Easter Craft: Eggs and Basket Made from Homemade Clay Dough

Let’s make an Easter Egg basket for our Easter table! 

I haven’t always loved to have eggs and bunnies play a prominent role in my Easter celebrations.  In the past, I have been afraid that they might take away from the “true” meaning of the holiday.

This year, I am reconsidering my stance.  All of God’s creation points to him- including the bunnies and the eggs!

I wanted a decoration that reminded me of God’s sacrifice every time that I looked at it.  I couldn’t find eggs to decorate, so I decided to make my own.  I hope you will join me in reading and making this easy craft!

But first, let’s think about the Easter egg…

After a hen lays and the egg is fertilized, the chicken baby begins to grow in the egg.   In fact, he or she spends 21 days growing in darkness.  (I think this is neat because it is three sets of seven; seven is God’s number of perfection.)  At the perfect time, the little chick breaks himself out of the egg.

In other words, after three sets of seven, the egg yields, and a new life… a new creation springs forth.  The confines of the darkness cannot hold the little chick.

The chicken birth miracle reminds me of what happens when we accept Christ into our lives.   At the moment that we ask him to come into our heart, the Bible tells us that we become new creatures.  The darkness can no longer hold us; we are born again as someone totally new!

The neat thing about this fact is that our old mistakes/sins are forgotten.  The situations that we faced in our past (abuse, neglect, etc.) and the consequences of them, technically disappear.  We are brand new and are given a fresh start… like the little chicken emerging.

The egg symbolizes “new life.”  If you are a Christian, it can symbolize your new life.

When the enemy tries to remind you of your past…the things you have done wrong or negative situations that have affected your life, you remind him that those things are not a part of you anymore!  You are completely and totally BRAND NEW through Jesus!!

The egg can also remind us that the darkness of the grave could not hold our Lord.  After three days,  he rose defeating death, hell, and the grave.  He conquered them so that we could overcome them too!

When you see your basket of eggs (or any egg) remember that you are a brand new creature who has been given God’s righteousness (II Corinthians 5: 21) through Christ.  Old things are passed away… all things in your life have become new!

We have a lot to celebrate this Easter!!

If you have decided to craft with me, take a look at the video for instructions.  This is a super easy craft, but turns out looking pretty nice!  Get your children to participate and create a “forever” memory.

Thanks for reading!

Love ya!  :)!

Robin

 

 

In this craft, the Easter eggs and the basket are made of  homemade clay/ dough cooked in the oven.

Easter Egg Basket

Materials

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour- all purpose

1 tbs. of vegetable or olive oil

Steps:

1. I mixed the salt, water, flour, and oil together, then formed a ball and began to kneed the dough. When it began to feel similar to clay, I set it aside wrapped in plastic wrap for an hour or so.
2. Next, I shaped an Easter egg and placed it in a small muffin tin.  (Make sure you bake until hard and slightly browning on the outside.  Baking time will be dependent on size.)  I baked at 350 degrees for about an hour, then set the oven lower and baked it for about two hours at 250 degrees.  I think I overbaked the eggs, but after I painted them with acrylic paint, you couldn’t tell.  Because some of the eggs cracked or were misshapen, I had to accessorize to hide the mistakes.  I used sparkly ribbon to hide the imperfections.   I think it made them prettier.
3. The basket was made with the same clay draped over a stainless steel bowl and placed on a cookie sheet in the oven.  After it finished baking, I spray painted it with metallic paint.
4. I used a cereal box to make the handle, then wrapped it in ribbon and glue-gunned it to the side of the bowl.  Finally, I attached bows and a flower to add some interest.

(Use all purpose flour…not dough!)