Holiday ideas

E A S T E R TA B L E C E N T R E P I E C E

You will need Eggs, a cup, food dye, vinegar, a spoon, white paint, paintbrush, feathers in diferent sizes, a glue stick, a container (such as a tray, dish, bowl), a vase or tall glass, moss, sticks or pussy willow, bulbed flowers, spring flowers

1 To dye the eggs, fill a cup with enough boiling water to cover the egg. Add food colouring and 1 tsp of vinegar. Add the egg carefully, using a spoon, then leave to soak for at least 5 mins – or longer if you want a stronger colour. Remove the egg from the cup with a spoon and leave to dry. 2 To decorate the eggs with feathers, first ensure the eggs are clean. Paint them with white paint; they may need a few coats. Leave to dry. Select small feathers that will fit onto each egg. Using a glue stick, apply glue onto the side of the egg. Place the feather (you may need to trim the stem) over the glue and pat in place. Leave to dry. 3 To make the arrangement, start with the vase or tall glass. Remove the bulbed plant from its pot and remove the loose soil. Wrap the roots in moss, then position the plant inside the vase. Add extra moss to cover any soil on show. 4 Place the vase in the centre of the container, then surround the base of it with more moss. 5 Add sticks or pussy willow and decorative eggs around the edges of the container. 6 Carefully remove the tops of some of the coloured eggs and discard the actual egg inside, leaving the coloured shell. Position these around the vase, and place feathers around the egg shells. Pour a little water into the open egg shells to make a little vase, then fill them with small spring flowers. 7 Add more decorated eggs and sticks to the inside of the vase, if there’s space. Now you’re ready to set the centerpiece in place on the table! T O P T I P

Hang with lots of other strings of bunting for maximum effect.

S P R I N G B U N T I N G

You will need Coloured paper, a pencil, a paper punch or scissors, cardboard, sewing machine or a needle and thread

1 Choose your design shape. You can use paper punches to cut out lots of shapes at the same time, or make a template from a piece of cardboard. Draw around the template and cut out enough shapes so you have 4 pieces for each bunting ‘flag’. We have 20 flags, so we cut out 80 paper shapes per bunting strip. 2 Layer up the flags so you have 4 shapes lined up perfectly. Fold the top piece in half, then open it out so you can see where the centre line is. 3 With a sewing machine or needle and thread, sew along the centre line to keep all 4 pieces in place. Leave at least 15cm of thread loose before sewing, and end with 15cm of thread so that you can easily tie the bunting up. 4 Leave a line of thread that’s around 2-4cm long between each set of shapes, and continue sewing until you have no shapes left. 5 Once finished, fold all the shapes along the centre line and fan them out so the flags look 3D. Hang in place with the loose threads.

TOP TABLE

Make meals eggs-tra fun

Easter paper table cover, £1; Easter napkins 20-pack, £1

L E A F W R E AT H

You will need Thick cardboard, round plates in different sizes, a pen, glue, scissors, evergreen leaves, kitchen paper, acrylic paints, paintbrush, ribbon

1 On the cardboard draw around 2 plates to create a ring shape. Cut out the ring. Repeat this, making 2 more rings, each a bit smaller than the last. Glue the rings centrally on top of each other to create a curved wreath base so the leaves don’t sit flat. 2 Tie a piece of ribbon around the top of the wreath for hanging later. 3 Gather the leaves and dry them with kitchen paper. 4 Split your leaves into 4 groups and paint 3 groups pretty spring colours. Leave to dry thoroughly. 5 To attach the leaves, start at the bottom of the wreath base. Glue leaves at their stem so they are splayed outwards. Add the next layer of leaves so they cover where the first leaves were glued, and so on, until no stems can be seen. 6 Add leaves all the way around until you get to where you started. Tuck the last leaves under the first ones and ensure the cardboard is hidden, then hang your wreath in place. end up more to one side, then just adjust the fabric inside the hoop so it’s centred. 3 Sew a running stitch along the words, and end with the needle on the top side. Thread the needle through the running stitch to join the line of writing up. Thread from the outside of the letter towards the inside to get a smoother curve to your letters. 4 Alternatively, you can sew another running stitch in between the gaps of the first to join the lines of thread up. 5 Finish by adding a loop of ribbon to the hoop for hanging.

M I N I E M B R O I D E R Y H O O P S

You will need Bright fabric, a pencil, an embroidery hoop (ours are 10cm wide), a needle, embroidery thread, scissors, ribbon, glue

1 Fasten the fabric inside the embroidery hoop. 2 Write your quote in pencil in the centre; use joined-up writing for a handwritten touch. If the words T O P T I P

Choose contrasting threads that will really show up.