Happy Easter!

Spring has officially been here for a few weeks, but for me, it never entirely feels like spring has arrived until the Easter weekend. 

Usually by Easter-time, all danger of a significant snowfall has passed. The days have begun to be sunny and warm. It is finally time to get out there and start gardening!

Though we have had the most marvellous of springs, the garden is only just starting to come alive. There are no tulips yet (these pink tulips are store-bought), but there are crocus, little blue scilla and daffodils. 

My container plantings are looking a little scruffy, so I treated myself to some pansies.

Can you tell I adore pansies?

These are small decorative bunny rabbits I picked up a few years ago. The Easter egg in the foreground is hand-painted using acrylic paint and is finished with a spray acrylic varnish.

I always try to make a few decorative eggs each Easter. I also have a collection of ones that I purchased. The pink tissue-flower egg below is from Kate's Garden in Unionville, ON.

To make these eggs, put a hole in either end of a natural egg and remove the contents. Then submerge the eggs in your choice of fabric dye. ( Follow the manufacturer's directions for the fabric dye. The longer the eggs are submerged, the darker the final color.) Gently etch your design by scratching very carefully into the surface of the egg shell with the tip of a sharp knife (the curved hook of a florist's knife works perfectly to etch the surface).

See a few other Easter egg decorating ideas here.

I saw this Easter decorating idea on Pinterest (Yes, I too have become Pinterest obsessed!). 

I had all the components already, so it wasn't hard to put them together. 

Here is hoping that April showers bring May flowers!

I hope that you and your family are have a great Easter weekend!

The Soft Side of Easter

While I naturally tend to gravitate toward vivid colors, I also like the whisper of soft pastel shades. 

There is something beautiful and romantic in the muted voice of delicate shades of 

pink, yellow, blue and green.

I bought this bunny a number of years ago. Isn't he a handsome fellow?

These are tissue paper roses my Mom gave me once upon a time.

To create the eggs above, first remove the contents through a small hole of either end. 

Years and years ago, I took a quilting class with my Mom. At the end of the course, a fellow student invited all the ladies over for a luncheon at her home. 

This woman's husband had been in the services and so they had traveled extensively in Europe. As souvenirs of the countries they visited, she had collected colorful, hand-painted eggs. I remember being struck by the beauty of these eggs, which had been gathered into large bowls. Scattered throughout the living room, the clusters of bright colored eggs were as fresh and cheerful as bouquets of spring flowers.

The quilting did not stick with me, but the egg painting did. Every year, I paint a few new Easter eggs. 

The three eggs in the foreground of the picture above are created by painting a natural egg with light washes of watercolor paint. I finish them with a clear coat of water-based varnish. (I prefer a spray application for this project.)

These eggs were made using a decoupage method. Cut out pretty floral illustrations with a fine pair of scissors and glue them onto an egg shell. (You could easily use papier-mâché eggs for this method.) Finish with clear water-based varnish.

The eggs in the jar were purchased, but you could easily replicate them by first painting an undercoat of a deep colored paint. Then, apply a transparent crackle medium ( Michael's). When the crackle medium is dry, apply a lighter colored top coat of paint. Cracks will appear as the top coat dries. Finish with clear, water-based varnish.

The eggs in the foreground are made using artist's pastel crayons. Color the eggs with a few complimentary shades of the crayons. Smudge the crayon lines with a tissue or soft cloth. Then, take some acrylic watercolor paint and apply a light wash over top of the blurred crayon lines. The crayon will act like a resist. Finish with clear, water-based varnish.

Today I am participating in Texture Tuesday with Kim Klassen. I added her Sweet Treat and Silence textures texture to my images. Click the link here to see the other entries.