For our colorful Easter basket projects, we planned each basket around one color, but you can mix colors or combine ideas from different baskets. If you blow out the eggs (see below), you can keep them from year to year. Boiled eggs could be used instead, but remember that they are perishable and heavier (so they won't nestle as nicely in, say, a bed of clover).

Blowing Out Eggs
Gently pierce both ends of a raw egg with a utility knife, and twirl knife to widen one hole slightly. Straighten a paper clip, and poke it through the larger hole to pierce and stir the yolk. Hold the egg, larger hole down, over a bowl, and blow the contents out with a rubber ear syringe (available at drugstores).

Dyeing Eggs
Stick flathead pins into a piece of foam board to create a drying rack that won't rub dye off the eggs. Mix 1 tablespoon vinegar and about five drops of food coloring in 1 cup of hot water (combine colors as desired; for our green basket, we mixed a few drops of yellow with green dye for chartreuse, and added blue for turquoise). Use a heatproof jar or cup deep enough for an egg to be submerged. Using tongs to prevent floating, keep eggs in dye for one minute for lighter colors or up to five minutes for a darker color; adjust tongs periodically so they don't make a mark. Carefully set eggs atop the pins on the drying rack to dry, about 30 minutes.

Gilding Eggs
Step 1
Used for the gold basket. At a crafts store, buy gold leaf in various shades (you'll need three or four gold sheets per egg). Blow out eggs. Working in a draft-free room and using a small brush, paint blown-out eggs with size, an adhesive material, and let dry on a drying rack according to manufacturer's instructions.

Step 2
Wearing cotton gloves, rub a thin gilder's tip brush on your hair to create static, and lift one gold sheet from the packet. Drape it over egg coated with size, and smooth with your fingers. Repeat until egg is covered. Go over egg with a soft, clean natural paintbrush to even out the texture and brush off any extra flakes.

Making Chicks
Step 1
Used for the yellow basket. You will need a 1 1/8-inch pom-pom maker from a crafts store and yellow yarn (this is a thin mohair, but we used various thicknesses for different piles). Wrap yarn around two of the kit's plastic pieces placed back to back, until the middle is filled with yarn. Repeat with the other two plastic pieces. Hook the two sides into each other to make a yarn 'wreath.' Cut around sides of the wreath. Use yellow twine to tie yarn in the middle. Remove plastic pieces to reveal pom-pom. Trim again to make pom-pom round. To make a smaller pom-pom for the head, use less yarn or trim down a large pom-pom. Sew pom-poms through centers with yellow thread to connect the head to the body.

Step 2
Trim the nap from orange pipe cleaners to create legs. Cut two 2 1/2-inch pieces, and bend them in the middle for 'knees.' Notch at the bottom, as shown. Bend a 3/4-inch piece into a V, dab white glue on outside corner, and cinch inside notch to create feet. Put a dab of glue on the top of the legs, and push into pom-pom so that chick will be able to stand; adjust position of legs, and allow glue to dry with chick standing up. Cut two small triangles of felt for the beak, and adhere with dabs of glue. Thread a needle with black embroidery thread, and tie a knot at the end. Insert needle where eye would be, and push through head, leaving knot flush with pom-pom surface; knot and trim other end for second eye.

Planting a Basket
Used for the yellow basket. First, place a plastic liner inside a basket and fill it with soil so it is mounded in spots, like a hilly field. Turn daffodils out of their plastic pots, and plant in soil; for a more natural look, carefully tease apart daffodils before planting. Place cushion moss on top. Plant additional daffodils between the moss seams and into the soil to fill in bare spots. Place pom-pom chicks on top. Set the basket in a sunny location, and water frequently so it will last for several weeks.

Making Glitter Eggs
Step 1
Used for the blue basket. We put fine-glass glitter on some eggs, shard glitter on others. German egg boxes are available at specialty stores. Paint egg boxes with blue acrylic paint, and let dry. Pour some white glue into a small dish, and add a teaspoon of water to thin out. Cover the lip of egg boxes with painter's tape to prevent glitter from sticking. Paint the outside of an entire egg half with glue wash. Working over a paper plate, sprinkle egg surface with spoonfuls of glitter. Lift egg to shake off excess, and reapply what's on the paper plate until egg is completely coated. Repeat with other half. Let dry 30 minutes.

Step 2
Using the same glue-glitter technique, add sparkle to paper or fabric flowers and leaves. Decorate edge of eggs (above lip) by gluing on vintage-style paper borders (we used the back side of silver trim to get white). Glue flowers onto egg in a pattern. If desired, you can tuck construction-paper tags behind a flower or leaf, or glue them in place.

Making Polka-Dot Eggs
Used for the silver basket. First blow out and dye eggs in a variety of colors (see instructions, opposite); the color of the dye will be the color of the polka dots. You'll also need adhesive vinyl letters, silver spray paint, and ribbon rosettes, which can be found at specialty trimmings stores. Using different-size hole punches, make dots from adhesive vinyl letters. After the eggs have dried, adhere dots in an evenly spaced pattern over eggshells. With eggs still on drying board, spray with silver paint. Let dry 15 to 20 minutes, and then flip the eggs over to spray the other sides. Let dry again. Peel off the dots. Using all-purpose glue, attach 1/8-inch silk ribbon around eggs, and adorn with ribbon rosettes.