When winter starts to wind down and spring is in the air, it’s a good time to stock up on some crafting supplies for easy Easter decorations. If you have the steady, delicate hands of a surgeon, you can try using real hollowed out eggs to make the Easter egg garland or the Easter egg tree. However, if you’d like to store these decorations and use them again next year, you’re probably better off using Styrofoam eggs. These eggs are easy to find at any craft store. With Styrofoam eggs, your kids can join in the decorating fun as well.
Gather supplies for your projects.
The first place you should go is your local dollar store. See how many supplies you can find there. What you can’t find from the dollar store should be available at any craft store. Here is what to include on your list to make an Easter egg garland and tree:
Styrofoam eggs (Usually sold in packs of 6. You’ll need 1-2 for the tree and at least 2 for each garland.) 8 inch upholstery needle Hemp twine or cord
Craft glue or decoupage glue Easter themed paper napkins Glitter Pastel tissue paper Acrylic paint Ribbon
Craft wire Tree branch Glass vase Easter grass, jelly beans or robin eggs (the malted milk and chocolate candy eggs) to hold the branch
Decorate your Styrofoam eggs.
You can use craft glue (as long as it dries clear) or decoupage glue to decorate your eggs. If you are using Easter themed paper napkins, cut out the images (keep them no bigger than about a half-inch on each side) you want to use from the top layer only. Cut or tear the tissue paper into ½ inch squares. Brush glue onto the egg and then apply your paper napkin designs or pastel tissue paper pieces. Decorate one side of the egg at a time until the entire egg is covered. (You can use paint to fill in white spaces if needed.) Once the glue has dried completely, apply another topcoat as a finish and allow it to dry completely.
You can also use acrylic paint and glitter to decorate your eggs. Sprinkle the glitter over the wet paint or brush glue onto the egg and then sprinkle glitter over the entire surface. Use your imagination to decorate your eggs in as many ways as you can think of. (Tip: push a wooden barbecue skewer into the bottom of the egg to create a handle for decorating.)
Make an Easter egg garland.
You can use Styrofoam eggs to make a colorful Easter egg garland. Make as many garlands as you want and use them to decorate your fireplace mantel, doors, windows, dining room chandelier, large house plants or any other place you can think of.
Tie a long length of hemp cord to your upholstery needle. Make a fat knot (bigger than the needle width) at the other end of the cord. Push the needle all the way through each decorated Styrofoam egg, starting at the bottom of the egg and coming out the top of the egg. Leave enough cord to make another knot when finished. Your garland is ready to hang!
Make an Easter egg tree.
Use a small tree branch that you have either cut yourself or buy some decorative branches from a floral or craft store. Use jelly beans, robin eggs candy or Easter grass to hold your branch in a glass vase.
Cut the craft wire into 3 inch pieces. Fold each piece into a loop and twist or glue the ends together. Stick the wire ends into the top of each decorated Styrofoam egg. Tie a small length of ribbon to each wire hanger and hang the eggs on your tree branch. If you don’t have any craft wire, you can use longer lengths of ribbon. Use a hot glue gun to attach the ribbon around the egg lengthwise, from bottom to top. Tie a small knot with the ribbon ends at the top of the egg and leave enough extra ribbon to attach the egg to the tree branch. Add a few “fallen” eggs around the bottom.
Now relax and enjoy your creative handy work. Take a breath while you can. Soon it will be time to color eggs and fill Easter baskets!