Happy Easter!

Easter weekend in pictures. Celebrating. Family. Fun. Eggs. Hope you have a wonderful Easter!

Monday, Monday

Today I am enjoying all the sunshine that is streaming through the window as I  clean out the closet in the dining room and plan for Easter (it's THIS weekend - how did that happen?) before heading to work for a couple of hours.

Sneakers is enjoying the sunshine too. Silly little puppy. All eight pounds of furriness

The happy window. Terrible picture, I know, but the kidlywinks had fun drawing spring pictures. It makes me smile every time I walk by.

Enjoy your Monday!

Getting Ready for Easter - Dyeing Eggs

At the farmer's market on Saturday, I bought eggs. White eggs. The kids were excited. I don't normally buy white eggs, but I tracked some down. They knew what was coming. The absence of colour, but all that is about to change.

After school on Monday, we got to work. There were squeals of joy when they realized what we were about to do. "You mean we get to dye eggs right now?!" Yep!
Colouring. Adding polka dots and noses.

Cute eyes waiting for a colour bath. What will you become little one? If you belonged to Mr. Man, you might become a dinosaur, because according to him, dinosaurs are related to chickens. And if chicks are around at Easter, then maybe dinosaurs are too.  Little Miss said "Dinosaurs are NOT Eastery!" "But, aren't they just a little, mom?" asks Mr. Man.

Dipping. We started by using the wire thingy that comes in the box. It didn't work. One egg almost cracked, but didn't. Then the kids thought they'd use their fingers until they dipped them into the blue. A metal came next. The egg rolled off and almost cracked, but didn't. We decided on tongs. Tongs worked. Go with tongs if you do this.

Soaking.

Drying. Mr. Man did a great job in dyeing his blue egg. So pretty.

Waiting. Love that boy and his smile. I could just eat him.

And waiting for the eggs to dry. Hop, hop little bunny!

Cutting, and then taping. Mr. Man loves taping. What kid doesn't?

Decorating. All lined up in the front window. A rainbow of colour against the grey outside.

Mr. Man's sleeping owl. Because every Easter basket needs a sleeping owl.

Getting Ready for Easter - Painting Eggs

While the kids were at school, I stamped several sheets of paper with an egg-shaped cookie cutter dipped into black acrylic paint.

I got the idea from here. Whatever is my favourite blog. Love it.
When the kids came home, they began painting with watercolours, filling in each spot with a different colour.

Choosing. Twirling.

Concentrating.

Painting. Creating.

Being silly.

And sillier still.

Finished.

Cut and hung.

Getting Ready for Easter - Easy Homemade Stamps

A few simple materials are all that is needed.

Draw an egg shape on the styrofoam tray. Cut it out.

Use a pencil to make a design. Adhere a cork to the back of the stamp.

Stamps in action.

Yarn Wreath Tutorial

My front door was in need of a little colour. The space between the storm door and front door is tiny. Miniscule, actually. After a little thought, I came up with this fab wreath that will fit in the shallowest of spaces. It was fun, inexpensive and is just the burst of texture and colour that my front door needed.

Want to make a yarn-wrapped egg wreath? Here's how.
First, I raided my recycling box for some cardboard to make the base.

Unfold the boxes, and lay the cardboard flat. I used this lovely bucket Andrew gave me for Christmas. I liked the proportions. Trace the top, then the bottom, making sure the smaller circle is centred in the larger circle. If you don't have a bucket, you could use two different sizes of plates or bowls. 

 Cut out the circle. You should end up with a ring that looks something like this:

Cut tissue paper into strips. I just used what I had on hand. Wrap the tissue paper around the ring.

Next, draw three different sizes of eggs. I drew them freehand on paper. You could trace cookie cutters or find a template on the internet.

Trace the egg templates onto cardboard. Then cut them out. I used 10 large eggs, 10 medium eggs and 10 small eggs. The number of eggs needed is dependent upon the size of the wreath.

Cheery yarn from a second-hand shop. 6 partly used balls for $2. Sold!

Begin by attaching the yarn to the back of the egg.

Then wrap the yarn around the middle of the egg, making sure the edges are covered.

Switch directions, and wrap diagonally.

Continue wrapping, changing direction when the yarn begins to slip.

Once all the eggs are wrapped, begin by attaching the large eggs around the wreath base.

Continue adding eggs until all the gaps are filled in.

Now to add some bunting. I used an old shirt and a flour bag.

On the fold of the flour bag, cut out a triangle. You'll end up with two layers. String the triangles over a lenght of yarn.

Cut out a triangle out of the fabric, just slightly smaller than the paper triangle. Using a sewing machine, sew the fabric triangle onto the paper. Write out your message using a disappearing marker.

Using embroidery thread, stitch on the letters.

Attach the bunting to the wreath.

Ready to hang.


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