Easy Easter Crafts

I have a confession to make. I am a faux crafter. I like to visit craft stores, handle the goods, I even buy them, but sadly that is often as far as it gets. I love scrap book paper and can buy it by the armful, but then, once home, it languishes in a drawer. Actually, it all goes into my special set of 'craft drawers' which is full to bursting with lovely bits and bobs. Occasionally the urge to make something strikes and I go through the drawers and admire the pretty papers but then I get a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff in there and put it all back, the urge to create gone.

I'm hoping to cure this illness though and  have been challenging myself to finally use some of my supplies. I've found the trick is to pick a project without too many steps - it seems I am all about instant gratification and fuss free crafting. This is understandable perhaps as my 'free' time is limited to nap times and post bedtime these days and always with one ear listening for my 'call'. But the two Easter crafts which follow are so simple and mess free that they are finished in moments, but still leave you with that virtuous sense of having 'made' something.

First up is this lovely Easter Egg banner. (Another confession: I'm afraid this did necessitate a trip to a craft store and so didn't involve me using up anything from my stash, although it could easily be made with paper or card stock you already own and a small measure of steady handed scissor wielding. Alas, I am a recovering faux crafter but a champion shopper).

I took two packs of ready made card blanks and (this hardly needs instructions) snipped them in half, trimmed the edge and punched two holes in the top. Thread a length of ribbon through the holes and voilà, a lovely Easter banner. Of course if you are not quite as lazy as I am you could mix these up with all sorts of other lovely bits; traditional bunting flags, rabbits, chicks, tulips or daisies. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination, inclination and time!

The next craft (and I hesitate to call it that as it is barely a moments effort, as you will see) are these decorated Easter eggs. I can proudly say this did use up some of my stash. I took half a dozen polystyrene eggs I had left over from Easter crafts (shopping trips) of yore and some washi tape bought on a whim months ago. Put the two together and you have instant decorations. I did find with this project, that thinner tape was best on smaller eggs as it covered with less need to 'wrap' the tape to the egg form. Likewise on the larger eggs wider tape covered more quickly.

I have, in the past, decorated these eggs with the tissue paper and glue method, but it was too messy and time consuming for me to consider doing this year with a baby in tow. Perhaps in future years, when she is less likely to try to ingest anything left unattended for too long (two seconds appears to be the limit), this will be a craft we can do together.

For now, this Easter Bunny seems happy enough with my more labour free efforts.

If anyone has other insta-craft tips or ideas I'd love to hear about them!

Coco Blue