Easter Booty

I like photo albums, but scrapbooking is so much better. Not only is a lot more fun to do, but it's all about telling a story instead of just showing a photo. Our family photo album from 1980 includes a picture of me (age 8) and my sister (almost 5) wearing pink pajamas, pirate hats, eyepatches, and bandanas, posing with our Easter baskets. Just the photo - no explanation. There is little chance that anyone alive (besides the two of us and our mom) knows why we're dressed as pirates for Easter. This layout, which I titled Easter Booty, tells the story. 

Easter Booty (affiliate link)

My grandparents had discovered cruising in the 1970's and absolutely loved it. They talked about it all the time, which convinced my parents that they should try a cruise. In 1980, they went with friends on a Caribbean cruise over spring break; Kari and I stayed with her godparents. Our parents missed us while they were gone (at least, that's what they told us) and brought us back souvenirs, including the pirate garb that the cruise ship gave them. They gave us our souvenirs on Easter morning, which led to the photo of us posing with our Easter baskets, dressed as pirates. 

I made this page for the Grab Five challenge at A Cherry on Top. We had a list of 15 supplies or techniques and had to pick five of them to use on a page. Despite it being a very simple page, I ended up using six of the 15: the color green, at least one photo, patterned paper, washi tape, at least two stickers, and journaling. 

Here's a closer look at the photo. Be sure to notice the random dog bone sitting in front of me. I still have (and use) that Easter basket, by the way. And I still have the pirate stuff. 

Yo ho ho! Happy Easter!

Tomato and Strawberry Easter Eggs

Today's Easter eggs based on state symbols are so easy to make that you get two-for-one. First up is a tomato, the state fruit of Arkansas, Ohio, and Tennessee. Second is the strawberry, the state fruit of Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Affiliate links below. 

 

Tomato Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (red)
• felt (green)
• scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg red. While it is drying, cut out a multi-pointed star shape from felt for the tomato's leaves. Cut a thin strip for the stem. When the paint is dry, glue the leaves to the side of the egg and the stem on top of the leaves. 

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Strawberry Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (red, yellow)
• felt (green)
• scissors
• plastic fork
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg red. While the paint is drying, cut out a multi-pointed star shape from felt for the strawberry's leaves. Cut a thin strip for the stem. 

When the red paint is dry, use a plastic fork to apply yellow dots to the egg to mimic the strawberry's seeds. 

When the yellow paint is dry, glue the leaves to the rounded end of the egg. Glue the stem onto the leaves. 

Deer Easter Egg

For my next state symbol Easter egg, I chose a deer. The white-tailed deer is the state animal of Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, the state game animal of Oklahoma, and the wildlife symbol of Wisconsin. Affiliate links below.

  

Deer Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (brown)
• brown cardstock
• scissors
• colored pencil (white)
• black paint pen
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the brown. While the paint is drying, cut out a pair of antlers, a pair of ears, and a tail. Make each a little longer than needed; fold back a small tab at the base. (This is where you'll be putting glue.) Use a white colored pencil to color the inside of the deer's ears. Color the edges and the underside of the tail white. 

Use the paint pen to add a nose to the pointed end of the egg. Add eyes and a mouth. Glue the ears,  antlers, and tail in place. 

Ice Cream Cone Easter Egg

Ice cream cones have been around since 1904, when visitors to the St. Louis World's Fair tried a revolutionary new treat. Vendors folded waffles into cones and filled them with ice cream. In 2008, 104 years after the birth of this now-ubiquitous treat, Missouri named the ice cream cone their official state dessert. Honor the ice cream cone by making an Easter egg version. Affiliate links below. 

 

 

Ice Cream Cone Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint
• cardstock (tan)
• colored pencil (tan)
• scissors
• craft glue
• binder clips
• Sharpie

Steps: 

Start by painting the egg your desired color. While that is drying, work on the cone. Use a ruler and a colored pencil to draw diagonal lines on the cardstock, first in one direction and then the other. There's no need to measure - just get some lines on there to mimic the look of an ice cream cone. 

Roll the cardstock into a cone shape, making sure the lines you drew face out. Measure the cone against the egg and adjust the wide end of the cone accordingly. I ended up cutting down my paper significantly. You may want to make a template with scratch paper first if you don't have another use for the excess cardstock. Glue the cone and add a binder clip to prevent it from unrolling while it dries. 

Use a Sharpie to add flecks of chocolate to your mint chip or chocolate chip ice cream, or skip this step if you chose a different flavor. When the glue on the cone is dry, trim to the top to make it even and nestle the egg inside. 

Another fun Easter egg idea, inspired by a state symbol!

Cat in the Hat Easter Egg

You may be wondering why I made a Cat in the Hat Easter egg when I said that this year's eggs are all inspired by state symbols. While the Cat himself is not a state symbol, Dr. Seuss is the official State Children's Author and Illustrator of Massachusetts. We had a fantastic time at the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts a few years ago. If you've never been, make plans to go! In the meantime, try this easy Easter egg idea. Affiliate links below. 

 

Cat in the Hat Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• scissors
• cardboard tube
• cardstock (red and white)
• craft glue
• binder clips
• Sharpie

Steps: 

Start by making the hat. Slice a 2.5" ring off a cardboard tube. Cut up the side so that you can adjust the circumference of the tube (you'll need to make it smaller to fit the egg). Cut a piece of red cardstock that is slightly taller than the cardboard tube ring and wide enough to wrap around it. Cut two strips of white cardstock and glue them to the red to make the iconic stripes. Glue the cardstock to the cardboard tube, then adjust the tube to the appropriate circumference to fit your egg (about 1"). Clip the ends in place to allow the glue to dry without having to hold it. 

When the glue is dry, cut a circle of white cardstock for the brim of the hat. Snip the inside of the brim and fold up the flaps of cardstock. This gives you a surface to glue to the inside of the hat. 

Use a Sharpie to draw the cat's eyes, eyebrows, nose, whiskers, and smile. Then add light, whispy marks to the area beyond the face. 

Finally, place the hat on top of the egg. 

I can imagine making a whole collection of Seuss-inspired Easter eggs. There are so many fun characters in his books.

Harbor Seal Easter Egg

I enjoy coming up with creative ways to decorate Easter eggs. This year, I'm challenging myself to decorate my eggs using state symbols. First up, a harbor seal. 

In 2016, the harbor seal was adopted as the official state marine mammal of Rhode Island. Did you know that harbor seals can weigh up to 300 pounds and live up to 30 years? Females give birth to a single baby between March and May. Babies weigh around 20 pounds at birth and can swim and dive within hours of birth. They gain almost a pound a day during the 4-6 weeks their mothers nurse them. Harbor seals eat a variety of seafood; they will swim more than a hundred miles upstream in large rivers in search of migrating fish. Affiliate links below. 

Harbor Seal Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (grey)
• white chalk
• paint pen (black) or Sharpie
• fishing line
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg grey. When the paint has dried completely, orient the egg with the pointy end facing you. Rub some chalk on your finger (or on a cotton ball) and apply it to where the seal's eyes and cheeks will be. 

Use a black paint pen to draw the seal's eyes, nose, and mouth. Add random spots around the body, then add lots of tiny dots where the whiskers go.  

Cut six (or more) short pieces of fishing line for the seal's whiskers. Add dots of glue and press the whiskers in place. You'll need to hold them for 30 seconds or so while the glue sets up. 

Decoupage Tissue Paper Cross

Easter crafts are some of my very favorites. Over the years, I've shared 60+ ideas for crafts related to bunnies, chicks, and eggs, as well as dozens more crafts featuring flowers, butterflies, and rainbows. I've been making an effort over the past few years to add more religious Easter crafts to my blog. Last year's Palm Sunday project and kid-friendly Crown of Thorns were popular; today I'm adding another classic cross to the collection of Easter projects. It's made with tissue paper and Mod Podge. Affiliate links below. 

Decoupage Tissue Paper Cross

Materials:

• Neenah Bristol vellum
• tissue paper (light blue, light green, brown)
• Mod Podge
• decoupage brush
• scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Cut a piece of Bristol vellum into a 8.5" square. This will be the background. The 8.5" x 2.5" piece is for the cross. Tear thin strips of light blue and light green tissue paper. Remember - tissue paper has a grain! Cut a piece of brown tissue paper that is slightly larger than the small piece of paper. 

Pour Mod Podge into a cup and dilute it with a small amount of water (approximately 3 parts Mod Podge to 1 part water). Spread a coat of the watered-down Mod Podge onto the smaller paper - you want it to be moist but not puddly. Carefully place the brown tissue paper onto the moist paper. Load the brush with more Mod Podge and paint a coat over the top of the tissue paper. With the brush, smooth any wrinkles as best you can. Set it aside to dry. 

To make the background, work on one area at a time. Add a coat of Mod Podge to the bottom inch of the paper, lay down a strip of light green tissue paper, then paint over that to seal it. Add Mod Podge to the next section of the paper, then add the tissue paper, slightly overlapping the previous piece. Seal it. Repeat until you've covered half of the paper, then switch to light blue tissue paper. When the whole sheet is covered, set it aside to dry.  

Use scissors to trim the excess tissue paper from the background paper. Cut two 1" strips from the brown paper, one longer than the other, to form the cross. Glue the cross to the background.

Creative Ideas for Decorating Easter Eggs

Here's the roundup with all of my animal/character ideas for decorating Easter eggs. All of the tutorials are now linked on my Easter Crafts page.  

Which egg is your favorite? Do you have requests for decorated eggs you want me to make in the future? Let me know in the comments!

Toucan Easter Egg

This is my final decorated Easter egg for this year. It's a toucan. Specifically, it's a toco toucan, the largest species of toucan. Endemic to South America, toco toucans live in semi-open habitats at altitudes up to 5740 feet (in contrast to other toucans, who prefer closed-canopy forests). They feed mainly on fruit. They are a least-concern species, still plentiful in the wild. And they're really fun use as inspiration for a decorated egg. Affiliate links below. 

Toucan Easter Egg

Materials:

• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (black, green)
• cardboard tube
• scissors
• white cardstock
• ink pads (yellow, orange)
• blending brushes
• Sharpie (black)
• googly eye
• felt (green)
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg black, leaving a rounded cone-shaped area white. 

Cut a ring from the cardboard tube. Paint it green. 

Cut a beak from cardstock. Use the blending brushes to add orange ink to the bottom of the beak and yellow ink to the top. Without adding extra ink to the brush, color the white area of the egg, just where the eye will go. Use a Sharpie to color the end of the beak black. 

Cut leaves from green felt and glue them to the cardboard tube ring. Glue the googly eye and beak in place. When the glue is dry, place the toucan amongst the leaves. 

Koala Easter Egg

If you're looking for a really easy Easter egg to decorate, go for this koala. This is about as easy as it gets. And it's so cute! Affiliate links below. 

Koala Easter Egg

Materials:

• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (grey)
• Sharpie (black)
• grey felt
• scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg grey. When the paint is dry, draw the koala's eyes, nose, and mouth with the Sharpie. Cut a pair of ears from grey felt. Glue them in place. 

Charlie Brown Easter Egg

When I was brainstorming all these Easter eggs, the Round-Headed Kid seemed like an obvious choice.  I'm a huge Peanuts fan and have always loved Good ol' Charlie Brown. Speaking of which, can you name another fictional character that has as many nicknames as he does? Peppermint Patty calls him Chuck, Marcie calls him Charles (technically, Charlie is the nickname and Charles is his given name), and Lucy and Violet regularly call him Blockhead. Sally calls him Big Brother. Charlie Brown introduced himself as Brownie Charles to Peggy Jean, which is what she calls him. There are probably others. 

Anyway, this Charlie Brown egg is really quick and easy to decorate. Other than drying time for the paint, it only takes about five minutes to do. This post contains affiliate links. 

Charlie Brown Easter Egg

Materials:

• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• Folk Art acrylic paint (Linen, Daffodil Yellow)
• Sharpie (black)

Steps: 

Paint the pointy end of the egg with Daffodil Yellow and the round end of the egg with Linen. When the paint is dry, use a Sharpie to draw Charlie Brown's eyes, nose, mouth, and hair squiggle. Draw a line separating his head from his shirt. Add two triangles for the shirt collar and finish with the iconic zigzag. 

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I have two more decorated eggs to share. Rather than wait until 2026, I'm going to share them next week, even though Easter will have passed. For all who celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Easter.

Rocket Ship Easter Egg

Part of my goal while decorating all these Easter eggs was to use different materials besides traditional dye. Today's Rocket Ship Easter Egg uses paint, pens, and craft foam. Affiliate links below. 

 

Rocket Ship Easter Egg

Materials:

• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (red, black)
• Sharpies (blue, silver)
• craft foam
• scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the pointy end of the egg red. Add a black porthole on one of the sides. 

While the paint is drying, cut out three fins from red craft foam. Cut out yellow and orange craft foam flames. 

Use a silver Sharpie to trace along the outside edge of the porthole and around the edge of the nose cone. Add a blue accent stripe, if desired. 

Glue the three fins to the bottom of the egg. Hold them in place while they dry. If you position them correctly, the egg will stand on its own. 

Add the flames under the rocket. 

Hello Kitty Easter Egg

Any Hello Kitty fans? Hello Kitty (real name: Kitty White) is a British cat, created by a Japanese designer in 1974 for the Japanese company Sanrio. She lives her parents and twin sister, Mimmy. Oddly, this family of cats has a pet cat. Hello Kitty first appeared in the United States in March 1975. I was three at the time, which explains why I don't remember a world without Hello Kitty. 

All this to say, I made a Hello Kitty Easter egg and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Affiliate links below. 

 

Hello Kitty Easter Egg

Materials:

• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• cardboard tube
• felt (white, pink, lavender)
• scissors
• paint pen (black)
• black craft wire
• wire cutters
• craft glue

Steps: 

Cut a ring off the cardboard tube that is approximately 1.5" high. Then cut out the felt. You will need a pink rectangle that is the same height as the ring and the same length as the circumference. Cut three small scallops from that piece for the neck and sleeves. Use the pink scraps to cut two triangles and a square for the hair bow. Then cut a length of lavender felt for the shirt and two white ears. 

Glue the lavender rectangle behind the pink rectangle. Then glue the pink rectangle around the cardboard tube ring. Place the egg, rounded side up, into the ring. Use a black paint pen to draw Hello Kitty's eyes, nose, and buttons. Glue the ears and bow in place. 

Snip six short pieces of black wire for Hello Kitty's whiskers. I experimented with a lot of ways to attach them and finally found that the best way is to make a tiny bend at the end of each wire, apply glue, then hold it in place until the glue dries. This is tedious, but effective. Hot glue would be faster, but it would be visible when it dries. Superglue might be better. Faster, anyway. 

Oscar the Grouch Easter Egg

When I was making my panda Easter egg, I set it on top of a cardboard tube so it wouldn’t roll off the table. The shape reminded me of Oscar the Grouch in his garbage can. I’m a big fan of Sesame Street, so this was a really fun egg to decorate. Affiliate links below. 

Oscar the Grouch Easter Egg

Materials:

• acrylic paint (green, red, grey)
• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• cardboard tube
• chipboard
• scissors
• paint pens
• black ink pad
• craft glue

Steps: 

Draw Oscar's eyes on the egg. Paint the egg green, leaving the eyes white. (I didn't do this and had to put multiple coats of white paint over the green. Avoid that problem.) 

Cut a circle out of chipboard to make Oscar's trash can lid. Paint the lid and the cardboard tube grey. 

Use a black paint pen to draw Oscar's mouth and pupils. Use a brown paint pen to make his eyebrows. Use acrylic paint to add a tongue on the mouth. 

With a pencil, draw vertical lines on the trash can. Draw lines on the lid so that it looks like a cut pizza. Add a line down the center of Oscar's tongue. 

Rub a little bit of black ink onto a tissue or cotton ball. Rub it randomly on the trash can and lid so that it looks scuffed up. 

Place Oscar in his garbage can, then glue the lid to the back of his head. 

Panda Easter Egg

Dyeing Easter eggs is so much fun, but there are a lot of other ways to decorate eggs that are just as fun. I used a black paint pen to turn an egg into an adorable panda. Affiliate links below. 

 

Panda Easter Egg

Materials:

• green acrylic paint
• 1.5" clay pot
• round toothpicks
• white egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• black paint pen
• felt (green and black)
• scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the clay pot and the toothpicks green. Set them aside to dry. 

Put the egg onto something to stabilize it. (I used a ring cut from a cardboard tube.) Use the paint pen to draw the panda's eyes, nose, and mouth. 

Cut a pair of ears from black felt and set them aside. Cut 12 skinny leaves from green felt. 

When the paint is dry, glue the ears to the egg and the leaves to the toothpicks. Then glue the toothpicks to the clay pot. Rest the panda inside the pot. 

Religious Easter Crafts for Kids

For the past few days, I've been sharing ideas for Easter crafts that relate to the religious aspect of the holiday: Jesus' death and resurrection. Crafts like these are a lot less common than secular Easter crafts featuring jelly beans, bunnies, and chicks, so I put together a roundup to help parents and Sunday School teachers find project ideas for Lent and Easter. 

You can find all of these crafts (and more) on my Easter Crafts page. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see all of the religious crafts grouped together. 

Tape-Resist Cross Easter Eggs

This fun Easter craft combines a more secular symbol of Easter (dyed eggs) with a religious symbol (a cross). They're really fun to make and something crafters of all ages will enjoy. Affiliate links below. 

Tape-Resist Cross Easter Eggs

Materials:

• white cardstock
• scissors
• 1/8" painter's tape
• ink pads
• blending brushes

Steps: 

Cut egg shapes out of cardstock. I made a pattern with scratch paper and then used that to cut out multiple eggs at once. 

Cut a strip of painter's tape about half the height of the egg and place it vertically on the egg. Cut a slightly shorter piece of tape to make the cross piece. Press firmly on both to make sure they are flush with the paper. 

Use blending brushes to add ink to the eggs, directly over the tops of the crosses. You can do a single color or blend lots of colors together. Don't leave white spaces or the tape-resist effect won't work as well. 

Peel up the tape and you should have perfectly white crosses on your colorful eggs. Enjoy!

Crown of Thorns Craft

I wish I could remember all the clever crafts I did in Sunday School during the 70's and early 80's. I had some really creative teachers. I vaguely remember a Play-Doh crown of thorns. My version is made with Model Magic. Affiliate links below. 

Crown of Thorns Craft

Materials: 

• Folk Art acrylic paint (brown)
• round toothpicks (approx. 18)
• wire cutters
• 1 oz. Model Magic (brown)

Steps: 

Begin by making a 'stain' for the toothpicks. Place a small amount of brown paint into an empty container. Add a few drops of water and stir until it is well-mixed. It should be thin, but heavily pigmented. Cut the toothpicks in half with the wire cutters and drop them into the stain. Swish them around so they're all covered. Set them aside. 

Knead the Model Magic. When it is soft, use about 1/8 to make a thin rope. Lay it in a circle on your work surface. Make another similarly-sized rope and wrap it around the first one. Continue to make ropes and add them to the previous ones. You're not going for a neat braid - you're aiming for a messy crown of thorns. 

When you are happy with the crown, remove the toothpicks from the paint and dry them with a paper towel. Insert them into the crown at different angles. 

I chose to display my finished crown with a Bible verse that references it: 

Matthew 27:29 ... and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Palm Sunday Craft for Kids

Palm Sunday has special meaning for me as a mom. When Trevor was little, Palm Sunday was his absolute favorite church service of the year. He loved proceeding into the sanctuary waving palm fronds, then spending the rest of the service weaving palms together. He would ask for months when "Pom" Sunday was coming. It was so cute. When it came time to choose a date for Trevor's confirmation, we chose Palm Sunday.    

I wish I had thought of today's craft 15 years ago or so. Trevor would have loved it. But hopefully there's another young child who loves Palm Sunday that will enjoy this craft. Affiliate links below. 

Palm Sunday Craft for Kids

Materials: 

• 10" craft sticks (2)
• 4.5" craft sticks (13)
• hot glue gun
• Folk Art acrylic paint (I used 'Clover')
• white cardstock
• black pen

Steps: 

While the glue gun is heating, arrange the small craft sticks on one of the large craft sticks to look like a palm frond. Leave enough space at the bottom so there is a "handle" to hold onto the palm. Glue each stick in place. 

Paint the palm frond green. While it is drying, learn about the word 'Hosanna.' 

Write 'Hosanna' on white cardstock and glue it to the second large craft stick. Now put your sign in one hand and your palm frond in the other and practice for Palm Sunday!

Painted Plastic Easter Eggs, Using Ohuhu Nahuku Acrylic Markers

The Ohuhu Nahuku Acrylic Markers perform really well on paper and a Ziploc bag. I'm happy to report that they work just as well on two more surfaces: a plastic egg and a CD. Affiliate links below. 

Painted Plastic Easter Eggs

Materials: 

• Ohuhu Nahuku Acrylic Markers
• plastic Easter eggs
• blank CDs
• rubber bands

I started by drawing the chick on the plastic egg. As before, the paint glided beautifully across the surface. I only had to use a single coat to get good coverage. Obviously, you can decorate the eggs with any pattern or design you want, including words and names. If you want to layer colors, let the first coat dry before putting another on top. 

Next, I decorated the CD. It is there for two reasons: first, it gave me another surface to try with the Nahukus; and second, it holds the plastic egg upright. I put a rubber band on the desktop under the CD, which lifts it just enough so that the egg nestles into the hole and doesn't topple. 

These would make really fun place cards for Easter dinner. Decorate them ahead of time and fill them with each guest's favorite candy. Or, have each person make their own when they arrive. There are lots of possibilities!