Tis the season for Egg Dying!

After years of designing Easter eggs for articles, these are my favorite because they are so easy to make and beautiful.

Create these eggs with the food coloring you have in the kitchen. A few drops of color in one cup water and 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Use hard boiled eggs. For really pale eggs, just a few minutes per egg

Create the brown splatter with a toothbrush. Mix all the food coloring together to create brown black , dip toothbrush bristles in coloring, blot off extra liquid, and run fingers against bristles to splatter.

Thats an upside down flower pot painted yellow I used for the base with the planter dish resting on top
Green grass makes a nice border!

photo by Michael Partenio Designed by Karin Lidbeck

Note card Vase

Make this note card vase! there re so many beautiful patterned note cards and I am always looking for creative things to do with them . I came up with this easy idea while designing my daffodil story for GH.
Simply tape ( double stick tape) 4 cards, one side to another with patterned side showing, creating a square. Place glass inside with water. Add flowers!

PS Daffodils are blooming and while it may be hard to cut them from your garden you can buy potted daffodils at the grocery store for little. Cut the flowers to make a beautiful arrangement then plant the bulbs outside where you went them to bloom next year.
Remember do not cut leaves until they yellow or they will not return!


Photo by Michael Partenio, Designed by Karin Lidbeck

Kids Easter table - Cake and Chocolate Daffodils

Make this!

This daffodil candy treat for the kids favor is easy to make, but, planning ahead will make it that much easier.

I created this craft for a magazine feature for the Children's Easter table

Buy the ingredients for the flower candy treats ahead of time . Make flowers one at a time as you can. Bake cupcakes in flower pots a few days ahead

Here’s the quick version "how to".
You'll need for one:
Yellow and green tissue Tissue paper
1” chocolate eggs (foil wrapped)
2" clean garden pots ( craft store)
lollipop sticks ( craft store)
chocolate cake mix and Pam cooking spray for pots

Make chocolate cake in tiny pots.

Push a lollipop stem into bottom of a chocolate egg to hold. ( make hole with toothpick first)

Create a flower by wrapping egg with one wide strip of yellow tissue to cover and twisting the bottom to close.

Cut a round 5 petal flower base with a tiny hole in center and push up lollipop stem. Glue stick will hold it in place. Add leaves with glue stick

Push lollipop stick into each cupcake. Add jelly beans, chicks!

Photography by Michael Partenio Styled and designed by Karin Lidbeck

Celebrating Daffodil Season

Two years ago Good housekeeping magazine asked me to create a craft story on daffodils. What a happy assignment!. If the daffodils are not starting to peek their heads up in your garden, you can still have daffodils at your front door. I created this wreath with simplicity in mind.
Grab a grapevine wreath. Purchase a variety of the good looking daffodil silks at any craft store. ( the garlands are also a good source for silk flower heads.) Nestle a birds nest in the corner of the wreath , add some moss and a few birds eggs, ( all craft store products). Use the glue gun to adhere it all! Voila, spring has sprung! As usual, we had to shoot it two ways. which picture do you like better?

Photos by Michael Partenio , Designed by Karin Lidbeck