Polka Dot Easter Eggs in Tea Cups

How's that for a descriptive title?  No beating around the bush here.

If you have been reading this blog for a while then you know that I am not one to go all out for holidays.  I'll usually put up a few things here and there, but there is no mantle decorating, no seasonal wreaths and usually no centrepieces.  For Easter this year I decided to keep it low key.  Last year I made my wet felted Easter Eggs, but this year I just wasn't feeling the purple.  I wanted something a little bit more modern. 

I hard boiled a half a dozen eggs one night, let them cool overnight and then got to work on glamming them up.  

The next day I used my Brass Liquid Gilding to goldenize me some eggs.  Ta-da.

I called them the Liberace eggs (if Liberace had a chicken, that is...).

If you are a gilding virgin, here's my basic method - it's highly technical.  Wrap your finger in plastic wrap.  Then wrap your finger in a paper towel.  Dip your finger in the gilding and then smear it on the eggs.  Do half the egg, let it dry for about 5 minutes and then do the other half.  Done.  Super easy.  Don't skip the plastic wrap step or you will have a completely gold finger that will last for days. 

So here's the truth.  I wanted to speckle my eggs with white....but it was a big fat fail.  I tried speckling by flicking a tooth brush, but I just ended up speckling myself and the sink instead of the eggs.  Maybe my aim was off, I don't know.  I gave up on that and decided I'd dot them with white.  Well, that was a fail too.  The paint (I was using latex wall paint), just kept dripping off.  Duh, I finally remembered that latex can't go over oil based product.  Luckily the paint just washed right off, so I was back with my basic Liberace egg.  On to Plan C.

Plan C was to use more gilding, but this time in Pewter.  I used a pencil eraser to stamp little dots onto the eggs.  

And now I think they look like Liberace dinosaur eggs.  Or is it only me who automatically thinks of dinosaurs when I see spotted eggs?  Maybe I watch too many kids shows. (Fin LOVES the Dinosaur Train show). 

Anyhow, I liked them.  They were not pastel, not cutesy, and Easter-ish, but not too Easter-ish.

I brought out a few of my tea cups (from my favorite china set), wrapped up some jute twine with some fake grass stuff and pretty much just plopped everything in.

Cute little nests for the Liberace dino eggs.  

I had 5 eggs (one cracked during my multiple painting attempts and too-rough washing), so I used 3 tea cups.   I put them on our credenza in the living room.

Clearly I am going through a gold phase.  Gold elephant, gold twigs, gold eggs.....

I am really liking the tea cups on the credenza.  I think I am going to have to find something different to go in them after Easter.  

Update: Since the taking of these pictures another egg has bit the dust.  I was making breakfast in the kitchen one morning and Fin was in the living room.  It had been really, really quiet for a few minutes, so I peeked my head in to see what was going on.  Usually when she is quiet I try and be very quite too so that I don't disturb what she is doing.  If she sees me it's game over and I automatically have to help her.  So I tip toed.  And what did I see?  She had grabbed an egg and was very busy smooshing it into the carpet...and her hair....and her PJs.  Ahhh.  I don't think she had eaten any.  Thank goodness.  Teaches me that I should have blown the eggs out instead of doing it the short-cut way.  The tea cups are now moved ALL the way to the back of the credenza. 

So tell me....am I the only one who isn't really into pastel Easter stuff?