Why this challenge…

After a year of pandemic woes, I decided new Easter decorations would brighten our home and our spirits. But of course I had to be frugal about it. And so began my challenge to create new Easter decor on a budget. I allowed myself only $20.00 to purchase some basic items to work with. With those newly purchased treasures combined with other items in my craft room and around the house, I was able to create 16 beautiful items for less than my $20.00 budget.

‘Tis the Spring season…time for Easter decor on a budget

As the seasons change…when the dull and drab end of Winter brightens into a colorful Spring, I’m inspired to craft something new and pretty-especially this year. Easter would not be the same without bunnies, eggs, flowers and of course crosses. They all represent Easter in their own ways.

Crafty inspirations

Being inspired to craft is such a great feeling. Crafting Easter decor on a budget is an even better inspiration. There’s a myriad of things I could have crafted, but I chose to make simple and colorful decorations this year. The type of decorations that would appeal to my whole family…from the littles to the bigs. And the best part…I made them all in one day. Seriously, in one day! It’s taken me far longer to compose this blog than to make all the items.

Below are all the Spring and Easter decor items I crafted on a budget. The instructions and processes used are documented under each photo.

Easter Decor #1-Plastic Easter Egg Wreath

Glue one end of the ribbon to the wire frame and continue to wrap and glue in spots along the way. I used a ribbon I purchased at Christmas. The sparkly bright yellow color makes for a bright and perfect background for the plastic eggs. Since it is sheer, it does not hide the wire frame completely. Though the next decorating steps will cover it. If you have or prefer a solid ribbon, please feel free to use that instead.

It takes a lot of eggs

Three more bags of plastic Easter eggs for $1.00 each were needed. Note: it takes a lot of plastic eggs (minimum of 48 eggs) for this size wreath form. The eggs shown above have a shimmery coating that is so pretty next to the flat exteriors of the other plastic eggs. They go perfectly together creating a really pretty and shiny wreath.

Secure the eggs

Glue the eggs to the ribbon covered wreath form. Alternate the flat finished eggs and the shimmery eggs along the way for a really pretty effect. You can have the pointed ends of the eggs facing out or in towards the center of the wreath-your choice.

Creativity means rolling with the mistakes

For some reason, I had the eggs pointing inward. Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, I honestly planned to have them pointing outward. But, I got distracted elsewhere for a bit and when I returned…I started gluing the eggs like this. I was too far into the project before I realized it. By that point, it was too late to change them without damaging the components. So folks, if you make a mistake…..sometimes, ya just gotta roll with it. HA, see what I did there??!!

Top it with a loopy bow

To make this bow, I used an old pink Easter themed ribbon I’ve had for years. Just form 10 loops (5 on each side with extra ribbon hanging down for “tails”). Secure the loops in the middle, by tying them with twine. I had one little piece of yellow sheer ribbon leftover from wrapping the wreath form so I used that in the bow (I never waste anything). Just pinch it together in the middle and tie it to the top of the bow securing it with a knot of twine. Then I wrapped and glued a piece of garland around the center of the bow to cover the twine and to add a finished look.

Cutting the garland has a downside

I’m gonna be honest folks…cutting the garland results in an absolute mess. Those pieces were everywhere. And I mean….everywhere! All over the table, my clothes, the floor, in my hair and places I don’t care to elaborate. They stuck like glue to my arm. And my poor cat was equally covered after she ventured through my workspace. OY!

Cleaning up takes equal creativity

I had to be equally creative cleaning up this mess. The solution…a dryer sheet. Yes folks…a dryer sheet! The pieces kind of stuck to the dryer sheet and flocked together (ha, I made another punny!).

Ahhh, the science of static cling! Whatever the reason, it worked. So be sure to have a dryer sheet or 2 handy for this cleanup when you are done.

Note: If you don’t find this garland, you can also use a feather boa.

Easter and Spring Decor #2 & #3-Floral Decoupage Wooden Crosses

Applying the floral design to the cross

Apply a coat of mod podge to the cross and then gently place the napkin onto the mod podge-working on a small space at a time. When smoothed, apply a top coat of the mod podge to the entire surface of the crosses and let them dry completely.
Note: If you need to fill spaces around the original floral image, just cut-out more pieces of the design from the floral paper napkin and decoupage them into the spaces as needed.

#4 of Easter Decor-Foam Easter Egg With Decoupage Easter Bunny

After a top coat of mod podge is applied, sprinkle with glitter dust and let dry. This is the finished product. I was obviously in a hurry and got distracted elsewhere-don’t be like me…take more time to smooth the image than I did.

Floral Easter Decor #5 & #6-Floral Decoupage Foam Easter Eggs

The easiest decoupage foam egg to craft

The egg shown below was the easiest egg to decorate. I applied mod podge over the entire surface of the foam egg. Then I placed the full napkin design onto the foam egg that was coated with a layer of mod podge and smoothed the entire design. Note: I did not cut out and around the design. I trimmed and secured the overlapped portion of the floral napkin by applying a small rim of mod podge to the back of the foam egg to secure the paper napkin.

After the design was smoothed and secure, I added a top coat of mod podge to the entire design. While it was still wet, I generously sprinkled glitter dust over the whole egg. Voila! It’s done! Super simple and so very pretty!

Easter Decorations #7 through #12-Decorated Foam Easter Eggs

It’s all in the details and no waste

Because I don’t waste anything…I saved the inside portions of the foam stickers that were removed and reused them to add decorative details to the other foam stickers.

As you can see, I used the inside orange portions from the carrots to fill in and add color to the green flowers. Then I used the inside portions of the green flowers to add leaves to the outsides of the pink flowers. And I used the blue “x” portions from the baskets as centers for the pink flowers.

Creative details

I used the green smiles and circle eyes from the frogs (not used for these projects) to give the yellow chicks a nest-like appearance and also as decorations for the chick in the eggshell.

Using the center portion of the blue Easter baskets worked well to add more decorative detail to the chick in the egg shell.

The “w” shapes from the purple and orange egg shapes added decorative detail to the blue baskets and yellow chicks. The orange and yellow triangle noses, I used with the green stems inside the blue baskets to make it look like a basket of flowers.

Jeweled Easter Decor #13-Bedazzled Foam Easter Egg

One final foam Easter egg to decorate. I wanted to come up with an easy and different design for this one. I used a hot glue gun to add the embellishments/jewels. Using various jewels and jeweled ribbon (leftover from other projects), made this very easy and very frugal. It’s so sparkly and simple!
Note: remove the glue strings when finished.

Ten projects in one

The package of 10 foam Easter egg shapes are so versatile. These examples were done for mere pennies for each foam egg. Many of them are so safe and easy that they are the perfect projects to entertain children as well as adults. Creating these 10 Easter decor items on a budget has never been easier or more fun.

Multiuse Easter Decor Item #14-Vase/Candle Holder With Decoupage Spring Flowers

Using these cylinder vases from Dollar Tree and the Spring flowered napkins, I created these wonderful Easter and Spring themed vases that can also be used as candle holders.

Easter Decor #15-Decoupage Easter Bunny Vase/Candle Holder

Easter Decorated Item #16-I Tricked Out My Blue Farm Truck

I purchased these flat finished speckled egg picks from Dollar General. They give the antique look that’s perfect for decorating the farm truck. Something new and fancy or sparkly just wouldn’t look as good.

In conclusion…

Crafting is so good for the soul. Theses pandemic times are the perfect reason to create something new, bright and colorful…especially when it is this frugal.

Keep your eyes open for before and after Easter markdowns, so you can purchase items at a discount and create even more Spring and Easter decor on a budget than I have. Please feel free to share your creations in the comments below.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope I’ve inspired you to create your own Spring and Easter decor on a budget. It is so rewarding not only for the pocket, but also for your mental health. As a caregiver, I’ve come to realize I need time to craft and I cherish that time. Creativity is a brief escape from reality with productive results. I highly recommend it.

Well folks, now it’s time for me to prepare the food part of the Easter holiday. Wishing you all a wonderful Easter and an even better Spring!

Take care. Be safe. Prayers for those in need. Virtual hugs.

Chauncey