I recently came across a collection of hand painted eggs when sorting through my Mum’s loft. These beautiful eggs were gifts from one of her friends. Each year she would send her a new pretty egg to hang on an Easter tree. Discovering these brought back fond memories of the little tree that my Mum would bring out and add to each year.
The Easter tree is rooted in Germanic and Scandinavian tradition. Symbolising fertility and new life, it is a joyful way of bringing Spring colours into the home. I'm sure when I was little it very much just signified bringing chocolate into the home but now I appreciate the true meaning of it.
I love the idea of decorating for each season, in reality it doesn’t always happen for me, but I can live in hope! My one nod to Spring decorating this year is a very lovely wreath for our front door courtesy of my green-fingered mother in law. It’s part fresh and part dried flowers, lots of which have come from our garden.
If we were not going away for Easter this year, I would be bringing out my Mum’s painted eggs and making my own tree. I’d do something similar to what I do at Christmas. At Christmas I often use corkscrew willow to create a tree to have as an extra decorative feature in a room where we don’t have a tree. These branches last so well and would also be perfect for an Easter tree. These are not the willow branches below but an earlier iteration with punch needle baubles rather than eggs. I think the corkscrew willow works a little better though.
I love the idea of combining different types of eggs and decorations to welcome in the new Spring season. I think you could make some very sweet little punch needle eggs to adorn your tree. The finer needles like the Ultra Punch and fine Lavor punch needle would be perfect for this. You don’t want to use anything too chunky and bulky otherwise you wouldn’t be able to get much detail on the eggs. You could use embroidery threads with your punch needle and the eggs would have a lovely shimmer to them and a little easier than making a whole embroidered egg.
I’ve included some photos for inspiration for you below, all of these I’ve taken from Pinterest. I absolutely love Pinterest. I think it’s such a wonderful place to go when you’re planning a new project, decorating your home or need a bit of help reinvigorating your wardrobe. I particularly find it useful for colour planning, you can find some unusual colour palettes on there which I normally save for future punch needle projects when I’m lacking inspiration.
If you’re lucky enough to have some time off for the Easter break I hope you’ve stocked up on materials for a spot of crafting. I shall be punching my new cushion design for the upcoming online workshop. The cushion is perfect for Spring as it’s inspired by natural elements - the sun, wind, water and the cycle of growth. It’s designed by Camille Romano who I have previously collaborated with for Koel Magazine.
I can’t wait to get back to teaching and welcome you all into the cushion workshop. It will be split over three consecutive weeks, all sessions are online and I’ll be sharing the details of how to sign up and what materials you need in the coming weeks. All sessions will be recorded so no need to worry if you miss one.
I hope you have a wonderful Easter break.
