Goose eggs to quail's eggs, over the years, we've decorated 'em all. Here are some of the most inspired Easter Eggs I've tried. Hope you'll have some time to try 'em too. The artist in me has always wanted more
than plain hard-cooked, dunked in dye eggs.
Of course, you can always add flowers or patterns with wax,
but is that all there is?
I have been collecting ideas for Easter Eggs with MORE for years!
Why not try a few. . .

First, let's try turning some eggs into

Beautiful Butterflies

We'll need some empty egg shells. The directions for making them are included with the Brown Flowered eggs below. Next we'll need to make the wing patterns large enough to fit our eggs. You can do that by right clicking on each image, then viewing the image in a new screen and printing it. If you print them exactly as they are here, they should come out just about the right size. If they appear too small, you can enlarge the patterns by redrawing them on graph paper, or since this is the age of technology, any paint program will enlarge them to the correct size.

Now, dye the egg shells with Easter egg dye or food coloring and set aside to dry. (For brighter colors, use a more concentrated dye solution. Glue two pieces of black paper back to back, covering both surfaces with rubber cement; from black paper, trace and cut out wing shapes. Trace the wing designs on brightly colored paper, cut them out and rubber cement them in place on the wings. Cut out body shapes, (simple ovals) and antennae. To complete the butterfly, glue the body, antennae and wings to the eggs using white glue.

Lovely, aren't they? Try them in spring pastels, too!

An inexpensive center piece for your table

Party-Table papier-mâché Eggs

You'll need some round balloons in a variety of sizes; paper toweling; wallpaper paste or flour-and-water-paste or thinned white craft glue; mixing bowls; paints (poster or acrylic will do); a nontoxic clear sealer such as varnish or a decoupage medium; masking tape; a craft knife; paint brushes and depending on how perfect you want to make the eggs... spackle and sandpaper.

Blow up a balloon to the size you want. Most round balloons will take on an egg shape, but if yours doesn't, crisscross 5 or 6 strips of masking tape around one end of the balloons to create an egg shape. Cut a good sized pile of paper-toweling into strips. The bigger the egg, the wider the strips. Mix your glue with water to a creamy consistency; not too runny, but thin enough to soak into the paper easily.

Dip strips of paper into the glue and apply to the balloon until you have covered the entire surface evenly. Gradually build up layers of the papier-mâché until you have 3 or 4 layers of toweling strips, depending on the size of the egg. If the papier-mâché becomes too wet, apply a layer of dry toweling to soak up the moisture, or set the balloon aside to dry for a few hours. Allow the papier-mâché to dry thoroughly (this may take two days or more).

If the egg is to be cut in half, wrap a strip of masking tape around it, after it has dried completely, dividing it in half lengthwise. Using this strip as a guideline, cut the egg in half with a sharp razor-blade or craft knife. Remove the masking tape.

(Optional) If you desire a very smooth finish, mix a thin solution of spackle, brush it on all surfaces and let the egg dry completely again. Sandpaper the surface lightly. You may need to repeat the spackle process a couple of times to get the surface perfectly smooth.

Cut a strip of heavy paper 1/2" wide and long enough to go around the inside edge of the bottom half of the egg. Glue the strip inside egg securely so that about 1/4" is exposed above the edge, making a lip to hold the lid in place.

Paint and decorate the eggs, seal with a few coats of varnish or decoupage medium, fill with Easter items of your choice and enjoy!

Now let's make some paper

Bunny Eggs

This bunny family can be made with either hard cooked empty egg shells (see how to empty egg shells below). You can use brown or white eggs and scraps of construction paper. Carefully cut out the features, ears and tails & affix to the eggs with white glue. Eyes are small circles. Nose and mouth are one piece, a triangle connected to a smile (fold these in half to cut both sides exactly the same. In attaching the nose-mouth cutout - leave the midpoint section unglued, then thread very narrow strips of paper though it to form whiskers. Tail is two circles, one the color of the egg, one pink, both fringed all around. Glue the tail circles on so that the slits do not line up to give the appearance of "fluff", or use cotton balls if you like. Cut two ear shapes from white or tan paper and two from pink paper for each rabbit. Curl an ear over a pencil or bend it to vary the appearance of each.

First, prepare the shells of brown eggs by piercing a small hole in the small end of each egg with a darning needle or hat pin, then a slightly larger hole in the other end. Be sure to pierce and break the yoke. Shake out the egg over a bowl (you can make scrambled eggs later). Rinse out any remaining egg with cold running water. Blow into the smaller opening to remove any water. Allow the shells to drain until dry.

In the meantime, select flower petals, leaves, grasses or snippets of whatever you want to decorate with, then partially dry them for three or four hours. Next, plan your arrangements.

Brush white glue on the egg shells, being careful to touch only where the plant materials will cover. Moisten your finger with a little clean water, touch the petal you want to pick up, lift them one at a time, and place them on the egg in a pleasing arrangement. Be sure the holes at each end of the shell are covered. When all petals are in place make adjustments in the arrangement.

Moisten a cosmetic sponge and squeeze it in a paper towel until it is just barely damp. With a rolling motion, press it firmly, but very gently against the petals until they are firmly and smoothly affixed to the shell and all excess glue is removed. Place egg in a cup or carton until it is completely dry. Allow the leave and petal designs to cure for several days.

Paint on stems and centers with acrylic colors and a very fine brush. For a protective, porcelain like finish coat each egg with matte acrylic varnish (applying it to only one half of the egg and allowing it to dry before applying to the second half.) Apply three full coats, brushing each application in a different direction. Now sit back and enjoy the enchanting results!

And finally, we'll decorate some more eggs

Enameled Pasta & Rice Eggs

Gather up some long-grain rice, tiny pasta dots and broad noodles! Prepare egg shells following the directions above. Cover the shells with pasta or rice, piece by piece, putting tiny dabs of glue on the shell, not on the pasta or rice. Completely cover the egg - using the ideas shown here or making up your own designs. (It will be necessary to trim the pasta pieces with small scissors to fit in smaller spaces and fit the curvature of the egg.) Allow the glue to dry thoroughly before painting.

Color the stylized flower, mosaic and stripe designs by putting just a tiny dot of paint on the pasta or rice and leaving the egg to show through between each piece. Paint only half of the egg at once, and allow to dry completely between halves.