Being German-American, I have a special affection for the holiday traditions from the homeland of my ancestors. Each year, I have a lot of fun applying my own creative touch to traditional German Easter treasures. This year, I have created Cottontail Cheri, an Easter market like those held in Germany. (Sadly, much of last year's collection was destroyed in the flood.) I particularly enjoy decorating papier mâché eggs my own way, like the one above. I started with a robin's egg treatment and added a curious medallion made of old German type and plaid paper rope (untwisted), centered by a tiny bunny. Martha Stewart's coffee bean-edged pink ribbon finishes it off. I really heart Florentine designer paper, and it looks just stunning on a papier mâché egg. Add Dresden foil trim, and you have a family heirloom. By the way, that fellow who's helping me show off my Easter eggs is a little replica of a longtime Reuther family heirloom, Bummy Rabbit, a wrought iron rabbit that my grandmother, Mammy, had in her yard when I was a little girl. The full-sized Bummy now sits in my patio garden, a proud survivor of last year's flood. Here's the German script medallion again, this time with pleated Florentine paper, on a bronze painted papier mâché Easter egg. Scalloped green Dresden trim is the finishing touch. These eggs make the best candy boxes, to hold little treats and nestle in an Easter basket. If you've followed this blog, you know what a fan I am of D. Blumchen & Co., where they specialize in imported German craft and holiday specialties. That's where I got my papier mâché eggs and German die-cut scrap, like the bunny on the egg above. I used a dimensional découpage technique to apply the little fellow to this robin's egg painted candy box, which is a little smaller than those above. The tall bunny showing off this egg is destined to become a family heirloom.   Again, beautiful Florentine designer paper, on a smaller papier mâché egg, finished with Dresden trim. The smaller bronze egg here has a German text medallion with pleated Florentine paper, this time centered by a prim little paper rose. I do hope you'll visit my Cottontail Chéri Easter market and make one of these creations an heirloom for your own family. Each item in the market includes a link to Etsy, where I am selling this collection. And stay tuned to Atelier Chéri, where I'll be telling you about some of the other Easter treasures at Cottontail Chéri. à bientôt...Tatie