Do-It-Yourself: Your own Peter Rabbit garden brunch!

Hi there, dear reader! Welcome back to our cozy corner of conversation and crafting.

With spring on the way I instantly think of Beatrix Potter’s, The Tale of Peter Rabbit and other accompanying works. The countryside gardens, quirky rabbits and cantankerous Mr. McGregor always bring back fond memories of reading with my mother and son. I was reflecting on this month’s column and thought Peter Rabbit would make the most adorable theme for a garden brunch. Let’s HOP to a few ideas for your spring celebration!

Individual Berry Basket Food Tray

Transform ordinary cardboard berry baskets into individual food trays awaiting each guest at their seat.

Items needed: Cardboard berry baskets, spring-themed tissue paper, croissants or French baguettes, sandwich filling of choice, parchment paper, butcher twine, washed and cut vegetables.

In each cardboard berry basket place an oversized square of tissue paper so it comes up the sides of the vessel and hangs over the edge. Place vegetables into the basket. Assemble sandwiches and wrap in parchment paper. Wrap butcher twine around the parchment paper into a bow. Place wrapped sandwich into berry basket. (Consider using mini croissants or cutting your French baguette sandwiches into smaller portions.) If you want more food for your guests place glass cake stands on your table piled high with extra sandwiches and little glass bowls filled with vegetable dip.

Mini Easter Baskets

These half-dozen cardboard egg cartons are made into little mini Easter baskets.

Items needed: Cardboard half-dozen egg cartons, pastel-colored paints, paintbrush, shredded Easter grass, ribbon, mini chocolate eggs and mini chocolate bunnies.

Take an egg carton and paint it inside and out with pastel paint. Allow to dry. Once dry, fill each egg space halfway with shredded Easter grass then fill the rest of the the egg space up with your basket treats. Some lovely goodies could be mini candy bars, mini chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs, matchbox cars, hair pins, earrings, etc. Once filled, close the egg carton and wrap it with a ribbon of choice.

I hope these two projects are a helpful jumping-off point for your Peter Rabbit garden brunch! Some other ideas to consider would be to serve carrot cake and sugar cookie fruit pizzas and display watering cans with gardening gloves and seed packets! You could also put some fresh carrots WITH the tops still on into a vase with water to have a fresh punch of color. For height on your tables, try finding some used Peter Rabbit children’s books to stack or stand up to show the cover art. Small ceramic bunnies would be an adorable touch as well. Put these all on tables with some gingham tablecloths along with your mini Easter baskets in the craft above and you are set to celebrate spring in English countryside style.