We make these Eggheads with cress hair every year because the kids think they’re so funny. If you get them ready four or five days beforehand they will have grown a full head of hair ready for the Easter weekend – which you can then snip off to enjoy with an egg sandwich.
Eggheads with cress hair
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You will need:
:: empty egg shells (try to just break off the top to empty them, so you have a good size shell left to use)
:: marker pens
:: stick-on wobbly eyes (optional)
:: cotton wool
:: crees seeds
:: empty egg box
To make them:
1. Wash out the egg shells and sit them in the egg box to keep them steady (on a cotton wool cushion to raise them up a bit if you need to).
2. Draw on some crazy faces, using the goggly eyes if you’ve got some. You could do self-portraits or funny faces (or maybe that’s one and the same thing?)
3. Put some cotton wool inside the shells and dampen them with some water.
4. Sprinkle cress seeds all over the cotton wool – good coverage will give you a full head of hair.
5. Pop them on a windowsill and wait for the hair to sprout. It’ll only take a couple of days.
6. Add a little bit of water if the cotton wool dries out, but not too much.
You can also use grass seeds for this craft. This allows you to give the eggheads a haircut which will grow back ready for a restyle. However you can’t put the grass on your sandwiches!
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Great minds must think alike – we made them too!!
Hi Melissa – they’re fun aren’t they? Ours are just starting to get hair.
I am making them this weekend with a family get together ! Thank you so much for the great idea !
Have fun Mareica!
I do love these. We use to make them out of old stockings when I was little. We use to stitch on little felt eyes and make funny faces. It was great fun. A family Easter tradition. I am looking forward to continuing this tradition when my little ones are old enough.
Thanks Kate. I love carrying on traditions from my own childhood too.
What a great idea. My kids would get a kick out of this, and I’m sure it’s so much fun to watch the hair grow.
Thanks Amy!
These are so cute! My kids would get such a kick out of them. I think we might make some this week. Thanks for the inspiration!
A pleasure Krissy – hope they have fun growing them.
I want to do this with my boys next week but could you tell me if cotton wool is the same as cotton balls? Thanks so much.
Hi Kathleen – that’s right, exactly the same. We would love to see a photo of your egg men!
This is just adorable. I will have to try this with my son!
I love their little eyes! My kids would love this. Thanks for the inspiration.
Those are adorable! great idea- I really love them. Found you through Kid’s Co-op link… I’m from http://www.penpalsandpicturebooks.com 🙂
Absolutely adorable! 🙂 Will show this to My daughter tonight.. I’m sure she’ll find them cute
What a fun idea. Love it!
Oh my gosh, this is so friggin’ adorable! My kids will love this! Just wondering where you got the cress seed from?
Thanks Katie, glad you like them. In the UK cress seeds are easily available in food stores, garden centres, home stores….. Grass or cut-and-come-again lettuce seeds would be a good alternative if you can’t get cress.
Awesome!
I am having a hard time finding cress, where do you buy it?
Hi Diane. In the UK cress seeds are very readily available, in many food stores and garden centres. You could substitute with grass seeds, alphalpha or a cut-and-come-again lettuce seed if you can’t find cress.
Is cress the same as watercress I the states
Hi Dawn. No, it’s mustard cress that we used here. Watercress is quite a bit bigger I think. As an alternative you could try grass seeds, alfalfa or a cut-and-come-again lettuce. Hope that helps, Cathy
I’m a Brit in the US and will try peppergrass seed from
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JCRQS9O
and
https://www.edenbrothers.com/store/cress_seeds_curled.html
If I can’t find any in my local garden store.
How many egg heads does a packet of seeds make? I’m planning this for a large group and wondering how much seed I’ll need.
With 300 seeds per pack? You only need a little sprinkling in each egg, but it’s going to depend on how (overly??) generous the children are when they add them. A pack of 300 seeds could easily do 10 eggs if you share them out.
Oh I think I’ll make these! My kids could find them in their Easter baskets!?✝
Do you know if this would work with plastic eggs? I am teaching kinder summer school and wonder if plastic would work to eliminate cracking.
Hi Vanessa. Yes, I think that would be fine. You’ll just need to take care not to overwater them, although I think many plastic eggs do have a small hole in the base which could provide some drainage.
Great, thank you! 🙂
How do I go about cracking the top portion of the egg off without cracking the whole thing? I know this may sound lame, but I am just a guy.
Thanks.
Hi Tim. Gently does it! I use a teaspoon and tap/chip away gently around the top. You can use uncooked eggs, but you can also use hard boiled eggs, which makes things a bit easier. Just be sure to wash out all traces of the inside from the shell before you use them.
Do you know if this would work well with gardening in general? The past few years my children and I start our own plants from seeds and I was thinking once the plants got started inside the egg shells you would simply need to transplant the whole egg shell into the soil, no disturbing the roots. Plus egg shell is supposed to be good nutrients for plants anyways. Just wondering if you have tried it and what the results are? Thanks 🙂
Hi Mandy. I have seen this recommended as a seed starter idea. People use cardboard egg cartons in the same way, as they will also biodegrade in the soil. My only reason not to use this method myself is that I like to grow strong seeds with a good root before planting them out and I don’t think the space available inside an eggshell allows enough room for a good root stock to grow.
I love these. I volunteer in my daughters first grade class to do a craft (I supply the stuff) with the kids and her teacher wants to do something for Spring. I am from Scotland but live in America so my first thought was cress since I grew up with it so I was bummed when I found it not available here! I would like the kids to be able to eat what grows from the ‘egg heads’ but I think we will be limited to grass, which will take longer to grow as well. Bummer!
Hi Nicola. I’ve heard that cress is pretty elusive in the US. Strange! What about alfalfa sprouts or a cut-and-come-again lettuce, they’d be quick. Or chives? Hope you have lots of fun making them anyway!
Would like to use this for Messy church for easter this year the kids will love it to take home
This is so cute. I ordered the cress seeds from Amazon. But what do you mean by cotton wool?
Thanks.
Hi Sally. Cotton wool is the white, fluffy balls / pads that you might use to remove cosmetics or nail polish. It makes a clean alternative to soil for starting seeds.