Egg Week! on Pinterest

If you are the type who "pins," you should know I also have an Egg Week board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahshu/egg-week/

I have most of the blog entries on there, and also many more types of egg decorating ideas (and other fun things that go along with Egg Week).

Chalkboard Paint

You can make these cute eggs that have been painted with chalkboard paint.

Nowadays, you can buy small cans of chalkboard paint for a decent price in the craft or paint sections of many, many stores.

Basically, after you boil the eggs (or blow out the innards) you paint them.  Once dry, you can draw on them with chalk.  Prop up the eggs with papertubes whilst you are painting.

Alternative:  Black acrylic paint, and paint markers (permanent designs).  Especially if you are blowing the innards out of your eggs and want to save them for other Easters.

Lace Eggs

You can use pieces of lace to decorate eggs as well.  Get the best part of the design on the egg, wrap tight (tie off with a rubber band) and dye.

This photo is from Cottage Farm Villa who used lace and doilies to create her eggs.

Martha has a great video demonstrating this one:

http://www.marthastewart.com/245983/lace-easter-eggs

All things Rubber

I don't have individual photos for these two techniques, so bear with me.

TOP CENTER (sort of blue with light green designs):  Rubber Cement Dripped on Eggs

RIGHT (Pink Egg & Green Egg):  Rubber Band Tie-Dye

Rubber Cement:  Dye the egg first if you wish.  Then drizzle on rubber cement. Let dry and then dye the egg.  Remove rubber cement.

Rubber bands:  Dye egg with a light color first if you wish.  Place rubber bands all over egg in different patterns. Dye, remove some bands, dye, etc.


Because some of you will ask... the spiral one is Sharpie Markers, the checkerboard ones are done with electrical tape! :)

Collaged Eggs

Well, being a mixed-media artist, I'm sort of partial to collage art.

You can collage things onto your eggs.

• No, you probably DON'T want to eat them.

• Even better, blow the innards out, wash them, then collage them... and you can keep them from year to year.

You will need gel medium (matte or gloss finish). Brush on a thin layer of the gel medium, then the tissue or whatever, then one more layer of the gel medium.  

For these eggs I used:

Top Left:  Torn bits of mulberry paper (go to the art/craft supply store).

Top Right:  Bits of a road map.

Bottom Right: Napkin

Bottom Left: Sewing pattern pieces

Metallic Paint

After your eggs have dried, you can add acrylic paint.  One of my favorites is to sponge (or wadded up paper towel) on metallic paint over a contrasting color.

Again, I have no idea if you could/should eat these.  For me, it's all about how the egg looks.

Shine Your Eggs

Shiny, Happy Eggs! 

Use a dab of vegetable oil (olive oil, whatever) on a paper towel to shine up your eggs when you are finished with them. This can really help to make average eggs look fabulous! 

If you have collaged papers on to your egg - coat with gel medium varnish or a coat of gloss polyurethane (but don't eat those eggs, you know).

Traditional Rainbow

An oldie, but a goodie...

To make the traditional rainbow egg:

1) Dye half yellow.

2) Dye the other half red/pink.

3) Dye HALF of the yellow section blue.

4) Dye HALF of the pink section blue.

Yes, you can totally alter this and play around with the colors.  Try adding additional "stripes" as well.  I will warn you this one takes some patience and a steady hand - you can't just dunk this one in the dye and walk away! :)

TIE Dye Eggs

After watching Martha do this for years, I finally tried it out.  These aren't the best photos, but they are the real deal pics from my house.

First, you have to find a bunch of silk ties to cut up (Salvation Army, Goodwill, ask friends).

Cut the ties up - you need squares of just the silk design part, discard the rest.  You should be able to get enough silk from each tie to do 2-3 eggs at least.

Face the good side of the tie fabric IN and wrap around the egg. Secure with a rubber band or tie tight with string.

I don't have a good shot of this here, but if you want to do multiple eggs, also wrap with a piece of muslin or cotton (like an old sheet cut up). This is what you see in boiling pot photo.

Boil for about 15 minutes.

Again, I don't eat the eggs.

Once cooled, cross your fingers and unwrap! 

Be ready for the design to transfer in its own way. It won't be an even transfer - but it is really cool.

Martha says 20 minutes and you can eat the eggs: http://www.marthastewart.com/269788/silk-tie-easter-eggs

Paper Reinforcements

Since you can use pretty much any kind of sticker on dry eggs before you dye them, try paper reinforcement stickers (you know...the ones that look like little Cheerios).  The all plasticy ones work better than the paper ones, if you can find them.  One pack of reinforcements is PLENTY, trust me.

Dimensional Fabric Paint

Once you are done dying your eggs, you can use dimensional fabric paint to add decorations.  I'm sort of a mini-dot fan, but you can add whatever you want (words, squiggles, spirals, etc).

Make sure your egg is good and dry before using the paint.  If not, the paint won't adhere.  If you try to dye it AFTER you add the paint, be prepared for the paint to likely come off.

If the tip of your paint bottle nozzle gets clogged, sort of pull the tip off (lean it to one side), use a straight pin to get the clog out, and replace the tip.

A lot of people ask me if it's OK to eat the eggs after doing this.  I have no idea.  I rarely eat any eggs I color... sorry.  If you aren't sure - then don't.

Masking Tape

Masking tape works on eggs, too.  The edges will be a little fuzzier than electrical tape, but it depends on what look you are going for (and, often what you happen to have around the house).  This example is pretty tame, but you can cut out letters, shapes, and more.  I once did a landscape image on an egg with different "layers" of mountains and such.  You have to really think backwards - but it works!

Alphabet Stickers (and other tips for lettering)

Alphabet stickers can be found in the scrapbooking section of your craft store (among other places).  Stick them on the egg and rub hard to get them adhered as best you can. The stickers will usually hold up to one or two "dunks" of colors.  You can pre-dye (and dry) the egg before the stickers as well.

Other lettering Ideas:

• White crayons
• Those funky clear crayons that come in the Paas dye kits
• Cut letters out of electrical tape or masking tape

Dinosaur Eggs!

Dinosaur Eggs!

1. Boil your eggs and let them cool.

2. Lightly tap on the counter to make a bunch of little cracks. Some people whack them with a spoon.

3. Using one plastic bag per egg, put some food coloring in each bag.

4. Put one egg in each bag and SEAL or if you are using those weirdo folding sandwich bags, use a twist tie to be safe.

5. Sort of lightly smoosh the bag around to distribute the food coloring.

6. Let sit for a minimum of 30 min.

7. Rinse with water.

8. If you want, you can help set the color with a little pour of vinegar over them.

9. Peel!

We tried them ourselves, of course.

This was the first time EVER that none of my eggs cracked.

Will, resident egg cracker

All bundled up with dye (food coloring).

Keep 'em in the fridge.

Alternative version - using traditional egg dye kits.

This one involves one egg per bowl, and then leaving the bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours. I'm not that patient.

Electrical Tape Eggs

Using electrical tape is one of my faves - you cut it into pieces/shapes/letters and adhere it well to the dry egg (use the back of your thumbnail to rub). Drop your egg in the dye, remove tape, dye again if you like... and you are good to go.  You can get really intricate and spell out words, make pictures, etc -- with sharp, crisp edges.  

You can even save the pieces of tape and reuse them a few times.

This is electrical tape.  It's NOT the same as duct/Duck tape.

Sharpie Markers.. So Easy!

Wit & Whistle blog posted this for Halloween, but of course you could adapt it for Easter eggs.  
Just drop the vampire fangs.  Or not.  
 http://witandwhistle.com/2011/10/31/happy-halloween/

Someplace, I have some photos of my Sharpie-eggs.  I just made simple squiggles, zig zags and swirls.  You can use colored markers directly on the eggs in their white/brown form, or dye them a light color first.  Just make sure they're dry first so the marker sticks (and you don't drop your egg).









Meanwhile:  Check out Alisa Burke's Doodle Easter Eggs

Background on Egg Week

Each year, I pretty much harass my friends and family to decorate their Easter eggs.  I usually do this in person and via Facebook, but I thought it might be time to take my obsession to the next level and create a blog.  I'll roll out all techniques I know (with pictures) and any I find.

If you have any cool ideas, find any cool links -- please send them my way and I shall share them here.  And, I'll even credit you.  It's the least I can do.

By the way, Egg Week is the week before Easter.  You can decorate your eggs earlier than Egg Week... but you may not want to eat them.