Easter 2008. Over and out.

Dyed with onion skins, red cabbage.  This year, each egg tied up in a length of nylon stocking to hold the cilantro leaves as resist.  Of course, you could do this with packaged egg dyes too.  Too late, I noticed that Nova Naturals carried a natural egg dyeing kit this year for what I thought is a very reasonable price that we might have to try out next Easter. 

The easter bunny leaves a wooden egg in the boys baskets each year, as well as one for each of us adults.  Painting them makes for a fun easter day craft together.  Names of who painted them and the year are written on the bottom of each egg.  Most of them were painted with acrylic craft paint but, since we didn't get around to dyeing eggs until Sunday, the leftover dye was used as watercolor paint this year.

A colony of rabbits.  Even E (5), who often opts out of doing crafty stuff with us, liked making and playing with these.  Again, from a previous issue of Family Fun.  He made one of these nests made with yarn and liquid starch with my help, too.

And, another colony of rabbits.  R (8) liked making these ones which require a more steady hand, more cutting experience, and patience while the glue dried.

A paddling of ducks.  These ones I did.

All the wooden parts were ordered from Casey's.  Much of the painting of the beads I did ahead of time with acrylic craft paints and with a water-based clear coat on top.  You can buy prepainted ones, too.  Usually, I've been able to find wooden pieces for crafting locally, that is, until the Ben Franklin closed down about a year and a half ago and "frankly" I've felt a little lost without it.    The good news, though, is that it's reopening early next month and I'm curious to see if it will be as well stocked as the old one was with the kinds of things we often use.

As for Family Fun magazine, I've said it before and I'll say it again.  There are some great ideas and inspirations in there if  you can wade through and see beyond all the Disney promotions, advertisings, and things like the Bunny Racer school classroom treats that look like roadsters, assembled from Hostess Ho-Ho "cars", with SweetTart "wheels", a Lifesaver "steering wheel", Skittles headlights, and with a Peep rabbit "driving" to top it off, all glued together with icing.  I don't envy the teacher who gets stuck with a classroom full of students strung out on those.  

Comments

[Lizz]

Everything is so great!

Snort...ha ha ha....I hear ya about Family Fun Magazine. I'll pick one up during holidays. Or read at the dentist. Likewise with Martha.

[SpiderWomanKnits]

Such great crafts! I especially love the idea of painting the wooden eggs and dating them. And those bunnies are too cute!

[t]

I did the leaf thing with a couple eggs, too, but yours turned out much better! I had a hard time getting the leaf flat against the egg and staying where I wanted it to inside the nylon.

[Krissy]

You are so creative. Cute crafts, I don't know why E usually opts out.

[Ellen]

I used to get that magazine. In the earlier issues, it wasn't filled so much with all that Disney stuff. It was simpler, cleaner, easier. But I do say, they are clever with a lot of fun rafts. We've used many ideas. Love how those birds and bunnies turned out.

[Ellen]

Oops! Just as I was hitting the post button I realized that I said 'rafts' but I think you know what I meant! :)

[Cassi]

I'm so glad to see the results of the wood bead animals - I saw that activity in Family Fun and really want to try it. Yours are adorable and make me want to try it even more!

[Philippa]

I love those dyed eggs. I used to make them with my mum when I was little. The onion skins we used would give them a pretty, mottled brown appearance just like yours, and we used beetroot too, to make them pink. The red cabbage is a great idea - and the cilantro leaves ever better! Now I just have to find some little people to hang out with next Easter... the first of my friends is expecting soon, but I think it will be a few more years until we are dying eggs together!