Great eggs-pectations

Jazz up your Easter with whimsical designs

By Julie Stoyka

Easter is by far the prettiest holiday. Maybe it’s the colour palette — those lovely jewel tones and pastels indicate spring is right around the corner. Maybe it’s the cute, cuddly bunnies or the new bulbs bursting through the ground. Whatever it is, making Easter decorations is always my favourite holiday crafting project.

This year, add a touch of spring to any room with Easter egg wraps. With just a few sheets of paper and some foam eggs, you can make beautiful Easter creations that will last for years. Microsoft Home Magazine’s Easter egg wraps template features two designs that only require printing, cutting and pasting.

Materials

foam eggs (available at any craft supply store)
8½” × 11” printer paper
scanned image or Clip Art
printer
paper scissors or a sharp-edged utility knife
white craft glue that dries clear
ribbon

Note: You can use hard-boiled eggs for this craft; however, you will not be able to reuse them year after year. Please make sure the eggs are at room temperature and completely dry before gluing.

Selecting images and designs

The best part of this project is that any image will work for Easter egg wraps. You can use Clip Art or a scanned image. Open your image in Word; then resize the image to approximately 7” wide and 4” high (most foam eggs will fit this size of paper).

One word of caution: because foam eggs are rounded, any part of the image that is at the bottom or top of the egg will be partially covered as you glue the paper in place. If you are using a photo, make sure the main part of the image is centred, so the image won’t be obscured. With Clip Art, use geometric patterns or images with horizontal lines.

Step 1: Download the Easter egg wraps design template

Download our Easter egg wraps PDF* template if you want to print ready-to-trim tags.
Otherwise, create your own 7” × 4” wraps in Word.

Step 2: Print and trim the template

Load regular 8½” × 11” printing paper into the printer. Print the wraps at the highest-quality print setting.
Trim the wraps using paper scissors or a utility knife. Make sure each wrap is large enough to cover the entire egg. If the wrap is too large, trim it to fit. Leave a tiny bit extra to allow for overlap.
Using scissors, make small cuts at the bottom and top of the wrap, along the white lines of the template.

Step 3: Glue, dry and preserve

Using a small paint brush, apply a thin layer of glue to the foam egg as well as to the plain side of the wrap.

Place the foam egg at the end of the paper wrap.

Begin rolling the egg toward the centre, securing each paper flap in place by gluing the paper to the egg.

Be careful to smooth the paper as you go to avoid air pockets. Add craft glue as needed.

When you are finished, cover the egg with craft glue. This will create a waterproof barrier and add shine to the egg.

When the wraps have dried, glue a ribbon bow onto the top of the egg, if desired.

Easter décor ideas

Show off your beautiful eggs as a centerpiece for your Easter brunch. We’ve put together two ideas for your Easter table.

Feather fun

At your local crafting supply store, purchase a wire wreath frame (for floral design). Using a hot glue gun, glue colourful feathers to the wire and allow them to dry. Glue your Easter eggs to the feathers for a fun, whimsical centerpiece. Put pillar candles in the centre of the wreath and tie them with ribbon. Pillar candles are great because they won’t drip on the feathers.

Basket of eggs

Nothing says Easter like a basket of eggs, so once you’ve finished wrapping the foam eggs and gluing bright bows in place, put all your eggs in one basket — and display it on a linen tablecloth.