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How to make a papier mâché Easter egg

Learn how to make a paper mache Easter egg and give quilling a go this Easter with these eggstravagant papier mâché eggs!

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Published: March 17, 2021 at 11:38 pm

Gift your loved ones an Easter gift they will always treasure with an exquisite quilled papier-mâché Easter egg, which you can fill with sweet treats, jewellery or a pair of super-cosy socks. To create your fillable papier-mâché Easter egg carefully cut a premade papier-mâché Easter egg in half across the middle. For a different look, you could cut a peephole into the papier-mâché Easter egg to pop the treats into.

First - let's learn how to make papier-mâché! Check out our full guide to papier-mâché, with step-by-step photos and handy video guide. Once you've learnt how to make paper mache, why not try some of our brilliant paper mache projects for kids? If you're new to the world of quilling, you can check out our handy ideas guide to quilling. You might also like our Easy Salt Dough Recipe post!

We love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to share your craft projects with us on Facebook and Twitter, too!

How to make a papier mâché Easter egg

You will need

  • Water balloon
  • Newspaper
  • PVA glue
  • Brush
  • Cup (or another stand for your egg while it's drying)

Step 1

Blow up a water balloon to create a small egg shape. Tie a knot in the end of the balloon to secure it, and stand it up in your cup (or eggcup!). Water balloons are better when learning how to make a paper mache Easter egg, because of their smaller size - but you could also use a normal balloon and just blow it up a little way, around 10cm is good, although you can make your egg as big or little as you like!

Step 2

Dilute some PVA glue using some water and mix to make your paper mache recipe (around 1 part water to 2 parts glue gives a nice consistency - so twice as much glue as water).

Step 3

Next, tear up some newspaper into little squares - around 1cm is ideal. You can also use tissue paper, but the newspaper will yield a stronger finish and will be more durable. The smaller the squares, the more even a finish you'll get for your paper mache Easter egg.

Step 4

Soak the newspaper squares in the PVA-water solution to get them nice and saturated.

Step 5

Start applying the newspaper squares to your balloon! Smooth down the paper using your fingers or a paintbrush, moulding it around the balloon as you go.

Step 6

Continue covering your paper mache egg with newspaper pieces. Overlap the pieces of paper so that your whole balloon is covered.

Step 7

Add a second layer.

Make sure there is no bits of balloon visible, apart from the knot.

Step 9

Set your paper mache egg to one side and leave to dry. It's a good idea to leave your paper mache Easter egg for a couple of dayss, as it's important to make sure your paper mache egg is completely dry before moving onto the next step.

Step 10

Once completely dry, hold the knot of the balloon, grab a pin (or another sharp object) and pop the balloon! If you're holding the knot - you can then simply pull the balloon out. It's likely your balloon won't 'pop' in the traditional sense, more likely it will just deflate.

Step 11

Cover the hole (if you wish) by adding another layer of newspaper. If you want to fill your homemade paper mache Easter egg - make sure you add your treats before covering the hole!

Step 12

Paint white and leave to dry. Then - decorate however you like!

Fancy making a quilled paper mache Easter egg? Keep reading for our easy step-by-step tutorial below.

How to make a quilled Easter egg

You will need

Step 1

Carefully cut your papier-mâché Easter egg in half. Paint the whole papier mache egg white to cover the brown, wait to dry then paint yellow.

Mark 2.1cm from the join on the top half for the first stripe, 1.8cm above for the second, then 1.8cm above that for the third. Repeat on the bottom half of the papier-mâché Easter egg. Paint the stripes using acrylic paint. Looking for the best acrylic paint? Check out our handy buyer’s guide to the best acrylic paint!

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 2

For the bottom stripe on the top half of your papier-mâché Easter egg: roll a yellow coloured quilling strip into a loose coil and place in circle gauge 2 (2cm); glue the end to secure. Glue another yellow quilling strip to the coil, wrap it around and glue the end to secure to make a circular shape. Make 12.

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 3

For the second stripe on your papier-mâché Easter egg: roll a light pink quilling strip into a loose coil and place in circle gauge 3 (1.5cm); glue the end to secure. Glue a dark pink quilling strip to the coil, wrap around and glue the end to secure. Make 13 of these quilled shapes.

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 4

To make the yellow eye shapes to decorate the third stripe, repeat step 3 using light yellow and dark yellow quilling strips, then gently pinch both ends of each coil to create an eye shape. Make 14 of these quilled shapes for your papier-mâché Easter egg. 

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 5

For the top of the papier-mâché easter egg: roll half a light pink quilling strip into a loose coil and place in circle gauge 5 (0.9cm); glue the end to secure. Make 19 of these shapes. On 12 of these, glue half a dark pink strip to the coil, wrap around and glue the end to secure.

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 6

For the top stripe of the bottom half of the papier-mâché Easter egg, repeat step 2 using pink papers, and make 12 coils. For the second stripe, repeat step 4 to make 18 coils and pinch into eye shapes.

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 7

For the bottom of the papier-mâché Easter egg, roll half of a light pink quilling strip into a loose coil and place in circle gauge 5; glue the end to secure. Repeat to make 26 coils. Gather all of your quilled shapes into groups to assemble.

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Step 8

Arrange the quilled pieces, then glue each shape to its respective stripe. Let each stripe dry before adding the quilled shapes to the next one. Attach the coils at the top of the papier-mâché Easter egg last. 

How to make quilled papier-mâché Easter eggs

Shop papier mâché Easter eggs!

If you don’t want to make your own papier-mâché Easter egg, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. How about some of these papier-mâché Easter eggs to buy?

1. Décopatch papier-mâché Easter egg

Buy now: £2.90 (Amazon)

Papier-mâché Easter egg – Amazon

2. Décopatch hanging eggs

Buy now: £3.30 (Amazon)

Decopatch Mache Hanging Eggs – Amazon

3. Polystyrene Easter eggs

Buy now: £6.99 (Amazon)

Polystyrene Easter Eggs – Amazon

4. Wooden Easter eggs

Buy now: £6.99 (Amazon)

Wooden Easter eggs – Amazon

5. Cheap papier-mâché Easter eggs

Buy now: £1 (Hobbycraft)

Paper mache Easter eggs – Hobbycraft

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning all about paper mache egg making! If you’re looking for a more traditional Easter egg making check out our how to blow and paint Easter eggs tutorial and then our Easter egg decorating ideas.