Easter Sunrise: Simple Paper and Watercolor Craft

Part I: The Background Sunrise Sky Colors

Paint Your Sunrise Watercolor

On a sheet of orange construction paper, paint any colors you'd like to be in your sunrise. 

I stuck to mostly red, yellow, orange, purple and violet. 

The streak I tried with dark blue became too dark.

Experiment adding more water to your brush for lighter colors or for blending colors. Then try using a drier brush for more vivid colors by dipping it in water, blotting it on a napkin before dipping it in the paint. 

After your orange paper is filled with colors, start on the sun. 

Part II: The Sun

Half Circle of Sun

Cut out a large half circle from yellow paper.

Sun Rays Cut Out

Fold another sheet of yellow construction paper in half and in half again.

Cut the shape of a long triangle for the rays.

You should have four sun rays.

Three Rays Plus Two Halves

Cut one of the four rays in half.

Tuck Rays Under Half Circle of Sun

Tuck the rays under the sun. You can tuck them in more, making them shorter, or leave them longer. Whatever looks best to you.

After you have all pieces placed where you want, glue them on.

Making a Dozen Paper-Mache Eggs

Start this craft at least three days before Easter!

I like the idea of hiding paper-mache eggs instead of real ones because every-once-in-a-while the Easter Bunny so cleverly hides a few eggs that no one finds them. Finding rotten eggs is never pretty, so I thought I could keep the colored hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator this Easter, and send a message to the Easter Bunny to hide paper-mache eggs instead. So far my family likes this idea.

If we decide to keep the paper-mache eggs until next year, we could use the same eggs again, or coat over the construction paper with new designs with construction paper or paint. That way the production line of the paper-mache undercoats only has to take place once. Or we could add new paper-mache eggs to our collection each year and have endless egg hunts--inside that is. Paper-mache eggs probably wouldn't do well hidden in dewy grass.

Here's the production line I made:

Crunch up twelve pages of newspaper into twelve egg shapes

Mix paste potion using one part white glue and two parts water. A small, clean yogurt container works well for this. Mixing with a plastic folk ensures a smooth potion.

Then dip strips of newspaper in the paste potion and wrap the strips around the egg shaped wads of newspaper.

Production line for a dozen paper-mache Easter eggs

As I reach the end of a coat, I like to sop-up the glue which has dripped onto my plastic lid (parchment paper works well too) with the strips of paper and do clean-up and finish-up all at once.

Production line for a dozen paper-mache eggs--sopping up extra paste

I like using plastic storage box lids or parchment paper as a work-area because I can move these out of the way easily for the eggs to dry overnight, and the eggs don't stick to the plastic or the parchment paper.

Two coats of paste soaked newspaper strips is usually a good base for decoration. Let each coat thoroughly dry overnight.

Ready for Decorating

Rip-up strips of construction paper in a variety of colors.

Strips of construction paper to decorate paper-mache eggs

For poka-dots, use a hole punch.

Use a hole punch for dot decorations

I like to lay the strips out and spoon the paste potion over them, so they can soak up the moisture and become more pliable. Since construction paper is thicker than newspaper, it may not stick to the egg well if it isn't soaked thoroughly.

Soaking construction paper strips with paste potion

Decorate

Decorated paper-mache eggs--as you can see, we made our eggs different sizes

Paper-mache eggs decorated with pieces and strips of colored construction paper--we found the strips were easier to work with than the pieces
Actually, the white on the egg with the strips is scrap printer paper which is thinner than construction paper and easier to work with.

Paper-Mache Easter Egg Decorated with Construction Paper Scraps

Paper-mache egg decorated with construction paper scraps in various colors

A great craft to use up old newspaper and colored paper scraps too small for other projects.

Materials

• White glue
• Water
• Small yogurt container
• Parchment paper or large plastic storage box lid
• Plastic spoon
• Newspaper
• Construction paper scraps in various colors

Directions

Take a page of newspaper and wad it up about the shape and size of the egg you'd like.

Mix about one part white glue with two parts water in a small, clean yogurt container. On the parchment paper or plastic box top, dip strips of newspaper in the glue/water mixture and cover the wad of newspaper completely with the strips. As you wrap the strips around the wad of paper, gently squeeze and form the wad into a more smooth egg shape. Let dry for a day and then apply a second layer of glue/water soaked strips. Let dry for a second day.

When the newspaper layers are dry, tear up pieces of construction paper in different colors. Lay the torn up paper out on the parchment paper or plastic box lid and cover with the glue/water mixture. Since the construction paper is thicker than newspaper, soaking the construction paper makes it easier to work with.  Also spreading the colored paper out, makes it easy to select the color and shape you want to put on your egg next. Apply different colored paper in any design you'd like to the egg.

Egg tracing

Sometimes the simplest things create great ideas. Just cutting a few egg shapes of different sizes out of an old cereal box, so they can be traced, may instigate a crafting time.

Cutting out other shapes to trace such as a diamond which can be traced again and again until a pattern is made across a picture of an egg, can inspire other ideas for egg decorations as well.

All that's needed is thin cardboard like an old cereal box, paper, pencil, and non-toxic pens or crayons.

Paper Mache Easter Egg

Here's a goopy little craft. It's about the size of a real egg, and made with two rolled up balls of newspaper secured with masking tape, ripped up junk mail, and glue. Glitter is optional.

Just use 1/2 of a newspaper page for the first ball, and the other half for the second ball. Make the second a little tighter and smaller. Then wrap with masking tape to hold the two balls together in an egg shape.

Use little torn pieces of brightly colored junk mail. We used a clothes catalog. The smaller the pieces, the easier they secure to the egg.

Put the egg on a plastic lid, so it doesn't stick during the paper macheing process. On another plastic lid, put about a quarter size of white, non-toxic glue like Elmer's. Use about the same amount of water, and mix together.

Dip the pieces of torn paper through the glue mixture, and lay them across the newspaper egg until it is covered with colored paper. A little glitter could be added. It could even be painted after it is dry with non-toxic poster paints. The decorations begin with your imagination like attaching beads or dry beans and different shaped dry pasta.

The sticky fun is in the doing it together. As can be seen from the picture, it doesn't have to be perfect.