Bring a bit of nature indoors by creating this simple nest. From gluing the grass to painting the eggs, your whole family will enjoy making this versatile craft.
What you need:
- 4-5-inch round craft foam, cut in half
- Shredded paper grass or neutral excelsior grass
- Nontoxic craft glue
- Child-safe scissors
- Small twigs or piece of grapevine
- Fabric remnants, ribbons, buttons, etc.
- Downy feathers
- Tempera or water-based paint
- Paint brushes
- Small wooden or craft foam eggs
- NESTLÉ® BUTTERFINGER® NestEggs™, NESTLÉ® CRUNCH® NestEggs™, WONKA® Chocolate Golden Eggs, WONKA® NERDS® Bumpy Jelly Beans, and/or WONKA® SWEETARTS® Jelly Beans
How to do it:
- Cover a work surface with newspaper.
- Scoop out craft-foam center using a spoon. Leave about 1 inch around the sides.
- Glue paper or excelsior grass on the outside and inside of the nest. Press to shape into the curves of the nest. Fill in around the nest's edge by gluing longer strips of excelsior grass. Trim excess grass with child-safe scissors.
- Tuck small twigs or grapevine into the foam outside of the nest.
- Cut various fabric pieces and tuck ends throughout the nest. To make torn-looking strips, make a small cut 1/4 inch from the edge and tear with the grain. Ribbon, buttons, or other color-coordinated notions can also be used.
- Tuck downy feathers to line the inside of the nest. Poke feathers into the outside to decorate. These feathers can be purchased at a craft store or gathered from the yard.
- Paint eggs with color-coordinated paints.
- Fill the nest with NESTLÉ® BUTTERFINGER® NestEggs™, NESTLÉ® CRUNCH® NestEggs™, WONKA® Chocolate Golden Eggs, WONKA® NERDS® Bumpy Jelly Beans, and/or WONKA® SWEETARTS® Jelly Beans and painted eggs. (To make nontoxic excelsior grass more food-safe, cut the corner of a plastic bag on the diagonal. Round edges to form a half circle; open corner and press into nest's interior.)
Follow-up Fun
- Use the nest year-round as a focal point in a back-to-nature tablescape. Or tuck it into a bookcase or outdoor display.
- Encourage kids to research birds and their homes. Find birds that make similar nests and re-create it to look like real ones. For example, robins often lay four blue-green eggs in a five-inch nest.
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