How to Make Decorated Eggs for Easter

It’s raining at our place today, so we’re getting ready for Easter with some decorated eggs.

Hand-decorated eggs look lovely perched on a mantle piece or coffee table and make a great art project to keep the kids occupied during the Easter holidays. The empty shells are sometimes called ‘blown out’ eggs, because the contents of the egg can be removed by blowing air through a straw. You can also use a baby nose cleaner or aspirator for a mess-free technique.

Get cracking…

… but not literally! The first task is to get all the yolk and white out of the eggs without breaking the shell. To do this, you will need:

• A pin or safety pin
• A cocktail stick
• Two large bowls
• Washing up liquid
• Baby aspirator (new not used)

Five steps for blowing out eggs

1. Carefully pierce the egg by pushing a pin or safety pin in at either end.

2. Try to make the hole at the base (widest end) of the egg, large enough to fit a cocktail stick through. Push the cocktail stick in to the egg to break the yolk, twist it around a few times then remove it.

3. Hold the egg over a clean bowl with the larger hole pointing downwards and press the aspirator over the smaller hole at the top and use it to pump air into the egg. The air will push the egg yolk and white out of the shell into the bowl below. Cover and pop in the fridge to use in cooking or baking.

4. Once the egg feels empty, pop it into the second bowl and fill with warm water and washing up liquid. Use the aspirator again to pump soapy water through the egg shell.

5. Leave to drain on kitchen towel. Once it’s completely dry, you’re ready to decorate!

Try our favourite designs

Now that your shells are completely empty and clean, it’s time to unleash your inner artist with some easy-to-follow designs.

Go for glitter

For a simple, yet effective finish, dip the base of the egg in glue and then in glitter, and leave upside down in an eggcup to dry. For a really glitzy flourish, wait until the first half has dried, then brush the top with glue as well and roll in glitter for all-over sparkles.

Get personal

Create a personalised gift by writing an initial, or spell out a whole name in a carton by drawing one letter on each egg. Using a pencil first, draw out an outline then, once you’re happy, go over it in permanent marker. Fill in any spaces with a silver or gold marker pen or paint then allow to dry.

Clever chicks

All you need for this cute design is a pack of small, circular stationery stickers and a fine black permanent marker. Making sure that they’re evenly spaced, pop yellow sticky dots all over your egg. Then using the marker pen, make a dot in the middle for the eye, add a beak, cockscomb and some spindly legs.

Put them on show

To display your eggs on a table, fill a fruit bowl with coloured tissue paper to create a ‘nest’, or if you have enough egg cups to spare, create an eclectic display for a mantle piece or windowsill. To give them as a gift, paint the egg carton that you bought them in for a more portable present!

What designs are you going to have for your Easter eggs this year?

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