Easter Activities: 20 Easter Egg Decorating Ideas

By Jeanne Benedict

Easter Eggs in a Row

The splendor of springtime and Easter are upon us. It’s time to start thinking about filling your Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies and colorful eggs. Of course, decorating Easter eggs is the most popular Easter activity for many of us. Here, you’ll find 20 creative ways to make fun and fabulous Easter eggs with your family.

Many cultures have their own techniques for decorating Easter eggs from the Ukrainian Pysanky eggs made with a wax resist design to Germany’s ornate painted eggs displayed on the traditional egg tree.

Decorate your eggs a day or two before Easter Sunday. Display your eggs on a holiday brunch table or set up an egg craft table at a kid’s party. For more Easter activity ideas see my articles: Simple Easter Brunch and The Great Easter Egg Hunt! And check out my videos to make your Holiday its best by crafting an Easter Wreath and Easter Cards.

Prepping The Eggs

The grown-ups will need to prep the eggs before the kids can dye and decorate them. Most egg preparations fall into two categories: edible and decorative.

Blown-Out Eggs

Use this method for eggs that will be made as a decorative keepsake and not consumed.

1. Use a pin to make a small hole in the top of the egg and a slightly larger hole (¼-inch diameter) in the egg’s bottom.
2. Blow through the top egg hole, so the egg inside the shell slides out the bottom hole.
3. Rinse the empty eggshell with hot water.
4. Using tongs, gently immerse the empty eggshell in a pot of very hot water for 10 seconds to strengthen the inner lining and neutralize germs.

After decorating blown-out eggs, an adult should use hot glue to attach a ribbon loop to the top of the eggs in order to hang them. You can also use hot glue to attach a bow or a decorative bead to cover up the top and bottom egg holes.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Use this method for eggs that will be consumed and decorated with food-friendly ingredients or materials.

1. Place eggs in a large pot and fill with water to 1-inch above eggs.
2. Bring water to a boil and continue boiling for 15 minutes.
3. Remove eggs from heat and run cold water in the pot to cool them.
4. Remove eggs to a bed of paper towels and cool completely before dying and decorating.

20 Ways To Decorate Easter Eggs

1. Dyed Eggs

You can buy an egg dye kit or make your own dye bath by adding 1 tablespoon of food coloring and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to a cup of warm water. Submerge the eggs until desired color is achieved. Remove eggs from dye and dry in an empty egg carton or on a bed of paper towels.

2. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Create a reverse stencil look by applying gold star stickers to white eggs before dying them. After dyed eggs dry, remove the stickers to reveal the white star design on eggs.

3. Food-Coloring Marker Stenciled Eggs

Use food-coloring markers to color in mini stencils on eggs.

4. Glitteratti & Sequin Studded Eggs

Brush blown-out eggs with white glue. Place a layer of glitter dust on a plate. Roll eggs in glitter dust. Apply sequin accents using glue.

5. Boa Eggs

Purchase marabou boas at a craft store. An adult should use hot glue to attach the boa to a blown-out egg. Apply a small bead of hot glue and then attach just one section of the boa at a time so the glue doesn’t dry too quickly. Continue wrapping the boa around the egg until covered.

6. Sugar Flower Eggs

Combine 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar with 1 cup of water to make an edible paste. Use the paste as an adhesive to attach edible sugar flowers to eggs and display them on a dessert buffet.

7. Embossed Eggs

This is a craft for grown-ups only because of the heat tool. To make a stamped design you’ll need: 1) embossing inkpad and embossing powder, 2) a small rubber stamp with bold lines in the design, 3) embossing heat tool.

Ink the stamp and then stamp the side of a blown-out egg. Immediately, sprinkle embossing powder over the ink while the ink is still wet (do this over a sheet of paper so you can reuse the powder). Use a thin artist’s brush to gently brush away the excess powder, but be careful not to brush away the powder in the design. Read embossing heat tool package instructions. Use tool to heat powder on egg until the ink becomes raised from the surface and sets. You can use the same technique to write names on eggs or create a free-form design using an embossing pen instead of the inkpad and stamp.

8. Marbleized Eggs

For beautiful eggs purchase a marbling kit. Another option is to combine oil, water, vinegar, and dye in a bowl and quickly swirl an egg in the mixture to marbleize it. Note though, that this technique may result in an egg with a few white spots. Give eggs a glossy finish by brushing them with clear nail polish.

9. Metallic Stripes

Spray a blown-out egg with metallic paint and let it dry completely. Apply Scotch tape stripes around the egg. Spray with a different color metallic paint. When paint dries, remove tape to reveal a cool striped design.

10. Mirror, Mirror on the Egg

Dye blown-out eggs and then an adult should use hot glue to apply ½-inch round mirrors to the egg.

11. Mosaic Decoupage

Tear tissue paper into tiny bits. Brush a blown-out egg with an “all-in-one” decoupage medium, like Modge Podge. Place the pieces of tissue on top of the medium. Allow the medium to dry and then apply another coat on top of the tissue. Refer to decoupage package instructions for drying time and application tips. Chose trendy tissue paper with cool designs or a metallic finish.

12. Egg Pets

Dye blown-out eggs a variety of colors. Purchase craft felt squares, googly eyes, and furry animal-themed accents from a craft store. Set up a table with eggs, craft items, kid-friendly scissors, and white glue. Provide pictures of penguins, fish and bunnies to inspire the kids to make their own Egg Pet.

13. Photo Eggs

Cut out a 1-inch circle from a photo, such as a person’s face or a bed of flowers. Glue the photo on to the side of a blown-out egg; let glue dry. Brush the egg and photo with clear nail polish. Glue decorative fabric trim, like French gimp, around the photo circle to frame it. TIP: use eggs with photo faces as place cards.

14. 3-D Paint Egg Accents

3-D paint dries with a raised or puffy appearance. Use a 3-D paint pen with glitter or vibrant jewel tones to make cool lines or dots on Easter eggs you’ve already dyed.

15. Egg Still Life

Have an adult use the point of a sharp knife to chip a hole in the side of an egg. Empty out the egg inside and rinse with hot water. See “Step 4” instructions for “Blown-Out Eggs." Use your finger or small scissors to enlarge the hole to about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Create a still life inside the egg with grass, a baby chick, or other holiday miniatures from a craft store. Use white glue to secure items inside the egg or an adult should hot glue items in place.

16. Grass is Greener Egg

Widen the top hole of a blown-out egg. Fill the egg with tall wheat grass. Use an eggcup or napkin ring as a stand for the egg. This makes for simple yet elegant décor on a brunch table.

17. Colorful Salt Swirl Eggs

Make pastel shades of salt by adding a few drops of food coloring to 1 cup of salt and mixing thoroughly until combined. Place a layer of different colored salt in a swirled pattern on a dinner plate. Brush entire egg with non-toxic white glue and roll in salt until egg is completely covered.

18. Confetti Eggs

Fill a blown-out and dyed egg with ecofetti, biodegradable confetti. Cover the egg holes with an Easter sticker. Use Confetti Eggs for an Easter Egg Toss!

19. Rubber Cement Design Eggs

Drizzle rubber cement on an egg and allow cement to set. Dye eggs and dry thoroughly. Pull off cement to reveal the white eggshell design underneath.

20: Ostrich Egg Art

Dye and decorate ostrich eggs with any of the ideas above for a grand Easter display!

Share your Easter party ideas with the Celebrations Community! You’ll find more inspiration on our Easter page and I’m always happy to answer questions in my forum, Ask Jeanne.