Thursday, April 21, 2011

painted easter eggs

hurry up..... get out the paints and little paintbrushes and grab some real eggs. quick, quick.

a few of ophelia's eggs, the first ones dating back to around 1973, are still here today. all her eggs are painted, mostly by me and, along with some painted chicken eggs which have been added to the collection, are lovingly displayed on the kitchen counter in a basket, not just at eastertime, but all year. the eggs are simply too pretty, too fragile and too nostalgic for me to stick them in a cabinet.

large chicken eggs are about 2 inches in length. ophelia's goose eggs range from 3 1/4 to 3 3/4 inches!

here's how you have great fun and create painted eggs which last for decades:

*with a large sewing needle, gently tap and prick the shell on the large end of the egg to open up a hole about 3/16 inch wide. do the same on the small end, making the opening somewhat smaller, about 1/8 inch.

*poke and swirl around in the large opening with the largest sewing needle you have (a darning needle works great) to loosen up the egg white and yolk.

*put your mouth over the small hole and gently blow. it can be difficult, and may take a while, like blowing up a very small balloon. keep at it. the stuff inside the egg will start to ooze out of the large hole. pick inside the large hole every now and then with the big needle, and CAREFULLY shake the egg to keep the egg white/yellow moving out. when it's all out, dribble some water into the egg and swirl it around. shake it out and let the egg dry completely.

*now paint your egg. then wrap and glue fine ribbon around the egg to cover the holes. happy easter! enjoy!

2 comments:

alexandra said...

I always loved these eggs! So pretty!

balsamrocks&rivers said...

a beautiful tradition- happy easter to you all!