Easter Crafts Projects 

Easter Placemats

• Old Easter cards
• Easter pictures from magazines
• your children's drawings
• light weight cardboard or heavy construction paper
• glue
• contact paper

Gather up Easter cards from past years, pictures from magazines or your children's favorite drawings. Glue onto light cardboard or construction paper in decorative fashion the size of a placemat.

Cover this collage with clear contact paper to seal the placemat. Be sure to have your child date and sign it.

Easter Grass

 
• 1 large Easter basket
• 1 lb wheat seed
• 1 lb vermiculite
• plastic wrap or clear plastic bag

Grow a miniature meadow in an Easter basket it's real simple. A week before Easter line a large Easter basket with plastic wrap and fill with vermiculite (about 2-inches deep). Sprinkle wheat seed on top of the vermiculite. Put the basket in the sink and add water until the seed bed is damp. You shouldn't have to water it again before Easter.

Set the basket in a pan and place in filtered sunlight. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clear plastic bag to keep moist. Remove the plastic after two days. The wheat should begin to sprout during the next few days. By Easter morning you would have real Easter grass to hide your eggs in.

Woven baskets

 
• pastel colored construction paper two colors
• scissors
• glue or stapler

Using one piece of paper cut horizontal straight lines about one inch in from side to side across paper, about 1/2 inch a part from each other. The paper should be covered from top to bottom with these slits.

Next take the other color of paper and cut 1/2 strips. Weave these strips in and out of the slits in the first paper.

When completed with all the strips glue the ends of the strips to the first paper to hold in place. Next fold up the sides to make a basket shape. Staple or glue in place. With a contrasting color make a handle on your basket and staple or glue.

Basket can then be filled with shredded paper to make a nest in the bottom.

Easter Baskets

• pint milk or juice carton
• cotton balls
• pink yarn
• something to make eyes and nose (buttons, gumdrops or other candy or whatever you like)

Close the top of the empty carton. Position the carton on its side with the top closed edge vertical. Then on the side which is facing up, cut along the two long edges and the bottom edge. Hold flap up slightly and cut it to form two rabbit ears pointing away from the pointed end of carton.

Cover the entire outer part of the carton with cotton balls including the ears. Use a small piece of yarn to make outline of pink for the inner ear. Use buttons or whatever you chose to make eyes and nose on the pointed end of the carton. Place extra cotton balls for tail. Fill carton with Easter grass and candy.

Bunny Mask

 
• paper plate
• pink construction paper
• pink and/or white pipe cleaners
• yarn

Using the paper plate, cut out eyes and nose in the plate. Cut out bunny ears from pink paper and glue to the plate. Use pipe cleaners to make whiskers, attach to plate by poking through and knotting at back, or glue on. Use yarn to tie to either side of plate to tie on your little one's head.

Chicks in a basket

• egg carton
• cotton balls
• yellow food dye
• shredded paper (optional)
• bits of orange paper
• marker

Dip one large cotton ball in yellow dye diluted with water. Let dry. Cut egg carton so you have one section. Place a bit of shredded paper (color optional) in bottom of section. When yellow cotton ball is dry draw eyes on top to make eyes. Cut out very small triangle of orange paper and glue on yellow cotton ball to make chicks beak. Sit chick in carton section to make the chick in the basket.

Note: Many people have commented that the cotton balls - once dyed - will not dry - or take forever - anyone out there have any suggestions on correcting this?

Paper plate bunny

 
• large paper plate
• small paper plate
• glue
• pink construction paper
• cotton ball
• crayons or markers

Using paper plates, glue small one to top of large one to form head and body. Cut out bunny ears from pink paper. Glue or staple to head. Draw eyes and nose on face of plate with crayons or markers. Glue a cotton ball on the back for a tail.

Belly Bunny

• Large Styrofoam Ball
• A plastic or unbreakable jar with a screw on lid (ex. Mason Jar, Jelly jar, Peanut butter jar, etc.)
• Construction Paper, White, Pink, and either Black, Blue, Brown, or Green
• Cotton Balls
• Toothpicks
• A pink, blue or yellow ribbon (optional)
• Glue

A grown-up should cut the bottom of the Styrofoam ball just enough so it will sit flat on the table. Then have the kids draw and cut out black, blue, brown, or green eyes, (if you want them to match your child's eyes), white bunny ears with pink ear insides (both ears should be cut so the bottom of the ear is cut straight across), and a pink nose.

Glue a cotton ball in the center of the styrofoam ball (nose) then glue the small pink nose to the center of the cotton ball. Glue the eyes on to the Styrofoam ball. While the glue is drying take the white bunny ears and the slightly smaller (should be same shape) pink ear insides. Lay the white ears down and glue a tooth pick (or two for more stability) to the front side of the white ear with half of the toothpick/s on the ear and half hanging off the bottom of the ear. Then take and glue the back side of the pink ear on top of the toothpick and white ear. Do this for each ear.

Next glue the Styrofoam ball to the top of the jar lid which can be decorated with a paper doily, markers or whatever you may have. Screw the lid on and whichever way the bunny faces, on the other side glue a cotton ball at the bottom of the jar (tail). When the ears dry stick the toothpick, that is hanging out from the bottom of the ears, into the top of the Styrofoam ball. You can tie a ribbon around the edge of the jar lid.

Easter parade bonnet

 
• Paper plate
• construction paper
• crayons or markers
• glue
• yarn

Children can decorate the paper plate any way they wish. Glue on pieces of pastel paper, color flowers on plate, use your imagination. Tie yard to each side of plate so it can be tied under child's chin.

• construction paper
• crayons, markers or stickers
• tape or stapler
• scissors
• elastic thread or ribbon

Let children decorate a piece of paper. Make hat by folding paper into a cone shape, tape or staple together. Cut bottom so it is even. Staple a length of elastic thread or ribbon on each side to hold hat on.

Bunnies, Ducks and Baskets

Paper plate Bunny Masks:

• staple ears to a paper plate - ones that look like rabbit ears
• cut out eyes, glue or draw on nose and mouth
• cover plate with cotton balls for fur
• attach string to hold up around head

Paper plate Duck Masks:

same idea as above , but use yellow feathers instead of cotton balls ( also, they don't have to be masks).

Egg carton Mini-Easter Baskets:

• use individual egg buckets (from egg carton)
• ribbon for handle
• put in easter grass, jelly beans, etc.