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Happy Springtime!
And for those of the Christian faith, Happy Easter!
If you have some Easter photos to scrap up from the
recent holiday, perhaps some of them involve the kids
decorating Easter Eggs or an Easter Egg hunt?
Eggs are a symbol of rebirth in many cultures and
decorating eggs in springtime is an age old custom. Join me
for a step by step on how to make a glorious egg carton filled
with beautiful punch art eggs.
Making eggs of this kind would also be a great addition
to pages showing photos of Ukrainian Eggs too!
Let's make some eggs-citing punch art eggs today!
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Get out your oval template or cutter, several decorative
scissors (You know--the ones you don't use nearly
enough!!) and get out your scraps of paper.
Any scraps will do as long as they are about 3x4
inch size.
If you have small punches or border punches, we
will use those also.
You may even have a 'stash' of pre-punched shapes
from a swapping buddy or a zip bag of extras from
another project.
Use them up on this page layout!
This is a great time to use up those odds and
ends! |
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This is a great time to drag out some of those supplies
you have in the stockpile but were not sure how to use
up.
For this project, I also decided to use some of
my acid free colored corrugated cardboard for the egg
carton.
For me, corrugated paper is a supply I just had
to have at the time, but it is a challenge to use
effectively.
Corrugated paper is perfect for this layout!
And since egg cartons come in many colors these
days you can use almost any color you have on hand.
Our grocer had gold egg cartons so I used a
yellow corrugated paper to simulate the real one in my
photos. Dig some of your corrugated paper out or make
your own with the paper crimper if you have one. |
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Cut about 6 to 8
ovals from a light color like white or yellow for the
base eggs.
I recommend an oval that measures about 3 inches
wide and 3 to 4 inches tall. I have used white as my
base egg for the scans here.
But you can also use paler patterned papers.
Feel free to use Colluzzles, oval templates, or
an oval cutter of your preference.
For a 8.5x11 layout like I have done in the
samples at the top of this page, you can fit 3 eggs in a
8 inch wide carton. For a 12x12 page you may be able to
fit 4 eggs in an 11 inch wide carton. |
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After you have your base eggs cut, you can use those
scraps up from your scrap bin.
Even the smallest pieces can make a nice egg
border.
Cut 1/2 inch strips from several scraps with your
personal paper trimmer.
These will then fit perfectly into your border
punches leaving an even amount on top and bottom sides
after punching.
(See figure 3)
Punch several strips for each egg in a variety of
colors and patterned papers. Some border strips can
further be decorative cut with a scissors depending on how
close to the edges the border punches out.
Tiny zigzag or scallops look nice cut on the edges
of some border strips. |
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Decorative scissors make wonderful little simple strips
with pretty edges.
These can be incorporated into the egg pattern.
Fiskars' website has a great guide to cutting
decorative strips.
I am always looking for ways to use those
scissors since I have so many and want to get some use out
of them! |
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Do you have a zip baggy or two of 'extra' punched pieces
from another project?
Have you swapped punchies with a friend?
Even if you do not own many punches, I bet you can
borrow from a friend and punch a few dozen bows or
flowers.
Even a simple circle can be sliced into a neat
flower motif.
Dump out those punchies and see what you have to
work with.
Do not worry that the colors are wild or do not
match each other! Part of the charm of an Easter egg is
the cheerful color used. |
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Start stacking the border strips onto your white base egg.
This is where the fun comes in and a lighthearted approach
works best.
Sure you can color coordinate the eggs, but it is
fun to be random on a few also. Let your inner child
decorate these eggs. Have fun with it.
Punch art does not have to be SO serious or
exacting!
Play a little!
:)
Notice I have not trimmed up the sides of my border
strips yet?
If I trim too soon the sizes are wrong for
rearranging.
This is to allow me to change my mind and redo
things.
Don't forget to cut a flower in half to finish off
the top and bottom curves of the eggs where needed. |
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When you think your egg looks good, adhesive the strips
and trim the sides.
You can add details with pen stitching, paint pen,
or chalks.
You can also use your scrap paper to create
half-coverings for your eggs. (This is a great way to
disguise mistakes if you need to!) Take cues from your
patterned paper for ways to embellish the top of the egg
as I did in the image to the right.
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Now for the egg
carton. Take out some corrugated paper and decide how wide
you want the carton. If you are using 8.5 inch wide paper,
your carton can be about 8 to 8.5 inches wide by 4 inches
tall. If using 12 inch wide papers, use 11 to 11.5
inches wide and 5 inch tall egg cartons. |
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Round the
corners and trim a little notched flap for the bottom to
look like a closing flap on a real egg carton.
This gives it a more realistic look.
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On the back
(smooth side) of the corrugated paper, mark half circles
where the eggs will slide in.
Stagger the slots up and down across the carton.
For 8.5 paper make 3 slits as shown.
For 12 inch wide paper, make 4 slots evenly spaced
for the eggs to slide into with an exacto knife or small
sharp-tipped scissors.
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Turn over the egg carton and slide the finished eggs
gently into the curved slots.
It should look a bit like an egg carton full of
beautiful punch art eggs.
Add your own photos and a nice title. (My title is
done with CK chunky lettering font) |
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This is SOOO
Eggs-iting! You finished a page!
Hurray!!
And better yet, you used up some scraps and worked
with supplies that you rarely utilize, right?
Now that (as Martha would say,) is a good thing!!
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