After perusing produce at the Leslieville Farmers’ Market, trot along Queen East for another fresh offering.

At the year-round Arts Market local artisans, crafts-people and designers can rent square footage by the weekend or the month.

Among the 30 artists we swooned over Liz Emirzian’s raw illustrations inspired by her ancestors (from $10) and jewellery boxes made out of antique books (from $50). Also divine, hand-stitched Mubanga cards embellished with textiles (from $4), and boldly painted light-switch plates (from $15) by Cherry Bomb Vintage.

Bringing baby along? There’s even stroller parking. Now that’s crafty. —Marianne Wisenthal

Arts Market, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 1114 Queen St. E., Toronto, 647-997-7616 www.artsmarket.ca

We love a good DIY project.

Especially when the recipient is so gosh-darned cute, we’d do anything for her. Happy Sew Lucky  kits come with everything we need to sew our own baby gifts. Our favourite? The dinnertime book. Printed on 100% organic cotton, it requires sewing only in straight lines (bonus!) and stars all the cute and cuddly characters in the Happy Sew Lucky family.

Just B.Y.O.S. (bring your own sewing machine). —Kelsey Dundon

http://happysewlucky.com

You've glued one too many cotton tails to your fingertips to know that Easter arts and crafts are serious business. But instead of cracked eggs and tears, try this Eggs Au Natural activity from upcoming book, Everyday Eden, by Christina Symons and John Gillespie of Roberts Creek, B.C.

Eggs Au Natural
There are many natural dye bases to choose from, including berries, vegetables and spices. Use what you have on hand to experiment.

You can dye your eggs using the boiling method or the cold-dipping method. Cold dipping is best when small children are participating. For either method, first mix and prepare your dyes. For the eggs pictured, use red cabbage, tumeric, coffee, beets and grape juice.

Once you prepare your blend (as noted below), strain out any solids and you are ready to dip! Dip hard-boiled or blown-out eggs into your dyes and allow them to soak for a few minutes or several hours (the longer they soak, the deeper the colour). Try double dipping for cool colour combinations. Affix masking-tape cutouts (flower shapes) or pre-cut stickers before dipping to create a patterned effect.

Alternatively, you can boil raw eggs right in your prepared dyes for ten to eight minutes or longer. The extra heat required to cook the eggs will result in deeper, darker colour.

Red Cabbage Dye Base
Boil 4 cups of chopped red cabbage in 6 cups of water for 30 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp f vinegar and allow to cool.

Turmeric Dye Base
Add 4 Tbsp powered turmeric to 4 cups of boiling water and stir well. Add 1 Tbsp of vinegar and allow to cool.

Coffee Dye Base
Brew 4 cups of very strong coffee. Place in saucepan, add 1 Tbsp of vinegar and allow to cool.

Beet Dye Base
Boil 3 cups of chopped beets in 6 cups of water for 40 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp of vinegar and allow to cool.

Grape Dye Base
Bring 4 cups of grape juice to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp of vinegar and allow to cool. You can try wild or cultivated blackberries (use up those frozen ones from last summer!).

http://everydayeden.com

Regular readers will know about our love for all things kooky – pixie haircuts, gappy teeth, lollipops and lamps in the shape of giraffes.

Pompoms are our latest penchant, and with the help of this handy gadget (from 8.95) we’ve managed to whip up dozens of them.

After reading about the Clover pompom maker on one of our favourite blogs, we searched far and wide to find one. Toronto’s Passion Knit has various sizes in stock, and once you try it, you’ll wonder how you ever pompomed without one.

Our plan is to tie knitted baubles to our holiday gift wrapping or make garlands for our staircase and tree. We may even make some pompom leis for our friends.

Laugh if you like, but we predict a trend.

Passion Knit, 3355 Yonge St., Toronto, 416-322-0688, www.passionknit.ca

If Vogue represents your aspirational style and Dwell your ultimate domestic bliss, then new digital publication http://lapetitemag.com may well spell out your fantasy family life.

With whimsical fashion spreads and gorgeous do-it-yourself kids projects like Sailor Hats and Butterfly Masks there is plenty for the dress-up drama queen.

Their "turn this room into an outfit" column is a double-whammy of style, while their kids hairstyling feature shows you how to create the perfect ballet bun.

Now if you could only figure out where she has hidden her brush, today.

http://lapetitemag.com

There are plenty of things we wish we could do: fold fitted sheets, dance the foxtrot, poach a perfect egg.

We also wish we could knit, patchwork and crochet. For those who can, there is the wonderful NYC-based Purl Soho. It’s a crafters delight, filled with yarns, trims, buttons and fabric to satisfy every whim.

We can wrap a present, and for that there is a feast of gorgeous papers, felt tags and pretty ribbons.

As for the foxtrot, we’re still waiting for our Fred Astaire.

www.purlsoho.com

You hung pompoms from your school boater, bleached your bangs and stuck rhinestones over scuffs in your jeans. Yeah, you were crafty.

If you’re creativity needs a kick-start P.S.– I Made This is sure to inspire. The offspring of Erica Domesek’s wildly imaginative blog, this book is stacked with designer DIY ways to individualize your look.

Wanna make a faux fur vest, punkify your heels or design a necklace out of grandma’s old cocktail rings? Let this book be your guide.

Go on, reclaim your crafting crown.

Available at Amazon.ca

Sure she’s daddy’s little girl, but it’s your closet that Little Miss Dress Up raids come playtime.

Spare the Loeffler Randall sandals, but spoil her inner Rachel Zoe, with Dace Paper Dolls. A collaboration with Philadelphia fashion illustrator Dallas Shaw, the doll and the fall 2010 Dace fashions to dress it with are a free download. The first look featuring a knit dress, ankle booties and a billowy jacket is now online, and more will follow in the next couple of months.

Suddenly saying “cut that out” sounds so obliging.

www.dace.ca

Nuclear family, blended family, dysfunctional family…every clan is one of a kind.

Which is why we love the Modern Play House ($20.56) and Modern Play Family ($14.14) kits from MoMA. Your brood can create a miniature house with over 50 design options for walls, furniture, flooring, lighting and décor and a bespoke family (2 adults, 3 children, 2 dogs, 1 cat and a doghouse) with the 150+ mix-and-match hair and accessories pieces.

Now that’s putting family first.

Modern Play House and Family (sold separately) at Amazon.ca

Hot Cross Buns ordered?

Baskets assembled?

Husband’s bunny costume picked up from the cleaners? (Don’t laugh, Ben Affleck has one.)

Now how about dinner decor?

Cotton yarn, glue and balloons are all you need to make these jaunty decorative eggs, and, alas, there will be no need to hide them.

Okay hubby, hop to it!

For step-by-step instructions, click here.