For the past month we’ve been up to our elbows in Easter crafts but with the holiday still two weeks away it was time to take a momentary break. It’s easy to get carried away with all of the egg decorating and basket filling but you don’t have to DIY everything! We’ve gathered an Easter wish list of holiday clothes and decor to compliment your crafts. Take some of the pressure off with easy ways to add festiveness from the night before, to Easter morning, through lunch and the egg hunt.
1. Your little one can start celebrating Easter eve with these adorable bunny pajamas by Vaenait Baby from Amazon.
3. No Easter outfit is complete without a pair of bunny ears. Boo and Bear Baby makes this stylish version which fits both kids and adults – which is lucky since you’ll probably want your own.
4. We can’t guarantee it, but your kids might actually be encouraged to eat their veggies on this pretty pink bunny dish set from The Land of Nod. #rabbitfood
8. No matter how you hold it, there’s no good way to decorate around an Easter egg. Flying Tiger comes to the rescue with a handy egg painter that even includes a palette.
9. Give your little treasure hunters a gentle nudge in the right direction with Meri Meri’s Egg Hunt Kit.
10. Paper Source’s surprise carrots would look sweet at place settings or could be hidden along with Easter eggs since they each include a prize!
11. Usually with toys the tinier the cuter, but this giant fuzzy chick ups the cuteness factor exponentially. I can imagine him as a cheery piece of table decor or maybe perched on the mantle.
Add some Easter charm to a family portrait by turning everyone into bunnies!! These magnetic clips are as useful as they are cute—whether they’re holding grocery lists, post cards, or doodles. Add familial characteristics like glasses, freckles, or mustaches to make them even more fun!
What you’ll need:
clothespins
round wooden shapes
two teardrop wooden shapes
colored cardstocksci
hole punch
tacky glue
black marker/felt tip pen
magnet
Make it!
1. Trace teardrop shapes onto colored paper —one color for each set of ears—and cut out. Trim down paper to fit within wooden shape and attach with tacky glue. Repeat for other two pairs.
2. Use the black marker to draw faces on each of the round shapes. You can stick with simple features or add defining characteristics—glasses, freckles etc.
3. Glue the sets of ears onto the back of each corresponding bunny head.
4. Glue the head to the top of the clothespin – regular sized for the parents and smaller size for the kid(s)!
5. Create simple accessories by cutting out triangle for a hair bow or bow tie and use a hole punch circle for the center.
6. Make mom’s necklace with three hole punch circles and her flower with six circles. Attach accessories with tacky glue.
7. Glue a magnet to the back of each clothespin and let fully dry before arranging the family portrait on the fridge.
If you ask me, Easter baskets are so much better than Christmas stockings, Valentine boxes, or Halloween trick-or-treat bags. First, you’ve got the colors. When it comes to Easter, all the pastels are fair game—pinks, greens, purples—and the light, bright hues help to stir us from our dreary winter woes. Next, and probably most important, is the cute factor: Everything gets more adorable when you put a bunny on it.
This no-sew felt Easter basket is super easy to make, and you can customize its size with practically zero effort—simply adjust the diameter of the base to scale it up or down.
I made this cute basket for the Etsy blog, so hop on over there (pun intended) to get all of the detailed photos and instructions! Search EASTER on the site for more fun Easter Basket ideas!
April is only a few weeks away, which means it’s time to start planning for the first of the month…April Fools Day! The sooner you start, the more pranks you’ll be able to fit in. We’ve gathered up some of our favorite tricks for the whole family, because even though it’s fun to be the prankster, helping your kids prank each other, their friends, and of course Dad, is even better!
1.
Cereal is the most classic of breakfast pranking materials. Parents Magazine suggests serving up the way too real looking worms (above). Freeze your kid’s cereal to guarantee confusion, or create morning magic by putting food coloring at the bottom of the bowl and watching the milk change color when it’s poured in.
2.
Oh Happy’s Day mini lunch is so perfectly petite it’ll be a shame to miss seeing your kids reaction when they open it. Just make sure to pack a regular sized meal too!
3.
Chocolate for an after-school snack might seem too good to be true – because it is! Love Wednesday takes advantage of perfectly sized Easter egg candy wrappers to disguise grapes.
4.
You look so mature this morning! Age kids overnight by drawing on a mustache with a washable marker while they’re sleeping. The shock when they look in the mirror will lead to serious giggles. (Image via)
5.
Another way to simulate an overnight growth spurt is to switch your kids clothes out for a smaller size – or old clothes they’ve grown out of. Today’s Parent suggests stuffing toilet paper in the toes of their shoes to take the effect one step further. (Image via)
6.
Perfect for the kid who likes to be the center of attention. Any household item becomes an audience member once you add a pair of googly eyes. (via Oh Happy Day)
7.
Help your kids make this super realistic ice cream spill from Studio DIY. Set it up on Dad’s laptop and try to act casual….
8.
“Want some Brown-E’s Dad?” This idea from Jacks & Kate is another fun trick for the kids to get in on. Completely fair payback for all of those awful dad puns, right? If you’re feeling generous, make a real batch of brownies to share post joke.
9.
One more idea for Dear Old Dad. For this prank from Pen n’ Paper Flowers, all you need is a small piece of tape. Cover up the sensor on the remote and watch Dad’s confusion as the TV refuses to cooperate. Be “helpful” by offering a new set of batteries.
10.
Your kids will get a kick out of tricking their friends with a pretend cast. For even more fun, help them come up with a crazy story about how they broke their bone. Parents shares the how to.
11.
Talk to your kids about celebrating holidays in different cultures while crafting Handmade Charlotte’s French fools fish game. Help them make a bunch of fish to tape to their friends backs for a silly surprise.
Get supplies off the desk and onto the wall to leave room for what’s most important – creativity! …and homework. While it may not technically be time yet for “spring cleaning”, de-cluttering feels good no matter the season. Helping your kids create a space that’s all their own will keep them occupied until it’s time to play outside again – and it might help you chase away winter blahs as well!
1.
I made the magnetic boards, above, for FamilyFun magazine by fitting sheet metal into old frames and dolling up with paint. All your kid’s doodles, paper scraps, A+’s, and mementos will have a dedicated spot in a gallery that grows with them. (As a bonus organization craft, check out the bright yellow tool-chest-turned-school-supply-box on the desk!)
2.
If you are in need of a new, or first, desk, this is a simple but cheery option I crafted for Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. Built in elastic straps prevent paper wrinkling and double as a display. Click here for the DIY!
3.
A piece of art storage that looks like modern art itself! This smart velcro wall from Brit + Co is a perfect option for preschoolers. Using a small spot of felt on the back of each piece of art, you can mix, match, and rearrange as often as you’d like.
4.
Tiny items with rolling potential have a way of disappearing. A shelf with jars helps keep track of bits and pieces without them getting in the way. via Charlotte Love for 91 magazine
5.
Homework spot above, secret hideout below. Ikea’s idea to extend a cork board transforms your kid’s desk into a space for work and play. Password required.
6.
Think outside of the box, and in the bucket. As an alternative to all of the square storage options, brightly colored paint cans create a visually pleasing display area. via petit & small
7.
Cardboard might not sound like the most exciting material for desk organization, but Brit & Co’s triangular wall caddy elevates the humble supply into a tool that’s as pretty as it is functional. Can you imagine how cool it would be to cover an entire wall in these pockets?
8.
Parents magazine has great suggestions for creating an entire craft wall for your kids but I especially love the wall mounted paper roll. With just a dowel and a yard stick you can create a never-ending canvas where your kids can doodle to their heart’s content – or work out a really hard math problem.
9.
I’ve seen lots of posts about beautiful wall display boxes but I love this idea Marie Mersier made arranged. The boxes are still filled with fun patterned paper but by stacking them on top of the desk itself they become much more accessible and useful.
10.
Finally, Steph Bond’s gorgeous pegboard for her daughter’s study space is designed to be flexible. She maximizes space with painted spice racks and hooks for clipboards or calendars.
From first to twelfth grade, I had to wear a uniform to school—it was some combination of gray, navy, light blue, khaki, and white. With that ever-so exciting palette to work with, I clearly had to get creative on St. Patrick’s Day to escape the pinchers!
While most accomplished this by wearing green underwear, I would take to my accessory collection to find the most green, yet dress-code compliant item I could.
This is a dang easy craft, so I don’t even want to insult you with a list of materials and how-to pics. Gather all of the green beads you have…if you’re not like me with buckets of beads laying around, think outside the box. Got green straws you can cut into beads? How about some penne that you can dye or paint? The fun is in the mixing of shapes and tones to create a playful bauble to wear on March 17th. I added a green ribbon and a little dash of gold just for fun.
As my son would say, this one is “easy peasy lemon squeezie!” (Maybe lime squeezie in this case!)
As one of the most basic party supplies, paper cups usually play more of a sideline than starring role. However, they have some serious beyond-the-birthday potential. From toys and games to decorations and even interior design elements, there are plenty of awesome ways to reimagine paper cups. Here are 10 examples that will certainly make you see the cup half full.
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(Above) These charming paper-cup lights from Mommo Design cast a cozy glow that would definitely banish bad dreams.
2.
Give your budding photographer her own paper-cup lens to practice with. All of the fun details on Molly Moo‘s version will make her feel like a pro.
3.
Persia Lou’s painted paper-cup poppers could have a place at a party any time of year. Confetti for new years, pom poms for a birthday, or even water droplets for a backyard bash.
4.
Hello from the other cup…The classic can phone gets a very cute upgrade with dot stickers, felted pom-poms, and paper cups from Marie-Laure Pham via Hello Wonderful.
5.
This cheery advent from FamilyFun Magazine shouldn’t be saved for Christmas. Mount paper cups to a piece of foam core and cover the opening with numbered sheets of tissue paper. Let kids draw numbers from a hat at party and then punch out the number for their party favor!
6.
Handmade Charlotte‘s collection of paper-cup sea creatures look as fun to craft as they do to play with. As a fishing game, they are also a great way for your kids to practice hand eye coordination.
7.
For a hat that’s sure to be the star of the party, Oh Happy Day’s teeny tent tete topper takes the cake. Afterwards, use the mini paper-cup circus tent as a home to your kids’ toy circus animals.
8.
Send guests home with a goodie bag that looks good enough to eat. Though Willow Day‘s paper-cup apple box isn’t edible, it’s the perfect container for tiny treats.
9.
Martha Stewart works her magic with these mini rocket ships. This multipurpose shape could also be reworked into castle towers for a princess party or little houses to fit with a fairy theme.
10.
One Charming Party takes the pain out of piñata making and lets you save energy for the fun part – breaking them! These are made from cone cups, but can easily be made from the average party version too.
