Last Minute Easter Crafts on the Today Show!

This morning I shared a few last minute crafty Easter decorations and treats on the Today Show. (Click here to see a video of the segment.) Most of the projects involve items you have around the house and in your recycle bin or in your backyard!

This lamb cake took no more than five minutes to decorate! I ordered a plain white cake from my supermarket and used candy to make the lamb's features: mini marshmallows, a Jordan almond nose, black shoestring licorice mouth, M & M eyes, and Brach's Marshmallow Eggs for the ears (you could use Jordan almonds for these too). You can find of all this at the supermarket...the black shoestring licorice I find at the supermarket is made by Haribo in wheels, just unwind it and snip! Very last-minute-friendly!

More last-minute treats: donut "nests", donut (and mini donut) bunnies, and Twinkie bunnies and chicks. The bunny ears are made out of freezer paper (food safe!). Parchment is another good option. The eyes are all either mini or regular chocolate chips (I pre-poked a hole with a toothpick and stuck the pointy end in first). 

And last-minute centerpieces. I didn't get a picture of all of them but the idea is that you use stuff from your backyard (free...and fast!). Trim a few flowering branches and stick them in a vase and anchor them in the water with some colorful plastic eggs (I used all one color and it looked pretty...you can see  sliver of it on the left side of the photo). Or snip just a few flowers and add some grass (like onion grass) to fill it out.Or, if you don't have a yard, take a few snips off some houseplants (I snipped from ferns), strip off the bottom few leaves, stick them in a few little bottles, and group them together. 

A recycled craft: bunny favor jars! Clean and dry the jars and paint the lids and faces (I used this paint, my favorite). Cut some paper ears and attach with double-plastic-tape. Fill with candy and give to your guests!
Check the video for more details. Happy Easter!