Easter Crafts – 3D Quilled Egg Canvas

This is a real lovely little craft project that mainly involves quilling paper strips and if like me you don’t have yourselves a little quilling tool, then you will require a little patience.

Regardless of the fact I quilled my paper by hand, I later discovered while working on another project, that a pair of tweezers do the job rather well.

For this project you will require…

Quilling strips – 2 colours (I used gold and silver glitter)
Small canvas block
1 Half of a medium size plastic egg (I used one of those alien eggs)
Tacky glue
Black acrylic paint
Medium paint pad or paint brush
Mod podge gloss
Super Glue

Optional…
Quilling tool or tweezers to quill paper
Gem stones or beads

First quill some paper strips. If you have a quilling tool use this or as mentioned tweezers work well. To quill you basically roll the paper really tightly and press it into different shapes. You then secure your chosen shapes with a little glue. You can also roll the ends in the opposite direction for added effect. This is easily done by hand but does take a little longer. Remember when quilling your paper use two different colours quilling an equal number of both (I did about 12 of each colour).

Once your paper quills are ready take your half of plastic egg shell and working in small sections apply a good amount of tacky glue then position the paper quills on top. You can really experiment at this stage! Add the quills to the egg making various patterns or glue together really tightly for that classic quilled look. At this stage you can also add beads or gems to random quills if desired. I’ve done this on various other projects and it looks really good.

Once your design is complete add a very thin layer of mod podge over the top of the egg to give it a glossy finish.

While your egg is drying (20 minutes – 1 hour depending on environment) bring forward your canvas block and black acrylic paint. I find that using a paint pad makes it super quick to cover the block with paint, plus you won’t be left with any brush marks. You can still use a paint brush if you don’t have a pad. I gave my block two coats of paint letting each dry for at least 20 minutes between coats.

Once dry I gave my block one very thin layer of mod podge gloss which I applied with a clean pad.

Once my block was fully dried I brought forward my quilled egg and applied some super glue around the eggs edging before finally securing it to the centre of the canvas block.

And that’s it… Finished.

I think the glittery quills are very pretty and the colour choice really sets it apart from the usual “Easter Colours” of pastel yellows and pinks. The addition of the black canvas block applied as a back drop really works well and together they make the most striking combination.

If you enjoyed this paper quilling project, subscribe to the blog and receive regular updates and posting alerts as I have more paper quilling projects on the way including a really pretty mirror I can’t wait to share.

Easy Handmade Christmas Cards

Its lovely to make your own cards as it shows those you intend on giving them to, that you put effort and thought into it. In my opinion homemade cards are so much nicer than shop brought and I know which one’s I’d rather receive.

For my tartan Christmas card you will need…

Silver shimmery card
Tartan paper
Holographic dots for boarder
Green ribbon
Tiny plain white gift tag
Glue dots
Green glitter pen
Luxury White paper (for the inside of your card)

Firstly you need to fold your silver card in half then cut a square from your tartan paper measuring 10 by 10cms.

Now use a glue dot in each corner to stick your paper to the middle of you’re silver card.

Use your silver holographic dazzle dots to boarder your tartan square

Now take your green holographic dazzle dots and without separating them into individual dots, cut 2 strips (one measuring the length of you’re tartan square and the other measuring the width). Now stick one piece of the boarder down the middle of the tartan square and the other across the middle of your square (they should meet and cross in the centre as to create the effect of a ribbon tied around a gift).

Now, you will need to cut some green ribbon and tie this into a bow. Then cut a smaller piece of the same ribbon, enough to wrap around the centre of your bow. Secure this piece of ribbon with a glue dot. This will make your bow look more neat and tidy.

Now with a glue dot secure the bow to the centre of the tartan square where the holographic boarder meets and crosses.

Once done, place your card to one side and bring forward your very small gift tag. Write a message in the centre of the tag with a black marker (I wrote the words “Just for You”). Now, decorate the tag a little around the edges using your green glitter glue before finally leaving it to dry.

Right, So thats your cards design almost complete. Now, you will need to take your white paper (you know the type you get on the inner section of an expensive Christmas card)? Make sure your paper is that bit smaller than your card as you will need this to sit nicely within your card, it shouldn’t be visible before the card is opened.

Fold the paper and add four glue dots to the four corners of the back of your folded paper and stick it to your card where you would usually write your festive message. Be sure to fit the paper so it opens up in the same direction as your card.

Now lovingly hand write your message to that special someone.

So, Now all that’s left to do is fit the tiny decorated tag to your tartan gift design. For this you will need to take a piece of thin ribbon that is the same colour as your bow (I had to cut my ribbon down to achieve this)! The piece of ribbon should only be a few centimetres in length. Now… thread the ribbon through the tag and join the two ends together to form a loop. Secure the loop with a small blob of tacky glue just under one side of your bow. You can either leave your tag to dangle from the card or secure it with a little embellishment sticky tab like I did.

And that’s it… Your card is now fully complete and ready to be packaged and sealed for that special receiver.

Don’t forget that given you have created the card yourself there is the possibility that a standard envelop won’t be compatible with the size of your card or that of its design.

A great tip is to create your very own handmade envelops with the use of vintage paper or wallpaper. I actually really like using vintage material for mine.

Here’s some other cards I have made… The Christmas tree card is made from sequins and different glittery card pieces. I’ve used other pieces of glittery card scraps for the other two cards too.

How to make a beaded picture

I know Easter has been and gone, though this is a method you could use for other occasions and designs.

Making beaded pictures are a really simple yet fun activity, it’s not all that messy (well, a little) and the end result is pretty effective.

Now you may choke on your tea with complete horror if I told you I did this activity with my 2-year-old toddler! Why? Because this does involve working with small beads. However, Harley really isn’t one for putting alien objects in his mouth, up his nose or even in his ears. I was with him throughout, therefore lots of sticking fun was had. 

Nonetheless, please do note that this activity does require you to work with small beads and sequins, so please be careful with small children, especially those under 3. Only you as a parent knows if your child is suited to an activity so you should therefore do this at your own risk. 

This activity is perfect for improving or aiding the development of a child’s fine motor skills

What you will need…

Some card in a selection of colours

Some thick double-sided tap (white as opposed to clear) 

Selection of beads

Selection of sequins 

Glitter 

Large sheet of black or other coloured card 

Glue stick

scissors

pencil

clear glue

Paint brush

Now we recently got a pack of eggs and baskets made from thin card (the type that require you to fold it along a dotted line leaving you with kinda 3D design). These are meant to be used for an egg hunt but I had other plans. Instead these became the perfect base for our beaded picture. Cutting along the dotted line, rather than folding it, then continuing to cut around the entire shape  I was left with a flat paper egg and basket. These cards were just £1 from poundworld and both perfect and inexpensive (they also make good templates).

However if you cannot get a hold of any, you will need to make your own by drawing a large egg shape on some coloured card and the body of a basket (no handle needed) on another piece of coloured card before finally cutting them out.

Next, lay down lots of newspaper over the space you’re working at and tip a selection of brightly coloured beads and sequins in the middle of the area.

Now, take your thick double-sided tape, adding a strip across the middle of the egg. It’s important that you only remove the outer strip protecting your tape once it’s positioned exactly how you want it! Note you don’t have to add a stripe across the middle, you could do any design that takes your fancy. 

Once protective strip has been removed let your toddler stick the beads to the tape. Top tip, buy white double-sided tape as this way your toddler can see where to stick

his/her beads and sequins.

Let your child stick them at different angles (on their sides, flat etc…) as this gives greater impact making it a fantastic effect.

DO this for both the egg and the basket

Once your child has finished sticking, Mum/Dad should give the beads the once over, giving them a firm press to ensure they are stuck down well.

Next, take the glitter and ensuring the egg and basket shapes are laid on some newspaper, sprinkle the glitter all over the tapped and beaded area, blowing and lightly tapping off any excess (This will cover any gaps between beads which will be much easier to see if using white tape)

Now with the paint brush cover your beaded area in clear glue, giving it a protective and shiny coat (do not use white glue as this will dry white and take away any sparkle you have going. 

Leave to dry for 1-2 hours before using your glue stick to stick down the decorated shapes any way you like on your black card (or which ever colour you chose). 

We chose black as I felt this helped our creation to really stand out.

So, there you have it! A beaded Easter Egg picture that’s both inexpensive to create and loads of fun to make.

 Why not try it yourself?