Southwestern Colored Easter Eggs {A very simple easy way to add a little more color and depth to your Easter eggs}

I'm always looking for simple ways to shake things up. Let's face it, in our world of craziness, there's just not always time to be "Martha." Last year while visiting my in-laws, we dyed Easter eggs as part of our holiday festivities. When my mother-in-law broke out the brown eggs, I thought she was certifiably crazy. "Like those are really going to take on any color..." I thought quietly to myself. Thank goodness I never uttered my thoughts aloud, because not only did they take the color, they turned out beautifully. Perfect for Sante Fe styles of Saint George, where we were enjoying the sunshine coloring eggs outdoors, as the eggs turned into different southwestern hues. Instead of the pastel or candy colored eggs we're accustomed to, the brown eggs ended up in deeper sapphire, ruby, emerald, and other jewel colored tones.  I laughed when my son saw these eggs and exclaimed the very same thought that I had the previous year, "Mom, you really think those brown eggs are going to actually change color?!?"

It has thrilling to watch as he experimented with the eggs. He'd dye a white egg one color, and then a brown egg the same color just to see the difference. He was delighted when the brown eggs did actually turn colors, and had such a great time comparing and contrasting the differences between the two.

The eggs in the top row started as white eggs and were dyed using the same color as the brown eggs on the bottom. See how much deeper the colors are?

Not only did he end up with a basket filled with tons of different colors, traditional and southwestern, he set his little brain to work, and made quite the experiment out of our Easter festivities. 

There's not much of a tutorial for this one - simply boil some brown eggs either with or instead of white eggs and color your eggs as directed on dye package.

We've also had fun making speckled eggs and also using vinyl to personalize our eggs. What tips and tricks do you have for coloring Easter eggs?

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Fabric Flower Tutorial {You asked, and now you finally get to learn how!}

A little over a year ago, I started this blog on a whim, not exactly sure where it was going, or if anyone would ever look at it {thanks, everyone, for being a part of Crazy Daisy, which simply would not be without you}. These flowers were posted in those early days.

I had the confidence to share them, but not to tell how to make them. You asked, but I didn't think I really knew how to write a great tutorial. However, in this year I have learned a lot,  found some focus and direction, grown a little confidence, and am finally sharing the how! So, if you are still interested, here you go. Thanks for hanging in there and being so patient as I journey through this adventure.

You will need:

*Fabric
*Scissors (you may want to use a rotary cutter and cutting mat, if you have them)
*Needle
*Thread
*Fabric Glue
*Buttons or other embellishments
*Broach Clips, Alligator Clips, Headbands, or whatever you wish to use your flowers for

Method:

1. Fabric. Think about your fabric. In my opinion, batiks work best because both sides of the fabric are colored which means if your flower is wispy or has movement, there will never be a discolored ugly side peeking through. You can use regular fabrics, but I would reserve them for flowers with shallow cuts so that the petals won't have room to flip or twist showing the wrong side of the fabric.

2. Width. Think about how big you want your finished flower to be. Cut a strip, the width of the fabric, half as wide as you want your flower to be. For example, if you want a flower to be about 5 inches in diameter, cut a 2 1/2 inch strip the width of the fabric. Sometimes when my flowers are smaller, I don't need the entire strip, and sometimes when they are larger, I actually use two strips, layering the flowers for extra fullness. It just depends on how full you want your finished product to be. After you play with it a little, you will get a feel for what works best for you.

3. Petals. Get creative. This is where you design the type of flower you want. Fold your strip in half, carefully lining edges. You can just cut, or draw your pattern first using a sewing marker (the ink disappears with water). Make sure your pattern, specifically your petals, end at the folds and not somewhere in the middle or you will have some funky two-headed petals in your flowers.

You will be able to change the kind of flower you make, by altering the way you cut your fabric. Here are some examples. The sky's the limit!

4. Gather. Thread needle. Tie a knot in the end. Push the needle through the end of your strip, the knot will keep it from slipping though. Keeping pretty close to the straight edge, push the needle back and forth through the fabric until you reach the other end, gathering the fabric as you go. When you reach the end of the strip, knot the thread so things don't unravel as you finish up.

5. Shape. Your flower will naturally curl. Using that curl, shape your flower by curling it into a circle. Use fabric glue, or stitch your flower into place. You may either leave your flower as is, or add a button or other embellishment in the center. Again, glue or stitch as preferred.

7. Finish. Cut a small circle of felt and glue on the back over the center to hide your stitches or glue mess and to anchor things down. You can attach a broach clip, headband, or alligator clip, depending on how you want to use your flowers. You could even glue or stitch them directly onto a bag or other project.

Was this tutorial helpful? If you have any questions, let me know. Hopefully, you can follow my directions. I would love to know how you plan on using your flowers and even seeing your finished projects. Leave me a comment, or even a link sharing your ideas. Enjoy your new flowers!

PS - This is the kind of glue that I like to use.

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Burlap Initial Wreath

Hello friends, today I shared a tutorial on how to make this burlap letter wreath that I made for my front door. To see more, click here.

What do you think? Do you like it?

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How To Make Beautiful Personalized Vinyl-Dyed Easter Eggs {Egg Tutorial No. 2}

I have been so excited to share these with you! Aren't they fabulous?!?! I love them! Who knew you could use vinyl to dye eggs? I especially love them because you can create so many different styles~ eggs with monograms, whimsical pictures, classic scrolls and other designs, really there are no limits! After I figured out the trick to coloring eggs with vinyl, it turned out to be pretty easy (but there were a few moments of frustration before I figured it out). If you want to make some for yourself, I'll share the secret.

Directions

First, cut vinyl images, using your preferred method. This project is perfect for using scrap vinyl leftover from other projects~ color doesn't matter because you will peel it off. You want to size your images so they are 1.5 -2 inch squares or rectangles. Anywhere in that range should work. If you go much smaller, your crafty cutter might have trouble cutting all the details in the more intricate designs. If you go bigger, you may have troubles getting the image to adhere to your eggs. 

Prepare dye as directed on package and line your working surface with paper towels.

Once everything is ready to go, boil eggs as normal. When they are finished, gently place them in a colindar. As soon as the eggs are cool enough to handle, start applying vinyl. Make sure the eggs are completely dry first. If not, just wipe them off with a dish towel or paper towel. This is where the secret comes in~ the trick is to use warm eggs, the warmer the better. The heat semi-melts the plastic to the eggs and seals off the images so that they dye doesn't seep in and the images remain white. I started as soon as I could bear touching them. When they are hot, they really grab the vinyl so you have to really think about where you want to place the image and it's orientation, because once they come into contact, you won't be able to reposition very easily. The heat also helps because if the image has a bubble or bunches up, you can just use your finger to press the vinyl down and it will soften and stick right to the egg. 

Once the vinyl is applied, color eggs as you always have, placing them on paper towels to dry. You can dye the eggs while they are warm, or let them cool so the kids can do the dipping.

Once the eggs have dried, peel the vinyl off (or not if you you prefer the above look) and admire your beautiful eggs!

Aren't they fun? I think they are simply fabulous! Now have fun, go wild, and dye those eggs! If you are looking for other egg coloring tricks, check out these speckled ones (they are super easy).

I can't wait to see what you come up with! 

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Would You Like To Make Speckled Easter Eggs? {Tutorial No. 1}

The Bunny's already hopping around preparing for his big day! He's filled his basket with all sorts of Easter treats, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, little trinkets and toys, and of course, colorful eggs. He's going to be so jealous when he sees these~ aren't they fabulous!?! I saw them in Phyllis Hoffman's Celebrate magazine, (no link available) and had to try making them myself. Basically, I followed their directions, but I found some tips along the way that made the process a little easier, and a lot less messy. Here's what you'll need to do {again, sorry I don't have step-by-step pictures, but that whole lefty thing just doesn't work very well when trying to take pictures with a camera made for righties while using colored dye and vegetable oil at the same time. What can I say, I feared for my camera's life... }:

Procedure

 First, boil your eggs as normal. Drain and cool. When you are ready to start coloring your eggs, line your working space with paper towels. Mix your dye as directed on the package and ADD about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to each container of dye. Using a spoon or fork, swirl the dye and dip the egg into the color. Gently lift it in and out a few times to disperse the dye. Let it sit until you are happy with the coloring and remove it from the dye, holding it over the cup for a moment to let the excess liquid drip off. Set your egg on the paper towels to dry. My eggs didn't ever look completely dry so I waited until the color had set, and either rolled the eggs around on the paper towels, or wiped them off with one, to get rid of the extra oil. Now, repeat with as many colors as you want. Your eggs should end up looking like these...

Happy Egg Coloring! 

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