Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

March 31, 2010

The Craft That Went Horribly Awry....

A few weeks ago, I got a notification from Artbeads.com of a free egg project. The eggs looked stunning and the directions are really easy. You just dye the unboiled eggs, blow them out, decorate with self-adhesive crystals & ribbon, and voila! Gorgeous eggs abound!!
So I went to Fred Meyer and bought a couple of classic PAAS egg dye kits, because if one dye tablet is good, then 2 are better. PAAS has been an egg dying staple in American homes for generations.
And because I'm easily attracted to sparkly, colourful things, this Dudley's Tie Dye kit caught my eye and I bought that too, but I haven't used it yet.

Since Steve is out of town on spring break, he surprised Deb and I by giving us a day off this week. Hers was yesterday and mine was today. What a perfect opportunity to work on this project! I lovingly set out all my stuff - egg cups, glues, crystals, dye kits, eggs....

Step one, put 3 Tablespoons of white vinegar in each cup w/ the dye tablets.
Ooooooh! Fizzy!!!!

Once the tablets are dissolved, pour a 1/2 cup of water into each dye cup. I had to recruit some of my coffee mugs to accommodate all the colours.
Submerge the eggs, carefully, because they aren't hardboiled. It's easier to dye unblown eggs because once they are empty, they float.
The longer you leave the eggs in, the darker the dye gets.
Here's a half n half egg: Yellow and hot pink.
Puppy-helper.
Pretty, vibrant colour!!!
Now that the eggs are all dry, it's time to set up to blow out the stuff.
I ended up using an awl to poke the holes in the top and bottom of the shells. Then I carefully worked these needles inside to widen the holes. Unfortunately, the shell around the hole tended to crack. Back in the old days, we would blow the eggs with our mouths, but as that's a great way to get salmonella, I read on line that the bulb from an ear wax cleaning kit would work well.
I started with the orange egg. The shell cracked around one of the holes so I used some white glue and waited for it to dry. I got the smaller needle in and poked/stirred the yolk. Then I started using the bulb on the top hole, to blow out the stuff. Well, I squeezed a bit too hard and the egg cracked all down the side and started to pour out. Crap. Somehow I managed to keep the egg from shattering and got all the goo out. I applied a thin layer of glue on the crack line and left it to dry.

OK, let's try the dark blue egg. I got the holes made with no trouble, poked the yolk, and was much more gentle with the bulb. Things were going well, but I swear this had to be a 2-yolk egg. It wouldn't stop coming out. And was so dense that this egg cracked on the side, so I applied the glue again. But now the dye is all washed away from the cracked area. I think I can salvage them with strategically-placed ribbon.

Now I start to work on the gorgeous sky blue egg. I just start to use the bulb and the whole side of the egg blew completely out. Just like Mount St. Helens. I yelled, 'GODDAMMIT!' so loud that Brian heard me all the way downstairs and over the TV. He came up to see how it was going and couldn't believe the trouble I was having!!!

I picked up the purple egg and was holding it gently...at least I thought I was holding it gently.... and my finger goes right through the blasted shell!!! WTF?? I mean seriously!

Here's the carnage in all it's colourful glory.

I have an idea of how to use the eggs with the gaping holes. But for now, the rest have gone back into the fridge, till I can figure out a better way to get the yolk out of the shells without the sides blowing out. I know there is an egg blowing tool out there, and hopefully Michael's will have one. Aw darnsy. I have to go to the craft store! I'm all broken up about it. Kind of like the eggs.

18 comments:

  1. They are beautiful all the same. You can put tiny puppets inside and they can be a stage...

    I love looking at all the colors. Is there something else you can dye??

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  2. I have one of those egg blowing tools. I purchased it many moons ago when I was making "russian" eggs. It's pretty handy.

    I will check with my mom to see how she would get her eggs empty. She made some beautiful eggs when I was little. Sometimes you just have to cover the "ooopsy's" with big pieces of decorating stuff. I wonder if she still has them...will have to ask her that too. ~ *dashes off to check with mom* (This is Sylvia from FB)

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  3. Oh man! I think I'll stick with hard boiled, that way I can eat them!

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  4. My sister and I did that when we were young-too damn time consuming and yep,there's that whole salmonella risk.

    Reminds me of my ONE cake disaster when I tried frosting like they tell you too in cookbooks.

    The shells ARE pretty though.To this day the smell of vinegar reminds me of dying eggs.

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  5. Oh, poor you, can you use the shells in combination with beads?, because the colours are lovely.
    And why are they called Paas egg?. That is Dutch we have Paasdagen(Easterdays), Paaseieren (Eastereggs), very strange.
    Happy Easter to you en Brian.(Prettige Paasdagen voor jou en Brian) Elka

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  6. I feel for you. I can barely handle boiled eggs let alone uncooked ones. I love crafts. They just don't love me. lol Good luck with your next batch!

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  7. Anonymous10:02 AM

    Oh no! Maybe you should have followed the 'Good Things Utah' 'recipe' ;0)

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  8. Maybe you can make some sort of collage out of the broken shells. That would be very pretty.

    Guess what Jo? I know I said I was going to rent the movie and the book - To Kill A Mocking Bird -but I rented just the movie. Holy Schmoly! How come no one EVER told me how GREAT, no WONDERFUL, no FABULOUS, no TERRIFIC that movie is? It reminds me of my childhood. When my cousins or my friends' cousins would come for summer visits from other parts of the country. We would trek around the neighborhood to see what we could get into. The beaches, lakes, woods. An exciting time. I loved the little dodads that the boy (can't remember his name now) collected in his treasure chest. What a poignant film. One for the ages. I just adore Gregory Peck. Cheers JoJo!!

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  9. Y'know, I often wondered how you blew eggs. Or sucked them, even, or taught your grandmother to suck them. Never really wanted to bother finding out though.

    Thanks for showing me how.

    Not to do it...

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  10. PF - Thanks! I just got some doodads at Michael's Crafts at lunch so I'll try to salvage the broken ones.

    SAMCrafts - HI SYLVIA!!! What a treat to see you on here! I couldn't find an egg blowing tool today. :(

    SugarMag - But have you noticed that the shells don't peel off the hardboiled eggs as easily as they used to?

    Bryde - Your 'one cake disaster'? Did you write your comment on my blog prior to the cake disaster you wrote about on your blog yesterday? lol

    Elka - I've no idea why the kits are called PAAS, but I suspect that it must be Dutch for Easter, as you explained!

    MusicWench - What can I say, I'm a craft whore. I'll try anything once.

    Diane - I know! Although I admit I would like to see Vincent blowing an egg.....

    Bobbybegood1 - SEE?? I told you! Now go back and read my blog entry about the movie and book, which you skipped till you saw or read it!

    Val - Yeah I never got that "go suck an egg" thing...I mean, who does that?

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  11. you can make "enchanted eggs"...and you could put a miniature criminal intent scene inside!

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  12. Where'm I gonna get a teeny tiny Bobby? ;p

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  13. Dngrkitty12:50 PM

    They're still really pretty, Jo! Salmonella... yikes. I shudder at all the things we did as kids that would result in a speed dial to CPS today. Wear a helmet while riding a bike? Unheard of! Car seats and seat belts? Ha! Mouth blowing raw eggs? No problem. It's a wonder we're still here.

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  14. Dngrkitty - No kidding! Could you imagine if a kid wore a helmet on their bike or skateboard? They'd have been laughed out of school! Remember at HT Wing, most of our playground equipment was on cement? Even the monkey bars. When I fell off the slide, I landed on concrete, broke my wrist & got a concussion. Oh by the way, we didn't sue the Sandwich School District either.

    The "seat belt" in my parents' car was my mom's right arm flinging across my chest if she had to slam on the brakes. lol

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  15. Oh Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

    those poor little eggs!!

    its the type of thing I would do too xx

    Sam xx

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  16. I read the Mocking Bird post Jo. Wow!! I loved the way you told your story. You have such a way with words. You really should write that all-American novel. Cheers!!

    P. S. When that novel becomes NY Times bestseller, and you go on Oprah, DON'T forget about the little people, eh. Hahahah.

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  17. Sam - I'm not giving up. I'm going to try and get at least ONE to come out!

    bobbybegood1 - Wasn't the movie just the best EVER? And the music? And the cast? Did you weep at the end when Scout walks Boo home? I'm choking up even typing about it!!! Thanks so much for your sweet words about my writing. *blush*

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  18. Y'Know I think I did cry. OMG! I totally like forgot. Like, how could I not remember that I cried. OMG! Yes, it was such a lovely movie. The score was wonderful, and the cast? Well, when your hero is Mr. Peck, you can only be as good. The children were awesome characters. I can see how it won an AA. I wonder what movies were up against it the year it won? Cheers JoJo!!

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