Ostara craft recipes

Ostara Crystal eggs.

What you do is you make this hard clay like dough and put
Crystal gems or what have you in the center and shape in an egg form then
Bake them. You can paint them when done and hide them. Kids just LOVE these
Because they get nice little trinkets and so forth while don't have to deal
With candy or hard boiled eggs!!

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of salt

1/4 cup of clean sand

1 cup of used coffee grounds

3/4 cup of warm water

Gemstones or little goodies

Non stick spray

Paints and or glitter

Blend flour, salt, sand and coffee grounds together. Gradually add the water
And knead until you've got a thick, gritty dough. Spray a crystal lightly
With non-stick cooking spray, and place it in the center of a small scoop of
Dough. Shape the dough around the crystal to form an egg shape.

Bake the Eggs at 350 for about 15 minutes, and allow to cool. Once they've cooled,
They should be nice and hard, like a rock. Paint the eggs, and allow paint
To dry. Hide the eggs on Ostara, and let your kids crack them open to reveal the
Hidden crystals!

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Ostara Dyed Eggs

Boil a handful of an herb of flower until the water is well colored,
simmer for 30 minutes and strain.
Place the water into a heat-resistant cup or bowl, stir in a tsp
of vinegar to cup or small bowl. (For larger amounts use 1 tbsp
vinager/1 quart liquid) Add a pinch of salt

Allow soaking, The longer you leave the eggs in, the darker they
become.

Coloring Herbs

* Yellow= Carrots, White Grape Juice, Turmeric (about ½ tsp
in a small amount of water), Fenugreek
    * Orange= Onion Skins, Madder Root, Cayenne
* Red= Red Onion Skins, Madder Root, Cayenne, Cranberries
* Red-Violet= Purple Grape Juice, Red Raspberries
* Green= Carrot Tops, Bracken, Colts-foot, Spinach
* Black= Rasberries
* Blue= Blueberries, Red Cabbage, Black Raspberries
* Blue-Violet= Blackberries, Beet Juice, Mulberries, Red onion
skins (boil the onion skins with the eggs)
* Pink= Heather, Madder Root
* Black= take apart the outer casting from black walnut hulls and
use that with a little water to create a black or dark grey egg great for
halloween or gothic eggs.

You can also draw a pattern on your eggs first with white crayon
or wax and the dye won't stick to that part showing your design.
If you crack the shell carefully all over the egg itself will also
take on the color where the cracks are. This is very pretty when
peeled later.

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Homemade Easter Egg Dyes made from foods

The year the Easter Bunny brought my kids organic, all-natural,
yogurt-covered raisins didn’t go over very well–but at least my daughters
are gung-ho for dying Easter eggs with homemade, plant-based dyes. We
rummage and smoosh and boil, and they are amazed and delighted by the colors
we create with a bunch of oddball ingredients from the kitchen. They love
the messy magic, and my simmering neurosis about synthetic food dyes is
quelled.
Certified food dyes approved by the FDA include colors synthesized from
petroleum derivatives and even coal tar. While some food dyes based on
natural ingredients come from things that, although natural, you still may
not care to ingest: Have you heard about carminic acid? It is a commonly
used red food coloring which comes from the dried, crushed bodies of
pregnant female scale insects called cochineal. I have an adventurous palate
but that’s just not for me.
By using plant-based dyes for coloring Easter eggs, not only do you know
exactly what you’re getting (no bugs, thanks) but the colors are far
lovelier than their synthetic counterparts. They are muted yet vibrant, and
knowing their source is gratifying on a deeper aesthetic level. Children
seem to find that mashing food is also much more fun that simply dropping a
tablet in a cup. As well, it is a great lesson in exploration—kids get to
experiment with which plant materials work in which way, and can get
creative with items in the refrigerator or pantry.
Some of these materials work best when they are boiled with the eggs (they
will be noted below), and some work well made ahead and used by dipping or
soaking the eggs. If you are using juice, just use it straight. Bulky
materials will be boiled with the eggs or boiled and allowed to cool for
dipping. The longer you let the eggs soak, the more intense the color will
be (for the boiled versions, you can remove them from the heat and allow to
cool in the dye bath).
You can use your favorite egg-dying tricks here as well: Like crayons for a
batik effect or rubber bands for a tie-dye effect. If you like a glossy egg,
you can rub the dyed eggs with vegetable oil when they are dry.

Red
Red onion skins, use a lot (boil with eggs)
Pomegranate juice
Orange
Yellow onion skins (boil with eggs)
Yellow
Lemon or orange peel (boil with eggs)
Carrot tops (boil with eggs)
Celery seed (boil with eggs)
Ground cumin (boil with eggs)
Ground turmeric (boil with eggs)
Yellow Brown
Dill seeds (boil with eggs)
Brown
Strong coffee
Instant coffee
Black walnut shells (boil with eggs)

Yellow Green
Bright green apple peels (boil with eggs)
Green
Spinach leaves (boil with eggs)
Blue
Canned blueberries and their juice
Red cabbage leaves (boil with eggs)
Purple grape juice
Violet Blue
Violet blossoms
Red onion skins, less amount than you need to make red (boil with eggs)
Lavender
Diluted purple grape juice
Violet blossoms plus squeeze of lemon (boil with eggs)

Pink
Beets, fresh or canned
Cranberries or cranberry juice
Raspberries
Red grape juice


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Button napkin Rings

Call on loose or mismatched buttons to serve as the charming clasps on handmade napkin rings.

You'll need shank buttons, which have holes on the back. We used a variety of mother-of-pearl buttons, each about 1 1/2 inches across.

Thread a 12-inch length of cording through each shank, and tie its ends in a knot.

Secure knot to shank with a needle and thread so that it will stay hidden behind the button.

Wrap cording around a folded napkin, looping it back over the button to secure.

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Pussy willow nest

The downy, gray catkins of pussy willow branches soften a densely woven nest, while dried grasses inside cushion fragile decorated eggs. A trail of feathers suggests that the winged occupant has just taken flight.

TipsTo appear more natural, the nest should be a bit irregular -- use bits of branches to break up the circular form. You may want to cut some additional pieces of pussy willow to help achieve this.

 
Choose fresh pussy willow branches, which will bend more easily than dried ones. You can find them, as well as the dried grasses you'll need, at garden centers or florist shops.

1. Create a base for the nest: Crisscross lengths of 24-gauge brown wire onto a 10-inch wire wreath form. (This doesn't need to be neat because it will be covered later.)

2. Cut branches into varying lengths (8 to 15 inches). Wire the end of 1 branch to the base of the wreath form. Bend it around the form's curve, wiring it in place 5 or 6 inches from the tip. (For a natural look, the loose end should stick out.) Repeat with the remaining branches, overlapping as you go.

3. Once the wreath form is covered, tuck dried grass into branches; wire shouldn't be necessary. (If the grasses are stiff, soak them in water until pliable, about 1 hour; pat dry.) Insert feathers among the grasses. Line the interior of the nest with additional grasses, and fill with decorated eggs.