Bunmom Boutique

Post 2 of 2 - please read if you are in the Waitlist

So what's next for Dandy and I as we navigate Bunmom Boutique?

I decided that since Izzy's rainbow bridge date is February 14, and with the coming spring and Easter season forthcoming, this is the season to renew myself physically and mentally.

I plan do some self-expression grief sewing for me (see previous post), deep clean the house, do taxes (reality bites 😂), get back in a gym routine, etc.

I was devoted to Izzy for three and a half years and coming out of that chapter of life is going to take some time and transition, but I'm excited to take the compassion and skills I learned with Izzy into other areas of my life.

So my plan, unless something else happens, is to resume business sewing on April 1st, after Easter Sunday. Until then, everything is safely "on hold" in my newly organized and clean sewing room. I spent the past weekend moving my sewing room from the dining room (where Izzy's crib was parked mostly) to my sewing room, which is up a flight of stairs.

Once I get back in the swing of things, I will start with the waitlist. I have no idea how long the wait will be, as I am also starting a new chapter of my life without being a caregiver and have more freedom to other things.

If you no longer want to wait or be in the waitlist - no hard feelings - just send me a DM and I will totally understand. Some people may find this helpful to save up $, as well. I will contact you to confirm before cutting your yardage and starting your project.

Once I start cutting out stuffies again, I will use the left-overs to make tummy warmers, and get back to those. I did get a few inquiries since her passing and I'm so grateful others want to have them in their bunny emergency kit. I'm thinking of changing the name to Izzy's Tummy Warmers as I truly think they helped me in her last days.

My website is still up and I have many in-stock items available for purchase. Nothing will change with the already-made items and I will still ship them during this down time. There are some great Easter gift ideas like the floral wristlets and jar toppers for gifts-in-jars.

Thanks for reading! 💕

Post 1 of 2

Dear bunfriends,

Thank you for the outpouring of love for Izzy's passing last week. Today is one week, and while I feel as if I'm moving out of the "acute grief" stage, I still am not back in the "swing of things".

I have also experienced and seen how important self-expression is in grief - partly because I think we feel out-of-control, and creating something provides tangible, with our own skill and love is comforting. I have seen this even with the little picture collages that people sent me, an outlet for expressing our feelings. Music is very powerful, too. If you are grieving, have you found your creative outlet?

I posted on my account about how I kept about 7 years worth of Izzy and Dandy's fur, to someday knit into a scarf. I know this will be so healing when that day comes.

The first three slides are some fabric panels that I had in my stash from probably 15 years ago - so very vintage and probably even older as I got it as an Amish fabric barn sale. I always liked the Suzy's Zoo characters; what a wonderful surprise that Izzy looks so much like the white bunny, pointing up at the rabbit-shaped clouds. Just so perfect, and the other panels, too.

The last slide is from a t-shirt that I purchased at my very first Bunny Festival. While Izzy wasn't with me, the reason I bought it would make her so proud. I was holding a rather young bunny, that liked me so much, that he 💛💦 on my shirt, ran down my jeans, even in my sock. What a memory. 😲 So in my attempt not to smell, and not wanting to leave - I bought this t-shirt from a rescue that had a thrift shop. I went into the restroom and changed and even though the shirt was too big and had a small stain, I fell in love with it.

Expressing Izzy's bladder was such a large part of our relationship, so this t-shirt just brings things full circle. 💛💛💛

My plan is to make them into some squishy, huggable pillows, incorporating the Luxe Cuddle fabrics into them, so give them a bit of a furry feel, too. These are going to be my grief-healing-self expression project.

Continued in next post.

Izzy passed away around 5 am this morning.
She was my sidekick for Bunmom Boutique and kept me going. I moved my sewing room into the dining room to be close to her so I could sew and she could watch me all day. We had a good day together yesterday, watching the snow, baking bread and sewing. My world feels shattered right now.

I had to take a few more pictures of this beauty before packing up the shipping box.
The in Forest Stories by Dear Stella fabrics.
Custom order for

I'm working on a three-zip pouch of the same fabric for That's a WIP!

Busy snow day! ☃️

Remember the heart blanket sent, to have made into one of the first stuffies? I had enough left over that I made a vest and scarf, too.

And then there was still some left, and I can't waste beautiful and meaningful fabric like this (blanket was 🌈bunny Cosmo's). Thinking cap on ➡️ slipper boots. Cosmo's blanket is the outside heart print, the lining is Luxe Cuddle in Wild Rabbit Outer Space color. I used a non-slip fabric for the bottom, perfect for chilly winter nights. The slippers boots can be worn all the way up, with a little cuff showing, or turned all the way down.
I would love to see a picture with the slipper boots, vest, scarf, and stuffie Cosmo...hint hint 😆
Oh wait...I squeezed one more goodie out of this fabric. Another post coming...

Tummy warmer update! February 13, 2024

I used up all of my Luxe Cuddle scraps this week on tummy warmers! There is something a sewist rarely says, if ever. 😂

I ordered the Luxe Cuddle fabric for the next round of stuffies last night, so until the pattern pieces are cut out, and I have scraps available again, sewing tummy warmers is on hold.

Still taking orders, just a more of a wait. I've gotten good feedback on them and I ordered some beautiful fabrics for this next round (you can read the fabric names in the waitlist post). I'm extra excited to sew with one called Sea Biscuit.

Please still DM me if you want to get a tummy warmer. I have about 22 left. Once the 22 are gone, I will have to access if I'm going to continue with making them. I have to order a case of 48, which is an upfront cost for a small business, so it needs to be worth my while of pending orders to cover a case. Sharing helps so much. So many of my inquiries start with "My friend..."

Working on more WIPs today, while watching the snow melt. Thank you everyone for supporting my small business.

Hi Bunfriends,
With more new followers coming to my account (Welcome! 🙋🏼‍♀️) I'm been getting more questions about the Keepsake Stuffies. I now have a section on my website dedicated to "Keepsake and Memory Sewing" that I am directing initial inquiries to. It's under the "more" tab/3 horizontal lines. I've tried to answer a lot of the FAQs about pricing and how the process works. We will still need to chat about your stuffie and ideas, and I will provide you with a price quote. If you have a question or thought, comment below, because changes are someone else is thinking the same thing, too. I can continue to add to my website to make things better and better. Drop your thoughts and questions 👇🏼!

My waitlist is so long now that I ran out of characters for one post. 😯 What a blessing and I am very grateful. 🙏🏼 I never imagined I'd had this problem. Please bear with me as I work through the waitlist. I try to give everyone's project a lot of attention (making sure I'm getting everything right - sometimes I ask for more pictures, for example, or what your favorite colors are) and hopefully after lots of waiting, you will be happy with your custom order and see why it took so long.

I've tried to prioritize the tummy warmers as I truly think they can help bunnies with GI Statis issues. They are an easy straight-line sew for my brain, when it needs a break from all the concave and convex curves of the stuffies. 😂. I have about 22 left.

This year is shaping up to be really great and it's because of my wonderful and dedicated followers and customers. 🎉 Thank you. 💗🌸💗

I can't get enough of this cutie.

I think Thelma will go down in Bunmom Boutique history as the stuffie that encountered the most vacuuming - I got a few DMs about that 😄 Just a stuffie - deep breaths - and sewing fur ➡️ lint ➡️ vacuuming. I also knew bunmom has a sense of humor and wanted to see some of the behind-the-scenes action. I gave Thelma a complementary vacuum before putting her in her shipping bag. She's ready for her cross-country trip now, lint free and pretty as can be. 🛩️ 💄

A few people inquired about Thelma's sorehock wraps as well. My stuffies aren't anatomically correct in the foot area, so it was easy to sew a loop and then I hand sewed the loop to the foot. I'm not planning or considering making sore hock wraps for my store. If you go to Etsy and put in "sore hocks rabbits" some options come up and I can tell that bunparent put a lot of effort into sizing and fit.

Thank you for all the support, it's been fun making Thelma and Big Bubba. Taking a stuffie break and working on some bags in the waitlist now - no vacuuming needed for bags!😆😂

Izzy is not impressed by my story....
Bundad just picked up the shipping boxes for the stuffies (a pack of 25) and the count was one short. So the employee at the box store just called to tell me of the box shortage...starting the call with "One of your guys just picked up the boxes" ... It was just so funny the way he said it like I was some big business with employees who do my errands and pick up boxes. I did use my business name, so perhaps that is where it came from. Anyway, I guess I have an "errand guy" now. My little bunny-themed sewing business is getting a little bigger of a deal each day. 🎉. And let's celebrate 601 followet

Thank you for sharing with me these pictures of little Lychee using his tummy warmer. What was suspected to be GI Stasis turned out to be dental issues. 😟 We certainly know buns and their teeth as Dandy, my lop, has had dental issues. We wish Lychee a speedy recovery and hope that the tummy warmer doesn't need to be used again.

I finished five covers today - let me know if anyone wants any. I like hearing that they are being used, but why is sad. It's so scary when buns feel poorly and stop eating and pooping. I'm glad to know people got them just to have on hand.

Behind the scenes - ears editions - all sorts of topics!

One of the FAQs about stuffies is the ears - are they lops or up ears? Typically the ears fall down, I think of it as the relaxed posture of ears. This is due to the weight of the fabric I use, typically Luxe Cuddle line. However, the extra-long pile faux fur I used for Thelma (great for angoras and lionheads) has a plastic backing on it - and what to my happy surprise - the ears stood up on their own.

I also used this fabric on Buddy , (another lionhead) but since he was a tilty bun, the ears didn't get noticed as much.

Themla's stuffie is turning out so cute, and I'm getting rather attached to her. This happens with everything I make. 🫣 I know she's going to a loving home with

So I decided to make one of Izzy, while I was feeding all the white through my machine. Izzy is a "pointed white" with gray ears and a gray snoot, so her ears, a work-in-progress, are pictured here, too. I used a fabric called Cloudburst. It is gray on the surface and white underneath, when it is pushed or petted back. Super soft and fluffy.

And lastly, a vacuum and ear-protecting muffs. What the world? When the faux furs are cut into, they make quite a mess. There is a special cutting technique, but even with this, some "Cuddle dust" happens. So I vacuum and quite a bit while I'm sewing these. I have a little hand-held vacuum that runs and it can get loud. Bundad got concerned for my hearing, so he dug out these ear-protecting muffs from his military days. ✈️🇺🇲 I wear them while I'm working on anything with the stuffies and vacuuming and they do a great job

We have been fortunate that neither Izzy nor Dandy are afraid of the vacuum. This is in a different room from them, and not push vacuum that they see.

So there are some behind-the-scenes tidbits about the stuffies.

Did anything surprise you about ears?

Wishing Apache a speedy recovery as he recovers from a sudden limb amputation. Thank you bunmom for the kind feedback on the tummy warmer and how it is helping Apache feel more comfortable and snuggly.

If you have a tummy warmer story to share, I'd love to hear it. However, wishing it's not needed for anything other than some warm snuggles.

I still have some left - let me know if you'd like one!

So excited for everyone to get their tummy warmers. This picture is going out as a gift, what a sweet community we have - my heart flutters a little when someone wants to do a gift because of the kind gesture to the receiptant and my small business.

At 11:30 pm last night, Izzy developed another round of gas. She must have known I was working on them all evening. I applied the pack to her tummy, gave her some infant gas drops, bounced her and thankfully this episode only lasted about an hour. Today no indication of gas - what a relief.

Let me know if you want a tummy warmer - I have 26 left.

Happy Friday! 🎉

Look what UPS just delivered!! Pens!!! ✍🏼🎉

My plan was to include pens with bag/tote/purse orders, but I had to order 150 to get customization, so every order will get a pen - with a bunny! 💗🐇💗. The color of pink wasn't quite what I was expecting - it's rather bright - it won't get lost in your purse. 😆 And if your co-worker walks off with your pen, this one is pretty unique and you can claim it back without hesitation. 🤣

Also, I know many of my followers are involved with rescues and go to special events/fundraisers/socials. If I'm sending off an order to you and it would be helpful to have business cards (and pens) to distribute, please let me know and I would be happy to put some extra in your package.

A special thank you to for taking her Winter bunny stuffie to an event because that did spread the word about my stuffie sewing and I got a request from this word-of-mouth advertising. I'm a micro-small business (just me, bunmom, wearing many hats). I so appreciate when people do little gestures like this because it really does help.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

My latest custom tree, of Mustang. Thanks you bunmom for your order and opportunity to create such a cutie!

Did you know my felt trees are pinable? So all you need are some miniature ornaments and some pins (I recommend Clover fork pins) and you can decorate your tree for any holiday! ♥️🌲♥️

I like to do hand sewing off season, so let me know if you would like a tree or other items made from felt, and I will add you to my waitlist. I'm happy to quote a price as well l, send me a picture of your bun and we can go from there!

Thank you for supporting my small business. 💗

My latest project - a tech pouch organizer for ! This pouch features one zipper compartment with a deep pocket (tan fabric) and another zipper compartment with four individual slots. Then on the other side is two more compartments - this pouch is little bit mighty and perfect for organizing cords and cables, but also can be used for small items.

is going to use this to store a receipt book and vendor needs when she is at bunny festivals and events across the US! If you make it to one of these events, be sure to hop by the Bunnies in Board table and check out this great organization.

If you would like a tech pouch, let me know and I can show you some fabric choices. I also have more of the outside bunny fabric (named after Dandy), I have plenty left.

Any questions, I'm hoppy to help.

Here is Izzy modeling the first ever official Bunmom Boutique tummy warmer! I placed the order for a personalized case this morning. They will be iredescent white glitter with my little bunny and sewing machine logo, covered with Cuddle Luxe fabrics - super soft and machine washable.

The packs are 3 by 6 inches and can be used hot or cold. I ordered a case of 48; I am hoping these go over. 🤞🏼 About 18 have been claimed so far. I will be starting with my scrap piece of Wild Rabbit in Walnut (pictured here with Izzy) and them moving onto other scraps from stuffies. I put a snap at the end so the pack doesn't fall out of the sleeve.

I microwaved my sample heat pad and cover before this picture, and with the cold temperatures here in the Northeast, I must admit, it was nice having this little hand-sized heat pad on my own hands. 🔥👐🏼🔥

The price is $10 plus $5 shipping. Let me know if you want to be added to the list.

Izzy hasn't had a bout of gas since that one episode. She did seem to enjoy a little heat off and on her shoulders, so there are many uses for these little packs.

Thank you for supporting my small business. 💗

Bunparents, I am working on placing an order for the tummy heat packs, which are approximately 3 by 6 inches, and will include a washable cover . The first round will be made from the left-over yardage from stuffie Barnabus, which is called Wild Rabbit Walnut. It is made from polyester and is washable. As I use up the walnut, I will use left-over yardage from other stuffies in the waitlist. This is such a great way to be resourceful and I'm so grateful for all the positive feedback.

The cost will be $10 for one, plus $5 to ship one. They weigh approximately 5 ounces. This is a price for shipping in the United States only. I do ship to Canada as well.

I tagged people who commented in my last post who expressed interest or wanting more details.

Please comment below if you want me include you in my order of the heat pack. They will be from a family-owned/small business dental supply company and good quality.

Note that Izzy is using a different size, which I thought was too big, but it did work in helping to eliminate her gas.

Any questions, I'm hoppy to help.

Bunfriends, you may have seen my story from a few days ago, that Izzy was quick sick. Her stomach was gurgling so loud, and she only produced a few poops overnight in her crib. Normally there are about 100 poops from her overnight time, so I knew something was wrong. She wasn't was honking and her overall demeanor was off. She even let me hold her, which normally causes her to throw a fit. She hates being picked up or held (typical of most bunnies, being a prey animal). However, she did take some critical food, so I knew there was hope. I'm so glad I read so many articles about GI Statis while was she healthy. I did absolutely everything I remembered. I sat on my mini-trampoline, holding her, and bounced her for about 2 minutes, off and on. I gave her critical care and rubbed her belly for about three hours. I turned up the heat in the house (it's been so cold in Pennsylvania) and put this heat pack that I sewed on her belly. I gave her infant gas drops and told her how much I loved her and how much she's given me. More poops started to appear and I kept on bouncing her and repeating everything. I expressed her bladder and what to my happiness, the gurgling was decreasing, and she was eating critical food willingly. By evening she was about 90 percent back to normal. I was physically and mentally exhausted, and so relieved that I didn't lose her.

She seems to absolutely love having the heat on her belly and it got me to thinking...is this something you would be interested in purchasing in my shop? I would be able to get smaller packs, approximately 3 by 6 inches, and cover them with left-over Cuddle fabrics from the stuffies (a super duper soft fabric if you haven't felt it yet). It's just delightful, and it's washable, so I would put snaps at the end for removal.

Slide there is a picture of the smaller pack I am thinking of getting. I would get them from a Dental Supply company so they would be good quality.

Today is Sunday, and Izzy is back to normal, in fact her appetite seems to have increased and we are just so happy, relieved and blessed she is such a fighter.

Another custom bag done. This is the pattern from

Thank you for your patience as I learned this pattern. Stuffies and wristlets came to the front, but finally, 9 months later, I got it done!

The feature fabric is called "Forest Stories" from Dear Stella; the accent and lining pieces are faux leather in caramel, from NAT Leathers. Antique brass hardware was used, including an extra 1" circle ring on the right strap, to attach keys or a luggage tag. The inside features two pockets - a zipper pouch and also a large slot with a magnetic snap closure. What really drew me to this pattern was the thermos holder that closes with velcro. So practical!

This bag is perfect for a "work bag", change of clothes, or even an overnight bag for someone who packs light. (Not me, according to bundad😆)

I have a little leftover fabric and have a wallet planned with this print (featuring the adorable bunny, of course). This bag pattern is perfect for medium to large scale prints, so if anyone is interested in a bag of this pattern, please send me a DM and I can show you some appropriate fabric choices. I'm working on inventory right now and I have sooooo many pretty fabrics with bunnies.

Once my year-end inventory is done, I will be back to sewing. I'm anxious to work on the waitlist and continue creating for all my patient customers and bunny lovers.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Bunmom Boutique. ♥️💚♥️

From Barnabus's bunmom. Feedback like this makes my heart so happy. Thank you for coordinating such a meaningful gift.🎁

Hi friends. A few you have contacted me about the fiber I am using for the stuffies. Except for Buddy (the lionhead with headtilt) and customer-provided yardage, everything I use is from

I make it a point to mention that I am using faux fur and the product line. Many of their product lines are the names of animals, such as wild rabbit, seal, and artic hare. That is just the name of the product line (they have different embossment patterns) but they are synthetic, that is 100% polyester. The backing (that would be skin) has a knit weave to it and stretches on the weft grain. A real fur would have no stretch as the skin would not have a grainline. There are other ways to tell real vs faux, such as a burn test (putting a lighter on the fiber) but since I am getting these from a high-quality, reputable supplier, I feel confident the yardage is synthetic. Shannon Fabrics also has a You Tube channel, page, and I have also taken classes with one of their national educators. These fibers aren't something I bought at a big box store, as they only wholesale to family-owned quilt stores.

For Buddy, I used a long-pile faux fur from Hobby Lobby. The label said it was polyester and frankly, it felt fake and inexpensive. The backing has a plastic-coating to it, indicative of being faux. The price was also inline with a synthetic fur, as real fur would be costly.

I promise you I would not use real fur to make the stuffies. I'm so happy I found at my local, family-owned quilt shop, and that they have so many colors that I can create stuffies in so many breed and colorings of rabbit.

I hope to make one in Wild Rabbit Driftwood over my Christmas break, to look like my cutie agouti, Dandy.

If you are interested in a stuffie or sewing, I'd encourage you to check out their website, as they have the most incredible colors and embossments of Cuddle fabrics. I never thought I'd find a fabric that looks like an agouti rabbit.

Any questions, please let me know.

Sleepover alert! Last night Astrid and Izzy had a girls' sleepover, complete with new heart sleep masks! My latest custom order for Do you remember bunny Cosmo's heart blankets? I got two more projects made from it! Stay tuned for the last reveal!

The flip sauce of these masks is left-over fabric from. Astrid's stuffie, in
Wild Rabbit Luxe Cuddle in Outer Space color. It's so soft and sleep-inducing for a mask! I try to use every scrap of fabric I can, and these sleep masks are the perfect use for scraps of soft fabrics.

So what does a bunny sleepover consist of? 🤔 From what I heard, there was an over indulgence of banana and oats 🍌🍿, bunny-themed movies 🎥🎬 (thank you for a list), some binky dancing 🎶👯, and some talk of all the celebrity bunnies amd their latest thumps. 🐾The girls are exhausted today and happy to have sleep masks to black out the sun while they get their beauty sleep. 😴🛌🏼🐰

🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏾🙋🏻‍♀️ Everyone meet Pixie and bunmom Heather .and.his.bunnies - the idea behind the keepsake stuffies. 💡 Bunmom contacted me about a year ago with the idea of sewing old blankets and clothing into bunny stuffies.

So at long last - here is Pixie - a beautiful Chinchilla rex who crossed the bridge last October.

Bunmom and Pixie would snuggle with this sweatshirt; thankfully I was able to incorporate some of Pixie's chew spots with the help of some interfacing underneath. Little chew spots are sweet memories. I also wanted to incorporate a bit of floof, so I used some cuddle fabric in a color similar to Pixie. She also had beautiful pink lips, so I used a brighter pink than I normally do to really accentuate this feature. 🩷👄🩷

Thank you again .and.his.bunnies for supporting my small business with an idea that is definitely expanding my sewing skills - sewing concave to convex curves, pattern enlargement, and sewing with Cuddle fabrics and faux furs. 2023 has been memorable! I'm excited to see what 2024 brings.

All orders for stuffies now come with a little card about Pixie, for she is not forgotten. 🩷

The details:

Pattern credit: enlarged to 125%, my 6 pound rabbit size

Gray fabric: Swowy Owl in driftwood

Eyes: 24 mm black hologram

Mouth embroidery: #961

My latest custom stuffie! This adorable ball of floof is Buddy, of Buddy has head tilt (just like Izzy) and is also a lionhead breed, so this was extra special for me to make.

This request came in during the fall, while I was still learning to sew with fabrics that have a pile (that basically is sewing code for floof) and as Buddy is the floofiest of all I've sewed so far. 🪡🧵😄

A special thank you to for your patience as I not only learned to sew floof, but also waiting for faux furs to be restocked during the busy Halloween season. I had forgotten about costume sewing in the fall and that many colors of faux fur were sold out. Thankfully by November, the faux furs were restocked and after some communication, we found Buddy's teddy bear color. 🧸🩷

♦️If you'd like to order your own ball of faux fur floof, I am starting a list for 2024. Please DM me to discuss your idea.

The details: (I partly do this for my own reference, too 😄)

Pattern credit: at 108%, my four-pound rabbit size

Fabric: 5 sheets of 9x12" faux fur from Hobby Lobby, bead isle

Inner ear color: C3 in Latte

Mouth Embroidery: 6-strand cotton #310

Eyes: 21 mm Black Hologram