A HOPPY OCCASION

2024-04-01 -

NO SEW ICE DYED COILED ROPE VASE

Gather your supplies

• Wire cooling rack

• Glass baking pan

• 1 skein co on rope

• Gloves

• Rit All-purpose Dye (powder) in three or four colours

• Rit Colorstay Dye Fixative

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

• Glass cylinder vase

• Double-sided tape

• Scissors

Here’s how

STEP 1 In a sink or on a protected surface put the cooling rack atop the pan. STEP 2 Thoroughly moisten co on rope. Crumple it and put on wire rack. Cover completely with ice cubes. (For more complete dye coverage, use crushed ice and put rack in a warm area.) STEP 3 Wearing gloves, carefully distribute various powder dyes across the ice as if sprinkling salt. Sprinkle sparingly. It may not seem like enough dye, but as ice melts, the dye will disperse.

STEP 4 When ice has melted, follow colour fixative directions to set the dye. Let dry completely, then roll one end of rope into a small coil and gently secure to itself with a dab of hot glue.

NO-SEW BASKET

Follow the steps for the No-sew ice-dyed coiled rope vase but swap the vase for a small glass bowl to create a basket for Easter treats.

STEP 5 Using glass vase as your form, start with it upside down. Using double-sided tape, a ached coiled rope in centre of vase bo om.

STEP 6 Carefully wrap rope around base, hot-gluing rope to itself as you go. Don’t glue rope to glass vase. Continue wrapping rope around bo om until it’s completely covered. Turn vase right side up and continue to tightly wrap rope up sides (again, don’t glue rope to vase).

STEP 7 Once the glass vase is covered, cut the rope, leaving a 25mm tail. Gently pull the glass vase out and neatly hot-glue rope tail to top of rope vase. Reinsert the glass vase if filling the coiled vase with fresh flowers.

PAPER LILY

Gather your supplies

• Paper lily and leaf templates (page 181)

• Coloured cardstock

• Scissors

• Bone folder

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

• White cloth florist’s wire, wire cu ers and florist’s tape

• Chalk-finish paint

• Green crepe paper

• Embroidery needle and thread (optional)

Here’s how

NOTE If you wish, you can a ach a lily to a decorative egg carton. To do this, stitch stem of lily to carton top using embroidery needle and thread.

STEP 1 Trace Paper lily and leaf templates onto cardstock; cut out. Use bone folder to fold the small tab on flower; curl petal edges and slightly curl the leaf. Pull flower sides together into a cone shape, leaving a small hole at the base. Secure tab to inside of flower with hot glue.

STEP 2 For flower centre, cut six 10 –15cm pieces of florist’s wire. Add a dab of hot glue in a teardrop shape to top of each wire. Put in a cup, glue side up, until set.

STEP 3 Dip set glue ends in chalk-finish paint; return to cup to dry.

STEP 4 Gather all six pieces of wire and wrap bo om halves in florist’s tape. For the stem, a ach a longer piece of wire to the bundle with tape. Slide stem end through hole in flower and secure wire bundle at the base with hot glue.

STEP 5 Wrap wire stem with a strip of green crepe paper; secure with hot glue. Glue leaf to stem with a dab of hot glue.

RICE DYED EASTER EGGS

Make speckled eggs with rice and food colouring. Fill a plastic cup with rice, add 10-15 drops of food colouring, top with another plastic cup and shake like a cocktail to distribute colour. Drop a hard-boiled egg into the rice cup and shake until evenly covered in dye.

For multi-coloured eggs, combine dyed rice from different cups into one cup.

Here’s how MARBLED PAPER

NOTE Use an old or thrifted iron, not one you use for clothes.

STEP 1 Protect your work surface with kra paper. Cut a piece of parchment a li le more than twice the size of printer paper. Put a piece of printer paper on one side of parchment and top with waxed paper. Fold the parchment over to cover the papers. Gently iron on low to adhere waxed paper to printer paper; unfold parchment.

STEP 2 Working with crayons in complementary colours, remove their paper casings. Use a pencil sharpener to shave crayon wax onto waxed printer paper. Fold parchment over papers; iron. Let cool; remove parchment. Repeat with other paper pieces and combos of crayon colours. BUTTERFLY GARLAND STEP 1 Use templates to trace bu erflies on Marbled paper and cardstock; cut out. To create flu er effect, fold bu erflies in half lengthwise.

STEP 2 Cut a piece of cord/ string to your garland length.

STEP 3 Every 7.5–10cm, hot-glue (on low temp) 1 marbled and 1 plain bu erfly back-toback along folded edge, with cord/string between them.

BUTTERFLY STRAWS STEP 1

Use bu erfly-shape punch or templates to make bu erflies from Marbled paper and cardstock. Fold bu erflies in half lengthwise. Glue marbled and plain bu erflies back-to-back along folded edges.

STEP 2

Cut an 18 x 6mm strip of cardstock. With a cra knife, cut two parallel, 12mm-long slits about 3mm apart on the strip.

STEP 3

Glue short ends of the strip to plain-colour bu erfly wings; dry.

STEP 4 Carefully open the slits and slide a straw through the opening. Repeat for desired number of straws.

BUNNY PICKS

Gather your supplies

• Paper bunny pick template (page 181)

• Scissors

• Coloured cardstock

• Fiskars Circle Medium paper punch, 25mm dia.

• Glue stick

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

• Toothpicks

Here’s how

STEP 1 Use template to trace ears and bow tie on cardstock; cut out. Gently fold over tip of one ear; crease bow tie slightly in the middle. Punch 12 cardstock circles for each bunny; fold circles in half.

STEP 2 With folded edges aligned, glue a circle half to another circle half with glue stick. Continue to glue circle halves together for a half-sphere composed of 6 circles. Repeat with remaining 6 circles, then glue 2 half-spheres together to complete the head.

STEP 3 Add a dab of hot glue to end of a toothpick; insert pick into bo om of head. Once glue is set and secure, a ach ears on top and bow tie right below head. Repeat for desired number of picks.

SALT DOUGH BUNNIES

Gather your supplies

• 2 cups plain flour

• 1 cup salt

• 1 cup warm water

• Large bowl

• Waxed paper

• Masking tape

• Gloves

• Assorted food colouring

• Rolling pin

• Bunny-shaped cookie cu er

• Bamboo skewer

• Cord, yarn or twine

Here’s how

STEP 1 In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and warm water. Knead dough until smooth and no longer sticky. Add a few pinches of flour, if needed. Shape into a ball; let rest for 20 minutes.

STEP 2 Prep work surface with waxed paper secured at corners with tape; sprinkle with flour. Put dough on waxed paper and poke

3 or 4 indentations into dough ball with your finger.

STEP 3 Wearing gloves, add a few drops of food colouring into each indentation. Use your hands to gently knead colour into dough until it looks marbled.

STEP 4 Sprinkle a bit more flour over surface of dough and on a rolling pin. Roll dough to about 6mm thick.

STEP 5 Preheat oven to 100°C. Use cookie cu er to cut bunny shapes. Poke a small hole with bamboo skewer in each for hanging.

STEP 6 Put bunnies about 12mm apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 90 minutes; flip and bake for 90 minutes more or until firm and dry (thicker shapes may take a bit longer). Let cool completely.

STEP 7 Thread cord/yarn/ twine through holes to hang as ornaments or tie around napkins.

FOLDED PAPER EGG ORNAMENT

Gather your supplies

• Folded egg template (page 181)

• Plain and pa erned coloured cardstock

• Scissors

• Glue stick

• Co on string

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Here’s how

STEP 1 For each 3D ornament, use template to trace 12 eggs from cardstock MARBLE EFFECT

Knead the dough enough to distribute the colour well without it becoming one colour.

(use a variety of colours and pa erns, so you can alternate as you like when gluing); cut out. Fold each egg in half lengthwise.

STEP 2 With folded edges aligned, glue one egg half to another egg half with glue stick. Continue to glue egg halves to each other but don’t join final two halves yet.

STEP 3 Cut a 30cm piece of string; tie ends to create a loop. Hot-glue kno ed end of loop into centre of egg shape, leaving enough loop at top for hanging.

STEP 4 To finish, glue the final egg halves together with the glue stick to create the egg-shaped ornament.

BEADED BUNNY ORNAMENT

Gather your supplies

• Twine

• Wood beads (6mm, 20mm and 25mm for each bunny)

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

• Bead bunny template (page 181)

• Felt pieces in assorted colours

• Bamboo skewer

• Ribbon or fabric trim

Here’s how

STEP 1 Cut a piece of twine about 30cm long. Thread 6mm bead onto twine and fold twine in half, keeping bead at the middle fold.

STEP 2 Thread both ends of twine through 25mm bead to create bunny body, then thread through 20mm bead for the head. Add a dab of hot glue to top of body; press head onto glue; let dry.

STEP 3 Use template to trace bunny ears from felt; cut out. Dab hot glue to bo om of each ear and pinch together to create a tiny pleat. Hold until glue sets.

STEP 4 Holding twine away from hole at top of bunny head, use bamboo skewer to gently push centre portion of felt ears into the hole. Secure with a dab of hot glue.

STEP 5 Glue trim around ‘neck’ and tie twine ends together to create a loop for hanging. Repeat this step with felt and trim in different colours for desired number of ornaments.

for PROJECT SUPPLIES, see OUR stockists page

Honeycomb paper egg ornament HONEYCOMB PAPER EGG ORNAMENT

Gather your supplies

• Coloured cardstock in coordinating or contrasting colours

• Honeycomb egg template (page 181)

• 6mm-wide double-sided tape

• Glue dots

• Co on string

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

• Bamboo skewer

Here’s how

STEP 1 For each ornament, cut 3 strips, each 7.5 x 15cm, from 3 different colours of cardstock, for a total of 9 strips. Fold each strip in half lengthwise to make a crease; unfold and lay flat.

STEP 2 Use template to trace 3 egg shapes from each strip; cut out (for a total of 27 egg pieces, 9 of each colour).

STEP 3 Fold each egg piece in half along the crease you made in Step 1; add a piece of double-sided tape on folded edge and slightly unfold. At the crease near top and

bo om of each piece, put an adhesive dot; press paper together, keeping middle slightly open. Repeat until you’ve glued tops and bo oms of all 27 egg pieces.

STEP 4 Create

3 groups of

9 egg pieces, distributing each colour randomly or evenly among each group. A ach egg pieces in each group, one at a time, by pu ing an adhesive dot in centre of outer edge of each egg and pressing paper together. Repeat for each group.

STEP 5 Glue the 3 groups together as directed in Step 4 (with adhesive dots at centre, outer edge), keeping a small opening at top of completed 3D egg.

STEP 6 Fold a 30cm piece of string in half; tie ends together to create a loop. Put a dab of hot glue in the top of the egg opening and insert string, knot side down, gently pushing it in with a bamboo skewer. Let glue set before hanging.