DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Easter Cross Wreath

The diameter of the completed wreath is about 15 inches. 

This craft is fun for older children (and adults!) - Age 6+.  There are quite a few steps that younger kids (Age 2+) can help with, but they won't be able to do the craft independently.  This is a good family project!

This fun Easter wreath is made with, you guessed it, TP ROLLS!!  Everyone in my family has been collecting them for me and we ended up with a whole bunch of extra ones.  This is a great way to use the extras.

Materials:

• Wire coat hanger
• 14 to 16 tp rolls
• Optional:  Purple/mauve paint  - if you just get red, white, blue you can mix all the colors we've used here.
• string/wool
• printer,
• Printer paper.
   
• tape.
   
• glue,
• scissors
   

Instructions:

• ADULT:  Take each tp roll and cut a slit HALFWAY through.
   
• Optional:  Paint tp rolls purple, mauve and/or white.  Both of my girls (ages 3 and 7) love playing junior scientist and mixing their own colors.
      
• Let dry.
   

• ADULT:  Bend the coat hanger to form a circle.
   
• Using the slits cut halfway through the rolls, slide each of your tp rolls onto the hanger to form a big circle of tp rolls.
   
• Optional:  Take a bit of masking or scotch tape and tape the tp rolls together.  (tape the openings of the tp rolls on the inside of the circle together).  This will keep the rolls from spinning around while you're working.  If you choose not to do this, the paper leaves will keep everything from spinning on the finished craft.
   

• Print out the template of choice -- color or B&W.  We printed 2 copies to make our wreath... if I did it again, I'd likely use 3 copies.
      

Color the crosses how ever you like... here's how we did it:   

• We decided to try string painting for this craft.  It's good to "color" templates using different techniques from time to time.  It gives the kids some variety and teaches them to follow directions.
   
• Mix a shade of purple.
      
• Cut a piece of string or wool about a foot long .
   
• Dip the string in the paint (keep the ends dry so you can hold them).
   
• Pull the string taught and put onto the cross template
        

• Repeat to make a number of string lines going all different directions. .
   
• Add some white paint to your shade of purple to lighten it.  Dip the string in the new color and make some lines with the new color.
   
• Add some more white paint and repeat again.
   

• Let dry and then cut out.
   
• Glue to the tp roll base.
   
• Add a bow to the top if desired.

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
   
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP in most browsers).