I made four Easter hats in one night - you can too

Last week I made four Easter hats in one night using an old nappy box, a few sheets of card stock, bought shredded paper, one cheap chicken in a nest, and the contents of our craft box (ribbon, washi tape, paint, broken butterfly, broken flower clilp, feathers). You can too!

Easter Garden Hat

1. Use a sun hat as a base, or make your own using cardboard:
2. Cut a rectangle and secure into a cylinder with tape or staples.
3. Trace a circle the same size as the cylinder in the centre of the hat base.
4. Cut from the centre of the base to the small circle and bend the cardboard tabs up (should look like pieces of a pie).
5. Centre the cylinder on top of the plate and attach the cut tabs to the inside of the cylinder with tape.
6. Secure the hat to your child’s head from each side of the hat (through a hole) using elastic or ribbons to tie under the chin.
7. Paint the hat and cover in faux flowers (either plastic, or made using cardboard and paper). You could also add cardboard grass (see grass hat example).

Bunny Ears Hat

1. Make a hat using a cardboard rectangle and secure with staples, tape, ribbon or elastic.
2. Cut out two rabbit ear shapes and attach to the hat with staples or tape. If they are too floppy, you might have to use stiff cardboard as a base, or attach an ice block stick to the inside of the ear.

Easter Grass Hat

1. Make a hat using a cardboard rectangle.
2. Cut the long edge of the rectangle to look like grass and paint green.
3. Attach fake or paper flowers to toothpicks and tape to the inside of the hat.
4. Add garden decorations such as paper Easter eggs, chickens, flowers, butterflies or bunnies nestled in the grass.
5. Secure the hat with staples, tape, ribbon or elastic.

Easter Nest Hat

1. Make a base for the nest using stiff cardboard:
2. Cut a circle using a plate as a guide, and paint green, yellow, or light brown.
3. Cut a small hole in the middle of the circle to make room for the crown of the child’s head.
4. Attach a wide ribbon to each side of the cardboard (through a hole) to tie under the chin.
5. Top the cardboard circle with shredded tissue paper.
6. Top the hat with a faux bird (secure to a stick and wedge in the nest) and add a few small faux eggs.

My big tip is to make sure that the hat is sturdy enough to survive to-and-from school and knocking about in the Easter Hat Parade. Look at my little cutie! I put these hats together to show you how easy it can be to make at home with very little expense.

I'd love to see pics of your Easter hats. Are you having a parade this year? The excitement is fever pitch at our place for the parade on Thursday. Too much fun!

Images: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville