Surfing for Sabbats Activities: Ostara

One of my favorite Sabbats... I know its a little soon but I don't care... I might add more later as I find new ideas
http://www.youtube.com/user/CharmingPixieFlora#p/u/119/TQT96iSToFE
http://www.youtube.com/user/CharmingPixieFlora#p/u/120/CKML9xxempc
http://www.youtube.com/user/CharmingPixieFlora?blend=1&ob=0#p/u/99/PfdGQXd7QiA

So obviously for this holiday it is traditional to paint eggs that are boiled... neat idea that I did last year though was to hollow the eggs out before hand... but there are so many other ideas that you can do with your eggs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AKdU2oDLrw
you can also use a drumel to do a design in the egg...
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http://voices.yahoo.com/5-easy-ostara-crafts-pagan-kids-2880027.html

Mini Eggshell Planters
Another great craft for the ritual altar or to decorate a sunny windowsill, these little eggshell planters are perfect for the season.
You Will Need:
Carton of eggs
Growing medium
Cotton balls
Knife
Scissors
Plastic spoons
seeds
Egg Dye
Permanent Markers
Tap eggs on the top "pointed" end with the knife until they crack. Peel back a small section of shell and allow the egg to fall out. Try to keep the bottom 3/4 of the egg intact. Reserve the eggs for recipes.
Wash eggs carefully with hot water and rinse thoroughly. Set on a rack to dry. If you like, you can carefully trim around the edges of the egg with a craft scissors, or peel it back for a jagged look. Remember to keep about 3/4 of the egg intact.
If you like, at this point you can dye the egg shells carefully. Another cute option is to draw a face on the shell, so that the plants growing out look like hair. Just make sure your colors and decorations are dry before proceeding.
Place the egg shells back into their carton, open-side up. Put a cotton ball into each eggshell. Spoon some growing medium into the eggshells. This can be potting soil, soil-less potting mixture, or peat moss.
Sprinkle some grass or herb seeds onto the soil. Sprinkle with water to just moisten the soil, and dribble with a little water each day to keep it moist, but don't over-water. You can leave the eggs in their carton and set them right on a sunny windowsill.
Do this two to three weeks before Ostara if you would like to place the eggs on your altar. Transfer them to a basket with a grassy/cottony bedding and be careful not to tip them. Alternatively, place them into egg holders.
The plants will begin growing out of the top of the eggs. If you would like to transplant them into the garden or a bigger pot, just crack the egg first so the roots can push through. Then pop them right into the soil. The calcium in the egg shell will be good for them.

Sun/Moon Masks At the equinox, night and day are in perfect balance. These fun masks remind us of that. They can be hung on the wall, or worn during revelry.
You Will Need:
One round 12" balloon
Strips of newspaper
2 tbsps white craft glue
1/4 cup all purpose flour
½ cup of water
Tempra paints
Paint brush
Paper plate
Scissors
Page reinforcers
Glitter (optional)
Ribbon
Cheap plastic table cloth or drop cloth
Mix the flour and water in an old disposable container until it has a glue-like consistency. Add two tablespoons of craft glue, which helps the paper mache stiffen better.
Blow a balloon up to be approximately the size of the child's head. Then make it just a little bigger. Tie it off to secure it.
Dip the newspaper into the glue mixture and layer it onto one half of the balloon. Do three to four layers overlapping each other. Make the mask oval-shaped, about the size of the child's face. Allow the paper mache to dry thoroughly before continuing.
Pop the balloon and remove it from the mask. Trim the edges around the mask to make them neat if you like.
Place the mask against the child's face and estimate where the eyes will be and gently make a mark with pencil or crayon. Also make marks about ½ inch from the side edges of the mask, just higher than the ears, on each side. These will be where the tie will go to tie it around the child's head.
Remove the mask from the child's face and cut out eye-holes with the scissor. Punch holes with a paper puncher (or poke through with a scissor) to make the holes for the ties. Put stick-on page reinforcers over the holes to strengthen them.
One half of the face will be the sun, the other half will be the moon. Cut a paper plate into triangles and glue them to the "sun" half of the mask with plain craft glue. Allow it to dry. This will look like the rays of the sun.
Paint the mask. Paint the sun half with reds, yellows and orange flaming colors. Paint the moon half with a silver or white. Sprinkle glitter on it and draw symbols or features. Let the child decorate the mask however he would like. Allow the mask to dry.
Thread the ribbon through the holes and tie it around the child's head, letting the holes rest on the child's ears.
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http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/ostaracrafts/Ostara_Crafts.htm


Ostara is a marker of the coming of spring. New life is all around us, showing in the green shoots on the trees, sprigs of grass appearing from the mud, and even -- if we're lucky -- a few flowers poking up. It's a time of chicks and eggs, newborn lambs and calves, and the days are getting a bit longer and a bit warmer. We can smell the freshness of the earth when we're outside. A fun project to do at Ostara is make and decorate a tree for the Sabbat. It doesn't have to be huge or fancy, but it's nice to have one sitting indoors to remind you of the changing seasons.
You'll need:

• Several lightweight branches
• Some florist's foam
• A flowerpot
• Acrylic paints
• Spanish moss
• Small spring decorations 

First, paint the pot with spring designs -- flowers, butterflies, ladybugs, eggs, etc. If you have kids, this is a lot of fun. If you don't mind them getting a bit messy, let them use thumbprints to make designs. Allow the paint to dry.
Cut a chunk of florist's foam to fit into the pot and then insert the branches into the foam so that it forms a tree shape. Hang the decorations -- eggs, ribbons, flowers, etc. -- on the branches. Use salt dough and cookie cutters to make ornaments to hang, if you like.

Use the Spanish moss to cover the florist's foam in the top of the pot. Place your tree on your altar during ritual, or use it as a tabletop decoration.
Note: Try to use branches that have already fallen on the ground, rather than taking them from a live tree. If you must cut from a living tree or bush, make sure you do so in a way that will allow for new growth on the plant. If you have forsythia bushes, they may be blooming right now - their branches are perfect for this project!
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http://kitchenwitchuk.blogspot.com/2011/03/ostara-crafts.html

Snake Wreath

St Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, at least according to legend, but what he really did was eliminate a lot of the old Pagan faiths by introducing Christianity. Many Pagans and Wiccans quietly protest St. Patrick by wearing a serpent pin or shirt on St. Patrick's Day. If you'd just like to do something a bit quirky and different, you can decorate your front door with a Spring Snake Wreath instead.

You'll need the following supplies:

• A grapevine hoop or other wreath form (available at craft stores)
• Spring greenery, such as ivy
• A bag of rubber snakes
• A hot glue gun
• Florist's wire
• Some ribbon

Start by decorating the grapevine wreath with your greenery. Don't use too much, because you'll want to leave room for the snakes. Next, arrange the snakes around the wreath, and hot glue them so they don't fall off. Depending on the size of your wreath -- and your snakes -- anywhere from six to a dozen should be fine. Just a word of caution here - don't touch the tip of your hot glue gun to the rubber snakes. Trust me, they don't like this.

As a finishing touch, tie a length of ribbon into a bow and fix it in place with the florist's wire. Use an additional loop of wire at the top to hang the wreath up.



thats all folks!!! lol for now...