How to make faux mosiac eggs using abalone shell tiles . . .

These egg when finished are quite heavy; they
should be displayed in baskets or in vignettes,
not on egg trees.

        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. 

Supply List:

• large plastic egg forms for the local hobby store or dollar store
• crushed abalone shell tile
• wood glue or tacky white glue or hot glue if you prefer
• tile grout, white
• Mod Podge

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. 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. 
2. After the crushed shell has dried, smear on a tile grout and then use a soft damp sponge to wash away excess grout.
3. Let the grout harden overnight. Crafters may also use wooden eggs to replace the plastic ones if they wish.
4. Seal the grout with a thin layer of Mod Podge or something like it.

How to craft mosaic Easter eggs using egg shells?

Photo of the egg membrane being separated 

from the shell.

        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.

        After the shells have been dried, 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.

Broken egg shells soaking in the vinegar solution.

        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.

How the mosaic process turns out after gluing the mosiac
egg shell pieces directly onto whole eggs. These eggs are
hollowed out, but you could use edible hard boiled eggs 
for this technique as well.

 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.

Cover Styrofoam Eggs and Cardboard Versions with Seeds and Beans

Pick up a mixed 15 bean soup bag at the grocery store and you needn't purchase so mush for 
variety in this craft...

      You can cover Styrofoam eggs with seeds and beans in an endless variety of patterns. The large Styrofoam egg pictured has a cross at one end and a yellow flower at it's other end. 

      It is important to use Styrofoam eggs for this craft so that you will be able to lightly press the seeds into the egg form as you glue these down.  This process will create a surface across the egg that is even and the seeds/beans will be firmly glued in place. Allow for a couple of days to complete your decorated egg. You will need to wait for sections of the egg to dry before completing others. Mod Podge the end product.

        If you would prefer to put bean eggs out after Easter for the birds, craft designs using a plastic eggs and use peanut butter for the glue instead. The birds will prefer you to decorate with seeds instead of the beans for sure!

 

The same egg decorating can be switched to cardboard shaped eggs for younger students.

Four Easter egg patterns in one!