Twenty years ago next month I made Easter eggs based on an article about Ornamental Eggs in the April 1995 Martha Stewart Living magazine. My sons were not quite 4, 7 and 10 and they enjoyed creating them as much as I did.
Martha Stewart Living cover April 1995 | https://juliesaffrin.com
As Ms. Stewart says in her article, Easter eggs are as beautiful as Christmas decorations and should last just as long as those we hang on a tree.
Martha’s directions for making Easter eggs | https://juliesaffrin.com
Our Easter eggs have preserved well. Every year I store them in several egg cartons to protect them. While Ms. Stewart suggests purchasing an egg blower, I used a long stick pin and punctured the raw egg at both of the shell’s ends, then blew out the egg yolk and white. And, like Ms. Stewart says in her article (found on page 36 if you’ve kept her magazines as long as I), rinse the egg shell, both inside and out, under running water and allow them to dry.
The boys had a great time blowing out the eggs. They used a thin coffee stirring straw to rid the eggs of their insides. Coloring the eggs was just as fun. Food coloring, vinegar and hot water to set the color are all the ingredients you’ll need to set the dye. You need very little food coloring. To achieve the pastel colors, I found diluting the food coloring and testing on a regular egg (one you’ve not gone to the trouble to blow out) was a good way to test the colors I and the boys, wanted.
After you allow the eggs to dry (and dry them on upside-down thumb tacks or bamboo skewers you set in a tall glass), let your creative imagination run wild. We used a hot glue gun and the fixings have endured twenty years later.
Our finished Easter Eggs | https://juliesaffrin.com
I love our Easter eggs. Each year I bring them out I think of the day the boys and I worked on these eggs and I’m grateful to Martha Stewart for being an innovator in bringing the creative arts into the 20th century.
Just today I discovered on Instagram a modern twist of the Easter Egg.
Hooray Magazine Easter Eggs 2015 | https://juliesaffrin.com
It’s from Hooray Magazine. Photo credit @missrenaissance. Follow Hooray Magazine on Instagram at https://instagram.com/hooraymagau/p/0HgZZxL86r/
Whatever your traditions, have a wonderful Easter on April 5, 2015. (And a happy birthday to my two brothers, Mark, whose birthday is today, March 12, and to Steve, whose birthday falls on Easter this year. Also, a happy birthday to Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon queen, Elsie Olsen, who is 80 today!
All the best,
Julie Saffrin
About Julie Saffrin
Julie Saffrin is the author of numerous published articles and essays. Her latest book, BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life, explores the power of gratitude and offers 120 creative ways to journey toward positive, lasting change.
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