Friday Egg: Etched Turtle Pair

Today's Friday Egg is a design you have seen before, but this time I started with a brown chicken egg. There are two turtles, one on each side, playfully chasing each other around the egg. I like the soothing greens and blues paired with the natural brown of the chicken egg.

First I applied wax to cover the brown of the eggshell, Then I etched the eggshell in a vinegar bath to reveal the white eggshell just underneath the brown layer and added wax to those areas where I wanted it to stay white. Then I did the same process through Key Lime and Turquoise and finally dyed the egg Black.

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!

Friday Egg: Lavender Iris

Friday Egg this week is a restrained little and shy little thing that reveals its infinite charms only upon close examination.  

I started with a brown chicken egg for my outlines.  Once all the guidelines were drawn, I etched the egg in regular white vinegar until the eggshell was white.  I dipped the egg in bright yellow for the polka dots surrounding the flowers and the yellow centers of the flowers.  I did the nets and some tiny triangles in the eternity band in bright green as well as the leaves of the flowers.  Next was orange for the band and then violet for the flowers and details in the band.  For the final background color, I washed the purple dye down with just plain water until it achieved the pretty lavender color.  One side shows two iris and the other side is a bloomed iris and a bud, each surrounded by spiky shoots.

Unusual color combination of purple and orange on this egg!  I wonder how different this egg would have looked with a white egg instead of a brown egg.  Probably a lot more showy and bright.  I really like this sweet little guy, hiding his lights under a bushel.

If you are interested in purchasing this sweetheart, click here!

Hope you like it too.  Happy Friday!