Fabric and Paper Wrapped Easter Eggs

I started with a package of plaster eggs from Michaels, and some origami paper that I had laying around.  (I’ve gone through paper folding crazes before and had lots of random papers left over). Cut the origami paper slightly larger than the length and circumference of the egg – for the regular sized eggs in the package, my paper dimensions were ~3.5 inches x 5.75 inches.  Then fold into quarters, and cut thin strips without cutting through the paper – I left about 1/4 inch intact at the bottom (which would be about 1/2 inch after unfolding).  The folding is optional, but it does save you from making 4 times as many cuts.

Open your folds and you should have a piece of paper that is “feathered”, but intact in the center, lengthwise.  Smear some ModPodge around the center of the egg, and wrap the paper around the egg.  Set it aside to dry, otherwise, the paper will be sliding around as you try to glue the strips in place.  As you can see in the picture above, I covered my eggs in batches, letting a bunch dry, then went back to the first wrapped egg and finishing it.  Take an egg with the paper dried around the middle, and fold down the strips around the end of the egg, creating sort of a sunburst pattern.  Add some ModPodge on the egg, and start gluing the strips to the egg, overlapping as you go.  Make sure you press down well so as not to create too many air bubbles.  Since paper isn’t completely flexible, there will be a couple places where the coverage may warp a bit, but for the most part, the overlap should be pretty smooth.  Do this on both ends of the egg, and you’re done!

Using the same technique, I also created a couple of eggs with fabric scraps.  I found the fabric to be much more flexible (of course!) when gluing down, resulting in much fewer air bubbles, but because the fabric was thicker than the origami paper, I could see the individual strips at the end.  Also, if the strips are slightly overlong, make sure to cut it down, otherwise, you get a ton of overlap on the ends and it creates a nub, of sorts.  So, some of my eggs ended up with a weird nub protrusion.

One note on the glue:  I didn’t have ModPodge on hand when I first started this project, but I had pinned a recipe for homemade “modpodge” which was basically a 50/50 ratio of water and Elmer’s Glue All.  I don’t know about you, but that really really didn’t work for me.  The mix was too watery and it lead to a sticky, watery, papery mess and a lot of frustration.  I went out and bought real ModPodge the next day, and wonder of wonders, the glue was perfect and the paper went on easily and all of a sudden, this project wasn’t frustrating at all!  The first night, I struggled through maybe 2 eggs.  The second night, I made 8 or 9 in a couple of hours.  I’ve still got some time before Easter, and a whole slew of the small eggs left, so I will be running my little glue and paper/fabric egg-making factory for a couple of weeks yet!

Did you like this project?  Come visit One Dog Woof to see what other fun stuff I’m up to!  After a couple of years of house projects, being married, and giving birth to a very active little boy, I had forgotten that I like making things and crafting, and spending time on hobbies like this are a lot more fun and productive than watching tv all evening…although I still do that, only with a lap project to keep my hands busy.  So I’m now blogging to document and motivate myself, as well as hopefully inspire you!

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Check out our kitchen renovation,

a little alphabet book I made for big J, filled with familiar things,

and see what happens when I add a bit of crochet to a lot of t-shirt yarn!

More Easter Egg Inspiration.