Easy DIY Easter Decorations to Make in an Afternoon

The most convincing easy DIY Easter decorations are small, quiet and made from very ordinary materials: a few sheets of cardstock, a scrap of felt, some branches from the yard and a jar from the recycling bin. None of them needs special skill, and most can be finished between lunch and dinner.

Below are six quick projects grouped by material, with what each one needs and roughly how long it takes. Pick two or three that share a color and a place in the room, and the result looks planned rather than scattered.

What makes a project a good first one

A beginner project has three qualities. It uses flat or forgiving materials, it has no step that can ruin the whole piece, and it dries or sets quickly enough that you can hang it the same day. Paper and felt meet all three. Branches and jars need no making at all, only arranging.

Before you start, check what you already own. Scissors, a glue stick, a pencil and twine cover most of this list. If you need to fill gaps, the starter kit of Easter craft supplies separates the true basics from the extras you can skip for now.

Paper projects

1. Paper egg garland

Egg shapes cut from cardstock and strung along a length of twine. It is the fastest way to fill an empty stretch of wall, a mantel edge or a window frame. You need three or four colors of 65 lb (176 gsm) cardstock, scissors, a hole punch or a needle, and about 5 ft (1.5 m) of twine. Allow about 30 to 45 minutes. The full method, including spacing and how to stop the eggs from spinning, is in the paper Easter egg garland tutorial.

2. Bunny silhouette

A single bunny shape, cut from one sheet of cardstock and leaned against a wall or propped on a shelf. A seated profile about 8 in (20 cm) tall reads clearly from across a room. You need one sheet of heavy cardstock, a pencil and sharp scissors, and about 20 minutes. Templates and proportions are covered in the guide to paper bunny silhouettes.

Felt and fabric projects

3. Wrapped egg

A craft egg form wrapped in twine, yarn or narrow ribbon. Start at the wide end with a dot of tacky glue, coil the twine tightly around the form, and add a little more glue every few turns. Wood, paper mache, plastic and foam forms all work. One egg takes roughly 15 minutes, plus drying time; check the label on your glue. Three eggs in a shallow bowl make a finished display.

4. Small hoop wreath

An embroidery hoop or a plain metal ring, about 6 in (15 cm) across, with a few felt leaves and one felt flower glued to the lower third. Leaving most of the hoop bare is what keeps it light. You need the hoop, two colors of felt, scissors, tacky glue and a loop of ribbon for hanging. Allow about 45 minutes, plus drying time.

Branch and jar projects

5. Branch with hanging eggs

Two or three bare branches in a heavy vase, with lightweight eggs hanging from thread loops. Choose branches with several side twigs so the eggs sit at different heights. Paper or plastic eggs are light enough that thin twigs do not droop. Arranging takes about 20 minutes once the eggs have their loops.

6. Jar with stems

A clean glass jar, a band of twine or ribbon tied around the neck, and a handful of tulips, daffodils or faux stems. This is the simplest project on the list and often the one that ties the others together, because the flowers bring in a fresh color. Allow about 10 minutes.

The six projects at a glance

Project	Main material	Rough time	Best spot
Paper egg garland	Cardstock, twine	About 30 to 45 minutes	Mantel, window, shelf edge
Bunny silhouette	Heavy cardstock	About 20 minutes	Shelf, console table
Wrapped egg	Craft egg form, twine	About 15 minutes each	Bowl, tray, place setting
Small hoop wreath	Hoop, felt	About 45 minutes	Door, wall, cabinet front
Branch with eggs	Branches, light eggs	About 20 minutes	Entry table, sideboard
Jar with stems	Glass jar, flowers	About 10 minutes	Anywhere

Times are rough guides for a first attempt and do not include drying.

How to pick two or three that work together

Six projects in one room is too many. Two or three, placed close together, look far more deliberate. A useful way to choose is to take one piece that hangs, one that stands and one that sits low.

• For a shelf or mantel: the egg garland above, the bunny silhouette leaning at one end, and a bowl of wrapped eggs at the other.
• For an entry table: the branch with hanging eggs as the tall piece, with the hoop wreath on the wall or door beside it.
• For a dining table: the jar with stems in the center and one wrapped egg at each place.

Then hold the group to a small set of colors. Three colors plus a neutral such as cream, white or natural twine is plenty. If the garland is blush, sage and butter yellow, cut the bunny from cream and wrap the eggs in natural twine. The guide to Easter color palettes gives five ready combinations if you would rather not choose from scratch.

Hanging and placing without marks

Paper decorations weigh almost nothing, so removable adhesive hooks or small pieces of removable mounting putty are enough for garlands and hoops. Test the putty on a hidden patch of paint first. Lean silhouettes rather than fixing them, so you can move them as the arrangement changes.