Egg Shell Art

Today I wanted to share a little egg shell art that we made from, you guessed it, egg shells. I colored the egg shells from the eggs we had for breakfast (dying shells after removing colored both sides of the shell) but if you are planning on coloring eggs for Easter you could of course crunch up those shells for a little artsy fartsy rather than discarding.

I cut out some egg shapes from white cardstock and after painting them with white Elmer’s glue, Hendrix sprinkled and smashed the shells on top. Originally I was going to hang this craft as a display but now I am thinking we should glue them to a folded note card and send them as Easter greeting to the grandparents. What do you think?

(this one has a little feather action too)

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Speaking of eggs, if you have yet to decorate yours this year and need something a little more appropriate for the toddler variety you could use a cotton swab as a paint brush by dipping it in a little paint and then applying it to the egg, a cotton ball attached to a clothespin would work too. (via The Toddler's Busy Book). Another idea for little hands might be to use a toothbrush as an embellishing apparatus by tapping a paint-dipped one to the shell of the egg (inspired from this craft).

I also found a lovely natural egg dying technique HERE that all age groups would enjoy.

P.S. I colored the shells above using vinegar and neon food coloring (which I am crazy about) by Betty Crocker.

Egg Molding

Hello makers, Hendrix and I acquired some water balloons and craft thread after a Michaels trip last week. At home we already had some liquid starch and a craft bowl so we decided to mold some colorful eggs as a springtime decoration. This is how we did it:

We cut the craft thread into long strands and then soaked the strands into a craft bowl full of liquid starch. In the meantime we blew up some water balloons.

Next we wrapped the starched thread around the balloons in a crisscrossing pattern covering the balloon. (We used 10 yards per balloon or one whole skein of floss).

After the wrapping of 7 balloons in 7 different spring time colors we* set aside to dry overnight.

The next day, once thoroughly dry, we popped the balloons (Hendrix loved this part). As you can see, the thread kept it’s egg shape.

We then hung up the egg in one of our home entry ways. If the weather permits, this would also make a cute outdoor decoration for Easter Sunday or a springtime party.

*By “we” I mean “me.” I retired Hendrix from this project when he found more interest in swinging the dripping, starched thread in circles overhead…by about the third egg. Therefore, I would say this is a preschooler or older project.