Easter Buckets for My Annual Egg Hunt
Are you ready for Easter? It's just a few days away.
As many of you know, I’ve always enjoyed holidays, but they’re even more fun now with my grandchildren, Jude and Truman. Among my favorites is Easter, and this year, I'm having more than 60-guests join me for Easter lunch at my Bedford, New York farm. Nearly 30 of them are young children who will participate in my annual Easter egg hunt. And, to hold all those colorful eggs they find, we decorated small galvanized buckets with whimsical bunny images and pastel-colored ribbons - it's a fun twist to the traditional Easter basket, and so easy to make.
Enjoy these photos.
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- For my annual Easter egg hunt, I decided to use these metal buckets for gathering eggs. They’re about seven-inches tall – perfect for little egg hunters. They can be found online or at craft stores. These are from Jamali Floral & Garden Supplies, Inc. https://www.jamaligarden.com
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- I wanted to decorate the pails with this whimsical bunny illustration by artist, Natalie Cooperman, from our offices. I decided it would look best to have two images affixed to each bucket – on the front and back, so the entire bucket is covered.
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- We printed the image onto white full sheet labels for laser printers, available at Staples. http://www.staples.com
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- We made a template that fits on half of the bucket and used it as a stencil to trace more pieces.
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- Here is my executive assistant, Shqipe, using a utility knife to cut out the image.
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- This will fit perfectly onto one side of the bucket – notice how it is slightly curved to fit the pail.
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- Peeling the backing off in small increments, Shqipe slowly adheres the image to the bucket.
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- Removing the protective backing little by little helps to keep the sticky sheet aligned.
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- As she sticks the image onto the surface, she smooths out the paper, so there are no air pockets.
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- Shqipe does the same process for the other side of the bucket.
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- Once both sides are covered, Shqipe smooths the paper out at the edges, making sure every bit of the bucket surface is flat.
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- Using a utility knife, Shqipe trims off any excess.
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- And then using a Martha Stewart Crafts bone folder – one of my favorite tools – Shqipe tucks the edges under the lip of the bucket.
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- She does this for the top and the bottom of the pail to give it a finished look.
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- Easter grass comes in all different colors – we used natural light brown paper grass to fill these buckets.
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- Shqipe then attached a one-and-a-half inch wide satin bow to one side of the handle.
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- We used shades of blue and yellow – I know all the children will love their homemade Easter pails.
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- Once the buckets were ready, Shqipe prepared the candy, and filled 30-cellophane bags with sweet treats.
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- Our candy came from Sugarfina this year, where they have lots of delicious gourmet treats for children and adults. https://www.sugarfina.com
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- Shqipe mixed the candies together – all the colors make each bag of candy look even more special.
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- This is called Suns Out, Buns Out Fluffy Bunnies – fruity sour bunnies and fluffy marshmallow tails.
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- These are pink, chewy candy balls.
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- These are Robin’s Egg Caramels – rich and creamy caramel egg centers surrounded in dark chocolate, then dipped in a delicate candy shell.
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- And these are called Golden Truffle Eggs – creamy milk chocolate truffles infused with hazelnut and vanilla, then dipped in shimmery golden shells.
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- And more fruity sour bunnies.
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- Shqipe tied the candy bags with a bow.
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- And trimmed the top of each bag with pinking sheers to give it a nice decorative top.
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- Each child will get a bucket filled with candy and then use the bucket for collecting eggs that they find in the fields – maybe even a “golden egg”.
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- Such adorable Easter buckets – practical, personal and sweet. Tomorrow, I’ll share photos of how we decorated my home for the holiday – you’ll get lots of fun ideas!
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