Looking for spring decorating ideas? Here is a simple idea with blue and white eggs to get you ready for spring!
I have been wanting to work on another decoupage project, but did not want to do another vase... so I came up with eggs! Easter is around the corner and I decided a twist on the common decoupage egg display would be fun to do, and guess what, easy too!
Remember yesterday when I said I had a teacher in junior high who had an impact on my creativity? For years I did not think I was a creative person, and I did not even try after the teacher wrote "This sucks!" on my art project. I remember the project quite well, we were required to work with clay. I decided I was going to make a "do not disturb" sign for my bedroom door.
I created a door and made a door knob that protruded from the door and made the words do not disturb out of clay. I was actually proud of my project, I even made sure there were holes at the top so I could string ribbon through it and hang it on my door. When it was returned to me with this sucks! I did not even bring it home with me, I threw it in the trash and decided my art days were over. I never signed up for another art class again.
Fast forward to adulthood, I worked with children with disabilities in the classroom for several years. I had to go to art class with them. Imagine my hesitance to want to attend a class where they were going to need assistance and I felt like I would not be able to help. Those years working with the kids are a very fond memory for me. I loved working with them and Ms. Vivian Rowntree, the art teacher. Believe it or not, she taught me a lot and I got my confidence back! Writing this, I searched for Vivian and found she passed away last year. Made me sad, I had wanted to share with her that I have found decorating to be my form of art and haven.
In my endeavor to getting creative, I started small by making Christmas presents for my family. I wasn't sure if my ideas would work out or if I would be embarrassed to give them. That year at Christmas, I held my breath while my family started opening their presents. When I said I made them, they were surprised and said they loved what I had made. That helped in sparking more creativity.
I started to decorate my apartment and the ideas and creativity kept flowing. I started looking at items and seeing something new and so I would repurpose items, this was kind of before everyone else was doing it. You could still walk into a thrift store or antique store and get items for a steal.
It is unfortunate I lost out on all of those years of using my creativity to express myself... who knows what I would have done had it been different, but here I am, loving the décor of the past... The Gothic Period was rebellious, spiral turned legs, stained glass with roses, then The Victorian Period where homes were seen as being eclectic, dark and moody colors, Art Deco followed where black and white and chrome came to the forefront, geometric shapes... the different periods go on, but these three inspire me.
Art Deco is a little modern for me at times, it really depends on the piece. I am drawn to items for different reasons... Cape Cod Style is another favorite with the wide wood plank floors, white paint everywhere, shutters, dormers... I think it is what led me to the home we have.
And now that we have had an art lesson in memory of Vivian Rose Rowntree, I will show you the simple spring egg project I came up with. Seems to be a let down after discussing all of these different periods in time, but I got a little off topic thinking of Vivian. I thank her for her kindness, the lessons she taught and how she impacted me and the children she worked with. I know the children I worked with looked forward to her class, and you know what? I loved her class too.
Mr. Vintage saw my struggle with painting these slippery little suckers and suggested using an awl tool (found here) to skewer the egg so I could paint them. This was an awesome idea!
Keeping to my odd numbers, I decided to work with five eggs. Here they are all drying from the gesso paint application.
I got out the trusty Mod Podge (found here) and sponge brush (found here) to brush the Mod Podge onto the egg. If you plan to do several decoupaging projects, I suggest purchasing multiple sponge brushes. You cannot get the glue out of them after you use it so it is best to dispose of after use. I tried cleaning the last one I used with soap and water and it is hard as a rock.
