Eco-friendly Craft: Blown Out Eggs for Modern Decor
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After a year in our houses, I think we’re all ready for a serious home decor refresh, am I right? Can someone get Joanna Gaines on the phone?! Even my dog is tired of our decorating scheme.
I want to belly flop on all the furniture at West Elm and throw my money in the air like confetti. Alas, life on a budget challenges me to look for fun opportunities to jazz things up in a way that doesn’t interfere with my weekly fancy sushi addiction.
With Easter just around the corner, and my husband and I miscommunicating about who was handling what from our grocery list, I’ve got eggs on the brain. And taking up the entire middle shelf of my fridge.
My mama, the original eco-goddess, has been blowing out eggs and making gorgeous, personalized Christmas ornaments out of them for decades, so while throwing some eggshells in the compost bin, inspiration struck! Why not make my own decorative blown-out eggs?!
Let’s be real; you’re here for the DIY… and so am I. Let’s get down to business!
DIY Blown Out Eggs for Modern Decor
What you’ll need for blowing out eggs:
Eggs (You can do this with white or brown eggs, but choose your color palette accordingly.)
Egg blowing kit (I used a vintage one my mom has had since 1970-something, it looks more like this, but they all work basically the same way.
Dish soap
Paper towels
Dried flowers, if desired
How to blow out eggs:
This is way easier with older eggs, but either way, your eggs need to be at room temperature. (You can heat them up by putting them in lukewarm water.)
Puncture your egg, plug the baffle with your finger, and gently begin pushing air into your egg. You’ll be able to feel the egg swell somewhat. If you do this too quickly, your egg may explode, so take your time.
Collect the yokes and whites in a Tupperware and reserve for another purpose. (I scrambled mine for my dog, who’s been under the weather!)
Once your egg is empty, use your baffle to rinse the inside of your egg with warm, soapy water. You’ll fill the baffle with soapy water, pump it into the egg, swish the water around, and then use the now empty baffle to blow out the egg again. (This will keep it from stinking.)
Gently wash your empty egg with soapy water and let dry. You can speed this along by using a hairdryer on your egg. You’ll find your eggs dry much faster if you leave a needle or the end of the baffle in the hole you made to drain your egg. The membrane inside the egg has a tendency to “reseal” and prevent the egg from drying as quickly as expected.
Once your egg is dry, decorate it with your Sharpies as desired. I went with a busy geometric pattern that was of the same color palette as other textured items in the house, so they’d be fun little jewels amongst the sea of neutrals, but you do you. I like to give it a couple of minutes between colors to keep the shades from bleeding before they are completely dry.
Display on your wood napkin rings! I love mine on a bookshelf or mantle, but they’re also adorable with sprigs of dried flowers tucked into the hole you made from blowing out the egg. You can put fresh flowers in them like you’ll see pictured here, but you’ll want to replace them every couple of days. Filling the eggs with water would be possible but a whole other ballgame. You’d want to clean out the water every several days using your baffle and rinse with soapy water. I personally think that’s too much work.
And there you go! Now you can spruce up your mantle, nightstand, coffee table, bookshelves, or dining room table without walking on eggshells on payday (see what I did there?!). I hope you enjoy.
Looking for another eco-friendly craft? You’ll love my Modern Minimalist Christmas: Natural, Botanical Salt Dough Ornaments! And if you’re in the mood for another upcycle, try my Eco-friendly Easter Bunnies from Repurposed Oui Yogurt Jars.
Til next time, keep playing with your food!
Reese