Mar 15 2010
Spring Quilling — Easter Egg
It has been a very cold, wet winter, which is unusual for Georgia. We have had more snow than I can remember in years and I am so looking forward to spring. I was surfing the web looking for a poem or saying to go with this post that waxed poetically about trees beginning to bud as the earth starts its cycle of rebirth, or something to that effect, when I ran across this delightful quote and had to chuckle. I think Mr. Borland has summed up the month of March quite well.
“March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes, and a laugh in her voice.”- Hal Borland
In honor of spring, I thought I would show you an egg ornament that I made. It is a paper maché egg embellished with a quilled peach blossom. This egg is the size of a hen’s egg, but you could use one larger if you like and adjust your quilling accordingly. I used the narrow, 1/16″ wide quilling paper since I find it does better for me when I am gluing it to a curved surface. To get the egg ready for the quilling, I applied a coat of gesso to seal the paper maché. Once the egg was dry, I sketched an oval on the egg and painted the inside white and the rest of the egg a soft peachy-pink. I applied a coat of satin varnish and let it dry. For the final touch, I outlined the oval with a gold metallic permanent marker. Since I wanted to hang my egg on a display stand, I glued on a bell cap with a built in ring, however, this egg would look just as cute displayed in a basket.
For this sample, I quilled a peach blossom on a tree branch with other buds and leaves — at least I call it a peach blossom since I live in the peach state, but it could just as easily be an apple or cherry blossom. I have also embellished these painted eggs with violets, iris, daffodils, and even a cute bunny that I sold before getting a photo (hate it when that happens). I did give the quilling a thin coat of the varnish for protection.
Eggs make a wonderful spring canvas for quilling, and since the area is small, the quilling goes fairly quickly. You’ll have a masterpiece to show others in no time.
Tip: If you are interested in the bell caps, I found them online at www.CostumeJewelrySupplies.com under the “findings” section. They have a really nice selection of jewelry findings at very reasonable prices. NOTE: I have no connection with this company and derive no benefit from this recommendation, except for that little thrill you get when you tell a friend about something cool. 
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Lovely egg, Charlotte! And a very timely post, because there’s still enough time before Easter to ‘get cracking’!!
Love your egg. What type of varnish do you put on the quilling? I will keep in mind the 1/16″ on the curved items.
Love your work!
The oval detail is the perfect background for the quilling.
Keep on Quillin’,
Denise
http://www.customquillingbydenise.com/shop
Hi, Lisa,
I’m glad you like my quilled Easter egg. On this project I used DecoArt’s DuraClear satin varnish.
Happy Quilling!
Charlotte