Invite your kids to help make this creative Easter craft.
What you need:
- Green and white washable nontoxic paint
- 11 1/2 by 13 1/2 inch wooden tray
- 9 by 12-inch sheets of crafts foam, equal to depth of tray
- 36 wooden craft sticks
- Child-safe scissors
- Nontoxic glue
- Easter grass, excelsior grass, or shredded paper
- Pastel pipe cleaners
- Pastel pom-poms
- Paint brushes
- NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Pink Easter Bunnies Sugar Cookies
- Easy cookie icing (optional)
How to do it:
- Cover a work surface with newspaper.
- Paint the sides and top edge of the wooden tray green and paint the rest of the tray white.
- Paint craft sticks white to make the fence. Cut craft sticks to desired height. Using glue, attach vertical fence pieces to tray. Next, attach two rows of horizontal fence pieces to the vertical pieces. Continue until tray is enclosed, leaving handles accessible.
- Glue the crafts foam inside the tray. If using multiple layers, glue them together, also.
- Spread Easter grass, excelsior grass, or shredded packing paper on top of the crafts foam.
- Choose and make pipe cleaner vegetables and/or flowers from the list below.
- Arrange vegetables atop the grass; gently press flower stems into the crafts foam.
- Bake NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Pink Easter Bunnies Sugar Cookies. To make on a stick, press a craft stick into the bottom of each cookie and bake according to package directions.
- Cool completely and decorate if desired, using your favorite icing or the Easy Cookie Icing recipe below.
- Push the exposed end of the stick into the grass-covered crafts foam.
To make the vegetables:
- For carrots, cut one orange pipe cleaner in half. Making long, flat coils, shape the pipe cleaner into a carrot with a pointed end. Cut a 1/2-inch green pipe cleaner and thread it through the last fold of the rounded end. Twist it to make the carrot-top leaves.
- For eggplants, cut one purple pipe cleaner in half. Making long, flat coils, shape the pipe cleaner into an eggplant with a rounded end. Cut 2 to 3 inches of green pipe cleaner and begin coiling it at both ends to make the leaves. Thread the leaves through the pointed end of the eggplant and twist once to secure.
- For cabbages, coil one-third of a green pipe cleaner, beginning at one end. Bend the pipe cleaner 45 degrees and begin a new coil for the next two-thirds. Finally, coil the remaining end. Fold coils toward each other to make cabbage leaves; glue one medium-sized yellow pom-pom in the middle for the cabbage.
- For strawberry vines, take one green pipe cleaner and create an uneven zigzag from end to end. For the strawberry, make small, round coils (2-3 rotations) using pink pipe cleaner; cut when size is proportional. Thread a 1/2 inch piece of green pipe cleaner through an end; twist once to secure. Glue the strawberry to the vine. Repeat strawberry instructions to make four more pink fruits.
To make the flowers:
- For yellow sunflowers, fold a pipe cleaner in half four times; twist once. Spread out each flower petal; glue one pom-pom in the middle. To make the stem, cut a 2-3 inch section of green pipe cleaner. Pinch a small section to the right and left to make leaves. Glue the bloom to the stem.
- For tulips, make a flat coil at one end. About one-third of the way, make another set of flat coils. When one-third is left, coil that section toward the middle. Shape the three sets of coils into a tulip. To make the stem, cut a 2-3 inch section of green pipe cleaner. Pinch a small section to the right and left to make leaves. Glue the bloom to the stem.
- For pansies, make 4 round coils out of one pipe cleaner. Shape coils to form flower and glue a pom-pom in the middle. To make the stem, cut a 2-3 inch section of green pipe cleaner. Pinch a small section to the right and left to make leaves. Glue the bloom to the stem.
Easy Cookie Icing (optional)
- Combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl. Stir in additional milk, a teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency. For colored icing, tint with food coloring.
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