Real Eggs, Really Easy Easter Garland!

If you are like me, I'm sure you have that group of friends who are not only strikingly beautiful and fantastically smart, but are also stylistically crafty as well.  To me, this is a "Holy Trinity" of sorts.

These traits describe my dearly missed friends in Washington, D. C. area to a “T”.  I get green with envy each time I see them getting together to put their classy craftiness to work and really miss the fun chatter and banter (and sometimes even musical numbers) that come with each get-together.

My friends have honored me with being able to share their latest and greatest in crafting efforts:  beautiful Easter Egg Garlands made out of real eggs.

First, their list of supplies started with:

• Dozens of real eggs
• Fishing line
• a Dremel hand drill
• Cookie sheets
• Food coloring dye (mixed with a little white vinegar to get the best color)
• Toothpicks
• 1 ½” – 2” Ribbon

The Prepping

To prep the eggs they carefully drilled a small hole in the tops and the bottoms of each egg.  Using a toothpick inserted into one of the holes, they swirled around the egg yolk so that the insides could be blown out in to a sink.

After the insides were removed, they gently washed the eggs and set them on a cookie sheet to be placed in a 300 F oven (for 8-10 minutes) to harden up the shells.

As soon as the eggs cooled they were able to dye the eggs in an assortment of fun Easter colors.

The Pretty 

When the eggs had fully dried from the colored dye, fishing line was used to string the eggs together, making sure to use an assortment of the colors.  Festive ribbon was then used to finish-off the edges of the garland strands. And in the words of the immortal Amber, “Badda-Boom, Badda-Bing, we had ourselves some garland!”







The overall consensus was that it was pretty quick and an easy project  (the longest part was dyeing the eggs).  Thank you dear friends for letting me share your genius!

Contributed by: Heather Hadfield (Dietrich), Sterling Pear

Elegant and Easy Easter Centerpieces

In a few days, you’ll be sitting down to a fabulous Easter brunch, or perhaps you’ll be hosting a family dinner after the egg hunt outside.  How does your table look?  If you're feeling at a loss and want to try something different from the standard Easter bouquet, we have several easy and beautiful ideas that you can try this year! 

One quick and unique table centerpiece idea is to find several small baskets or, if you’re lucky, a few “nests.  Gather up your decorated eggs and fill each basket or nest with dyed Easter eggs.  A good decorating tip:  if you fill each nest with the same color, it will really pack an elegant punch!  

Next, scatter votives or candlesticks throughout (in coordinating colors if you have them), and you have a simple and elegant Easter table!  Want to take it one step further?  Tie the napkins with raffia in coordinating colors.

Another modern but stylish idea is to take a pair of clear glass hurricanes and fill with a few inches of water in the bottom.  Next, add pure white hard-boiled eggs.  

You can then accessorize with your favorite white blooms using the eggs below to secure the stems.  Even in the most sophisticated home this modern arrangement will look amazing!

Our last idea is just plain simple and really easy.   Use your dessert as your centerpiece!  If you are having cake, why not frost it in pure white and decorate it with edible flowers (be sure they are edible, and not from a nursery where they might have been sprayed with something less than safe).  Place the cake on a snazzy, footed cake plate, toss a few petals on the table surrounding the cake plate, and your table will look luscious!

Enjoy trying something new this Easter!

Contributed by Heather Martinez