How to Make Marbleized Easter Eggs

Faux finishes can be used for more than your walls and floors. This Easter, take a page from your interior decorator's book and create marbleized Easter eggs. With a little time and ingredients you will find in your home, you can create stylish eggs to decorate all your Easter baskets.

Things You'll Need

• Blown eggs
• Used, unwrapped crayons
• Grater
• Large glass pitcher or jar
• Food coloring
• Vegetable oil
• Clear acrylic spray paint

Instructions

Marbleize Eggs With Crayons

1. Grate different colors of crayon onto a sheet of wax paper or a plate. You will achieve the best effect by combining different shades of the same color.

2. Heat a pitcher of water. It should be almost to the boiling point, making it hot enough to melt the crayon shavings quickly.

3. Toss the grated crayons into the water and allow them to melt slightly.

4. Insert your egg into the pitcher and gently stir it. As the water travels around the egg, pieces of melted crayon will adhere to it to create a marbleized effect.

5. Remove the egg with a spoon and allow it to dry.

6. Polish the outside of the egg with a soft cloth once it has dried.

7. Apply a layer of clear acrylic to preserve the design.

Marbleize Eggs With Food Coloring

1. Fill a glass bowl with vegetable oil.

2. Gently drop several colors of food coloring onto the surface of the water.

3. Use a knife or toothpick to draw patterns through the drops of suspended food coloring. Do not overmix the colors, as they will become muddy and the marbleized pattern will not be clear.

4. Dip the egg along the surface of the food coloring and oil mixture. The dye will adhere to the egg in an uneven fashion, creating a marbleized effect.

5. Allow the egg to dry before coating it with clear acrylic paint.

Tips & Warnings

• Make your blown eggs a day in advance of marbleizing. They should be thoroughly dry inside and out before you begin decorating them.

• Make a drying tray for your eggs by overturning an egg carton and punching out the bottoms of the individual egg slots.

• Use a small toothpick and a looped strand of thread to make a simple hanger for your marbleized eggs. Wrap the loop around the pick and insert it in the egg, turning it to secure it in place.

• Use caution when working with hot water around small children. An adult should assist each child with inserting and retrieving eggs from the crayon-and-water mixture.