As a child, the first signal of an approaching Easter was always the night that we’d get to dye eggs. The table would be set with glasses of brightly coloured water and a dozen, gleaming, hard boiled eggs would await each of us. We’d begin to dip and dunk the little white ovals, excitedly watching them transform before our very eyes. Our baskets would soon be filled with rainbow splashed, multi-hued masterpieces. Every year there was an egg we were proud of, an ugly egg that we hid behind the others, and at least one egg with a crack. Nestled in little woven baskets around the house, we would proudly leave our creations on display for the duration of the Easter season.
It’s been several years since I last decorated an egg, but now that I’ve got a little one of my own, it’s time to revive this time-honoured tradition. (Even if this year our baby Ali-gator doesn’t get to touch them.)
While “Pinteresting” ways to decorate eggs, I came across these gorgeous hand-painted Easter Eggs by Craftberry Bush. There was but one slight problem – my utter lack of painting skills. I knew that to even attempt this level of artistry would be the worst possible decision (most likely ending with a dozen eggs thrown bitterly over the balcony). I might as well have handed the eggs and paint to my 8 month old because I’m sure his rendition would be of significantly higher quality than mine. I could foresee these eggs quickly turning into undecipherable blobs of mushy colour. “Oh bother, I might as well just dye them…”
And then, while shopping at Michaels, I stumbled across a few pages of paper designed with pale, pink cherry blossoms. Acknowledging the fact that I’m not (and never will be) good with watercolours, I decided to cheat a little on my “hand-painted” Easter eggs. I decided to decoupage them.
Decoupage Easter Eggs
Supplies Needed:
– Patterned Paper (cut out into individual pieces)
– White Glue
– Craft bowl for glue
– Paint brush
– Eggs (hard boiled or blown out)
Tip: For a longer lasting display, I started by blowing the yolk out of my eggs. (For steps on how to blow your eggs out, click here.)
Tip: Be sure to line your work space with newspaper or paper towel in order to avoid getting glue everywhere. I also found it helpful to have extra paper towels nearby as my fingers became quite sticky.
1. Cut your flowered (or patterned) paper into individual pieces. If the pieces are too large they may crease when placed against the egg. Choose a smaller scale pattern with a design that’s easy to cut out. It’s also best to avoid patterns that have to precisely line up (such as plaid or other geometrical patterns) unless you’re up for the extra challenge.
2. In craft bowl, dilute white glue with equal parts water. (My white glue was the cheap dollar store variety and already quite thin, so I didn’t need to add as much water.)
3. Using the paintbrush, cover the back of an individual paper cutout with the glue mixture and lay it against the egg shell.
3. Smooth out any creases with your finger and add an extra layer of glue on top of the flower.
4. Add paper pieces as preferred until the egg is completed.
4. Let dry overnight. In order to let it dry evenly, I chose to complete half the egg, let it dry, and then finish the second half later.
These eggs were super easy to make and required almost no artistic talent on my end. Personally, I love the way that the cherry blossom eggs turned out. From a couple feet away, they definitely look “hand painted” which is solely due to the design of the paper. The blue eggs also have a cool effect, although they were a little more tedious to complete (but still a lot of fun!)
I couldn’t be happier with the way this project turned out! These little eggs are going to make the perfect centerpiece for my table this Easter!
