[Easter] Hunt Surprise

 
So, I've been thinking.  Lots of families around here have long standing Easter traditions.  They gather with friends and family to celebrate the season.  But maybe you know of one or two that just aren't up to the task this year.  Or maybe just someone that needs a little extra TLC.  Why not provide a little Easter fun for someone else?  It's not that hard and it could just become a family tradition of your own.

Gather some supplies for a good old fashioned egg hunt.  I used plastic eggs.  You will need twenty-four of them if you are going to use the printable that I am providing.  Fill them with jelly beans and other goodies.  They don't have to be sweets.  You could use small toys or money or whatever tickles your fancy.  You could number them if you want to or seal them with washi tape.

Now put them in a festive container.  This cute Easter bag comes to mind.  Or you could use a fun bucket or a spare basket.  Or some bunny britches! You could even add a cute stuffed bunny for good measure if you'd like.  You can never have too many bunnies!

Now comes the fun part.  You have to be all ninja-like.  Gather the kids and explain the procedure.  You are going to sneak up on the family you would like to surprise.  Quietly hide the eggs in their yard.  You might want to go when you know they aren't home or when their blinds/curtains are closed.  I would stick to the front yard to avoid dogs and such.  When you are done hiding all of the eggs...leave your empty Easter bag (or bucket or basket) on their porch.  Be sure to attach a fun tag to explain the fine points of the Easter Hunt Surprise!  Click here for an orange version or here for a pink version.

Then ring the door bell and run like the wind!

Door bell ditching Easter style!  Gotta love it!

Happy Hunting!

Linking up with:

Skip To My Lou

[Easter] Bunny Goodie Bag

 

I had some time.  

 

I had some scraps.  

I made a bag. 

 I stuffed it full of candy.

 You should make one too.

Linking up with:
Skip To My Lou 

[Easter] Spring Bouquet

I just had to share this with you.  Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen?  My friend Kelley gave this to me last week and I absolutely love it.  Love. 

I'm sure you could figure this out on your own just from the picture.  But, I'll run through it anyway.  Why not?  She basically took a rectangular bud vase and filled it with peanut m&m's.  I'm sure any small pastel candy would work.  Pick a favorite.  Then she attached three paper flowers--that I am sure she crafted all on her own.  Because that's the kind of awesome that is Kelley.  And paper flowers are kind of her signature.  She does amazing things with paper flowers.  Anyway,  attach the paper flowers to some long wooden skewers.  Stick the flowers into the vase and arrange them all pretty-like.  Then tie an organza bow around the vase!

And there you have it!  These would make super cute centerpieces for your Easter table.  Or how about a teacher appreciation gift?  Or just because.  Give one to a friend.  It will make them happy.

[Easter] Roll A Bunny Dice Game

 

You knew it was coming, right?  I'm sure you are familiar with the drill by now.  If not you could refer to this
or this or this.  All you need is a die, a pencil, and this lovely free printable.  Enjoy!

I'm linking up with:

Skip To My Lou 

[Easter] Bunny Lollipop Favors

Easter always reminds me of my Aunt Betty.  Maybe I've mentioned it before?  Every year just before Easter she would host an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mother's side of the family.  This was no small task.  There are a lot of us!  Especially when all of the cousins started having kids of their own.  She would make a huge lunch and we would gather in her back yard down by Grandpa's old farm.  There would be crafts, and games, and a cake walk.  And then we would gather eggs from all over the yard.  I miss Aunt Betty.  A lot.

This craft/party favor reminds me of her.  It would have been a perfect addition to her egg hunt.  These would also work well for a classroom party.  All you need is a printer, some ink, some paper, a pair of scissors, and your favorite lollipop.  Print out the bunny masks here.  You will want to use some card stock.  Then cut them out and punch a hole in between the two front teeth.  If your hole is too big the bunny mask will spin upside down.  So start small.  Just enough of a hole to get the stick through.  Thread the lollipop stick through the hole and you are good to go!

If you would like to print a black and white version of the bunny mask...click here.  Have the children color their masks before they cut them out.  Then follow the directions above.

If you really want to look like Peter Cottontail, add a pair of bunny ears.  I saw some at the dollar store just yesterday!  Come to think of it...I should have picked up a pair or two.

Happy Hunting!

Soda Pop Walk

Our local elementary school is having a fund raiser tonight.  Part of that involves a soda pop walk.  Have you ever heard of that before?  Me either.  Apparently it is akin to a cake walk.  Cake was sort of out of the question--because our school has a strict policy about homemade treats.  So they opted for soda pop.  The kids were asked to decorate a 2-liter bottle of pop to have as prizes for the "walk".  And really that was all the instruction we were given. 

OK.  So now that you are all up to speed.  Want to see what we came up with?  In honor of the two up-coming holidays...

This lucky leprechaun started out life as a bottle of Sprite.  

We added a few embellishments, made a few snips with our 

scissors, applied glue generously, and...lo and behold his true identity was discovered!

This little guy has a heart of pink lemonade!  You may recognize his britches from here.  The soda pop bottle fit perfectly!   We wrapped the bottle in brown craft paper, added a face and some ears.  My daughter thought he needed a bowtie.  And I wholeheartedly agreed!

This bottle of Fanta orange shouted "spring" to my kindergartner.  She thought a spring scene was definitely the way to go.  She created this almost entirely on her own.  I punched out the flowers and helped her glue her scene onto the bottle.  I thought it turned out so cute.  I love the flowers and the little bunnies.  Those must be baby bunnies.  Not all of them have caught on to the art of hopping yet.  I guess we all must fall sometimes.

Who knew that a bottle of pop could be such a fun canvas for creating!

Easter Eggs

We are finally getting ready to decorate our Easter eggs this morning.  My daughter can't wait.  She loves a blank canvas!  I thought I'd share a few cool egg ideas I've found lately.  Just in case you need some inspiration!

I adore these floral modpodge eggs by Brown Paper Packages!

Or how about these origami paper wrapped eggs from One Dog Woof?  She has a really cool cutting and pasting technique that I am anxious to try!

These doodle eggs and water color eggs by Alisa Burke are completely amazing.  She is so talented!

Lil Luna creates these super fun subway art eggs using cut vinyl or stickers.  Don't you just want to raid your sticker stash and get to work?

And last but not least, these Lichtenstein eggs by Art Club Blog brought a huge smile to my face!

Now go boil some eggs and channel your inner artist!  Happy Easter everyone!

[Easter] Bunny Tails

 I have been noticing cute little "bunny tail" treats in my travels lately.  Most of them highlight marshmallows in one form or another.  I'm not a huge fan of plain marshmallows.  What else would work?  Doughnuts!  Now there's something I could really get behind.  ( heehee--I crack myself up.)  Powdered doughnut holes would be the perfect treat.  Don't they just look fluffy and cute?  And they're delicious too.  Bonus.  I found some fresh powdered sugar doughnut holes in the bakery department of my local grocery store.  You could use Hostess doughnuts if you can't find fresh.  The mini powdered donettes look cute too!

To top it off, I designed this little bunny tail tag. Print out your tags.  Cut them out and fold them in half.  Then just pop a few donuts into a cellophane bag (and a few in your mouth) and staple the tag on top.  Deliver them to all of your favorite peeps.  Enjoy!

[Easter] Candy Kabobs

Candy kabobs.   

So dang cute!  

Grab yourself some soft-ish Easter candy.  I opted for salt water taffy, and large gumdrops in bright spring colors.  The crowning jewel?  Peeps!  You could definitely add mini candy bars or other chocolates.  I decided I wanted a non-meltable version.  But that's the fun of it--you get to add what you like.  You will also need some skewers or sticks.  I happened to have some  super awesome swizzle sticks.  They worked perfectly.  Thread your candy onto your stick.  That's it! 

Stack them, arrange them, put them in a cute vase. Above all, try not to eat them all in one sitting.

(For the record, we paired ours with this and dropped it on a neighbor's porch all ninja-like!)

[Easter] Some Bunny Loves You

We try to have a family night at least once a week.  It's always an adventure.  We play games, have family discussions, read scriptures, and watch movies among other things.  You've probably figured out by now, that one of our favorite things to do, is to go doorbell ditching.  This is an especially big hit with my five year old.  That girl can definitely ring and run!  We haven't dropped off mystery goodies for a while on account of dreary winter weather.  Slippery sidewalks can be a hazzard!  It is high time.  I whipped up this festive bunny door hanger to go with our goodies.  You will find the free printable below.  Just cut out the bunny...be sure to cut on the black fuzzy line, especially around his ears.  His ear makes the "hook" that hangs around the door knob. I added a little bow tie to mine just for fun, and of course a pompom tail on the back!

If for some reason, you are new to doorbell ditching, this is how it goes:


Step One:  Bake up something yummy or grab a treat from the store.  Package it up real cute-like.

Step Two:  Load everyone up in the car.  It's best to do this under cover of night.  (Have little ones use the potty before you go!  The excitement gets to them every time!)

Step Three:  Send one or two family members sneaking up the front walk of an unsuspecting neighbor. Make sure Dad has the car hidden from view and is ready to make a speedy get-away.

Step Four:  Hang the bunny on the door knob.  Place your goodies carefully on the landing.

Step Five:  Ring.  Ring.

Step Six:  Run like the wind!!

Need more Easter ideas?  Click here.

I'm linking up with:

Lil Luna 
A Pinch of Joy

[Easter] Bunny Britches

britches [brich-iz] noun
1.  Also called knee breeches, knee length trousers, often having ornamental buckles or elaborate decoration at or near the bottoms, commonly worn by men or boys in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries.
2.  riding breeches
3.  Informal. trousers

I came across these darling felt funny bunny treat bags the other day and decided that I simply must make a paper version.  I think they turned out so cute!  These would be perfect for an Easter egg hunt.  You could make them up ahead of time, or have the children make them as a craft before they go hunting.  They would also make a darling party favor.

Supplies that you will need:

colorful paper bags (of the gift bag or the lunch sack variety)
coordinating scrapbook paper
large white pompoms
glue and glue dots
scissors or paper cutter
stapler
markers
buttons from your stash


1.  I found some smaller bright gift bags at the store that just screamed "spring".  They measured five inches in width across the front and were three inches deep.  You don't need the handles, so just go ahead and cut them off.  My finished bag measured five inches tall.

2.  Cut two strips of paper for the waistband.  I tried different colors and styles of card stock, and found that I just liked the plain cream color best.  I cut mine 8 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide.  I scored my paper strips an inch and a half from each end.  This allows them to wrap around to the sides of the bag.  If you want to add some "stitching" details, now is the best time.  Glue the band to the top of the remaining paper bag.  I glued my strips so they matched up in the fold on the sides.

3.  While you are at it, cut two additional strips of paper for the suspenders.  I liked the look of fun patterned card stock for this.  I cut my strips 1 inch wide and 12 inches long.  Once again, if you want to add "stitches", it is best to do it before you attach your suspenders to the pants.

At this point your britches should look like this:

I decided to staple the suspenders into place.  I wanted to make sure that they were attached really well, so they would hold up to the eventual weight of the goodies inside.  The front of your bag will be the side with the fold.  Staple the suspenders to the front perpendicular to the base.  You will want to staple them at an angle in the back to allow for the "criss-cross".  I chose to use a glue dot where the suspenders cross to hold them in place.

4.  Decorate and embellish your "britches".  Add buttons to the suspenders.  Just use a glue dot and put your buttons right on top of your staples.  You could use a marker to add stitching details and pockets.

5.  Glue on your bunny tail.  You want the tail to be on the side without a fold.  I used some craft glue to adhere my tail.

6.  When your britches are complete, fill with Easter grass and you are all set to fill your "basket" with goodies.

Here's a look at the front:

And here's the cute back-side:

I'm linking up with:

Made By You Monday
I Heart Nap Time 
Itsy Bitsy Paper Blog
Thirty Handmade Days
Uncommon 
Lil Luna 
Every Creative Endeavor 
A Pinch of Joy