If you're like me, you can't get enough of egg decorating. During our annual family egg-decorating party I'm the biggest kid of all, dyeing my quota of eggs in record time. When my allotment of eggs is used up, I dye them all over again, using a piece of candle to make wax-resist patterns.
Wax resist dyed eggs /Gold- and silver-leafed eggs
Preparing Eggs for Decorating
Eggs can be hard-boiled so they can be eaten, or blown out while raw. Blowing out an egg involves removing the yolk and white while leaving the shell mostly intact . The traditional methods of egg decorating, such as Pysanky--Ukrainian Easter egg decorating--use raw eggs. The contents of the shell eventually dry up completely over time, and symbolically the traditional raw egg is the best type of egg to keep , as the "might" of the egg remains in the shell. If you choose to decorate raw eggs , remember that they are fragile, and if they break before fully dry, they will release those noxious, rotten-egg fumes.
Blowing Eggs
For this technique, make a small hole with a needle at either end of the egg, being sure to pierce the yolk. Place your mouth over one end and blow gently until all the contents are out. The USDA says because some raw eggs may contain salmonella , you must use caution when blowing out eggs. Use only eggs that have been kept refrigerated and are uncracked. To destroy bacteria that may be present on the surface of the egg, wash the egg in hot water and then rinse in a solution of one teaspoon chlorine bleach per half cup of water. Rinse well in warm water again.
Art Tissue-Paper /Collage Eggs
Cut or tear small pieces of art tissue paper (it won't bleed when wet) and stick them to hard-boiled eggs with Mod Podge or diluted white glue. We used a 1/2-inch brush to cover the egg with glue mixture and then set the tissue-paper pieces in place. Brush glue on the stuck-on pieces, then add more pieces, overlapping as you go. Seal the finished egg with two or three coats of Mod Podge. This process can also be used on foam, wooden or cardboard eggs. The cardboard eggs shown on the Easter feather tree were covered with paper (the trick: cut slits at each end of a rectangular piece of paper the length of the egg. Glue one little strip at a time, overlapping as you go). Cardboard eggs can also be painted and decorated with markers.
Photo eggs
Fun Family Photo Eggs
Gaze into a teenie-weenie egg to view a beloved family member or pet. Thanks to HGTV's Carol Duvall (see CDS-568) for perfecting these gazing eggs. We covered them with art tissue-paper collage. The outside of the egg is decorated first, then the egg is drained and the snapshot is affixed inside.
Tips for selecting photographs: The photo image should be small enough to fit inside the egg with extra room at the top. If the selected image is too large, use a copy machine to reduce it to the proper size. Original photographs are sturdy enough to stand without support. If you use a photocopy, either laminate it or glue it to an index card to give it more body.
Materials:
raw eggs at room temperature
decorative materials for outside of egg: art tissue paper, decorative napkins or metal leaf
decorative materials for inside back of egg: art tissue paper, craft paint or small scenery photo
scissors
Mod Podge or diluted white glue
flat brush about 1/2 inch wide
cuticle scissors
snapshots
small piece of cardboard
strip of card stock for stand
Steps:
1. Decorate the outside of the raw egg. We used the art tissue-paper collage method. Thin layers of decorative napkins are an alternative to tissue paper. Gold- or silver-leafing is also an option. Note: If gold- or silver-leafing the outside of the egg, cut the hole and rinse out the egg (steps 2 and 3) before painting or attaching the gold leaf.
2. Using cuticle scissors with blades closed, poke a small hole in one side of the egg, then open the scissors and cut an opening. Follow the outline of the egg when cutting the opening; it should be large enough to easily accommodate the photo image inside but small enough to give the illusion of looking inside something.
3. Thoroughly rinse out the inside of the egg with running water. If you plan to paint the inside of the egg instead of covering it with a picture or tissue paper, remove the membrane so it will not flake out later.
4. If you line the interior of the egg with tissue paper, use the same method as used for the outside of the egg, and extend the tissue paper over the edge of the hole to the outside to create a finished edge. If using a paper scene for the background, first create a pattern by placing the egg, opening side down, on a piece of paper. Draw a line around the egg about 3/4 inch from the outer edge. Cut this out. Draw a second oval inside the first about 3/4 inch from the outer edge. Cut many slashes from the outer edge to the drawn oval. Push it into the egg. It should fit reasonably well with most of the inside of the egg covered. Any protruding paper can be snipped off. This will be your pattern.
5. Place the pattern on the background photo, trace around and cut it out. Slash around the outer edge and push it into the egg. It should hold snugly without any gluing.
6. Cut the selected image and fit it into the egg. It should look as if it is on the ground and not floating in the air. Experiment to see where the image looks the best. It will give the illusion of most dimension if it not placed too far to the front or the back. When you've determined the placement, glue the image into position using a small folded strip of cardboard glued or taped to the back of the picture as well as to the inside back wall of the egg.
7. If grass is desired, cut many tiny pieces of green tissue paper and place them inside the egg.
8. Make a small stand for the egg with a ring of cardstock or lightweight cardboard. Cut a 1/2-inch wide strip about six inches long. Cut a slit at each end of the strip on opposite sides, about an inch in from the end, and interlock the slits to form a ring. Glue the ends flat.
Eggs-cellent Eggheads
Glue a photo of your favorite pretty face to a wooden egg and surround with a headful of sheet-moss "hair." Use white glue to attach the photo to the egg and hot glue to attach the moss.
Eggs-cellent eggheads
Wax resist egg
Wax-Resist Dyed Eggs
Dye eggs the old-fashioned way with food color and vinegar. The directions on the food coloring package make it easy: add one teaspoon of vinegar to 1/2 cup boiling water and add 20 drops of the desired color. You're not limited to the red, yellow, blue and green enclosed; follow the recipes on the back of the package to create lots of great colors like orange sunset, jungle green and teal blue. Make patterned eggs by drawing on a dyed egg with a piece of wax--a candle stub about three inches long, quartered lengthwise and sharpened works well--then dipping the egg in another color. The waxed area will resist the new dye color, making your drawn design visible . Create a complex surface design by overdyeing two or three times, drawing a new pattern between each dye bath. If you end up with eggs the color of mud, just rinse them off and begin again.
A Heavy-Metal Easter!
Heavy metal basket with eggs
There are lots of products available to add a sophisticated metallic sparkle to your Easter eggs or baskets. Use Liquid Leaf paint, metallic ink and paint pens, or actual silver and gold leaf. To gold- or silver-leaf an egg, first brush the egg with gold-leaf adhesive size. When the adhesive changes from milky white to clear (usually 30 to 60 minutes), gently press the leaf in place. Dust away the excess with a soft brush or cloth.
Add shine to an ordinary inexpensive woven basket with coppery metallic leafing paint and a silver leafing pen. Brush on Liquid Leaf in copper and add silver highlights with a Krylon metallic leafing pen. Fill the basket with spun copper from Loose Ends and metallic eggs in copper and gold and silver leaf.
Safety note: Gold-leaf adhesive and metallic paint and ink all give off harmful vapors. Reserve these projects for adults only, and be sure to always use these products in a well-ventilated area.
Easter Collection
Linear Mode
