Florassippi Girl: Tissue Paper Mache Easter Eggs

Hello everyone! Easter is just around the corner, and when you have little ones, that means decorating eggs! We have chickens, so eggs are easy enough to come by, but only one of our hens lays white eggs. I just can't see running to the store just to buy white eggs, so today I'm sharing an alternative to dying eggs that works beautifully, no matter what color egg you start with. It is certainly not the only option out there, but it was the one we used this year, and the kids really enjoyed it's versatility.

We used tissue paper and a thin mixture of paper mache for our eggs. I have seen other projects like this that use Mod Podge instead. While Mod Podge is labeled non toxic, it is not rated to be used with food. Since we do eat our decorated eggs, we chose to use the safer flour/water mixture instead. The finish may not last as long, but like I said - we'll be eating them, so it doesn't have to.

The first thing you'll want to do is gather your supplies:

Newspaper (or similar, to cover the work area)
Sponge Brushes
Bowls
Boiled Eggs
Tissue Paper (multiple colors)
Flour
Water
Wire rack
Stickers, markers, etc. (optional decorative additions)

Cover your work area with newspaper, or the like.

Prepare your tissue paper by cutting it into assorted shapes. We used long strips, along with circles and hearts of various sizes - but use anything that you like. We also had a separate bowl with the scraps cut into random 'confetti' type pieces.

Make your mache by mixing 1 part flour to 2 parts water in a medium bowl. (We used 1/2 cup of flour in 1 cup of water, and had most of it leftover after making 12 eggs.) Make sure you stir it until it is smooth and no lumps remain. You may also need to stir it periodically as you are creating your eggs.

With egg in hand, decide what shape of tissue paper you want and where you want to place it. Hold it in place on the egg. Dip your sponge brush in the mache mixture, and gently brush a thin layer over the tissue paper to get it to adhere to the egg. Then, smooth out any air pockets. We found that it may be helpful to use 2 or 3 layers of tissue, especially on the darker shelled eggs. The tissue paper can tear easily if it gets too wet and/or you rub too hard, but it is fairly easy to just press it back into place. Besides, these are not supposed to be perfect, and little things like that just add to their charm.

If you are wanting to make a confetti egg, brush a thin layer of mache over the bare eggshell. Then, gently roll the egg in the bowl of confetti tissue. Remove the egg from the bowl, and press the pieces against the shell gently with dry, bare hands. Smooth out any lifted edges that remain by brushing on a little more mache.

Once you are happy with how your egg looks, place it on a wire rack to dry.

When they're finished drying, you can decorate them further by adding little stickers, drawing on them with markers, or even adding little flower petals like we did (as bunny ears), if you want.

They hold up really well after being refrigerated too. As they warm back up, they don't get any of those pesky condensation droplets, like with dye, that run all over the place, and mess up your pretty eggs - and fingers! They do get a little damp, but the paper absorbs it, and none of the color runs.

Oh, and in case you were wondering... They are no harder to peel than regular eggs. The paper comes right off when you're ready.