Nature Inspired Easter Craft

Easter Craft Painted with Flowers

Spring is here, and it’s almost Easter!  To celebrate both exciting events, my daughter and I decided to make an Easter craft using a little springtime nature for our inspiration.  Our project proceeded as follows:

1. I created a bunny template and cut it out of recycled drawing paper.  You can create any template or just use a page of drawing paper.  Since Easter is coming soon, I decided to make a bunny.  Eggs and birds would also make nice templates for this time of year.

   

   Simple Bunny Template

2. Then, my daughter and I took a walk outside to look for flowers and leaves that would make nice paint brushes or stamps.  When doing this, it is important to remember that the stems and flowers need to be somewhat strong enough to hold paint and keep the shape of the flower or leaf.  Also as a rule, we never cut flowers or leaves if there are not many available (unless they are weeds).  To supplement the variety of flowers we found in the yard, I purchased a small bundle of Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farm flowers from a local store (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/multimedia/show-your-love).

   

   Hunting for Flowers

   
   

   

   Mostly Weeds

3. Once we collected all of our paint brushes/stamps, we arranged our craft table for our paint project.  I put together a plate with spring-colored, acrylic paints for my daughter to dip the flowers and leaves into for this project. 
4. My daughter picked one flower or leaf at a time and dipped it into a paint color (starting with the lightest colors first).  She blotted the flower or leaf onto the bunny template in a few places and then went on to using the next flower or leaf and a new color.
5. After the bunny template was evenly covered with paint to my daughter’s satisfaction, we waited for it to dry.

   

   Hard at Work

   
   

   

   Painting with Flowers

   
   

   

   A Fun Way to Paint

6. Lastly, my daughter glued a white cotton ball to the rump of the painted bunny.

While my daughter thoroughly enjoyed painting this way, we also loved our hunt for flowers.  It was an excellent opportunity to remind her to take care when working with plants.  After all, they are alive too!  Cutting, trimming, and clipping plants can be beneficial to the plant if done the proper way.  But picking leaves off a plant for no reason can actually hurt the plant if it is done too much.  This outing was the perfect time to demonstrate how to collect flowers and leaves.  Our hunt for flowers was also a prime time to talk about seasonal changes.  During the winter, many plants didn't look very good.  They were still alive, but dormant (or resting).  But now, new growth is showing with new leaves and flowers.  

Zebra Longwing Butterfly Enjoying Lantana

I had a pleasant walk in nature with my little girl collecting flowers and leaves.  It was a joy to witness her excitement while finding signs of spring in the plants around the yard.  You can have the same experience too!  Have fun and enjoy your spring!