Putting a Little of the Spiritual into Commercial Lent/Easter - DIYs

Nobody loves marshmallow peeps and ducks and even gummy jelly beans more than I do. However, Lent and Easter is not all about candy in an Easter basket, nor is it about toys. Somewhere along the way, most of us really want to include something spiritual.

Through the years, I’ve slowly accumulated a lot of Lent and Easter DIY ideas. I gathered them all onto one Pinterest board.

For those of you who want to make sure the little ones in your life get the meaning of this season, take a look at all the great ideas,here, at this link.

Now, you have to understand - a lot of these ideas are for kids and church groups, but I pinned things that I, myself, would really like to make and would find interesting and fun to make.

I am not sure whether you can view them if you are not a Pinterest member. I must find out about that.

What type of DIYs are there? Everything from food and snack ideas to craft-y but easy projects. Most are easily adaptable to tucking into Easter baskets.

What I love most about Pinterest is that it is like a visual-bookmark system. It is so easy to scroll through the photos and decide which links to click on.

Some pins include dozens of ideas at one URL.

There are several places which show how to make things like crosses and the Christian ichthus (fish) symbol and more, with Palm Sunday palm.

Enjoy the satisfaction and fulfillment of really participating in the coming Lenten and Easter season.

Sweet Lord Jesus, you suffered so much for us all those years ago. Help me to remember why you went through all that pain. Help me to focus this Lenten season on your love and sacrifice.

What To Do With "Palm Sunday" Palm

Ever since I was a child, I loved the way some folks could turn a piece of  palm from Palm Sunday into something memorable for the rest of the year. In our family, someone, my Mom, I think, make baskets from them, about 3 in high, and we pinned them to our coats. 

An old and dear friend told me often of the time she discovered that her usually quiet stepdad surprised them all on the way home one Palm Sunday by making roses from the palm.

On my Pinterest page, you'll find pins/links to at least six places with ideas for using the pieces of palm. You can even make some pieces directly from the graphics on this page, for the simpler ideas.

Enjoy spreading the word this way, not just at Easter, but all year long.

Fun But Healthy And Wise Easter Baskets

Back in 2010, I wrote a post about my feelings on the current trends in children's Easter Baskets, at this link. Why this topic worries me is that we are somehow missing the point of the season. 

While many of us are celebrating the Resurrection, I realize that others might be celebrating Spring and the season of renewal and rebirth. Either way, it is not the season for soccer balls, fashion dolls and NASCAR toys in Easter baskets.

I was a kid back in the 40s. The war was on, World War II. Funds were non-existent. Rationing was in effect. But we three kids always had an Easter basket. Back then, the theme the Resurrection, and only that. Still, it was fun for us.

We always had dyed eggs. Back then, the egg dying kits included a crayon for writing or drawing on the eggs before dying them, and decals and transfers to put onto some of the eggs. So we each had at least one egg with our name on it plus a few more.

We also had just one chocolate item, usually a 1/2 pound coconut egg coated with chocolate or a chocolate bunny. But the most fun we had was the hunt inside the basket. 

Mom filled each basket with grass, and tossed jelly beans into it before adding the dyed eggs and chocolate. That meant we had to use our little fingers to "hunt" for the eggs (jelly beans) inside the grass. For two of us kids, it took time and lots of fun and patience. For one of us (not me), the grass was pulled out and shaken and the jelly beans eaten immediately. That meant the other two had to defend their jelly beans from sneak attack - sibling war.

We didn't get a toy in those baskets because that's not what Easter was all about. Much later, when we were pre-teens, the stuffed bunnies occasionally appeared.

These days, it is still very, very easy for folks to un-materialize the current Easter Basket trend. Here are a few very easy ideas.

1 - Instead of hiding sugary jelly beans inside the Easter grass, hide peanuts-in-the-shell. This gives the kids a healthy snack. It gives them some finger dexterity exercise (shelling the nuts). And it gives you a chance to teach clean-up habits (keeping the shells in one place and disposing of them later).

2 - Keep in mind that these days, even more than in the past, kids compare what they get. Make everything you do, especially if it's different than your past efforts, seem fun and interesting and very special. Make the "peanut hunt" a big thing.

3 - Try to avoid what are the usual "Christmas toys." Try to tie the basket items to the real reason for Easter, whether for your family it is spiritual or whether it is seasonal.

4 -Consider puzzles, mind toys, coloring pages or books, and healthy snacks and healthy treats. Of course there will be a little candy, but make that a treat instead of the whole deal.

5 - For more ideas on ways to DIY toys for the basket, check out my Pinterest spot, Easter-Lent-Spring DIYS at this link. You'll find everything from no-sew sock bunnies to ways to use Easter palm, plus treats and more.

One source for healthy snacks is at nuts.com - on their website, you'll also find links to Easter ideas and healthy snacks for kids. You can find many more, but this is a start.

I hope you have fun coming up with alternatives to the completely-commercial pre-packaged baskets out there.

Easter Buggy Bunny Baskets

Photo, Property of Oriental Trading Co.

I had a lot of fun making the little DIY projects in the photo here. They were very easy, using a box of 10 Little Debbie Cloud cakes, fat marshmallows, etc.

But the most fun I had was giving them out. One couple I gave one to, the hubby loves cars and racing, and his wife gave it to him. He sent me an email back tonight, thanking me for (are you ready for this?), his “Easter Buggy Bunny Basket” and he dared me to say it even one time fast. Well, I managed to say it once and messed up on the second try. These were posted on Oriental Trading Co. project pages. When you go to Oriental Trading Co. site, go to the bottom of the page, to Community/Trading Ideas, and you’ll find tons of craft-y stuff. I used their Contact Us form to send them a comment about his cute name for them. Oh, the instructions, photos, etc., are all copyrighted, so you may not sell them or otherwise abuse them.

The tutorial (instructions) for this project is at this link.

The tute calls them “race cars,” but buggy works just fine. And “basket” works for me because the driver’s seat holds a bunny and the steering wheel pretzel.

You still have time to make these for Sunday morning and trust me, they really are adorable. To make it easy to transport and give, I plopped each of them into a deli lunchmeat container. They didn’t squish much when I put the lids on, and I always have a ton of these – they multiply like, well, like bunnies!

Oh, and for the wheels, when I cut the marshmallows, the inside is rather sticky, so I didn’t bother attaching with icing – I just slapped the wheels against the car body and used a round toothpick as an axle.

My goodness, these were such fun.

Cute & Easy Easter Crafts

I had to share some links I just found tonight. Those of you following my Pinterest board can find them there, also.

You can see the clever but quick-and-easy Easter Bunny race cars in the photo. The person who dreamed these up is a genius...the link for the instructions for these is here.

Also, the other photo is a cute chocolate donut Easter basket - another really clever idea, and the link for that one is right here.

At yet another link, here, you'll find quite a few quick-and-easy Easter basket ideas. The menu at the top of the site page shows several Easter DIY categories. What I especially like is that if you are looking for something a bit more spiritual, you can find Resurrection cookies, Empty Tomb treats, Crown of Thorns snacks, and a lot more.

This site is managed by Oriental Trading Co., and I had no idea they had so many quick-and-easy craft ideas at their site. I've purchased craft supplies from them for years and never thought of them this way. You can bet I'll be exploring all their craft ideas over the coming months.

Have fun!

Links to Easy Lenten/Easter Crafts Incl Palm Weaving

Thought I ought to post this while there is still time for folks to play with some of these quick-and-easy Lenten/Easter DIY projects. The easiest way to see them all is to go to my Pinterest board, here.

At this spot, you'll find the tute for these beautiful felt daffodils. These are probably the only flowers I could handle without killing them. And, I think I could easily do them without any sewing. I am definitely sewing-challenged. The only thing I can do reasonably well with a needle is sew on a button (sigh).

Here, too, you'll find links to palm-weaving projects and even a source or two to buy palm fronds in bulk. When I was little, we used to weave the palm into little baskets and pin them to the lapels of our Easter outfits. I had a dear friend whose father used to make palm roses and lots of other projects each year for them.

There are even no-cooking food ideas like little bunny and duckie pretzel treats and little marshmallow lambs.

Maybe I can add more while there is still time.

Have fun!

DIY Easter Printables - Egg Wrappers and Letters from the Easter Bunny

It's getting close to Easter now and time might be short for some of you. Thought I'd share a site with a ton of great Easter printables. Read carefully below to see how to be sure you see them all (Easter bunny letters, egg wrappers, coloring pages, etc.). The photo shows designs you print, cut and wrap around dyed eggs.

When you go to the site (at this link), be sure to go to the scroll bar on the left and select your category, and scroll down when the page loads.

The photo (from the site) shows printable egg wrappers. At the site, you can choose from a few color themes. You print them and then wrap and tape them around dyed eggs or even around egg-sized candies from the store. Aren't they cute? And all you have to do is print them and cut them out. Select the Easter Crafts category and you'll find both the bunny style and a farmer-and-wife "costume" for your dyed eggs. This category also has printable bunny ears for the kids (or adults) to wear, as well.

This site has a ton of Letters from the Easter Bunny. They have letters for kids, for kids with siblings, for adults, and even religious letters. When you get to this category, be sure to check them all. You'll find a few gag-letters for grownups in here, as well as one for a Secret Easter Bunny. There are even letters for hiding Easter treats for both kids as well as adults.

They have over 20 different coloring pages. These would be nice to roll and tuck into a paper-towel tube and place across the top of the Easter basket.

DIY Marshmallow Lamb Cookies

How about these for a quick-and-easy no-bake Easter treat? The Lamb theme gives parents a good excuse for explaining the season and why Christ is considered our sacrificial lamb. And, they can easily pop into Easter baskets.

Mel's tutorial is on her site, LastMinuteMel, at this link. She has great step-by-step instructions and photos (the photo in this post is from her tutorial). You need very few ingredients and they are quick-and-easy, something dear to my heart.

I love being able to tie in Easter fun with the Christian theme.

While you are at Mel's site, check out her no-bake marshmallow bunnies.

I found these in one of my daily emailed newsletters from CraftGossip.

Palm Sunday Palm Weaving Projects

I almost forgot to post this in time this year. I won't re-write last year's post because it has all the links and all the info for making lots of projects from your Palm Sunday palm fronds. Just go to this link for all the information and all the links.

The links will give you patterns for making lapel-size baskets, birds, braids, rosebuds, fishes, several types of crosses, and the crown of thorns, among other designs.

I also have links to three sources of palms that you can buy during the years and work on these projects in advance. If you are Catholic, you would then have them blessed for Palm Sunday.

I just re-tested all the links and updated one or two, so even though it is an older post, all the links work as of today.

Also, I tagged this as Crafts because the techniques can be used with basketry and/or some ribbons for the rosebud, braids, etc.

DIY Easter Treats - Bunny & Duckie Pretzels

I didn't plan to look for any craft ideas for the Easter season which used ducks or chicks or things like that, but this one fell into my lap (or, rather, into my email inbox) and I had to share it with you. I especially like to share quick-and-easy projects like this one

The photos, along with her instructions and list of ingredients, are from Kendra's website, StopLookinGetCookin, at this link. Everything is fairly easy to find in the baking goods section of the grocery or in craft stores.

Kendra's "About Me" page says that she is not very creative, cooking-wise, but she obviously doesn't recognize her own creativity. On the page for these Easter treats, she also gives links for several other pretzel ideas (ladybugs and Pacman) and for another Easter treat idea (Pound Cake Carrots). Be sure to check them out.

This came in one of my daily e-newsletters from CraftGossip.

DIY Easter Basket Gift - Money Tree Seeds

These packets of shiny pennies make great alternatives to candy and sweets and useless junk toys as Easter basket stuffers. They are easy to make if you start accumulating shiny pennies right now. You can always get your friends to save them for you, too.

My tutorial for these is at this link, along with ideas of how else to use them or team them with another gift.

In an earlier tutorial, here, I also mention how you can use them as a spiritual tool, too, because of the In God We Trust motto on each one.

At one time, I sold these in my Etsy shop, but I had to stop for a few reasons. They were too heavy and the postage to ship them made the shipping cost too high for economical online buying. They confused one customer who actually thought she was buying mint-condition collectible coins, which I did not say anywhere in my description. So, it is much more sensible to share the project as a DIY project.

What a great way to celebrate Easter!

DIY Printable Easter Set for Youngsters

Now this is a great idea for the young ones to make. It's just in time for Holy Week. The images are downloadable from Lacy's website, CatholicIcing, at this link. It is a great idea for any Christian family!

I love Lacy's photos and tutorial. She took the time to design all the images. You just download the files and print them. Then you paste around tissue tubes. Wait until you see how she made the unique tomb, complete with a roll-away stone so He can rise on Easter Sunday!

This is a great idea. The kids can help paste and color and share completely in the Easter story. In fact, why let the kids have all the fun? I might make one myself, just to have displayed somewhere, maybe even in my bedroom on the dresser, to help me keep focused as the Lenten days move along.

DIY Easter/Spring - Felt Daffodils

Although I am sharing a great quick-and-easy project for Spring, in general, I have decided to skip doing any DIYs for Easter, on the whole. The reasons are in a post I wrote last week about my Pre-Lenten Thoughts. After you read that post, you'll know why I will be avoiding baby ducks and chicks and bunnies.

I might, however, post other DIYs for Easter and/or Spring, but they will be only when, and if, I find something that fits with my way of celebrating Easter this year. Perhaps angels, or crosses, or woven palm projects for Palm Sunday, or similar projects.

I hope you understand.

Meanwhile, there were many gift ideas in my Christmas DIY series of 97 projects and in my Valentine's Day DIY series of 31 projects. Lots of those are also suitable for Easter, I am sure. I'm going to try to gather them onto one page so you can quickly skim through the photos and click on what interests you. Be patient with me on that - I have no idea of how to even begin.

Tonight, I had to share this great tutorial with you. These flowers would be wonderful for Easter and Spring and even Mother's Day. A single bloom or a whole arrangement - it's up to you.

The tutorial is over at WhileSheNaps, at this link. Abby includes a downloadable template for the blossom's parts, so it can't be any easier than that. Her tutorial includes excellent photos and great text tips.

Although she use a small amount of machine stitching, she explains that hand-sewing works, too. For me, needle-and-thread-challenged as I am, I might try something like Liquid Stitch or one of the newer adhesive products for part of the stitching, whatever will work with felt.

I just fell completely in love with these. I think you will, too.

I found these in one of my daily emails from CraftGossip.

Craft-y Tip: Money Tree Seeds

About three years ago, I started making Money Tree Seeds for quick gifts. I take 25 shiny pennies and put them in a zippered plastic bag (2” x 3”). They could just as easily go into a piece of nylon net or a small drawstring pouch. I print labels from my computer with a verse (included here). The verse could just as easily be printed in Calligraphy on a card.


The verse:
Money Tree Seeds
Plant these seeds in a safe, dark place
And over the course of the coming year
Plant a few more seeds day be day
And in time, a money tree will appear!

These make wonderful thank-you gifts, birthday gifts, Easter basket stuffers, any kind of last-minute gift. They also make great Hanukkah “gelt” gifts! If I get a chance, I'll post a photo here soon.

There’s been a story circulating around the internet for years, about how a penny is a good way to pray. Every penny we pick up off the street, every penny we get in change, has “In God We Trust.” What a powerful yet simple way to remind ourselves what life is all about.

I’ve been saving all my shiny pennies in a jar. Time was when we could “clean” old pennies with lemon and salt, or vinegar and salt, but now, when I try it, it corrodes the pennies if I leave them in the solution too long. They are not copper through-and-through anymore, and the cladding must have something to do with it. Still, saving the shiny ones sure cuts down on my wondering what to do with all those pennies. I just give them away and let somebody else worry about what to do with them ;-)

Thank you, Dear Lord, for a way to share the wealth, small at first, but great in time.