I love decorating for spring! Although it's early February, today's warmer weather inspires me to craft. Here is a simple and inexpensive way to bring spring indoors, no matter the temperature outside.
To make the blue speckled eggs you'll need:
Plastic eggs
Blue chalk paint (or acrylic if you have a clear sealant)
Brown acrylic paint
Paint brush
I started off this project with plastic eggs from the Dollar Tree. They come six to a pack for $1. These eggs are cute as is but I wanted blue speckled eggs to match my dining room decor. You could probably use Easter basket eggs but you'll want to glue them closed first. Hobby Lobby sells white Easter eggs and paper mache eggs for painting and crafting, too. If you're very resourceful, you could paper mache empty, cleaned, and dried chicken eggs and then proceed with painting them as follows.
I happened to have this sea foam chalk paint by Creative Sister on hand. Like many hobbyists, you may only have white chalk paint. Try adding a few drops of acrylic paint to the white chalk paint to create the color you want. Be sure to mix it well and mix enough to complete your project. You can save excess paint in an airtight container for future projects. I've used this technique with other projects and it works fine. You can also play around with making your own chalk paint by using this DIY chalk paint recipe (not my recipe).
These particular eggs have a small hole in the bottom, so I was able to poke nails through the bottom of a piece of cardboard and stand the eggs up on the nails to dry. Each egg required two coats of chalk paint. I used a foam paint brush but you can use a small chip brush or a wide artist's brush.
Because the next step can get messy, I moved the eggs to a cardboard box. Dipping the tip of my paintbrush in brown acrylic paint, I tapped on the paintbrush above the eggs to create a speckled effect. Be sure not to touch the eggs with the paintbrush. Once the brown paint dries, turn over the eggs and repeat the speckling process. Allow to dry completely before handling. Because I used chalk paint, I did not paint the eggs with a clear sealant. If you do want to seal it, I recommend using Polycrylic. You can purchase it at any hardware store and it lasts a very long time! I use it to seal acrylic pours and for glass ornaments.
As for how to decorate with them... I keep several nests around the house for spring, summer, and fall. I seriously love decorating with birds, nests, and greenery! You can add these pretty eggs to nests, use them in centerpieces, or even put one egg in an extra small terracotta pot filled with moss. They would be lovely in a spring wreath or in a swag as well.
How would you decorate with them? Please join me on my Halcyondale Cottage Creatives page to chat about this craft, share pictures of your crafts, and see other great 1-2-3 tutorials.
Here, I used an elevated tray that I made from an old speckled metal candlestick and a pie pan painted to match. I added things that I already had on hand like faux greenery, whitewashed birds, and hobnail candles, creating a super easy spring centerpiece for my dining room buffet. For more DIY and home decorating ideas, be sure to join my email list at halcyondalecottage@gmail.com with the subject line "JOIN". You'll be the first to hear about giveaways, freebies, and updates to our page. Thanks for stopping by!
Kittie
