The Soft Side of Easter

While I naturally tend to gravitate toward vivid colors, I also like the whisper of soft pastel shades. 

There is something beautiful and romantic in the muted voice of delicate shades of 

pink, yellow, blue and green.

I bought this bunny a number of years ago. Isn't he a handsome fellow?

These are tissue paper roses my Mom gave me once upon a time.

To create the eggs above, first remove the contents through a small hole of either end. 

Years and years ago, I took a quilting class with my Mom. At the end of the course, a fellow student invited all the ladies over for a luncheon at her home. 

This woman's husband had been in the services and so they had traveled extensively in Europe. As souvenirs of the countries they visited, she had collected colorful, hand-painted eggs. I remember being struck by the beauty of these eggs, which had been gathered into large bowls. Scattered throughout the living room, the clusters of bright colored eggs were as fresh and cheerful as bouquets of spring flowers.

The quilting did not stick with me, but the egg painting did. Every year, I paint a few new Easter eggs. 

The three eggs in the foreground of the picture above are created by painting a natural egg with light washes of watercolor paint. I finish them with a clear coat of water-based varnish. (I prefer a spray application for this project.)

These eggs were made using a decoupage method. Cut out pretty floral illustrations with a fine pair of scissors and glue them onto an egg shell. (You could easily use papier-mâché eggs for this method.) Finish with clear water-based varnish.

The eggs in the jar were purchased, but you could easily replicate them by first painting an undercoat of a deep colored paint. Then, apply a transparent crackle medium ( Michael's). When the crackle medium is dry, apply a lighter colored top coat of paint. Cracks will appear as the top coat dries. Finish with clear, water-based varnish.

The eggs in the foreground are made using artist's pastel crayons. Color the eggs with a few complimentary shades of the crayons. Smudge the crayon lines with a tissue or soft cloth. Then, take some acrylic watercolor paint and apply a light wash over top of the blurred crayon lines. The crayon will act like a resist. Finish with clear, water-based varnish.

Today I am participating in Texture Tuesday with Kim Klassen. I added her Sweet Treat and Silence textures texture to my images. Click the link here to see the other entries.