Welcome to another craft for the uncrafty! Feel like you have no skill to make things for your home or your kids that are pretty?
Just because you haven’t mastered cross-stitch or complicated sewing doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the fun and creativity of crafts. In this series I try to bring you projects that are easy to do, but create something beautiful.
To honor Easter, here is an Easter egg tree. I love Easter! It’s a season of hope for us Christians. It’s the time when the earth renews, which I find amazing every year. And it’s also the season of my birthday. So there’s a lot of joy involved in this time of year. How about you?
My soon-to-be-married daughter moved into a house recently and her yard was covered in small branches and twigs, as it had not been cleaned up for spring. I gathered up a bunch of them – too many, it turns out.
When I brought them home I painted the branches white. Using whatever white paint we had around the house, I used a sponge brush to get all the nooks and crannies on the branches, then let them dry.
I found some lovely Easter napkins and got two kinds. Gathering up string, 2 sizes of plastic Easter eggs and some Mod Podge and we were ready to go.
The plastic eggs I got had two holes in the top. Perfect! I strung the string through the holes and tied a knot in the string, which was completely hidden when the egg was closed. Sweet!
Let me tell you the first thing I learned. I had read that you could create your own Mod Podge by mixing half white glue with half water. I have used this mixture when adhering things to paper and it works quite well. I tried the first few eggs with this and the results were not so good. The napkin paper became very brittle and actually fell off the eggs upon drying! Learning my lesson, I dug out my Mod Podge and finished covering the eggs in short order. (My husband and my son helped. Thanks, guys!)
The next thing I learned was that I had gathered too many branches. I winnowed through them and kept the most poky, interesting ones. The eggs hung on the branches to dry.
When everything was completely dry, the eggs had a nice finish to them and will last for many years. (I hope to hang these some day with a grandchild!)
Another benefit of painting the branches is that you can use them for any season you choose. Paper hearts and mittens, pumpkin and leaf projects will all look great. We had a less pretty version of this when my kids were young and everyone loved honoring the changing seasons and holidays.
Easter is coming quickly! You’ve got time to pull this together.
What special Easter decor does your family do?
