Crafts to Celebrate the Ostara Sabbat

Dye Agent - Resulting Color

• Paprika - Red/pink
• Concentrated grape juice -Purple
• Yellow onion skins - Yellow
• Curry powder or turmeric - Gold
• Coffee grounds - Beige
• Frozen spinach - Light green
• Frozen blueberries - Blue

You need enough water just to cover the eggs a bit.

• Start boiling the water.
• Add 2 tsp of white vinegar.
• Add a few eggs (you want room for them to roll around in the boiling water, so don’t overpack).
• Add the coloring agent for that batch.
• Simmer the eggs for 20 minutes or so.

You can experiment with different amounts of color and combinations to create varying shades and hues. Have fun!

Egg Holders

Instead of using commercial paper to print and cut out the wraps you would roll into egg holders, consider using natural items instead. Birch is one of the trees of the sabbat, and its bark is often used as paper. Use birch bark to create individual holders for the eggs. You can even draw or paint on them to add some festive designs! Pliable twigs and sturdy leaves also make great egg holders to display your naturally decorated eggs.

Crystal Eggs

Crystal eggs could also be called treasure eggs. You bake a crystal or gemstone into a flour mixture that hardens. Hide the eggs, and kids can break them open to release the treasure when they find them!

You’ll need:

• crystals or gemstones
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup salt
• ¼ cup clean sand
• 1 cup used coffee grounds
• ¾ cup warm water
• non-stick cooking spray
• paint

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix the sand, coffee, flour, and salt together. Slowly add the water, kneading until a gritty, thick dough forms. Spray a crystal or gemstone with the cooking spray. Get a small scoop of dough and press the crystal into the center. Cover the crystal completely with the dough and shape it into an egg shape. Repeat the process until you have all the eggs you want. Bake them for roughly 15 minutes and then cool completely. Once cool, they should feel similar to a rock. Paint and decorate the eggs. Once dry, hide the eggs for Ostara. Crack open to find the treasure!

Bring Nature Inside

Miniature Greenhouse

Planting outside isn’t possible in many areas at Ostara because the ground is still too hard, and the temperature is still too low. You can get your plants started, though, by planting your seeds inside and tending them in a makeshift mini greenhouse. Plant the seeds indoors at Ostara, and they’ll be ready to plant outside when the ground thaws.

You’ll need:

• seeds
• small peat pots or empty full eggshells
• potting soil best suited for your seeds
• an aluminum (no colors or designs) disposable baking pan that comes with a clear plastic lid
• Poke drainage holes in the bottom of the baking pan. These shouldn’t be overly large but also shouldn’t be pinpricks either.
• Fill the peat pots or eggshells with the potting soil and pack them into the baking pan – this should be a snug fit.
• Push a seed into each pot/shell and cover it with dirt.
• Mist the entire pan with water.
• If you’d like, use a sharpie to label the outside of the baking pan with what each seed is.
• Secure the lid onto the pan and place it on a sunny windowsill (south-facing windows get the most sun).
• You’ll notice condensation on the inside of the lid as the pan begins to warm in the sun.
• Try not to remove the lid at all as the seeds grow – if you feel you need to water again,
• be very quick, and don’t leave the lid off for long.

Sit back and watch your seeds burst forth as seedlings and turn into plants! When it is time to plant outside, you can place the entire peat pot/eggshell and seedling in the ground.

Ostara Tree

Festive trees aren’t just for Yule! You can make a beautiful tree for Ostara to display your eggs and other decorations using found branches and other amazing bits of nature. You can also make this very reflective of you and your family, as there is no one way to make and decorate an Ostara tree.

You’ll need:

• a base, such as a flower pot, ceramic pitcher, vase, etc.
• sturdy found branches
• decorative found branches
• florist foam
• Spanish moss
• ribbons, string, and other decorations

• Cut the florist foam to the size of the bottom of your base. Insert it and make sure it is snug and sturdy.
• Add the branches that will be used for hanging decorations, then add your decorative branches.
• Display them however you’d like, making a tree shape spring from your vase/pot/pitcher. Hang eggs, salt dough ornaments, ribbons, flowers, and other seasonal decorations from the sturdy branches.