egg craft part two: blow those eggs!

 

Click here for part one.

Have you gathered your materials yet?

• eggs (of course!), raw.  We're using chicken eggs, but if you have access to others, feel free to use them as well.
• paint (any sort)
• long embroidery needle or hat pin
• paint brushes
• hot glue
• clear spray-on coating
• beads, buttons, ribbon, trim, etc.
• modge podge (optional)
• vintage Easter card pictures (optional)
• glitter
• toilet paper tubes for egg holders 

If so, it is time to blow the insides out of your eggs.  We do this so that the eggs will be preserved, without running the risk of having some broken rotten eggs in your home.  I have had success in saving hard boiled eggs, but I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.  Furthermore, I have read that you can leave the raw eggs intact and the yolk and innards will dry up into a hard little ball.  However, I would be afraid that the egg would be dropped or somehow broken before it was all dry, leaving an awful stench.  So, if you plan on saving your eggs to use as decorations in subsequent years, it is best to blow them out.

Decide how many eggs you want to decorate.  Leave those eggs in the egg carton and put the others in a bowl in the refrigerator.  It is a whole lot easier to make the holes in the eggs if you let them sit in the carton.   We're doing a dozen.  Let your chosen eggs warm to room temperature.

 

 Grab your embroidery needle or your hat pin and use it to poke a teeny hole in the top of the eggs.  The small hole should correspond to the small end of the egg. 

Flip the eggs topsy-turvy and poke another hole in the wider end of the egg.  This hole should be larger, but no more than one quarter inch in diameter.  If you can get by with smaller than that, go for it.  I used the same needle and just squiggled it around to widen the gap.  See the difference in size between the egg on the left and the one on the right?

While you have your needle in there, go ahead and pop the yolk.

Then, hold the egg up to your lips and blow that sucker!  You want to blow into the larger hole so that the inside of the egg comes out through the smaller hole.  If that doesn't work, just flip it over and do it the other way.  Be sure to put out a bowl to catch the slime.

It is kind of hard to do and sometimes you just have to let go of your self-esteem and go for it.  When you're done blowing all the eggs, stick the yolk mixture into the fridge and scramble it up for breakfast.  Make sure you cook it within 24 hours. 

Dry your slobber off of your eggs and get ready to paint.

Photo Credit: Happy Easter! by ButterflySha via Flickr

empty tomb cookies

Though we are on "spring break" this week, my children and I are going to spend some time talking about what Easter is really about.  I was looking for fun activities that we could do to illustrate the Easter Story when I came across a recipe for Empty Tomb Cookies.

One Palm Sunday several years ago, I made something similar to this with my Sunday School class.  Instead of cookies, we baked Resurrection Rolls.  The lesson went well.  The children enjoyed being in the kitchen and were very attentive.  While the rolls were baking, we made construction paper palm fronds to carry with us into the sanctuary for worship.

However, in stumbling across this recipe for cookies, I think I have found an even more meaningful activity to do with my own children.  The author outlines activities throughout the lesson that will serve to provide a hands-on understanding of the Easter Story.  Additionally, for each step in the baking process, she provides Scripture to read and discuss.  She completes her tutorial with lovely photographs of her children and her cookies (which look delicious, by the way).

I think my favorite part of the entire recipe is when the children tape the oven closed the night before Easter and allow the cookies to bake overnight.  This gives them something more substantial to be excited over on Easter morning, rather than just what the Easter bunny may have brought.  While our family does the whole Easter bunny ~ basketful of candy ~ hidden egg thing, I really want to work to impart more meaning in the treasured holiday.  This may be our perfect way.

Easter morning, 2010

A Victorian Tradition

I recently came across an article in the NY Times about Victorian Sugar Eggs.  Though it is old, it still spoke to me on this first day of Spring.  You see, I received a sugar egg as a child, as did my mother when she was a child.  My son also got a sugar egg for his first Easter.  However, I was unable to purchase an egg for my daughter's first Easter last year.  I searched the local boutiques and our farmer's market, to no avail.  However, this year I am determined to make a sugar egg for my daughter, so that she will have one too.  I found a tutorial on About.com that looks fairly easy to follow.  For more, click here.

Check back for updates on the status of my eggs!  Sugar eggs, that is, ;)

Click & Pick-- Maimies Merchantile

Maimies Merchantile is a relatively new etsy shop featuring vintage and antique paper goods.  I found so much delight in adoring all the little postcards, trading cards, and so forth that I decided to share my favorites with you.  I came across Maimies while perusing the Time Machine search feature on etsy, which showcases newly listed items.  The beautiful colors in this 1910 postcard (left) caught my eye right away.  Upon clicking, I found that the shop is named after the seller's pug, Maimie.  However, it won my heart because my grandmother was named Mamie.  The pretties I found in the Merchantile (the seller had to be creative in the spelling) reminded me of the stacks of cards, magazines, and peripheral that my granny used to keep stacked in the closet under the stairs.   She loved flowers and little animals, and Maimie's abounds in both.

Maimie's Merchantile opened a mere six weeks ago, on January 9, 2010.  However, the seller, Suzanne, has already had over 750 sales in that short time.  I can see why.  Her product is appealing, her prices are reasonable, and her photographs are lovely.  Here are a few more of my favorites:

Isn't this little Easter postcard just darling?  It reminds me of the stories that my mother would tell about how she and her friends would receive baby chicks at Easter. These intricately-drawn chicks look fluffy enough to squeeze.

I adore the icy coolness of this winter scene, though I am personally tired of the snow.  The little bluebirds and the flowers promise that spring is on the way, though the pond remains frozen and the trees are bare.

And, how about this playful Christmas scene?  Can't you just imagine the trouble that this young man is going to find himself in?  As he sleds down the hill, he spills the fruit and frightens the peasant, looking forward to "A Joyfull Christmas."  So enchanting.

Maimie's collectible cards would be great for many craft outlets.  I can see myself sitting down to make a collage, partake in some decoupage, or embellish scrapbook pages with these quaint reminders of the past.  That is, if I did any of those things.  More than likely, though, I'd just order it to look at.  Maybe I'd fill up the coat closet under the stairs, just for old times' sake.  You never know.

What would you do with these quaint little paper cards?  What would be your craft of choice?  I'd love to hear how these items might inspire you.