Not Your Average Egg - Easter Ideas Abound

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Depending on your personal belief system, Easter, April 4th, 2010, has a varied significance for people all over the world. One thing that that most people can rally around is that this is a fun-filled time of year to dye colored Easter eggs and start new craft projects.

This Easter some children are creating their own version of an Easter basket by painting Easter pots in lieu of the traditional Easter basket. With a variety of safe lead-free glazes on the market today, they can paint the full spectrum of the rainbow on any given pot. The Easter pot is sturdier than the traditional basket and can be used year after year.

Under adult supervision, low fire glazes is another way to take a child's pottery project to a new level of creativity. Children can make these Easter pots and then give them as gifts to grandparents or godparents. There are so many colors and types of glazes available that each child can express their own personality.

Making a picture frame is another great way to celebrate Easter. The sky is the limit where creativity is concerned. Take your favorite bunny stencils, stickers, paints and create your own personal Easter-themed picture frame. And when you're finished and ready to hang your picture frame, a nail hole filler will help complete the job. Add your favorite active shot from the Easter egg hunt and your picture frame is complete.

It certainly wouldn't be Easter without Easter candy. As soon as the Valentine's day cards and candy are removed from the shelves, chocolate Easter bunnies, marshmallow chicks and every type of candy you can imagine appears in Easter colors. For parents looking for ways to take the focus off the candy, creating arts projects with Balsa-Foam is a fun way to show your kids that there is more to Easter than sweets. This easy-to-use product can be cut with even a Popsicle stick to create non-edible Easter bunnies, eggs and chicks.

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Celebrating Easter Day 2010

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Easter Day is one of the important official annual festivals in western country, which is the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. It is a religious holiday of Christian. They believed that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. For commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christian celebrate on that day called Easter Day or Easter Sunday. The 4th April is the Easter Day this year.

The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg'', and Christian regarded eggs to be "the seed of life" which coordinates the resurrection of Jesus. That is why the Easter egg is its symbol.

At the secular spring holiday, most people will boil breakfast eggs in several pans which contains different vegetable dyes so that those eggs will be covered different colors. Instead of boiling them, some peoples will paint beautiful patterns, figures and pictures with bright colors on them to give them further meaning and decorate their houses. Chocolate eggs are children traditional gifts. By this way, they predict to bring joys and happiness; furthermore, they are the symbol of best wishes and sharing happiness of a new season.

Flying Kites is also a traditional celebrating game in some English-speaking country. It can be considered as the ascent of Christ.

On the holiday, people will prepare some delicious special food. Roast lamb is the main traditional dish. Easter pudding and the Simnel cake are the desserts.

Easter Sunday is knocking the door, have you prepared already? To celebrate this important feast at the lively and hopeful new spring means a lot for people. It may be the time to forget those annoying troubles and open a new page of life to see the energetic world. Painting eggs to enjoy the happiness or going out and take a journey with your families are good choices. Just lay down the burden to have a rest. I think this may be the its real meaning now.

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Fun With Foamies Easter Scrapbook Layout

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Kids love making craft projects out of foamies. You can find them for almost any holiday or occasion. Watch for them on sale after holidays, one container can last you for several years! Joann's and Walmart usually have good selections of them.

We had fun making crafts with our Easter foamies last year, and there were still enough left over to play with this year. I got out some Easter pictures from last year I hadn't scrapbooked yet, and came up with a couple of cute layouts using the Easter foamies.

For these scrapbook layouts, you will need a container of foamies that includes alphabet letters. The Easter set I found had a bunch of pastel letters to spell out the word "Easter", so that worked out perfectly.

Supplies:

Easter foamies
Eight family Easter photos
12x12 sheet of pastel, solid-colored scrapbook paper
2 12x12 sheets of coordinating spring or Easter patterned scrapbook paper
Scrap of white scrapbook paper
Paper cutter
Glue stick
Coordinating pastel brads (optional)

I created two different layouts for these sets of pictures. The background papers are the same color but a little bit different pattern, and then I used one sheet of solid-colored paper for matting for both layouts.

Easter Scrapbook Layout #1:

For the first layout, I cut a long, vertical piece of solid-colored scrapbook paper. It is about 2 inches wide, and is placed about an inch from the left edge of the patterned paper, and an inch from both the top and bottom of the page.

If you want you can attach pastel colored brads to the corners of this vertical piece to draw more attention to it. If you are going to use them, attach them to the four corners of the piece and then glue the entire piece centered about an inch from the left hand side of the patterned scrapbook paper.

This vertical piece will be used to showcase some of the Easter foamies. After I glued this piece in place I placed four foamies vertically on it, two Easter eggs and two bunnies.

I next cut out a white piece of scrapbook paper for the heading on the page. It is about 6 inches long and 3 inches high. I then matted this piece with solid-colored scrapbook paper. I then glued this piece approximately an inch from the top and an inch from the right hand side of the patterned scrapbook paper.

On this heading piece, I spelled out the word "Easter" with the foamies. I let my pieces go slightly over the left and right-hand edges of the matting, but if you want you can cut out a bigger caption piece to fit all the letters.

Lastly, I arranged and glued on four Easter family photographs. I arranged them so that they were slightly overlapping the solid piece on the left and slightly overlapping each other. For time's sake, I didn't mat these photos. If you want to, you can use the solid-colored paper to create mats for the photos.

Easter Scrapbook Layout #2:

For the second layout, I cut out and glued on the solid colored piece on the left the same as for the first layout. Instead of using the bunnies and Easter egg foamies, I vertically spelled out "Easter" with the foamies.

On this layout I did not include a caption at the top, but I did use the solid-colored scrapbook paper to create mats for the photos.

After I glued the solid colored piece on the left-hand side of the page, I arranged the four matted photos on the page and glued them in place. I then used Easter egg shaped foamies to fill in the spaces between the photos.

There you go, two easy Easter scrapbook layouts using Easter craft foamies!

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Easter Eggs and Mother Earth

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When Easter time comes rolling around, everyone enjoys the tradition of coloring eggs. Hard boiling eggs and then using your artistic touch is not only fun but can be a true learning experience for younger members of your family and their friends.

Waste not - want not is true even when coloring eggs for the Easter Basket. Scraps of food that you would otherwise just toss can and do produce some of the brilliant hues that make you "Ah" when placed in a basket for a centerpiece on the table or as part of your mealtime plans.

The deepness of the colors depend on your preferences and if you enjoy mixing and matching, then using rubber bands around the eggs, or wax will allow for that decorative touch that we all have hidden in our "creativity" file right there next to "holidays are special". These files while hidden deep in our minds do come out once in a while and when they do, beauty and elegance as well as remarkable can be used to describe our efforts.

In the "purple" family - ordinary bottled grape juice is a "natural". For lavender, a shorter soaking period will produce this "spring" color, while a deeper shade comes with prolonged "soaking." While red onions have red skins, they do produce the color red, but also shades of violet and deep blues. Using pomegranate juice is an interesting and tasty way to get shades of ruby. Remember to boil any "natural" coloring in water and allow it to cool. This brings out the "artistic" qualities of the natural products.

For brown or tan, try using dill seeds and if you like brown with a touch of orange then chili powder will give you that effect. Yellow which is a very popular color for Spring can be obtained with orange and lemon peels and you also get the aroma of these two citrus fruits which makes your whole kitchen smell like a breath of fresh air.

Deep brown or true chocolate brown - strong coffee and if you use instant coffee then vary the amount to reach the intensity you like. Orange comes with yellow onion skins and pink shines through with beet juice (and you have a vegetable for dinner) or use cranberry juice. In any of these products use only the "juice" and remove any solids from your bowl before placing the eggs in them.

Green is bright and can be obtained by using spinach leaves and a lighter lime green or yellow/green comes with apple peels, especially the Delicious variety.

Coloring eggs is not hard - it is well worth the extra effort and you can experiment on your own. While cooking vegetables or using a spice that your family enjoys, note the colors that it produces and try them with your egg coloring venture. It is all natural, with no chemicals or preservatives and it is time well spent. Imagine the truly stunning baskets you can create as well as watch the smiles if you use eggs as place setting "extras."

However you use Easter eggs, enjoy the moment, and enjoy the experience. Your creativity will bloom just like the lilies and tulips that are part and parcel of this Holiday. Something to think about ©Arleen M. Kaptur February, 2009

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Have an Egg-Ceptional Easter

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This week many families will color eggs to place
in baskets, or use as a centerpiece on your Easter
table. There are many commercial brands that you
can buy, but with this being a very "environmentally"
correct era of history, here are a few suggestions.
You can now color your eggs, enjoy the craft with
family and friends, and help in the "green" effort.

For a beautiful rich brown egg, coffee is the stain to
use. You can boil your eggs in 1 quart of strong coffee
and they can look like "chocolate" if you so desire. For
a pastel pink, then use cranberries, and if you prefer a
dark rose hue then beets it is. Quick tip, if you rinse
eggs that have been boiled with beets, then you get a
very earthy tan color. Just 3-4 tsps. of turmeric will
give you that special golden egg to place front and center
in any basket or setting. Sienna comes from onion skins
and blueberries add a dark shade of lavender, so special
next to white eggs or foil-wrapped candies. Red cabbage
will give you blue eggs not red. The blue is deep and
strong, depending on the amount of cabbage you boil
along with your eggs.

Eggs are a symbol of life and have always been used to
represent Easter. They add flavor to your Easter dinner
and can be used as a decoration item, which can also be
"crafty" as a place card by using wax to write your guest's
name on the egg before dyeing. You can use solid hue
eggs or even tie with rubber bands or kitchen string before
placing in the color of your choice and you will get designs
to suit your fancy.

If you share Easter with the little ones, then beg, steal or
borrow those old-fashioned jello egg molds and add a bit
of fun to your holiday. There is the standard recipe of
boiling water, and jello of your choice, but if you add
juice instead of the water, such as apple, orange, pine-
apple, or cranberry, then there is a "surprise" taste to each
egg. Taking this a step further, and in a very healthy way,
to your basic recipe of boiling water, gelatin of your choice,
cool your mixture for about 30 mins. place 1 cup cold milk,
and vanilla, pistachio, or butterscotch pudding in a bowl,
Stir into the gelatin mix with a whisk or you can place the
entire blended mixture into a pan and place in your
refrigerator overnight. The next day you can dip the bottom
of the pan into warm water to loosen. Using cookie cutters
of bunnies, flowers, or chicks, cut all the way through and
lift gently. Decorate with frosting, or whipped cream. Place on a bed of shredded lettuce.
Whichever method you use, this will become a family
tradition before long. Young and old appreciate the eye
appeal, taste of creamy, and the trouble you took to make
these.

Come next week, egg salad sandwiches, Cobb salads, and
creamed eggs will use up any extra if there are some.
Using eggs in your Easter plans is a perfect touch to a
holiday that brings family, friends, and faiths together.

Something to think about,

©Arleen M. Kaptur

March, 2008

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Craft Ideas For Easter - Candy Craft Project

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Step 1. Choose an Easter container (it can be a basket, mug, or box) that you want to use in your arrangement.
Note: The bigger the container, the more candy you will need to use to make a nice candy arrangement.
Step 2. Take a piece of floral foam and cut it so it fits snugly into the container. You can use hot glue to secure the floral foam to the bottom of the basket. The foam should be about an inch lower than the edge of the container.
Step 3. Prepare the decorative Easter grass; its color should go well with the container. Cover the foam with the Easter grass securing it with floral pins as necessary.
Step 4.
a) Take a packaged chocolate bunny. Using hot glue, secure two pieces of bamboo skewer to the back of the package.
b) Insert the packaged chocolate bunny in the middle of the arrangement.
Step 5.
a) Prepare Peeps you want to use in your candy arrangement, carefully separate the Peeps using a knife. Insert the sharp end of a skewer into each of the Peeps.
b) Tie a piece of curling ribbon of the corresponding color around each stick.
c) Insert the Peeps into the container to achieve the look you like.

Note: You should not sell this type of bouquet; if you want to make candy bouquets for sale, the candy wrappers must stay intact.

If you would like to see this Easter candy craft project with photos, go to this page

Happy Easter to you and your family!

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The Origins of Our Easter Traditions

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Every year, millions of people around the world celebrate the traditions of Easter. But do you know where those traditions came from? What do a bunny, eggs, and a basket have to do with Jesus? Why does the date vary so widely? Why is the holiday even named Easter? This article will help clear some of these questions up.

1. The Date

Did you know that prior to 325 A.D., Easter was celebrated on many different days? It might fall on Friday one year, and Saturday the next year. However, in 325 A.D., Emperor Constantine brought together the Council of Nicaea to determine a wide variety of Christian issues. One of the issues they resolved was to always place Easter celebrations on Sunday. They decreed that Easter shall fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Since the spring equinox is on March 21st, this means that Easter will always fall on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25th.

2. The Name

What does "Easter" mean? It is actually a modern spelling of the pagan holiday Eastre, celebrated by the Germans. This in turn was a day which celebrated the goddess of fertility and springtime, Oestre (or Eostre).

3. Lent

Among Catholics and many other Christian denominations, Easter is the last day of Lent. During the 46-day period of Lent, Christians are expected to fast or make other sacrifices in recognition of the "ultimate sacrifice" that Jesus made. Mardi Gras is the day before this long period of fasting and sacrifice, hence the name "Fat Tuesday".

4. Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny also dates back to the ancient pagan religions of the Anglo-Saxons. Since Easter is a time of rebirth and fertility, they usually used this day to pay tribute to their fertility goddesses. The bunny, rabbit, or hare was generally thought of as the earthly manifestation of fertility. Rabbits are able to reproduce extremely quickly, and humans wished to be blessed with some of that fertility. Although the Germans brought the Easter Bunny to America early in its history, it wasn't until after the Civil War that it was widely incorporated into America's Easter traditions.

5. Easter Egg

The egg has been a symbol of rebirth throughout history and within many mythological traditions. People of ancient cultures used to exchange colored eggs long before the practice was incorporated into our modern celebrations of Easter.

6. Easter Basket

The earliest Easter Baskets weren't baskets, but were actually nests. Dutch children would follow the tradition of filling their caps and bonnets with grass and leaving them out overnight. If they were good, the fertility goddess would lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. This tradition has since been adapted and modified to the modern Easter basket filled with fake grass.

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