Easter Crafts
Here at A Little Wild we have exciting things happening! A bunch of new products are being developed and orders heading out the door to lucky littlies. It seems like Easter has crept up on us. Where is the year going already?!
Easter is right around the corner and is a fun time of year to add a little magic to your children’s play and learning. To help inspire you to get crafty with your kids this Easter we have gathered together a collection of our best Easter-themed craft ideas and play invitations. There is something here to inspire everyone!
Ice Eggs
These magical ice eggs are so much fun! Creating them is a beautiful, nature-led experience in themselves and kids love the anticipation of waiting overnight to see how they will turn out once cracked open. Holding them and exploring their contents is also a wonderful sensory experience. Watch them glisten in the sunlight. How will they melt?
To make:
1- Cut the very top off your eggs and empty the contents. Save the insides for some baking!
2- Gently rinse out the egg shells and forage around in the garden for some natural treasures and textures - flowers, leaves, moss, anything!
3- Fill your egg shells with your natural materials. Fill them up quite well but leave a little room for the water.
4- Fill your eggs right to the top with cold water. Leave in the freezer overnight.
5- Peel off the egg shell leaving behind a beautiful nature infused Ice Egg.
6- Incorporate your Ice Eggs into an invitation to play
Add tools and a small jug of water to set up some ice excavation or ice smashing!
Create a fantasy land complete with dragon, dinosaur or fairy eggs
Use your Ice Eggs as an experiment around which you can discuss states of matter as you watch the ice melt into water and evaporate in the sun
Felt Bunny Bags
An easy-to-sew bag to hold all those special Easter treats!.
I used my sewing machine but this would be equally as great with a blanket hand stitch.
Check out the array of naturally dyed felt we have in our store
https://www.alittlewild.co.nz/shop/wool-felt-bundle-rainbow
To make:
1- Draw and cut out a paper pattern with a square with bunny ears on top. Mark where the face will be. Keep the face low so it will be easily seen when the ears are tied up.
2- Mark your piece of felt into thirds, folding one third over to create a pocket. Place your pattern on so that you have one layer where the ears are, two for the head with the fold at the base of the pattern head. Cut out around your pattern.
3- Use the same pattern to cut out two ears from a complimentary fabric.
4- Sew the fabric inside out to the felt ear. Turn them right side out.
5- Stitch on the eyes and cute bunny nose. You can use your imagination here.
6- Sew the sides together and add a ribbon.
A cute little comfy pocket to keep your chocolate treats!
Story Stones
One of our absolute favourite things to do as a family is to create a tall tale with Story Stones. Paint Stones with themed objects. In this case Easter and things found in our garden or perhaps some characters and images to create an Easter themed scene. Once dry keep them in a cloth bag.
When playing each person takes a turn putting their hand into the bag to pick a stone. They then create a story around the picture on the stone. The next person then has to weave their picture into the same story. Often with hilarious outcomes, a story is formed.
Our rock painting kit includes eight 30ml glass jars of VOC-free paint so it is safe for your little ones. The kit contains everything you need to make up your very own Story Stones, you can check it out here:
Felted Heart Woven Egg Basket
These no-sew felt baskets are super easy. A fun little fine motor skill exercise for young and old alike.
1 - Choose two complimentary colours of naturally dyed felt.
2 - Fold both straps in half lengthwise.
3- Round off the corners at the end. Then make cuts along the folded join up to an inch from the top.
4- Weave the ends together to form your basket.
Shop for our beautiful, hand-dyed wool felt here:
https://www.alittlewild.co.nz/shop/wool-felt-bundle-autumn-tones
Easter Garlands
Made with leaf rubbings and eco-paintings these garlands are fun for your children to make and will brighten up your room or hang beautifully for a festive seasonal garland.
1- Create some beautiful, creative artworks: Try using Honey Sticks (natural beeswax crayons) or Eco-crayons (plant based natural crayons) to make leave rubbings by placing leaves under a piece of paper and rubbing the paper on top with your crayons. Mix up some Eco Paints (natural plant based pigment) and let your children create some painted masterpieces. We covered the paper with a rainbow base coat, then splashed a contrasting colour on top.
2- Cut out bunny and egg shapes. Glue on bunny-tail plants (pussy-willows) or cotton balls for the bunny tails. String them together with twine and hang.
Our gorgeous, natural art materials can be found here:
Easter Egg Planters
Rethink the egg shell planter with some beautiful bright colours! Kids love planting and watching their own little seeds grow. Give those egg shells an Easter twist by painting them in big bold stripes and polka dots.
1 - Gently crack the top off some eggs, reserving the inside for some easter baking! Gently wash out the inside of the egg shell with warm water
2- Fill each shell with seed raising mix, add seeds as per instructions.
3 - Water seeds regularly and enjoy watching them grow.
Easter Egg Sensory Experience
Let your little ones explore their senses with this chocolate-scented invitation to messy-play.
When you mix cornflour with a little water it becomes a non-Newtonian fluid (aka oobleck!), meaning it behaves neither like a solid nor a liquid! When you move your fingers slowly through the mixture, it acts like a liquid. When you put any force into it, it behaves like a solid.
This alone is a great tactile experience but also a fantastic science experiment! Add a little cocoa and you will have all your senses exploring and it adds a little Easter-themed fun.
Either you can pre mix or like I did provide an array of ingredients and tools, like our hand crafted potion spoon.
We used this Easter Egg finger paint to create beautiful nature-inspired Easter Egg pictures. Decorated with Wild Glitter, Wild Gems and other natural resources from the garden.
You can find dried flowers, gemstones and spoons in our shop:
Nature Eggs
Another fun little craft for the kids to do. I love the idea of writing Easter messages on the back and gifting them to family and friends.
1- Cut out an egg shape from cardboard (a great use for recycling boxes)
2 - Paint in beautiful colours
3- Decorate with natural resources. We love pressed flowers, leaves and feathers but you can use anything that is reasonably flat.
Check out our gorgeous Eco-Paints made from all natural ingredients, and our flower presses!
We hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for this week with your little loves! Wishing you all a wonderful holiday over the weekend and lots of lovely crafting and fun together! A great way to spend a low-waste Easter.
Rebecca and Sarah