Yarn Block Stamps

Stamps have long been a great way for crafters to add decorations and details to their paper crafts but they are also an excellent way to add texture to any kind of project, from scrapbooking to fabric crafts. Change up the texture by using thicker or thinner yarns or different sized blocks, make the pattern orderly with straight lines or abstract with criss crosses.

Things you’ll need:
Small wooden blocks or wood scraps, about 1 inch by 1 inch
Scrap yarn
Inkpads

Things to do:
1. Loop the yarn tightly around the block near the middle and tie tightly on the backside of the block. Leave the tail!


2. Wrap the yarn around and around the block, keeping the yarn tight, until you have covered the wood and created the texture you want.

3. Tie off the end using the tail from your tie on.
4. Clip the tails and stamp, turning 45 degrees with each application to create a basket weave pattern.

Leaf Print Easter Eggs

Easter Egg dying is always a highlight of spring in our house and every year we like to try something a little different. This year we’re taking inspiration from the new plants outdoors and dying some leaf print eggs.

Things you’ll need:
Hard-boiled eggs
Egg dying kit
Leaves and flowers
Old pantyhose legs cut into 8-inch lengths

Things to do:
1. Knot one end of each pantyhose tube.
2. Arrange a leaf on one side of the egg and roll it gently into the pantyhose tube so that the seams and knots are not over the leaf.
3. Knot the other end, pulling the material tightly to hold the leaf firmly to the shell.

4. Submerge into egg dye and allow them to sit until the shell has reached the color you want.

5. Cut the end of the pantyhose and carefully pull away the material and the leaf to reveal the print.

Message in an Egg

Imagine the surprise on Easter morning when a few hollow eggs are hidden amongst the hardboiled variety, and just think how much more surprised they’ll be when they try to crack one of these hollow eggs open and find a mysterious message inside? Pure magic. And very, very simple.

Things you’ll need:
Eggs (pretty speckled or blue ones are best!)
Skewer
Large embroidery needle
Thin paper strips and pen

Things to do:
1. Carefully create a hole in each end of the egg by gently pressing and twisting the point of the needle into the egg. Enlarge one of the holes (on the bottom of the egg) until it’s about 1/8 inch in diameter.


2. Insert the skewer and scramble the egg inside a little. This will help the egg come out more easily.
3. Over a bowl blow into the smaller hole to force the yolk and white out of the shell.

4. Rinse the inside of the egg well and allow it to dry.
5. Write messages on the strips of paper and tightly roll them into a tube (use the needle if you need to)

6. Slip the message into the larger hole of the egg, once the entire piece of paper is inside, shake the egg slightly to help the paper unfurl.

Little Chick Egg Topper

My kids LOVE soft-boiled eggs. It’s a regular breakfast and snack at our house, but if the kids aren’t ready as soon as the eggs are, the yolks can become cold and not as appetizing. To help slow the heat loss I’ve made a few cute little egg toppers to keep the yolks toasty warm! These little chick versions always bring a smile to both my face and those of my kids when they come to the table to fine the sweet chickies waiting for them!

Things you’ll need
White felt
Yellow felt (scraps)
Yellow, black and red embroidery thread
Embroidery needle
Pinking shears
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Cut two half circles about twice the size of an egg. Trim around the rounded side with pinking shears to make “feathers”.
2. Thread the needle with yellow thread and stitch with a running stitch around the pinked edge.

3. Cut a tiny triangle from the yellow felt and sew in place with the yellow thread.

4. Create eyes with the black thread and add a comb with the red to finish it off and your ready to go!

Chalkboard Paint Eggs

This project is a fun and unusual one to add to your Easter decor. Perfect for place setting at a brunch, these eggs are also a great twist on the traditional egg hunt eggs. Write messages on the eggs or have kids search for an egg that says “PRIZE” instead of using plastic eggs.

Things you’ll need:
Paper mache eggs
Chalkboard spray paint or Chalkboard paint
Cardboard box

Optional:
Chalk
Egg Cups

Things to do:
1. Lay your eggs out in the cardboard box in a well ventilated area, if you are using spray paint.

2. Spray (or paint) the eggs with a thin coat of paint. Allow the paint to dry and then roll the eggs to reveal the unpainted side and spray again. Repeat until the eggs are well coated on all sides.

3. Add names or messages with chalk and use with your Easter decor!

Teeny Rosette Bobbies

Perfect for a little girls Easter morning hair-do, these teeny rose clips are simple and sweet. A great way to use up felt scraps with a fun and beautiful result.

Things you’ll need:
Pastel felt plus scraps of green felt
Craft glue
Bobby pins
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Cut a circle from the pastel felt that is about 3 inches in diameter.
2. Begin cutting the circle into a spiral with the edge begin about ¼ inch wide. Continue to cut about halfway around the circle and then switch to cutting the spiral in a wider (about ½ inch) strip. When you get to the center, leave a small circle.

3. At the wide point, cut the outer edge into scallops until you are almost at the center.

4. Starting at the thin outer edge of the strip, begin rolling tightly, adding a small bead of glue along the bottom edge as you roll.
5. Continue to roll as you hit the scalloped edge to create the petaled surface of the flower. Tuck the circle at the end of the strip under the backside of the flower and glue in place. Allow to dry.

6. Cut a small slip on the bottom and thread the bobby pin through and out the edge of the center circle.
7. Cut a leaf shape from the green scraps and glue over the spot where the bobby goes through the flower to secure it in place. Allow the glue to dry before using.

Thumb Print Bunny Cards

Easter is right around the corner and if you have little ones, you probably also have grandparent’s who love to get reminders of their sweet grandkids. These thumbprint bunny cards are sure to fit the bill and might just become a keepsake of the little fingers that made them.

Things you’ll need:
Cardstock – white and a pastel color of your choice
Die cutter or stencil for a tag (in two sizes if possible)
Gel pens
Stamp pad
Glue

Things to do:
1. Using the die cutter or stencil, cut out a few shapes from the white card stock. Cut squares or rectangles about half again as large as the tags out of the colored card stock.

2. Help your child stamp their thumbs or fingers onto each card.
3. Add a tail, ears and eyes to turn each thumbprint into a bunny.
4. Use the smaller stencil to add some detail to the card, this can also be done by hand. Add a message to the bottom of the card.
5. Glue the tag onto the colored square cards and allow to dry before noting the date and age of your child on the back of the card and adding a personal message to the recipient.

Peeps!… with felt squares

My children have an almost diabolical love for Peeps. We have to hide them well and doll them out one at a time when we bring them into the house, and while I could just skip them, they’re Peeps, how can you not have Peeps in the spring. They’re like daffodils and Easter Baskets., just part of the warmer weather and the donning of pastel colors. But still, they can’t eat Peeps all day, every day, so to tide them over I whipped up a few Peep shaped finger puppets, and they’re getting a lot of hilarious use. I bet they will at your house too, it’s not everyday that you have a finger puppet that looks like food after all!

Things you’ll need:
Felt squares – Peeps colors
Scissors
White thread
Sewing machine or hand sewing needle
Brown acrylic paint
Pencil
Template

Things to do:
1. Using the template, cut two shapes for each puppet you want from felt.

2. Lay the bunnies out in pairs and stitch about 1/16 of an inch in from the edge all the way around except for about 1 inch along the bottom edge. Trim all threads.
3. Dip the eraser end of the pencil into the paint and dot onto the face for a nose and eyes. Allow the paint to dry before use!

Felted Easter Eggs

During the spring months I like to decorate corners of our house with different kinds of eggs. And there are many different crafty eggs to choose from, stitched eggs, dyed eggs, painted eggs, blown eggs, and then there are felted eggs. These are a fun addition to any Easter basket and add a little softness to the smooth, shiny and colorful look of most Easter Eggs. Using this method you can even “crack” them open with a pair of scissors and add a fluffy wool chick.

Things you’ll need:
Wool Roving
Plastic eggs
Dish or liquid hand soap
Access to warm and cold water

Things to do:
1. Take a generous handful of roving and start wrapping it around the egg, pressing it into itself so that it sticks. Spread the wool out as evenly as you can all over the egg.

2. Dampen the wool and add a dot of soap then start rolling gently, GENTLY. Around and around in your hands until the wool starts to bond with itself.

3. Add another layer of wool, just as in step 1 and dampen and roll again, being careful not to squeeze the egg, it might not look egg shaped yet, but it will.

4. Repeat this one more time and then just keep rolling, rinsing and adding a little more soap as needed until the wool stops absorbing as much water and the fibers have bonded together and it’s a nice egg shape.
5. At this point you can leave the egg as is or you can add wisps of roving in a contrasting color and repeat the felting process to add a little spunk.

6. Allow the wool to dry completely before displaying.
7. If desired, you can carefully cut at the center point of the egg to create a “cracked” egg.

Little Felt Bunny

On the eve of my son’s first Easter I went into a panic about the fact that there wasn’t anything to put in his Basket the following morning. Growing up we’d always gotton something special on Easter Morning, a pretty parasol or a fluffy teddy bear, something to help celebrate spring. Up until that point I hadn’t really thought about needing something for his first Easter. He was, after all, about 6 months old. We had dyed eggs and that would be enough. Except then it wasn’t. SO I sat up, late into the night, and sewed a simple bunny out of scrap fabric for him.

Of course the next morning he gnawed on it for a while and then discarded it for something better, food, and over time, we lost that little bunny. This Easter I’m reprising the little fabric bunny gift with these felt rabbits for my kids. Simple to make, squishy with just a little weight to them, they are just about as Easter-y as you can get.

Things you’ll need:
Felt squares – three colors per bunny
Scissors
Wool batting
Rice (about 1 cup per bunny)
Sewing machine and notions
Yarn
Fork
Template

Things to do:
1. Using the template cut four pieces from the different felts, two of one color and then one each of the other two.

2. Lay two pieces flat together and stitch up the center seam. Repeat with the other pair.

3. Open up the bunnies and lay them flat together seams out and then stitch all around except for a 1 inch piece along the bottom.
4. Trim any thread and any uneven spots in the seam and then stuff ¾ of the way full with batting. Top off with rice and then careful stitch the hole closed.

5. Wrap the yarn around the tines of the fork until you have a large ball. Slip a short piece of yarn through the center tine under the yarn and tie tightly around the loops. Slip the yarn off the fork and cut all loops to create a puff ball. Shape the yarn as needed.



6. Using the tail of the tie-yarn, sew the puff ball onto the back of the bunny for a tail.

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