DIY Easter Egg Decorating

Easter is next weekend and many kids are getting excited for the fun tradition of dying eggs. More recently, some crafty divas have found creative ways to decorate eggs that will get adults excited for this widely celebrated tradition as well. Above are a few of my favorite easter egg decorating ideas. I adore the origami eggs with the egg nest made from origami scrap paper. I love the idea of these decorated eggs piled on paper nests along a long Easter brunch buffet. You can also simply use scrapbooking paper or beautiful gift wrap paper from your local craft store and apply the same technique. Since you will be blowing out the eggs to make these decorative eggs, they will last forever and you can use them each Easter and can also incorporate them as an ornament during Christmas. Enjoy!

Origami eggs by Martha Stewart, Tie-dye eggs from Barefoot Kitchen via
Ohdeedoh, Faberge Eggs by Martha Stewart, Silk tie eggs by Monogram Momma.

Crafty Yarn Egg Decor

Holiday season is yet again around the corner. Yesterday, I blogged about Passover recipes. Today I'm here to share a fabulous craft idea that I saw on Family Fun for Easter. These crafty yarn eggs would be perfect for dressing up your Easter buffet spread. They can be hung from the ceiling like the picture below or they can be piled together to create a centerpiece for your Easter table. While it may take a little time for this diy project, I think the results will be well worth it!



Materials
Thin cotton yarn
Balloons
Craft glue
Newspaper
Wax paper
Clothespin
Clothes hanger

Instructions

1. For each egg, cut twenty 3-foot-long strands of cotton yarn and blow up a balloon to a 6- to 8-inch diameter. Mix equal parts of glue and water in a shallow disposable container.

2. Cover your work area with newspaper and a sheet of wax paper. Hold a strand of yarn by one end, dip it into the glue mixture, then wrap it around the balloon. Repeat with the other strands, randomly overlapping them and tucking in loose ends, until the balloon is evenly covered.

3. Using the clothespin, suspend the balloon from the clothes hanger and let it dry overnight. (Cover the area below it with newspaper to catch drips.) Once the egg is completely dry, carefully poke a hole in the balloon, then pull it away from the string as it deflates. Hang your finished egg with ribbon or yarn.

Holiday Sweater-Inspired Kits

It has been a mere four days since we celebrated Thanksgiving and already I see Christmas and Chanukah decorations all over New York City. Yes, it is that time of the year and it is time to start thinking about how we will be decorating for the holidays! Melangerie NYC sent me this awesome (and very affordable) do-it-yourself holiday sweater-inspired party decoration kit that is perfect for an intimate holiday party. It is a pdf file so purchasers will have to print, cut, and assemble the decorations. But have no fear, we've checked out the kit and even the novice diy'er can easily put this together. For just $10, the kit includes a PDF file for invitations, a garland, centerpieces, cupcake towers, placemats, gift wrap and much more. See the whole collection at their Etsy shop here.

Think Pink!

We're thinking pink today at Amy Atlas Events. We're working on a special project that has a lot of pink in it, including these fabulous white chocolate (tinted pink, of course!) cupcake holders. It couldn't be a better time to be thinking pink. Tomorrow marks the first day of October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since pink is the color used to express support for people who are diagnosed with Breast Cancer, we hope everyone will be thinking pink.

I'll provide diy tips for these edible pink cupcake holders after I post the whole dessert table next week so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I am off to start getting ready for Mindy Weiss' Most Ridiculous Wedding Ever. Did you get your tickets yet? You will not want to miss it!

Witch Hat Recipe

In my earlier post, I mentioned that I would share the recipe and the DIY steps for the witch hat recipe that we created. The recipe consists of just cake, pudding, an ice cream cone and sprinkles - how easy is that for a Halloween recipe? The steps are below. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Square or horizontal cake - it can be any flavor and can be store-bought or homemade, cut in 1/2 horizontally
1 box of pistachio Jello pudding mix, make according to box instructions
1 cup of royal icing or frosting
1 cup of chocolate sprinkles
8 cookies for the rim of the hat (can be a chocolate disk or sugar cookie), but make sure that it is 2 inches wider than the top of the cone
8 cones (chocolate or sugar) - We used both in this illustration. If you can't find chocolate cones, then you can paint sugar cones with melted chocolate
Makes 8 witch hats


Using the base of the cones as a template, cut around the cones to make 4 cake circles.




Here is a picture of what your cake circles should look like.



Using a serrated knife, cut the cake circles horizontally to make 8 cake circles. Set the circles aside. Using leftover cake, put small bite sized pieces of cake in the bottom of the cones. This is so the pudding doesn't leak through the bottom of the cone.



Place your pistachio pudding in a pastry bag and fill up the cone until it almost reaches the top of the cone. Leave about 1/2 inch of room so that you can put your cake circle on top.



Now place your cake circle on top of the pistachio pudding to seal the cone.



Put your royal icing into a pastry bag and pipe it around the edge of the cookie. You can use any colored icing because the icing will be covered with sprinkles.



Using an offset spatula, spread the icing on to the base of the cookie. This will allow the sprinkles to adhere to the cookie.



Gently pat the chocolate sprinkles on top of the royal icing.



Take your sealed pudding cone and place it on top of sprinkled cookie witch hat rim.



Here is our finished witch hat!

Witch Hat Dessert Project

In preparation for Halloween, we've been testing some easy and fun Halloween recipes at Amy Atlas Events. This recipe is a chocolate cone filled with chocolate cake and pistachio pudding. It is super easy to make and is the perfect spooky treat for Halloween entertaining. Check back later for the recipe so you can diy at home!

DIY Candy Favors

I found these adorable diy candy favors from Zakka Life, via Party Perfect Blog. Aren't they adorable? Created by using cupcake liners from Bake it Pretty , these adorable favors would be a cheery addition for one of my dessert bars!