Simply Smashing Shells

Total Time Needed:: Afternoon Or Evening

This method makes the most of an egg's delicate nature: shells are dyed and crushed to create an irresistibly bumpy finish. So go ahead and break the mold -- and the shell -- when decorating your eggs this year.

Materials

Shells from 4 or more eggs, washed and dried (for each dyed egg)
Egg dye
Ziplock bag
Small bowl
Paintbrush
Tacky glue
Blown egg (see below)
Waxed paper

CRUSHED-SHELL CRITTERS:
Craft foam
Googly eyes
Pipe cleaners
Rubber bands
Funnel
Skewer
Felt

Instructions

How to blow out a raw egg: Wipe the outside of the egg with vinegar and pat it dry with a paper towel. Use a large needle to make holes (about 1/4 inch in diameter) in the top and bottom of the egg, puncturing the yolk. Holding the egg over a bowl, blow through the hole in the narrow end of the egg. The insides will flow out the bottom hole. Carefully rinse the egg inside and out and allow it to dry.
Remove any membrane from inside the shells, then dye them and let them dry thoroughly, about 30 minutes.
Place the shells in a ziplock bag, crush them into 1/4-inch pieces, then pour them into a small bowl. (We used a mix of colors for each egg.)
Use a paintbrush to coat the blown egg with glue, then roll it in the shells, covering it completely. Press on more shell pieces by hand, if needed. 4 Set the egg on waxed paper to dry, about 15 minutes. If you like, coat the egg with a layer of glue to seal the shells in place.
These textured eggs are a great starting point for crafting other critters, especially scaly ones. Take it further by creating Crushed-Shell Critters. Here's how to make them:
Fish: Glue on a craft foam tail and fins, googly eyes, and a pipe cleaner mouth (use a rubber band to hold it in place while the glue dries).
Armadillo: Glue on a face and tail of pipe cleaner coils (we wrapped the face around a funnel, the tail around a skewer), using rubber bands to hold them in place while the glue dries. Add felt ears and googly eyes. For legs, form a pipe cleaner into a square, then pinch and twist the corners to create a stand with 4 legs, as shown.