String Nest Bowl for Easter

I've been wanting to make a giant double sided string bowl ever since I made the little ones for Easter a couple of years ago. They came about because our string eggs were squished and I loved the double weave and the little space in between the layers.

Materials:
Cotton yarn skein
Balloon
White glue
Popsicle or craft stick   
2-3 Plastic trash bags
Glass bowl
Measuring cup

 
Get ready:
Protect the table surface with plastic bag (maybe even the floor).
Cut armholes and a neck hole in the other plastic bag and put it on like a smock.

Make:
Add ¼ water to ½ cup glue in the measuring cup –mix well with the craft stick.
Pull the yarn end from the middle of the skein.
Add the cotton yarn skein to the glass bowl.

Pour the glue water straight down into the middle of the skein.

Swish the cotton yarn skein around with the craft stick and let it absorb the glue water.

Pull the string from the middle of the skein and wrap the wet yarn around the balloon.
Cover the whole balloon.

This is messy- that’s why you’re wearing a trash bag to protect your clothes – you'll find that you need to brace the balloon against your tummy to wrap the gluey string around the balloon (notice in the picture my bag is too small).

Set the balloon on the bowl to dry overnight (don’t worry, you can wash the bowl later).

Turn the balloon to make sure all the yarn is COMPLETELY DRY.

Gently check to see if the string is pulling away from the balloon then use a pin to burst the balloon.

Carefully pull the deflated balloon out from the egg.

Push the middle top down into the center and squish the side edges together.

Easter Table Chicks

 

A little chick to save your place at the Easter table.

Sometimes, when I photograph my crafts, food etc. I get a little theme song for the image or the craft stuck in my head.
This one is "Stand" an R.E.M. favorite.

"Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before
Now stand in the place where you work..."

Materials:

*Wooden Eggs (they come blank or already painted white at Michael's)
*White paint (or white wooden eggs)
*Paint and brushes
*Paint pens- White and Black and maybe orange? 

I like the Sharpie brand- either oil or water based or the Moltow Acyrlic
*Pipe cleaners – about 2” long
*Not shown- white glue

Use a thumb tack to make a hole in the top of the egg.
 

Paint the eggs white so that the (next) colors are bright; then allow the paint to dry.

Use a pencil to draw on the wings and the features. 

Paint the main part of the body; let it dry (use a hair dryer if you’re impatient like me) then paint the wings and allow everything to dry completely before adding the small details.

Yes - I painted over the small details like the face but not the wings.

You can still see the drawing under the paint.

Paint the wings and let everything dry.

Outline the wings with a paint marker- that space between colors can be wonky and the marker adds a nice finished touch even if the paint lines are uneven.

Add the small details with paint pens.

Curl the pipe cleaner around a pencil, then add a dab of glue to the end before sticking it into the hole.
 

Let the glue dry for a bit so the pipe cleaner will stay in the hole.

Add the name card.

Easter Egg Garland

This year’s Easter garland is brought to you by recycled milk and water jugs. I really liked working with the milk container plastic at Christmas and decided to use it for this project. It’s easy to cut, translucent and uses something we already have.

Materials:

• Water, milk or juice jug
• Washi tape
• Oval template (or you can use a punch if you have one)
• Marker
• Scissors
• Thick needle with a sharp point
• Cord (not twisted string)

1. Cut the panels from a container- clean any packaging off (oil and baking soda or Goo Gone).
2. Trace the oval onto the plastic and cut the shape out (or use the punch).
3. Add washi tape strips to the oval.
4. Pre-pierce 2 holes near the top of the "egg" with a thick sharp needle.
5. Then add the cord through the holes (yes, pierce first then string).

The cord (left) doesn't unravel like string (right).

You could also string the eggs individually to hang on a tree or in a window.

String Nests for Easter

Yes! It’s something new to do with those crazy string eggs!

Last year we made them for work (in December, because that's how we roll around here) and then put them out at Easter time.

When I unpacked the Easter stuff last week --Yawzaa! one was squished! But I think it was such a great happy accident because immediately --I saw it as a cool design-y nest. So I did it will all the eggs.

Cut a little paper egg for a place name and now we're good to go!

I’ve seen the string eggs used to make garlands, wreaths, and ornaments but – only here folks - are you seeing a lemon made into lemonade- metaphorically speaking.
I’m going to tell you the truth. I could not blow up the water balloons and I used regular balloons when I made ours. 

Here’s a video of the balloon shrinking.

So let’s say you made the eggs last year or last week… then just push the middle top down into the center and squish the side edges together.

Really, it's not rocket science but it's super cute. 

I suppose if you were making them into nests on purpose - you could just wrap half the balloon but I like the double weave and the little space in between the layers and the jelly beans seem to stay inside the bowl just fine.

If you’re wondering how to make the eggs here are some more links:

http://craftwhack.com/cool-craft-string-easter-eggs/
http://www.instructables.com/id/String-Easter-Eggs/

Crepe Paper Easter Egg Garland

I’ve being working on a project using crepe paper and this was something that happened along the way. I suppose you could make the eggs with tissue paper but the crepe paper was so easy and when the edges over lap, they make a new color stripe!
It’s really beautiful to see the hanging eggs in the sun. They glow almost like stained glass.

Materials:
Contact paper
Crepe paper streamers
Scissors
Thin Sharpie marker
String
Needle





Cut two 4.5” strips of contact paper (the roll is 18”).
Peel the paper back off one strip and lay the film sticky side up on the table.

Add a length of crepe paper to the center of the sticky contact paper then add a 2nd length and over lap them slightly.

Add a 3rd length of crepe paper to the bottom.

Now, you could just cut your eggs out here- you don’t need to encase them in a second layer of contact paper but I did.

Remove the paper back off the 2nd strip and lay the film sticky side over the crepe paper.

Really press the 2 surfaces together.

Trace around an egg shape cut from card stock – mine measures 4" tall.

Remember to flip the egg template so there are different top and bottom colors.

First, lay the eggs out and arrange them in the order they will go on the string.

Then cut the string to about 6’ (or more/less if needed) and thread the needle through the top of each egg about .25" from the edge.

Halloween Black Bats (and Spiders too)

I like to have a simple, fast craft for Halloween Eve that doesn’t call for drying time for glue or paint (we made the glowing eyes 2 years ago). That’s why these bats are perfect for making with kids- we have a group that gathers at our house every year before going out to trick or treat.

Here are 2 crafty tips for making this craft:

Tip #1 

About glue dots in general-
DON’T pull the glue dot off the paper backing! Just press the thing you want to adhere to the glue dot on the paper and the glue dot will peel off and stay on the thing you are gluing OR tear a piece of the glue dot paper roll with the glue dot on it and press the dot (or line) onto the thing you are gluing to… then pull the paper backing away away. Stop trying to peel the dot off with your fingers! That's just futile and frustrating- you know who you are; the rest of you carry on.

Tip # 2
When you have to cut a LOT of tiny felt things, iron the shiny side of freezer paper to your felt (mat side up to the iron), then use a template to trace onto back of the freezer paper and cut the shapes out OR just glue (stick) what you’re cutting out onto the freezer paper backing and cut everything at once.
Then peel off the freezer paper. Ta-dah! tiny felt things.

So if you decide to make a dozen bats – it might be easier to cut the wings using the freezer paper method (because that’s 24 wings).

Materials:

• Plastic Easter eggs (spray painted black or buy from Oriental Trading*)
• Googly eyes (small)
• Black felt
• Glue dot lines (like glue dots but 1” lines)
• White tape (electrical, masking or duct tape)
• Baker's twine/yarn/jute/Perle cotton
• Wing template

*You can purchase chalkboard eggs (pack of 72 for $12.99) from Oriental Trading or use evil spray paint to paint the plastic Easter eggs.

The “chalkboard “ eggs (top in photo) came with 2 holes in the top and at the bottom but if you’ve painted your plastic eggs you can use a pushpin to make the hole at the top bigger as well as make a second hole (and you might need to use a needle to get the string through).
Or maybe your bats have purple and blue bodies? That's cool too.
 

Cut an 11” length of twine.

Open the egg.
Thread the string through the top of the plastic egg and tie it into a loop.
Close the egg.

Cut the wing shapes from the felt and attach them to the egg in the back on the sides using the line glue dots.
 

Add 2 googly eyes to a glue dot line and then cut them off together and put them on the bat.

Cut out 2 fangs from white tape (I used electrical tape).

 

I realized while I was making the bats there are several other Halloween themed things that could be made from the black eggs- like a spider-made here with 4 chenille pipe cleaners or owls, cats, witches, monsters…more?

I'd love to see yours if you make them.