One of our most popular holiday posts is our tutorial on dying Easter eggs with pieces of silk. It’s a unique process that creates amazingly beautiful eggs and it’s always a shame when it’s time to toss them! Many readers have asked if it was possible to use the same process on a blown-out egg so they could be kept indefinitely. The problem that arises is that hollow eggs float, so they’re difficult to boil. But thanks to one resourceful reader, we’ve solved that problem. So today I thought I’d do a little tutorial about how to make blown eggs and then create charming little ornaments from them- including silk-dyed ones!
Supplies Needed
This is just a preview of supplies and method; keep scrolling for full printable instructions.
- Raw eggs – If you’re going to save the inside of the egg for cooking, then make sure to wash the outside of your egg and make sure that all of the tools you are using are clean and sanitized.
- Bowl of warm water – Warming the eggs for a few minutes makes the insides more loose, making them easier to remove.
- Infant bulb syringe – You know, the bulb shaped “baby snot sucker.” This is to force air into the egg and create pressure that blows the insides out the other end. You could also try a medical syringe. Personally I think the bulb syringe works better.
- Push pin – This is used to poke holes in each one of your eggs.
- Very small drill bit – I used this to widen the holes poked in the eggs after creating them with the pin.
- Paper clip – This is used to scramble the insides, making them easier to blow out.
- Decorating supplies – As needed. Sharpies, egg dyes, acrylic paints or paint pens, supplies for silk-dyed eggs, ribbons and an extra long crafting needle to thread them), beads, etc.
How to Make Blown Egg Ornaments
Step 1: Blow Out Your Eggs
- Place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes before starting.
- Hold an egg firmly (you know, as firmly as you can hold an egg) and use your pin to gently pierce a hole in one end. It helps to gently twist the pin back and forth first to sort of screw it in before you actually push it through. Repeat on the other end of the egg.
- Once you have a teeny tiny pin hole, it helps to have a teeny tiny drill bit (seriously, the smallest one in the set). Gently “drill” through your pin hole to enlarge it.
- Now grab that paper clip and unfold it. Stick the paper clip inside the egg and swirl it all over the place. The object here is to scramble that yolk up which will help it all come out easily.
- Now grab that bulb syringe and place it directly over one of the holes and squeeze over a bowl. The egg will come right out the other end. If you meet any resistance, don’t keep blowing air or your egg might explode. Give it a shake, or stick the paper clip in again, or increase the size of your hole.
- Once everything is blown out, you might want to fill your syringe with warm water and blow it into the egg. Shake it up and then blow it out to get the inside clean.
Step 2: Decorate
- Once you’ve got your hollowed out egg you can do all sorts of crafty things with it. To make an ornament, thread ribbon, string, or twine through the holes. Using a extra long crafting needle really helps. If you need to enlarge your holes to fit the ribbon, use your pin to gently pick away at it. Just tie a knot at the bottom end and a loop at the top end.
- To make Silk Dyed eggs,follow the instructions in this tutorial. When it comes to the step where you boil the eggs in the pot, use a strainer turned upside-down to keep the eggs under the water. OR, if you can fill your eggs with water it will weigh them down as well. After they come out they will be filled with boiling water. Make sure to let them cool first, and then blow out the water. After they’re dry, thread ribbons through so you can display them!
- If you want to dye your eggs with normal colored dye, then dye uncooked eggs before you blow them out. Try adding beads to your string. It not only looks pretty, but it covers up messy holes! I love plain, solid color eggs- and they look really pretty with colored beads. These would be really cute with monograms drawn on- or cut out of vinyl.
- I’ve always wanted to learn Ukrainian egg painting, aka: Pysanka, but apparently I have too many hobbies already. So I settled for a Sharpie. Turns out all of those years of mindless doodling in school was actually useful. Way more useful than algebra at least.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I store these ornaments?
I recommend packing them lightly in tissue paper inside a larger, sturdy box.
How to Make Blown Egg Ornaments
This method empties the inside of your eggs so you can decorate and then store for years to come!
Equipment
- Bowl of warm water – Warming the eggs for a few minutes makes the insides more loose, making them easier to remove.
- Infant bulb syringe – You know, the bulb shaped “baby snot sucker.” This is to force air into the egg and create pressure that blows the insides out the other end. You could also try a medical syringe. Personally I think the bulb syringe works better.
- Push pin – This is used to poke holes in each one of your eggs.
- Very small drill bit – I used this to widen the holes poked in the eggs after creating them with the pin.
- Paper clip – This is used to scramble the insides, making them easier to blow out.
- Decorating supplies – As needed. Sharpies, egg dyes, acrylic paints or paint pens, supplies for silk-dyed eggs, ribbons and an extra long crafting needle to thread them), beads, etc.
Ingredients
- Raw eggs If you’re going to save the inside of the egg for cooking then make sure to wash the outside of your egg and make sure that all of the tools you are using are clean and sanitized.
Instructions
- Place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes before starting.
- Hold an egg firmly (you know, as firmly as you can hold an egg) and use your pin to gently pierce a hole in one end. It helps to gently twist the pin back and forth first to sort of screw it in before you actually push it through. Repeat on the other end of the egg.
- Once you have a teeny tiny pin hole, it helps to have a teeny tiny drill bit (seriously, the smallest one in the set). Gently “drill” through your pin hole to enlarge it.
- Now grab that paper clip and unfold it. Stick the paper clip inside the egg and swirl it all over the place. The object here is to scramble that yolk up which will help it all come out easily.
- Now grab that bulb syringe and place it directly over one of the holes and squeeze over a bowl. The egg will come right out the other end. If you meet any resistance, don’t keep blowing air or your egg might explode. Give it a shake, or stick the paper clip in again, or increase the size of your hole.
- Once everything is blown out, you might want to fill your syringe with warm water and blow it into the egg. Shake it up and then blow it out to get the inside clean.
- Allow eggs to dry and decorate as desired. To add ribbon, use an extra long crafting needle to thread it through the holes in the eggs. Add beads to help cover the holes in the egg.
Notes
Decorating Notes
- If you want to dye these eggs in a traditional manner, I recommend dyeing them before blowing them out.
- Click here for instructions on Silk-Dyed Eggs. Use a strainer (with a small pot on top of needed) to hold the blown eggs under the water while boiling.
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
Great article, well written & funny. Thanks
i have always loved crafting and manners of art, but was a little disappointed in the imperfections of wrapping tightly for best transfer. i tried a variety of methods with similar results. Also wanted the transfer to be as bright and beautiful, so open to suggestions. I tried wrapping silk dry and wet. one whole piece tightly folded and others cut and folded. Also twist tied silk on both ends using floss, small braid rubber bands (liked these the best). Also twist tied on side of egg. as well as wrapped tightly w floss over egg in addition. (made no difference) in terms if vinegar to water i tried several different recipes and then increased time hoping for more intense color. All about the same. Maybe I’m a perfectionist but didn’t turn out as well as i had hoped. i wanted to use my late husbands silk ties and make these for family members in memory of him. I used thrift store ties first and will keep trying until i get better results. the wax applicator tool i believe is also available at art suppliers batik supplies. thanks for ll suggestions !!!! love this site 🙂
Just as a suggestion, when you’re done making your eggs, instead of using vegetable oil, you can use Mod Podge (or other similar waterbased sealer/glue) to seal in the color or pattern, and you get an incredible shine! Then they will last year to year, and will be much sturdier than just the egg by itself! Even doing silk dyeing on brown eggs will look great, just a more faded look than if you were using white!
I know in past years, your readers have asked about using ceramic or wood eggs for silk dyeing… Unfortunately it won’t work. You need protein-based materials in order for an acid dye to work on it (which is why it works on silk, it works on eggs, but it won’t dye the cotton you wrap the silk dyed egg with! It only stains it a bit, but the pattern won’t transfer to the cotton).
For an edible twist on dyeing eggs or any other protein based fiber (this works on wool yarn, too!), you can use powdered drink mix or food coloring and vinegar! The drink mix doesn’t need vinegar to set, it already has the citric acid in it that will help the color set.
After having dyed yarn and eggs with food coloring, I don’t want to ever feed that stuff to my kid, though! 😉
Should have added that you can be “in progress” on several eggs at a time. Start one, set it to dry, and start painting rubber cement on the next. I usually did about 3 at a time, and there was always one dry enough to move on to the next step. Didn’t take as long as I thought it would, and they turned out neat.
If you want to try something similar to the Ukranian wax eggs, but without the open flame and hot wax, you can get the same effect with rubber cement. With a very tiny brush or even a toothpick, paint on rubber cement in a design that you want to stay white. Set on a bottle cap or something to keep it upright and let dry. Dye a light color, then paint on rubber cement to cover the part you want to stay that color. Dry again (with a fan, only takes a few minutes), then dye a darker color. Keep going till you’re happy with the finished egg. When all is dry, you can lightly rub off the rubber cement. Look great!
I believe it is “baby booger sucker” 🙂 Great post.
I loved the explanatory comment about the snot suckers!
I wonder if there is some bit we can put on the drill motor to insert inside the egg and make wee raw omelettes that will come out easier.
I am going to try this tomorrow! FYI, our local dollar store has the “snot sucker-outers” as I have always called them! Thanks for a great tutorial.
Your tutorials are brilliant but you are so entertaining to read too! Keep up the good work x
Since I volunteer over 1000 hours a year helping junior high kids learn MATH – algebra to be exact – I’ll just point out that it’d be tough to work with things like quarter cups if one had no math knowledge. That said, GREAT EGGS! I used to make an egg tree with my mom at Easter every year with blown eggs. We’d dye them and use tissue for transfer designs, paint them, use markers, etc. It was always great fun. My dad always managed at least one army green monster egg – too many dye baths – that inevitably took pride of place (on the BACK!) of a spray painted maple branch that was particularly gracefully shaped, which we used as our “tree”.