Monday, April 2, 2012

Cute, Dye-Free Easter Egg Ideas

As usual, I got these tips from http://www.parents.com/.  They have so many creative & fun ideas for crafts with your kiddos.  Below are a few of my favorites!  I LOVE EASTER!  We usually paint eggs, but I thought it would be fun to have some dye-free tips/ideas to avoid the mess this year.  Check it out!


Napkin Decoupage eggsWhat you'll need: Floral paper napkins, scissors, foam brush, Elmer's glue, blown-out or ceramic egg, small roll of tape
Make it: Cut flowers or desired design from paper napkins. If using 2-ply napkins, peel away the thin white paper backing from the cutout napkin pieces (this will make it easier to glue to the egg). Use a foam brush to apply glue to half of the egg, then press a napkin flower on top and cover with a thin layer of glue. Add more napkin flowers, one by one, making sure to brush the top of each with glue. Place the half covered egg on the roll of tape and let dry for about 15 minutes, then repeat for the other half of the egg. When completely covered, set the egg on roll of tape and let it dry overnight.


Funny Farm: BunnyWhat you'll need: Felt, marker, scissors, craft glue, blown-out or ceramic egg, small white pom-pom, extra small pink pom-pom, pink yarn, hair spray, bottle cap
Make it: To make the outer ear shapes, trace your child's thumb onto pink felt twice. To make the inner ear shapes, trace your child's pinky finger onto white felt twice. Cut all of the ear shapes out, then glue the inner ear shape on top of the outer ear shape, making sure to leave about ¼" at the bottom unattached, and set aside to dry. In the meantime, cut three 1-inch pieces of yarn and spray with hair spray to stiffen; let dry. Rest the egg in the bottle cap and apply two small dots of glue to the top, about ½" apart, and gently separate the unattached part of each bunny ear and press down on the glue dots. When yarn is dry, twist the pieces together in the middle and glue to the front of the egg, about halfway down. Attach the extra small pink pompom on top of the yarn whiskers for a nose. Glue the white pompom to the back of the egg for a tail. Use a marker to draw eyes on the bunny, then draw a mouth. (Tip: draw the letter J then add a loop on the other side.) Leave the bunny on the bottle cap to dry overnight.

Polka dot eggs
Give your Easter eggs an eye-catching effect. Make glittery polka dots without the mess using glue dots and fine glitter.
What you'll need: Hardboiled or blown out egg, bottle cap, ½" glue dots, fine glitter, small plate, paintbrush
Make it: Rest the egg on bottle cap, then apply about 12 glue dots, about ½" apart. Pour glitter onto a small plate and press each glue dot into the glitter until completely covered. Repeat for each glue dot. When all of the dots are coated, use the paintbrush to wipe away any excess glitter.



Rhinestone eggsKids can arrange adhesive-backed rhinestone jewels into one-of-a-kind designs on eggs.









Tape striped eggs
Kids can achieve a striped look with strips of easy-to-tear Japanese Washi tape, or you can buy ribbon & glue the different colors on.