These eggs can be used as a centerpiece on your Easter table or you can cut a hole in them and they can be used as an Easter basket. These are easy enough to make that it can be a family project.
If you are going to have your children help to make these eggs then I would suggest using quick drying glue instead of a glue gun when applying the decorations. It will just make it safer for the kids. What I love about these is that they are delicate and lacy but pretty sturdy when you go to store them. These can also be made from thrift store or yard sale finds on half empty spools of thread, just tie your ends together to make two toned eggs.
These can be made all different sizes by varying how much you blow up the balloons. So have fun and make a dozen. You can display them on your table in a small bowl if you make small ones. One large one filled with Spring silk flowers makes a wonderful display.
Time to complete: 1 hour plus dry time
This page contains the following solutions.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Why does no one have a picture of the string Easter eggs? How much string do I use? How much of the balloon should be covered? Does anyone have pictures for this craft?
When I was in elementary school in the 1960's, we also made paper mache made with pretty colored paper or tissue paper over balloons. After it dried, we cut out the side and made a scene inside like a sugar egg.
I purchase a bottle of liquid starch and a ball of crochet string. I fill a Ziploc baggie with the starch and place the ball of string in it and place both in a cereal bowl. I let it sit for 3-4 days and keep turning the ball of string in the bag until it is saturated all the way through to the core. I blow up a balloon to the size I want. Now comes the messy part, place newspaper on the table and the floor, this is going to get real sticky! I wrap the balloon with the whole ball of string, squeezing some of the liquid down the string as I go. I take the ball of string out of the bag and place it in the bowl, stand on a chair and wrap the balloon until the whole ball is wrapped around the balloon.
There are directions for this craft under Lacy Easter Eggs on Thrifty fun. The article has pictures also.
I made these many years ago with sugar water. I wouldn't recommend it. The first year it went great - the next brought 100 bazillion ants. I was looking on here to see if anyone uses starch and I see they do. I will do that. But yes, get yellow, pink, or whatever color crochet thread from a craft store and blow up a balloon to whatever size you want it and start wrapping, criss crossing the thread in every direction (it will look like one of those old string designs people used to make) until you use all the ball, or until you get tired and decide that's the perfect amount.
I made these too years ago when they used sugar water to make them stiff...until...... lol the mice enjoyed them more than I did. Thank goodness they came up with the fabric stiffener or the glue mixture. We made cute smaller ones for Christmas decorations to hang on the tree also.
Pour some liquid starch in a med. to large bowl. I used 6 different colors of pastel shades for spring of thin ribbon. I cut the ribbon pieces about 6 inches long - 2 to 3 cuts of each color and put them in the starch filled bowl. If the ribbon wasn't covered with the starch I added just enough to cover them. While the ribbon soaked in the starch I blew up 8 small water balloons to the size of med. to large eggs. Then take one ribbon at a time out of starch and gently run your forefinger and thumb down the ribbon with little pressure to remove excess starch and wrap around balloon in no particular fashion. Then take another color and repeat until you like the design and colors. You can use many ribbons or just a few around each balloon. If a piece of cut ribbon seems to long at the time of use just trim with scissors to end it wrapping. To hurry the drying you can use a hair blow dryer on cool setting but its best to wait til the ribbon doesn't feel damp. Then take a straight pin and pick a spot where the balloon is exposed between the ribbons and pop the balloon. Wha-La! Ribbon Eggs!! I also took a Dollar Store bought large doily and soaked it til it was saturated with starch and place it in a large bowl til dry. The ribbon eggs looked lovely in it!!
DIRECTIONS FOR EASTER EGG I blew up a medium sized balloon. It's 2 feet in diameter. This sounds like a lot but this gives me the room I need for decorating the inside and outside of my egg. Once my balloon is blown up I then wrap it with 7 or 8 full strands of different colors of embroidery thread you don't want to cover it completely but you do want to cover it with seven or eight strands of embroidery thread and with that size balloon it'll give you the the room that you need. After wrapping your balloon is complete you want to dip it in sugar water you want to use 3 cups sugar just 6 cups water so dip air balloon that's wrapped with the embroidery thread and saturated and then leave it to dry and once it's dry then you go back to your sugar water don't throw it away go back to sugar water and dip it again saturate and let it dry this time when it's dry it'll be finished and you'll be able to pop the balloon remove it with tweezers. Cut the hole and then around the hole that you've cut into your egg you can surround that hole with lace and super glue or a glue gun and then just have fun decorating I've searched and there's no way for me to send a picture if you know a way that I could do that I'd be happy to send you a picture of my egg Have fun ladies!!
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
