Plastic Egg Decorations
Chocolate eggs are an integral part of modern Easter, here are some ideas how to utilize those plastic eggs we find on the inside of them.
I put all my decorations on a stick, so that I can place them into plants and flowers for a bit of fun!
This is what you need:
- Candle or other fire
- Bamboo/bbq stick
- Knitting needle or other large needle
Heat the needle on the fire for a few seconds and then push it against the plastic. You have to repeat this a few times as the plastic may be thick. Once you get the hole done, add some liquid glue to the hole area and push a bamboo stick through it.
Fun Characters
I made a minion, bee, butterly and birdie, but you can make all kinds of fun creatures and characters out of these. Use the materials you have available at home. Even the youngest ones will greatly enjoy spinning yarn (minion) or scrunching silk paper (flowers) as they do not need to be very detailed.
Minion
- Plastic egg
- Liquid glue
- Blue yarn
- Black tape
- Eye
Cut a circle from the tape and stick it on the bottom part for feet. Spread liquid glue on the area where you want the minion’s dungarees to be. Spin yarn around the glued part. Cut small pieces of yarn for suspenders. I made the eye from silver and white paper and black tape. Cut a suitable sized strip of black tape for the goggle strap and glue on the eye.
Bumble bee
- Plastic egg
- Liquid glue
- White paper
- Black tape
- Eyes
Cut suitable sized strips of the black tape for stripes and attach. Make eyes and wings out of white paper and glue them on with liquid glue.
Butterfly
- Plastic egg
- Liquid glue
- Colourful papers
- Decorations of your choosing
- Eyes
Fold a coloured paper in half and draw half of a butterfly wing, then cut and open. Decorate the wings however you want, you can use glitter, stickers, paints, markers, anything you have available at home. Glue on the wings and eyes to the plastic egg with liquid glue.
Birdie
- Plastic egg
- Liquid glue
- Old knitted socks
- Yellow and orange card
- Eyes
Cut a beak, feet and wings from card. Cut same shaped wings from the knitted socks as well and glue them onto the card. Treat the edges of the knitted pieces with water-liquid mixture (50/50). Glue all the parts onto the plastic egg with liquid glue.
Flowers with grass
In Finland we have a tradition to grow grass for Easter, we can find small bags of grass seeds in all supermarkets. They are fun for crafts and to make a setting for your Easter displays. Here’s an example of flowers with grass centers:
- Plastic egg
- Liquid glue
- Tape
- Soil
- Grass seeds – alternatively you could use cress
First make a hole to the bottom of the plastic egg and insert the bamboo stick, as instructed above.
Flower 1: cut petals of your choosing from silk paper. First glue the petals on the plastic egg with liquid glue and then secure and beautify with tape (any colour you wish).
Flower 2: cut two approx. 7 cm wide pieces of different coloured silk paper. Fold the paper to a tube and round one end. Scrunch up the silk paper gently, so it is easier to wrap around the plastic egg. Add liquid glue and wrap the silk paper freely around the plastic egg. This is an easy version for the littlest ones to do, as the placement of silk paper does not require much detail.
Fill the plastic egg with soil and add seeds. Cover with a thin layer of soil and water gently with a pipette or spoon. Wait until your grass/cress starts growing.
You can cut off the top of the plastic egg or leave it in place. Closing the lid will make a nice suprise for the person you gift this flower to!
Paper plate Birdie
This is an easy craft but requires a drying period.
You need:
- A paper plate
- Paints (or whichever alternative you have available to decorate the plate with)
- Eyes
- Cardboard for beak
- Glue
- Feathers (instructions below)
Start by painting the matte side of the paper plate and let it dry. For painting you can use brushes, sponges or fingers – whichever style suits you best today!
When the paint has dried, fold the plate in half and glue (or staple or tape) the bottom part to close it. Cut a beak and glue it on along with the eyes. Then decorate with feathers for additional 3D effect. Make a hole to the top of the bird and hang it with string somewhere to bring Springtime joy!
Shape chicken
This may seem like a simple craft, but it combines quite a few skills. It requires knowledge of the placement of things, spatial planning, fine motor skills and scissor skills.
You need:
- White paper
- Colourful card for beak
- Eyes
- Red paint (preferably finger paint)
- Something to use as a template for circles
- Marker
Start by showing your child how to trace a circle on a paper using for example a roll of tape as a template. Use a whole paper to practise this, it’s great for pencil work, spatial planning and tracing. Cut a beak and glue that and the eyes to place.
Then ask your child to lift three fingers up (bit of counting), and put some paint to the top part. Stamp a comb on the chickens’ head. Put some paint on their thumb to make the wattle.
When the paint has dried, ask your child to cut around the head, paying attention to the comb and wattle. Finally you can glue it onto a nice coloured paper if you want.
I often put the finger paint on a sponge as it is easy for 3-4 year olds to control their paint usage that way. Stamping your fingers on the sponge gives just the right amount of paint without spilling it all over the place.
Peek-a-Boo Bird in Egg
Here’s a classic Easter craft with a brass fastener replaced with a straw.
You need:
- White card for Egg
- Card for bird, eyes and beak
- Water colours
- Crayons
- Straw
- Hole punch
Start by making a big egg on the white card. Decorate as you please, first with crayons and then with water colours. It is fun to see how the crayon ‘stops’ the watercolour from spreading.
For full effect, when you have finished decorations with crayons, make the whole egg wet brushing over it with water. Then start using the watercolours and see how the tension from the crayon makes the paint slide around it.
Make your bird, cut it into a size that fits inside the egg easily. You can use googly eyes or stickers and add feathers (for example the ones described below).
When your work is dry, cut it in half like a cracked egg. Glue on your birdie and put on a fastener to the edge of the egg so that it can open and close.
Alternative Fastener – adults only:
Take a straw and melt one end of it to create a small edge. You can do this with a candle, a lighter or push it gently against an iron or hair straightener. Be very careful!
Then cut approximately an 3 cm piece from the melted end of the straw and then cut it in half just below the melted edge. Make a hole with the hole punch on the egg and push the split end through the hole. Pull the split end apart and use glue if necessary (if the egg will be in a lot of use). I noticed that the glue might not be necessary as the straw stays bent in split position quite well on its own.
Alternative: a Bunny Craft:
With this same technique why not make a Spring Bunny? Cut a bunny shape, first make patterns with crayons and then paint over it with watercolours. When dry, glue on a pom pom or cotton ball for a bushy tail!
DIY Feathers / Scissor Practise
If you don’t happen to have feathers available at home, yet you feel like you’d like to make some Easter crafts – here you have two ideas how to make the feathers yourself!
Scissor Practise Feather:
This is great fine motor and scissor practise for the little ones as the stick in the middle of the paper stops the scissor from cutting through.
You need:
- Scissor
- Paper (Thin is better; gift wrap, old gift bags, silk paper, whatever you have available)
- BBQ stick / Cotton swab / Pipe cleaner / anything else straight but thin
Cut a suitable piece of paper and fold it in half. Place the stick into the fold. Attach with a piece of tape if you give it to your practising 3-4 year old. Then cut the paper into strips in an angle (just like a feather).
When you’ve made enough fringe, remove the stick and cut the feather into shape.
Ta dah!
Feather with a Plastic Bag Fastener
You need:
- Scissor
- Plastic bag fastener, those small metallic strips
- Paper (Thin is better; gift wrap, old gift bags, silk paper, whatever you have available)
- Glue or Tape
Cut a suitable piece of paper and cut it into a feather shape. This one you can stylise a bit more than the one above. Glue or tape the bag fastener to the middle. Tape works very well and is faster (don’t have to wait for that glue to dry 😉 ). Cut a fringe along the edge, the metallic strip in the middle will stop the scissor from going through so you can just chop chop chop.
When finished, you can use the feathers for any kind of decoration!
Askarteluideoita lapsille päiväkodissa, lapsiryhmissä ja kotona 