Contents
How to Prepare Eggs for Decoration
Egg Decorating Tools
How to Dye and Color Eggs
How-To Techniques for Decorating Eggs
How to Measure an Egg
How to Cover an Egg
How to Divide an Egg
How to Glue Almost Anything
to an Egg
How to Present and Display Eggs
Egg Decorating Projects
Fauxazic Eggs
Nature’s Stencils Eggs
Blue Willow Decoupage Eggs
Fiber Eggs
Shibori Eggs
Pearl Eggs
Etched Eggs
Pop Art Eggs
Bas Relief Eggs
Batik Eggs
Chinoiserie Eggs
Polymer Clay Coiled Eggs
Wet Release Transfer Eggs
 |
- The egg-decorating tools you’ll need, along with basic how-to techniques
- Tips on how to make and use dye for coloring eggs
- More than a dozen imaginative egg decorating projects, step by step
|
 |
|
 |
|
How to Prepare Eggs for Decoration
Before you can start decorating an egg, you first have to prepare it so that it doesn’t break and make a runny mess as you decorate it. To prepare eggs for decorating, you can either blow out the eggs’ contents or cook the eggs’ contents. For either method, the first thing to do is examine your eggs and throw away any that have visible hairline cracks, a noticeably slimy texture, or powdery spots that come off when touched.
How to Blow Out an Egg
Blowing out the contents of an egg produces a light, hollow shell that won’t go bad or start to smell over time. You can blow an egg using specialized tools or just those you have around the house.
How to Use an Egg-Blowing Tool
If you’re planning on decorating a lot of eggs—more than a dozen—investing in egg-blowing tools is a good idea. Egg-blowing tools and kits are sold at most craft stores. Depending on the type of tool you purchase, you either pierce one or both ends of the egg, and then squeeze a pump or blow into a pipe to force the contents out of the egg into a container.
How to Blow Out an Egg Without Special Tools
If you don’t have tools made specifically for blowing out an egg, just use the following process:
- Wash the egg with a very mild solution of bleach and water, and dry it well.
- Pierce each end of the egg with a large needle. Place your lips on one end (that’s why you washed the egg), covering the needle hole on that end.
- Blow the contents gently into a bowl.
If the eggs are fresh, you can actually use the contents of the egg that you’ve blown into the bowl for cooking.
How to Clean an Egg After You’ve Blown It Out
After you’ve blown out an egg’s contents (using either method), it’s crucial that you clean out the inside of the egg as follows:
- Fill a syringe with warm, soapy water.
- Inject the solution into the egg and shake it gently while covering the holes with your fingers.
- Blow or shake out the contents, then place the egg on a drying rack to drain and dry thoroughly.
How to Hard-Boil an Egg for Decorating
If you don’t want to blow out your eggs’ contents, you can also hard-boil the eggs and then seal them.
How to Avoid Cracks in Hard-Boiled Eggs
The most important thing when boiling an egg for decoration is not to crack the shell. To avoid producing cracks, discard any raw eggs with hairline cracks in their shells before cooking. In addition:
- If the eggs have recently been in the refrigerator, immerse them in hot tap water for about five minutes before cooking them. Extreme changes in temperature can stress the shells and make them crack.
- Some people recommend piercing the shell with a pin, since it allows air to escape and prevents pressure from building up inside and cracking the egg from the inside out. Doing so is not necessary however.
How to Cook and Seal Eggs
To cook and seal the eggs:
- Place the eggs (which have been warmed in hot tap water) in a lidded, heavy saucepan that’s large enough to hold them in a single layer.
- Cover with cold tap water. Cover the pan partly with a lid and heat on high until the water comes to a full boil.
- Turn down the heat and count slowly to 30 before taking the pot off the burner. Let the eggs stand in the hot water, tightly covered, for 15 minutes.
- Gently pour off most of the hot water.
- Place the eggs in a colander, and rinse them under cold running water for five minutes.
- When the eggs have cooled, wipe them dry with a clean cloth.
- Apply a couple of coats of acrylic varnish to seal the eggs if you want them to keep for any length of time. If you apply varnish to the eggs, though, don’t eat them. (Generally, if you hide decorated hard-cooked eggs for Easter, it’s best not to eat them later. Instead, decorate a set of eggs for hiding and set aside other hard-cooked eggs for eating.)
- Once the varnish has dried, you can decorate the eggs.
If You Don’t Want to Prepare Eggs
If you don’t want to prepare natural eggs for decorating, you can also buy manmade “eggs” to decorate. These may be made of wood, papier mâché, polystyrene foam, plastic, ceramic greenware (which can be painted and fired), or glass.
| Copyright 2007 Lark Books | Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
