But I Smile Anyway…

The things we do!

I’ve seen these on the internet so many times and wanted to try them for ages. I’d bought all the materials required but they just sat in my giant arts and crafts collection…
Its been decided that we’re making  them with the children at school next week, so I thought I’d bust out my stuff at home n have a go.
So what do you need?
Some water balloons
PVA Glue
Water
A bowl
Some tiny treats, foil wrapped preferably
Wool/yarn
Empty egg carton
Needle or pin
Tweezers

What to do?
First somehow, and its not easy, (which is who I say small treats!) insert 2/3 treats into the balloon.
Blow them up to just bigger than egg sized.
Tie the knot.
In a bowl pour some glue, and just a splash of water, and mix well.
I cut long lengths of wool, each enough to wrap around the balloons, and soaked in the glue mixture. The length required depends on how big your balloons are.
Tip – soak them a strand at a time to avoid them getting knotted and tangled and keep one end handy for when its time to start wrapping.
Next, the messy part!
Take the wool and somehow, squeezing excess glue off it, wrap the wool around your balloon in a beautifully haphazard manner. Be sure not to leave any gaps large enough for the treats to fall out!
Once wrapped, hide the end under another piece of wool and lay in the egg carton to dry, or on a drying rack. You might find excess glue dripping off the balloons, so lay paper underneath to catch any spillages.
Once they are all complete, leave to dry. Make sure the location is not too hot, your treats might melt!
(I found  they needed a good two days to dry, leaving the wool nests pretty sturdy.)
Take your pin and gently burst the balloon, and if need be use tweezers to fish the balloon remnants out.
And you should, should, be left with a cute egg shaped basket with sweets and treats inside!
An inspired gift idea or favours idea!

Here they are!

You can experiment with different strings or wools, and also sizes!
Happy Easter Crafting folks!
🙂