DIY Life

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Michaels Stores, Inc., has issued a voluntary recall of about 310,000 seasonal writing pens. The surface coating on each of the Flower Writers, Christmas Writers, Easter Writers, and Spooky Writers pens, contain high levels of lead which violates the federal lead paint standard.

Manufactured in China and sold exclusively at Michaels retail stores from August 2007 through March 2008 for about $1, the recalled pens were sold individually as part of a series of four pens. Each pen has decorative ornamentation. Please check the CPSC press release for more information.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled pens and return them to any Michaels store for a full refund. For more information on the product recall, contact (800) 642-4235 / (800) MICHAELS, or visit their website; www.michaels.com.

Easter is upon us. While the majority of us will be coloring our hard boiled eggs with the kiddies this weekend and putting up all the kid crafted holiday decorations, some of us will be blowing out our raw eggs to make pretty decorations and gorgeous works of art.

Instructables user KaptinScarlet has awesome directions and pictures that tell us how to blow out an egg and get it ready to paint into an awesome Dragon's Egg. After you puncture the holes, and the egg is washed, give the egg to your pint sized person and have him or her blow out the contents of the egg for you.

You'll need plenty of patience, hot glue, spray paint in various Dragon colors, and acrylic paint to give the egg a distressed look and also to make it look like it has been around gathering dirt for about a gazillion years. You'll also need a cocktail stick to pop in one end of the egg so that you have something to hold while not gluing your fingers together.

Once your egg is completed and gorgeous enough that a Dragon would want to steal it, check out KaptinScarlet's other projects on dadcando.com. He says you'll need a special egg stand to display your egg, and a special box to keep the Dragon's Egg in.

Are you as tired as I am of modern easter egg decorating? No, I mean coloring them is still cool; the thing I don't get is putting stickers on them and calling it creative. Huh? That's just wrong. Plus, the sticker is probably made in China, and who knows what's in that adhesive? Lead? Anti-freeze?

Anyhow, I got this great tip from Kodak tips and projects. The kiddos can still get their sticker fix -- and be creative and process-oriented at the same time. Hey, that's three birds with one stone! For this decorating project, you'll need:

• Eggs (of course!)
• Paint brush
• Decoupage glue
• Regular printer paper (not photo)
• Photos (Let your child get creative here)
• Scissors
  

Let's get started!

1. Let your child go wild with the digital camera.
2. Print the pictures on printer paper.
3. Center the egg on the photo.
4. Trace around (rather, a-oval) it and cut it out.
5. Make snips around the edges so it will conform to the shape of the egg.
6. Brush glue onto the egg and smooth the photo onto it.
7. Apply a thin protective coat of glue over the photo.
8. Get pumped up to go a-huntin'!

Earlier today, in the first part of this series, I posted 25 free patterns for lovable rabbits and baby sheep to knit.

Knitting is dandy, but what if you prefer a hook to a handful of needles? You're not alone: I've also come to love crochet just as much as I love knitting. Also, the knit-able patterns were heavy on bunnies, with very few lambs; crochet designers have balanced that with some absurdly cute lamb amigurumi patterns.

Between Part I and Part II, there are more than 50 patterns. However, all the commentary you'll need on yarn choices, eyes, noses, knit and crochet tips, and so on is back in the first post with the knitting patterns. For the crochet patterns, read on after the break!

With Easter coming later this week, I have bunnies and lambs on the brain. Although I may secretly just be indulging my own interest in the extreme cuteness of baby animals (against which I can fairly be described as "powerless"), I can't think of a better excuse to find as many adorable free patterns as I can... and post them up here for you.

Most of these are easy: there are plenty of little friends here that you should be able to make up in an evening or two. But if it takes you longer, no worries -- bunnies and lambs are great anytime! And if you don't want to make toys, there are patterns for household items here, too, like plenty of bunny-shaped egg cozies.

You'll find more than 50 squee-worthy ideas, between the ones after the break and the ones in Part II (coming up later today).

Easter is coming up pretty quickly. I love gift giving every single holiday, but it's not the easiest thing in the world to find something that you can craft up to give to an adult.

I love sachet beads, and all the wonderful things you can do with them. And whenever I saw these plastic bunnies and chicks that you would normally fill with candy and toys, I knew exactly what I could do with them.

You can buy pre-scented sachet beads, or the unscented ones in bulk. If you are using the pre-scented, simply fill the plastic animal, and you're done. But if you're like me and like to customize things, you can buy candle or soap fragrance oils to scent the beads.

Just pour some sachet beads into a glass container and add fragrance oil to your liking. I usually eyeball/nose it, so just add however much you prefer. Close the lid on your container, and shake, making sure to coat all of the beads.

Let the beads and oil mixture sit overnight, allowing the beads to absorb the oil.

The next day, fill up your plastic critters! Luckily, the ones I bought have tiny holes pre-drilled into the top, and this allows you to control the amount of scent. If you prefer a lot of scent, just unscrew the top.

Leave the harsh food-colorings and egg decorating kits on the shelf. This Easter try something new and natural: dye your Easter eggs with natural coloring.

This handy table lists the various ways that you can achieve rich natural colors. Complete with a description of the color along with mixture and setting instructions, you'll be ready to make your own dyes.

Boiled onion skins for example, will give a deep yellow/gold coloring. A blue/teal color is derived from chopped red cabbage and vinegar, while simmering an egg in grape juice will give you a blue/purple stain.

Canned produce results in a lighter color, while adding vinegar deepens the pigment. Setting times vary among dying agents so keep the table on hand for reference. Make sure you leave extra time for your project because some colors require overnight setting.

Making natural dyes isn't just a way to achieve more earthy colors, and better looking eggs, but a fun challenge for your holiday weekend.

Easter is coming up in a few days, and since the kids are home from school on spring break, it is time to get the house decorated. In other words, get them busy coloring eggs, making an Easter basket, and turducken too.

Decorating the house for Easter is just as important as any other holiday, especially if the Easter Bunny is to know to come to the right house. You can let him know he is at the right house by sprucing up your windows with these awesome kid painted window silhouettes. You'll need clear contact paper, masking tape, acrylic paint, paint brushes, and fine sandpaper.

The directions and accompanying pictures are super easy to follow, and easy enough for little kids to follow too. Let them slap on whatever color paint they want. After all, it is their holiday, and The Bunny is coming for their sakes, not ours. For a little more adult theme, and a project that older kids can follow, check out this post on making window clings with your kids, using ready made pics.

[via: Craft]

Spring is almost here! As this week's kiddie craft, we're making mini terra-cotta wind-chimes. I let my boys make them because we're giving them to grandma and great-grandma as Easter gifts, and I guess it wouldn't really be a kiddie craft if I took over.

Still, the temptation was there, because I think I could have made something really beautiful (yeah, yeah, my kids did a beautiful job too!). So, even if you're not working with kids, I hope you'll try this one, and craft a hand-painted wind-chime for yourself or a friend.

If you are working without children, you could use larger pots and a strong rope to hold things together. The bigger the pot the less "chimey" the sound, but I think the heavier sound would be cool too. Anyway, enough daydreaming about what I could have done with this project. It is a kiddie craft, and a great one at that, so here it is... after the break, of course.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do on Easter morning was to hunt for my basket. I knew that my mom would fill it to the brim with chocolate, and I looked forward to the milk chocolate Easter bunny. I always bypassed the jelly beans and the Peeps just to get to that bunny, and I would keep my fingers crossed that it would be solid chocolate, all the way through.

For those of us who love our chocolate, receiving a hollow bunny is always a disappointment. Really, what is the point of an empty, air-filled chocolate bunny? Maybe to make an Easter turducken! You'll need miniature Cadbury creme eggs, marshmallow Peeps, and a hollow chocolate bunny. Make a slit in the Peep, stuff it with the Cadbury creme egg, and stuff that pregnant Peep into the bunny.

Voila!, an end to the horrible hollow bunny. Since this candy rabbit version of Turducken is very high in calories, you may want to eat just a few bites at a time. You may also want to stick to the traditional Easter ham, but if you aren't worried about calories, go ahead and make Turducken for your Easter table.

[via: BoingBoing]

Easter is my favorite holiday, and the kid in me still looks forward to coloring eggs and waking up Easter Sunday morning to find the hidden basket of eggs, toys and chocolate. Of course, now I do the basket hiding, but it is still fun to watch kids find their basket.

This year, you can save some green by letting your kids make their very own Easter basket. Let them pick out the color of the cotton fabric, and weave the fabric around the stiff rope. Adult supervision is necessary when using the tapestry needle.

Once your little ones have the dimensions they want in their handmade Easter basket, you can help them make the handle for their basket. Don't forget to take pictures for Grandma and Grandpa; they'll want to see the kid crafted basket too. Top off their Easter basket with plenty of chocolate, leaving room for these pretty dyed eggs.

One of the most fun and educational things you can do with your child(ren) is to start your own garden.

You don't have to make it a veggie garden, although eating what they grow does tend to intrigue the little ones. You can do a flower garden, a butterfly garden, or a cactus garden, to name a few.

I am also going to teach you how to add another twist to it. You and the small ones can build a garden that moves!

Why make a mobile garden? A mobile garden means you can change locations so you can use different plants at different times of the year that have different sunlight requirements. It also means that you can bring the garden to you when you want to work on it. Details after the break!

Easter falls on March 23rd this year, which isn't exactly right around the corner, but is a little earlier than usual. My kids, thus far, have been pretty happy just dunking their Easter eggs into a cup filled with food coloring, usually over and over and over again, until all the colors blend together and we end up with about a dozen or so brownish eggs to display. This year, though, I think they'll be ready for something a little more crafty.

Family Fun has a lot of interesting ideas to jazz up your eggs this year. For instance, try wrapping a rubber band around the egg before dipping it. Or make pictures on your eggs using art tissue paper. You can even color a still-warm hard boiled egg with crayons.

Older kids and fun-loving adults might want to get a little more sophisticated. Try this Ukrainian version of dyeing eggs that uses melted beeswax, or use vinyl adhesive to make beautifully stenciled eggs. These glittered eggs are gorgeous, as well. Keep in mind that when using products that aren't food safe, you'll need to blow out the egg before decorating.

What's your favorite way to decorate an egg?

Rubber bands have come up many times in our DIY posts. They are one of those project necessities, serving multiple functions and hosting some of the most creative hacks. I have a little baggie of elastic bands in my junk drawer. They always come in handy, but typically, for simple uses. Consider these slamming suggestions for the humble rubber band and discover some more interesting ways to draw from your rubber band collection.

While I'm a bit skeptical about the suggestion that they could be used as a toddler toilet paper lock, I do love her description of the painted eggs. I remember making these in elementary school, and we used this same technique. It worked really well and was super simple. Stretch elastics around the egg. When you dip the egg in dye, the places where the elastic covered will not get colored. Use different widths and patterns at different stages in the dye process and you'll end up with a really cool looking pattern.