Recycled Paper Easter Egg Basket

Here's a tedious but rewarding little craft. This Easter egg basket was made from leftover wrapping paper and scotch tape, so it is not sturdy enough to hold real eggs. It's great for paper eggs in a bed of shredded paper though.

Older tweens who like crafting, and are patient may find this basket both challenging and rewarding to get to the finished product. Especially if made for an eagerly waiting younger brother, sister, or cousin.

The basket here was made by first cutting 8 strips of paper about 1/2 inch wide, and a foot long. Weave these together at the middle to form the bottom of the basket. Put little pieces of tape as needed to hold it together. Long ends of the strips should be ready for weaving the sides up.

Use another strip of paper of similar size to start the sides of the basket. Weave the strip one full circle around the bottom. Then tape the meeting ends together to secure, and clip off the remainder. Continue on in this manner until the sides are as high as you'd like.

At this point remaining strips from the original 8 strips will be hanging over the edges. Fold each over to end each weave, cut off extra, and tape.

Use two strips of the same size as the rest twisted together to form the handle. Attach with tape.

Happy Easter!

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.

TP Rolls for Leprechaun or Fairy Houses?

Toilet paper rolls sometimes are used for crafts, and sometimes sit in the cupboard. Before recycling them, brush off the dust, check for spiders, and put them in a special kids' box. Sometimes those kids' imaginations just need a little something new to create with.

Perhaps those toilet paper rolls will become Leprechaun or Fairy houses. Perhaps they'll be rolling tunnels for matchbox cars.

I was thinking of using them like Lincoln Logs and cutting notches at one end of each roll, so they could fit together. The kids may be in the mood for that, or they might think of something better!;)

Shamrocks and 4 leaf clovers

Everybody likes a little luck, and kids can draw lucky clovers with just the shape of a heart. Using a cardboard heart to trace, Shamrocks with 3 leaves, and 4 leaf clovers can easily be drawn, colored and decorated. Here's a creative take on a clover. For specific steps on how to help younger children draw their own 4 leaf clovers and Shamrocks, here's a link.

How to Help Children Make Four Leaf Clovers or Shamrocks for Saint Patrick's Day

Coffee Can Drum

Here's a little drum completely created my daughter. It's special not only because she initiated the craft and made it herself, but also because it is a good example of things we save that inspire our children to make crafts. It changes constantly. Right now as you can see, Folgers coffee cans are our inspiration.

Mom likes them because they don't have lingering food smells to attract bugs and are easy to clean with pretty smooth edges. Daughter likes them because they are so versatile. They can store small toys or pretty clothes that have been outgrown but can be made into doll clothes.

They can also be made into drums which is another reason mom likes them. Because they are plastic, the drumming isn't as hard on mom's ears as a medal coffee can drum. Yet the plastic still gives a nice low boom to make daughter happy. How much better does it get? ;) Not to mention that the 3 pound can was $7.99 at Costco the other week plus a coupon for $2.00 off. That's what I call living! LOL:)

Twisted Paper Hearts

Here's some hearts made from twisted paper candy canes. So many fun ideas to do with real and paper candy canes for Valentine's Day! Hope your day is sweet but without cavities;)

Link:
Twisted Paper Candy Canes