String Eggs
String eggs are a great Easter project for kids of all ages (we all love an excuse to get sticky fingers). With only a few materials and over-night drying time you can create a really beautiful table centre-piece or garland. They're a great decoration all year around not just at Easter so why not make some with metallic silver thread, reds & greens for Christmas or in black and orange for Halloween or your chosen colour theme at a wedding. There really is no end of ideas and colour combinations you can use.
You will need:
Water balloons
General balloons if you want to make a larger egg or bowl (optional)
PVA glue, water and something to stir them together
Plate or bowl (paper party plates are great for this)
Embroidery cotton thread or fine string
String and clothes-pegs (for hanging eggs to dry)
A pin
What to do
1. Protect your table top with newspaper.
2. Blow up some water balloons so they look egg shaped and tie the ends.
3. Tie a piece of string to the knotted balloon ends ready for hanging up to dry.
4. Pour some PVA glue onto a plate/bowl, add a little water and stir.
5. One at a time roll the balloons in the PVA/water mixture, thoroughly covering them.
6. Unwind a full skein of embroidery thread (8 metres) and wrap around each balloon, making sure you cover the balloons evenly (not leaving any large spaces), hide the thread-end by smoothing it against another thread so it isn't noticeable.
7. Roll the wrapped balloons in the PVA/water mixture again making sure all the thread is covered and then hang them up to dry.
**TOP TIP - If the weather is fine then you can hang the eggs from your washing line, but if it's raining then you can hang them indoors from a curtain track/cup hooks etc, remembering to place some newspaper underneath them to catch any drips - TOP TIP**
8. Once the glued thread is completely dry the balloons can be removed, they may have shrivelled or burst on their own, if not just pop them with a pin, watch & listen as the balloon peels itself away from the inside of the egg and then you can carefully take the balloon remnants out.
DO NOT POP THE BALLOONS UNTIL THE GLUE IS COMPLETELY DRY OR THE EGGS WILL COLLAPSE
9. Any noticeable dried bits of glue can be carefully scraped off with the pin or a scalpel.
10. The eggs can now be placed in a bowl as a table centre-piece or threaded onto some ribbon and hung as a garland.
To Make a Large Egg or Bowl
1. Make in exactly the same way as the small eggs but use normal balloons instead of water balloons and use several skeins of embroidery thread rather than just one.
2. When the glue is completely dry pop the balloon and remove the remnants - you now have a giant egg!
3. To turn it into a bowl - Just cut it in half...you then get two bowls ready to fill with string eggs or even chocolate ones!
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