Crafting an Egg Tree

An Easter Egg tree, that is!

After doing my wine cork Christmas trees, I still had a few styrofoam cones left over and was wondering if there was anything I could do with them besides save them for next year.

Then I looked on Pinterest. There were a lot of Easter Egg trees in there, but they were either all made with pieces of ribbon or those big plastic colored eggs that open up to put candy in. That didn’t really do it for me. Too big and bulky.

So now that I had an idea…how to carry it out? And when I have an idea, I don’t rest until I figure a way to do it.

So I decided to check out my first go-to stop for non-jewelry making projects. Dollar Tree, of course. And luckily they had bags of small pastel colored foam Easter eggs. How perfect! I didn’t have a clue as to how many I’d need, but I figured I’d make several different sized trees, so I’d start with 12 bags. Each had a dozen eggs in them, so I figured I was good.

Then I realized I needed something for the top. I couldn’t use my leftover Christmas tree stars for Easter, but I found some Easter bunny heads on dowel sticks, probably designed for sticking in flower pots, but they were perfect for my trees!

Pleased as I could be with my purchases, I went home and planned my tree. The next day I set up on my kitchen counter and got to work. I don’t use hot glue in my craft studio because it’s too messy and my craft table has a tablecloth on it, and well, you can imagine what a mess that could turn out to be!

Gluing on the eggs was fairly simple; just time consuming. I hadn’t counted, though, on the glue dripping slightly through the eggs on the bottom row and sticking to the counter (it didn’t do that with the wine corks!). Fortunately dried hot glue isn’t that hard to get off if you do it quickly.

What I  hadn’t thought about, though, was how many of those little eggs it took to complete a tree. I’d started making a medium sized one which was almost finished when I realized I probably hadn’t bought enough eggs to quite finish two trees. Oops!

Then I remembered I’d bought over half of the bags of eggs they had at the dollar store, and I knew if I waited, I wouldn’t be able to get enough to make all the trees I wanted to do.

So I headed back to the store and got…eight bags. All they had left. Now what?

Fortunately there was another dollar store a mile or so away so I headed there, hoping they still had them. And as luck would have it, they did!

I bought 32 bags. Almost all they had in the store! I think the cashier thought I’d lost my mind. And I probably had.

But now I had enough to make another set of three trees as well as two more small ones for our granddaughters!

Egg tree assembly is really fairly easy as you can see from the pictures below. You just glue the eggs on in a row starting from the bottom. There will be gaps because of their shape, so I used bits of green moss to fill in the areas where the foam showed through. It’s a bit messy, but when the hot glue dries, trim the moss up as needed. And now you’re ready to put your bunny toppers on. I cut the dowel sticks off the bunny heads from the dollar store and substituted floral wire to make it easier to stick in the foam. And please pardon the quality of the pictures, because I just don’t get the best pictures when I’m creating at the same time!

And one last hint. These take a lot of hot glue, so be sure you have enough glue sticks on hand! I lost count of how many times I had to refill my glue gun! But at least it’s now ready for my next project!

Here Comes the Easter…Flamingo?

Well, they were a big help to Santa last Christmas, so it’s only fair to help out the Easter Bunny. And since Easter colors feature a lot of pink, it’s another holiday the flamingos really enjoy!

So when they told the Easter Bunny they’d be happy to help out this year, that bun-bun wiggled his tail, twitched his little pink nose, and shook his head and ears with a big “yes!” And promptly proceeded to give Henry, the designated Easter Flamingo, and his helpers their assigned route.

So now, the flamingos not only have their own Easter basket route, they even get to put the baskets together as well, from decorating the eggs, selecting the chocolate bunnies and treats (and probably tasting several of them in the process), and then hopping around to their assigned houses, delivering the baskets to the children, and adults, and hiding some special flamingo decorated eggs in the yard to be found later. And most likely a few inside the house as well!

First of all, they had to decorate the Easter eggs. No commercially bought Easter eggs for the flamingos! They just had to design their own. After all, they had an important job to do, and they wanted to make it a spectacularly special flamingo Easter day! And they wanted to be invited to do it again next year. They really liked the idea of an Easter Flamingo!

So they put their creative flamingo minds together and came up with some beautiful egg designs! They even stepped “out of the box” and didn’t make them all pink! Which was quite difficult, since that is their favorite color! What do you think?

And their Easter baskets…again, they put their creativity to work, and designed works of flamingo art to hold their special eggs. They wouldn’t let me show many of them here, because they want their recipients to be surprised. But what do you think of these? I’m sure we’d all be thrilled to find one of these on Easter morning!

Of course, they didn’t stop with Easter eggs and Easter baskets. After all, they ARE flamingos, and they like to do things in a flashy, spectacular way!

So they decided to add some Easter strawberries and cookies to some of their baskets, of course, with a few flamingo cookies arranged here and there just to remind people that the Easter Flamingo was on the job! And I’m really hoping to get some of these….

They also know they’re going to be quite busy Easter morning, and by the time they’re all done, they’re going to need some rest before having their Easter grilled shrimp dinner by the pool. And what better way to relax than with special Easter cocktails created and served by Gustav, the flamingos’ favorite mixologist! Here are some of the amazing concoctions he’s whipping up with his pink wings, just for the Easter Flamingo and his helpers!

Nothing like winding down a great Easter Sunday with peeps and jelly beans. Especially in flamingo-styled cocktails!

Happy Easter from the flamingos, and a special Happy Easter from the Easter Flamingo!

Disclaimer: All content posted here is assumed to be in the public domain. If you find one of your images here and wish it to be removed please contact me.

Photo Sources: Header Photo: Susan Brack – ebsqart.com – 1st Row: marthastewart.com; LiaGriffith.com; source unknown; styleandcheek.com; lifeisaparty.ca; sheknows.com; creativechurchideaattic.com – 2nd Row: – LiaGriffith.com; source unknown; via pinterest; via pinterest; source unknown; via pinterest – 3rd Row: – jackiesbaskets.com; via pinterest; via pinterest; source unknown; via pinterest; treatsbuyterri via Etsy; via pinterest source unknown; via Facebook – 4th Row: via pinterest; fashionablybombed.com; kitchn.com; via pinterest; via pinterest; source unknown; via pinterest; via pinterest