stewart.  I think the suggestion to have a custom rubber stamp made of your pet’s silhouette is a great idea.  It would also make a nice gift for a pet lover.

 

I love this tote bag tutorial—it’d make a cute pillow too!  I think I’d sew the silhouette rather than glue it though.

 

Larger scale pet silhouettes made from plywood are a unique application.  You’ll need a jigsaw, router, or something similar for this project.

 

This two-toned silhouette portrait is lovely.  You can use all sorts of colors and patterns to create something really nifty!

 

An appliquéd onsey or t-shirt is pretty cute.