DIY Groovy Mod-style Easter Eggs are Over Easy

This Easter, create egg-ceptional colorful mod-style Eaters eggs with simple tie-dye and tissue-paper techniques. Decorating Easter eggs has never been easier or less messy than with traditional food-coloring dyes. This project is perfect for art class or to do at home with the kids.

Hands-on time: About 45 minutes per dozen.

Total time: if using vanish, add two hours for drying time.

Skill: Easy, great project for children. (teacher & classroom friendly).

Cost estimate: Only pennies per egg.

Materials & Tools

•Hard-boiled eggs

•Newspapers

•Tea-lights (bases only)

For tie-dye Easter eggs:

•Wax crayons (I recommend Crayola brand, they have the best pigmentation)

•Crayon sharpener

•Small disposable paper plates

•Egg carton container

•Elastic bands (optional)

For tissue-paper Easter eggs:

•Small bowl of water

•Craft tissue paper in assorted colors

•Scissors, to cut out geometric shapes (optional)

•A flat paint brush

•Mod-Podge medium, brush on varnish

Egg safety:

Store eggs in refrigerator until you are ready to use them. Place the eggs carefully in a large pot and add cold water to completely cover the eggs. Over medium heat bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the pot sit on the element for 15 minutes, then run the pot of eggs under cold water until the shells are cool and place the eggs in the refrigerator. (Skip the cooling step for the tie-dye egg project).

Tie-dye Easter eggs:

Cover your work area with newspapers. Choose two to three wax-crayon colors, and then sharpen shavings over a small paper or foil plate. (Plastic or Styrofoam plates will melt when they come in contact with the warm eggs). Make a separate plate for each color combination. For example, make a plate with yellow, green, and blue shavings and another plate with pink, purple and orange.

When the hard-boiled eggs are still warm, roll them into the crayon shavings, turning them around a few times. To cool, place the eggs on a tea-light stand or back in the egg carton. The colors will continue to blend and melt together; watch the display of colorful swirls unfold.

Placing elastic bands around some of the eggs before decorating them will create stripes. The unique results will simply amaze your family and friends.

Tissue paper Easter eggs:

Place a small bowl of water (jar lids can also be used) and several squares of tissue paper on your work area. Place eggs on tea-light stands. Scissors can be used to cut out assorted geometric shapes (hand-torn pieces are just as effective).

With a paint brush, dampen the egg and then place many tissue paper shapes over the egg, one at a time, overlapping and moistening as you go. When the egg is fully covered, let it stand for a few minutes.

You now have two options:

1. Remove the tissue paper before it completely dries and you now have enchanting marbleized eggs with the look of egg-dying without using egg dyes.

2. Apply Mod-Podge medium with a paint brush directly onto the still-humid, tissued eggs and let stand to dry. You can apply vanish if you wish once it is completely dried.

You now have very groovy colorful Easter eggs ready for a hip décor theme.

Tips

•You can also decorate the above Easter eggs with hollow eggs. Poke a small hole with a clean pin or small nail, in the narrow end of a raw egg, make a slightly larger hole at the other end. Hold the egg over a bowl and blow through the small hole. The egg's liquid should slowly seep out of the opened end. Rinse the eggshells carefully and set aside to dry. Make scramble eggs or a quiche with the egg-yolks.

•Be sure to keep the decorated eggs refrigerated until you are ready to hide them or make your centerpiece decorations. These are decorative eggs, they are not meant for consumption.

•Should you dye your eggs with traditional or natural food dyes, I recommend wearing plastic gloves to avoid dying your fingers. Eggs decorated with non-toxic coloring dyes are the only eggs you can eat, but not if they are cracked or have been out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours.

Variations:

•Other egg-cellent ideas and variations: marbleized, striped, sponge painted, speckled, mosaic, pearlized, glazed, decoupage, waxed, batik, antiqued or crackled. Try to decorate some with basic items you can find around your home: sequins, rubber stamps, ribbon and lace remnants, sparkles, glitter glue, tiny seed beads, pasta bits, metallic and regular and felt pens. With a wax crayon, draw a picture like a flower or bunny, write names, or words on the eggs before dying them.

•To keep eggs as decor accents throughout the year, try painting wooden, plaster, rock, or paper maché eggs. To give them an aged look, sprinkle with a dash of salt or flour and squirt with water, let dry, then seal with varnish.

To view more make-it-yourself colorful photos of these Easter egg creations and for more Home and Garden decor projects by Madeleine M Langlois visit www.miycreations.com

maddy@maddylane.com

www.maddylane.com

www.miycreations.com