EGG WEEK Day 6: Egg with 3-D butterflies

I was sifting through my fabric scraps and realized that I have mostly blues and greens. What can I say, blue is my favorite color! I did scrounge up some non-blue for this project.

Materials Needed for Egg and 3-D Butterflies:

Embroidery Hoop

Fabric (I chose two coordinating fabrics and a white background fabric. Feel free to use more *exciting* scraps)

Butterfly image (either drawn or snagged off of google, like mine)

Heat-n-Bond or Wonder Under

Embroidery floss, needle, scissors

Iron your head-n-bond to your egg fabric. After it cools a bit, cut out your egg shape.

Next, iron your heat-n-bond to one coordinating fabric; when it cools, peel off the paper, and iron the heat-n-bond side to another coordinating fabric. Just follow the instructions on the package, it should be simple.

On your now two-sided fabric, pin an image of your butterfly. Cut around the image. When the butterflu is all cut out, fold it in half and crease it really good!

Iron your egg to your background fabric. Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop; I wanted my egg to be off-center by quite a bit. Then put the butterflies where you want them to go, and pin them in place. I have three butterflies here. All good things come in threes. Except I don't think I ever want to have three babies at one time.

Using your embroidery floss, sew the butterflies to your background fabric.

Trim the fabric that is hanging out of the hoop. And you are done.

Although, now I really want one in blue and green.

EGG WEEK Day 5: Fabric Eggs

One of the wonderful things about the blogosphere is that when you want to do something, chances of it already being out there complete with instructions are high. I wanted to do fabric eggs, but didn't want to figure out little a-symmetrical cat-eye shapes when I could be doing something else like, oh, eating oreos. So I googled "fabric eggs" and found Retro Mama's free pattern and tutorial... and fell in love.

HELLLOOOO gorgeous. I didn't stuff mine as tight as hers, but they are still so cute. And fast- they took me an hour, which included getting children fed, putting one down for a nap, and changing a diaper. The hardest part was choosing coordinating scraps.

Go ahead. I know you want to try them out.

Showing these off at

Today's Creative Blog

EGG WEEK Day 4: Framed Ribbon Eggs

So, were you like my sister and checked my blog this weekend to see new egg crafts? Sorry. I know she was sorely disappointed, but I don't do blogging on weekends. I call it my "time off!" But now we are back, and with a fun project! I worked with blogger for over an hour trying to get my photos to load with no luck, so I went to photobucket instead. ***(Sorry to everyone in Reader who keeps getting this refreshed... Blogger and I do not love each other today.) PHEW! Why don't I just do that from the get-go? Anyway. On to Egg Week!



Materials for Framed Ribbon Eggs


Ribbon, different colors, textures, and patterns
Colored Cardstock
Frame
Glue
Printer Paper or white cardstock
Craft Knife or Scissors



To make these fun eggs, find your preferred frame. Since everything is better in threes (didn't we go over this already?) I found a frame with three photo openings. It was $10, which is pretty steep for a simple craft project, but I figure since I can use it other times of the year I might as well get it. I have to justify things like that.

Anyway, the openings in my frame are 4"x6". I cut my printer paper and colored cardstock to be a little bigger than that and my ribbon pieces all 4" in length. (I already had a ton cut at 4" because of my ribbon blankets I am perpetually sewing...)

I drew an egg shape on the back of the cardstock and cut it out using a craft knife. You can use scissors too, just don't cut through the "egg mat."






I glued my ribbons on to my printer paper in nice, straight rows. You can do whatever you want! My husband wanted funky ribbons going in different directions, but he was overruled.





I would suggest using a glue that isn't so wet- like a gluestick or spray adhesive, because I had to put books over my ribbons so they would dry nice and flat. But I was using what I had. :)



When your glue has dried, adhere the colored cardstock "Egg mat" to your ribbon.



When it dries, put it in your frame and show it off!

EGG WEEK Day 3: Twine Eggs

This idea is old news, but I had yet to try it! It was really easy, just slow... like all the rest of the eggs I've done so far.

Materials for Twine Eggs
Twine (I found mine in the jewelry making section of Wal Mart)
Hot Glue
Egg


First, splay the end of the twine so it is flat, like this.


Glue the flat end down to the bottom of your egg.


Twist the twine around the egg, covering the splayed end. Be careful with your glue; if you put on too much, there will be gobs of glue oozing out between twine layers.


Keep winding! Glue, wind, glue, wind. You will get in a rhythm and it will become easier. I used medium sized twine, and there were some "lumpy" spots in it, which resulted in a lopsided egg. But I didn't mind!


When you get near the top of the egg, wind the twine to figure out how much more you will need and cut it off. Apply your glue, and finish winding, making sure you tuck the end of the twine away so you can't see it.


It will look so nice and neat!


I was trying to take pictures, but the baby came along and swiped the eggs from me. That's okay! I will probably spray paint my eggs today so they coordinate with my others- I am aiming for texture here. Gotta love a little texture!

Work on any eggs lately? I've got a fun one for Monday that doesn't actually involve covering any eggs! Check back and see- I'm excited to show you.

EGG WEEK Day 2: Rhinestone Eggs

Because glitter isn't shiny enough for me, I bedazzled these eggs with rhinestones. My husband suggested using those little mirror mosaic tiles, but we couldn't find any small enough with a small enough price tag, so we went with multi-colored jewels instead!

Materials for Rhinestone Eggs:
Colored Eggs, paper mache or other
Rhinestones
hot glue gun and glue sticks
Tweezers (optional)


Because it would be near child abuse to work with glue and rhinestones while a sparkle-loving 3-year-old just looks on, I let the munchkin work with one of the paper mache eggs. Please know that rhinestones + 3-year-olds = HUGE MESS. Or did you already know this and were wondering why I would let the two cross?


Anyway, while the munchkin used Elmer's glue, I busted out the big guns. Or, mini gun. I put a little big of glue on the top of my egg (it was already yellow so I didn't have to prep with paint) and quickly put on a few rhinestones. I put them on randomly, no order to it. I used my tweezers to fix any rhinestones that went all crooked in the glue- I wasn't going to burn myself on an EASTER EGG for crying out loud.


Then I kept putting on a little glue, and adding rhinestones. Little by little, slowly and surely, the egg was getting covered!


And when it was done it was really, really loved by the just-bathed munchkin.


After she went to bed I picked the random rhinestones off of her egg, painted it blue with some craft paint, and added the rhinestones. And the munchkin was so excited to see her egg all done. She had no clue I totally re-did it :). Check out that rainbow reflection! No, not Rainbow Connection, sillies!


You are probably wondering if I actually am displaying these in bowls and on paper plates. No, actually, I am not. But that is for later! Stay tuned!

EGG WEEK Day 1: Glitter Eggs

After seeing Jill's Fall Wreath during SYTYC last round, I knew I would someday have to do a holiday craft that involved Martha Stewart's glitter. I broke down and bought the 24-pack... with a coupon, of course.

Materials for Glitter Eggs:

Paper Mache Egg (found at craft stores)
White craft glue
Glitter (coarse glitter would work too, I just had to splurge!)
Sponge brush
Bowls
Paper plate
Straight Pin


To handle the egg without touching it, I used a straight pin and pushed it into the bottom of the egg. The egg wobbled around on it but it was no big deal. Also, I used paper mache eggs to avoid the hinge and such on the plastic eggs. I also wanted my glue to coat well, and from experience, glue tends to do weird things on plastic eggs!

I coated the egg with a generous layer of glue using my old foam brush and then started sprinkling glitter over the glue. I was going to pour the glitter into the bowls and roll the egg, but ended up not. It probably would have resulted in better coverage, though! Choose your method. I noticed that on parts of the egg that the glue was thin, the glitter didn't stick very well. You can always paint the egg before you begin so that it coordinates with the glitter.

You can pour the glitter back in the containers, and move on to more colors! I only did three in glitter since I have lots of other eggs planned!

This morning when the munchkin got up and saw them, she said, "Mommy, I see the most beautiful thing! Look what Santa brought!" I guess we have to discuss the Easter Bunny today :)