Felted Wool Birds Nest Tutorial

I thought this would be a lovely craft to do with Easter coming up. It could be a center piece for brunch or a project to do with this kids to showcase their decorated eggs! Enjoy! 





This is my first tutorial. It popped into my head the other day (in the wee hours of the morn, to be precise), and I just can't wait to share it with you crafty wool lovers out there! :)

I have been working with felted wool sweaters for some time now. And I am completely enthralled with the whole process....first finding the "perfect sweater" (probably useless to anyone but me) at my local thrift store, bringing it home and popping it in the washing machine on "hot", laying it flat to dry, seeing the final result, and then dreaming up cozy, useful items to make it into!

Ok, so maybe little felted nests aren't "useful" per se ....but they sure are cute!

What do you need?

1 wool sweater..."felted", as described in the above paragraph
thread
needle
sewing machine (optional)

Here are the step by step instructions...

1. Cut the arm off your sweater and into about 3 inch sections (I had enough length for 3).


2. Hold them upright in a circle shape and trace around them onto paper, leaving about 1/2 inch around for seam allowance.


3. Pin the paper to the felted sweater and cut around it. Cut one circle for every "tube" you have.



4. Sew the circles to the bottom of the tubes (right sides together). They will look like this...



5. Cut a fringe around the top of the nests about 1 inch deep, and about 1/4 inch wide. I left one of my nests "fringeless", just for variety. :)



6. Using hot water and liquid laundry soap, carefully "squish" the nests to give them a more "felty" and soft appearance. Rinse.

7. Lay on a towel to dry.


8. Place your decorated eggs in them to display! These eggs are "naturally decorated" by our Auracana chickens!

Originally posted by Rebecca from Handmaidencanada on her blog: Heartfelt Mama.

The Real Story of Easter- Resurrection Eggs Tutorial

We all know that Easter isn't just about eggs, bunnies and baskets... but it can be hard to teach our children the true story of Easter in a way that they can grasp. This year, I decided to make my own "Resurrection Eggs"  to teach Little Sweets the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. You can buy these at Christian book stores or online but they're pretty simple to make yourself! This project is so easy and cheap... most, if not all, of the items are things you already have around your house.

What you need to make your own Resurrection Eggs*:

egg carton

12 plastic eggs

list of items and Bible verses

piece of bread

coin(s)

piece of purple cloth or ribbon

thorns from a rose stem

piece of string or rope to represent scourge or whip

cross

nail(s)

sign that says "This is the King of the Jews"

spear or sword (or piece of toothpick)

rock

Total cost: $1.00
Everything but the eggs should be laying around your house somewhere!

*Please note that these are ALL choking hazards for young children. This is meant to be used as a teaching tool not a toy for young children.

First, you'll want to write or print up a list of the items and corresponding Bible verses. Each item represents something that occurred during the week of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. (You can download and print my list here if you'd rather not do it yourself. Mine also includes a sign and a cross.) Tape the list to the inside of your egg carton. You might want to paint the outside of your egg carton so your Little Sweeties don't think that the true story of Easter has anything to do with a certain brand of eggs. =)

Then, put one item inside each egg, leaving the last one empty.

To teach your children the true story of Easter, you'll open each egg and read the corresponding Bible verse. (Verses below are all from the New International Version of the Bible.) You could open up one egg per day in the 12 days leading up to Easter, like an advent calendar. Or you could open them all on Good Friday to give the kids time to process the story before Easter Sunday.

1. Bread
Matthew 26:26
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”


2. Coins
Matthew 26:14-15
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.

3. Purple Cloth
Mark 15:17
They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.

4. Thorns 
Matthew 27:29
...and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.

5. Scourge
Mark 15:15
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

6. Cross
John 19:17-18
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

7. Nails
John 20:25
So the other disciples told [Thomas], “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

8. Sign 
Luke 23:38
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

9. Sponge
Matthew 27:48
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

10. Spear/Sword
John 19:34
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

11. Rock
Matthew 27:59-60
Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

12. (Nothing)
Matthew 28:6
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

That last one is my favorite... nothing tells the true story of Easter better than the Empty Tomb:

Image: KruseKronicle

- Tricia from Sweeter Than Sweets