Easter Eggs - pretty and non fattening!

Well folks, it is coming up to that time of the year that dieters dread. Easter. 

I know, I know, the real meaning is lost and all that but unfortunately, the thing that gets most of us is the sheer over abundance of CHOCOLATE on offer every where we look. 

Do we give in utterly and face plant into an over stuffed bowl of Lindt or do we pretend to pace ourselves until about 4.00 in the afternoon on Easter Sunday and then face plant into a bowl of Lindt?

I am still in the pretending-to-pace-myself stage and I am going with guaranteed non fattening eggs - made of wood!

This year, I have persuaded the pussy willow in my garden to produce something other than twigs and leaves and there is an Easter tree on my table. 

Because it is crying out for something quite fab, I have decided to paint and gild some eggs.

The plan started with some beautifully turned wooden eggs that I found on eBay for not as much money as I thought they would be.

Step two was a trip to the hardware store for some very small eyelet hooks. A drill and a pit of patience later and the eggs had a hanging thingy in the top.

Next was to give them a bit of an abstract colour. I opted for pastels....well because it is Easter and Springtime and all that. I didn't want to go overboard and I wanted the wood to be left visible so I painted a sort of a roundish oval on the bottom of the eggs like this....

Keep it simple with the colours. Mine are all from DecoArt and I have opted for spa blue, mint julep green and pink chiffon.

When that was dry, it was time to apply some gold leaf as you see in the picture above. Here again I  didn't want to obscure the paint or the wood but I wanted the gold on both so it was a matter of painting on a bit of DecoArt DuraClear Satin Varnish which I find fabulous for gilding.

Then take the gold leaf (or copper or silver - naturally, me being me, I ordered all of them to play it very safe). Take this on a dry brush and then dab it on and let it break and flake if it wants to. 

I like that speckly look. It works well if the varnish is tacky rather than completely dried.

There are some flaky bits and these can either be reattached or rubbed off before the final sealer is applied.

As you can see this stuff is BRIGHT gold! But thin as a whisper and can be a bit of a challenge - ensure no drafts.

When I was happy with the gold, I painted again with DecoArt DuraClear Satin varnish and then hung a thin gold ribbon and a piece of black and white baker's twine through the eyelet hook. 

My ribbon and twine is from Berisfords and you can find it easily by contacting Berisfords@stockistenquiries.co.uk or telephone: 01453 883581.
I love the fact that the baker's twine is really quite substantial and not the thin fluffy cotton stuff.

What do you think? Easter eggs! And as promised, these are non fattening....now where is that bowl of Lindt....

Happy Easter!
Love and hugs
Debbie
xxx