Unique Things to Try With Easter Eggs

When I was growing up, the approach of Easter meant one thing to me: it was time to dye eggs. (Okay, so it also meant that my grandmother was going to spoil me with a huge basket of candy, but we’ll ignore that for the sake of this post). Each and every year, my mother would sit my sister and I down at our dining room table with bowls of dye, two or three dozen eggs, and those little wire egg holders that never seemed to keep their shape. I always felt immensely creative when I dyed eggs, and seeing them used in our church’s Easter egg hunt gave me a huge swell of pride. I always wanted to point at the eggs and yell “I made that!” (And I probably did, come to think of it — sorry, Mom!)

Now that I’m grown, the approach of Easter always stirs up these mixed emotions in me. On the one hand, I miss the yearly egg dye event... but on the other hand, I’m really glad I don’t spend Easter trying to hide the blotches of pink and blue on my hands! This year, as the holiday approaches, I decided to find some creative things to do with Easter eggs that don’t involve dye, markers, or any other sort of mess. Here’s what I found to share with you!

“Grown-Up” Easter Eggs

Skip the dye: you can create vibrant, modern, and even sophisticated Easter eggs by opting for some less traditional materials. Grab a glue pen and some glitter for sparkling eggs, or cut down small pieces of sticky felt, colored tape, or even wall decals to stick on the surface of a plain egg. This Design*Sponge post also suggests tiny rubber stamps and ink to create a custom pattern, or sticking in pins so that only the circular heads are exposed. (Make sure you only do this with hardboiled eggs!) Experiment with either brown or white eggs to achieve the effect you want.

If you have kids who are clamoring for the traditional dye job, you can always do both: let the kids dye (or paint) their eggs, then attach ribbon, stick-on gems, or other accents once the surface is completely dry. Even a pink or green egg can look chic with the right additions!

Create an Easter Egg Tree

Delish suggests making your own Easter egg tree as a piece of elegant and colorful décor. This pretty tree would look great in an entranceway or as the centerpiece to a dining room table. Simply arrange cut branches in a bucket or vase, use thread and a bead to create egg ornaments, and hang. You can sometimes find pre-made marbled or wooden egg ornaments in craft or hobby stores, or even try using plastic eggs by drilling holes in the top and bottom (just be careful with those power tools!).

One thing to keep in mind: as you’re creating your tree, don’t go overboard with your eggs! The beauty of an Easter egg tree is that, unlike a Christmas tree, it is sparsely decorated. Each egg should have a special color, theme, or purpose. When you finish this project, your tree should not look like this:

Just remember to keep it simple and you’ll have no trouble creating a pretty Easter tree that your friends and family will adore.

Have Your Eggs and Eat Them, Too

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you: there really are cupcakes baked into the eggs you see above. I know what you're thinking—and yes, that is awesome.

Over at Cupcake Project, Stef has a wonderfully detailed post on how you can absolutely stun your guests by handing them an egg with a fully baked piece of cake inside. Accomplishing this actually doesn’t sound too difficult—all it takes are some eggshells soaked in salt water, some yummy cake mix, and time in an oven. Though Stef used brown eggshells with a fluffy lemon cake, I think I might try this with white eggshells and chocolate cake as a surprise Easter treat for the RoomMates studio. (Shh, don’t tell anyone!)

If baking isn't your strong suit, or you can’t get the hang of drilling holes in your eggshells, there are plenty of other egg recipes you can try! One of my all-time favorite snacks, deviled eggs, would be a great treat for Easter: the vibrant yellow filling just screams “sunshine,” and additions like paprika or parsley add even more vibrant color. Just typing that sentence has convinced me that I need to whip up a batch this weekend.

Do you have any favorite ideas for using eggs as Easter decor? We’d love to hear them! Feel free to leave a comment here, or on our Facebook page, with your ideas. We’ll also be pinning Easter decorating ideas on this Pinterest board for the next week or two, if you’d like to follow along. Here’s hoping you find something to inspire you as Easter approaches, so you too can experience that great “I made that” feeling!