Eggxcellent! - The Ultimate Kids Guide to Decorating Eggs
Tired of using the same old food coloring on your Easter eggs? Well, with the help of the internet and an overload of crafty magazines, spring each year now welcomes a plethora of new, inventive egg decorating ideas along with its daisies. Combing both of these resources (as well as indulging our creative instincts), we’ve put together this list of great ways to jazz up the usual Easter ovum. Each of these decorating ideas is a lot of fun, kid-approved, and results in beautiful creations.
Messy Marble
Kids Everyone loves making a mess. (As long as the clean up isn’t too involved.) And no material is more fun to create a disaster with than shaving cream. It’s messy and silly and fun and yields some pretty unique looking eggs. So, after dipping your hard-boiled eggs in vinegar and emptying a can of shaving cream into a deep pan (disposable baking trays work well), add a few drops of food coloring and go to town creating a beautiful marble pattern. For full details on how to do it, check out this site.
Terrific Tattoos
Inked up eggs may sound rebellious, but after they’re finished, there’s nothing edgy about them (they’re oval anyway, guys). Try and find temporary tattoos that encompass aspects of the festivities – but not in a tacky way. You can also find temporary tattoo paper onto which you can print your own vintage-looking images. Plus, to make them look even more antique, we recommend naturally dyeing them light, sienna-esque shades and using an ink splatter add some texture to the shells’ surfaces before you give them their tats.
Childhood Chalk
Don’t dismiss chalkboard paint as a thing of the past – it’s still super cute when used in the right way…like in the instance of Easter eggs. After painting the outside of the shells with chalkboard paint, allow them it to dry, then go to town with actual chalk. The cool thing is that you’re transforming the eggs into an unexpected surface that everyone’s already familiar with. When you’re finished, step back and admire your work. They look pretty charming, huh? And, if you really want to be adorable, try making a papier-mâché nest for your ova out of browned newspapers or book pages.
Act Natural
Take your kids back in time by skipping the artificial dyes. Abstracting color from fruits and veggies seems like a pretty nonsensical process, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the beautiful, subdued colors that are created. Plus, you get to go shopping for the ingredients (which you can snack on while you’re making really great hues). Fill your cart with beets, cabbages, onions, blueberries, oranges, and spices and prepare to make the prettiest eggs ever. For further instructions, follow this guide.
Bountiful Botany
Go on a hunt and find things that have a great outline – and don’t forget to poke around outside in pursuit of leaves and other greenery. Still a little snow on the ground? Head to your pantry. Fresh herbs offer great leaves to use for imprinting including dill, cilantro, thyme, and mint. After you’ve chosen your leaf or flower, take a section of nylon stockings and secure it over the egg to hold the leaves or stickers in place, allowing the dye to penetrate to the shell and leave you with a perfect outline.
Sticky Subjects
Simple stickers, binder hole protector things, electrical tape – you name something that’s adhesive and you can use it to make your eggs stand out. And while you may be thinking that this is kind of juvenile, it’s a craft that’s easily turned into a lesson. Try something like this: first, dye the egg yellow (best to start with light colors first), apply the sticker, and then dunk it into blue water to create a green exterior. Plus, by moving the stickers or tape around and repeating the dyeing process, you’ll create some pretty interesting designs.
Perfect Pollock
See, there really is a reason to save everything. Bust out those old toothbrushes you’ve been hoarding under the sink, grab some paints, and don’t forget the smocks. After coloring eggs, a little ink splatter is a nice way to take them from ordinary to outstanding. Simply dip the brush into paint and gently flick the bristles towards the egg using your thumb. And, as always, don’t forget to experiment with the effects of different colors.