Easy Craft & DIY Projects to Try This Easter

Something weird and wonderful happens to us all at Easter. It’s like the long four day weekend galvanises us to do those jobs we’ve been storing up over the winter. Toolboxes are suddenly unearthed from the garage, paintbrushes are dusted off and we turn in one person DIY whirlwinds with more creativity than we’ve felt for months. Maybe it’s the spring sunshine. Maybe it’s the extra time off work. But whatever it is, make the most of coming Easter weekend with these easy craft and DIY projects.

1) A chair planter. If you haven’t been following DIY and lifestyle blogger Mr. Carrington on You Tube then you need to as he has some amazing DIY projects. One of our favourite is the upcycled chair planter. Grab an old chair (Mr Carrington is a big fan of salvage) and some paint: “Remove all of the seat fabric and padding, being careful of nails and staples. Sand down the chair, then rinse with hot, soapy water. Line the seat of the chair with thick plastic sheeting (the type that often covers a new appliance or piece of furniture- recycle if you can) and hot glue it around the edges, trimming the excess. Paint all of the chair including the plastic with chalk paint. When dry, add soil and your plants.” Iwan’s finished result potted up with succulents and placed outside looks brilliant.

2) Bunting. We love the vintage feel of personalised bunting made by Betsy Primrose, and creator Louise thinks it’s a craft we could all try: “Get some twine, string or ribbon the length you want your bunting to be, fabric to suit and spray fabric adhesive. Recycle by using fabrics you already have like old curtains, sheets or clothing. Make a template of an 18cm equilateral triangle using some paper. Fold your fabric in half and place and pin your template on the fold. Cut only the two sides so you’re left with a diamond shape of fabric. Cut as many as you wish then enclose the string within the centre of each diamond shape, folding over to create the triangle again. Spray the adhesive to seal the triangle closed and trap the string within. Keep doing this with all of your diamonds/triangles at equally spaced intervals, hang up and enjoy!”

3) Put up some shelves. It needn’t take up much of your Easter weekend to put up the perfect shelf. Jason Roberts, a professional at My Handyman Services in London says. “Use a stud detector so you can determine where you should drill the wall. Position the shelf horizontally using a spirit level and when it’s perfectly level mark the exact edges of the wood piece. Take one of the brackets and place it over the stud lines you have drawn and then use a pencil to draw the small dots for the drilling holes. Repeat for the other brackets. Use a wood drill bit one size smaller than your screws and drill a hole to the length of your screws minus the depth of your brackets. Attach the brackets to the wall and screw them tightly.”

4) A herb garden. Invest a bit of time in creating a herb garden at Easter and you’ll be tucking in come summer BBQ time! Simply Plastics suggest making your own herb planters with old plastic pipe or plastic bottles. “Slice the top off the plastic pipe or bottle and fill with soil and a sprinkling of seeds, then place along a wall or near a window.” The wall mounted grid mesh with baskets would be ideal for your little pots of herbs.

5) Painting. There are lots of quick painting crafts to try over the Easter weekend, like Mr. Carrington’s DIY hacks video where he takes cheap metal canisters and adds stripes of paint (a good way to use up old kitchen paint and customise some accessories in just the right shade!), and paints a statement sign and attaches a spice rack for a quick and easy bathroom unit. Or, for the kids, Jason Roberts suggests a chalkboard station made by preparing an area with frog tape, and painting using chalkboard paint. Happy Easter crafting everyone!