7.03.2008

Egg Tutorial...

I was thinking the other day about Christmas...Yes, Christmas has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks. I always end up waiting until Thanksgiving then I'm wiped out from the Thanksgiving holiday and don't have time to really do Christmas the way I want.

Not this year...
I try to have 3 to 4 different themed trees in my house for the holidays and one always has to do with birds and nest...Hence the need for eggs and I do not like the look of the plastic eggs that you can buy at crafts stores plus so many of them are the wrong color for my taste. So I wondered why couldn't I make my own? I am somewhat embarrassed to post this because many of you probably already have this figured out...This idea just hit me one day and I figured this would probably work for my crafting needs. I really do like how they turned out~

Step 1: Purchase yourself some air dry clay. I'm sure any type of clay will work just fine. They do have clay you can bake in your oven. I would recommend a toaster oven used just for crafts for health reasons.


Step 2: Roll the clay in between your hands to form a ball then use your fingers to roll the top of the ball to look like a egg~Note: Use a little more clay then each size egg you want to allow for shrinkage.
Repeat for how many eggs you desire.


Step 3: Allow eggs to dry-I read somewhere that it takes 24 hours-not true give it 4 to 7 days and remember they will shrink. Pictured below are eggs dry but not sanded.

Step 4: Sand eggs...A emery board and/or a Kemper clean up tool (pictured below) works great. Sanding helps smooth out the eggs and lets you shape them to look more like real eggs.
Note: If you roll them correctly the first time you probably could skip this step-

Note on the last note: I will always have to sand mine.
Step 5: Paint with Acrylic paint colors that you want. Allow to dry which takes just minutes. For the Robin's eggs I used Delta Ceramcoat "Paradise" Opaque # 02587. For the lighter eggs I mixed 1/2 Craft Smart"Suede" # 23625 and half Craft Smart "white" #23606 to make the lighter color I like.

Step 6: Speckle with stiff brush or tooth brush in the colors that you like. Allow to dry-Once again drying take minutes. I used brown and black paint to speckle my eggs.

Step 7: There is not a step 7-You are ready to use or store your eggs~!


8 comments:

  1. Robin!
    I sent off your package on the 30th! I hope it gets to you soon...
    Hey, if you need help with your blog background-I'd love to help! Check out my site aquapoppydesigns.blogspot.com

    Chels

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  2. Robin... Those eggs look so real. I cant believe you made those out of clay.... Wow! I thought I was crazy putting up two trees.. you have me beat! So are you going to do a nest tree? I cant wait till Christmas.. Great job. Oh Im so glad that tassel made it.. If you have any problems with it in the future just let me know... Smiles, Susie H~

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  3. Robin- This is all new to me! I absolutely adore bird's nests and eggs and am always looking for new things to add to my house. Now I can make my own! Thank you so much for sharing this. I can't wait to get started! Lori

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  4. Chelsea~ I got your package and LOVE everything you sent and made. The frame is out of this World-You are so creative! Thanks for the offer to help me with my blog layout- I just may be taking you up on that offer! I love your new blog layout site.

    Susie-Thanks for the compliments and hey...The tassel really looks as good as new-You did a wonderful job putting it together!

    Lori-I hope you have as much fun making eggs as I did -It is so much fun playing in the clay!
    I look forward to our new found friendship!

    Take Care girls and thanks for stopping by~!

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  5. What a great idea! Now I can't wait to see the tree. I have one main tree and several small primitive trees. My main tree has to have it's nest every year.

    Have a great 4th! hugs, Linda

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  6. I am totally impressed Robin. They are everything I thought they would be and more. I loved your step by step instructions. I actually think I could pull this off. Very creative. Thanks.

    I hope your having a great weekend.

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  7. I'm glad I found this tutorial on making eggs. Now I know what I will buy with my Joann's coupon if they carry this clay :-)

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    Replies
    1. Debbie, You can use any air dry clay. In fact you could use even the clay you have to bake. The eggs will shrink just a "tiny" bit. I'm not sure if paper clay would work well, I've never used it and wonder if it would sand down smooth? Have fun!

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