Spring is almost here and that means Easter is just around the corner! Children of all ages look forward to the traditional Easter activity of dying Easter eggs. Why stop at just dipping hard-boiled eggs in store bought dyes? There are plenty of great Easter crafts you can do with your kids without a huge investment of time or money. Check out these tips for some imaginative Easter fun.
Naturally Dyed Eggs. You don’t have to spend your money on store bought dye kits for your Easter eggs. There are plenty of natural products that can also be used to dye eggs. Just like with commercial dyes, you want to hard-boil your eggs first. Bring a quart of water and two tablespoons of vinegar to a boil. Add to the water your choice of shredded red cabbage, onion skins, mashed blueberries, or chopped beats. Boil for 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Add your eggs after the water has cooled to a lukewarm temperature. You can let the eggs soak for as long as you would like, depending on the depth of color you desire. Experiment with other foods to create new dye colors! You’re kids will love trying to find new dyes for their eggs.
Stringy Egg Containers. Blow up a small balloon. Using medium weight string cut into 12 inch strips, dip the string in white school glue. After the string is well coated, start covering the balloon with it. Use a criss-cross pattern, covering the entire balloon, but leaving some open spaces. Allow the strings to dry overnight. In the morning, the glue will have hardened. Pop the balloon and remove it. You will be left with a lovely egg-shaped shell which can be filled with candies or other Easter treats.
Fuzzy Bunnies. These adorable little bunnies are simple and inexpensive to make. Using a standard washcloth, roll the washcloth up into a tube shape from corner to corner. Once you have rolled it fairly tightly, fold it in half, end to end. Next, keeping the tube folded in half, fold the closed end over. Now, tie a ribbon tightly around the entire washcloth to keep it together. You’ve just created your bunny! You can choose to embellish the bunny with eyes and other facial features or just keep it as is. Pastel colored washcloths are great for making adorable little Easter bunnies.
Batik Eggs. This is another alternative egg dying process. It’s a great way to employ that seldom used white crayon from the crayon box. Using a white crayon, draw a design on a hard-boiled egg. Your design won’t show up just yet. Next dip your eggs in natural or commercial dye. The crayon will act as a wax resist, leaving the desirn drawn with the white crayon white, while allowing the remainder of the egg to take on the dye color. The result is a unique batik style Easter egg.
Flower Pens. These simple crafts make great favors for spring or Easter parties. You will need several silk flowers (daisies work great), ballpoint pens, and floral tape. Cut the flower stems so they are slightly shorter then the pens. Holding the flower at the top of the pen, with the stem pressed tightly against the pen shaft, wrap the stem against the pen using floral tape. Wrap around several times until the pen is covered entirely. Floral tape sticks to itself so you don’t need any glue or tape. Once your pens are finished you can place them in a vase with sand or marbles for a lovely spring “arrangement”.
Carrot Treat Bags. All you need for this craft are decorating bags (used for icing cakes), green curling ribbon, and orange candies. Simply fill the decorating bags with the orange candies. Jelly beans, gummy orange slices, candy corn, or any other orange candy will work. Once the bag is full, tie it closed with the green ribbon. Add additional ribbon and curl. You now have a cute carrot full of Easter treats to give as a gift or use as a decoration. Try arranging several carrot bags in a circle with the points facing each other for a lovely table centerpiece.
With just a little bit of time and a lot of creativity you can enjoy making these Easter projects no matter what your age. So hop to it and have fun!
