Wednesday, April 16, 2014

DIY Easter Ornaments

I teach a Sunday school class at church with 3 and 4 year old kids. This week, I taught the Easter lesson since we'll spend Easter Sunday busy with our church Easter program. I thought it would be fun to make the kids a little something to take home that wasn't a picture they had to color themselves.

I came across this old post from Design Mom, and decided it might be a fun activity to do with my kids too.

DIY salt dough Easter Ornaments {A Cloth Life}



I used the simple salt dough recipe shared in the Design Mom post:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water

I kneeded the dough by hand, then rolled it out. I used a giant plastic Easter egg half as my "cookie cutter." My kids are crazy over Kinder Eggs... or anything egg shaped with something inside. My husband has been picking up these types of of plastic eggs from grocery stores and dollar stores for the kids for a while now, so I had no shortage of options to choose from. This one gave me the shape I wanted in the perfect size. You can use whatever you have on hand.
DIY salt dough Easter Ornaments {A Cloth Life}

Because of the size of my eggs, I got about 11 cuts. I placed them on a silpat mat, but you can use parchment paper. Bake the eggs at 250F for 2 hours. If you want to hang your ornaments, don't forget to cut a little hole to thread string through - I used a disposable straw.
DIY salt dough Easter Ornaments {A Cloth Life}

Once the eggs were completely cooled, I pulled a few out for the kids in my class and set the rest aside for G and N to paint themselves. I layed out wax paper to protect the table, then used acrylic paint - decorating each egg first like a typical Easter egg (with colors chosen in mind for each child). Next, I painted their initials on the front, then added this scripture to the back:
DIY salt dough Easter Ornaments {A Cloth Life}
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

The kids in my class may not fully understand this verse yet, but maybe they'll hold on to these little eggs and have this as a reminder of a very important spiritual lesson. Of course, you can add whatever message you feel is most fitting. "I love you!" "It's Easter!" "Hop to it!" Okay, it doesn't have to be a phrase with an exclamation mark either.

Once all layers of paint were dry, I painted the eggs with two coats of Martha Stewart decoupage - as a sealer. (I know most people prefer Mod Podge, and I like it too, but Martha's is my favorite if I'm being honest.) Sunday morning, I threaded some yarn through the ornaments, then headed off to class.
DIY salt dough Easter Ornaments {A Cloth Life}

The eggs were a hit, and now I get to look forward to painting  the remaining eggs with my own kids. G was particularly excited when he saw what I had in store for him. I'll be sure to post some pictures of his artwork once it's complete.

What Easter crafts have you had your eye on? Any favorites you've done in the past? 

post signature

No comments:

Post a Comment