Phase 2 of The House Behind The Trees ~ The downstairs #TeelsBuildaHouse

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So we are starting the downstairs ... I HATE to say basement because we had a basement in our old home, where you opened a door and went down stairs separated from anything else. It was a finished basement complete with a bedroom, craft room, family/game room and we spent a lot of time there ~ our oldest son moved down there in jr high and stayed through high school ... until we finished the master suite in the attic then he moved back up to the bedroom floor with his brother and sister.  So here our downstairs is open to the rest of the house, you can see through to the outside from the top of the stairs going down because we have a wall of windows down there as well.  We really didn't plan to have a kiddo down there but since we are having to do a switch-a-roo with rooms (I'll explain later) he is moving home soon and will be downstairs. Anyhoo, our downstairs will house our main family room, our middle sons room, a full bath and kitchenette.  I thought it would be fun ...
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9 Unique Easter Egg Decorating Ideas

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Bluebird Egg
Display these side-view birds in little nests or on a bed of grass. Use a variety of prints and colors to create a whole flock!
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dye (blue)
Printed paper or cardstock
Yellow cardstock
Scissors
Craft glue
Fine tip black marker
What to do:Dye egg blue and let dry completely. Cut a wing from printed paper and glue to the side of the egg. Cut a triangle from yellow cardstock, fold a tab at the flat end and adhere to the end of the egg with glue. Let dry. Draw an eye with the black marker.Tips: Find a wide variety of printed paper and cardstock in the scrapbooking section of the craft store. Or, cut the wings from old note cards and greeting cards. The wing in this picture is from a recycled Thank You card.


You Name It Eggs
These personalized eggs are perfect place cards for Easter dinner.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dyes
Wire egg holder
Acrylic craft paint
Small paintbrush
Small letter stickers
What to do:Rest an egg sideways on an egg holder and dip in dye bath of desired color, but hold the egg so the top third of the egg stays above the dye bath and remains white. Let dry completely. Pour a small amount of acrylic craft paint in desired color on a plastic plate or wax paper. Dip the non-brush end of a small paintbrush into the paint and dab on egg to create a dot. Paint dots around the white oval. When the paint dries, apply letter stickers to spell a name or just one sticker for an initial.Tips: Acrylic craft paints are inexpensive and available at craft stores. Small letter stickers are available in the scrapbooking section of the craft store. As the letters usually have a white background, these eggs are only partially dyed so the white background blends in with the egg.
You Name It Eggs


Lazy Daisy Eggs
The beauty of these eggs belies how unbelievably easy they are to make.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dyes
Daisy stickers
What to do:Dye egg desired color and let dry completely. Adhere the stickers and smooth well with your fingers. That's it!Tips: Find a wide array of stickers in the scrapbooking section of the craft store. No need to stick with daisies…Use other flowers or any design that tickles you.





The Perfect Pair of Eggs
What's Easter without a bunny and a carrot?
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dye (orange)
Pink pom-pom
White foam sheet or cardstock
Fine tip black marker
½ inch wide green curling ribbon
Stapler
Scissors
Craft glue
Invisible tape
What to do:For bunny: Use a clean, white egg. Glue the pink pom-pom on the center of the egg. Cut out ear shapes from white foam or card stock. Dab flat ends of ears with glue and adhere to the top of the egg. When completely dry, draw eyes and whiskers on the egg with the black marker.For carrot: Dye egg orange and let dry completely. Cut 5 pieces of ribbon, each about 10 inches long. Stack the ribbon pieces, fold in half, and staple at the fold. With scissors, curl ribbons. Fold a small tab in the ribbon at the point where you stapled. Dab glue on the tab and adhere to the top of the wider end of the egg. Use invisible tape to hold the ribbon in place until the glue dries.Tips: Foam sheets are available in the kid's section of the craft store, but you may substitute card stock. If you use card stock, add and cut a tab at the end of each ear to more easily glue to the egg. For the carrot, you can also use a pre-made ribbon gift topper in lieu of cutting and curling your own.


Speckled Eggs
Mix and match contrasting egg and paint colors to create a bright, speckled collection.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dyes
Acrylic craft paint
Old toothbrush
Wax paper
What to do:Dye eggs desired colors and let dry completely. Pour a small amount of acrylic craft paint on a piece of wax paper. Dip the toothbrush into the paint, and dab the excess on the wax paper. Hold an egg over the wax paper in one hand, and with your other hand, hold the toothbrush about 2 inches over the egg. Run your thumb along the bristles to spray paint on the egg. Let dry.Tips: To really simplify things, you can skip dying the eggs and just speckle white eggs.


Zoo-egg-ology
These cute, easy egg animals are fun to make for both kids and grown-ups.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dyes (lime green, brown, pink and yellow)
Foam sheets (green, brown, pink, orange and white)
Small, sharp scissors
Fine tip black marker
Craft glue
Invisible tape
What to do:For frog: Dye egg lime green and let dry completely. Cut out a large semi-circle from green foam and two small semi-circles from white. With the black marker, draw a mouth on the green piece and dots for eyes on the white pieces. Apply craft glue to the back of the green piece and adhere to egg. Use invisible tape to hold the piece on the egg until the glue dries. Dab glue on the flat end of each eye and adhere to the top of the egg. Let dry completely.For monkey: Dye egg light brown and let dry. Cut out a large circle and two small semi-circles from brown foam. With the black marker, draw a nose and mouth on the large circle. Follow the instructions for the frog to glue the circle and ears on the egg. When dry, draw eyes on the egg with the marker.For pig: Dye egg pink and let dry. Cut out a large circle and two small triangles from pink foam. With the black marker, draw nostrils on the large circle. Follow the instructions for the frog to glue the circle and ears on the egg. When dry, draw eyes on the egg with the marker.For chick: Dye egg yellow and let dry. Cut out a beak shape from orange foam. With the black marker, draw two lines on the beak. Follow the instructions for the frog to glue the beak on the egg. When dry, draw eyes on the egg with the marker.Tips: Foam sheets are available in the kid’s section of the craft store. You may also substitute card stock. If you use card stock, add and cut a tab at the end of each ear to more easily glue to the egg. When cutting out the shapes, keep the eggs handy so you cut pieces to scale. Draw the shape with a pencil on the back of the foam first as a guide.


Preppy Eggs
With such a variety of beautiful patterns, grosgrain ribbon is an ideal adornment for a springtime egg.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dyes
Grosgrain ribbon, ½ to 1 inch width
Foam brush
Craft glue
Wax paper
Scissors
What to do:Dye egg desired color and let dry completely. Lay a sheet of wax paper on a hard surface. Lay a strip of ribbon longer than the circumference of the egg right side down on the wax paper. With the foam brush, cover the entire surface of the ribbon with craft glue. Be careful not to move the ribbon or you may get glue on the underside. Lay an egg at one end of the ribbon and roll until ribbon fully encircles the egg. Let the ribbon overlap the starting point about ¼ inch, and snip the end. Smooth ribbon against the egg with your fingers. Let dry.Tips: You may need an extra dab of glue to adhere the snipped end of the ribbon. If you cut your ribbon in a neat, straight line, you need not worry about folding the end over.


Bling Bling Eggs
For a sparkly centerpiece, fill a glass bowl with glitter-dotted eggs.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dyes
Glittering glue with fine-tip applicator
Fine glitter
Plastic plate
Old toothbrush
What to do:Dye egg desired color and let dry completely. Working with one side of the egg at a time, squeeze different size circles of glue on the egg. Holding the egg over a plate, pour glittering glue over the egg and shake off the excess (the egg will still have unwanted glitter, but don't worry about that yet). Let the egg dry and repeat on the other side of the egg. Let dry several hours at least. When completely dry, carefully brush egg with the dry bristles of an old toothbrush to remove the unwanted glitter.Tips: Use the fine tip on the glue to help you 'draw' the circles of glue. Varying the circle size takes the pressure off of squeezing perfect circles.


Have a Nice Day Eggs
This blast from the past image is a super easy way to make your eggs happy.
You'll need:
Eggs
Store-bought or DIY egg dye (yellow)
Fine tip black marker
What to do:Dye eggs yellow and let dry completely. Draw faces with black marker.Tips: Feel free to break from tradition and let your egg express other emotions. Above: 'Oh no!' 'Happy' and 'Tee-Hee.'

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