Easter Egg Parade

Easter Sunday is approaching and it's time to bring out the eggs! If you're not one for decorating hard boiled eggs or delicate egg shells, why not get some polystyrene (styrofoam) eggs, which can be found in most craft stores.

Paint the eggs with acrylic paint.

I had different sized eggs and chose soft, pastel colours for each one of them.

Glue on some glossy pearl flat back rhinestones with P.V.A (Polyvinyl acetate) glue as most other adhesives tend to eat into polystyrene.

PVA glue does not dry as fast as other adhesives therefore the bigger and heavier flat back rhinestones may slide down the egg. So, while waiting for the glue to dry, prop up the egg so the flat back rhinestones are on the top. This may seem a little time consuming but if you know what design you want for all the eggs, you can begin on another egg while waiting for the one before to dry. The best thing about PVA glue is that it dries clear so worry not about the gunky white stuff you see.

Keeping to my pastel theme, I added some 3mm and 4mm glossy pearl flat back rhinestones to my designs.

And there you have it! Homemade Fabergé Easter eggs!

They may not be priceless heirlooms...but they are affordable and they come with a meaningful message, for on the other side of the eggs, flat back round pearls form the words...

After all, Easter isn't just about eggs ;-)

Happy with the outcome, I decided to experiment to see how the eggs would look in a basket with some Cadbury mini eggs that I had in hand. I folded some paper to form an inner base for the basket.

Cut some crepe paper to form a 'nest'.

 

Put in the chocolate eggs and arranged the polystyrene eggs in the basket. Nice? Not yet...

I got some grosgrain ribbons and twirled it around the handle. There...much better! Now it really looks festive! And judging by the response from my 4 year old daughter when she saw it....fun and yummy too!

In case you're wondering why 'Love' is on the smallest egg...I figured you don't need to be the biggest when you're the greatest ;-)

Now all I need to do is head down to the shops to get more chocolate eggs to really fill up the basket.

Have a great time preparing for Easter! 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love - 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.

Pretty Glass Bottles

Ever wondered what to do with the glass bottles and jars that seem to accummulate in your kitchen? Apart from sending them to the recycling bin, how about having some creative fun?

Wash and dry the bottles. Then have a go at painting them in any pattern and colour you fancy. I experimented with Pelikan Plaka paint on these bottles.

Paint the bottles any colour...

...or design you like

Don't just stop at paint, glue on flat back rhinestones for an extra touch of playful fun or simple elegance. I found it better to apply the glue on the bottle first. Carefully place a little dollop of glue on the bottle, then place the rhinestone on the spot of glue. Rhinestone gel pickers make it so much easier to pick and stick the flat back rhinestones according to desired patterns.

Glue on some flat back rhinestones...

Let your imagination run wild with the designs. Here is what I came up with.

...from plain to pretty glass bottles...

If you wish, a thin layer of varnish may be applied to the bottles, specially if the paint used is not water-resistant. Next put a tea light, or in my case, some water, oil and a floating wick....and let there be light.

Do remember to use heat-resistant glue for the flat back rhinestones. Adhesives like super glue*, multipurpose glue and the E6000 are all right. If you take a good look, you will notice that a rhinestone on the 3rd bottle in the picture above is missing. It fell off because I tried using hot-melt glue for that particular bottle. (I know...I know...Duh! Hot-melt glue does exactly that...melt when it's hot...but it was fun to experiment with it anyway) ;-)

So there you have it!

Spend a fun afternoon painting and decorating used bottles with the rest of the family. It's a lovely way to pass the time and a great way to let those creative juices flow. When you're done, you will have new and unique decorations that look lovely in the daytime and mesmerizing at night. 

*Super glue tends to have a cloudy effect on flat back rhinestones. It makes the silver tint at the bottom of flat back rhinestones bubbly and cloudy when it dries after application, hence the emulsified look on the rhinestone when seen through from the top.