Easter Egg Sun Catchers

I feel like I am behind on posting since Easter has come and gone, but really, it felt a bit early this year. Anyway, here is a project we did on Sunday. We've done plenty of these sun catchers over the past couple of years. It's so easy and relatively mess-free, that once you have made them you find occasions to make more. Plus, it helps if you already have a stock-pile of pre-cut tissue paper squares in an assortment of colors. I prepped a few paper eggs and Con-tact paper rectangles and then took the whole bunch along to Grandma and Grandpa's house so that all the kids could make them, if they chose.

{Pink Egg by Mia, Age 6 & Yellow Egg by Logan, Age 3}

Materials:

• colored tissue paper
• scissors
• pencil
• construction paper
• clear Con-tact paper 
• scrap paper (optional, for making egg template)
• paper trimmer (optional)
• clear tape (for hanging finished sun catchers)

Directions:

1. Cut colored tissue paper into small squares. I used approximately 1 inch squares, but you could make yours bigger or smaller depending on the age of the children. Tip: To make this process go faster, layer a couple of pieces of tissue paper together, cut into smaller rectangles, and then cut the rectangles into strips, re-layering as needed. Put as many strips together as you can comfortably cut before cutting smaller squares. Tip: I save all of the cut tissue paper from previous projects, and store it in zippered baggies according to color. Tip: You don't need to go out and buy nice, new tissue paper. We re-use all the crumpled pieces that come in gift bags.
2. Fold a piece of construction paper in half like a hamburger. 
3. Fold a piece of scrap paper in half, hamburger-style, draw one half of an egg shape, and cut it out. Make sure that your template will fit within the borders of your folded construction paper, with about an inch or more border all the way around. Tip: You could also find an egg template online if you prefer. Tip: If you are only making one egg sun catcher, you can save this step by simply folding your paper in half a second time, drawing your egg shape, and then cutting it out. You should end up with two corresponding egg shapes on either original half of the folded paper.The template is just handy if you know you will be making several sun catchers.
4. Lay your egg template onto the construction paper, trace it with a pencil, and then cut it out so that both sides of the folded paper have a corresponding egg shape removed from the center.
5. Cut two pieces of clear Con-tact paper (I used both a paper trimmer and scissors for this.) so that they are at least 1/2 to 1 inch larger than the construction paper all the way around. Tip: Do not remove backing from contact paper until you are ready to use it. Tip: If you have leftover pieces of Con-tact paper, save them for future projects. For example, I find that the long, somewhat narrow strip left after making several of these sun catchers is just the right size for "laminating" labels onto jars of homemade play dough, which we give as gifts. The smaller remnants are also good for hanging leaves in the fall.
6. Adhere one side of the paper to the clear Con-tact paper so that there is a border of at least 1/2 inch all around the paper. Tip: Slowly peel the Con-tact paper away from the backing as you smooth the construction paper down onto the contact paper. This way you don't end up with "bubbles."
7. Have your child stick tissue paper squares onto the Con-tact paper egg shape until it is filled. Tip: You can use multiple different colors or shades of the same color (pink, purple, etc.) of tissue paper to give the sun catcher a more complex design. It looks especially nice where the two colors have overlapped in places.
8. Layer the other half of construction paper on top of the first, making sure that the egg shapes line up. Tip: If you wish for the project to have a name and date, add this to the back before sealing up the sun catcher.
9. Add the second piece of Con-tact paper over the top, smoothing it down as you go. Trim away excess if desired, but don't trim too much or the sun catcher will not stay together. 1/4 inch is the minimum border I would recommend.
10. You can display your sun catcher in a window using clear tape. Another option is to use a hole punch to make two holes near the top, thread some ribbon or yarn through the holes, tie it off, and then hang your sun catcher.