Another Fun Yarn Easter Egg Project

(4 Years)

We had so much left-over yarn from the Yarn Easter Eggs, that we made another Yarn Easter Egg craft this time by cutting out an egg shape from a paint chip card, making random notches around the perimeter and then wrapping yarn around the egg.  This project is SO easy!

They each chose which colored yarn they wanted to begin with.  I had them tape the end to the back of the paint chip and then they began wrapping.  

This would have been much easier using rainbow yarn, but since we had do much yarn left over, I decided to use those skeins instead.  They wrapped about three feet of each color.

Do you notice their finger grips?  They are practicing holding a pencil.

Little Miss was busy creating a checkerboard pattern.  She loves patterns.

Wild One liked the idea of chunking colors together.

The entire project only took about ten minutes.  When they finished, they asked if they could wrap a balloon in yarn again.  It's a good thing we STILL have so much yarn left over.

Yarn Easter Eggs

(4 Years)

I've always loved the look of those starched yarn decorations.  I thought it would be a great Easter project.  Glue + mixing + goopy hands = Fun!  Right?

Well... this was a bit harder for us than I thought it would be.  I didn't take into consideration the fine dexterity that is needed.  The ballon is very slippery, due to the glue and water solution, and you need one hand to hold and rotate the balloon while the other hand wraps the saturated yarn in various directions.  It probably is not the best project for a newly-turned four-year old, but he did it (with help).  Would I do it again?  Yes, but we'll wait a few months.

Here's how you do it:

Empty one bottle of glue into a medium bowl.  Fill the empty glue bottle with water and pour that into the same bowl.  This solution was just enough to make three large Easter eggs.

 Stir to combine.

 Add the yarn to the solution.

 I wouldn't recommend using a fork to mix the yarn into the solution, it tangled the yarn.

 Wrap the wet yarn around the balloon.

Wrap in different directions. Remember to leave a little opening to get the popped balloon out.

Wild One's wrapped balloon.  You don't need to saturate the yarn that much.  Wild One liked the goopy feeling and insisted that it "needed" that much glue.

Let dry on waxed paper, turning the balloon over after the top side is dry.  It took two days for our balloons to dry completely.  All that's left to do is to pop the balloon and pull it through one of the openings.  Ta da!  I don't know who was more amazed with the results of this project, the kiddos or my husband!  "Wow, can we do that again?!"

Minion Easter Eggs

(4 Years)

It's the Minions!!!!  I saw an image of Minion Easter eggs on Pinterest and knew we would be making these this year.  They just look so much fun!  The kidabunks had a great time decorating these.

I set out the plastic eggs, three sizes of googly eyes, school glue and a black permanent marker.  The kids went straight to work designing their Minions.

I love watching them work, their faces alternate from serious looks of concentration to big, toothy grins!  I know he's mine, but isn't Wild One just the cutest little guy?

We made a Minion with a pink bottom for Little Miss.  She jumped up and down when she saw the yellow and pink Minion.  She's so adorable!

After she finished her Minion, she asked to decorate a solid green egg.  I already had out the colored glue (left over from this project- see here).  She went straight to work decorating.

When they finished they called their Minions "The Minion Family" and introduced each Minion to their daddy.  So CUTE!

Swirled Art Easter Egg Decorations

(4 Years)

We love playing with shaving cream.  Especially with colored shaving cream!  It's so much fun to squish your hands through the foam.  Last year we made swirled art Easter eggs, the kids and Grandpa were amazed at the beautiful results (see here).  This year, we decided to make swirled art Easter egg decorations for our palm tree.

We used the same process that we used last year (see here) and when the paintings were dry, I cut them into smaller eggs shapes, attached a loop of yarn with tape and then Wild One went around hanging them up!

The process is so simple:

Fill a tray with about an inch of shaving cream.  Add drops of different colored food dye.

Swirl with a chopstick or the end of a paint brush.

Place the construction paper on top of the swirled shaving cream.  Lightly pat it down (making sure that the paper is covered in shaving cream).

Carefully peel the paper from the shaving cream.  Allow to set for a minute or two.  Then scrape off using a window squeegee or a bench scraper or a ruler or a craft stick, wiping off the shaving cream from the scraper each time you swipe.  Allow your creation to dry and then you are ready to decorate!  Save those scraps of pretty paper, I'll show you why tomorrow.

Here are a few more fun ways to play with shaving cream:

Colored Foam with Ice

Hidden Water Beads in Shaving Cream

Fluffy Cloud Dough

Rainbow Bath Paint

Car (Toy) Wash 

We always stock up on shaving cream when it's on sale, but in a pinch we'll pick up some cans at The Dollar Tree - I love that place!  Don't you?