How to Dip Dye Easter Eggs

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Decorating eggs has been an Easter tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. The classic dip-dyed method is one of the easiest ways to decorate eggs.  It’s timeless and will always be the best in my book.  When I was younger we used rubber bands to make patterns, but I always had trouble with getting them to stay on, so this time I’ve gone with the simple and effective crayon drawing which has a guaranteed effect.  You can blow the eggs if you’d like them to last a long time, or simply use hard boiled eggs.

You will need

  • eggs
  • a white wax crayon
  • food dye
  • white vinegar
  • paper towel
1. Draw on each egg with the white crayon.  At this stage you’ll hardly be able to see the crayon, but don’t worry, it won’t stay this way.
2. Place a few drops of food dye into a bowl of vinegar.   One bowl for each colour.
3. Place your eggs in the bowls and roll them through the dye until the eggs are the desired colour.   You can use a spoon or wear rubber gloves if you don’t want to colour your fingers.  You’ll notice that the dye does not colour the wax from the crayon.
4.  Place your eggs on paper towel to dry.
5.  Your eggs are done!  All ready for the Easter fairy to deliver ;)
These dip dyed eggs in a bowl make a lovely Easter decoration, or if you use boiled eggs you can serve them up to your kids for lunch or even have an Easter egg and spoon race!
Is egg decorating a tradition in your house?
This post is part of an Easter series here on Frog Goose and Bear.  To see all of the Easter crafts, recipes and activities in this series, you can click on the image below.


This post was originally published on Kidspot.com.au in March 2013.


Fluoro Bling bling Easter Eggs

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Every Christmas my mother-in-law makes Christmas tree decorations with the kids by using little pins to add sequins and ribbon to polystyrene balls of varied sizes. Admittedly the kids often lose interest about half way through (as the balls are too big and the sequins so small) and Grandma or I end up finishing them off, but they do enjoy the process and it is simple for even the youngest of crafters to have fun with (although I probably wouldn’t attempt with kids under 3 years of age).  

When I spotted these polystyrene eggs at Spotlight my mind went straight to those Christmas decorations and I wondered if we could do the same thing for Easter decorations.  A few steps further in the store and I came across some neon sequins (just for fun) and when looking for pins discovered that there is such a thing as sequin pins which are perfect as they are much shorter than your usual sewing pin and are therefore not going to poke through the other side of your eggs!  The eggs are pretty small so the kiddos didn’t lose interest and they looked great whether placed in a pattern or randomly spread.

These would look cute in a little bowl or you could hang them by adding some ribbon folded in half and attached by a pin to the top of the egg.

This post is part of an Easter series here on Frog Goose and Bear. School holidays started here in Victoria yesterday and I plan to do LOTS of Easter crafting so come on back for a visit for more over the coming fortnight! Just click on the pic below for lots more Easter themed crafts, recipes and activities. 

Have you been getting your Easter craft on?  If you’re up for sharing – I’d love to see pics of what you get up to!





In other news, this Wednesday I am lucky enough to be able to help out at The School’s  Kids Holiday Club with the clever Ms Candy Sparkles and fifteen 5-12 year olds at the Abbotsford convent where we are going to make sparkly terrariums and amazing dream creatures.  There are still spaces for the Tuesday and Thursday full day workshops – see here for details if you think your kids would LOVE it.  I think they totally would!

How to make eggshell fairylights

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Although eggs are often associated with Easter, which does so happen to be just around the corner, these eggshell fairy lights can be used all year round for any night time celebration! Once it’s dark the hollow eggs are transformed into beautiful glowing balls of coloured light.  The affect is truly stunning.  They are pretty fragile being made of eggshells, but if you are careful they’ll last through a whole year’s worth of festivities!

You will need:

  • Eggs
  • Egg piercer
  • Bowl
  • Sewing pin
  • Coloured LED fairy lights
  • Hot glue gun

Part 1: Blowing the eggs

For this part you’ll need your eggs, an egg piercer and a bowl.
1.  Pierce a tiny hole in each end of each egg using an egg piercer (pictured above) or a sharp pointy ended knife.
2. Use the sewing pin to make the hole at the smaller end of the egg a little larger so that it will fit onto your fairy lights.
3.  Leaning over your bowl, put your mouth over the smaller hole and blow the contents of the egg  through the larger hole into the bowl.  You’ll have to blow hard!
4. Give your eggs a rinse and leave them to dry.

Part 2: Making your fairy lights

For this part, you’ll need your blown eggs, a hot glue gun and some coloured fairy lights. You’ll need to use LED lights, as they do not heat up, to prevent your eggs from cracking.
5. Place an egg over each light bulb on your fairy lights.  You may need to make the hole in your egg a little bigger with the sewing pin if it doesn’t fit.  Using your hot glue gun, place a small amount of hot glue where the hole in the egg touches the wire.
6. Hang your new eggshell fairy lights up and plug them in.  They may look like a bunch of eggs on a string (which do actually look kinda cool) but when it gets dark …..
… look what happens when you turn on the lights!  The effect is even more awesome in real life!  They certainly have the ‘wow’ factor and these lights are so festive they’ll make you want to go and organise a party straight away!
When is your next celebration?  What are you celebrating?
This post is part of the Frog Goose and Bear Easter Craft Series 2014.


Note:  Egg piercers can be found at your local kitchen or home supply store.  They make a very small hole which is perfect for blowing eggs and it means that there are very few breakages.  They are also fantastic to use when boiling eggs as they are much less likely to crack!

* This post was originally published on Kidspot.com.au in 13 March 2013. 


How to make an Easter bunny gift bag {guest post}

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Today’s guest post is from the ever so lovely Jacqueline from Zippy Zippy.  Ironically, one of my very first posts was an Easter related post and Jacqueline was the very first person, apart from my mother and my sister, to comment and start following my blog!  I’ll always hold a special spot for her because of that. xo  Jacqueline lives in country Victoria with her husband and three gorgeous boys and they have the most amaaaaazing veggie garden that I have always been envious of and if you’re after handmade fabric bunting – head over to Jacqueline’s made-it store right now!  Jacqueline is sharing with us how to make one of the most adorable little Easter gift bags I have ever seen that looks easy enough even for someone of my meagre sewing skills!  Thanks Jacqueline!

How to make an Easter bunny gift bag


I found a tutorial on how to make
and had the urge to make one.
I printed off the template, and as I was cutting it out,
thought I might try making it out of brown paper
rather than the denim I had in mind.
So here is my paper version.
(The original in the above link on Merrilee’s Blog is made of felt)
Trace the template onto a double thickness of brown paper,
but do not cut it out.

Sew along the traced line, stitching both pieces of paper together, 
but do not sew between the ears,
this is where you will put the goodies in.
Trim around the edge of the stitching – about 1/4 inch.

You can see from this pic,
you could also just use a paper bag and cut out the ears at the top.


Add some fabric onto the ears,
I used heat ‘n’ bond to adhere the fabric to the paper,
or you could use pretty paper or washi tape
Find some treasure to put inside,
pop them in through the opening between the ears.

Flex the ears, so the curve towards the front,
gather up the paper and tie with some pretty twine.

This project was easy and nice and quick,
the gift bag would also look great
made from coloured paper or baking paper.
Have a great Easter
Jacqueline

This post is part of the Frog Goose and Bear Easter craft series.  If you’d like to submit an Easter craft, recipe or activity to share here on Frog Goose and Bear, please email me!  To see the other posts in this series, click here.

How to make an Easter egg garland {guest post}

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This gorgeously simple craft today is from the lovely Brenda from 13acres.  Brenda was one of the very first bloggers I got to know when I first started blogging four years ago and we have remained friends ever since!  You can see the last guest post that she shared here.  Brenda is a clever creative soul and beautiful inside and out.  She and her family have recently embarked on a wonderful tree change and have just moved into their newly built farm house in country Victoria where she bakes delicious goodies, takes beautiful photos, grows her own veggies and even makes her own passata.  Whenever I visit her blog it always makes me smile.  I know you’d love it too.  

What you need 
  • coloured paper or old wrapping paper or old cards (anything really)
  • scissors
  • something to pierce little holes (baby hole punch or sharp knife) 
  • twine or jute string 

1. Make a template of an egg shape with a piece of cardboard.  

2. Use this to cut out egg shapes from your selection of paper.  


We used some old scrapbooking paper and old paper bunting cards that I used to make for markets.  


The bright colours were perfect for this Egg themed garland! 

3. Make two small holes at the narrower end of the egg as this is where you will thread the twine.  


4. Starting from the back, thread the twine in one hole and back through the other as this is how it will stay straight. 


Leave enough twine on either end for hanging and hey presto, your done!  An Easter Egg garland!  

This post is part of the Easter craft series here on the blog.  If you’d like to see more Easter crafts, activities or recipes from this series, click on the image below …

http://froggooseandbear.blogspot.com.au/search/label/easter%20series%202014
If you’d like to submit a guest post, please email me.  xo

Easter Craft: How to make eggshell candles

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Last year, I discovered the art of candle making.  Who knew it was so easy?!  I am now addicted and looking for any container I can get my hands on to fill with melted wax and transform into a candle. Old jars, fancy tea cups and even eggshells.  Nothing is safe from being filled with melted wax!
If you’d like to give eggshell candles a crack (pardon the pun), here’s how:

You will need:

  • - eggshells
  • - food dye
  • - vinegar
  • - paper towel
  • - egg carton
  • - soy candle wax
  • - candle wick with metal tab
  • - hot glue gun
  • - wooden skewers

1. Clean your eggshells in some soapy water and rinse.
2. Place a few drops of food dye into a bowl of vinegar.   One bowl for each colour.
3. Place your eggshells in the dye bath and roll them through the dye for about 30 seconds.  Keep the eggshell in the dye for longer if you want a stronger colour.  You can use a spoon if you don’t want to colour your fingers.
4. Dry your coloured eggshells on some paper towel.
5. Place dried eggshells into an egg carton.


















6. Cut a piece of wick to 10cm in length and thread it through your metal tab.
7. Secure the metal tab & wick to the bottom of eggshell using a hot glue gun.
8. Tie the pieces of wick to a wooden skewer to keep the wick out of the wax.
9. Place your soy candle wax into a pyrex  jug (or a double boiler saucepan).
10. Place jug in boiling water on stove and wait until it melts.  It will become clear when it’s ready.  Take it off the heat as soon as it has melted.
11. Pour the melted wax into the eggshells as carefully as possible.
12. Leave your eggshells to dry for a few hours and once the wax is hard you can remove the wooden skewers and trim the wick.
13. Place your new candles in some ceramic eggcups or make your own candle holders.
14. Light your candles!


















My eggshell candles are now sitting on my kitchen windowsill alongside my eggshell succulents, but they’d make a great outdoor table centrepiece on a summer evening and you could even add some insect repellent essential oils!
If you wanted to shake it up a little you could:
-  Add scent to your wax.
- Melt down an old candle or old crayons to add colour to your wax.
- Just skip the whole coloured bit and use plain eggshells.  Very stylish.
What would you make into a candle?  What is your favourite candle scent?
 This post is part of a series on Easter crafts, recipes and activities here on Frog, Goose and Bear.  You can click here to see all of the other posts in the series.  Even better, if you’d like to do a guest post for this series, I’d love to hear from you!


* I purchased my candle supplies from Spotlight, but I’m sure you’d be able to find them at your local craft supply store.

* This post was originally published on Kidspot Village Voices in 16 Nov 2012.

An Easter craft: How to make an eggshell succulent garden

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Usually when we eat boiled eggs for dinner (a regular easy meal at our house) the kids like to turn the egg over when they’ve finished and pretend there is a new egg to eat. The unsuspecting recipient then gets a bit of a surprise when the spoon goes right through an empty egg shell.  They think it is hilarious and the joke somehow never fails to get old.  However, this time I asked the kids to keep their shells intact as I had a different plan for the eggshells…

Taking inspiration from around the web we made our own little mini eggshell succulent garden.
To make your own you will need:
- egg shells
- egg carton
- succulent cuttings
- soil or potting mix
How to:
1. Give your eggshells a quick clean (I just rinsed mine under the tap), let them dry and pop them into the egg carton so your egg shells remain upright.  If you don’t have an egg carton on hand, an eggcup or cardboard tube cut to size would also do the job.
2. Fill your egg shells with soil until they’re about 3/4 full.
3. Insert your succulent cuttings into the soil.  Succulents are one of those amazing plants where the roots just grow when a cutting is placed into soil.
4. Gently give your new creations a light spray of water using a spray bottle.  You will only need to spray your succulents every now and then as they do not like being too wet.
The eggshell succulents look pretty cool displayed in the egg carton and would also look stylish in ceramic egg cups.  We made our own egg cups by cutting a toilet roll into three and gluing on some origami paper.  I have a bit of a thing for origami paper, but you could use paint, fabric, wool or lace to decorate if you felt so inclined.   They are now proudly displayed on our window sill above the kitchen sink.
I was lucky enough to have a good friend who grows a great variety of succulents who gave me lots of small cuttings to play with, but if you can’t find any in a backyard near you, you will have no trouble finding them at your local nursery.
Have you ever planted anything in an eggshell?
You might like to try our mini Easter terrariums in a plastic egg too …

I am currently running a series on Easter crafts here on the blog, so if you have an Easter craft you’d like to share in a guest post on Frog Goose and Bear – shoot me an email coz I’d LOVE to hear from you!

http://froggooseandbear.blogspot.com.au/p/kids-craft.html

*This post was originally published on Kidspot Village Voices on 6 October 2012.

An Easter craft & ten things you can do with plastic eggs.

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OK, so it’s a little early to be thinking about Easter.  Way too early for me, as I thrive on the last minute rush.  Well, maybe thrive is not quite the right word, but last minute is often the way we roll around here.  I’ve been writing a couple of Easter craft tutorials for Kidspot and so I’ve got into the Easter frame of mind a little earlier than usual.  


This year, here in Victoria, Easter is at the end of the school holidays which gives us a good couple of weeks of school holiday time to get into some Easter themed crafting with the kids.  For the next six weeks I’m going to be posting lots of Easter craft ideas.  This might also include some re-posting of a few from the FGB archives for all of my lovely new followers who might have missed them.  If you have a gorgeous Easter craft to share, I’d love to include some guest posts. 

I found these adorable clear plastic eggs at my new favourite, locally based, packaging supply store, Pack-it-in.  We made these Easter egg terrariums using fake moss and flowers, some foam eggs (purchased here) and made the nest using florist wire.

The possibilities of what you could put inside these as Easter gifts is endless!  I particularly like that they lend themselves to non-chocolatey goodies. I can imagine colourful confetti, balloons and mini streamers just for a colourful explosion of fun, filled with mini toys or a little game or activity like those we put in our bon-bons.  I actually found a list here of 40 non-candy items that fit inside a plastic egg.
I couldn’t resist including the photo above.  Little Miss Frog was feeling a little ignored as I was taking photos in the courtyard and it took me a while (observant parent that I am) to notice the cheeky faces she was pulling in the background. 
Here are ten cool ideas that I have come across in blog land using plastic eggs as the base for some awesome crafts and activities for both kids and adults:
  1. egg shaped bird feeders
  2. easter bath bombs
  3. easter seed bomb
  4. super fun egg maracas
  5. recreate the christian easter story
  6. bakers twine covered eggs
  7. fabric decoupaged eggs
  8. egg shaped rice crispies
  9. glowsticks in eggs for nighttime egg hunt
  10. an easter egg lunch hunt
Have you started thinking about Easter yet?  

Have you got any awesome Easter craft ideas?  I’d love to share them with FGB readers, so shoot me an email and we can organise a guest post!  You don’t have to have a blog to do this either.

If you’re looking for more Easter craft ideas, 
you might like to head to the FGB kids craft page.
http://www.froggooseandbear.blogspot.com.au/p/kids-craft.html

An Easter Chocolate Gift … a tutorial

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These simple chocolate treats can be made in 10 minutes – seriously!  
The hardest part is trying not to lick your fingers until the end!


 What you will need:

- Compound Chocolate Melts
- Chocolate Mould Trays
- Spatula
- Bowl


1. Start by melting your chocolate.  As you really don’t want to get water in the chocolate, it’s best to use the microwave to melt your chocolate.  Just pop it the microwave for 30 secs at a time and give it a stir until it melts.  You want it really runny.

N.B.  It needs to be compound chocolate.  I use Nestle Milk Melts.  Just check on the back of the packet and it will let you know if it is “real milk chocolate” or “compound milk chocolate”.  The compound choc can be popped in the fridge/freezer without discolouration and has more of a sheen, but it does still work with the real milk choc kind.

2. Pour some chocolate onto the mould.  Most of these moulds were from my childhood and I love the vintage look they bring but I have seen them at craft stores, Spotlight, online and even my local post office!


3. Spread the chocolate out across the tray using a spatula or butter knife.



4. Using the spatula (or butter knife) scrape the excess chocolate from the top of the tray back into the bowl.

5. Gently pick up the tray and tap it numerous times on the table.  You can do this by lifting it a couple of centimetres above the table and dropping it gently over and over again.  This process minimises the air bubbles.  You will see some bubbles on the top as they make their way from the bottom.  This is good.


6. Pop your chocolate mould sheets full of chocolate into the freezer for about 5-10 minutes.  You’ll know they are ready when you turn it over and you can see it starting to get slightly whitish in colour through the plastic, or it sounds a little crackly.  You’ll just know, believe me.


7.  To release the chocolate from the mould, turn the sheet upside down and gently tap it on the table.  Make sure you do this gently and close to the table as you don’t want the chocolates to break on their way down.  If they don’t come out easily, just pop it back in the freezer for a bit as they may not be set enough.


8. Et voila!  You have made your own Easter chocolates! 

9. We had some egg shaped moulds that we stuck together to make whole eggs by pressing the egg halves onto some baking paper on a baking tray that had been heated in the oven.  

10. Press the two melted sides together and you have a whole egg!  If you wanted to make them look a little smoother and get rid of the line that joins them, apparently you can use a hair dryer to melt it and smooth it out a little.

11. Pop them in a pretty little box and give them as gifts!

These little beauties were shipped off to the children’s kinder and school teachers this morning with a little card attached.

Here are the gifts we gave the kids teachers last Easter.
Do you give Easter gifts?
Are you addicted to chocolate like me?!
For more FGB Easter crafts you might like to check out this post.

For more quick & easy recipes you might like to check out this page.



Wishing you all a wonderful Easter with your families.  We are off on our annual camping trip tomorrow with my extended family.  Fingers crossed that the rain holds off! 
What are you doing this Easter weekend?

P.S. A huge thanks to Andrea who gave me all the wonderful tips to make these last week!!

Planting in Eggshells

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We’ve been planting tiny succulents in eggshells.  

You can head over to Village Voices for the FGB tutorial to see how we made them if you’d like to have a go at making some yourself.  They are super easy and I love seeing them on our kitchen windowsill whenever I’m at the sink.

I’m really excited to be doing a whole lot of crafts using eggshells for Village Voices over the next few months.  

Have you ever used eggshells for craft?

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