The Painted Egg

I'm alive! I can hardly believe it's been a month since I last posted. I've been on vacation! I have lots to share with you, but I wanted to start with this since Easter is this week.



These painted wooden eggs are becoming a little Easter tradition for our family. They are nice because they won't rot or break! The wooden eggs came from the craft store (Michael's, I think) and are painted with acrylic craft paint. Be sure to buy enough eggs for your kids to paint with you!



Silhouette Eggs

I love the old fashion silhouette look. I recently got my younger son's silhouette cut at Disneyland. But honestly, I always think afterwards that I could have done it just as well myself. That was what inspired these eggs.

How I made the silhouettes:
1. I freehand-outlined my kids'profiles onto the background paint with a pencil. (You could also cut out a side-view picture of your kids and trace around the edges).
2. Next I traced over the pencil lines with a black pen. I suggest using a Sharpie or something that won't bleed when you put the varnish on.
3. Then I filled in the outlines with black paint.
4. I wrote the name on the egg with a pencil, and traced over it with a fine paintbrush. This could also be done with a non-bleeding pen. Be sure to mark the year on the bottom as well!
5. The last step is to put a varnish on it. I prefer a satin finish, and I suggest taking pictures before you do it so the shine doesn't get in the way. But I only had a glossy varnish on hand and my husband had our camera for the day. That's okay, too.

Family Egg

This is one I painted in 2007 when we only had one child. As you can see, the details are not perfect, but the egg is still whimsical and special. The back says, "The Henage Family"

Spring Chick and Bunny Egg

Another old fashioned-inspired egg I made this year. The bunny is Tony, who was my pet rabbit when I was little.

Monkey One's Mouse Egg

This one has a gray mouse with black whiskers and gray rainclouds in the sky.

Monkey One's Family Egg

This one has our family in it (the little black figures) and Winnie the Pooh. The pictures would have turned out clearer if I had given him a non-bleeding pen to use instead of paint, but I like that he has exposure to using different media. I tried not to tell him how and what to paint, but let him exercise his own creativity. Sometimes that's hard for me!

Monkey Two's Egg

Even my almost-two-year-old got in on the fun. Though he was mostly painting his own hands!

I love that I can keep these eggs and decorate our house with them year after year. And now I want to see your eggs!