A Hoppy Easter Project

     Our Littles are very excited about Easter this year- this is the first year Momma does not have to work and we will all be heading to the Okanagan for the long weekend- together as a family. Easter in the Okanagan is iffy at best- from what my sources tell me there is still snow on the ground- it is possible the weather will be cold and wet- or we could all be surprised with a hot spell. 

     The issue therefor lies in the treat situation during the Easter Egg Hunt- yes we are going to have a real- full on egg hunt for these Littles in their Oma's back yard- we need to ensure the treats are dry and clean and not stolen by those rascal Whiskey Jacks (birds). Yes we could just run out and buy a bunch of those plastic eggs to stash the treats in- however I don't really like them. Environmentally they are a nightmare- totally unnecessary plastic that is surely destined for the landfill because come this time next month I will have had enough of tonnes of plastic eggs floating around our apartment and throw them away.

      A delightful solution is found in these sweet little felt eggs- found last year on the Lusa Organics blog- Clean- and stashed away in my idea bank for this year. This idea really resonated with me- an all natural replacement for those plastic eggs was just what I was looking for! These are the perfect little pockets to stash a treat in as a gift for a friend or for the Egg hunt- bonus is that they only require small amounts of material so you can use up some of those scraps!

Step 1- create a paper template so all your felt eggs will be the same size- cut out egg shapes from 100% wool felt- with regular straight scissors.

Step 2- with pinking shears trim the edge of the top egg so it is slightly smaller- revealing the contrasting colour underneath- this step is optional as I realize not everyone has pinking shears. 

Step 3- cut top egg across in the upper half of the egg- this will create the pocket for treats

Step 4- select contrasting trim and sew on top portion of the egg- trim any excess

Step 5- take your decorated top egg and line it up with the contrasting bottom egg- line up the two cut portions so they match and sew with a straight stitch all pieces together- making sure to stay inside the pinked (zig zagged) edge of the top egg

    When you have sewn all pieces together double check for holes (wouldn't want any treats falling out!) and if satisfied will with all sorts of tiny goodies! We found these adorable tiny wooden chicks from Holztiger at Dilly Dally Kids on Commercial Drive here in Vancouver- they are also carrying a yummy selection of Daniel Le Chocolat Belge- local and delicious!

  

        Of course it would not be Easter with out the return of Plain Jane's most popular bunny cards and note books! I have a small selection over in my Etsy store- packages of six medium sized cards and envelopes for $12 and Mole Skin notebooks for $8- bright and fresh- just right to celebrate Spring and Easter with! I also have some great gift tags and soon to be posted tote bags for Mommas- or big kids!

        This is a fairly easy sewing project but I know not all my lovely friends are sewers- if you are wishing to purchase some of these lovely felt treat eggs feel free to contact me via my Plain Jane Face book page! These little gems can be brought out year after year for the egg hunt and store nice and flat- unlike their neon plastic counter parts that take up a lot of room!

      Every year our family is making new traditions- every year old traditions are evolving- this year along with celebrating Easter we will be celebrating several birthdays as well as possibly a birth- fingers crossed the new Little arrives when we are near by- I can't wait to get my hands on her for a snuggle! Easter chicks, eggs, Spring, babies, home- yup life is good!

   

P.S. Here is an additional post over at Apartment Therapy on alternatives to the plastic Easter egg- lots of great ideas- we may try the polka dot papier mache eggs next week for fun!