Easy Peasy Easter Art for Toddlers

Toddlers love sticking their fingers into stuff and making a mess, so why not let them at it and make a bit of Easter art out of it? This is how easy it is.

You will need:
Paper
Paint
A small amount of water
At least one child
A waterproof fine point black marker pen

Step 1: Get out some paints (poster paints are good but even those little watercolur sets work too) and a little plastic cup of water. Put an apron or bib on your child to avoid them getting paint on their clothes when they inevitably wipe their hands on what they are wearing.

Step 2: Lay a few sheets of paper on the table. White or pastel colours show up the paint best, I find. 

Step 3: Have your child dip their index fingertip into the water then into the paint. If you are using poster paints it is a good idea to put a small amount onto a plate. If you are using watercolours, get the child to rub their wet finger on their chosen colour of paint until it is well coated with colour.

Step 4: Make fingerprints scattered all over the pages, reloading the fingers with fresh paint as needed.

Step 5: Leave the paint to dry. Wash the child's hands and put away the water and paints. 

Step 6:  For chicks - draw eyes, beaks and wings on the fingerprints
For bunnies - draw eyes, nose, mouth, ears and a fluffy tail on the fingerprints

Step 7: Now you can decide what to do with your little works of art. The ideas I like are:
- Hang the pages up as they are

- Cut out the best creatures and make Easter cards

 - Cut out some of your favourites and glue them to little paper bags. You can then fill these with chocolate eggs and give them as gifts at Easter. As an alternative, you can do the fingerprints straight onto the bag, as we did here:

Heitmann Egg Decorating Set Giveaway

I woke up this morning feeling generous and decided I would hold a little Easter giveaway today! 

Having spent the past week thinking about Easter crafts and what new things to try this year, I thought I would share my favourite egg dye brand with you, because I will definitely be using it again this year. I have already bought several packs in preparation.

We have used Heitmann egg dye for years and years now and have always been really pleased with the results, not to mention the fun we have had deciding on the colours and techniques to use.

The set contains five dyes. All you need to do is dissolve the dye tabs in water and vinegar (the instructions are on the back of the pack in several languages) and then the fun starts. You can create all kinds of patterns and designs on your eggs using simple techniques.

So here is your chance to win! 

Just enter a comment on this post, letting me know your favourite Easter craft and you'll be in with a chance to win one of these little sets. Feel free to share the giveaway details on Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

If you want to leave a link to your own craft ideas, please do. 

I'll choose a winner on Monday 22nd. Good luck everyone! I am excited to hear about your crafts. 

Some of our favourites from last year

Click here for all our Easter posts.

[Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I bought and paid for the Heitmann set myself and the idea of the giveaway is all my own. All words, opinions and photos are my own too. I am just in a generous mood today.]

Easter Crafts with Kids #1 - Mini Easter Garden

The Bavarian picked up this idea somewhere and made these boxes with the kids for me one Easter a couple of years ago. I was flabergasted and absolutely delighted to be brought coffee in bed and a cute box of dyed eggs on Easter Sunday morning. 

Given that there are only a few steps to making these, they are a perfect craft idea for toddlers. You will need:
Enough eggs to fill one egg carton (optional: hardboiled and painted)
2 egg cartons, preferably green
1 toilet roll insert
Coloured paper (for grass and for flowers)
Glue and sticky tape

Begin by cutting the toilet roll insert in half. The two halves will become the petals of the tulips. 

 Glue the coloured paper around the toilet roll halves. Leave to dry for a moment and then cut a zig-zag pattern into the top of each half, as in the photo on the left.

 Per tulip cut one upright from one of your egg cartons and stuff the wide end into the bottom of your tulip. Add some glue to the narrow end and stick it to one of the uprights in the other egg carton. 

Repeat the steps above to make as many tulips as you want.

Fold an A4 piece of green paper in half lengthways. Cut an irregular zig-zag along the fold to create two lenths of paper with blades of grass. Stick the grass all along the outer edges of the egg carton. The fill the carton with eggs to complete your mini Easter garden.