Decorating Eggs and More!

EGGCEPTIONAL FUN!

Have you made and decorated eggs with your kids? If not here are some wonderful ideas to create fantastic eggs! ... Maybe some new traditions in your "egging" will be started with one of these ideas!

•Marbleized Swirled Eggs
•Crayon Resist Easter Eggs
•Toothpick Painting
•Sponge Painted Eggs
•Tissue Paper Transfers
•Decoupage Eggs
•Collage Easter Eggs
•Stickers
•Sponge Painting
•Rubber Banded Eggs
•Natural Easter Egg Dye
•Face Eggs
•Waxing Easter Eggs
•Water Colors and Brushes
•Easter Bunny Eggs
•...........AND MORE!!! (What to do with eggs after Easter are at bottom of page!)

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#1 Barb's Way...
This is the way I've been doing eggs for 40 plus years!  They always come out perfect!

•  Place the desired number of eggs carefully in a large pot. Add enough cold water to completely cover the eggs.
• Place the pan on the stove on medium high heat and bring the water to a boil.
• Cover the pan and TURN OFF THE HEAT; Let sit in the water for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes run the pan of eggs under COLD WATER until the shells are cool to the touch.
• Place the eggs in the refrigerator to cool completely.

#2 Method...
Place the eggs in a large saucepan. Add cold water; enough to completely cover the eggs. Place on medium-high heat and bring
water to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and SIMMER EGGS for 9 minutes.
Remove from heat and fill with cold water. The eggs must be completely cool and dry, to decorate successfully.

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HOW FRESH ARE YOUR EGGS?

Have you ever wondered if your outdated eggs are still good? To make sure your eggs are fresh, put the raw egg in a glass of water.

• If it lays on the bottom, it's fresh.
• If it is on the bottom, but the small end is up, it's still fine.
• If it is floating in the middle, but not on top, it should be safe, but not very fresh. If it floats, throw it away, it's a rotten egg.

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MAKING FOOD COLOR DYE

• Combine 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon of food coloring with 2 tsp. vinegar in a cup that is deep enough for the eggs.
• Add water approximately to the half way mark.
• Carefully place the eggs into the cups.
• To avoid cracking you can use a soup spoon to place eggs. 
• The longer the egg is left in the dye, the darker the color. Experiment with different color combinations. Gently pat the egg dry with paper towel the egg and place it in a holder.

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 METHODS TO "NATURAL"  EGG DYE

METHOD #1
You can make natural dyes by combining the below dye source with 1/2 Tablespoon of vinegar with some cold water in a saucepan.

•Pale Yellow: Use orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seeds, or ground cumin
•Yellow: Ground turmeric
•Pinkish red: Fresh beets, cranberries, radishes or frozen raspberries
•Orange: Yellow onion skins
•Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee
•Brown-gold: Dill seeds
•Brown-orange: Chili Powder
•Green-gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels
•Pale Green: Spinach leaves
•Blue: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves  

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NATURAL METHOD 2

• For a marbled effect, wrap the uncooked eggs in white and purple onion skins, spinach, and/or fresh saffron.
• Secure and wrap the eggs with white string and then place the eggs in the foot of a clean and recycled nylon stocking; tie the stocking in a knot.
• Gently boil the egg-filled stocking---using the same cooking time and vinegar /water mixture directions as above.
• After you remove the cooked eggs--leave them in the wraps awhile to deepen colors.

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MEHOD 3
To use this method, start with either hard-cooked eggs or blown-out eggs. Choose a dye-source. Some possible color sources for eggshells are listed above. Use judgment to how much of each source to use.

• Except for spices, place a handful – or two or three handfuls – of a dye-source in a saucepan.
• Add tap water to come at least one inch above the dyestuff. This will be about 1 cup of water for each handful of ingredient.
• Bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color.
• Remember that dyed eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.

With a very fine strainer (or cheesecloth) strain the dye mixture into a liquid measuring cup. Add 2 to 3 teaspoonful of white vinegar for each cup of strained dye liquid. Pour the mixture into a small bowl that’s deep enough to completely cover the eggs you want to dye. Use a slotted spoon or a wire egg holder from a dyeing kit to lower the eggs into the hot liquid. Leave the eggs in the water until you like the color. If you’re using emptied eggshells, stir or rotate them to help the color reach all the shell parts evenly. Lift the eggs out with the spoon or holder. Let them dry on a rack or drainer.

Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy.
After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen.
Adapted from: aeb.org

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DECORATING  EGGS!

TIP TO REMEMBER WHEN PAINTING EGGS ...For a sturdy stand to hold the egg while you paint it, use an empty toilet paper tube. Prop the egg on top and decorate.

TOOTHBRUSH SPLATTERED EGGS
Scrub an old toothbrush in watercolor or poster paints... aim it at the egg...then strum your thumb over the bristles. The paint will splatter a fine mist like spray paint on the eggs. Have fun layering different colors...

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RUBBERBAND DESIGN EGGS
Wrap elastic rubber bands around hard cooked eggs, then drop them in food-coloring dye. Remove the eggs; pat dry with paper towel; remove the rubber bands when eggs are dry.

The parts of the egg covered with rubber bands will not be colored.
You can STOP at this point or----once the rubber bands are removed, you can drop the egg into a different color dye. _____________________________

EGGS WITH PERFECT CIRCLE DESIGNS
Take the hard-boiled egg and apply re-enforcement circles on it. (the kind you put on loose-leaf paper so the holes don't tear)
Dip your egg in the color; when it's dry, remove the re-enforcement.
You have a perfectly designed egg!
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ALUMINUM FOIL EGGS
Crumple and uncrumple a sheet of aluminum foil. Coat the foil with acrylic paint, then set the egg in the center of the foil and loosely wrap it. Gently press the foil against the egg, then remove the egg and let it dry. (DO NOT EAT EGGS WITH ACRYLIC PAINT)
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BUBBLE WRAP EGGS
Coat bubble wrap with acrylic paint, then roll the egg over it.
(Do not eat eggs colored with acrylic paint — these are just for show)

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ABSTRACT EGGS
A jar of rubber cement can help make beautiful Easter eggs! This design is very simple to accomplish, even for children -- with a some supervision.....Fun part! No two eggs are exactly alike.

• Need: Hard boiled eggs, basic egg dyes in desired colors, a jar of rubber cement
• These eggs are really simple to make. The basic principle is that you drizzle rubber cement over the egg, let it dry, then color the egg.
• Naturally, the egg dye won't stick to the parts that are painted with the glue. After the egg is colored to the desired shade, let it dry completely, then carefully peel off the rubber cement.
• You can paint the rubber cement on plain white eggs...or dye the egg with a base color, then apply the rubber cement and re-dip in a contrasting color. The most important tip is to dry the eggs completely between colors and or coats of rubber cement.
  Source: fabulousfoods.com

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DINOSAUR EGGS
The reptilian-like designs on these eggs are intricate; they look like they would be difficult to make. Not so...With a bit of help, even young children can get fabulous results. The best part is--no two eggs are ever alike.
Materials:
Hard boiled eggs, 6" square of cheesecloth for each egg, rubber bands or twist ties, small paint brushes or cotton swabs, basic egg dyes in desired shades

• Wrap a piece of cheesecloth tightly around a dry egg, bundling the edges together and fastening them at the top with a rubber band or twist ties.
• Dip your paint brush or cotton swab and dip it into the egg dye, then dab this onto the cloth covered eggs.
• Repeat, painting the eggs with various shades in various places, use your imagination.
•  Overlap some colors for special effects, or keep it monochrome.
• When you're finished painting, set the egg aside to dry.

The more patient you are and the more the egg dries, the better. When you unwrap the egg, you'll be left with a design that resembles armadillo skin. You can use this technique over plain white eggs, over a base base coat of color or even over marble colored eggs.

Another technique, which will give a subtle textured effect to a solid colored egg is to wrap the egg in cheesecloth, as per the instructions above, then dip the whole thing in the cup of egg dye. Let it sit until done to desired shade. Let dry (it doesn't have to be bone dry, but the drier the better) before carefully removing cheesecloth.
Source: fabulousfoods.com

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FACE EGGS

Use craft supplies such as yarn, ribbon and fabric scraps to create members of your family (or member's of your students' families) Attach with craft glue.

Add facial features using permanent markers for the mouth, nose and eyes. Cut a paper towel tube into different heights for Mom, Dad, sister etc. Decorate the tube with construction paper for clothing. Place the painted egg onto the holder. You can also add the individual's name to the tube. Sample photographs show one plain face drawing and one with short tube. (Which are also fun!)

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WAXING EASTER EGGS
Drip wax from a lit taper candle onto the egg.
After the wax is set, drop the egg into food coloring dye.
Remove the egg from the dye and paper-towel pat it dry.
You can scrape the wax off the egg and dip into another dye...or leave the wax on...

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COLLAGE YOUR EASTER EGGS
After eggs are boiled and cooled--decorate them with a variety of craft supplies. Using white or craft glue, attach the materials. Use markers, stickers, sequins, glitter, buttons, rick rack, ribbons, beads, etc. Let your imagination go wild...

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SPONGE PAINTED EASTER EGGS
Sponge Painted Eggs (Do NOT eat eggs that have been painted!)

• Cut a sponge (natural if possible) into small pieces.
• Pour acrylic paint into a shallow dish or onto wax paper.
• Secure the sponge pieces onto clip type clothes pins--you need one for each color of paint.
• Dip the sponge into the paint and dab the egg with it---Start with darker colors first for best effect.
• Place egg in an egg cup to dry.

• Mix 1 tablespoon food coloring with 1 tablespoon vinegar in a cup.
• Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup cool water. If necessary, add a little more water, so the liquid will completely cover an egg when placed in the cup.
• Make different swirled colors in different cups.
• Gently lower an egg into a cup using a spoon until the egg is completely covered by the liquid.
• Remove the egg immediately and pat dry with a paper towel. Your egg will have a marbleized look.
• FYI: The pictured eggs have a coat of clear nail polish on them to give a gloss.

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FOOD COLORING PAINTED EGGS
Use undiluted food coloring and a cotton swab to paint on hard boiled eggs. Let the eggs sit in egg cups until dry.

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EGGS PAINTED USING ACRYLIC PAINT
Use acrylic paints and a cotton swab to paint on hard boiled eggs. Let the eggs sit in egg cups until dry. Do NOT eat eggs that have been colored with paint!

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CRAYON RESIST EGGS
With crayons, draw dots, lines shapes and swirls on the Easter eggs before placing them in the dye.The wax will resist the dye and your picture will show through. If you are dying Easter eggs with young children and do not want to use dye...The children can stop after coloring the eggs with crayons.

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• Hard boil the eggs and let cool.
• Have children cut or tear diferent color of tissue paper into small pieces.
  Use water to stick the tissue paper to the eggs. Allow to dry.
• When dry, the children can remove the tissue paper to see the colors and patterns on their Easter eggs.
  Note - tissue paper for gift wrapping will not work in this project. The coloring in craft tissue paper transfers easily to the egg.

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EASTER BUNNY EGGS
Dye eggs in solid colors.
Dry them with a paper towel. For each bunny egg, cut two oval shaped ears from colored paper. Glue the ears to the top of the egg.
Add plastic "google" eyes. Use markers to add a small triangle for
a nose and some whiskers. Glue on a cotton ball for a tail.

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DECOUPAGE EGGS
You Need:
Empty eggshell mounted on a 1/8-inch-diameter dowel ...
Image to decorate the surface of the egg: greeting card, wrapping paper, stationery, or a photocopy of a photograph
All-purpose glue
Toothpick
Damp paper towel or cloth
Acrylic paint in colors for the background (optional)
Sponge brush
Mod Podge, Royal Coat, or any decoupage medium
6-inch square of Styrofoam
Small paintbrush
Brush-on glitter paint (optional)
1/2-inch-diameter gold findings

Instructions:
1. Using scissors, carefully cut out the image and paste it on the egg using all-purpose glue, cutting into the image to help it lie flat. Press out any wrinkles by gently rolling a round toothpick over the image. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp paper towel or cloth.
2. If desired, paint the background of the image with a wash of acrylic paint; let the paint dry.
3. Using a sponge brush, dab decoupage medium onto the egg. Let the medium dry. Repeat this step twice. Place one end of the dowel into the square of Styrofoam as a base to hold the egg while it dries.
4. If desired, embellish the egg with brush-on glitter paint, using a small paintbrush.
5. When the egg is dry, add finishing touches: Carefully cut off the masking tape, slide the egg off the dowel, and glue a gold finding at each end of the egg to cover the holes.
Source: Ladies Home Journal

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WATER COLOR & BRUSHES
Get out your water colors and fine paintbrushes and paint some pastel designs on your eggs.
TIP: For a sturdy stand to hold the egg while you paint it, use an empty toilet paper tube. Prop the egg on top and decorate. Use different brushes for different techniques

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*Idea:  You can buy EASTER STICKERS, and have the kids cover the eggs with those. How easy can it get!

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EMPTYING EGGS NEW & OLD WAYS
Whether you dye, paint, or decoupage your egg masterpieces, they'll last longer if you blow out the contents and remove the white and yolk, leaving only the shell to decorate.

What You Need:
Egg
Drill with 1/8-inch bit
Sharp cuticle scissors
Bowl
Ear syringe
Soap and water
Bleach
1/8-inch-diameter dowel
Masking tape

Instructions:
1. Remove the contents of the egg. Make a hole as small as 1/8 inch in each end of a hen's egg. A mini drill and sharp-pointed cuticle scissors are good tools for keeping the holes small. Work over a bowl. The insides may start draining when you pierce the second opening.

2. Keeping the egg over a bowl or the sink, use an ear syringe to blow air into the egg and force the contents out the opposite hole. Rinse the egg with mild soap, water, and a small amount of bleach.

3. Slip empty eggshell onto a dowel. For decoupage, you want to avoid getting fingerprints on the eggshell, so slide it onto a 1/8-inch-diameter dowel. To prevent the egg from sliding, wrap a small piece of masking tape around the dowel just above and below the egg.
From: Ladies Home Journal

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BLOWING OUT EGGS THE OLD FASHIONED WAY!
Wash your egg well.
Carefully poke a small hole in each end of the raw egg. Hold the egg over a bowl and blow into one of the holes. The egg liquid should slowly come out the other hole. Sometimes this is a big job, and children will need an adult’s help. Once the egg shell is empty, rinse it off and set it aside to dry

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Ask all you know to save the dyed shells from their Easter eggs! When Easter is over, you'll have the most important material for this project!
Need: Egg shells, Glue, construction paper... You may want to first sketch your idea. Next tacky glue the shells onto the paper over the design.  

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MAKE EGSHELL CHALK (Good only for sidewalks!)
Materials
The shells of 6 eggs
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon very hot tap water
Food coloring (optional)
Spoon, cup or small bowl, paper towel
Mortar and pestle or CLEAN rock and paper towel

1. Wash & dry eggshells well. The chalk will fall apart if the shells are not completely dry. Be sure no egg is left in them.

2. Put the shells into a bowl and grind them into a fine powder. Leaving large pieces of shells could cause the chalk to break up. (You could also use a mortar and pestle or a clean rock on the paper to finely grind the shells)One stick of chalk needs enough fine powder to fill a large spoon.

3. Put the teaspoon of flour and the teaspoon of hot water into a cup or bowl--stir together to make a paste. Add food coloring if desired--being sure not to add too much.
 
4. Shape the paste into chalk sticks or press it into soap molds. If you’re making sticks- Roll it up tightly in a strip of paper towel. Let it dry for about 3 days until it's hard.

7. Remove the paper and you have chalk!

Remember--this is to be used only on sidewalks! For large sticks of chalk, make 3 times this recipe, and put the mixture into an empty toilet paper tube. When it's dry, peel away the cardboard as you use it.

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DO AN EGG DROP! 
Each participant works within guidelines to fashion a container for an egg so that the egg won't break when youth drop it from an established height… 
 

EGG DROP
Use hard boiled eggs (you could probably do raw-but be cautious of Salmonella and spoilage!).
Have each child create their own container for the egg -- with the purpose of the egg not breaking. Some kids have used "parachutes," and cans with foam. It can be a lot of fun!

Of course, everyone's hypothesis should be that their egg won't break.
The testing is the fun part---when the youth see if their egg remains intact! For this you want to drop the egg container from the highest available point.... A second floor balcony, off the top bleacher of the football field or by a teacher on a ladder?
*Even though this is for older students, it can be adapted to the lower grades without going into weight and velocity.

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COOK WITH THEM!

Good old fashioned egg salad, is a great way to use leftover Easter Eggs, but it's nice anytime of the year. I think people forget how good it is.

Use this salad for a sandwich spread, stuff it into a tomato or celery, serve on crackers, or use your imagination. This recipe makes 4 Sandwiches or Stuffed Tomatoes -Just mash the eggs and blend all ingredients together until well mixed.

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 C celery, chopped
1/3 C scallions, chopped
4 T mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

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COBB SALAD
This classic Main Dish Salad is a quick to fix dinner.
3 - 4 C Romaine lettuce, shredded
2 med ripe tomatoes, diced
1 large avocado, diced
4 slices bacon
3 T blue cheese, crumbled
1 C cooked turkey or chicken breast, diced
2 hard boiled eggs
2 T diced olives (optional)
Blue Cheese Dressing (or dressing of choice)
Place shredded lettuce in a bowl and arrange remaining ingredients in rows on top. Serve with dressing on the side. (Serves 2)

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BEEF & PORK MEATLOAF
If you want to add the optional hard boiled eggs, just fill the meatloaf pan half full, insert the whole, hard boiled eggs in the center, and fill in with the rest of the meatloaf mixture. This makes for a great presentation when the meatloaf is cut open.

2 cups bread crumbs
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 T chopped parsley
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled (optional)
Serves 8
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients together. Shape into a loaf pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. If desired, spoon  gravy over baked meatloaf slices.

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DEVILED EGGS
This favorite picnic and party food is also a great way to use up leftover hard boiled Easter Eggs.
Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
2 T mayonnaise
3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce*
Salt & pepper to taste & Paprika for garnish

• Cut each egg in half and carefully scoop out the yolk.
• Mash yolks and remaining ingredients together to make a paste.
• Whether to make it completely smooth, or leave small lumps is a matter of personal taste, much the same way that some people, like lumpy mashed potatoes. If you're in the smooth camp, you can make the egg yolk mixture in a food processor.

Once you've finished the egg yolk mixture, it's time to carefully spoon it back into the egg white. For more decorative eggs you can put the egg yolk mixture in a pastry bag and pipe it back into the white. Sprinkle with a little paprika for color and flavor.
*Note: Vegetarians should use vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce or eliminate this ingredient. Serves 6 as an appetizer

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RAW EGG ON TOAST (This egg is a peach half!)

Ingredients for one serving...
1 slice poundcake
1/2 peach
Reddi-wip topping
Directions
Put slice of pound cake on plate.
Place peach half on top-- round side up.
Add whip cream around peach and serve.
It looks like a raw egg on toast!

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SOME EGG FUN...

Looking for Easter Themed Games, Art, Crafts and Snacks?! Click here...

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