Easy Keepsake Paper Craft Easter Eggs

Numerous cultures have taken the art of decorating Easter eggs to a new level with permanent designs that stay beautiful for years. Using simple paper craft techniques on blown eggshells, you can make intricate, delicate Easter eggs to decorate your home or give away as Easter gifts.

Allow your raw eggs to settle in at room temperature. This makes them easier to blow because the insides flow out better. To get empty egg-shells for this Easter craft project, you may either drill one hole in the bottom and "suck" the insides out. This can be done with your lips, but you will come in contact with the raw egg. Or you may use a suction-based ear-wax remover to pull the contents of the egg out.

Using two holes in the eggshell relieves the pressure and allows you to "blow" the contents out through the bottom hole. Of course, two holes can be harder to disguise than just one. Either way you choose, empty all the eggshell you want to decorate and allow them to dry. Microwave each shell for fifteen seconds or bake them at 300 degrees for a few minutes to speed up the drying process. For more detailed information on blowing Easter eggs check out: (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/173187/how_to_blow_eggs_for_easter.html?cat=24).

Prepare a collection of paper cuttings to decorate your Easter eggs. Craft stores sell sheets of craft paper with Victorian designs or other themes, which work really well for this project. Look for: realistically painted bunnies, chicks, birds, grasses, flowers and bees; Victorian symbols of spring; images of young children playing; brightly colored graphic and geometric designs.

Use a blade or sharp scissors to trim around each shape. For more intricate eggs, trim around very small shapes, like individual flowers less than a centimeter wide. Using tiny paper cuttings is much more time consuming, but makes the craft gorgeous and visually interesting. Lay aside all the craft paper cuttings so you can easily see which materials are available as you work.

Prepare a mixture of two parts craft glue and one part water. You will also need several paintbrushes and plenty of paper towels. Prepare your work center with newspaper or disposable plastic table-cloths to keep from getting glue and paint on the table.

Paint the dried eggshells before covering them with paper cuttings. Watercolors will give the Easter eggs a soft, translucent color while non-diluted acrylics will provide rich, jewel tones. Thicker paints like acrylics can also be used to layer over the holes left by blowing the eggs and make them less noticeable. For this Easter craft, using one solid base color works best. You can use different colors in designs on the eggs, but the overall effect may be too busy.

When the painted shells have dried, you can finally begin making your Easter egg paper craft designs. Choose your paper cuttings and decide how you want the egg to look. Use the paintbrush to brush a layer of the glue-and-water mixture completely over the back of the cutting. The cutting will begin to curl up a little because the paper is wet. This is normal.

Place the cutting on the egg and smooth it down. Use a dry towel to gently blot off the excess glue and water. Continue until you have completed the desired paper craft designs on each empty eggshell and allow the Easter project to dry.

Display your completed Easter crafts in a home-made Easter wreath, on individual egg holders, or in a large bowl. You may attached ribbons to each egg for Easter ornaments. These make great gifts or you can hang several from an "Easter" tree.