Our flock of Easter chicks

Cross suncatchers

As we enter Passiontide I thought it was a perfect time to make cross suncatchers for our front windows.

I cut two crosses out of black construction paper for both Kim and Luke.

Then I used clear contact paper and stuck one of the black crosses onto the contact paper, sticky side up. To speed up the process today, I cut alot of tissue paper shapes for the kids to use. If we had more time, Kim and Luke would have cut the tissue paper themselves.

The kids then filled in the whole cross area with tissue scraps. Glue the second cross over the the tissue paper and cross. This makes it look nice from both sides. Hang in a window and enjoy.

It was a perfect craft for this rainy Wednesday as we come closer to the Passion of Jesus.

Easter Egg Wreath

This was a quick and easy project with very cute results.

All that was needed was:

cardboard

pink paint

plastic Easter eggs

a hot glue gun

a lot of glue sticks

The first step is to make a cardboard wreath base. I used various pots and pans to get the size I wanted.

We then painted the base pink.

I used floral wire to made the first "loop" of eggs.

This isn't needed....the hot glue is enough to keep all the eggs in place. Start hot gluing the eggs to the base. Continue adding eggs until you have your desired look.

This wreath can even be used as headwear.

I made a cardboard hanger on the back. Very simple but very practical.

Hang and enjoy.

I put this on the outside of our front door, and since I used cardboard for the base, I bring it in at the chance of rain.

We Made It: Easter Lollipop Flowers

Today we made a nice display of Easter lollipop flowers as seen here.
The first thing we did for these was to color some rice green. This is to put into the pot where we will display our "flowers".
To color your white rice, simply add liquid food coloring to the rice in a ziploc bag.
Shake--shake--shake.....add more food coloring as needed and shake some more.
After achieving the wanted color---I place the rice onto a baking sheet and put in the oven at 250 degrees for about 15 minutes. This sets the color and helps dry out the rice.

While the rice is drying, insert lollipop sticks into the candy. The easiest candy to use are Reese's Peanut Butter candies. It is easier to put the lollipop sticks into the candy if you use a toothpick to get the hole started in the candy.

I used plastic Easter cups for our "vases". Fill each cup halfway with something heavy--we used these glass discs. Making the cups heavy keeps them from easily tipping over.

Now fill each cup almost to the top with the green rice.

Add the lollopop flowers--and the there you go---Easter Lollipop Flowers!

See what other did this week at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

The Crosses of Calvary

I need to send a hat tip to Ramblings of a Crazy Woman for passing along this simple craft.

All that this very nice craft for Good Friday needed was:

thin craft sticks and thick craft sticks

brown and purple paint

glue

playdough or clay

a suitable container

green Easter grass

First you paint the crafts sticks brown and then glue them together into crosses. I just broke the cross beam craft stick with my fingers, but I realized when I used scissors to cut the "sign" to hang above Jesus' cross that this is a very easy way to cut them.
While I did the craft sticks with the littles, Laura painted a terracotta pot purple and filled it with homemade playdough--this I always have on hand. We then stuck some green Easter grass into the clay.
We than added the crosses and more grass to the pot . I think I will drape the cross of Jesus with a white cloth for Easter morning. Thank you Jennwa for passing along this great craft.

Suncatcher Crosses

This is a very simple craft if you do it properly---I will explain.

I made a blue cross yesterday-(which you will see below)- following this procedure. I cut a cross out of paper as a pattern. I placed an open laminating sheet over the cross and then placed torn tissue paper over the cross in the colors I wanted. Above is Mark beginning his cross.

I then ran the laminating sheet and tissue paper through the laminator. I just used the white sheet of paper as a guide to hold up the flimsy tissue paper and laminate. Yesterday it worked fine.

Today it sucked up the laminating sheet and tissue paper and nothing came out. The whole sheet was squished up inside the laminator. OH NO!
I called on my handy dandy 16 year old to try to make my laminator workable again.
He succeeded and here you can see the beautiful cross he removed from the inside of the laminator. I think the tissue is just to thin to put through the laminator--I won't try it this way again.

For Gracie's cross I taped the paper cross onto the table. I placed a piece of clear contact paper-sticky side up over the cross and Grace placed torn tissue paper over the cross.

I then put another clear contact sheet over the first-sealing the cross. I traced the outline of the cross on the contact paper so I knew where to cut.

I cut it out inside the tracings so they wouldn't be seen.

They are just beatiful hanging on our back door--it was a perfect craft for Good Friday.

Check out all the crafts at this weeks Friday's Showcase of Crafts at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

Handprint Easter Lilies

Easter morn with lilies fair

Fills the church with perfumes rare,

As their clouds of incense rise,

Sweetest offerings to the skies.

Stately lilies pure and white

Flooding darkness with their light,

Bloom and sorrow drifts away,

On this holy hallow’d day.

Easter Lilies bending low

in the golden afterglow,

Bear a message from the sod

To the heavenly towers of God.

-Louise Lewin Matthews

I found this idea for making paper lilies at Enchanted Learning.

They are very easy to make and add another dimension to our Easter preparations.

I read about the Easter symbolism of the lily to the kids from this site.

The only tricky part for the kids while making these lilies was when they curled the "petals" with a pencil.

But eventually even Luke was able to do it on his own.

A beautiful bouquet arranged in jelly beans.

We Made It: Saturday Showcase--Jelly Bean Chick

I found the idea for this Jelly Bean Chick at Kaboose.com. I am going to make a bunch for our Easter Egg hunt next week. They we very simple to make, and my 7 year old was very good at helping.
The original pattern calls for foam hearts for the base of the chick, but I made the base that can be seen above. It is the orange foam, and this povides a very nice base for the jelly beans to sit on. I also used a hot glue gun. It was easier to put everything together with the glue gun, but because of this, I didn't make them with the 2 and 3 year old.

The first step is to fill a plastic sandwich baggie (not a ziplock) with 1/4 cup of jelly beans. Close this tightly with a twist tie, and then trim the twist tie. Also trim off the extra plastic baggie. I then hot glued this to the orange "foot" base.

Twist a chenille stem into the shape of a bow. You will need to make this the size desired and then trim away the extra chenille. Hot glue a contrasting pom pom onto the bow.

Hot glue the bow to to top of the baggie as shown.

Add a big yellow pom pom to the top.

Add small google eyes and a triangle foam beak to the chick head.

They chick's wings are a yellow foam heart, cut in half. Adhere these to each side of your chick.

I think that these will also be real cute on the Easter dessert table.

Check of all of this weeks Saturday Showcase activies at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.