It's that time of year again! In the past we've studied the earth and the sky and birds that fly, so this year it seemed fitting that our egg decorating follow the pattern of nature exploration...
... with a little entomology!
From Ladybugs and Leafhoppers...
... to industrious ants...
... and very hungry caterpillars.
For this project you will need to make DIY stickers like we did last year. To do this, draw or trace your images onto parchment paper and then place a wide strip of clear packing tape on top. Once you've finished, cut out your shapes with scissors or an X-acto knife (parents only) and voila! You have custom stickers.
With your stickers in hand you can make make simple silhouettes (like the hungry caterpillar above who eats his way through all the eggs until he becomes a butterfly), full color life studies in a cameo frame or you can simply draw your favorite bugs straight onto the eggs (like the ants and ladybugs pictured above). For all variations, start with clean and dry blown out white eggs, your homemade bird stickers and your favorite paints, pencils, and egg dyes
Silhouettes:
Place your homemade sticker on your egg and make sure it is well attached, especially around the edges of the sticker. Submerge in a dye color of your choice until it reaches the color you like. Dry it off and remove the sticker. You should have a white silhouette of a bug/caterpillar/butterfly (see images above).
Full Color Bug Studies in a Cameo Frame:
Submerge an egg in dye leaving the top face above the liquid. Hold down until it reaches the color you like, and then remove and dry. I like the way it looks when there is a little color variation around the edge of the oval frame so I dipped most of my cameo eggs in two colors. Then, use an insect guide book to help you copy the real life coloration of your favorite creepers and crawlers.
Happy bug studies!
~ Sarah
*Last time in Crafts and Activities: Spring Growth Chart
