Homemade Easter Decorations that Last

Homemade Easter Decorations that Last

Making Easter decorations together that can last for years is a special treat!  In this post, we’ll show you how to make an Easter scene with peg dolls, hand painted wooden eggs, and an Easter garland.

Easter Story Peg Dolls

Our family really enjoyed creating an Easter peg doll scene a few years ago.  Having an Easter scene provides a tangible experience for children to imagine the details of the story of Easter, like a manger scene does at Christmastime.

We chose 2 3/8 inch size peg dolls, but you could choose any size. We loved looking at the ideas on Catholic Icing. for inspiration on how to paint the peg dolls. If you are not up for painting, Catholic Icing also has printable decoupage designs to make creating the peg dolls even easier.

Catholic Icing also has a very well done resurrection story that combines the multiple gospel stories into one to make it easier for children to understand the details.

 

easter peg dolls

We found that getting some extra peg dolls was helpful so that our toddler could paint the dolls however she wanted to while the older children and mom and dad worked on the details of the Easter figures.  She loved painting and playing with these dolls!

good friday peg dolls

We originally made our Calvary Hill and tomb using air dry clay.  We found that the clay crumbled over the years.  This year, we remade Calvary Hill and the tomb using Model Magic.  Modle Magic is much sturdier and lightweight, so we think it will hold up better to playing.

 

 

We used a plastic container for the base of the hill, then covered it with Model Magic. We then placed real stones on the hill, and secured a wooden cross into the clay.  Finally we pained the Model Magic and stones with a watered down light brown acrylic paint. For the tomb, we began with a cardboard structure, and covered it with Model Magic, then added rocks and paint. Our 4-year-old had so much fun placing the rocks in the clay! It takes quite a bit of model magic to make the tomb and Calvary Hill, so we recommend a large tub of Model Magic.

We also remade our crucified Jesus figure this year. (Once again, air dry clay did not hold up over the years, but we think Model Magic will.) We used a wooden bead for the head to make the head about the same size and look as the peg dolls.  We used floral wire to form the body, and then covered the wire in Model Magic.  In order to easily attach the figure of Jesus to the cross on Good Friday, we tied a string under the head that fits around the top of the cross.

peg doll jesus crucified

We wrap the Jesus figure in a small cloth and place the figure in the tomb on Good Friday.  On Easter Sunday morning, the children wake up to find the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty.  We like to hide the figure of the resurrected Jesus somewhere in the room so that the children have the experience of looking for Jesus, like his friends did on the very first Easter morning. We also place flowers near the tomb as a reminder that the tomb was in a garden… and to add even more Easter joy!

easter peg dolls

Painted Wooden Eggs

We made this set of nesting eggs many years ago, and it is still a favorite to display when we decorate.  Even the youngest children can decorate eggs… our newborn at the time used her fingerprints to make dots on the egg. It’s fun to paint names on the eggs, as well as the year the eggs were painted.  

To create your set of eggs, find a wooden egg set (or multiple sets) that allows each member of the family to paint at least one egg. 

We used acrylic paints to paint the eggs, and then gave them a coating of Mod Podge.

nesting easter eggs

The year my parents had their 12th grandchild, each grandchild painted a wooden egg, and we presented them with a carton of a dozen eggs on Easter.  We got two sets of these wooden eggs (which are already painted white).

Rather than use an old egg carton, we found cute colorful cartons to store and display the eggs.

Joyful Easter Banner

Catholic Easter Garland

Creating an Easter garland together can be fun, as each member of the family can create a part of it.  If you are looking for something simple, consider coloring our Easter hymn garland (an instant download on Etsy).  For full details on creating this simple, garland, click here. Or use your own ideas to create your own beautiful banner to celebrate Easter… so many possibilities!  Have fun!

Happy Easter!

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Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

America the Beautiful – 4th of July Banner

America the Beautiful – 4th of July Banner

Ready to decorate for the 4th of July?  This garland with the words from “America the Beautiful” helps children to learn about the U.S. while using their creativity to illustrate the lyrics.

O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

You can find our printable for the “America the Beautiful” Star Garland on Etsy, or you can use the idea to create your own – keep reading for instructions below.  The garland is part of our 4th of July Party Bundle on Etsy.  The 4th of July Party Bundle includes the garland, cupcake, toppers, as well as a trivia quiz and scavenger hunt, all based on “America the Beautiful.”

“America the Beautiful” 4th of July Party Bundle – on Etsy

4th of July star banner

Star Banner

4th of July Cupcake toppers America the beautiful

Cupcake Toppers

4th of July games America the Beautiful

Scavenger Hunt and Trivia Games

We found it helpful to learn a little about the song before doing the garland project.  While the chilren made their illustrations on the stars, we listened to “America the Beautiful” too!  A fun way to squeeze a little “school” into the summer… shhh!

To inspire your drawings of the lyrics to the song, you could pull out photo albums from family trips, or check out some of the books and videos below that show depictions of the lyrics.  Simply click on the book images to find them on Amazon.

Let’s make a garland!

4th of july banner garland

Print and Cut Stars

Print the stars on white cardstock, then carefully cut them out.  (You can find the garland printable on Etsy.)

4th of july banner garland

Decorate the Stars

Use colored pencils, markers, or crayons to decorate the blank stars to illustrate the words of the song.

Punch holes and string onto ribbon

Punch a hole on the top left point and the top right point of each star.  Cut about 10 ft. of ribbon (1/8” or 1/4” width works well).  String the stars onto the ribbon.  For each star, push the ribbon from the front into the left hole of the star, pull it along the back, and then pull it through the right hole to the front again.   Alternate stars with lyrics and blank stars (or stars with your images).  Or for a shorter banner, just use the stars with lyrics.

Decorate your home or yard.  Some variations include using skewer sticks to decorate your garden or walkway, or using only the lyric stars for a shorter garland.  Weather permitting, the garland could be hung outside for the day.

If you are looking for other 4th of July party supplies, we also have “America the Beautiful” themed cupcake toppers and games.  You can find our 4th of July “America the Beautiful” Party Bundle  in our Etsy shop.

Looking for a delicious AND nourishing gluten-free cupcake recipe?  Try our gluten-free almond flour cupcakes!

4th of July Cupcake toppers America the beautiful

Happy 4th of July!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.