Marbling Eggs

I love making Easter eggs. I also like trying out new techniques.

This pin has made the Pinterest rounds, but I can't find the source:

If anyone knows where it originally came from, please share.

With no instructions, I decided to experiment to see how exactly to accomplish this wonder.

I tried paint (figuring less risk of dying my hands) and I am disappointed to say it didn't work at all.

So here's what worked: I squirted about a palmful-worth (perhaps more) of shaving cream onto a piece of aluminum foil. Then I dotted it with food coloring.

I used a toothpick to swirl the color through the shaving cream without fully mixing it.

Then, we rolled the eggs in the mixture, just once to coat all sides.

To give the color a chance to really stain the eggshell, we left them sitting for about five minutes.

Then with a paper towel, I just wiped it all off and was left with a pretty marbled Easter egg.

Given that eggs are semi-porous I wondered if the shaving cream might leech through, so I made Mateo try one. :) He said it was fine. Just tasted like a regular boiled egg.

Then, because I was just experimenting and didn't have a whole bunch of eggs ready to color, I decided I need to somehow do something with my left over shaving cream/color. Didn't want to waste it.

So, I laid a piece of white paper on the shaving cream, lifted it up, laid it down again, and so on until I had covered the whole paper.

Then I used a paper towel and just wiped the saving cream off. No fancy technique, just wiped.

I was left with a very pretty marbled paper.

This way of marble paper was so much easier than regular marbling. It's a bit messy, but so is regular marbling. I highly recommend this method for young kids.

Once the paper is dry, the possibilities are endless: make cards, use for origami, paint a picture, write a poem on it...              

Art Adventure: "Stained Glass" Easter Eggs

I've been so swamped with school, I literally just realized that Easter is only two weeks away. How did that happen?

I thought I would squeeze in one Easter craft.

"Stained Glass" Easter Eggs
 

 

Supplies:

• wax paper (or plastic wrap)
• permanent marker
• tissue paper, cut or torn into small pieces
• school glue
• brush

 

Mix glue (eyeball it, a couple tablespoons if it's just one or two, more if you have the whole Brady Bunch) and water. I just add some and stir until I have a runny consistency. You can go half and half if you want.

Use the marker to draw your shape on the wax paper. Go as big or small as you want. Ideas other than an egg shape: flowers, chicks, bunnies. Then FLIP IT OVER! You want the marker on the back, if it is painted with the glue/water it will run.

Use the brush to paint the glue/water inside your shape and start putting on the tissue paper. You can be meticulous, or random. I was working with a three year old, so we went random.

  

Let your pieces overlap the edge of your shape. 

When it's all filled in, dab over the whole thing with the glue mix. This will make sure all is glued down and sealed in. 

Now, there's nothing left to do but wait, wait, wait.

Once it's dry, grab a pair of scissors and trim out your shape.

Supposedly, you can now peel off the wax paper. Your tissue paper would totally stick together, but I found that my tissue paper was firmly glued to the wax paper. It really doesn't matter much. When you put it in the window, the light still shines through.

Eh, dreary day, but still nice and colorful!

It would peel off plastic wrap, but I just find plastic wrap to be a pain to deal with. Wax paper works even if it doesn't peel off. 

Tuesday's Art Adventure: Egg Tempera

Holy smokes, I'm a little later than usual getting this up! I've started grad school and I'm still trying to get used to the schedule.

Another art history adventure. Artists used oil to bind pigments to make paint, hence, oil paints. In the Renaissance, artist began making a new paint, tempera using egg as a binder.

So today we will make our own paint!

Egg tempera

Supplies:

• different colors of chalk
• egg yolks (for four colors, I used 2 yolks)
• zip-top bags
• some type of hammer or mallet
• paper
• brushes

The kids can help with the prep. First, pick some different colors of chalk, you don't need a lot. One stick of regular chalk or just an end of sidwalk chalk. Place them in separate bags, and smash into a powder.

Separate your eggs, you just need the yolks (have an egg white omlet for lunch later).

Add a tablespoon of water and stir it together.

Pour the powder of one color into a small container, 

add about 3 teaspoons of egg mixture to the powder, 

and stir. It should be smooth and paint-like, not too runny, not too thick.

Once all the colors are mixed, it's time to paint.

My boys are really into Star Wars, so I heard fantastic stories about what they were painting while they worked.

Gabe made a ship that is going into hyperspace being chased by a Republic cruiser.

And Chi made a tie fighter battle.

Once it dries, it will be all set because the egg is binding the pigment. You will notice that we still have a few chunks. The more you grind the smoother it is; you could also strain it if it bothers you.

For older kids and those of you with a mortar and pestle, you can go find things from nature to grind up to make your colors. Berries, flowers, leaves. It is a lot of fun to make your paint completely from scratch, but it is difficult without that mortar and pestle.

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Can't forget the Eggs.

All right. I never really expected to post this many things related to Easter crafts like this or this, but it's been fun. I have wanted to try Onion Skin dyed eggs for a long time. It's been in my book for years. Pretty sure it was originally from Martha.

You will need old fabric or nylons cut into squares bigger than your egg. I used nylons. Lots of onion skins. I use onion in a lot of my cooking, so it didn't really take long to save some, I just stuck them in a paper bag. Rice and rubber bands. Oh, and eggs. Don't forget the eggs!

Lay the nylon or fabric on your counter.

place about 6 layers of onion skins on that.

Sprinkle with a bit of rice (you could use small leaves instead) 

and top rice with a few more onion skins.

Place egg on top of that.

Doesn't that nestled egg look precious?

Place more onion skins on top of the egg, then carefully wrap the nylon or fabric around your egg 

and secure with rubber bands. You want the onion skins tight against the egg, but, you know, don't smash your egg. :)

Get some water boiling. Gratuitous boiling water photo. :)

Carefully lower the eggs into the water and boil for 20 minutes. Yeah, those are the instructions.

Take them out and let them cool a bit. Unwrap. And to shine them up, you can rub them with a little vegetable oil.

So pretty!

Gabe thinks they look like wood.

The affect from the natural ingredients is amazing.

So, we tasted them because 20 minutes cook time on an egg is a lot. They reminded Matt of "cafeteria" eggs. They were edible, but a definite gray ring around the yolk. I'd recommend using them IN something like egg salad if you are into that sort of thing. I'm not. I'll just make some more to be pretty for Easter and then pawn them off on people. It's how I roll. :)

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