Video - Fancy Easter Egg How-To's

If you're looking to make your naturally dyed Easter eggs a bit fancier, this video has some awesome tips for making sparkly eggs, decoupaged eggs, and more - all using natural or recycled ingredients. If your kids are a little older, they'll love these fun advanced Easter egg decorating tips. Check out these fun and easy suggestions, and make your Easter eggs extra special this year!

Decorate Eco Easter Eggs {kids + eco friendly craft}
This easter, be kind to the earth by embellishing eggs and easter baskets the natural way using environmentally friendly items.

Eco-Friendly Craft: How to Make Felted Easter Eggs

What’s better than a brightly colored Easter Egg? Why a soft and fuzzy one of course! Felted Easter eggs are fun and easy to make. And you don’t have to worry about a felted egg rotting or going to waste. They’re bright, beautiful and easy to make. Here’s how:

Materials Needed:

Different colored roving (Photo credit: Rakka)

• Styrofoam eggs – you can find these at your local craft store.
• Wool roving – you can make your own wool roving or you can purchase prepared wool at your local fabric store. Choose the colors you desire for your eggs. Pastels are nice. 
• Fine point marker for drawing your design
• Felting needles – can be found at your local craft store.

Instructions:

Step One: Wrap a piece of felting around a foam egg. Gently hold the egg in one hand while you poke the felting with your needle. The goal is to get the felting to adhere to the foam egg. Gently poke the felting all around the egg. There is a small learning curve here. You’ll eventually learn how much pressure is required to adhere the wool to the egg. Once the piece of wool is attached move on and add another piece of felt. You can switch colors or color your entire egg the same and add other colors on top.

Felting eggs (Photo credit: Linda (Pane, amore e creatività))

Step Two: Using a fine point marker, draw a design on your egg. You might want to plan it out on paper first. For example, you might decide to create a circle of smaller triangles around the middle of your egg. Draw those on so you place your felt pieces on your egg accordingly.

Step Three: Cut the wool pieces out of your roving. For example, if you’re adding triangles to your egg you’d cut out the triangles from a new piece of roving. Using your felting needle poke the new pieces of wool into the egg until they’re attached. Once you’re happy with your design you can start a new egg.

Displaying Your Felted Eggs

You have several options to display your felted eggs. You might choose to display them in a glass bowl or basket. You might attach an eye-screw to the top of the egg and hang them. You can add ribbons to the top too.

Making felted eggs is easy. It’s even a craft you can do with your children. Make sure to show them how to attach the wool to the foam egg carefully. You don’t want them to jab the needle through the foam. Consider making felted eggs a part of your Easter tradition. Each year you and your family can add a few eggs to your collection. You might also give them away as gifts, and they make a fun party favor.

How to Have a Zero-Waste Easter Party

In preparation for Easter, we're taking a short break from our Going Organic series - but don't worry - we'll be back next week to wrap up!

This week we'll be sharing some fun and eco-friendly ways to celebrate the holiday in ways that are healthy for both you and the planet. Easter is a time of celebration and renewal. It’s also a great time to embrace earth-friendly practices. If you’re throwing an Easter party, you can make it a green one by having a zero waste party. Here’s how.

#1.  Use E-Vites. Invitations can now be sent via email. There are some extremely useful programs you can use online. These programs allow you to send email invites quickly and easily. They also keep track of who RSVP’d and many offer a message board so people can ask questions about the party. Electronic invitations mean you don’t have to use any paper or ink. They’re 100% electronic. A couple of the more popular ones are Evite.com, and Eventbrite.com. And if you have people you want to invite and they don’t use email, consider giving them a phone call.

Please Recycle Label (Photo credits: www.recyclereminders.com)

#2. Use  Recycled or Reusable Party Ware. Plates, napkins, glasses and all party decorations can be made from recycled materials. You can also use your own every day real or reusable dishes, or if you’re going to have a large party, consider renting dishes. You can also buy compostable party ware, like plates and cups made from corn.

#3.  Make Your Own Decorations. Easter time is spring time and it’s a great opportunity to decorate naturally. That means you don’t have to buy pre-made decorations. Consider using naturally dyed eggs, real grass, and twig branch baskets for decorations. Cut flowers for a spring touch and place them in vases. If you want to create Easter grass for baskets or decorations consider shredding magazines or using vegetable dye on papers in your recycled bin and then shredding them. Beet juice makes a beautiful natural pink color! 

#4.  Make It A Pot-Luck. Instead of cooking everything yourself or getting takeout, consider asking attendees to contribute a dish to the party. It means there’s less work for you and everyone feels as if they’ve contributed to the festivities. Let them know you’re having a zero waste party so they can be sure to bring food in recyclable or reusable containers.

#5. Compost Leftovers. Composting is a great way to make use of leftovers and you can use the finished compost to help indoor and outdoor plants thrive - use it in your sustainable garden to grow great food organically!

Coloring Easter eggs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#6.  Play Games. Games make a party fun. Easter egg hunts with real eggs instead of plastic ones are a zero waste game. The kids will love helping dye them the day before! Or have the eggs already boiled and cooled, and make the dyeing part of the party! Charades and scavenger hunts also have zero waste.

#7. Make Natural, Earth Friendly, Crafts. In addition to using games to keep children occupied consider having an earth friendly craft for kids to do. One example might be for children to decorate a tin. You can have seedlings, potting soil and paint on hand. They can decorate the can, choose their plant and take it home. It’s a zero waste craft and a nice goodie to take home from the party. Felted Easter eggs are also a fun craft for kids that they can take home with them - check back for Wednesday's post for how-tos.

#8.  Recycle.  Be sure to recycle anything that cannot be reused. For example, if you purchase soda or juice for the party you can recycle the containers. Or you can use them to create compost scoops, bird feeders, or planters.

Easter is a great time to be environmentally conscious. When you throw a zero waste party you’re not only doing something nice for the planet you’re also getting others involved in the cause. You’re setting a good example for your own family and others. If everyone does their small part it makes a huge difference - plus it can be a lot of fun!

How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally

Easter egg dying is a tradition in many households. It’s a fun and creative craft that the whole family can enjoy. And depending on how you cook your eggs, they can be enjoyed for days as both a decoration and a snack! Instead of using artificial colors and chemical dyes this year for your Easter eggs, why not dye them American Easter eggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)naturally? It’s easy. It’s fun. And it’s good for the environment - and your health (more of those chemicals make it through the shells than you might imagine). Here are some helpful tips and instructions for trying this fun activity in your home this Easter:

Step One: Prepare Your Eggs.

The first step is to prepare your eggs. If you’re a hard-boiled family traditionally then by all means hard boil your eggs. If you’re a poke and blow individual then grab your needle and a hearty pair of lungs. (Note: You can save the eggs you blow out of their shells for scrambled eggs, quiche, French toast or other breakfast entrees. No need to throw them away.)

Step Two: Make Your Dye.

This is the fun and slightly experimental step. It’s experimental because there are many materials you can use to make your dye.

Here are just a few options to consider:
* Purple – Grape juice, Red Zinger tea, red onion skins boiled, red wine
* Blue – blueberries, red cabbage leaves boiled
* Green – boiled spinach, kale or collard leaves (Frozen spinach works very well)
* Yellow – Boiled yellow delicious apple peels or lemon peels, or boiled turmeric
* Orange – boiled orange peels, carrots or carrot juice
* Brown – brewed coffee
* Pink – beets, cranberries, raspberries, cherries, pomegranate juice

Dye Ingredients (Photo credit: Travis S.)Generally, start with about a cup or two of water and add your dye. For example, if you’re using red grape juice to make purple dye then you’ll add it to a cup of water. If you’re using boiled spinach leaves, you’ll boil the spinach leaves until you have the rich green color you’re looking for. Strain the leaves then add the dye to a cup of water.

Heat your water and dye until they’re boiling. Add a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar. Remove from stove and place in a container. You’ll use this container to dye your eggs so make sure you can easily place an egg in the dye and remove it. Bowls work well.

Step Three: Dye Your Eggs.

Once you have several dyes prepared, it’s time to have some fun. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower your egg into your chosen dye. As you would with the old chemical dyes, you’ll want to check periodically to see if your egg has reached the desired color. Remove the eggs from the dye and let dry. Consider drying them gently with a paper towel and then place them in an egg carton. If you are using hard boiled eggs place them in the refrigerator to keep until you’re ready to eat them, hunt for them or decorate.

Feel free to try other ideas for dye materials (you could even make a game of it), and above all, have fun! (For a video demonstration of this process, and some of the results, please be sure to check back Friday.)

Eco-Friendly Easter Baskets

This week we're sharing some fun tips for making your Easter "greener" and more eco-friendly. Easter is a time of renewal. While it’s a religious holiday it also ushers in Spring. It’s the perfect opportunity to embrace environmentally friendly habits. One way you can be green and celebrate Easter is to make environmentally friendly Easter baskets.

Green Tips for Making Easter Baskets

Decorated Easter eggs in basket. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Reuse
Take a look around your home. Do you have anything that could double for an Easter basket? For example, a child’s bucket can be used to hide eggs, candy and other Easter treats.

A decorative storage box is another option. If you don’t have anything around the home, shop wisely. Look for containers that can be repurposed after Easter. Again a child’s bucket, storage box or even a nice bag work well.

Second hand is another option. Visit flea markets and second hand shops to find original ideas for Easter baskets. Again, look for items that have a purpose after Easter.

Finally, if last year’s Easter basket is still around - use it! Then set it in storage for next year.

Recycle
Instead of purchasing colorful plastic grass to fill your Easter baskets, consider using recycled material. For example, you might shred old art projects. The colorful paper shreds look great in an Easter basket.

You can also shred magazine pages for glossy high color Easter grass. Additionally, you can recycle them when the holiday is over.

Reduce
Instead of using chemicals to dye Easter eggs, reduce the amount of pollutants and use natural egg dye. You can dye eggs with all sorts of items right in your home. For example:
* Pink can be created by boiling beets or cranberries.
* Red can be created by boiling red onion skins.
* Purple can be created by using grape juice.
* Brown can be created with coffee.
* Blue can be created with blueberries.
* You might also consider using carrot juice, turmeric or spinach juice. (Check back Wednesday for detailed instructions on making naturally dyed Easter eggs!)

A Cute Little Bunny With Some Eggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Cut back on the amount of candy and trinkets in your child’s Easter basket. They certainly don’t need pounds of candy to have a good holiday. And consider also using candy that is naturally sweetened. Skip the Peeps, or at least cut back, and give your child Earth Balls, sun drops and other naturally sweetened candy – no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. You can also buy organic lollipops and candy.

Finally, skip the pets. Don’t buy any chicks, bunnies or other cute animals for Easter. Instead, buy your child something they can use. Books are a wonderful treat. If your child is older you can purchase a gift card for them.

Having a green Easter is simple. Plan ahead, cut back and use what you have. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make this Easter an environmentally friendly one.

Be sure to check back later this week for natural Easter egg dye tips, and more!