Huckleberry Arts: Free Easter ideas

I made some printable Easter Egg holders. Just download and print Click here to download

How about some natural Egg Dye this year. I personally love the colors of nature dyed eggs, and also you can use these dyes on Blown Eggs too.

Natural Colorant	Egg Color	Directions	Hints
turmeric powder	bright yellow to deep gold	Put -1-2 tsp. ground turmeric powder in heat proof cup. Fill 2/3 full with boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Works quickly. Turmeric stains so be careful. Wipe dusty spice residue from eggs.
chopped red cabbage	blue/teal	Put 2-3 tbsps. chopped red cabbage in heat safe cup. Add boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Let sit overnight. Avoid excess handling.
onion skins, yellow	light peach to gold/orange	Use 1 large handful of onion skin for each cup of water. Simmer 20 minutes then add 1 tsp. of white vinegar.	A perennial favorite. Easy.
grape juice	blue to purple	Add 1 cup frozen juice concentrate to 1 tsp. vinegar.	Eggs may be simmered right in the juice to cook.
grated red beets	magenta red	Put 2-4 tbsps. freshly grated beets in heat safe cup. Fill 2/3 with boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Speckled design. Dye may be strained before use. Orange beets may be used to obtain saffron color.
red cabbage & turmeric	green	Pour scant tsp. of turmeric and 2-3 tbsps. of chopped red cabbage in a heat safe cup then add boiling water.	Speckled design. Wipe vegetable off with damp cloth.
red cabbage & beet	purple	Put 2 tbsps. grated beet and 2 tbsps. red cabbage in heat safe cup. Add boiling water.	Striking and intense.
onion skins, red	pale celadron green	See directions for yellow onion skins.	Allow long steeping time.

Use hard cooked brown or white eggs. After eggs are cooked, quickly cool the water or rinse in cold water. This helps to prevent "greening" of the yolk. Natural dyes take a bit longer to color the egg, so plan on extra time, or leave the eggs in the refrigerator overnight.

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Things You’ll Need:

Balloon or plastic milk jug
Liquid starch
Newspaper, torn or cut into 2 to 3 inch strips
Acrylic craft paint
Craft paint brushes
Poster Board

1 Cut the top of a milk jug off just below the handle so that you have the rounded bottom remaining. This will be the form for your paper mache

Easter basket.

Step2

Lay a plastic tablecloth or drop cloth on your work surface to simplify clean up. Liquid starch can be quite messy and difficult to remove when hardened.

Step3

Cut newspaper strips into pieces 4 to 6 inches long. You'll need a lot of newspaper--enough to cover your basket with two to three layers of paper mache.

Step4

Pour liquid starch into plastic bowl or bucket. Make sure it is large enough to reach in and dip newspaper strips.

Step5

Dip newspaper strips in the liquid starch and hold them over the bowl to let excess starch drip off. Press the strips onto the milk jug, overlapping them slightly. Continue until you have covered the jug bottom with one layer of newspaper.

Step6

Turn the milk jug upside down and allow the first layer to dry for 12 to 24 hours before applying the second layer. Repeat the process for third layer.

Step7

Pull the dry, formed paper mache off of the milk jug bottom. To make a handle for your basket, cut a strip of poster board and staple it to either side of the basket.

Step8

Paint the basket and handle with acrylic craft paints. Coat the basket inside and out with at least two coats to ensure even coverage.

Step9

Fill your basket with Easter grass, chocolate bunnies and selected novelties after the paint dries. Homemade items add an even more personal touch to paper mache Easter baskets.
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Making Paper Mache