DIY Easter Baskets

I have been wanting to make the kids collapsible Easter baskets for awhile now. The big ones while beautiful are a pain to store every year, so I headed to Pinterest for some pinspiration. I found this little bag and I was super excited about it.  It even had a free tutorial. I decided to forgo her instructions and just make it up as I went with her original photo as my inspiration. 

I knew that I wanted them lined and I also wanted them to coordinate. Thankfully I had all the the supplies accept for the pink gingham on hand. So I began to sew. I didn't want to take credit for this project and create my own tutorial since the original link had free tutorial, but I did make a few changes such as the happier face, embroidered names on the back of each bag and adding a little bunny tail to Leif's bag. I was planning on adding pom poms to all of them for tails, but then I realized they would get squished when I packed them away. So I appliqued on a tail onto Leif's and I just love it!

The face was a bit trial and error as were the length of the ears.

I am totally in love with the gingham! 

I really wanted to have the kids names on the bags. I just makes everything seem so personal, but I didn't want it to be loud and in your face. I think we found he perfect balance with the subtle name hand embroidered on the back. 

I did a more masculine font for the boys.

So happy with how they turned out and the kids really enjoyed using them at their egg hunt! After 2 years I can finally check another project off of my list!

Easter Crafts

 It's so secret that I love to craft but what I love even more than crafting is crafting with my daughter. One of my all time favorite moments was E coming up to me with my phone, opening Pinterest and saying "Mommy, let's craft!" She is the cutest and even though my OCD self wants it to be perfect, it is fun for both of us to let go and see what E creates. 

 

 These are some of our favorites this season. 

 It's been a fun Easter so far. I don't feel like I've soaked up enough Easter goodness though.

"Tie" Dye

No Joke! I found this marvelous idea on uCreate. It originally came from a little old lady featured on Martha Stewart. How do people come up with these sorts of things?

Supplies: SILK ties (We tried to bend the rules and it didn't work... go with silk)
An Old Pillow Case
1/4 c. Vinegar
Eggs (Raw)
Some Fabulous Friends!

Step 1: Purchase some "egg" looking ties. We got ours at Good Will and D.I for 2.00 each. For next year I'll simply scout out yard sales.

Step 2: Destroy the ties. Cut it along the seams and remove the padding & lining.

Side Note: Meet Jenna and Courtney. They are the fabulous friends I listed as supplies. Love them!

Step 3: With silky side IN wrap egg as tight as you can without breaking it. Secure with string. twist tie, or rubber band. Do yourself a favor and go with the rubber band :). Eventually your pieces will get too small to wrap around, in that case whip out your sweing machine and stitch some multicolored ones.

Oh these babies make my heart sing.

Step 4: To avoid running to your husbands favorite pillow and cutting up the pillow case, I would suggest buying one at D.I or Good Will. For us girls however, Jakob's pillowcase was simply more efficient. Wrap up those little eggs a second time tight, tight, tight.

Step 5: Bring 1/4 cup vinegar and some water to a boil and place eggs in. Fill enough to cover eggs. Boil for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Remove from boiling water and let sit until cool enough to handle. We stuck ours outside on the porch to speed up the process.

Step 7: Reveal... Oh we were SO exited!

Presto!

What we would have done differently:

-I think next time I'll add more vinegar for a better vinegar to egg ratio.
-I would also use 100% silk ties. Those colors transferred better.
-I'd wrap them much tighter

Some eggs didn't turn out so we had no choice but to eat them!

Hope yours turn out great. Let me know how it went for you. I'd love to see some pictures! Happy Crafting!

Easter Blocks

For Christmas this past year I made some blocks for a mantle piece & I fell in love with the idea. Somehow I forgot to blog about it so those pictures will go up this Christmas instead. For a whopping $4.00 at Lowes (2 2x4's) my fabulous husband was able to cut me enough blocks for Easter, Halloween & Christmas.


I am far to cheap to purchase actual stencils so I printed off some funky letters off of my computer and cut them out with an exacto knife. From this past Christmas experience I glued the paper to the block with a glue stick this time. The letters came out much crisper and left no residue on the block.

I am quite pleased with the result and even more impressed with the price. With our house colors being black and red, my little blocks look a little out of place. I think I need to make a wreath or something funky to add to the Easter feel. Any ideas?