I recently received an email from a local craft store that gave me how-to instructions to make a really pretty spring time egg decoration. Of course this wasn't just a free tutorial for the sake of a free tutorial, it was an opportunity to sell all the pieces that go into making this decoration. The pieces that I would have had to purchase were; a wooden stand, a wooden egg and scrapbooking paper that looked like old music sheets. Well, here's the tutorial for the free UPCYCLED version.
First, gather up your supplies:
Newspaper (or sheet music, magazine pages, etc.)
An egg
Old candlestick
Scrap ribbon or fabric and raffia or dried moss
A serrated knife
Mod Podge and a paint brush
Hot Glue Gun
There is no need to buy a wooden egg made from virgin materials when you have all you need sitting in your fridge. Grab a mixing bowl, your serrated knife and an egg. Holding the egg over you bowl, tap your egg firmly with the serrated knife to get it started . It'll look a bit like the picture, don't worry about making it perfect since you'll be covering it with paper. Wiggle your knife into the egg as you continue to move it around the egg. You'll get about halfway around when it starts to give and you can just pull it open.
Run some hot water on the shell to get rid of the goo and pat dry before putting the eggshell back together again. I tried a couple of things to get the shell back together. I can tell you Mod Podge does NOT work. You can see the glossy strip of dried Mod Podge going around my egg. But hot glue seemed to do the trick. It doesn't have to completely seal the egg, I just sealed a bit on two opposite sides to hold it together until I could apply the papier mache.
Now for the egg covering. Why on earth would you buy brand new paper that looks like sheet music? If you have sheet music laying around that you are no longer using then, by all means tear it up. I didn't have any so I used newspaper. Take a strip and apply it around the egg with Mod Podge. Then continue to add strips around the shell until it's completely covered. Use plenty of Mod Podge and smooth all the edges down on the egg. Now go scramble that egg while you wait for it to dry.
Once your egg is dry, you can finish assembling the pieces. I twisted several strands of raffia and hot glued them to the candlestick to resemble a nest. You could also use a pinch of dried moss if you have that. Then hot glue your egg into the nest.
To dress up the egg, use what you have. I had a scrap piece of ribbon that was tied onto a gift (the original tag was still attached to it) that I tied around the egg with some additional strands of raffia. Then I cut a bird shape from a Fresca can and glued it to the bow.
Whadda ya think? Still think you need to buy all that new stuff?
First, gather up your supplies:
Love it!
ReplyDeleteI know this is an old post, but I just found your blog today and ran across this entry as I traveled through your archives. I wanted to tell you about egg blowing, which would save you the trouble of trying to glue the egg back together. We used to do it when we were kids for Easter eggs and Christmas ornaments.
ReplyDeleteHere's how: Wash the eggs, poke both ends with a needle, making a slightly larger hole in the bottom (compared to the hole in the top) and blow into the top hole while holding the egg over a glass or bowl (this makes it easier to collect the contents for cooking). Continue blowing until the entire contents are removed. You can rinse the insides of the eggs by pouring a drop of soap and hot water into the bottom hole and shaking it up, then blowing out like you did the first time. Once dry, proceed with the rest of the project as stated in your blog. :) I hope this helps!
I found a good Instructable (she used an awl instead of a needle) here: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Blow-Egg-Out-of-Egg-Shells/