This is my second Easter in the Netherlands. Last year, I noticed something particularly different from the Easter celebration in Australia. And that is people buying large tree branches and decorating them with little ornaments. I asked my Dutch husband but being brought up in an atheist family, his family has never practiced this tradition and he didn't even notice it until I pointed out... (some men are so oblivious).
Curious, I went online and learned that the decorating tree branches is originally a German tradition but nowadays the tradition is observed in surrounding countries including the Netherlands. This year, I also wanted to take part in this tradition and make it into a nice craft project with my toddler.
Buying ready to paint eggs is convenient but it could also end up hurting your wallet. So instead, I decided to make some egg-shaped ornaments using newspapers and paper based clay.
Step 1 - Loop a string and tape it onto a sheet of newspaper. Then roll the newspaper into an egg shape.
Step 2 - Cover the newspaper eggs with paper based clay. I got my daughter involved in this process. It became a nice sensory activity for her. Let the eggs dry for at least 24 hours before moving onto the next step.
Note: We used the paper based clay because it's soft and light, thus easy for little hands to mold. But you can also use other types of clay like air-dry clay. You can also make a paper mache paste (1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup craft glue) and paste white pieces of paper. I thought that for this project, white background works the best so you don't see the newspaper letters below the candy wrapper.
Step 3 - The eggs are now ready to be painted or decorated. With my Easter eggs, I decided to use some candy wrappers. A friend of mine gave me a souvenir from China last year. It was a bag full of The White Rabbit soft candies. I've always liked the packaging of The White Rabbit and kept the empty wrappers for my future crafting. Being Easter and all, I thought it makes sense to link The White 'Rabbit' with my Easter eggs. I used Mod Podge to paste the wrappers onto the eggs. I love Mod Podge, it doesn't stink and dries super fast.
Voila! This is what my Easter Tree this year looks like. Something unique and 100% handmade. If you're looking for the same candy wrapper, I'm pretty certain you can get them at an Asian grocery store. If you get around to making these Easter Eggs, do let me know! I love to see what you have created xx Yoko
