Homemade Easter Gifts for Kids
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If you ask kids what they like most about Easter, they'll probably say the arrival of the Easter bunny. If you're still hopping down the bunny trail, you owe it to yourself to check out these fun Easter gifts for kids.
Egg Dyeing Smock
Help the kids and adults on your list keep their clothes spotless by making them these cute bunny-stamped smocks.
The Gift of Knowledge
It is generally agreed that Easter received its name from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. Eostre symbolized the rebirth of the day at dawn and the rebirth of life in the spring. Christians celebrate Easter as the resurrection of their savior, Jesus Christ, which occurred during Passover. The Jewish feast of Passover, or Pesach, commemorates the memory of the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt and celebrates the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
Present Tense
Textile medium is a liquid helper that transforms acrylic paints into washable fabric paint. The advantage of this product is that, if you already have the colors you need, you don't have to go buy the same colors in fabric paint. Just add one part textile medium to two parts acrylic paint to make a paint that's washable and flexible. Be sure to wash the unpainted fabric first without using fabric softener. Then allow the painted material to dry for seven days. Heat set the painted area by placing it on an ironing board and putting a cloth over the area. Using an iron set to the fabric temperature, iron over the area for 20 seconds. Wash the material in mild soap when necessary. See the manufacturer's directions on the textile medium you use.
Present Pointers
You might want to include this egg-dyeing smock in a basket with Easter egg dye and an Easter egg holder. Older kids would enjoy a Psanky egg-making kit that teaches them how to make beautifully designed eggs out of wax and dye based on the Ukrainian art form (Psanky). You can buy these kits in most craft stores or order them on the Internet.
Time frame: Two to three hours plus seven days to set
Level: Moderately easy
What you need:
- Plain white or beige pillowcase
- Scissors
- Piece of cardboard
- Bottle of textile medium
- Pink, orange, and green craft paints
- Paintbrushes
- Disposable cups or bowls
- Foam bunny stamp
- Foam carrot stamp
- Squeezable fine-tipped black or purple fabric paint
- Wash the pillowcase with detergent but without using fabric softener. Cut a large hole (approximately 10 inches) in the center of the short end of the pillowcase for the head, and two smaller holes (approximately 6 inches) in each side of the pillowcase for the arms (close to the end with the hole for the head).
- Place a piece of cardboard under the working area of the smock.
- Mix the textile medium with pink paint in a disposable cup or bowl, using approximately 1⁄4 cup of paint to 1⁄8 cup of medium. Stir well.
- Use the paintbrush to paint the mixture onto the bunny stamp. Carefully position the stamp on the bottom edge of the smock and apply gentle pressure. Remove the stamp, being careful not to smudge the design. Repeat across the bottom of the apron, leaving room in between bunnies for the carrot stamp. Stamp one bunny on the top center of the smock or use your own design.
- Repeat step 4 using the orange and green paint on the carrot stamp. Stamp a carrot in between each bunny on the bottom and on each side of the bunny on the top.
- Use the black or purple fabric paint to write "Happy Easter" across the top of the smock.
- Allow the smock to dry for seven days. Place it on an ironing board and cover it with a piece of cloth. Press the area with an iron for approximately 20 seconds to set the paint. The smock can now be washed as necessary.
More on: Easter
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Great Gifts © 2001 by Marilee LeBon. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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