Basic materials. Absolute glamour. Kids thoroughly involved.
As the whole world enters a new stay-at-home rhythm, this year's Easter has few guests, but beauty beckons.
Welcome to our Sunrise Easter Breakfast. For the past five years it has become our family Easter tradition to start off the day’s celebration with a Sunrise Easter Breakfast on our roof-top garden overlooking the beautiful Pretoria, South Africa. This year our Easter breakfast takes a different twist, in that we celebrate only as a family of four overlooking the tranquil ocean of Discovery Bay, Hong Kong, and that almost everything for the Easter table is hand-made with basic materials that anyone should have access to.
The Hong Kong butterflies served as inspiration for this year’s theme. Around this time the air is filled with countless magnificent butterflies. They range from small thumb-sized to large, heavy butterflies which could easily be mistaken for birds.
Don't butterflies have their own remarkable transformation into new life? From a hairy caterpillar into a graceful butterfly, the story of Easter really cannot be captured any better, as we celebrate the risen life of our saviour.
“Together we build memories while moulding and creating. We mess, we clean, we laugh, we brawl. And we celebrate! Isn’t that what life is all about? To celebrate the little things. And to make a fuss about the little things.”
Our little boys add their touch and are proud to see their artworks incorporated to the glamorous table. Together we build memories while moulding and creating. We mess, we clean, we laugh, we brawl. And we celebrate! Isn’t that what life is all about? To celebrate the little things. And to make a fuss about the little things. Life is too short to put off celebrating!
Here is a quick guide to how the table setting was crafted, implementing the hands of our small kids to perfect it. Be inspired.
Creative Secrets
I find it best to decide on a colour palette of five colours that work well together, and to repeat the same five colours on all the crafts. In this way, no matter how messy the kids are and how they choose to paint their crafts, everything complements the elegant look.
I love chalk paint. It covers well and is easy to use. Keep in mind that although it is water-based, it is difficult to remove from clothes once it has dried. If your local art shop does not stock it, Amazon is your friend.
Easter Eggs
Coming from a South African German background, it seems we go about our Easter eggs a little different. We empty the eggs, paint the outside and fill them with sweets. The Easter bunny usually puts a few in the Easter nest before the kids wake up, and then hides the rest in the garden after lunch.
You will need:
a. Egg shells, the eggs emptied by picking a small hole into one point with a sharp object. Wash them thoroughly and leave to dry.
b. Chalk Paint
c. Paintbrushes
d. Skewers or sticks in a cup to let painted eggs dry
e. Sharpie Pen
f. Sweets / Candy
g. Small rounds cut from old book pages (I used stick glue to trace)
h. All-Purpose-Glue
1. Apply two coats of paint to the egg shells and leave to dry on skewers or sticks in a cup.
2. Get the whole family involved in painting eggs in the colours of your choice.
3. Fill the egg shells with candy/sweets.
4. Apply a small amount of glue on the outside of the hole of the eggs, and stick a cut out round from old book pages over the opening.
Paper Mache Baskets
You will need:
a. Newspaper, torn into about 2cm strips
b. Balloon
c. Home-made wallpaper glue (see recipe below)
d. Hacksaw
e. Paint in the colour of your choice (I used grey-blue)
f. Paintbrush
1. Inflate the balloon, but ensure that you do not make it too big.
2. Apply paste to balloon, followed by a layer of newspaper strips all around the balloon. I find it easiest to use my fingers to apply the glue. Apply 10 layers and leave to dry overnight.
3. Switch on the de-humidifier if you live where I live 😊
4. Mark the lines of the handle with a pencil and saw out wedges to leave the shape of a basket with a handle.
5. Apply two coats of paint.
6. Decorate with a few paper butterflies.
7. I placed quail eggs and Lindt chocolate bunnies inside, but replaced the ribbon with a colour that matches the palette.
Home-made wallpaper glue:
You will need:
a. 250g Cake flour
b. 1l water
1. Bring the water to boiling point in a pot.
2. Sieve the cake flour into the water just before it starts to boil, and whisk thoroughly. Lumps form easily, therefore it is important to add small amounts of flour at a time and to whisk well.
3. The glue handles easier and most lumps get absorbed if left in the refrigerator for two days.
Woven Placemats
You will need:
a. Newspaper (I used 8 pages of advertisement paper per place mat)
b. Paint in the colour of your choice (I love chalk paint!)
c. Paintbrush
d. Ruler
e. Pen
f. Scissors
g. Glue
h. Sewing machine to finish off
1. Glue four pages together respectively, and paint when dry.
2. Cut the one glued sheet horizontally into 2cm strips.
3. Measure a frame of about 4cm around the other sheet, and cut vertical slits into the centre, 2cm apart.
4. Weave the strips into the frame.
5. Sew over the edges to secure the strips, and sew all around the sides to leave a neat finish.
6. Cut the ends of the strips short.
7. Touch up with paint if necessary. I only touched up on the sides, as I ran out of paint.
Giant Egg Birdfeeder
What you will need:
a. Newspaper, torn into about 2cm strips – make these long to save time
b. Giant Balloon – I found these at Bookazine. Try a party shop?
c. Home-made wallpaper glue (see recipe above)
d. Hacksaw
e. Paint in the colour of your choice
f. Paintbrush
g. Sticks collected in the garden (or while hiking)
1. Inflate the balloon as big as your lungs will allow
2. Apply paste to balloon, followed by a layer of newspaper strips all around the balloon. I find it easiest to use my fingers to apply the glue. Apply 15-20 layers and leave to dry overnight.
3. Switch on the de-humidifier if you live where I live 😊.
4. Draw an egg shape and saw out on both sides with the hacksaw.
5. Apply two coats of paint.
6. Paint a base colour (two layers) and then let the kids go wild. Decorate with paper butterflies – let the kids stick on as many as they want.
7. Thread a ribbon through the hole which was left by the knot of the balloon. For extra stability, you can thread the ribbon through a wedge that was cut out of a basket.
8. Place a few sticks in the bird feeder and fill with seed. Happy birds, happy kids, happy mum 😊.
Paper Butterflies
What you will need:
a. Kids’ scribble artworks
b. Old book pages (I used an old daily devotional)
c. Scissors
d. Glue
1. Follow the instructions on YouTube on how to fold an Origami Butterfly. Turn your kids’ messy scribbles into butterflies, and incorporate them into the event.
2. Fold until you have had enough 😊 I folded January to April into Origami butterflies.
3. Place a small amount of glue in the tips to ensure they keep their shape.
4. You can string a few butterflies together and hang them in the garden or on dried branches.
5. If you do string butterflies together, it is advisable to place a weight at the bottom, otherwise they will end up tangled in the wind. I made weights from salt dough.
Weights for butterflies on a string (Salt Dough):
You will need:
a. 2 cups Cake flour (you can replace ½ cup cake flour with corn starch for a smoother texture)
b. 1 cup Salt
c. 1 cup Water
d. 2 tablespoons oil
1. Mix cake flour and salt together in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the water and knead until a smooth dough forms. The dough should not stick to your hands. Should it be sticky, add a little more flour.
3. The dough is ready to shape into small eggs.
4. Pierce a hole through the middle with a skewer.
5. Bake at 150°C for 15-20min.
6. When cool, apply two layers of paint.
