Friday, June 3, 2011

Friday Egg: Etched Brown Egg


This is such an intricate little egg:  I'm secretly tickled to make such an intricate and delicate design with a brown egg because they are so rustic and utilitarian that the rose design is doubly stunning.

I started my first layer on the brown egg, then etched the shell down to white using regular white vinegar full strength. It usually takes about 20 minutes for the shell to etch down to cream.  After the etching bath I scrub it in running water with a baby toothbrush to clean it up and make sure all the dissolved shell is washed away.  I dipped it in Avocado dye and drew in some details with wax, then dipped in Peacock Blue for the next layer of detail.  Finally, I washed off as much of the blue dye as I could and then etched again to a creamy white.  I listed it on Etsy today, so go visit if you are interested:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/75338890/etched-and-dyed-brown-chicken-egg

Happy Friday!