Yes, September is over, the weather is generally cooler, conkers have been gathered, and Autumn has definitely come. I just love the colours of this season, and I’ve been inspired to decorate some seasonal eggs. I wanted to share a little of the process of creating one of these eggs with you…
Step 1
Find yourself a duck egg
Blow out the contents and clean off all evidence of the farmyard. Realise that you now have the contents of several eggs to use up… search for a recipe that uses LOTS of eggs. Bake a cake!
Step 2
Add autumn colours to the egg
It’s important to get the glorious colours as accurate as possible, so take the opportunity to go for a walk to appreciate the autumn colours. Be amazed by the variations in contrast and colour, and then strive to emulate it.
Step 3
Draw on the leaves
The next stage is to draw some leaves, so realise that you need to take another walk to find out what leaves actually look like. Pick up some leaves to actually observe the shape. Choose a shape that you might actually be able to replicate. Use wax to draw the leaves onto the egg. Attempt to spread them out to look artfully random.
Step 4
Add the background colour
Dye the egg with a darker background colour. Maybe dark green. Or sky blue. Or even black to herald bonfire night. Decide that you need to do several eggs to explore all the options. Return to step one, repeat, and bake another cake. Or decide on omelette for tea.
Step 5
Melting off the wax – the best bit!
The next stage is to melt off the wax to reveal the final colours. My eggs sit in the oven for a few minutes. A candle, or a hair-drier work as well. If you go for the over method, this might be a good opportunity to enjoy a cuppa. Or some of that cake.
Step 6
Protective coats of varnish
Now it’s time to coat the egg in two or three very thin layers of varnish. The glossy finish seems to accentuate the colours, and make the egg jewel-like. The varnish also gives a little extra strength to the shell. For this egg I also added a ribbon for hanging. This is an egg that will look good hanging from a tree or an indoor branch.
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