 |
Genuine turquoise abalone shell pieces cover these eggs. I display
them in a basket at Easter, they are too heavy to hang on the
delicate branches of an egg tree. |
Above are traditional mosaic eggs made from plastic manufactured eggs, grout, and tiny mosaic, Mother of Pearl pieces from Michael's. These crushed tiles have been sold at Michael's for over 10-12 years and come in many colors depending upon the year. When adhering the tiles to the egg shell rough up the surface of the egg with sandpaper and then glue on the tiles using a strong bonding glue. I believe that I used wood glue for these eggs. After the crushed shell has dryed, smear on a tile grout and then use a soft damp sponge to wash away excess grout. Let the grout harden overnight. Crafters may also use wooden eggs to replace the plastic ones if they wish.
How to craft Eggshell Mosaic Eggs
 |
Remove the membrane from the inner lining of the egg shell
so that the broken pieces will adhere with glue to the other
surfaces of egg. |
First you will need to collect egg shells for this craft and the number of those egg shells will depend upon your love of the craft. I collected only enough to demonstrate the process. In order to keep your kitchen clean and bacteria at a minimum, soak the left over shells in a vinegar solution. One cup of boiling water, plus two tablespoons of any type of vinegar will suffice for a gentle soak. This will also help loosen the membrane from the inner shell. The membrane should be removed for several reasons, the first being that it will help keep the egg shells from developing an unfortunate odor and the second being that the shells will adhere better when glued to another shell's surface. Above is a photo of the membrane being separated from the shell.
 |
| Dying the egg shells the old fashioned way with vinegar. |
| After the shells have been dryed, break them up and soak them in dying solutions. I chose to do this with food coloring. This is the traditional recipe which includes a few drops of food coloring combined together with the ratio of vinegar and water that I have mentioned above. |
 |
Brush on Mod Podge to give the egg surfaces a finished coat
of protection from ordinary wear over time. |
After draining and drying the shells on a paper towel, you may then glue these to either hard boiled eggs or eggs that have been hollowed out and cleaned in advance. I used white school glue for this process and then covered the surface of my sample eggs with Mod Podge. You could also paint a layer of clear nail polish over the eggs if you have no other alternatives on hand.
More Mosaics Crafted With Egg Shells:
Easter by Marjorie Goldwasser, (8 yrs. old)
The grass is turning oh, so green.
Everywhere new buds are seen.
The Easter bunny is on his way,
To bring us eggs on Easter day.
