A Creative Way to Artfully Decorate Wooden Easter Eggs

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If you know me, you know that I like to go the understated route when it comes to holiday decorations. For many years I would think, “What’s wrong with me? Why wasn’t I excited to deck the halls and all that?” It wasn’t until the last few years that I have decided to accept it and even embrace it. That being said, I have a fun egg decorating project that can be customized to you or your kid’s level of creative skills and Easter pizzazz. 

Dying Easter eggs has a long tradition and the sight of those PAAS Easter Egg dying kits never fails to produce a wave of sweet nostalgia. While I don’t want to stand in the way of anyone carrying on the PAAS tradition, sometimes you may want to shake things up. 

Having an alternative idea comes in handy when your family may participate in more than one egg dying event each year. So, here I am with a fun twist on the Easter egg dying tradition.

You will need to gather some things beforehand to get the most out of this wooden Easter egg project. Planning ahead is key to a successful result.

The first item you’ll need will be eggs, wooden eggs to be exact. This project is going to give you eggs that you’ll want to keep after spending the time and artistic energy on them. Wooden eggs also allow the adhesive to work properly. And, overall, wood just has a nicer feel than plastic. I got a batch of 48 wooden eggs. Not sure what I was thinking of getting that many for my small family. Perhaps my husband’s bent to go overboard a bit is finally beginning to rub off on me after all these years. Click here for the eggs that I bought.

Next you’ll need a Gelli Plate. If you’re a creative, crafty person you really should have one already. They are so much fun and I use them all the time. I have a few different sizes but a 5” x 7” or a 6” x 6” should be fine for this project. Get a bigger one if you are into making collage or paper crafts. You won’t regret it. Mine is well-loved as you can see. When they are new they are clear but I like the paint to get built up a bit so when I print the next thing papers have little specks of old paint in it. If you want clean color then make sure to clean your plate after each use. (Baby wipes work well for this.) Click here for the Gelli Plate.

For the “dye” we’ll be using acrylic paint. All colors and kinds are welcome. I have a few gold or metallic shades, a few iridescent shades, your basic colors, and some transparent shades. I also have a mix of craft acrylic paints and basic art acrylic paints. Whatever you want, it’s all up to you!

To use the paints on the Gelli Plate you need a brayer. They come in different sizes. I like to use one that’s at least 4 inches wide but if you have one that’s smaller, it’ll work for this project as well. If you have one on hand, great! If not, click here for a brayer that will work perfectly for this project and is reasonably priced. You will most likely use it again since I think you’re going to love the Gelli Plate if you haven’t used one before. 

You will also need a clear medium. I like Liquitex Basics Acrylic Matte Gel Medium. It also comes in gloss but I like a soft matte finish. I like the Liquitex because it’s a little thicker which makes it easier to apply in this situation and it dries really quickly which is also helpful when working with round objects. The clear medium will act as glue and sealer. Click here for my favorite Acrylic Matte Gel.

Grab a paintbrush to apply the medium. Keep it on the smaller side, I use a ½“ flat artist brush that was included in one of those paintbrush multi-packs from the craft store. You want some width to it but not too big. And you want it to leave a smooth finish. A chip brush wouldn’t get you a smooth finish and would also be too hard on the material and end up ruining the paper so no chip brushes for this one.

The paper you want is either white tissue paper or exam table paper. Yep, that annoying paper that they use at doctors offices on the exam table. It works perfectly for this and many other art projects. I love it and keep some on hand. It comes in an 125′ roll so it will last a while and I can just cut what I need. If you’re not into being prepared for any and all creative endeavors like some of us, then a package of white tissue paper is what you want.  Either way, cut pieces that are an inch or 2 larger than your Gelli Plate. Click here for exam table paper and click here for white tissue paper.

The last thing you need is really a collection of things. You want to gather anything you can think of that can make texture impressions on the Gelli Plate. You’re looking for things that aren’t too sharp so that you don’t pierce the plate. There are endless possibilities here. This would be a fun part to get the kids involved in – a free-for-all scavenger hunt for anything they can think of that has texture.  Or if you’re like me, you have a forever growing collection of what looks like garbage to the untrained eye but is, in fact, very useful for such a project as this.

Here is a list of things you may have around. Really anything goes here as long as it has texture. 

-corrugated cardboard

-stamps

-plastic net bags that potatoes come in

-egg cartons

-textured cardstock

-bubble wrap

-ball of tissue paper

-cotton buds

-leaves and flowers

This is really a short list to get you started. Once you start looking around your home you’ll find all sorts of things that will work and be fun to play with.

The first step of the creative wooden Easter Egg project is to make your color palette. You’re going to grab everything except the eggs, gel medium, and paintbrush. Those will come into play later. 

A few tips: 

• The Gelli Plate is not an exact science, it’s a dance with awesome and not so awesome results so have plenty of paper to ensure you have enough for a variety of Easter Eggs.
• I use a piece of acrylic under my Gelli Plate to hold it in place. You could also use a piece of glass but make sure to tape up the edges to prevent cuts.
• Keep the patterns small for this project. We’re working on a small item so if you want to see some of that pattern on the final product you need to keep the patterns small.
• Keep in mind that the paper will almost disappear on the eggs when we apply the gel medium leaving just the paint visible. If you want bright saturated eggs you need to use bright solid colors. You can use the same paper several times on the Gelli plate to add layers of paint to get the desired result.
• If you want some grunge, do a layer or two on scrap paper with brown, gray, or black paint. The little bits left on the plate will lift when you add your next color. 
• Thin layers of paint work best. It dries quickly and layers can be built up. Applying too much paint to the Gelli Plate will soak the delicate paper and ruin it. Aim for a solid layer of paint but not so much that the brayer is slipping. If the brayer is slipping then take a scrap piece of paper and lift some of the paint off before you continue.
• Have fun! This is your chance to really play- either by yourself or with your kids. The best papers are the ones I never intended so don’t hold on to hard and fast expectations.
• If you’re planning this activity to do with kids that aren’t at the age or aren’t interested in experimenting with the Gelli Plate you can always make the papers ahead of time and then have them join in on the next step. 

Now that you have your color palette you’re ready to decorate the eggs.

You’re going to start by grabbing one of your papers and tearing it into small pieces. I have found there’s a sweet spot for the size of pieces that I  like best. If the pieces are too big they will leave larger creases and wrinkles than I’d like. And if the pieces are too small you will lose some of the pattern you created while making the papers and you will extend the time it takes to complete one Easter egg. Trial and error, my friend. 

Get out some gel medium and starting in the center of the wooden egg add some with the paintbrush working in small sections. Use the paintbrush to pick up a piece of paper and lay it on the egg. Cover the paper with gel medium and then grab another piece of paper placing it against the last piece of paper on the eggs. It’s like piecing together a puzzle. Don’t worry if you have a sliver of wood showing between paper pieces every now and then, you can just add another piece over top. The paper is so thin that layering it isn’t an issue.

Tips for applying the paper to the eggs:

• You don’t need to be heavy handed with the gel medium. It will cause the paper to wrinkle and possibly tear if you use too much. 
• Start with going around the center of the egg while holding each end between your thumb and fingers. Once the center is dry, work on one end, then the other, letting the paper dry to the touch in between. 
• Cover all the wood. If a section gets missed just layer on another piece. 
• Mix up the textures and patterns. It adds unique interest when you mix the textures and patterns. Remember that the final result will not be a solid color egg. 

Once everything is completely dry – I wait until the next day – take a very fine grit piece of sandpaper (I used 600 grit) and gently smooth the whole egg to give it a softer finish. Of course, this is just for added softness, you may love the way the surface of the eggs are at this point, in which case skip this step. 

Experimentation and the willingness not to have an exact plan are the best approaches for this Wooden Easter Egg project. I hope you have a great time egg decorating whether it’s with your kids or on your own! Happy Easter!

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me, I’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget to sign-up for my email list to get more projects, articles, and recipes!