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Easy DIY projects, plants the pros swear by, and one multitasking potting shed
Get Crafty!
Five creative ways to celebrate Easter
Feather your nest with papier-mâché.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANA GALLAGHER
Take a page from the grade-school activity book with these delicate candy dishes, made using shredded brown lunch bags and sheets from an old dictionary. Tightly cover a small bowl with plastic wrap, then flip the bowl upside down on wax paper. In another container, mix equal parts water and clear glue. Dip handfuls of shredded paper into the glue mixture, then immediately lay them on the bowl until it’s covered. Lightly press dry paper strips along the outside to create a “nesty” look. Let dry for 12 hours; carefully pull the wrap off the bowl and away from the nest.
Continued on next page > Written by Jourdan Crouch
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Goody bags for spring chickens Give party guests something to chirp about with customized candy sacks. STEP ONE Download and print our chick template at countryliving .com/chicktemplate. Cut as directed. STEP TWO Center the stencil on the front of a 3½"W x 6¾"H white paper bag ($3.29 for 16; michaels .com for stores). Use a pencil to trace the chick outline onto the bag. STEP THREE Slide a small piece of cardboard inside the bag to serve as a cutting mat. Cut out the chick outline with an X-Acto knife, then discard the cut piece. Erase any remaining pencil marks. STEP FOUR Cut a 3"W x 4"H square of cellophane. Using a glue stick like Elmer’s All Purpose ($2.92; acmoore.com), apply a bit of glue to your finger and run it around the perimeter of the chick outline inside the bag. Slide the cellophane square into the bag and press to adhere. STEP FIVE Fold the top of the bag over, then use a hole punch to make two evenly spaced holes in the folded paper. Fill the bag with candy; finish with a ribbon. Repeat for each bag.
Pin on a playful Easter brooch.
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GO TO COUNTRYLIVING.COM/EASTERBROOCH
PHOTOGRAPH BY (PIN) MIKI DUISTERHOF
Follow the lead of Anthropologie stylist Halligan Norris, who fashioned this wearable collage by gluing a spirited mix of craft and floral supplies to a wooden egg-shaped disk (29 cents; michaels.com for stores). Using this photo to spark your imagination, gather your own embellishments—such as costume pearls, natural moss, vintage faux-flowers ($10 for six; tinseltrading.com), and plastic critters ($2.49 each; anwo.com). Arrange the items to your liking, then affix them to the disk with E6000 craft adhesive ($2.39 for one ounce; save-oncrafts.com), following package directions. With the same glue, affix a pin back ($2.29 for 60 pack; createforless.com) to a top center point on the disk’s back; let dry, then wear the brooch with your Sunday best.
for three more inspiring brooch examples.
To-dye-for botanical eggs The secret to these mini masterpieces? Foliage and flowers gathered from the garden. Blogger Sonia Bauer (bigsislilsis.com) of Oceanside, California, simply positioned a blossom or a leaf facedown against each egg, then wrapped the egg in a four-inch square of panty hose and secured it with a twist tie. To achieve these earthy hues, Bauer whipped up her own dyes using purple cabbage, yellow onions, and cranberries. For her natural-dye recipe, see Shop Guide, page 144.
SEE SHOP GUIDE, page 144, for the natural-dye recipe used to color these exquisite eggs.
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Play it by ear! To stitch up one of these kid-friendly accessories, you’ll need a child-size headband ($3.99; drugstore.com) and 1½ yards of ½-inch-wide doublefold bias tape. (For a range of prints, from $9.50 for three yards, visit etsy.com/shop/ pollydangernotions.) STEP ONE Cut an 18½inch-long piece of bias tape. Hem the cut ends under ½ inch on each side, then stitch together the long side to form a casing. Fold the casing in half so that the ends touch and use a straight pin to mark the fold’s center. STEP TWO Feed an extra-thick, 12-inch-long pipe cleaner through one end of the casing, stopping at the pin. Feed a second pipe cleaner through the casing’s other end until it, too, meets the pin; remove pin. Bring the casing’s open ends toward each other and twist the exposed pipe cleaners together to form a rabbit ear shape. Repeat steps one and two to make a second ear. STEP THREE Cut a piece of bias tape the length of the headband, plus one extra inch. Wrap the tape over the headband, then use pins to mark the two spots where you want to attach the ears (use the photo at left for guidance). STEP FOUR Remove the tape from the headband and stitch the long side together, from the pins out to both ends of the tape; stitch these ends closed, and remove pins. Twist the ears’ pipe-cleaner ends around the headband in the desired spots, then slide each end of the headband into the casing. Use a needle and thread to slip-stitch the tape around and between the ears closed.
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