abeadedeastertree.pdf

Winters in the Midwest seem to go on and on.  Matt and I grew up in Ohio, where winters often extend into April.  When we were growing up, we always had new spring clothes to wear on Easter, but likely as not, we found ourselves searching for hidden Easter eggs wearing winter coats, hats, and gloves.  Maybe that’s the reason I like Easter decorations so much.  The beautiful pastel colors remind me that spring will soon arrive, despite the fact that I look out my window and see near blizzard conditions!

Easter eggs are a mainstay of Easter decorations.  They can be decorated and displayed in a variety of ways, but one of my favorites is an Easter egg tree.  Rather than just painting the eggs, I thought it would be fun to embellish them with beads.  Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own beaded Easter egg tree.

Materials List:

• Small and medium wooden eggs (This saddened Matt, he thought they were  going to be edible!)
• Eye hooks
• Drill
• Nail punch
• Assorted pastel acrylic paints
• Paint brush for glue
• Acrylic paint brushes
• Glitter paint
• Fast drying white glue
• Seed beads – assorted colors
• Plastic bowls
• One eighth inch ribbon – assorted colors
• One tree branch
• White spray paint
• One block of Styrofoam cut to fit container
• One container
• Spanish moss or Easter grass
• Glue gun and glue

Instructions:

1. Start by attaching the eye hooks to the eggs.  The hooks will act as both a handle while decorating and a hanger when the egg is complete.  I found that if I used a nail set to start a hole, it prevented the drill bit from slipping as I drilled the pilot hole.  After drilling holes in all the eggs, I screwed in the eye hooks and was ready to decorate the eggs.

2. The first step in decorating the eggs is to apply a base coat of paint.  The small eggs are given only one coat of paint, as they will be totally covered with seed beads.  The medium eggs receive two coats of pastel paint and a third coat of glitter paint.  Allow the paint to dry completely before applying any beads.  The glitter paint takes a while to dry….be patient.

3. Set out two plastic bowls.  Pour one package of the beads into one of the bowls.  Pour a small amount of white glue into a disposable plastic bowl.  Holding a small egg by the eye hook, and using a small brush, paint the egg with glue.  Be fairly generous as you apply the glue.  Holding the egg over the empty plastic bowl, pour the seed beads over the egg.  Repeat this process until most of the egg is covered in beads.  There will probably be some areas of the egg that are still not covered in beads.  Don’t worry about it.  After the egg dries, you can come back and touch up any empty area with glue and beads.  Follow the same procedure with the rest of the small eggs.  I used packages of multi-colored beads for all the small eggs.  Even though they were all covered with the same beads, they looked different depending on the color of the base coat.

4. Rather than coating the medium sized eggs with beads, use your glue to draw a design.  Apply the beads in the same manner, but apply one color of bead at a time, allowing the egg to dry before adding the color.  Be creative.  I used lines, patterns, and geometric shapes for some of my eggs, but my favorites were the bunny, chick, and flower designs.
 

5. Next, find a branch suitable to use as your tree.  Spray paint it white.  Cut a Styrofoam block to fit in your container.  Use hot glue to secure it.  Push the branch into the Styrofoam so it is stable.  Disguise the Styrofoam by covering it with Spanish moss or Easter grass.

6. Cut 6” pieces of white ribbon.  Put the ribbon through the eye hook to form a loop for hanging the egg.  Cut additional 6” pieces of pastel ribbons.  Form a small bow around the eye hook of each egg.

Hang your eggs on your tree and stand back and admire.  I hope your Easter egg tree reminds you that spring will soon be here.  But to be on the safe side, you might not want to put that winter coat away, just in case you need it for your Easter egg hunt this year!

Shari

 
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