April 29, 2014

Eggsperiments 2014

This year I only did a few eggs, unlike last year's eggstravaganza of different techniques.  I found some new dyeable plastic eggs at Walmart so I went that route to see how they'd do with the dyes.  Despite my best efforts, I made a huge mess in the kitchen.


And yet I still wasn't able to dye the entire dozen in an afternoon.  They don't seem to take the PAAS kit dyes very well.  The pink one on the far left was done with 2 red PAAS tablets dissolved in just vinegar.  They don't recommend dissolving the dye tabs in water at all, or else the results will be very pastel.  The green one behind the pink was done by squirting green food colouring right on the egg.  That resulted in the deeper green shade, but it also didn't dry evenly.  The yellow & pale purple were done with gel food dye in yellow and blue.  I cut out that one egg, painted it with green acrylic paint and added the Santa.  That one on the end is dark purple acrylic paint.  One not show is painted black with a coat of red glitter paint.  It should be noted that paint takes a wicked long time to dry and requires multiple coats.  I was rapidly losing interest.

Then I broke out the drill and drew a half assed design on the egg and drilled it out.  This took awhile too because of my elbow tendonitis and the weight of the drill was making it very painful to do more than just a few holes at a time.  

Next time I'll take the time to make more even holes! 

Then I made a couple of sugar eggs that I let dry for a few days before decorating them.  The recipe for these makes enough sugar for 2 eggs.  I forgot that and realized after I coloured it blue that I had to figure out if I wanted to make 2 blue eggs and make a whole other batch for purple or what.  I decided to just throw purple dye into the blue sugar, mixed it well and it ended up coming out a nice shade.

I also decided to make the recommended royal icing which dries fast and hard.  Last year I used regular store bought icing in the can and it never truly dried all the way.  My piping skills leave much to be desired and I'd probably work out the kinks with practice.  They are pretty fun to make.

Remember the tiny pagoda I found at the flea market?  I painted it blue and went for a blue willow type design for this egg.  

And a wee chick with bunneh ears in the purple.  Those are candy flowers and candy pink pearls.


I forgot how time consuming it is, decorating these things.  Took me a couple of hours one afternoon to decorate just four of them.  I used yellow liquid food dye on this egg and loved the deep shade.  

Went a little nuts with the rhinestone strips but I just knew those crystals would look awesome against the yellow.

Here's the Santa egg, finally finished.  I painted the inside with silver glitter paint (that took 3 days to dry too, I might add)


Here's one I made for Lady Axe.  I'd gotten that red and black Jolly Roger when I won the "Talk Like A Pirate Day" Artbeads giveaway.  I painted the egg black then covered it with a thick layer of red glitter paint.  The skull piece fit perfectly against the back of the egg.  Then I glued heavy silver chain around the edge (mostly to hide my raggedly cutting job!).


A little bunny on felt grass with some candy flowers glued to it,


Including the egg with the holes drilled in it, I have completed only 5 of the dozen!  Again the big question is, what the heck am I going to do with all of these eggs?  Including all the ones I made with real shells last year!! Could I have been a Faberge' egg artist in a past life!

32 comments:

  1. You have far more patience than I do. Wow. I would have been bat shit crazy after the first one and it wouldn't have turned out near as nice. I love how you put stuff inside them. So cool! ♥

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    1. Patience for crafts is the only place I HAVE patience. But as usual I have to do everything 'over the top' so it takes weeks to do just 12 eggs.

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  2. Hi Jojo! Oh so you experimented with these plastic eggs :) I love the results! That drilled one looks very nice, vintage romantic - something like this.
    I alos just love dthose with a tiny pagoda and a rabbit inside - such a lovely decoration! You surely didn't waste time making these eggs.. who knows may be you indeed were a Faberge artist in a past life...

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    1. If I'd known about Faberge eggs when I was a kid I might have begged to go into that kind of jewelry/detail work in college!

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  3. Wow, JoJo , this is another great egg-travaganza . So many great little works of egg art it would be hard to chose only one as a fave. Love the rich look and depth you achieved with the black paint and red glitter on the Pirate Egg - fantastic. And the egg-o-rama with the tiny "chick-bunny" is just too cute for words. You do have a knack for decorating eggs . . . and keys - loved your embellished keys !

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    1. Thank you so much! I probably have almost 2 dozen decorated eggs, both real and these plastic ones, and no idea what to do with them or a way to display them.

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  4. Anonymous8:30 AM

    I know I've said this countless times before, but, holy crap JoJo. You are totally amazing. You have this talent, that is just outstanding. And your patience is off the charts. I would have thrown the eggs against the wall in an hour but you spent several hours on them. (and I do yoga haha so much for zen!) These are phenomenal!

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    1. Thank you Elsie! Maybe crafting is my 'yoga'? lol Still though, what to do with all these finished projects that are starting to pile up?!

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  5. Wow. YOU are so creative and talented. The eggs are adorable and in some cases art.

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    1. Thank you Teresa. :) I do enjoy it.

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  6. I bet you were a Faberge egg artist, in another life or another alternate universe. I can buy that. It shows in the details. I like the Blue Willow egg, since I have that pattern on a few of my collectable dishes. I remember you blogging about the pagoda.

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    1. Thank you! I'm really glad that my blue willow sugar egg idea came out the way I had hoped it would.

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  7. Anonymous12:31 PM

    You're amazing at this! The egg with all the holes fascinates me, but wow they're all great. Can't wait to see you do more of those...but not at the expense of your elbow.

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    1. Thanks Tracy! :D The drilled eggs are inspired by this amazing artist who does much more intricate work on real egg shells.

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  8. You are so talented to turn a plain old eggshell into something beautiful. I'm the newest follower to your blog, and it's nice to 'meet' you.
    Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Debi! Thanks so much for stopping by! I am heading over to your blog now to reciprocate! :)

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  9. Wow, what a collection of beautiful eggs you created. So many different techniques and ideas, and each one so unique. I love the eggs with the little scenes inside they are so much fun!
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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    1. Thank you Valerie! I would like to do a few more holiday themed scenes for the fall craft shows. Maybe those will sell better than my other ornaments!

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  10. Ooh, my favorites are the ones with icing and intricate miniature details. They're adorable. Too bad you can't trust a dyeable plastic egg (or anything) from Walmart.

    Be well, JoJo.
    xoRobyn

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    1. Believe me part of me dies inside every time I go to Walmart. Ugh. But at least there is a product like the dyeable plastic eggs. So much easier than using real eggs.

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  11. Love what you did with the eggs. You are a very talented creative person.

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    1. Thank you so much Lady Lilith!

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  12. Anonymous7:04 AM

    Wait, wait. You CREATED those?! Girl, you have got some talent (and patience)!

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    1. Thank you! Yes indeedy, I made them. I'm kind of 'craft obsessed!'

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  13. Wow. Those are amazing! I'm in awe.

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    1. Thank you so much Stephanie. :)

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  14. Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment. The comment did give me palpatations though! Our flag is not called the Union Jack and I don't understand why people think it is. it's called the Union Flag. It's only a Union jack when flown on a ship.

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    1. Really?!?!?! I had no idea! There is even a Stiff Little Fingers song called 'Fly the Flag' and the lyrics are: Cos I'm alright, I'm alright, Union Jack, Fly the flag
      Thanks for letting me know! :)

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  15. There you are being crafty again! You are amazing. These days my only dealings with eggs is when I cook them for breakfast.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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    1. Thanks Arlee! I truly hadn't planned on doing egg crafts this year but then those plastic ones came out and the rest is history.

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  16. Hi JoJo,

    Truly awesome! Eggquisite! You can use all those eggs in the fanciest egg and spoon race, ever! :)

    Gary

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    1. Why thank you Gary! And bonus, these eggs won't break if they fall off the spoon!

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