Skip the plastic store-bought eggs: this Easter, make a paper mache Easter egg sculpture instead! Kids love the ooey-gooiness of papier mache, and working with it helps build strong hand muscles and develop their fine motor skills. With just a few simple craft materials, you can make a charming hand-crafted sculpture that will last for many years—and Easters!—to come.
What You Need:
- Balloon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups water
- Mixing bowl
- Scissors
- Newspaper, torn into strips
- Tempera paint in spring colors like yellow, pink, green, or white
- Paintbrush
- Glitter (optional)
What You Do:
- Blow up the balloon as big as you want your egg to be.
- Prepare the papier mache paste. Help your child measure out the flour and add it to the mixing bowl. Gradually add the water, asking your child to mix as you do. Keep adding water until the paste is thick and gooey but not lumpy.
- Help your child dip a newspaper strip into the papier mache paste and lay it on the ballon. Have her continue adding newspaper strips to the balloon like this until the balloon is completely covered.
- Set aside to dry. You can create a simple drying stand for the egg using a strip of cardboard stapled into a circle.
- Once the papier mache is dry, ask your child to decorate her egg using the tempera paint. If you have white paint, try having your child mix it with the other colors to get lighter shades.
- Help your child add glitter for a sparkling effect, if using.
- Let the paint dry, then display!
After your papier mache egg dries the balloon inside will eventually shrink down. Have your child shake the egg gently and listen for the balloon inside.
By Erica Loop
Erica Loop has a MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
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