VAC Day 8 & Challenge 9 Submission: Egg-cellent Ornaments

17 Days Left Until Christmas!

Penguins in a silver-y winter wonderland.

Santa is surrounded by chenille pines under a glittery blue sky.

You can only imagine my "egg-citement" when I found this 1973 Craft-Course pamphlet called "Egg-Citing Ideas."  

I got that very same Alice in Wonderland Mme. Alexander doll from Santa one year. She was and is my favorite doll ever.

Honestly, I thought working with eggs might be a pain, but it wasn't that bad.  You just need a delicate touch and a little patience.

They're all so beautiful. How do you decide which to make?

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to decoupage on the eggs, or if I wanted to do scenic eggs like those above.  So, I decided to do both!

Supplies Needed:

• Eggs
• Large, Long, Sharp Needle or Awl
• X-acto (or is that Egg-acto knife?) or Dremel drill
• Scissors
• Paint (I used enamel paint)
• Trims
• Images for decoupage
• Miniatures for your scene
• Plaster of Paris

Instructions:

Step 1:  Plan on having scrambled eggs for dinner.

Step 2:  Wash the eggs.  I let mine soak in COLD water for a couple of hours (hot water might cook the eggs which is going to make it harder to blow out the contents.)  Let the eggs dry thoroughly.


Step 3:  With your large needle, poke a hole in the wide end of the egg.  The hole needs to be large enough to blow out the contents (about 1/16th - 1/8th of an inch in diameter).  Start with a small hole and make it larger if you need to.  Also, make sure you poke through that rubbery lining in the egg.  Now, poke another hole in the skinny egg of the egg.  


Step 4:  Stick your needle into the yolk to break it.  Stir the contents with your needle.


Step 5:  Blow into the hole at the narrow end of the egg, forcing contents out the hole on the wide end.  You'll want to do this over a bowl to catch the contents.  Also, the pamphlet recommends that you ,"[r]emove all lipstick first." Good advice in many circumstances. Once the contents are emptied, let the eggs dry for a day or two.


Step 6:  Cut out hole for the scene.  Draw the hole you want to cut on the egg.  Using an X-acto knife or Dremel drill, score the line you just drew.  Once you have scored all the way around, you should be able to break the hole out.  


Step 7:  Paint the outside of the egg.  I used enamel paint and it worked well (I also tried model paints, but they did not work so well).  Stick a wire or skewer in styrofoam or cardboard, then put the egg on the wire to paint it.  Let dry completely.

Step 8:  Fill bottom of egg with plaster of Paris.  You want to do this so your scene sits high enough to be scene.

Eggs with plaster of Paris in the bottom (though it's hard to see).

Step 9:  Decoupage any images on the exterior of the egg.  Let dry completely.

Step 10:  Spray egg with varnish (if you are going to do this).  I used a glossy decoupage medium so I didn't bother with this step.


Step 11:  Decorate with trims and miniatures.

Cost:  About $7-8 (eggs, trims and miniatures)

Time to Complete:  Due to drying times, this will take a couple of days, but actual work  will be about 1-2 hours

Craft Skill Level: This one takes someone with a gentle hand and patience, but actual skill isn't really needed.

Now, you have your own egg-traordinary ornament.  See you tomorrow for Day 9!