Easter fun with paper dolls and

Welcome!

courtesy Indygo Junction

Let's start today's blog off with a paper cutting frenzied start!!

Paper Doll paper cutting frenzy that is!

You know I always have to fit in a Barbie or two...

:0)

This is a charming set of paper dolls, by month.

I chose February and March as they both seemed to have some 'Easter' type clothes and extras.

Be sure to print the pages with dolls and accessories onto card stock.

 Be sure to print the one above on cardstock!

These were all courtesy from a new web site I found:

www.bonecasdepapel.blogspot.com

WARNING

My anti-virus program seemed to find several things 

that it found threatening on the above blog site. 

Use with caution.

We have Kapersky.

courtesy Indygo Junction.

They have charming downloadables plus more.

Here is a set called "Ginny"

It is from www.origamibears.com - an outstanding site for paper dolls!

courtesy OrigamiBears

"Remember that your children

are not your own,

but are lent to you

by the Creator."

- Mohawk Proverb

vintage hand sewn baby bib, www.susaninpenna.etsy.com

porcelain Russian Easter Eggs, www.fanpop.com

Here are a couple of paper dolls from the Jack & Jill magazine:

and

"Children are a great comfort

in your old age -

and they help you reach it

faster, too."

- Lionel Kauffman

Next I have two Joan Walsh Anglund Easter pages:

I love the bunny in that one!!

Here is a little cut & play village. 

Wouldn't it be cute with some of the paper dolls?

Try re-sizing a few times to get it to just the right size!

Another page the kids can cut out... yeah!

Have you seen those safety scissors that will not cut kids? I couldn't believe they would work, until I tried some. They really do work on paper! There is no metal involved, another plus. Mine are hot pink!

Remember those old silver metal safety scissors with the blunt tips?

I would get so frustrated because they wouldn't cut well! Probably had cut too  many cardboard tubes and play dough...

courtesy OrigamiBears

Even though I have shared Gentle Julia before, I thought her dresses looked very 'old-time Easter'. Enjoy!

crochet bunnies with tails, www.HolidayMemories.etsy.com

Large size zip-lock baggies are perfect to carry around paper dolls and all their accessories and clothes. Also, they are quieter than a manila envelope.

Be sure to put in your paper doll 'goodie' bag: pages of paper dolls, appropriate to age, safety scissors, crayons, colored pencils, a pencil sharpener (manual only) and an extra baggie to hold crayon/pencil shavings.  Tailor this to the age of the kids that will be playing with them. I would also have a file folder with kids pages of activities and coloring pages.

If you're not including paper dolls, then have a coloring 'goodie' bag of:

coloring sheets and activity sheets, crayons, snack baggies if you will be giving crayons to children that are not sitting together, and a crayon sharpener with shavings baggie if needed. Usually for an hour or two service, I would not bother with a crayon sharpener at all.

Want to be a favorite aunt/uncle/friend?

Put in the goodie bags a small baggie of snacks for each child.

BE SURE TO CHECK WITH PARENTS FOR FOOD ALLERGIES!!!

Try things like: cheerios cereal, raisins, craisins (dried cranberries), plain unsalted almonds, M&Ms (just a few), Rice chex cereal, and pretzel sticks.

Remember:

You really don't want chocolate to muss up all those pretty Easter clothes!

Well, that pretty much winds up today.

Here is a poster/photo that I just love!

www.truthforlife.org

inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com

and on pinterest: kkloberdans

Easter Egg-cellent!

Good morning!

Or afternoon.....or night....depends on where in the world you are!



I have just been checking my 'stats' and am thrilled to see I have had folks from Spain, Malaysia, Israel, Egypt, Russia, South Korea, Mexico, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Italy visit - in addition to the United States!!!

Wow! Thanks for spreading the news of my blog! :0)

Today's focus is on Easter Eggs!



As I was looking through my files and some searches on Google, I had so much fun checking out all the pretty eggs! I have taken photos of the first batch of eggs that I have decorated this year, and hope to download them to edit later today.
Let's start with these lovelies:

Simple directions:

Start out with plastic eggs. Yep, plastic!
Apply various stickers - in this case multi-colored dots.
You're done!  What a great craft for little ones to participate in.

Now another idea:

Start by dying hard boiled eggs in various shades. Use those cheap Easter Egg dye kits! I get mine at the Dollar Store.

Get out your wonderful Aleene's Tacky Glue in the gold bottle, and scraps of ribbon, little silk flowers and stick on flat back rhinestones.
Check out the photos for placement ideas.
The artist as also used tiny felt flowers and a small covered button.
Beautiful!

Many churches do not have 'children's hour' during the Easter Sunday service. I think this is great. Even little ones need to learn how to behave during a church service (or a concert, or a play...). Most churches have some kind of special service to celebrate the Risen Saviour. Our church always has a terrific choir cantata. The kids don't have to sit through a (very long to them) sermon (Pastor does have a short sermon however!), and can celebrate with the music, even if they are too little to understand the words yet.



So, what are those kids supposed to do during that time? I think it is unreasonable to expect children to all of a sudden be quiet for perhaps a one and one half hour service, much of it sitting.

I know some parents bring an assortment of crayons and coloring pages. But why are the kids coloring Tinker Bell in church? Let's at least use that coloring time for a subject that relates to the service.

When I was growing up Dad often asked my sister and I, after church, what we learned that Sunday. Oooo, I hated that! That meant I had to pay attention to at least part of the service to be able to answer him! (My sister perfected the "open eyes sound asleep" thing. I was so jealous!)



So, here's my suggestion:

Go back through some of my blogs, and print out the coloring pages that you think would be relative to an Easter Sunday service.

Not a parent?

That's okay! You may be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin or just the lady that sits behind the family with kids.

BE PREPARED!!

Here are a few pages to get you started:

Here is another simple but oh-so-pretty Easter Egg project for displays:

First the hard part:
Blow out the eggs.
That means taking a T pin (or corsage pin) and poke a hole in the top (pointed) end of the egg. Take a smaller pin and poke a hole in the bottom. Now go back to the pointy end. Make the hole larger, to be able to fit a few thin stems of flowers. Really, not too big!
Now....Blow through the tiny pricked end, and the raw egg will come out the bigger hole.
Yeah, that's the only way to do it that I have discovered.
Keep blowing. You can encourage things by poking the yolk inside with your Tpin to break things up.
Keep blowing until empty.
Sit, let the oxygen return to your brain.
Do another one!

Now take a nice paper cup - not the styrofoam unless that is all you have. Trim the cup to go half way up the egg. Tall enough so the egg doesn't topple over.
You can add a few glass marbles to the bottom to prevent tipping also. Make sure you re-adjust the height of the paper cup.

Gather some little silk grass blades, or use Easter Egg crumpled paper grass, or cut your own little snippets of tissue paper or crepe paper into tall leaf blades.

Just before you wish to display, snip some small flowers. Some ideas are johnny-jump-ups, daisies, columbines, pansies, or the small narcissus (daffodils). Fill each egg with water. The tiny hole from the bottom should have 'self healed' so very few water drops should escape. Place flower in top. Place egg vase in the cut paper cups. Arrange a few leaves on the outside. Refer to photo.



Are your eggs leaking too much water? Try a quick dab of hot glue.

Why not use these as name place markers, using a pen to write each name on an egg cup. After nuncheon, the guests can take their own egg vases home.

These eggs were made in the Ukraine, but using traditional Mexican patterns:

I won't go into details on how to make these,

but it involves bee's wax coating the egg,

and then pressing  seed beads into the wax.





Not sure, but the artist perhaps used decals? For instance, dye the hard boiled egg baby yellow. Then apply decal. Smooth edges with a fingernail. Dye egg spring green. Remove the decals, and you get the egg in the top row.

A felted egg with beaded embellishments:

These are painted wood eggs:

Or perhaps we should just wait for the Easter Bunny to decorate our eggs?



So who created the Easter Bunny any-who-how?

Think about it.

Doesn't make sense, other than eggs and rabbits are both strong fertility symbols.

Here's an unusual Easter wannabe Bunny!



American proverbs:

'Don't put all your eggs in one basket' - means:

don't plan on an outcome before it actually happens.

Here is another Easter Egg dying tip:

Place one teaspoon of cooking oil in the prepared dye.

This will make irregular spots on the eggs!

Hope you have enjoyed this Easter Egg-cellent blog!

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

http://www.myinkspired.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com