Free Easter Printables

I just realized that I haven't shared one Easter craft tutorial this year.  How did that happen?  I blame that the holiday falls in March this year.  Yes, it has nothing to with poor planning on my part (sarcasm).  Since I don't have a tutorial for you this week, I thought I would share these adorable Easter printables over at Tiny Me.  They're perfect for a little last minute Easter flare.

That bunny monster cracks me up.  What does it have to do with Easter?  I'm not sure but I like it.

Pretty Origami Bunny Envelopes

I was looking for a little Easter origami inspiration when I stumbled upon a tutorial for these cute bunny envelopes by Paper Kawaii.   They're the perfect detail to attach to an Easter basket or any spring gift.  They fold up in about five minutes or less once you get the directions down.  Hop on over to Paper Kawaii for the full instructions.

Here's what the envelope looks like when opened.  I used 6" x 6" paper which will fold down to roughly a 3" x 2" envelope.  The paper I used is from my book, Party Origami.

Crayola Ultimate Easter Basket Giveaway

Crayola sent me some of their products along with a $25 Michael's gift card to make the ultimate Easter basket.  Here's a little bit about how I crafted up the basket pictured above:

I purchased the white basket at Michaels and it came with a fabric liner.  I decided I wanted to have a knit liner instead.  I knit the liner in the round with a knit 2 purl 2 pattern.  Once it was the desired length for the outside of the basket, I placed half the stitches on a separate needle and knit those stitches until I had the desired length for the inside and bound off the stitches.  I repeated the process for the remaining stitches.  This allowed me to fold the liner down around the handle.

I had this idea of a scaled back yarn bombed basket so I knit a rectangle ribbed piece in the same pattern and sewed it to the handle. 

Since I have two kids and hide their baskets, I always like to make a name tag.  In the past I've printed out labels but this time I decided to sew a hand-stitched felt tag.  I also added a couple pom poms with some extra yarn to make it more fun.  For the back of the tag I sewed on a pin so the tag could be taken off the basket. 

Now, you probably want to know about the giveaway part, here goes. . .

One lucky winner will receive a Crayola Prize Pack with the following items:

Crayola Outdoor Colored Bubbles Big Wand

• Using the Big Wand, Kids can create massive bubbles in bright colors like “purple pizzazz” and “fuchsia,” to chase, catch and pop

Crayola Crayons

• Crayola Crayons include the colors generations have grown up with.
• Crayola Crayons are designed with a focus on true color, smoothness, and durability.

Crayola Color Wonder

• Crayola Color Wonder markers only appear on the special Color Wonder paper, so kids can have mess-free fun whenever, wherever and moms don’t have to worry about color showing up where it shouldn’t.

Crayola Chalk

• Crayola sidewalk chalk creates big outdoor art with the ONLY sidewalk chalk in bright, bold Crayola crayon colors!

A $25 Michael's Gift Card

To Enter:  Please leave a comment sharing what you would put in your ultimate Easter basket.  One entry per household.  Open to US residents only.  Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. The last day to enter the contest is Sunday, March 3 2013. I'll announce the winner Monday, March 4 2013 on this post. If I do not hear back from the winner after two weeks, I will choose a new winner.  Open to US residents only.

Disclosure:  The Crayola product, gift card, information about the Crayola product, and additional gift pack have been provided by Crayola

Contest Closed 

Ccongratulations to Genevieve who is the winner of the Crayola Prize Pack Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest.

Free Printable Easter Card & Egg Holders

Joy of Creative Mamma has another kawaii printable up for grabs and just in time for Easter. She created a cute Easter card and egg holder to download for free. Stop by her site to get the printables.

Wishing you all a happy Easter weekend!

Unique Easter Basket Gift Ideas

This year I got a little more creative with the Easter basket gifts and strayed away from the traditional jelly beans and chocolate Easter bunny. I thought I would share a few of my ideas with you and maybe bring a little inspiration your way.

For the girl:

Hair Bows - Not the most creative item in the basket but I know they'll get put to use. If you have the time, I suggest making some hair accessories yourself. Here's a cute tutorial for some hair bobbles by The Silly Pearl.

Unique stickers - I found these bunny stickers (pictured above) at the Kinokuniya bookstore. I liked that they were bunnies but not Easter themed. If you don't have a Kinokuniya close by, try a Sanrio store. They always have the cutest girly stickers.

For the boy:

Nanoblocks - My son loves Legos so I thought I would try out these nanoblocks. They're similar to Legos except they're micro sized. The smallest piece is only 4mm x 4mm x 5mm. I purchased these at the Kinokuniya bookstore but you can also find them at Amazon.com.

All City Breakers - I found these toys a while back and have been waiting for a good excuse to buy them. My son likes music and dancing so I think he will be excited about the plastic break dancers. And if not, they can find a home on my desk. I purchased the breakers at Fab.com but I think the sale is over now. They're also available at Kidrobot.com and Amazon.com. They come in pink and orange too.

For both:

Micro Terrarium - I thought these would be fun to grow. Plus, what child doesn't like a Venus Fly Trap? I found this micro terrarium at the Michaels craft store.

Meiji Candy - These candies are a nice alternative to the traditional jelly bean. We've had the strawberry/milk chocolate version before but never this flavor. I picked these up at the Mitsuwa grocery store. When my children were smaller I didn't even buy them candy for Easter. Instead they would get sweet cereal such as Fruit Loops.

Now that I've shared what I'm adding to our baskets, I'm curious to hear what you like? Do you buy traditional Easter baskets? Do you do something different instead of Easter baskets? Special traditions? Please share.

Washi Tape Embellished Easter Eggs

Here's a simple way to dress up Easter eggs. Just add a little washi tape to dyed eggs. You can cut the washi tape into any shape you want, circles, squares, hearts, etc. There's no right or wrong way to do it. Below are simple directions on how to dye eggs along with how to make washi dots.

How to Dye Eggs

1. Place one teaspoon of vinegar in a half cup of boiled water. Add about 10 drops of food coloring (any color) to water. Mix. Some food coloring boxes will say 20 drops but you really only need 10 unless you want your eggs extra bright.

2. Place egg in bowl and move around until you get your desired shade of color. Take out and let dry.

*I've found that the eggs usually turn a little darker & brighter in color after they're taken out of the water.

How to Make Washi Dots

To make washi dots, place a strip of washi tape on parchment paper. Punch out circles with a hole punch.

Apply dots to your egg and enjoy your work. Easy.

Printables: Easter Basket & Bookmarks

Can you believe Easter is only a little over a week away? This year it falls early in the month of April on the 8th. If you're still looking for ideas, Jinjerup and Craftbits have teamed up to bring you this cute Easter Basket and Bookmark set. You can get the download for the bookmarks at Jinjerup and the Easter basket at Craftbits. Jinjerup also has cute printable bunny and lamb baskets available for purchase.

Craft: Paper Easter Eggs

You've probably seen paper decorations like this before only as Christmas ornaments or pumpkins. I decided to update the craft for Easter and make the paper balls egg shaped. It's a simple project that requires few materials. My favorite part about this craft is that you can make them any style you want. Add some rhinestones or decorate the eggs with markers. It's all up to you.

Supplies:
Scrapbook paper - I recommend a paper that has a print on both sides.
Paper Slicer or Scissors
2 Small Brads - any style you like
Hole Punch - size 1/16"

Cut out 11 strips of paper 4" x 1/4". Punch holes on the top and bottom of paper strips.

Place brads through all strips of paper at each end.

Fan out the strips to make a ball shape.

Bend paper into egg shape.

*Optional - add string to brads to hang them on small branches for a centerpiece.

Easter Printable Roundup

Image by Creative Mamma

Creative Mamma has another cute free printable available, this time for Easter. You can download the Kawaii Easter Kit at Creative Mamma. I'm planning on using some of the tags to label the kids Easter baskets. I like to hide their baskets so I always label them to ensure no one ends up with the wrong basket.

More free Easter printables:

Easter-iffic tags by Babalisme

Jelly bean egg rings by Wild Olive

Floral Design Rabbit Greeting Card by Canon

Easter Lego Bookmark by Living Locurto

Easter Basket Breakfast

During spring break I try to make it fun and do some special things for the kids. It's always simple things, nothing over the top. One thing I like to do is spend a little more time on breakfast. Since I'm not rushing them off to school, I have a little more time to prepare a morning meal. In this case, I made them this Easter basket breakfast. Even though it's very colorful it's actually relatively healthy. Do you recognize the colorful ingredient? That's right, I used boba to garnish the top to look like candy. Normally you find them in milk tea drinks.

uncooked boba

Ingredients:
Greek yogurt - individual container
One Sliced Kiwi
Rainbow boba - also know as tapioca balls or pearls. Colorful cereal or dried fruit could be used in replace of the boba.

Here's what the boba look like once they're boiled. The package should say how to prepare them. Usually you just have to boil them for about 5 - 10 minutes depending on size.

1. If you can, cut off the label on the yogurt or cover with a pretty paper. Tie bow around the top edge. Use a little double stick tape to hold in place. Peel off lid.

2. Place sliced kiwi along the edges to look like grass. Lay kiwi flat on top of the rest of the yogurt.

3. Place boba or cereal on top. Done.

How To Fold a Furoshiki Easter Basket

Here's a nice alternative to the traditional Easter basket, a furoshiki folded into a basket. Wondering what a furoshiki is? A furoshiki is a traditional Japanese cloth used for wrapping and transporting items. But don't worry, you don't need one for this project. You just need a square piece of fabric.

Supplies:
Furoshiki or any piece of square fabric. Silk scarves work great for this project. You could also use bandannas, fabric napkins, or embroidered handkerchiefs.

One shallow bowl - any size/kind you want. The larger the bowl, the larger the piece of fabric you will need.

Click on directions for a larger view.

Easter Owl Gift Bag Printable

My Owl Barn and Jinjerup have teamed up to create an adorable owl gift set printable. The free printable includes a gift bag and owl bookmarks. I personally love that they made this set with owls instead of the traditional chicks or bunnies. It's something different but still says Easter. Visit Jinjerup to download the free owl gift set.

Craft: Spring Egg Cups

About a week back I was crafting with egg cartons, you may remember this post. Well, I couldn't just stop at one craft. Who can, right? I wanted to see what else I could make with the egg cartons. That's when I came up with these cute little egg cups. They're easy to make and would be perfect for a kid craft.

Supplies:
Egg carton - picture above
Glue
Paint
Clear Acrylic paint
Decoupage glue - something non-toxic

Cut egg cartons into individual cups. You will need two per egg cup.

Glue together, refer to picture.

Paint anyway you wish. Once dry, cover with a layer of acrylic paint. Paint the inside (where the egg sits) with non-toxic decoupage glue. Let dry. Done.

* I don't recommend eating out of these egg cups. They're just for display.

Rubber Stamped Easter Eggs

I'm guest posting over at Alpha Mom's - Once Upon a Holiday today. Please come visit to see how I'm making these rubber stamped Easter Eggs.

Happy Easter

Craft Project: Bunny Treat Boxes

I found a pattern for these cute bunny cubes, here. I turned the cubes into boxes that could open and close. They would be cute to fill with Easter treats. There's also some chicks and other animals like the cubes above.

Some tips for making them:
Click here, for all the patterns. Click on the one you wish to print. Go to print preview. Scale them to 125%. Then print. To make them into boxes just add an extra tab to the top flap.

Here's another project from the site. Had to share, it's just so kawaii!

How To Wrap a Gift Basket

With Easter approaching, I thought it would be timely to share how to wrap a gift basket. With this technique your basket will look just as good as the professional ones in the store. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
Basket - I recommend getting one at the thrift store. They're just as good as anything you would buy at the store and usually cost less than a dollar.
Magazine or catalog
Scissors
Tape
Cellophane

Fill your basket 2/3 full with crumpled magazine paper (step 2). Cover all of the crumpled paper with one piece of paper (step3). Cover with shredded paper or Easter grass (step 4).

Arrange the gifts starting at the back with the taller pieces and work your way to the front with the shorter pieces. This makes the gifts look more appealing and helps hold the smaller items in place. If you need support to stand an item up, use decorative cardboard to place in the back of the basket. In the past I've used cardboard from boxes covered in wrapping paper.

Place the basket in the center of the cellophane and pull the cellophane up so it's folded in half. Refer to picture.

Fold the right side behind the basket (refer to picture). Secure with tape. Fold the left side and secure with tape. Sometimes there's excess cellophane that needs to be cut back to make it more workable. Bunch up the top of the cellophane over the basket toward the back and secure with a rubber band. Make sure the cellophane in the front of the basket doesn't bunch up at all. Sometimes it takes a little finessing to get it perfect. Tie a ribbon over the rubber band. Done.

This is what the back of the basket will look like.

Sewing Tutorial: Felt candy dish

I've seen larger versions of these fabric dishes and decided to give it a try on a smaller scale. This box measures about 5 inches in length. You could make these in any size, really. This might make a nice alternative to the traditional Easter basket. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
Felt - I got the polka dot felt at Daiso.
Scissors
Embroidery thread
sewing needle

Cut out a felt square(7 by 7), any size will work. With the print size up mark the center of each side with a fabric pen or by ironing a crease. I folded the square in half both ways and ironed the fold.

Pinch the fabric together where you marked one of the sides. Using a whip stitch, sew up the side one inch in length. If you started with a larger square you might want to vary the length to two inches. It just depends on how deep you want the dish to be.

Here's what it should look like once one side is sewn.

Here's a close up of the above picture. Now sew the other three sides the exact same way.

Your felt dish should now look something like this. Enjoy!

Of course, I had to buy some candy props for the pictures.
Purely for aesthetics ;-)