So ARTventurers North Leeds and ARTventurers Aire Valley have put together a guide to the best Easter crafts to do at home, hopefully using everyday items you will have in to keep your children entertained this Easter break!
We’ve compiled a list of 5 art activities and 5 crafty activities and hopefully all things parents will feel confident at undertaking at home.
Art Activities
1. Fork Painted Easter Chick
All you need is some yellow paint, a fork, some paper or card, googly eyes (if you have them) card for a beak and a pen for its feet.
Squirt some yellow paint on to a flat plate – let your child dip the underside of the fork into the paint and spread from the middle outwards on to the card to make a fluffy Chick shape, let them make it as big or small as they like! Once dry add a pair of googley eyes if you have them, use a pen if not, add an orange beak and some pen legs.
2. Potato Printed Easter Eggs
If you have a couple of spare Potatoes at home this is a lovely way to print some colourful Egg shapes.
Cut the potatoes in half and using a blunt knife (older children can help do this) make some shapes in the Potato. Paint on a thin layer of paint, use a variety of colours to get some nice colour mixing going on to them and print on to paper or card. You can add extra Easter detail to the picture if you like.
3. Finger Painted Bunny Silhouette
Print and cut out a bunny shape. Position on a piece of paper or card then using paint fingerprint around the edge of the bunny shape. Use different colour paints to create some colour mixing, try to cover as much of the paper as possible, remove the bunny shape to leave the silhouette underneath.
4. Bunny Rabbit Print
All you need for this is 3 empty toilet rolls tubes, white paint, glue/tape, a piece of coloured card or paper and coloured pencils/crayons.
Tape or glue the tubes together about halfway down so they are sturdy, pinch 2 of them to create oval-shaped ears.
Squirt white paint onto a flat plate. Let the child dip one end of the tubes into the paint and press onto the card and repeat. Once dry simply draw some faces onto the bunnies and some grass and flowers to create a lovely Easter scene.
5. Shaving Foam Easter Eggs
A lovely version of a sensory idea which we use a lot in our ARTventurers classes. The children LOVE it
You will need some shaving foam or children’s foam soap. Pieces of Card, assorted paint colours, a tray, cocktail sticks or a plastic fork. An old gift card or similar.
Squirt the foam into a tray so it covers the base, spread it out evenly with a spatula so it is flat. Squirt blobs of coloured paint on top. Drag a cocktail stick/fork up and down the paint then across to create lovely patterns. Lay piece of card onto the foam. (Either pre-cut egg shapes or cut out of card once dried) Lift the card off, scrape excess paint/foam off with an old gift card or similar, allow to dry
You could even make into Easter Bunting!
An added bonus is the child can play with the foam afterwards and magically see it gradually disappear leaving dried paint. What’s not to LOVE.
Crafts
1. Mosaic Easter Egg
Cut out an egg shape from some card. Cut up different coloured card or paper you have spare (can be patterned or plain) into small mosaic pieces (older children can have a go at this to help develop scissor skills) Cover the egg shape in glue and stick the mosaic pieces on to the shape, it can be done in a pattern or just random, again depending on the age of the child.
2. Cotton Wool Lamb
Spread glue onto a piece of card, using cotton wool balls create a Lamb shape in the middle. Cut out a piece of black paper or card for a face, add googly eyes. Use black paper or pen to add legs.
3. Easter Chick Finger Puppet
A FUN idea which could inspire you to make other characters too!
You will need yellow and orange card, glue, scissors.
Cut 2 different size circles from the yellow card using lids or something similar to trace around for the head and body. 2 small circles to be cut with child-safe scissors from the larger body circle (ask a grown-up to help you with this) draw around a 1p for rough size. Stick the head overlapping the body. Add 2 googly eyes if you have some (if not you can draw them on). Fold over a small piece of orange card (or colour in white card) to cut a triangle shape for the beak. Stick one half onto the chicks face so the beak opens. Add feather wings, a small feather at the top of the head (use card/ribbon/buttons or stick uncooked pasta if you don’t have feathers).
Pop your fingers through the holes and Ta-Dah!
4. Easter Egg Card Wreath
Something bright and colourful to place in your window to cheer everyone up.
You will need card, a length of ribbon and/or string, glue, paint/pencils etc or patterned paper/washi tape/tissue paper/buttons or stickers. Whatever you can find!
Cut 12 egg shapes roughly the same size out of the card. Decorate each with a different pattern/colour. You could even put your child’s initial(s) on too. Simply arrange and glue together as shown, overlapping slightly. Allow to dry. Create a loop of ribbon or string and tie, stick to the reverse of the top egg and tie a separate bow to decorate.
Hang in your window!
5. Egg Carton Flowers and Butterflies
Another good use of recycling using empty egg cartons.
You will need 1 egg box (4 egg sections) per flower or butterfly, Colourful paint, paintbrush, straws, 1 or 2 Pom poms or buttons plus a pipe cleaner & 2 beads for the butterfly)and glue.
Using child-safe scissors (or you may need an adults help) cut around the base of the box so you have a section of 4. Paint the egg carton in lovely bright colours. Allow to dry. Once dry stick a straw to the back of the carton for the flower with a Pom Pom/button in the centre.
For the butterfly, fold a pipe cleaner in half with the loop at the bottom, glue to the reverse of the carton, thread a bead onto the antennae, you could also decorate the body with a Pom Pom or button.
Join the NEW ARTventurers Community Group where they will be sharing lots of creative activities for you and your little ones to do at home in the coming weeks!
Join the North Leeds Community Group HERE.