Spring Craft Guide

"Egg"cellent Egg Tree

Trees all around us are starting to grow new leaves. You too can make your own festively decorated tree for spring. Just think of how many things you can add to your tree to celebrate the season.

To make your egg tree, you'll need:

• One to three small branches from a tree (pick one with lots of small branches on it, but make sure to avoid poison ivy and other irritating plants)
• One block of florist's foam
• One small terra cotta pot
• Acrylic or poster paints
• Glue
• A few feet of ribbon
• Various beads with large holes
• Craft foam sheets in various colors

Work on a protected surface and paint your branches either white or another light color (you can also paint the outside of the pot too). Let dry. Mom or Dad should cut florist foam with a serrated knife so it fits snuggly into the pot. Then add a bit of glue to the inside of the pot to cement it into place. After the glue dries, push the painted branches into the foam. Now add decorations to the tree. String some beads through the ribbon, loop through the branches, and make sure to leave some room for the ribbon to dip down between each branch. Cut the foam pieces into small egg shapes. Decorate the eggs with glued-on foam strips, dots, and other designs. When the eggs have set, you can glue them onto ribbon or punch holes through the tops of the eggs with a hole punch. Tie one end of the ribbon onto the egg and the other end onto the tree. Or, simply hang the eggs directly from a branch.

Bunny and Chick Bags

Here's what you'll need to make these cute bags, perfect for collecting eggs or stashing candy:

• Paper lunch bag or small colored gift bag
• Craft foam sheets in various colors
• Wiggly eyes
• Markers
• Glue
• Safety scissors
• Pencil or pen

To Make the Bunny:

Begin with a piece of foam, slightly larger than your bag on the sides, but about the same height. Fold the foam in half and draw two half circles, just like you would draw the round parts of a letter "B." Be careful not to go completely to the fold for the middle line. Cut along the drawn lines (when you unfold the foam, you'll have two connecting circles). Cut and attach foam ears on the top circle. Decorate the bottom circle with foam pieces to make a happy rabbit face. Draw a small circle about one to two inches in diameter between the ears and cut out just the circle. Glue the bunny head to bag, leaving the ears above the opening of the bag. Now your bag can hang from a doorknob.

To Make the Chick:

Start out with the same size piece of foam sheet as above. Fold it in half and draw one big half-circle in the shape of a "C". Cut out triangles for wings and glue those onto the bottom half of the circle. Add a small folding foam strip for the beak, and add two eyes. About an inch from the top draw a "U" shape and cut. Glue the chick onto bag leaving room for the "C" shape to be above the bag's opening. Add some feet, glued directly onto the bag using small foam scraps cut in strips.