What do you do with all those plastic eggs after the Easter bunny has made his exit? Mine seem to accumulate in my yard, making me crazy. I have painted them with puffy paint, used them as dinosaur egg molds, and filled them cinnamon—and this year, I converted some yellow eggs into pineapples.
Light-up pineapples, to be exact, and they are pretty rad, if I do say so myself.
SUPPLIES
- Yellow plastic Easter eggs
- LED outdoor string lights
- Black marker
- Drill or awl
- Green spiky floral picks
- Hot glue and glue gun
PINEAPPLE-IFY YOUR EGGS
First, I turned my plastic eggs into pineapples by drawing triangles on them, starting along the edge of one half of the egg. I made the next row by connecting two sides of the triangles to the bottom two points below.
After you have one half of the egg decorated, put the other half of your egg on and do the other side, matching up your pattern. The "pointy" side of your egg will be the top of your pineapple, so be sure your triangles point that way. Add diamond shapes if you want.
EGG HOLES
Using either a drill or an awl, make two holes in the "pointy side" of your egg. I made the holes after I drew on the eggs, but in retrospect, it might be better to make your holes before you decorate them—the less handling of the eggs, the better, because even permanent marker can rub off. Make sure your two holes are large enough for a string light and a floral pick.
PUT A CROWN ON IT
The green leaves at the top of the pineapple are known as the crown. I used a floral pick from Hobby Lobby as my crown. You could also make your own using some sort of weather-resistant green plastic (maybe an office folder). Put your pick through one of the holes and close your egg, sealing the crown with a bit of hot glue.
LIGHT IT UP
My string lights came with small lanterns, which I removed and saved for another project. Once I had naked lights, I inserted one into each pineapple egg, adding a bit of hot glue around the top to hold the light in place.
DISPLAY
I strung my lights underneath my outdoor table umbrella. I can't wait to take a dip in my pool, then come sit under my pineapple lights one warm night this summer, sipping a piña colada.
Be sure to keep an eye on your lights, and unplug them when not in use. I have low-temperature lights; that's important. Be sure yours are low-temperature, too, so they do not melt your eggs. The instructions on my lights also said not to use them for longer than an hour at a time.
I love my new lights! This might be my favorite non-Easter Easter craft of all time. I have seen red and pink eggs made into strawberries—I'm now thinking about green egg limes and yellow egg lemons. By the time my marker and I get done, I will have a whole fruit bowl filled with plastic eggs.
Check out more of my Easter adventures on my blog.