DIY Network

Egg Projects

Crafter Michele Beschen, creator of the B Original series, gives several ideas for getting creative with eggs.

advertisement

	There are so many things you can do with eggs to decorate for Easter. Take your eggs and clean, coat, color and thread them. Add decorations and then hang them on your trees.
	Eggshells make great jewelry. Paint and embellish them, and then use jump rings to connect and assemble your newly created charms into earrings and necklaces.

Celebrate eggs and all their glory

By Michele Beschen

March 26, 2007 — I'll be the first to admit that I am someone who spends more time than most looking at various materials, trying to figure out all that can be done with them creatively. No product goes unnoticed ... including the egg.

And since it is the perfect time of year to celebrate eggs in all their glory, I thought it only fitting to share some extraordinary, yet simple projects with these oval beauties.

You and your family can have a lot of fun for the Easter holiday by creating beautiful suspended egg decor. Here's how.

Egg Ornaments

Steps:

1. Put a small hole in both ends of each raw egg, and blow out the center.

2. Carefully rinse the shells in a bucket of bleach water to clean.

3. You can now decorate your eggs by dying them, painting them or doing a collage/decoupage treatment.

4. Thread a beading needle with monofilament or thin wire, and run through the holes at the top and bottom of your egg.
   
   
5. Embellish with flower petals that have been removed from artificial stems and some colorful beads. Loop off the top of your wire or thread, and hang from branches you've assembled in a vase or directly from the trees in your yard.

Once the home decorations are complete, grab another dozen eggs and use the shells to decorate yourself with delicate, one-of-a-kind jewelry. That's right, I said "jewelry!"

Eggshell Jewelry

Steps:

1. First, hard-boil a dozen eggs and then let them cool.

2. Peel carefully, trying to leave as much of the eggshell intact as possible. (Set aside the edible portion; a delectable deviled egg recipe follows.)

3. Carefully remove any of the lining that is still inside the shell. Break down into manageable jewelry size pieces.

4. Work on a nonporous work surface, such as a glass cutting board or glossy ceramic tile, and cover with a thin layer of petroleum jelly to prevent your epoxy coated pieces from sticking.

5. To strengthen your shell pieces so that you can drill through them, put a couple of coats of two-part clear epoxy resin on them. Mix up a small amount and brush on both sides of your shells. Place on your work surface covered with petroleum jelly to dry.

6. Position them with the concave portion of the shell facing down so that very little shell surface is lying on the work surface.

7. Once they're dry, you can take a pair of cuticle or detail scissors and trim accordingly. You can now drill holes in your shells to accommodate the desired jewelry findings.

8. Place your shell pieces on a soft surface such as a piece of stiff felt to cushion the shell as you drill. I used a very small drill bit in my Dremel tool and drilled right through.

9. Paint and embellish accordingly. Nail polish is an excellent way to add color.

10. Use jump rings to connect and assemble your newly created charms into earrings and necklaces, and wear proudly.

Reward your "eggstraordinary" creative efforts with a delightful plate of deviled eggs.

Deviled Eggs

Materials:

hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tsp. vinegar
3 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. of salt
dash of pepper
Spanish paprika, to taste

Preparation:

Slice hard-boiled eggs in half, lengthwise and then remove the yolks and mash with a fork.

Add mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and a dash of pepper. Adjust ingredients to taste.

Use a decorative cake bag to refill your egg whites and sprinkle with Spanish paprika. Sit back and enjoy.

(Michele Beschen is creator of the B Original series for the DIY Network. Contact her at www.couragetocreate.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

Get DIY On Your TV. Just follow the instructions to see if DIY Network is available through your cable or satellite provider.